{Today’s guest post is a fabulous product review by Dough-man, a friend of mine who loves geek speak and gadgetry as much as I do. As you may recall, for three years I wrote for Her Nashville magazine as the “Chic Geek.” On my Chic Geek blog, I wrote many a product review on everything from the original line of Droids, to netbooks, and even the ridiculous Blackberry Storm; a product I refuse to link to. Since I no longer write for that publication, you’re reading this review–and any future reviews–here!}

by Dough-man

I was a Droid early adopter back in 2009 … as a Verizon subscriber and Apple skeptic, the iPhone was tempting but not really an option and the opportunity to help kick the tires on a new mobile operating system was attractive.  Over twenty months, the phone became a prized possession and all-purpose tool, used for work and personal tasks alike.

Recently, however, I found myself bumping up against the limits of Verizon’s 3G. Files took longer to download and apps began to hang; some websites wouldn’t even load. I started to look for an opportunity to upgrade to 4G. Finally, I succumbed to the hype on various Android boards and used my upgrade credit on a new Droid Bionic.

Setup is a little odd; as someone who has never dealt with SIM cards it was disconcerting to snap the 4G brains out of a little plastic card and manually insert it into my phone.

I also had a little trouble activating the phone, but I chalk that up to an avalanche of upgraders like me and in any event I was up and running 3 hours after I took the phone out of the box and about an hour after the battery was fully charged.

First blush: the Bionic is markedly bigger and lighter than the Droid, big enough, in fact, that typing on the virtual keyboard (especially in landscape) is no problem even for my big, clumsy fingers. Read More…

{Today’s guest post is from my new friend, former newspaper guy and current communications pro, Mike Diegel. In this post, Mike offers up a fabulous addendum to one of my more popular posts, “Four Ways to Be Successful in PR.”  Numbers three and six are my favorites; share your preferences in the comments!}

When I read Margie’s advice about how to succeed in PR—good stuff, by the way—it reminded me of a profile Q&A I was asked to participate in nearly five years ago for the Potomac Flacks blog. In addition to the usual bio/how-did-you-get-started questions, I got one related to being successful.

I sent the post to Margie just for kicks, and she asked me to share my answers with you. So here goes, modified only slightly from the original.

What advice would you give to people wanting to advance in PR?

1. If you can’t cope with deadlines, please do everyone around you a favor and find another line of work.
2. Don’t stress out over today’s coverage. Learn from it. Tomorrow is another day, another story, another chance to tell yours.
3. Your integrity and credibility with reporters is all you have to sell. Protect it.
4. Tell the story, tell it straight and tell it better than anyone else. If you want guidance, read Aristotle’s Poetics and Rhetoric. Some things never change. Read More…

{Today’s guest post comes from Susan Hart, a Tennessee-based PR pro who pens one of my favorite current events blogs: EveryDayPR. I don’t write about current events here on FlackRabbit, nor comment on them in a public forum; but I love reading about them. Especially when folks’ views are relevant, quick reads that make me think. Susan’s blog fits that bill. In this post, she talks about what set her on the path to blogging and how she’s stayed true to herself along the way.}

My New Year’s resolutions for 2009 were to read the Bible and learn about social media, two completely unrelated goals or so I thought.  The two goals actually couldn’t have been more related.

So I became my own client. I immediately set up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, et al.  I also started my EveryDayPR blog to have a venue to express an experienced public relations take on industry topics or current events. I was confident that people were begging to know what I thought about things.

This brings me to the single most important lesson of blogging: Be yourself. If you can’t be you, then who are you going to be?

I never started EveryDayPR to grow Hart Public Relations. The reality was that I was opinionated, a decent writer and a thinker. In my experience, effective public relations leaders from the C-Suite to department heads want thinkers on their team. Thinkers equate to problem solvers. Problem solvers mean happy clients and employers. I am rewarded on a number of levels when happiness happens. Read More…

{Today’s guest submission comes from frequent FlackRabbit contributor and friend, Joe Flood. When it comes to hiring a public relations or marketing firm, how do you know you’re getting your money’s worth? It’s a question Joe poses and hopes you’ll answer! Do you tally sales, social media mentions, traditional media placement, happy executives? Do metrics differ between “marketing” and “PR” efforts? Share your thoughts in the comments!}

I recently attended a seminar on movie marketing. A pair of experts from Allied Integrated Marketing shared their experiences in promoting independent films such as Milk and Sin Nombre.

