Unfortunately, in a world where even the local hot dog vendor is claiming leadership in his field and self-professed gurus are a dime a dozen, the word leadership has lost its meaning. It has, in fact, taken on the qualities of chewing gum – becoming common, pliable and quick to lose its flavor.

So how can you communicate your company’s leadership to the audiences who matter most to you? You can’t simply wedge the word leadership into your “About Us” language – you have to lead like you mean it. Here are a handful of key strategies to do just that:

Set a Course

You can’t be a leader if you don’t know where you want to go. It’s vital to establish a vision and make thoughtful choices that are consistent with that vision. Don’t get caught up in the crisis of the day or the trend of the week. Imagine your vision as due north on a compass. Keep the arrow pointed toward it and you’ll advance toward success; if you let your focus shift and spin to other directions, you’re stuck going nowhere.

Value Ideas

Sounds easy, right? Yet, throughout the business world, and particularly in the consulting sector, many still subscribe to the value system that says “time is money,” focusing on billing hours rather than advancing ideas. Some great ideas happen in an instant. Others are the result of significant time, energy and experimentation.  What’s clear is that great ideas are worth significantly more than the time it took to develop them, and the companies of the future are capitalizing on them – just ask Mark Zuckerberg.

Take Risks

Without challenging yourself and your organization, you’ll never know what you can achieve. Smart risk-taking is bold and intentional. It requires you to do your research, understand what’s at stake and what’s to be gained, and make a calculated decision to move forward. With an eye toward the vision you’ve established, focus on being right more than you are wrong and seizing opportunities to propel your company toward your vision of success.  

Expand Your Influence

Corporate leadership happens within the confines of your company’s walls, but it must extend beyond them, as well. Expand your influence by seeking opportunities to be involved as a leader within your industry and in the communities in which you operate. Whether you are launching a new corporate social responsibility initiative or serving on the board of a professional or trade association, your conscious choice to get involved and lead at a broader level will elevate your company’s profile and enable you to develop the relationships and trust that are essential to influence.    

Invest in the Future

Leadership is not just about what your stock prices look like today. Long-term growth relies on you investing in the future of your company. This may mean investing in advanced technology, piloting new internal initiatives or acquiring an entity with expertise and skills that can help advance your business. For us at Gibraltar Associates, it means investing in people and relationships. We do that by recruiting the best and the brightest, developing our team members and fostering a culture dedicated to comprehensive client service – all investments that continue to support our significant year over year growth.

These are strategies that work for us and for our clients. What works for you? How else do you lead like you mean it? Let us know in the comments.

It all started out with “S**t Girls Say - Episode 1”: pair a hilariously accurate parody (it’s funny because it’s true, right?) with some star power (Juliette Lewis) and – voila – a meme with a life of its own was born. Lines like, “Could you pass me that blanket?”, “What’s my password?” and “Twinsies!” led this three-episode video series to reach nearly 20 million collective views in just one month.

Then came…everyone else. “Stuff [insert gender, sexual orientation, race, occupation, etc., here] People Say” videos were popping up everywhere. After a barrage of posts, bloggers started to promise they would stop posting them – but then, oh one more! The videos were often clever, often funny and, most importantly, often shared. Nearly every relatively well-done “Stuff” video was able to capitalize on the already occurring YouTube searches and was shared across Facebook, Twitter, blogs and the like.

For example, a particularly GA-suited video, “Stuff PR People Say,” created by Hunter Public Relations (“Soooo I just made a few tweaks” – does that sound familiar?), had thousands of views within a couple hours. Hunter succeeded with this video (currently at more than 47,000 views) because they knew their audience, created the video before the meme died, and it was actually funny!

Other groups used the hilarious meme to gain awareness for more serious issues, however – and, quite successfully. Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest legal organization working for the civil rights of the LGBT community, produced “Sh**t Homophobic People Say.” The video spliced together public statements that showcase the talking points of their opposition, raising interest in their issue. In five days the video had received more than 1.1 million views.

So – if you’re going to capitalize on a meme, be early and be smart. Your goal is to become a member of the “How clever!” camp, rather than the “Aww, they tried” one.

I would like to welcome Ali McSherry, our newest addition to the Gibraltar team. I have no doubt that our clients and colleagues will benefit from her experience and way of thinking.

We greatly value the contributions each team member makes to the success of our client’s goals and to our firm. Everyone on our team consistently produces bold work that makes a difference and we all celebrate in that success.  We are tremendously proud. 

Well deserved congratulations all around,

Thomas J. Pernice, Chairman, GA

By Britt Beringer

I hopped on the Twitter bus about three years ago, mostly because a close friend was tweeting updates about his adventures as a professional cyclist. I just couldn’t get behind it at first. I don’t lead a rockstar lifestyle, so who was going to care about my college class woes or rants about Colonial Williamsburg tourists? I think I tweeted once in the year after I opened my account.

