Blog: Short for Web Log

Blog: Short for Web log

Courtney Knutson

The latest and greatest form of social media and one of the largest outlets used by all kinds of people are blogs. Not only are people using blogs to write about their personal experiences, but public relations professionals are using blogs to communicate with clients, stakeholders, other professionals, colleagues and future clients. As the newest trend, blogs are also most conveniently used to convey and expressing other fast growing, creative trends converging in public relations.
Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, professor at Purdue University and creator of People Research Connections (PR Connections), a blog about research in public relations and other topics, explains, “Blogs move the profession to…higher professional standards and help prove the value of the profession to clients and society,” Vorvoreanu says. “Through blogs, public relations practitioners can [educate] each other. They can create and share knowledge and best practices.”
According to PRSSA.org, there are over four million blogs on the internet today, with a new one being created every seven seconds. Not only do blogs help with networking and trading of ideas, blogs also help public relations professionals research about other topics and information. Also, because blogs are more popular and more widely read, they can sometimes substitute for traditional public relations practices, such as media pitches and news releases.
While blogging is an up and coming trend with professionals, so is the convergence of entertainment and publicity. This idea incorporates entertainment with the publicity or promotion of a organization or product. In an article in PublicRelationsIdeas.com, an example of this is how the Army provides viewers of their Web site with downloads of realistic war games that are created to give the audience an idea of what combat would be like. This trend is found commonly successful with a younger audience.
Some other common trends in public relations include Twitter, Facebook, online media rooms, and RSS feeds. Because public relations is modern and always leading in communication, there will continue to be new trends and ideas brought out in a variety of different forms.

Sources:

http://www.prssa.org/forum/article.aspx?issueId=151&id=525

http://www.feareygroup.com/our_news_trends.html

http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/pr_trends_000653.html

How to pitch to bloggers

How to pitch to bloggers
Carrie Musch

Blogs have created valuable opportunities for the public relations discipline. They allow PR professionals to communicate with target publics in a unique way. Professionals who participate in online conversations engage their publics and are in a better position to influence them.

So, how do you get bloggers to blog about your client? Follow these four rules and you’ll be a blog superstar.

Be blog worthy. Bloggers have little tolerance (even lower than journalists) because their thoughts aren’t edited. Attracting a blogger is easy if you’re behind a great company or product.

Know your blogger. Your pitch must be relevant to the blog, which means researching more than just the title of the blog. The best way to determine whether your pitch will be a good fit is to subscribe and get involved. This will also help you make connections before you need them. Ogilvy PR’s Web site has a collection of feeds from some of the most influential blogs out there. Linking IS the sincerest form of flattery.

Be persistent. E-mails are received and forgotten. Respectfully send follow-up e-mails to get a conversation going. Don’t be offended if a blogger isn’t receptive to your first pitch. Keep subscribing to their blog and you’re sure to be successful at another pitch.

Schwag is good. Schwag for bloggers is a great marketing investment. Bloggers don’t make a lot of money from their blogging efforts so gifts can go a long way. You can’t buy bloggers, but you can give them an excellent opportunity to post a photo with some honest commentary, which is why the first rule is so important.

Blogging as a PR Tool

Blogging as a PR Tool

By Sheila Frazier

This article discusses using blogging as a means to build a business. Blogging is a low-cost solution to public relations and marketing, but can it really work?

A recent American Express survey found that only 5% of businesses with fewer than 100 employees have blogs.

Blogging may not be for everyone. Aliza Risdahl, author of The Everything Blogging Book, said the best candidates for blogging are consultants, companies in a sector with a steep learning curve (like wine), or associated with particular lifestyles or social missions.

The main question you have to ask yourself before attempting this form of PR is if you will be able to update the blog regularly or not.

Blogging is a great way to get the word about something your company or organization is doing. It is very low-cost and extremely popular in this Internet age.

A possible drawback could be that anyone and everyone can blog, so if you do not get the word out about your blog, it could be drowned amongst all the other blogs you will be competing with. Today there are 8.5 million people blogging and a new blog is started every seven seconds.

Regardless of drawbacks, blogging still sounds like a good solution for the price. There is not much you can lose with this option. However, you really do have to do some research beforehand.

In order to make a successful blog, follow these steps:

1. Learn from others.
2. Read other company blogs.
3. Make it real.
4. Develop several blogging strategies.
5. Pitch blogs directly or set up a corporate blog.
6. Concentrate on a specific topic.
7. Read your blog before picthing it.

http://www.financialpost.com/small_business/story.html?id=315998
http://victorianewlands.typepad.com/is_blogging_a_pr_tool/
http://advertising.about.com/od/publicrelationsresources/a/prblogs.htm
http://www.salesvantage.com/article/view.php?w=242

Blogging Could Change the World

When I think about what is going on with public relations today, blogging is definitely at the top of the list. Blogging is a new medium being used that can be very influential to a company or individual’s credibility and/or public reach.
There are so many different kinds of blogs out there. If you do a simple search using the Google Search Engine, for “blogging” it returns 103,000,000 hits. This shows us that blogging has reached tremendous numbers in popularity. For any given subject you can almost guarantee that there is a blog out there about it.

“I think the best blogs cover the kinds of things that traditional media don't think are important enough to cover, or don't want to tie their names to,” Brian Lam, editor of Gawker blog said.

As a young female in today’s society I am interested in celebrities and all the gossip that comes with being a celebrity. About a year ago my roommate introduced me to a celebrity gossip blog called Perez Hilton: celebrity juice, not from concentrate. I was always buying the celebrity magazines such as People and Us Weekly, my roommate had already seen all the pictures and heard all the stories in these magazines. She had read them on perezhilton.com. I instantly became obsessed with his blog, checking it daily. My roommate and our obsession with celebrity gossip introduced me to the phenomenon that is blogging.

The author of perezhilton.com, Mario Lavandeira, was recently named number 5 in Detail magazine’s list of “50 Most Influential Men Under 45”. The magazine article points out that while perezhilton.com is bringing in 2.6 million viewers a week, Us Weekly only bring in 1.8 million readers. The article also mentions the influential power that Lavandeira has; stating that, “piano-pop singer Eric Hutchinson’s album jumped to No.5 on iTunes after 2 Perez mentions”.

Seeing the success of blogs all over the world including perezhilton.com. I think it would be incredibly beneficial for the U.S. Government to consider starting a blog. The blog would allow members of the House and Senate to voice their opinions on situations in the government. I truly believe that blogging done the right way could really change the way citizens of the United States feel about their government and the officials that run their country.