Must Read Books for PR Professionals!

Public Relations is a complex and tactical area of professionalism. Because of this countless books have been written on the subject of PR. These books are great resources for PR professionals that will give insight, advice, and strategies from high esteemed professionals. Here are some of the best PR books in my opinion that are must-reads for every PR professional!

1. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie is a classic read for PR professionals and has sold over 15million copies since first being published in 1937. It provides valuable tips on how to communicate and persuade others in a professional and personal setting. Carnegie also includes a lot of personal stories proving his principles, which make the book a more entertaining read. Not only is this book a classic, but it’s also a good read!

2. “Crystallizing Public Opinion” was written by Edward Bernays, the father of public relations. It explains the psychology behind public relations. In this book, Bernays shares how ideas are spread, why they are spread, and why ideas either thrive or die out. The most fascinating thing about this book is that Bernays was well ahead of his time and seemed to have predicted the future of PR. If you can look past Bernays arrogant tone throughout the book, it is a very interesting read!

3. “Spin: How to Turn the Power of the Press to Your Advantage” was written by Michael S. Sitrick, the founder of a major crisis PR firm. This book gives you an inside look into the world of crisis communications. It’s basically a crisis PR handbook! It’s an important read that will give you the tools to successfully prepare you to deal with any crisis that the PR world could possibly throw at you.

4. “Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building Your Company’s Most Valuable Asset” is written by Daniel Diermeier, a professor from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Diermeier covers the importance of reputation and how the digital age has made maintaining a good reputation harder than ever. It’s a captivating read that will open your eyes up to the importance of reputation.

5. “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World” by Michal Hyatt gives you a step-by-step guide to build your own presence in a cluttered world. Hyatt gives insight on how to make your brand stand out by telling you how to be different, relevant, and noticeable. He gives advice on how to do this on various platforms such as blogging, social media, media kits, and more! Definitely read give this book a read and check out Michael Hyatt’s renowned blog and podcasts too!

Do you have any favorite PR oriented books? Share with us in the comment section below!

Written by Emma Bevilacqua of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Social Media Advertising and its Positive Impact on Businesses and Users

Social media has taken the world by storm and has drastically changed the way businesses go about planning their advertising strategies. With each social media outlet, a door opens for businesses to directly communicate and advertise to social media users. Social media advertising on mobile phones is a relatively new trend for different businesses and came about right after the decline of the banner ad. We have closed our computers and have turned to our smartphones for social interaction and entertainment.

We live in a social world where apps on our smartphones are much more attractive and useful compared to websites. Instead of having banner ads track your movements across the web, businesses are advertising on social media outlets to find new clients based on the shared and personal information of users. Social media allows businesses to spot potential new customers by targeting individuals based on their self-reported interests, location, occupation, skills and more. However, social media advertising varies for each different platform. Let’s take a closer look at each platform and the advertising opportunities the outlet holds.

Facebook: Facebook allows businesses to perform keyword searches to examine the self-reported information provided by different users. Businesses can also create landing pages for advertisements, unique advertisements for each specific audience and calculate audience insights.

Instagram: With the option of a 30-second video or landscape picture, Instagram recently introduced their advertising option for businesses. Businesses can create sponsored advertisements in order to get in touch with Instagram users.

Twitter: Promotional tweets allow businesses to boost brand conversation while creating a lasting impression on followers. This type of tweet opens the doors of communication between the customer and business.

Snapchat: Similar to Twitter, Snapchat has recently started integrating sponsored advertisements into Snapchat stories. An advertisement within a story connects with users on a more intimate level and is a great way to reach both young and old audiences.

So, how is this impacting you, the user? Well, it’s working in the both user’s favor and the business’s favor. Social media advertising creates a two-way street where customers can provide feedback and businesses can tailor their messages to meet their customer’s needs. Advertising on social media is one of the easiest, cheapest and most effective ways for businesses to build and strengthen relationships with customers. By getting in touch with potential customers in a more personal way, relationships are being built on trust and credibility. Customers want to feel valued and businesses want to increase their profits. Advertising on social media provides this type of opportunity where both parties are receiving benefits and positive effects. This is the first time where both sides of the advertisement are reaping the benefits. As new social media outlets are developed, positive relationships between the user and business will continue to foster and grow.

Written by Alisa Frye from Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Lessons We Learned from the PR Side of Caitlyn Jenner’s Story

Will there ever be a Transformation Tuesday bigger than discussing Caitlyn Jenner’s reveal to the world? Last week, we were graced with the images of her debut in the form of a Vanity Fair cover shot.  Jenner’s photo shoot in Vanity Fair marks perhaps the most impactful representation of the transgender community in the mainstream media. 

The meaning and widespread impacts of Jenner’s transformation have been discussed seemingly nonstop over the past few months, and especially after last week.  But not as much light has been shed on the amount of public relations planning and knowledge it took to pull off Jenner’s reveal in expertly crafted manner.  Public relations specialist Howard Bragman stated that Caitlyn Jenner’s transition was played out “masterfully” in the press.  The topic of transitioning is especially difficult from a PR standpoint because of the sensitivity surrounding the matter. So what have we learned from analyzing Caitlyn’s media management?

Keep it Classy: What’s the secret behind making great PR moves when covering a heated topic such as transitioning? Bragman pointed out that a key move is to ensure that the topic is to “play it out well and tastefully and move the issue along in society”. Jenner’s cover shoot has no doubt done brought positive attention to the transgender community, and has done so by keeping the media campaign respectful and controlled. 

Share the Love: In terms of personal publicity, Caitlyn Jenner received overwhelmingly positive attention.  She gained over a million Twitter followers in mere hours, setting a Guinness World Record.  She received an outpouring of support from fans via social media, which does wonders to show the millions of people supportive of the transgender community.