Then, I began to notice some interesting faces interacting online. All of a sudden I could “follow” the White House on Twitter or “friend” President Obama on Facebook. These were not the usual reality TV stars or one-hit wonders that generally plagued my social media experience. These were outlets from whom I actually wanted to hear and were forced to operate within a framework that is accessible. Twitter restricts users to 140 characters, thereby curtailing politicians’ innate need to ramble. Excessive text on a Facebook page looks cluttered and bookish, often warding off readers entirely.

In an age where people crave information instantaneously, politicians especially needed to find a medium to express themselves in a compact and accessible way. What’s more, voters can express themselves right back. By @tweeting someone, you can call their attention to comments or questions, which has been particularly successful in town-hall-style settings. Reporters or spokespeople can tweet updates, and then respond to questions they receive in return. In the meantime, bystanders can monitor the entire transaction, and in the process learn more about their favorite candidates or most-dreaded policy changes.

All in all, social media creates the modern day sound bite; a moment in time that can rally activists and move agendas forward.

By Chris Bowma n 

With the advent of social media, PR agencies have adjusted their strategies, tactics and outlooks to include and adapt to this new form of communication. Another technological shift deserving PR agencies’ attention is the rise of citizen journalism.

Citizen journalism is a recent phenomenon that enables Internet users to report and write their own stories on subjects they deem newsworthy. These stories can be posted or submitted to a variety of sites, including blogs, CNN’s iReport, Wikinews or Allvoices, and were instrumental in catapulting Al Jazeera to the forefront of coverage surrounding the Middle Eastern revolutions. Just as there is a range of websites accepting and promoting citizen journalism, there are varying policies from sites regarding filtering or censoring, posting and using others’ material.

Social media and citizen journalism often work in concert. Social media can amplify stories from citizen journalists through posting and tweeting stories that users find significant; or, people can post dramatic pictures from events and provide live coverage via instant updates through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Those chronicling events online take on the role of citizen journalists, providing snapshot updates. Many articles covering the democratic revolutions in the Middle East have highlighted the widespread use of social media to not only organize protestors but then to provide live, in-person coverage of events in real-time.

This raw, first-hand account of the news is certainly one benefit of citizen journalism. Many believe that first-hand reporting provides a more realistic account of what’s really happening, rather than an edited and processed retelling via a removed third-party newscaster or professional journalist.

Others stress its ability to stimulate and foster communities with common interests. Citizen journalism, many propose, also forces its contributors to think objectively and to place their event in greater context to interest readers. This expands their own vision of the topic they’re covering. It can also be used to highlight issues that may not be covered in the typical press.

Citizen journalism is not without critics, however. Though it often provides reliable accounts from those experiencing an event first-hand, it can also feature trivial or unreliable content. Because there is little (or no)editorial oversight, citizen journalists may mislead readers in their own work or may validate inaccurate or misreported information and news.

A recent event that revealed some of the holes in citizen journalism was the tweeting of a fake though official-looking sign that was seen in front of a McDonald’s. The sign explained to patrons that, due to a string of recent area robberies, an additional tax would be charged to this McDonald’s African American customers. The sign was exposed as a fraudulent hoax, and McDonald’s employed a variety of social media tools to prevent the fake sign from becoming a PR disaster. The sign received serious mainstream media coverage, but, fortunately for McDonald’s, it was acknowledged as the work of an independent actor, not as an official policy of the fast-food company.

The burgeoning area of citizen journalism and its interplay with social media has the potential to be a powerful tool for PR agencies and their clients. But, in the wrong hands, it has the ability to severely damage brands and reputations.

Veronica personifies the age-old saying “the best and brightest.” Gibraltar Associates is committed to recruiting and hiring top-notch PR pros, and Veronica is the perfect example. Let me tell you why I’m especially tickled.

Veronica was recently named as a finalist for the Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) 2011 Emerging Leaders Awards. The award highlights candidates’ achievements and their potential to contribute their leadership to the industry for many years to come. Winners of the 2011 Emerging Leaders Award will be announced July 26, and I can assure you that we will be there in full force to root her on.

Veronica is not just really great at her job, she lives an interesting life. She’s highly involved in the DC PR and social media scenes, captains an ultimate Frisbee team and serves as a mentor to sophomores at the Capital City Public Charter School. This California girl can also climb a rock wall… while blindfolded. She’s fearless. 

We are thrilled to be adding a team member of Veronica’s caliber, and we are excited to continue growing our team – and our business – in ways that foster excellence in our unconventional agency. Growth is expected. It’s how we grow that keeps it interesting. 

By John Edgington

Jim Lake, President and Partner at Gibraltar Associates, wasn’t born with a burning desire to become a PR executive. In fact, like many of us, he switched his major in college; after a brief stint with political science and business administration, he finally decided on economics.  Also, like many of us, he had a few jobs (political and governmental) before starting his career in public relations and public affairs. 

Instead of viewing his lack of attachment to one single industry as an impediment to future success, Lake decided instead to pursue opportunities where they presented themselves, letting each success build on the one before it. 

