http://www.inafind.com/ Articles at Free Article Directory | Submit your Article for Free on Inafind en-us http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/10-tips-for-improving-public-relations-within-your-industry.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/10-tips-for-improving-public-relations-within-your-industry.html Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:21:58 -0600
If your competitors are successful at story placements and getting their press releases picked up by print and web periodicals, it is simply because they have learned how to work with reporters and editors. They have also, at least tacitly, agreed to respect the rules of the game as determined by the media.

Print publications and websites with local, regional, national and international reach receive thousands of faxed and emailed press releases every single day. No publication has enough editors to read every drop of this flood of information, and much of it is self-serving, barely masked advertising, not newsworthy or so poorly written as to defy belief. Here are 10 tips for improving public relations within your industry, divided into five general “Rules” of a successful PR strategy and five specific “Actions” you should consider taking.

Five general “Rules” of PR
Rule 1: Don't “sell” your product or service

Pitch a unique story instead, to your industry’s particular journals or websites. All media pros know a sales job when they hear one, and many resent the treatment. Come up with an idea (or three) about how your company or product dovetails with a current topic of local or national interest.

Rule 2: Get help if you need it (and most do)
Some 90% of all press releases suffer from poor grammar, spelling mistakes and a total lack of proper formatting and presentation. This causes an immediate negative response on the part of the reader and destroys your credibility immediately. Any "luck" of getting a story just went in the trash along with your press release. If you are not able to write as good a press release as you just read in the Wall Street Journal or other big-city paper, get help, even if you have to pay for it. Are you worth it or not?

Rule 3: Business plan first, marketing plan second, PR plan third

The goal of the PR plan is to bring attention to your firm. If your website, marketing collateral and overall image is not in first-rate shape, you will be drawing attention to negatives instead of positives. Before your PR plan is developed, your business plan needs to have led to the development and use of a good company logo and corporate image. Following that, your marketing plan needs to have resulted in effective and consistent “brand ID.” Working to get press coverage before your marketing plan is firing on all cylinders is a recipe for disaster. Your website and your “marcomm” must be in total harmony with the verbiage and image presented in your press release.

Rule 4: Develop relationships in the media

Take local reporters out to lunch or coffee. Writers and editors can be most interesting people and most enjoy discovering new and different things. If they like what you tell them, and how you do it, you may just have an "in" with their publication.

Rule 5: Be a professional at all times

Effective PR people are already well versed in the rules of the press game, and stay abreast of new technologies and practices in publishing. Be a professional in your primary area, of course, but extend that professionalism to the way you interact with media pros. You will gain tremendous credibility, which always helps when it comes to pitching a new PR story.

Five specific PR “Actions”
Effective PR has many elements that must work together. When you need some new ideas for improving public relations within your industry, you can try the following specific actions, always tailoring them to the tone and personality of your business. Your first efforts, of course, should target the specific publications read by your industry’s movers and shakers.

Just remember that, in addition to industry-specific journals and newsletters and websites, there are general business publications and websites that reach your colleagues and competitors, too. Make sure to “spin” and “spec” the following Actions to the people in your industry first, then to a more generalized audience as you deem necessary.

Action 1: Create and promote a special event
It may be a company tour, or something related to a local school play – it can be just about anything. Just ensure that any charitable efforts result in your offering the proceeds to the appropriate charities. An event that is tailored to something in your own industry, of course, is ideal.

Action 2: Use a current news event to frame your release
If your financial planning firm specializes in tax preparation, use the news about possible new taxes to inform the rest of your industry about your specialty. In any industry there can be multiple focuses and sub-categories, so take every opportunity to let your industry cohorts know exactly what you are doing.

Action 3: Host a seminar
In tandem with your press release, announce a free seminar to your industry, particularly if you have a product or service that can be used by other firms. You can prepare take-away (or “leave behind”) materials that can further leverage this action, by disseminating your marketing message beyond the event itself.

Action 4: Announce the results of a new, relevant study
Depending on the specifics, you can range widely in the news section to learn of studies and reports that deal with major or minor aspects of your company’s product or service. If you can find a recent study that makes a compelling point about your company’s offering, by all means use it.