Handle all Things with Grace: No matter how good a media campaign can be at handling sensitive topics, these topics will always be met with some form of backlash from those who do not support.  In Jenner’s case, social media also shed light on the beliefs of those insensitive to transgender topics.  Drake Bell tweeted “Sorry….still calling you Bruce”.  Comments like these can be extremely hurtful to whomever you’re representing, but follow in Jenner’s team’s footsteps and turn a blind eye.

Quality over Quantity: Jenner’s transition in the media definitely blows the door wide open to even more transgender topics being covered.  However, a great lesson to learn from her media campaign is simple: quality over quantity.  The Sawyer interview and Vanity Fair were two huge quality pieces of media coverage, so it’s safe to say Jenner does not need to go overboard on making many more media appearances about the transition.

The best part of analyzing Jenner’s PR strategy is to see how such a private issue was taken public, and in a respectful manner.  The transgender community is just one example of heated topics being covered in the media today. Are there any specific examples that you think the media or PR teams have done a good job of handling? Tell us in the comments below!

Written by Kara Ferrara of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

4 Tips For Building Your Own Personal Brand

If someone asked you to name a brand, your initial instinct would be to think of J. Crew or Pottery Barn.  However, this is a trick question.  One of the most important brands is your own.  Brands do not have to be limited to being commercial, but can be personal; they define who you are.

What is a personal brand?  Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com explains that it is “what people say about you when you leave the room.”  It’s how people recognize you as (kind, diligent, hardworking, etc.), and whether you know it or not, you’ve been building your personal brand for years now. 

From a PR standpoint, our job is to achieve or maintain a certain image for a client.  Developing your own brand is no different.  Today, a personal brand is essential to launching and furthering your career. 

Here are some basic tips to keep in mind when creating your brand: 

1.    Find your niche. What’s your specialty?  What do you have to offer?  By discovering what you’re interested in, it will add to your identity and allow people to see what you’re passionate about.  Think of terms that could describe you (are you organized, out-going, preppy?), they will help you define your brand.

2.    Determine your goals.  What do you want to gain from personal branding?  Be specific with ideas:  Obtain a job in the fashion industry?  Attract more clients?  Find your focus and stick with it.  Narrowing down what you want will create set priorities to focus on when figuring out and launching your brand. 

3.    Be online.  Let’s face it, if you’re not on either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, do you actually exist?  With billions of users using these accounts, it’s important to be on social media.  Having an online presence is essential to establishing your personal brand.  It’s how to market not only yourself but your business.     

4.    Be yourself.  It’s hard to fake a brand, especially if it’s your own.  Show your true colors and the right people will come to you.  Pretending to be something you’re not does not get you anywhere.    

Building a brand is a constantly evolving yet rewarding process. Whatever changes or challenges you may face, remember to stay true to who you are.  In the end, it will all be worth it and success will follow.

How would you describe your personal brand?  Tell us by commenting below! 

Written by Chloe Slavin of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Change. My Internship Reflection.

Change. The dictionary term for making the form different from what it is or what it would be if left alone. My version is a little bit different: inevitable, scary, and nerve-wracking are descriptions that I prefer to use. Graduating from John Carroll University was a change that I was not ready for. The real world, moving back home, and leaving my home for the past four years were all less than appealing.  

Summer came and went and this “big girl" job that was promised if I graduated college was still out of sight. In September, I finally landed a position as an intern at Rebecca Adele PR & Events and my hopes began to turn around. I was more than excited for this experience and to begin my journey towards the real world. 

I accepted this position eager to learn and gain knowledge and experience in the PR and Event Planning world. This internship has allowed me to do just that. I have written my first blog posts, my first press release and more social media plans than I ever would have imagined. In addition, working the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows were a learning experience into the long hours, excitement, critical planning and problem solving of event planning. 

I have accepted my first “big girl” job at Invent Now and my time at Rebecca Adele PR & Events is coming to an end. I am more than thankful for this opportunity and believe it has been a huge stepping-stone into my career. I am faced with another change but I guess that’s what life is all about. I am excited to begin this next journey and see where life takes me next! 

Written by Morgan Hartz of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Super Bowl XLIX – Touchdown for PR Beginners

The countdown is on. When you hear the words ‘Super Bowl’ typically two things come to mind - football, of course, being the first and running in close second, advertising.  It’s hard to forget the 2013 Blackout with Oreo’s famous “Dunk in the Dark” Campaign or last year’s Budweiser “Puppy Love” Commercial. The impact is priceless for these companies, but what about the PR underdogs? Rightfully so, a $4.5 million price tag on a 30 second spot is a wee bit out of budget for a lot of companies. Instead, Here are 3 Ways to Score Without Fumbling Your Wallet!

Super Bowl Parties

Make your restaurant the spot to be! Instead of viewers going to a family/friend party bring the party to your business. Create “invites” that excite the crowd with contests, food and drinks specials that they won’t want to miss.

Contests

Every sports team has super fans– over the top, face-painting, head-to-toe dressed, die-hard fans. Encourage your customers to do the same! The contest can be in person or a social media campaign. Have contestants come decked out or submit their pictures on social media. The best-dressed super fan receives a prize and who doesn’t love prizes…and maybe bragging rights, too?!

Nonprofit Support

Combine excitement with a helping hand. Offer pay-to-play for your contest or bets! Bets can be related to the game, commercials or score. Winner still receives a prize. Here’s the catch.. the money received goes to support any nonprofit of your choice. Encourage through flyers and social media and gain media attention for anyone that misses out on your event! 

What will this year’s unforgettable PR memory be?!

Written by Morgan Hartz of Rebecca Adele PR & Events