Lake found his way to public relations after working through both the Reagan and Bush I administrations at the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Although initially unsure if “this was what I wanted to do in the long-term,” he quickly realized that politics, government and public relations/affairs had a lot in common. 

“Politics and PR are very similar,” he said.  “Politics is selling a political idea or platform versus PR where you’re selling a product or service.” 

After a few years in the industry, Lake’s institutional knowledge of government lent itself more towards public affairs, something that still rings true today.  Although very similar to public relations, Lake is able to draw a simple distinction: “PR is selling products or ideas,” Lake explained,  “while public affairs revolves around issues management and issue advocacy, helping someone get their voice heard.”

This skill-set has also made the gap between government agencies and public affairs an easy one to bridge. For Lake, the relationship boils down to a few key factors: “It’s about information sharing,” he explained. “What are the benefits you have to provide, and how do we communicate that?”

Whether it’s through working with partner groups or accessing people directly, Lake said, “public education is what we do.”

For Lake, an effective public affairs practitioner doesn’t need a particular resume or specific background, but what they do need is a specific mindset. “It’s important to ask yourself and/or your client, what is success to you, what’s the end goal?” said Lake.  To be effective, one must be “aggressive, well-connected and have the ability to assess the problem at hand and offer a strategic plan for success.”

Getting smart on the issues is also key to being effective. “Decisions are built off research,” he explained. “What is the problem, what does success look like, and how do we get there?”

By Brittany Beringer

GA Vice President and Partner John Procter “stumbled into PR,” as he put it. After studying international relations at George Washington University, Procter planned on entering the Foreign Service. Instead, he took a job at a boutique firm in Alexandria. “It was a lot of fun and gave me the opportunity to work in communications and advocacy, as well as some international projects,” he said.

In 2004, Procter spent seven months in Baghdad working in media relations for the Department of Defense. “At the time, Iraq was the biggest story in the world,” he recalled, which allowed for the chance to interact with the top journalists in the world. Procter completed his tour and returned to Washington, where he finished the year at the Pentagon. “But I missed being in the thick of it,” Procter admitted. “You learn and experience different things on the ground than you do from the outside.”

Procter started at Gibraltar Associates in 2007, just a few weeks after the company opened its doors. Then, he was named a partner in April 2011. He works on several accounts, specifically those pertaining to media relations, corporate public affairs and issue advocacy.

Having done work in over 20 countries on five continents, Procter’s extensive experience with public relations on an international level is substantial. “A client’s greatest challenge might be tied to market access or an international regulatory issue,” Procter said. “Our job is to help them navigate and evolve.” As economies around the world transition from more restrictive markets towards economic growth and liberalization (or, conversely, regress to a more controlled situation), successful PR firms will learn how to help their clients find a secure and relevant place in this process.

“It is crucial for [a firm] to know and understand the market they need to influence,” Procter remarked. “Every international audience is a little different, every market is unique.” In order to thrive, PR professionals must identify which platforms, and which publications, see widespread circulation, but more importantly, which voices and publications can be trusted.”

Procter feels that experience and innovation allow GA to work well with international clients. According to Procter, social media is less influential in other countries than in the United States. He points out that Brazil, as well as many countries in Asia (Japan, Korea and China) have their own versions of Facebook. “Both Facebook and Twitter seem to be a Western phenomenon,” he noted. Research seems to support his claim, as over 50 percent of tweets are in English.

“The most important thing,” Procter recommended, “is to identify how your audience is communicating. How are they complaining? How do they interact?”

The United States is in the fortunate position of a more mature public relations and communication environment. This, in turn, allows globally minded American firms to propose unique approaches that seem unusual and attractive to foreign clients. “We work to maintain momentum because that’s what keeps the attention of the media,” said Procter. “It has to be interesting, provocative and moving.”

It is a fact of life, and it is as true for the perception of your business as it is for anything. No matter how immune from criticism we may hope our business may be, a crisis or even a simple allegation can emerge at any time. And, in the era of social media and 24-hour news networks, the damage can spread like wildfire if you're not ready to douse the flames.

Even better than dousing, though, is being able to implement a strategy that prevents these flames from erupting in the first place; after all, the best crisis management plans are those that prevent the crisis from happening to begin with. Historically, many crises of corporate reputation could have been avoided, or at least greatly mitigated, by a strong crisis management plan. But putting together a strategy only after the crisis strikes is always too late to prevent damage and often fatal to a company’s brand. Only if the plan is in place beforehand will a company be positioned to issue a fast and effective response.

In an article I wrote with attorney Bill Ide of McKenna Long and Aldridge, “Crisis Management: A Critical Tool for Public Trust,” we argue that every company can and must take a holistic approach to their crisis planning. It is important to include not only your senior management and legal teams, but your communications professionals. Individuals from these disparate schools of thought will bring a wide range of perspectives to the table, and your plan should include input from all of these parties.