Action 5: Find a first-person story about people using your product or service
From your letters, emails or customer service files, identify one or more positive instances of your product or service being used in a new or different way. People enjoy a good story, so don’t forget to establish a good narrative with a challenge to overcome for the protagonist. When your product or service is framed as the answer to the challenge, you will generate goodwill as well as interest. ]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/what-will-happen-in-a-new-york-bankruptcy-court.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/what-will-happen-in-a-new-york-bankruptcy-court.html Thu, 06 May 2010 07:16:02 -0500
Ultimately, filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection may the right choice for you. Chapter 7 is known as a "straight liquidation bankruptcy" and is the most common type of consumer bankruptcy. It has generally been the bankruptcy used by those with few or no valuable assets.
To help you understand Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Storobin & Spodek LLP, a bankruptcy law firm in New York, is publishing a series of articles. This one will deal with the meeting with the U.S. Trustee in the bankruptcy court, a meeting also known as the 341 hearing.

At the New York bankruptcy court 341 hearing, the United States Trustee asks the person filing for bankruptcy several questions. You should keep in mind that the Trustee is not a judge and does not rule on your bankruptcy case.
 
Answer these questions directly, without elaborating unless asked to clarify by the Trustee. Make sure to bring your driver's license and social security card.

Please note you must bring your social security card and Drivers’ license [it must have the same address that is on your petition] to the hearing.

 
QUESTIONS THAT ARE USUALLY ASKED:
 
1. Name, social security number, and address.

2. Did you read the Bankruptcy Information Sheet?

3. Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents you filed with the New York bankruptcy court?

4. Have you read the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents?

5. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in these documents?

6. Is the information in these documents accurate?

7. Do you see any errors or omissions in these documents?

8. Are all of your assets identified on these documents?

9. Have you listed all of your creditors?

10. Did you ever file bankruptcy before?
 
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
 
A. There are several types of loans that are nearly impossible to be discharged. One of them is the student loan. For such loans, one must prove inability to pay, which sounds much simpler than it really is. There would have to be an adversarial proceeding proving much more than what one would normally need to prove in a bankruptcy.
 
Likewise, parking tickets, child support, alimony and income taxes are not discharged via a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Large payments to family, as well as anything related to fraud, may not be erased by declaring a bankruptcy.
 
You should also remember that your loan co-signers won't be discharged just because you filed a bankruptcy. They may be forced to pay your debt even though your Chapter 7 bankruptcy was approved.
]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/pr-new-york--optimism-abounds.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/pr-new-york--optimism-abounds.html Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:39:06 -0500 ]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/nyc-pr-firm-offers-tips-on-blog-promotion.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/nyc-pr-firm-offers-tips-on-blog-promotion.html Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:23:48 -0600 Connect with other blogs: Blogs are a huge and growing community now. Google has made a whole category devoted to searching for information in blogs. Connect with other blogs to promote yours. Visit other popular blogs and participate in discussions and make comments. Remember, every time you participate, you leave a trail behind — a link to your own blog. Exchange links with other bloggers.   Expand your email signature: Simple, right? Told you it would be. Several of the staffers at our New York City Public Relations firm use the small sections at the bottom of their email — the signature — as a means to promote their blogs. Your name, address, phone and other contacts are there right. Add your blog address too. That’s a free continuous advertising.   Leverage social networking sites: There is no denying the fact that social networking is spreading on the Internet like wildfire! Facebook and linkedin are just a few that have gained in popularity here at Makovsky + Company as well as other New York Public Relations firms. Social networking sites are populated with vast numbers of people who might want to see what you have to say. Every time you post a new blog, share it with social websites! Just open accounts in 5 to 10 social networking sites and post in parallel with you blog. Don't forget to link to your blog!   Using blog directories: Given the explosion of blogging, thousands of directories have been set up to help people find these blogs, social sites, forums, article directories and so on. Include your blog in blog directories. Pick directories that rank high (there are a number of services that do this such as Alexa).   Forums and online groups: Visit forums and online groups. You can easily connect with other people in forums and groups to invite them to your blog to view your thoughts and insights and they will gladly come. Quite a number of the staffers at the New York Public Relations firm Makovsky + Company are members of such groups and have gained followers to their blogs as a result.   A final thought…the better the quality of the content you have in your blog, the better your chances of getting people to like your blog and keep coming back. In addition, keep it fresh. Once you commit, you have to keep posting relevant and timely content which will keep your existing followers coming back as well as attract new ones.  
]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/investor-relations-practitioners-drive-communication-initiatives-to-preserve-corporate-reputations.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/investor-relations-practitioners-drive-communication-initiatives-to-preserve-corporate-reputations.html Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:11:25 -0500 The Battle for the Corporate Conscience

In today’s scandal-ridden business environment, investor relations practitioners and their counterparts in public relations and corporate communications have a vital role to play. Their voices must be heard in the boardroom and they must assume the role of corporate conscience as a means of safeguarding a company’s reputation, which can be destroyed in a matter of minutes. In serving the public, however defined, public relations practitioners possess keen understanding of what a company’s constituents are thinking and how to best serve their needs as consumers, shareholders, business partners and so on.

