Greetings. This month, let's learn about public relations from the discipline's father: Edward Bernays.

Additionally, I have some more thoughts on improving our personal brands, and of course check out the ever-popular Ink Briefs.

P.S. if you know someone who would benefit from this newsletter, please feel free to forward this to a friend or subscribe here.

Now, let's get started.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com
Ink Briefs
Sometimes you need access to research fast and don't have the time or money to conduct you own. That's where Market Research can help. It's a portal that catalogues and directs you to industry-specific market research that you can purchase by the slice of instead of having the buy the entire report.



Until now you had two choices: spend your life looking for editorial calendars, or spend your lifesavings on one of the many editorial calendar services. Here are two no-cost websites that can help you find many of the editorial calendars you are most likely to want for national media relations work. Ragan's Editorial Calendar and
OSN Editorial Calendar



Search engines no longer rule. New research from WebSideStory's StatMarket division indicates that now 64 percent of Internet users arrive at a site through direct navigation or through a bookmark. That's up from 53 percent only a year ago. That means content, again, is king.



Grammarians rejoice. There is a website developed by English Professor Charles Darling of Capital Community College just for grammar geeks. There, you'll find pearls like: "Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb." For the rest of the story, go to here.




About Hoover ink PR

Hoover ink PR helps position businesses that are serious about their success. Then, we craft and deliver bottom line messages that ensure it.

Who are we? We're a marketing communications firm with more than 25 years experience in providing services to financial, high tech, real estate, tourism and consumer products companies.

From employee relations and media relations to collateral material and e-newsletters, we develop the programs and communication tools that will differentiate you from your competitors. And that's the bottom line.
 
  PR - More Than News Releases
Public relations and news releases are synonymous in the minds of some. Because the media relations aspect of PR is so "public", the PR discipline often is narrowly defined by this tactic. PR is much more than cranking out positive client fodder for the media.

My definition: PR is developing, managing and maintaining relationships with any audience that can affect your organization.

Edward Bernays, the father of PR and the nephew of Sigmund Freud, takes his definition into the social science realm. (Well, what did you expect from Freud's nephew?) He advised clients on the social attitudes and actions to take in order to garner the support of audiences critical for success.

Bernays counseled his clients to do something to interrupt the continuity of life in some way to bring about the appropriate media and public response. Typically, these "interruptions" were done in such a way as to leave no trace of Bernays or his client behind.

Consider this. In the 1920s Bernays melded corporate sales campaigns with popular social causes. As an agent for the American Tobacco Company, he convinced women's rights marchers in New York City to smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes as "Torches of Freedom." Unlike the Wizard of Oz, Bernays managed to stay concealed behind the curtain.

The problem I have with Bernays' definition of PR is in its manipulative aspect. I believe that true PR practitioners seek common ground upon which to build mutually beneficial relationships.

For more on Edward Bernays, visit the following:

Adbusters
Edward Bernays
  You - Under Construction

In this space last month we discussed building your personal brand. One thing we didn't talk about comes under the heading: professional development. This can be anything from reading books and taking a course to attending your professional organization's monthly meetings.

A couple of weeks ago, I polished up my brand by attending the best workshop I have ever experienced. It was Ty Boyd's Excellence In Speaking Institute (ESI). You may know about Ty, hall of fame broadcaster, professional speaker, and founder of ESI. In the interest of full disclosure, Ty is a Hoover ink client.

Visit Ty Boyd for more information about ESI, or pick up Ty's course in portable book form, The Million Dollar Toolbox.

I'm charged up to give presentations. So, look for me soon on a stump near you.