Your response to these unexpected circumstances is in your hands, and will dictate how your business weathers the storm. I would encourage you to take a few minutes and read the full article to learn more. Until then, hope for sunshine and prepare for lightning.

One of the first things that stood out for me at SLS11 was the smart incorporation of social media throughout the conference – tweet walls with dedicated hashtags, Twitter handles on the name tags and QR codes to bring up the event schedule. A QR Code, which stands for Quick Response, is essentially a two-dimensional barcode. It contains black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background that can be read by a reader or scanner, nowadays found in many smart phone apps (Red Laser is a popular one). The code usually brings up a webpage, though sometimes it may offer a free ringtone or exclusive coupon. QR codes got their start in Japan in 1994, but have only recently gained popularity in the U.S. Their adoption has been so quick, however, that their use increased by 1,200 percent from July to December of 2010.

QR codes have been used in various ways and their potential uses will only expand. They instantly connect real-world objects to online content, which is fitting for today's I-need-it-now world. We’ve seen them plastering Times Square to bring up info on city agencies, in art installations promoting Dos Equis and in Dole recipe promotions at the supermarket. Participants at SLS11 noted that we will soon see QR codes on business cards and résumés as an immediate way to learn more about a person or an example of his or her work.

QR-startup JumpScan has a very cool infographic you can check out to learn more about how QR codes are currently being used. They report that 57 percent of Twitter and Facebook users have scanned a QR code once in past year, and 40 percent have scanned five times or more in past year. Of these, it seems that Apple users lead the pack, with 68 percent of total QR scans.

So next time you see that funny-looking square in an advertisement or a magazine, pull up an app, give it a scan and see where it takes you!

I am pleased to share that the PR industry has also recognized GA’s success in realizing our vision in this year’s firm rankings. GA was just ranked 76th on O'Dwyer's 2011 list of independent PR firms. We were also ranked 32nd in the healthcare space, 34th in the professional services space and was listed as one of the top 50 firms in the technology space.

These numbers give the GA team a new benchmark to exceed over the coming year as we continue to add to our team and client roster and deliver quantifiable results for our clients.

This acquisition supports our growth strategy for 2011 and follows our announcement last week that Kelley McCormick, formerly a partner at Qorvis Communications, joined our team as COO and partner. It’s just this sort of strategic vision that has propelled us in three short years to become one of the leading independently-held communications agencies in the country. Our ability to support our existing clients and win new ones is underscored nicely by these sorts of hires and acquisitions.

Our relationship is not a new one -- Terry, Dan and I go back many years when we all worked together at Cohn & Wolfe. During our tenure, we made D.C. the No. 1-producing office in the network at the time. Our shared vision of gold-standard client service was evident then, and continues to drive our efforts today as we find ourselves back under the same roof.

Kelley is going to be a great fit for us in many ways. First and foremost, she puts her clients first. Kelley also has a creative and passionate approach to PR. She is also a lovely person and someone who fits in well among the great group of people we have assembled here at GA.

Kelley has won many awards for her work, has handled big clients and worked at big agencies. For me, as when Jim Lake joined us over two years ago, her hire represents a true milestone for GA; we have been able to expand our business and our reputation accordingly. I believe having stars like Jim and Kelley in the business as partners will help us to attract other, fantastic individuals. This is a people business. Good people always means happy clients.

I believe this validates many of the points we’ve made previously on this blog about the power of social media and why we, as PR practitioners, should be embracing this change and integrating it into our communications plans for our clients on a consistent basis. The marriage of social and traditional media is a winning match in today’s public relations arena.

Let’s take a look at the chart below from the white paper.

80% of respondents see social media as being more important in 2011 than in 2010. But, seeing it as being more important and then acting on that importance is where we sometimes see the disconnect. It’s not enough to simply say that a company needs a strong social media presence, or haphazardly set up a Twitter or Facebook account. Instead, it's important to actually follow through on the commitment to support it. Supplying the necessary content that is informative, engaging, relevant and sometimes edgy to any of these new channels is what really makes for a successful social media effort.

So, with 2011 right around the corner, we are all peering into the PR crystal ball. We must look to develop strategic integrated communications offerings that support our companies and our clients. It's no longer enough to look at social media as a "nice" tool to have, but rather as a "must-have" in order to achieve a winning strategy.

If it doesn't pass that test, then chances are slim. Yet, creating that pass-along-worthy video is easier said than done. Some plans that seem too far-fetched turn out to be a hit. Ideas that are sure to be a success can flop on film. But ultimately, the YouTube audience will determine a video's viral fate.

One of the most recent viral videos that caught my eye is "Android, WinPho7, iPhone4... What Grills Faster?" The video, created by EZ Grill, depicts exactly what it sounds like: torching three smartphones on a disposable grill and flipping the phones with tongs when one hits the "well-done" mark. (It showcases how easy the product is to use while simultaneously crushing the dreams of anyone who has been saving up for a new iPhone 4.)

