Hoosier PRSA Blog

Hoosier Presence at the 2008 PRSA International Conference

I am back in Indianapolis after a whirlwind of keynotes and workshops at the 2008 PRSA International Conference in Detroit.  While I'll admit I was disappointed in the low turnout among Hoosier chapter members given how close the conference was to us, I was thrilled to see the Hoosier presence we had, including the PRSSA members from several Indiana universities who attended the student conference. It was fun bumping into Hoosiers at the opening night reception, in the workshops and in the halls. I hope you consider attending next year's conference in San Diego. It will be further away, but warmer!

Several Hoosier chapter members deserve special recognition for their participation in this year's conference:

• Robert "Pritch" Pritchard, APR, Fellow PRSA -- Pritch was a presenter on Saturday at a pre-conference seminar titled "Learning to Teach: Make the Transition from Professional Practice to the Classroom," which was sponsored by the Educators Academy, of which he is immediate past chair. On Sunday, Pritch led a roundtable during the "Public Relations Research Showcase Presentations" -- Pritch and his Ball State University colleague Vincent Filak presented "Confronting Media Nihilism: How Transparency Builds Meaning During Crises." Then on Monday, Pritch served on a panel with fellow chapter members Fred Bagg, APR, Fellow PRSA, and Terri Johnson, APR, on "Making an Educated Decision to Become an Educator," sponsored by the Educators Academy.
• Erik Johnson, APR, Fellow PRSA -- Erik was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows at a black-tie dinner Saturday night.  Congratulations Erik!
• Fred Bagg, APR, Fellow PRSA -- Fred was a panelist at Sunday's "College of Fellows 101: Demystifying the Application" session. And as previously mentioned, he was a panelist in Monday's "Making an Educated Decision to Become an Educator" session.
• Terri Johnson, APR -- Terri was a panelist in Monday's "Making an Educated Decision to Become an Educator" sesion, sponsored by the Educators Academy, of which Terri is chair-elect.
• Bob Dittmer, APR -- Bob received the Lloyd B. Dennis Distinguished Leadership Award during the Public Affairs and Government section dinner Monday night.  Congratulations Bob!

If I've left out anyone, comment here!

Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR

President, Hoosier PRSA

What role should PRSA play in establishing practice standards?

I’m writing this column from Detroit, where I just attended the 2008 PRSA National Assembly. A portion of the assembly was dedicated to an interesting discussion about the society’s strategies for advancing the profession.

The fundamental question – what role should PRSA play in establishing practice standards for the public relations profession?

The question seems to stem from a call for PRSA public commentary, member sanctions and even expulsion for practitioners accused of practicing public relations in conflict with the PRSA Code of Ethics. Since 2004, PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS) has been issuing professional standards advisories to address issues of professional standards as they arise. Establishing practice standards may be another way to address this.

The assembly discussion included the potential of professional licensing or certification for the public relations profession. Space doesn’t allow for me to outline all the considerations and arguments for and against these concepts, but I encourage you to read a white paper on the topic here. (Note: you'll need your MemberNet login info.)

What are your thoughts on licensing or certification of public relations? What are the implications for the current accreditation? What do you think PRSA should do – if anything – to establish practice standards for our profession?

Sonja Popp-Stahly, APR
President, Hoosier PRSA

Day Two in the Big D

Today I attended a few sessions with tidbits I thought others might be interested in. In most cases, I haven't even had a chance to check out some of the sites listed below, but let's all learn together, right? If you are familiar with any of them, or have others you'd like to suggest, how about posting a comment and sharing with the rest of the class!

In my morning session entitled, "The Changed PR Landscape; What Works, What Doesn't," most of the conversation revolved around social media and its impact on public relations. The conversation reminded us that regardless the technology you employ, good public relations is built on awareness of your audience (and their needs) and your message. A few notes:

• Search engine optimization is often overlooked in public relations. Google is king. Get to know how to use it more to your advantage. And guess what? Having a blog helps drive SEO... don't believe me? Our blog launched just 15 days ago, and a Google search for "Hoosier PRSA" brings up this very blog as the fourth result. Numbers one and two were our chapter web site, and number three was the announcement of our blog on Rodger Johnson's... wait for it... BLOG.
• Considering issuing a press release but don't have to worry about the timing so tightly (so clearly not for material news)? The panel today suggests pitching several bloggers in advance... if they post stories on their blogs, it will increase your search results, and then when your press release goes to mainstream media, they will already find good info in the WWW when they research their stories.
• Don't let your organization be afraid of social networking because of the potential for a negative comment. People are saying it anyway, now you're just going to actually hear it.
• Some suggested reading: www.beingpeterkim.com, www.thenewpr.com, Groundswell, Do It Wrong Quickly, Naked Conversations, PR 2.0