They used a variety of interesting tactics to get the word out about these important movies, including partnering with local nonprofits and having “tastemaker screenings” for influential people in the community.

But I had a more fundamental question. How do you measure the results?

After all, if you’re going to hire a public relations firm to promote your product, business or movie, how do you know that the expenditure is worthwhile?

In the case of movie marketing, there’s no direct way to track promotional efforts to ticket sales. You can’t connect PR to asses in seats. At least not in an objective way.

I think that’s part of the reason why the field can be so frustrating to clients. If I bought Google Ads, I could see how they’re performing and adjust my efforts accordingly. I could measure the clicks and the ticket sales. I’d know what ads and markets were working.

But how do you measure schmoozing tastemakers? It’s certainly worthwhile to appeal to the audiences who would be most interested in your film, especially for challenging films that are difficult for the general public to embrace. Read More…

{I can always depend on Joe Flood for informative, succinct guest posts. In his most recent FlackRabbit submission, Joe shares some marketing tips for all you creative, self-promoters out there.}

Last year, I published a book. Murder in Ocean Hall is a mystery set in DC about the death of the world’s most famous oceanographer.

Since then, I’ve experimented with social media to get the word out about my first novel. It’s been an interesting experience, one that has taught me a lot about product marketing in this consumer-driven age. Doing it yourself, without a staff or budget, helps you learn marketing tools in a very hands-on fashion.

Here’s what has worked for me:

Facebook – The most important audience for a new book is the author’s friends and family. Facebook is the ideal tool for reaching them. I promoted the book when it came out and at other key points spurring sales. My FB marketing has been simple – I’ve used my status update to tell people about my book.

Kindle – One surprise is that I’ve sold as many Kindle copies as print ones. The Kindle copy of my book is $2.99 (versus $9.99 for print) and people can buy it instantly. Also, Kindle owners seem to read more books than most people. Read More…

{Nashvillian, accredited PR pro and all-around rock star Mary Beth Ikard has received well-earned national props for her thoughtful and relevant management of the Nashville MPO Facebook page. In today’s guest post, she offers businesses, governments and non-profits five tips for managing–and engaging the public through–Facebook.}

I recently received some gratifying feedback from a national partner on the Facebook page I maintain as Flack for the Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).  Transparent stakeholder involvement is critical to our success, and social media is proving to be a straightforward way to connect with interested publics, near and far.  A few thoughts on my approach:

1.  Think broad.  Our in-house experts collaborate, and are affiliated with, entities with a national footprint.  Several speak at nationally-organized conferences and Webinars. Say a Floridian learns about our efforts at a conference, and seeks us out on Facebook.  Posting local is key, but I’ll be darned if that Floridian ever felt like Nashville’s page was a bunch of “inside baseball.”  In a global economy, why would we only seek to be relevant to our backyard when we’re Kind of a Big Deal?  It’s the Flack’s job to relate our good work to multiple audiences. I seek out and share content that’s germane to our major policy initiatives – still informing locals, but there’s some universality there as other U.S. metros move in a similar direction.

2.  Don’t bore me.  It’s social media: show some personality! Use conversational, unfussy, even humorous language. Brevity = eyeballs.  If I’m looking at your post from my smart phone, how likely am I to read a four-sentence intro to your link?  If your brief intro is compelling (PR pros should cultivate intuition on what is compelling), I’ll linger on your update in my News Feed, and perhaps click on the supporting link to learn more. Facebook is also NOT the forum to put bureaucracy on display.  If your posts are about upcoming public hearings, with nothing additional that’s quirky, newsy, or useful: “Unlike.” Read More…

{In this month’s guest post, Joe Flood seeks your opinion on non-profit, street solicited “guilt-payments.” Through a PR lens, I see street solicitation as a sure way to decrease the validity of your brand and strength of your reputation. What’s your take? Read Joe’s post and share your thoughts below!}

One of the annoyances of urban life is the proliferation of people asking for money. We’ve all seen them– homeless men parked outside of stores, cup of change jingling in one hand.

However, the streets of DC feature another group angling for cash. They’re well-scrubbed young folks and they cry, “Do you have a minute for the environment?” Or poverty. Or AIDS.

They position themselves on opposite ends of the block, so they can harangue pedestrians going by in both directions. Clipboards in hand, canned spiels at the ready, they’re from organizations like Greenpeace and the Save the Children.

But is this really a good way to market your organization? Greenpeace and Save the Children are large international organizations, with thousands of employees and budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Read More…