I came across the video in a Mashable article a few days ago, and at that time it had maybe 200,000 views. I watched and thought it was clever, but at 200,000 – as high as that number seems – its viewership stats didn't particularly jump out at me. It just didn’t scream “viral.” I then checked back this weekend, however, and saw the video had achieved more than 1.2 million views. (That's more like it!)

The EZ Grill video immediately reminded me of the "Will it blend?" YouTube sensation. To demonstrate the power of the Blendtec blender, everything from an iPad to a Rubik's Cube to pickled pig’s feet had been thrown into the Blendtec and "exterminated" on camera. The pervasive I-can't-believe-they-did-that effect of these videos has rocketed Blendtec's YouTube clips to more than 143 million total views and counting.

I'm not entirely sure how I would have reacted if someone came to the EZ Grill marketing brainstorm and said, "We're going to roast $1,879 worth of smartphones and put it on YouTube." But more than 1 million views later we know it was crazy enough to work.

As reported by Mashable, a recent study by social media management company Vitrue investigated when Facebook users are most active. The study was conducted using post data from August 10, 2007, to October 10, 2010, using more than 1,500 company/brand Facebook streams. In total, the content included more than 1.64 million posts and 7.56 million comments. Shares and “likes” were not included in the study, though I’d be really interested to see if the advent of “likes” has influenced commenting.

I think some of the most interesting findings are:

Usage Spikes

• The biggest spike occurs at 3:00 p.m. ET on weekdays, with 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. peaks close behind.

Most Popular Weekdays

• Although all weekdays see heavy usage, Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. ET is consistently the highest peak.
• People are less active on Sunday compared to other days of the week.

Best Time for Engagement

• Most posts and comments appear around 3:00 p.m. ET, yet posts published earlier in the day, before noon, tend to perform better than afternoon posts. In fact, Vitrue’s data indicates that morning brand posts are 39.7% more effective in terms of user engagement than those published in the afternoon.

What’s the Take-Away?

• Brands on Facebook should send out posts in the morning. This will ensure that when the peak audience is visiting Facebook at 3 p.m. there is fodder for comments and discussion. We also know that morning posts see more engagement.
• If you don’t have enough content to post each day, or multiple times per day, push content to the beginning of the week in preparation for the Wednesday peak.
• Activity drops heavily on weekends so don’t feel pressured to push out content seven days a week.

A brand’s goal on Facebook is to encourage interaction and engagement, therefore increasing its reach and publicity across the network. Seeing “Joe Smith commented on Dole’s link” on my News Feed could prompt me to click on Dole’s page and take action – “like” the company, write on the wall, visit its website or even go out to purchase its product. That kind of awareness and attention is exactly what companies and brands are looking for in social networking.

Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare comprise the top three, each offering live, portable tools to share information among connected users and friends. There’s no denying the interest in knowing what your circle of friends is doing – and where they’re doing it.

With trust in traditional media outlets at an all-time low, Americans look to their own networks for recommendations, opinions and perspectives when making decisions. And, with new smart-phones to broadcast and consume those perspectives in real-time, that trend will only continue to grow, thus putting old-school media out of business – or at least out to pasture.

While the findings themselves aren’t too surprising, and have apparently remained consistent over the past several years, one thing does stand out: the fact that a majority of Americans recognizes what they perceive to be bias must mean they are getting their news from a variety of sources, have their own opinion of the issues, and are seemingly well-informed. Isn’t this a good thing?

The reality is that if news sounded like a research report, we probably wouldn’t read it. The news industry is a business whose goal is to be your trusted resource -- while also increasing their bottom line. Traditional newscasts, such as the "Nightly News" and "Evening News" have to compete with cable broadcasts which tend to be viewed as entertainment in a 24-hour news cycle. As fair and balanced as a news reporter is, they still want to get your attention and get you to read their story or listen to their report, and not their competitors'. It’s not the news media’s job to tell you what you want to hear, it is up to Americans to get our news from a variety of sources, learn about issues, and ultimately make our own decisions about issues that are important to us.

In our industry, we develop messages and launch programs from the perspective of our clients.  We want to entice media to cover our stories, we want them to be interested in what we have to say, and we want to stand out and bring our clients’ issues to the forefront. 

To the media: As long as you are honest and genuine when reporting the news, I don’t mind a little bias or personal perspective.  To the general public: Continue to challenge the media. Speak your mind. And do your research.

In the current digital climate, a clear answer is through the blogosphere. There are currently 11.5 million moms writing, reading or commenting on blogs. Therefore, securing client placement, sponsorships and giveaways in popular mom blogs can reach a large, targeted audience through channels they’ve come to know and respect.

But then comes the next step – how do you get a mommy blogger to write about your client?