The luncheon speaker was Penelope Trunk, blogger, columnist and author of a new book, Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success. Not much to say about Penelope... I can't decide if I liked her or not. She was funny, but she used the term "spin" about 200 times. Here's my career advice for her: know your audience, lady. I thought Sonja was going to tackle her from stage left.

The afternoon session I attended was a fascinating discussion about the U.S. National Incident Management System (NIMS). I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this before, and it's something it seems any public relations pro should at least be aware of and should be considered in your organization's crisis plan. Here's the session description: "NIMS was created in 2003 to provide a consistent "template" that allows for government, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents. Get an inside view of the Public Information construct under the NIMS system and its required application during all hazards. Learn how to navigate NIMS and set up and run a Joint Information System. This workshop is vital for anyone involved with crisis communications and large-scale events or fundraisers." Think hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks... or the state fair, Super Bowl, or 53,000 FFA kids descending on downtown. Now are you more interested? For free training on this from the government, go to FEMA's site. Note the specific training for communicators, too.

So that's it for today. Off to the Non-Profit/Association special section dinner tonight. I know what you're thinking: why is a member from the Health Academy going to the Association event? In my role at Lilly, I have many opportunties to work with associations and non-profits, so I'm eager to network with members of that special section tonight.

Until the next post,

Jamaison Schuler, APR

LIVE from PRSA Conference in Detroit

First, let me just say thanks to Ryan Puckett and Rodger Johnson for getting this blog launched... it's great we have this as a chapter, and it's awesome to get to share some PRSA conference experiences with others this way. Rock on, guys!

Yesterday, five Hoosier Chapter delegates represented our group at the annual PRSA Assembly meeting where we brainstormed the ideal PRSA organization -- this effort will roll up into a special task force that's helping draft new bylaws for approval in 2009. We also learned about PRSA's major areas of focus for 2009. Good stuff that I'm sure we'll have a chance to share soon.

Today, Sunday, was the opening day of the 2008 conference in Detroit, and it started with an amazing display of vocal talent from the Sacred Heart Choral Ensemble from right here in Detroit. WOW. I'm definitely going to be ordering their CD from the church office! (Why wasn't it offered for sale here? Missed opportunity, I believe!)

The opening keynote address was Craig Newmark, THE 'Craig' of Craigslist. What did he have to share with a PR group? Among other things, he told us that the site gets over 12 BILLION hits a month, with 30 million ads posted per month. And 99% of that is all a free service aside of some real estate listing fees they charge in NYC and other odds and ends. He believes that twittering, blogging, Facebook, etc. WILL be "a staple of future business" and PR. He also said, "the Internet is everyone's printing press." Amen, and thanks again Ryan and Rodger!

Two afternoon development sessions were offered today, but the workshop I chose spanned both the time blocks, so I can only report on one topic. I attended a "master class" series workshop called "The Era of Activist Communication; The Role of Digital and Influencer Marketing in Driving PR Programs in the Future." Led by Manning Selvage and Lee's global CEO Mark Hass, this session offered several interesting tidbits on how our world is changing and how we need to understand it as we develop PR strategies. Some noteworthy stats he shared:

• There are now more adults over 60 than kids under 4
• There are more health care employees than manufacturing workers (I can relate)
• California grows by 1,444 people per day (births or people moving there). 14 of them are white. 1,430 are non-white.
• Fifteen years ago, 79% of households were married. Today, that number is 51%.

Some trends that Mark sees as driving the explosion of social media (and consider yourself and your habits around these topics if you have a Facebook or Myspace page, for example): self-expression, social impact, personalization, ethical expectations, self-reliance, individuality, inventiveness, search for meaning.

My favorite line of the day came from Mark when he was talking about PR, social media, and navigating internal legal teams in order to implement: "Information that flows at kilobytes per second needs to be managed at kilobytes per second."