And, while much of the latest financial turbulence has focused on PR New York and Investor Relations professionals alike, no one is immune as corporate issues have emerged throughout the world.

Much has been written about the need for greater regulation of the business world. However, would we not be better served by greater enforcement of the rules that already exist? Will more regulations restore investor confidence? Make for more ethical corporate management? Many investor relations professionals and PR New York professionals share a common belief in that the faster the corporate sector moves to put its own house in order, the faster it will restore investor confidence, and the less likely it will be that the long arm of government will be called upon to replace the invisible hand of the market.

The problem for investor relations professionals as well as their PR New York counterparts is how can a company communicate that its management is ethical and that its house is in order? Someone who lies, cheats or steals is a liar, cheater or thief, respectively. And no words -- however effectively delivered – or ethics statements, for that matter, will change that fact. When it comes to trust, actions speak louder than words and effectively communicating those actions will be critical to restoring trust.

Some ideas to consider…

• Educate the media and investors – While some companies have relatively easy stories to understand and are unfettered by complicated balance sheets and financial transactions, others have more complex structures. Such companies must educate investors and the media in order to achieve a valuation commensurate with their prospects.

• Don’t play follow the leader … be a leader – It seems to be common practice these days to jump on the bandwagon of a popular issue. These times require real leadership and leaders, well… lead. Get out in front of an issue that is particularly important to your company and its constituents.

• Use plain English and provide detail – Former SEC commissioner Arthur Levitt was onto something when he mandated that official filings be made in plain English as opposed to “legalese.” Given an environment in which skepticism abounds, investor relations professionals and their PR New York colleagues are advised to provide extensive detail on their company’s financial performance. Of course, your communications should be in easily understood language. If an explanation is convoluted, it will be subject to interpretation, perhaps erroneously, by the media, investors and others.

• Being transparent doesn’t mean being invisible – When a crisis hits, there is a tendency to hide in the hopes that it will blow over. Chances are, it won’t and, in this age, of round the clock media reporting, there is a good possibility that your crisis will quickly rage out of control. In addition to having a crisis preparedness plan, investor relations and PR New York pros should prepare their company’s management team to be visible and available to all constituents and present a credible plan and timeline for remedying the situation.

While today’s times are presenting great challenges to Investor relations and PR New York professionals, there are great opportunities to advance the profession. Practitioners must play a more active role in shaping a corporation’s ethics policy and safeguarding its reputation through a communications program that addresses the needs of all of its constituents.

For more information visit to http://www.makovsky.com ]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/pr-new-york-professionals-take-notice.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/pr-new-york-professionals-take-notice.html Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:27:02 -0500
Technology companies, rightfully so, have been among the early adopters (after all, you do have to walk it like you talk it) as these companies succeed and thrive based on how innovative they are, not just in the technologies, applications and services they produce, but also in the tools they use to communicate that innovation to the world. However, other industries are discovering the benefits of social media and the world of PR New York has always known is rapidly moving to adapt the fundamental changes in the way news and information is disseminated and corporate reputations burnished.

Let’s step back a bit… The first generation of media was about one-way communications and mass markets. The social media era is about completely decentralized bi-directional and many-to-many dialog; individuals, niche markets, microcasting. Not as a replacement for the traditional press - but in addition to it.

Since the advent of the Internet in the middle of the last decade, the dynamic has changed quite dramatically. People aren't just passively consuming media. They're participating and contributing in a global conversation just about everything. The public now has unprecedented access to information gathering, tagging, aggregating and publishing tools. Free. And they're using them.

Companies are waking up to the fact that social media can influence buyers and shape a company’s reputation, as already known by the leaders of PR New York City is home to. While technology companies are capitalizing on the increasing use of social media by consumers to promote their brands to their target audiences, other industries, particularly financial services companies, are beginning to recognize that they can no longer simply issue information to the media in hopes that their stories will be covered. They are working with communications experts – again those PR New York professionals – to assist them in telling their stories directly to the public and to engage in conversations with their customers, which the social media does better than any other medium.