Last week I had the pleasure of listening in on Bulldog Reporter’s Pitching Mommy Bloggers audio conference. I haven’t had much experience with this genre of bloggers and was excited to gain insight on how to reach this growing group – straight from the moms themselves. The participants were:

• Stephanie Azzarone, President, Child's Play Communications; Blogger, "MomMarketTrends.com"
• Renee Ross, Publisher, "Cutie Booty Cakes"
• Liz Gumbinner, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, "Cool Mom Picks" and "Cool Mom Tech"
• Christine Young, Blogger, "From Dates to Diapers;" Ambassador, Backyard Discovery; Contributer, WalMart Moms

Here are some of my favorite highlights and tips:

Pitch Personalization

• Make your pitch specific to the blog at hand! Take the time to read the blog and determine if it is really the right place for your pitch. Bloggers are not paid for their time, so don’t waste it on a useless pitch that doesn’t resonate with their audience.
• Don’t say “your readers will find this new air freshener very interesting” when the blog only focuses on children’s toys. If you think your pitch is similar to something the blogger has written about before, show them – reference an old blog entry to show that you’ve read up and actually think that they would be interested in your pitch.

Pitching

• Bloggers would rather ask for multimedia than be given it right away.
• Make it easy to access materials. Don’t create barriers access, such as using FTP, password protected site, unusual format, etc.
• Don’t pitch on Twitter, but do use it as a place to establish relationships.
• Maintain relationships, reach out with an email not only when you have a pitch.

Lists

• Blasting through a bought or Cision-culled list doesn’t work. Do your research in building lists and take time to weed through the bloggers and determine who is suited for your pitch.
• Be wary when using “top Mommy bloggers” lists, such as Babble or Nielsen. Everyone has access to that same list and is pitching them daily, so getting the current top-dogs to write about your client is a highly competitive process. Instead, look for up-and-coming mom bloggers through blog rolls, social media and personal recommendations.

As we’ve reflected countless times, an integrated communications strategy that leverages both traditional and new-media tactics is a winning combination.  And, with the slow spiral into extinction of the traditional newspaper and traditional print advertising, the online environment continues to grow in importance for any strategic communications plan.  I was particularly amazed at the growth in “search” advertising revenue numbers, which grew 47 percent over 2009 (see chart below from IAB.net ).  When “driving eyes to your site” is your ultimate goal, search engine optimization through paid online advertising is clearly one of the tools you need to have in your arsenal.

Advertising Formats: Search and Display-related ads continue to be leading formats.

($ millions if not indicated)

Having served on “both sides” of the equation -- as a corporate communications officer for two Fortune 500 companies and as a board member hiring PR firms -- and now as a founder of a leading PR firm, I feel uniquely qualified to answer. 

In short, it is recognizing the nexus of communications and the bottom-line profits of a company and being able to capitalize upon it.  More often than not, the two are not viewed by the C-Suite as commonly aligned goals. The complete integration of a company’s strategies for public affairs, marketing, IR, CSR, philanthropy , CEO reputation, etc., is core to realizing the full value of a public relations department.  At this balance point, the full levers of influence at the disposal of a CEO can be manipulated in unison to have an impact on the bottom-line revenues and profits of a company. Like an orchestra, each of these departments is a member, each with its own sheet of music, but all playing the same song. 

So often a client’s company is fragmented in its communications functions; each department independently creating and playing its own song unaware of the full score of music, if you will.

Our vision at Gibraltar was to bring that orchestra together with one masterful conductor so that all departments are adding their own talent, but all while providing superior, integrated communications. This, at the end of the day, will strengthen the company brand, its reputation in the marketplace and ultimately the company's bottom line.

While it can be an uphill slog getting a company and its CEO to understand this vision and hear the music, when they do, it is always a hit!

Fast forward to today and that is no longer the case. 

In fact, Chile and the Chilean miner rescue is all many are talking about. Not just in the news media, but across all platforms of social media. Just in the last 15 minutes, #Chile has been tweeted more than 300 times. What’s fascinating about the coverage isn’t just the miraculous story of these courageous men who really are the epitome of humanity in the way they’ve carried themselves throughout the entire ordeal, but also how the Chilean government used technology to transmit this event to the world.

Using new media tools, they not only have been able to keep the families of these miners abreast of the rescue efforts, but they were just as transparent about their efforts to the entire world by transmitting video of the miners from more than 2,000 feet underground.  For the last few weeks, the world could see exactly the conditions where these men are trapped, how they were spending their days, and more importantly, watch them cheer on their soccer team as they tried to maintain some sense of normalcy in their absolutely unthinkable situation. Isn’t that amazing?

I read a tweet from someone last night who asked, "Why do I feel like I’m watching the first man walk on the moon?" I think it’s because we were watching news as it happened, there was no bias, there were no opposing opinions, and everyone came together last night and through this morning to watch real life happen. There was no editing, no smoke and mirrors, just the media covering the news. 

In PR we always talk about the importance of being authentic and transparent in dealing with our clients, and we try to teach our clients the importance of being genuine, particularly when speaking to the media. I can’t think of a better example of authenticity than the coverage of the miner rescue. I commend the media for covering it in the way they did, and hope the positive reaction and high ratings they see as a result of their coverage will encourage more of this unscripted, authentic and raw take in their reporting of events in the future.