Checking your politics at the door, consider this: Mark used Obama's campaign as a master example of using social media to reach influencers. Some statistics:

A Google search for the following names yields these results (roughly, based on stats pulled a few days ago):

• Obama = 82,600,000 hits
• McCain = 63,000,000
• Bush = 42,000,000
• JFK = 14,000,000

Facebook friends:

• Obama = 2,155,244
• McCain = 578,651
• Bush = 0 (gotta have a Facebook page to have friends, dude!)

YouTube channel subscribers:

• Obama = 101,649
• McCain = 25,439

And JFK had 21,000 campaign contributors. Obama? 2.3 million. Now the interesting thing to watch will be what the campaign does with all of this momentum after Jan. 20 (assuming an Obama victory).

A lot more was discussed, and it appears Mark will be posting his slides here if you get a chance to check them out. Of course, a lot is missed by just reading the slides, which is why you should BE HERE.

Off to the evening reception with friends met last year, friends from our chapter, and "Making the Band" winners Day26. Never watched the show so I don't know the group, but I bet they're good! Glad there's plenty of fun and networking packed into these informative days!

Until next post,

Jamaison Schuler, APR

PS -- Read better reporting than mine by following the action at PRSA's blog, ComPRehension.

Society for New Communications Research Issues New Whitepaper, "Exploring the ROI of Online Press Releases"

Online communication is changing the news release, says a new Society for New Communications Research study. Public relations and marketing professionals alike are using social news releases to reach more people than every before. The report, "Exploring the ROI of Online Press Releases," cites the traditional news release, which was a channel for communicating with the media, now can be used to reach the public directly. 

The study found three important SMNR functions:

• The goals for online news releases have expanded beyond the traditional objectives of increasing an organization's visibility and credibility and announcing news, to include reaching customers directly with marketing and sales messages, creating online content, and search engine optimization (SEO).
• Reaching bloggers and new media outlets has become nearly as important as reaching traditional media.
• The top four measures of success for online press releases include: 1) the number of times the release is republished on websites; 2) the number of times the release is viewed online; 3) the publication of an article based on the release; 4) media interviews resulting from the release.

"With the advent of new online communication channels, the goals, target audiences, and overall scope of press releases have evolved, transforming the press release into a new communication tool used by PR and marketing alike," noted Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Ph.D. SNCR Fellow, who authored the whitepaper.

"This study has allowed us to examine the changing roles of PR and marketing in the context of how the press release is now being used. This is a vivid example of the converging and evolving nature of the communications profession as the result of new online media and communications channels," added Shel Holtz, SNCR Founding Fellow. 

The executive summary of the study is now a whitepaper. It's worth reading.

Public Relations Pros Urge Candidates to Subscribe to 'Clean and Fair' Campaign Communications

The following column was penned earlier this month for the IndyStar.com. Since that time, the economic crisis bill eventually passed. The Hoosier Chapter PRSA sent a similar call for ethical communications to Indiana's gubernatorial candidates but has received no response from either campaign. And the national campaign stylings haven't changed as evidenced by both candidates in last night's debate. I don't know about you, but I really appreciate the myth busting and fact checking by the news organizations the morning after.

Public Relations Pros Urge Candidates to Subscribe to 'Clean and Fair' Campaign Communications

For IndyStar.com

By Jamaison Schuler, APR

This morning I'm on a flight to Atlanta. On my way to the airport, I heard too many press, pundits and politicians using "Wall Street" and "Main Street" in the same sentence. I could go years without hearing that instantly clichéd combo used again.

The buzz is about Congress failing to pass the bill -- you know the one. The media coverage is riddled with soundbites of cheesy rhetoric. It seems every politician was more interested in making a statement about the economic crisis instead of solving it. And much of the criticism is zeroing in on a negative speech by House leadership meant solely for posturing, which purportedly damned the effort and caused the bill to lose 12 of the votes it needed to pass.

Reading my SkyMall catalog and trying not to think about my 401(k), I hear a guy behind me say that each member of Congress should be made homeless.

All the finger pointing, biting words and grandstanding with ridiculous speeches and TV-ready quotes is doing nothing in the way of actually communicating with the American public. It's political prose and it's plain bad.

Honesty. Highest standards of accuracy and truth. Cooperation. Avoiding deception. Correcting erroneous communications. We could use a dose of these in politics today.

The Public Relations Society of America's (PRSA) member code of ethics calls for, among other things, all of the qualities mentioned above, and members of the society must sign a pledge agreeing to practice public relations in line with these values. Last month, the organization asked the communications directors for our presidential candidates to do the same.

