I have always had a love for PR – that’s what I wanted to be what I grew up, that’s what I went to school for, and that’s what I’m doing now.
I graduated nearly 7 years ago and oh my- how times have changed. Almost everything I was taught in school is different. Or is it?
During my education, we had to spend a semester working for the college newspaper. I hated it. I wasn’t good at it, and I hated my beat. My beat was for a small town that never had anything going on besides rodeos and it was about 30 minutes away. For me to go there all the time and juggle school was a nightmare. If I were able to go back and do it over, I would have looked at things differently knowing what I do now. There is always news. You just have to find it and spin it correctly.
As PR this is our ultimate job. We find the various news stories that are going on for in the company, and pitch and make contacts, and pitch again. We also listen to the stories that others are creating for you {what they are saying about you- true or not}, and making sure we respond to these stories in the appropriate manner. That being said, there is a lot more listening that is going on in PR than there was 7 years ago. So many more avenues and spaces in which things can be said. To be a proactive listener, I think it takes proactive PR. Be involved in the various communities (facebook, twitter, blogs, etc) so you can respond quickly to what’s being said.
Blogging has opened a lot of doors for companies as being a bloggers best friend can go a long way. We know word of mouth advertising is the best {or worst, if negative}. Follow bloggers who like your company, and see if you can work with them. Approaching bloggers is just like approaching your beat reporter- treat them with respect, and know them. What do they blog about and what do they like?
The difficulty of PR 2.o is that it takes a lot more work than it used to. There is more personalized pitching occurring, and a lot more listening. If done correctly though, it is a huge weapon in your toolbox that can spring you to the top.