All together now: CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE-VIVA-CHILE!!!

As a media relations lead, I cringe when I hear people say they should pitch their hearts out and call and follow-up with everyone on the media database until someone agrees to write a story. These are precisely the kind of tactics that a) get your emails sent to spam, b) get your calls ignored when they see your company name come up AGAIN on their caller ID and c) make people in our profession, particularly those starting out, dread media pitching.

This charter brings media relations “back to basics” and serves as a reminder to those making pitch calls that respect, research and professionalism are arguably the most important  elements to conducting effective media (and here’s the key word) RELATIONS.

While the entire two-page charter should be posted at your office, below are the basics for pitching media:

• Following a communications plan will help you avoid spamming journalists unnecessarily or accidentally and will provide evidence that they have conducted thorough and relevant research.

• When preparing a pitch, you should invest time in researching the editorial scope and interests of a journalist or blogger before approaching them, to ensure their area of responsibility is relevant to the pitch.

• Make it easy for the journalist. Be aware of the deadlines reporters are working under, the time zones they're working in and the press days for print publications. Consider these before, during and after contact.

• You should be aware that journalists or bloggers may block individuals or companies if they believe they are being sent emails and other content they perceive as irrelevant to their work. Occasionally, some may publish your name specifically if they think you're distributing spam.

• Definitely avoid hounding people you're pitching for constant information or feedback.

Does this mean that it's merely a slop of extra content, dished out to airlines for consumption by us captive, transcontinental fliers? Funnier still is that even with my laptop, iPad and iPhone, and all of the diversionary pleasure that they offer, here I am staring at this silly film.

It’s the pictures. Watching is less work than reading, but more active than listening.

The communications trends in the past few years are all biased towards this "watching" phenomenon. Let’s just peg the beginning at Sony Walkmans, move through to the invention of the iPod and ubiquitousness of the cell phone. These were all tools for the ear. As technology improved, ear-based technology began to morph into devices that appealed to the eye. The iPod became the iPod Touch became the iPad. Flatscreens are now uncool, with their hip, 3-D cousins taking center-stage. It would seem that this new era is entirely about eye candy -- what is seen versus what is said.

Which brings me to PR. Where does messaging fit into this paradigm if imagery means more to us? I have said many times that the press release is an anachronism. The words just go into a maelstrom of everyone else words and – voom! – disappear. How then shall we do PR?

The real question is how then will we be doing PR years from now? Here are some prediction for the future:

1. Newspapers, in their decline, become aggregators of content, not creators of content.
2. Content becomes highly specialized, fragmented by audiences leaving a few kingpins to drive the topics and messages. Think Perez Hilton ten years from now.
3. Entertainment becomes the medium. Companies (through their PR firms) use stories and narrative to deliver messages, kind of like advertisements or script integration.
4. Consumer engagement becomes the true social media, and social media is simply a bridge to engage the consumer. Twitter is a mere tool, one of dozens of similar services.
5. The communications shop at Fortune 50 companies are build to develop and deliver content, not to screen and respond to press calls.

How do I know this? Well, I was in the trenches of financial reporting back at the start of the decade. All of us, hunched at our monitors, monitoring trends and charts and terms we really did not understand, would much have preferred to hit the streets to cover a protest or interview a visiting dignitary. But those assignments were reserved for our office colleagues, the famously underpaid reporters at the Associated Press.

Back then (1999), I found myself straight out of liberal arts college with a degree in English literature, dissecting stock prices and surveying analysts minutes before the market would open each morning in Madrid. At first I did this for Dow Jones Newswires and then for Reuters. I took the first job because I wanted to get into journalism. I took the Reuters gig because they offered to let me cover “real news” in addition to my telecom beat.

I recall a particularly envy-filled moment while at Dow Jones. It was right after President Bush had been elected, and he was making Spain a new focal point in the U.S.’ relations with Europe. This made Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar a “newsmaker,” and he began granting interviews to the foreign press. The AP was given an hour.

Normally, the dress code in the bureau was casual, but on the day of the interview, Daniel Wools (who is still stationed in Madrid) came in wearing a tweed suit. The semi-retired bureau chief (who sent me to his American-trained doctor when the Spanish-trained ones could not cure my bronchitis a month before) even came out of hibernation for the occasion and off they went. We watched them leave, alone with our private jealousy as if they were our older teenage brothers headed for the movies on a school night.

This is my version of an MRI on the psyche of financial press. They are all like this, in one way or another. There are some companies that want the stock coverage and there are others who crave the newsier profile-type story. Let’s call it the Pinocchio effect: little wooden writers who long to become real reporters.

It was a combination birthday celebration and book signing with Arianna Huffington who wrote the New York Times bestseller Third World America.  

The book is about the nation’s unemployment issue, the bank industry meltdown and some common-sense solutions to help folks earn jobs using social networking. Arianna has been on a book media tour this week on Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and the cable talk shows. Some will love the book and others perhaps see it as a bit sanctimonious. Gibraltar Associates also interviewed the founder of Huffington Post for a video blog last week in New York.