The tone of campaign advertising and back-and-forth promises for "change" haven't come across as truthful, causing both candidates to launch truth-telling efforts to debunk the myths and misspeak. PRSA sent letters to both campaigns asking each to sign a pledge that mirrors the same code of ethics by which its 32,000 members abide. Among other promises, the pledge asks the campaigns to commit to "responsible advocacy, accuracy, truth, responsible use of specialized knowledge and experience, objectivity, accountability, loyalty and fairness" and to “advance ethical communications practices and the free flow of accurate and truthful information ... adhering to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in communicating with the public."

Neither the Obama campaign nor the McCain campaign have signed the pledge.

But PRSA's "Clean and Fair Campaign" sends the message that public relations professionals value ethical communication practices and the American public deserves the utmost in ethical communications from our elected (or hopeful) leaders. The "Clean and Fair Campaign” Facebook page has more than 2,200 members, demonstrating the support for the initiative.

If you are interested in the effort, visit the Facebook page by searching for "Clean and Fair" or visit www.prsa.org. Whether or not you're in public relations, you are a member of the public and you are urged to join in supporting better campaigning. The more who voice support, the more pressure there is for the campaigns to sign the pledge. And that may result in change. Tangible change, not just the kind of change that's talked about.

November Luncheon to Feature Popular Meet the Media Format

Join Hoosier PRSA on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for our next Meet the Media session, as we take this popular PRSA program into our monthly luncheon format. All of the traditional media bases are covered—print, radio and TV.

Susan Guyett, the Indianapolis Star, will shed insight into her popular "Talk of Our Town" column. Terri Stacy, WIBC-FM morning show co-host, will talk about scoring live remotes, in-studio interviews and the station's news gathering process. To make it a true media trifecta, WTHR-TV's news reporter, Lynsay Clutter, will chat about the assignment desk at Channel 13 and what she's looking for in a good story.

These three influential members of our local media will give us valuable takeaways to help public relations pros practice sound media relations.  After the panel, there will be plenty of time to literally meet these media.

We are expecting this luncheon to SELL OUT, so reserve your seat today. See you Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 11:30 a.m. for networking followed by Meet the Media, luncheon style.

Five Social Media Resources for Any PR Practitioner

Social media is influencing relationship-building, both professional and personal. We are using it to nurture and grow those ties we make, in business and our own lives. And that’s important to know if you’re a college graduate, fresh on the heels of an internship, and new to the practice of public relations. Or, if you're a seasoned professional, it's vital to stay current. So navigating the social media landscape becomes essential as you study and watch the markets important to the business or client you serve.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 37 percent of bloggers cited their life and experiences as their primary topic, while politics and government came in second at 11 percent. And, “more than half of online video viewers (57%) share links to the video they find with others, and three in four (75%) say they receive links to watch video that others have sent to them.” There's much to say about these numbers if you think about the reach of social media and how to use it as part of an overall communications strategy.

Something to think about, isn’t it? Using both traditional and new media strategies are quickly becoming more important to any successful public relations practitioner. While this is by no means the “definitive” list of social media resources, it is a good beginner’s list. One we could all use and build on.

• The New PR Wiki is a repository of relevant information about how the PR practice is changing.
• Social Media Today is the premier communal blog on social media trends.
• Social Media Explorer is written by Jason Falls. He covers the social media landscape from a more journalistic POV. I’ve found this a excellent resource.
• Leveraging Social Media is a particularly interesting post and blog looking at the horizon of the social media landscape. Other great sources include Emerson Direct Marketing and ComScore.
• Now Is Gone, while the authors are no longer actively writing on those blog, Geoff Livingston et al left it as an island resource for passers-by navigating the social media high seas. It's a project that coincided with Livingston's book, Now Is Gone.

"The world of Socialized Media is maturing and along with it, our knowledge, expertise, reach, and personal and represented brands are only flourishing," Brian Solis wrote on his blog, PR 2.0 "It will continue as long as we realize that these new social tools and networks require an entirely new commitment and embodiment of what we personify and how we can be a genuine resource to the people who define the communities that are important to us." Solis, a Web 2.0 pioneer and one of the best social media trailblazers I've seen, is worth listening to.

But more important is the clients or business you represent. As social media permeates or lives and how we communicate -- how we do business -- understanding how SM tools work and developing strategy that uses both tradition and new methods will give you a edge on the marketplace.