A comprehensive social media strategy for public relations should be shaped by the fact that the media revolution has already transformed the way people obtain information. Public relations outlets are being used to communicate corporate and brand messages simultaneously to customers and the media as press releases are posted on search engine news sites as well as on blogs, becoming materials which are marketed directly to the customer. Visual versions often wind up on Facebook or YouTube.

People are often placing greater credibility on social media and user-generated content than professionally written editorial reviews and information and that’s where public relations practitioners can put social media to use. Peers are considered the most respected source of information, according to many studies. A recent white paper from the Council of Public Relations Firms entitled, “Creating Value: Public Relations and the New Brand Strategy” notes “Winning companies are increasing eschewing advertising and instead deploying social and conventional media in ways designed to enhance the perceived value they deliver to customers.” The Council’s white paper also states: “…many believe its (advertising’s) constant, repetitive presence actually corrupts the brand experience and erodes value.”

Not all news or information passes the 'mass market' test of the journalist, but it might be perfect for an important and influential group of bloggers, or it could even reach your target audience directly. Social media opens up opportunities for a return to the fundamental objectives of public relations: Help people who actively care to find you and locate content of interest; provide users and enthusiasts with materials they need to help spread the word to others; tell the story in your own words; and to educate, inform, persuade. After all, isn’t that what public relations – New York PR and beyond – is all about? ]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/pr-new-york-agencies-lead-the-way-in-harnessing-new-media.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/pr-new-york-agencies-lead-the-way-in-harnessing-new-media.html Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:09:25 -0500
Social Media is just beginning to hit B2B PR and new ways to exploit its power and reach are becoming daily occurrences.

How did we get to this point?

First, the traditional media, particularly the print media, are becoming dinosaurs (and we all know what happened to them). Much of the print world has been re-born online. This presents quite a few new challenges for public relations New York firms and others as we rely heavily on the media to help communicate our clients’ messages and, as our world shrinks, we need to develop new ways of reaching our clients audiences.

Social media is being embraced by the PR New York scene and others because it facilitates the ultimate in targeted communications, particularly important for B2B clients. The online community really consists of bands of people with passionate interests – from personal finance to sports and everything in between. Chances are quite good that there is a target-rich environment online waiting to be tapped into.

Harnessing the social media for B2B communications is efficient – rather than go from cocktail party to cocktail party, you can reach the media and other influentials through Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and countless blogs.

Additionally, chances are that breaking news will hit online before it reaches the mainstream media. Monitoring breaking news will give you the opportunity to prepare to launch your clients’ expert commentators for interviews with the media.

The PR New York world has witnessed an explosion in the number of agencies devoted to digital communications. It has been our belief that social media is another weapon in the public relations arsenal. As a B2B specialist firm, we routinely incorporate a social media component in all of our clients’ programs. ]]> http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/public-relations-taking-lead-in-social-media.html http://www.inafind.com/business/pr/public-relations-taking-lead-in-social-media.html Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:37:47 -0500
He bases his point of view on a study, the 2009 Digital Readiness Report, conducted by iPressroom with support from the Public Relations Society of America, which found that public relations professionals are firmly in the lead when it comes to managing an organization’s use of social media communications channels.

What’s the driving force behind all of this? The numbers… Social media dominates the online space. According to Nielsen Online, social networks and blogs are the fourth most popular activity people engage in online – even beating personal e-mail. In terms of blogs alone, there are nearly 140 million, by some counts.

Of course, the Public Relations New York world and beyond has been all atwitter (pardon the intended pun) about the power of social media for quite some time now. While those Public Relations New York firms were fairly quick to embrace new technologies, the rest of the world has quickly caught up.

While the earliest uses of social media focused on consumer applications, we at Makovsky + Company, a leading Public Relations New York firm, we were quick to recognize the value of applying social media to campaigns on behalf of our B2B clients. Social media offers businesses a dedicated channel that can prove invaluable for sharing, refining, and evaluating messages and can be critically important in the event of a crisis.

Where does social media fit in the communications arsenal? Some claim it belongs in marketing while public relations New York firms (and others) claim that it is really just another medium, one that is as uncontrollable as traditional media, and, as such belongs in the PR basket. In his blog, Cherenson of the Public Relations Society of America, notes: There are a number of reasons why organizations are looking to public relations professionals to lead their social media efforts. Social media puts the consumer in control, and public relations professionals are accustomed to operating in an environment that cedes control to others. Too, public relations has always been about engaging with key audiences to establish mutually beneficial relationships. Plus, public relations is a two-way discipline; it disseminates information about an organization and brings back information for analysis and response. ]]>