The real theme though for me though was the constant  and careful dance of “journos and politicos” in Washington. Attending were FOX News' Greta Van Susteren, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Hilary Rosen, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, local reporters Rebecca Cooper and Pamela Brown on WJLA-ABC news, Politico’s Jim VandeHei and a host of other columnists. (By the way, Pam is the daughter of former Kentucky Governor John Brown and former Miss America Phyllis George!)

In any case, one would call this group collectively “the gaggle” of political reporters.

From government, leaders, including Rep. Dennis Kucinich, appeared for a short drive-by. It’s all about access, and reporters mingling in a more social setting with those they cover. Seem kind of cozy? The stage was lit with a large banner promoting the White House Correspondent’s dinner party – the ultimate schmooze event – and even a publication called White House Correspondent’s Insider.  

As public affairs professionals, we try to provide access to political Washington and to reporters in traditional and new media. It is the currency of Washington. However, beyond the speech-ifying and public networking, we realize that people are human and really prefer to talk about their kids, college tuitions, current events beyond the Beltway, and even weather -- which is, after all, critical to a garden party.

It used to be that mere reporters bore the brunt of a brutal regime’s crackdown on press freedom. But bloggers are press now. And the jailing of bloggers is not a new phenomenon: in 2008 the Malaysian government arrested a prominent editor of a well-known blog under similar circumstances.

Social media can be a force for good in helping to push for human rights and democracy. But the troubling trend is that its practitioners are increasingly landing in cells, while the despots who jail them co-opt the mediums that they abhor. Consider that Hugo Chavez maintains a popular Twitter feed and Iran's President Ahmadinejad himself has a blog.

These are just new vessels in their propaganda war against the rest of the world.
 

Launched during the Bush Administration to “start a dialogue with the public” and give readers “a chance to be active participants” in discussing world events, Foggy Bottom’s foray into online media has evolved significantly over the past three years. An Obama Administration facelift and content-sharing expansion into YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites have kept the site surprisingly fresh and approachable for a government-run blog. It’s an excellent window into how our diplomats and foreign policy leaders conduct their work – from the UNGA to glimpses of life abroad.

But DipNote has had its share of criticisms over the past 36 months. The blog was widely criticized for keeping mum on last summer’s Iranian election protests (a statement from Secretary Clinton was issued to mark this summer’s one-year anniversary) and endured eye-strained frustration with the blog’s initial white-text-on-black design. And the blog has some serious competition. Foreign Policy’s formidable blog line-up (including the Passport, the Cable and others) keeps the international relations community informed while the UK’s Foreign Office blogs seem to share more in-the-trenches flavor.

Competition and design aside, what’s important is that State is actively and effectively participating in a very active online conversation. Digital diplomacy is driving official and informal conversations around the world. They’re an important part of that debate -- and the same is true in corporate communications.  Ideas evolve and spread at the speed of light. Waiting for a dialogue to jump to the traditional media just won’t cut it anymore. You’re 10 steps behind with potentially millions of people already exposed to a point of view you may not like.

Creating fresh, compelling content – and sharing those blogs, video and images online – is what a good brand ambassador has to do in order to communicate effectively.  Your website is your embassy; while your YouTube channel, Twitter and Flickr feeds are your diplomats, spreading your message each and every day.

I was lucky to work with Alec on the Obama campaign as he coordinated technology policy platforms and crafted tech positioning. Later, Alec worked on the transition team shouting from the cubes at Chicago’s HQ that social media would not just drive fundraising but also drive voter information and citizen awareness.

"Ideas are as powerful as weapons," he said. It's a Stalin quote. Of course, "keep the trains running on time" is another line attributed to Stalin -- and we hope the MARC train stays on schedule so Alec can get to work at Foggy Bottom.

Here are some of  his ideas shared at the recent meeting of the Emerging Media Research Council hosted by Doug Bailey (founder, former publisher of Hotline political news):

- "Go into your social media outreach programs as clear-eyed as possible" (not "utopian")

- "Optimize for global norms to build an audience" and realize the commonality that "humans matter" (also try to get local validation) 

- "The social media space has broken news, and mainstream media caught on later" (compelled MTV to get involved in Haiti)

- Haiti relief set-up by the State Department in just 24 hours on Twitter. "Pushed messages" to 35 million people who then retweeted it. "We staggered the request for Haiti support to sustain it!"    

That is how a $30 million fundraiser worked largely on Twitter.

Now, one can argue what “real” despair was actually created for all these people and the level at which it really affected their lives. But, what you can’t argue with is the universal reach of the medium.  “Global” was used in so many stories I read it really drove home the reach of Facebook and the importance it plays in so many lives.  And, of the first two alternative forms of communications to voice discontent, neither was a print publication or a telephone (land line or cell).

So, if you’re wondering whether or not the “rage” of social media is here to stay, just take note of the “outrage” that was created by not having this ever so popular channel readily available.