{In today’s guest post, Nashvillian Mary Beth Ikard offers up a friendly reminder about the advantages of being an approachable PR pro.}

Of all the characteristics you’d like included in your reputation as a PR practitioner: great writer, strong sense of news value, deadline-oriented – you wouldn’t want ‘unfriendly’ among them, right?

As spokesperson for myself and my organization, I want each person with whom I interact to walk away saying –to quote the Beach Boys– “I’m pickin’ up good vibrations.”

Obviously, being a “people person” doesn’t make you default-qualified to work in PR. But there’s great joy to be found in being open, in fostering an ability to relate to the publics you seek to address on behalf of your organization and cause. Read More…

Let’s cut to the chase here: public relations is not a 9-5 career. There are days you’ll arrive at the office at 7 a.m., not have time to eat lunch, and only leave your desk at 7 p.m. because you promised your spouse/child/roommate you’d be home for dinner. Before you go to bed, you’ll boot up and dig in to work once again.

You will be tired, up to your ears in email and tempted to dramatically relay your long, hard day to everyone you see. Don’t do it. Nobody likes the office martyr and you’re no different than every other one of your peers in a demanding communications position.

All PR pros will pull a late shift or five every now and then/weekly. The higher the profile your gig, the more hours you’ll be tethered to a phone, laptop and media source. Keep in mind that as a PR pro and communicator, this is what you signed up for–whether you’re the press secretary to the local non-profit or the President of the United States. Read More…

The good folks over at Green Buzz Agency gave me a chance to pen a guest post about the makings of an effective PR pro. The Green Buzz-ers are digital media strategists and fellow DC Flacks; thanks to the Internet, Tod and I have bonded over our passion for pixels (and basketball).

Here’s the original post as it appears on their blog; throw some feedback at me in the comments!

Three Signs You’ve Found an Excellent PR Firm or Consultant

Not all public relations practitioners (a.k.a. flacks) are created equal. I can say that because I am one. Day after day, I see folks out there giving my craft a bad name. Fortunately, there are many great PR pros who will ethically and strategically work to advance your goals. The good flacks serve as knowledgeable, curious and creative partners. Here are three signs you’ve found one: Read More…

This week, my new friend and long-time blogger Nisha asked met to rattle off a few PR blogs I read regularly.  I get this question pretty often, but it gives me pause because I don’t really read many straight-up PR blogs. My daily read list is actually a smorgasbord of tech, HR, social media, writing and future-of-journalism blogs — but I believe their collective offerings make me a better flack.

Here are the blogs consistently bring something fabulous to my itty bitty table:

Human resources and GenY in the workplace

• Lindsay Olson
• Penelope Trunk
• Brazen Careerist

Future of journalism-ish

• Clay Shirky
• Daring Fireball

Writing

• ProBlogger
• Copy Blogger
• Blogsessive

Geek trends and nerd news

• Lifehacker
• Mashable
• TechCrunch
• Chris Brogan (you know, this guy)
• Cult of Mac
• Chic Geek (my alter ego, of course)

Public Relations

• PR 2.o/Brian Solis
• Daily Axioms
• B.L. Ochman’s What’s Next Blog
• Bad Pitch Blog
• Communications Overtones
• Media Bistro

This chex-mix approach to web surfing keeps me out of the PR/ Social Media- bubble. That’s important because a sound public relations practice requires you to be well-read and well-rounded, so you have to expand your horizons a little. Your clients (rightfully) assume you are their go-to gal/guy about every kind of media and communication tactic – not just the ones you like. (i.e. there is a lot more to PR than Twitter; there is more to the Internet than social media).

So, I’ve shared my favorites. Check’em out, study up and please share your favorites in the comments!

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• More on the future of news from Clay Shirky (cnewmark.com)
• Repositioning Your Personal Brand in This Economy (lifehack.org)
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1. Why don???t people pick up after their dog???s poop? It’s not hard. You can even re-purpose your Kroger bags by doing it. So it’s good for the environment-ish. Whatever. If you don’t pick up your dog’s poop you are a crappy neighbor.

2. Why do morons egg people???s cars? See here. If I find out who you are I’m pressing charges, frat-tastic drunk dude. Just say’n.

3. Why do parents leave their babies in the car ???for a couple of minutes??? and why are they surprised when they come back four hours later and the police want to arrest them and their neighbors want to stone them? It’s not okay people. Not for 5 minutes, nor 30 minutes and CERTAINLY not while you make a little mall run.

4. Why does my dog Georgia think my husband Dave is a dog? So in love, those two.

5. What kind of PR person says out loud, in front of her client, ???Well, all media hates good news. They only want BAD news and you don???t have that???? This is really a topic worthy of it’s own blog post, but let me just say that if you are in public relations and you truly believe ALL MEDIA HATES good news you should find another day job. Just my two cents there.

6. Why do I  let others bad moods and outbursts get to me and completely ruin my day? I’ve really got to buck up and block it out. (sigh). Maybe I’ll add that to my New Year’s resolution list.

7. Why do I tilt my head to the right when I type? This one is just weird. I’m left-handed, so why do I always tilt my head to the right when I type. Maybe he’s correct!

Hat tip to the hubby for sharing this great post from The Wealthy Freelancer, which suggests a six-step strategy for dealing with the dreaded client-initiated we-need-to-talk-about-your-work conversation.

Obviously, the author is talking to freelancers here. But I find his advice very applicable in any client/vendor arrangement. He begins with the obvious and difficult directive of Don’t be defensive:

You want feedback, not combat. Listen carefully to the client and try to determine what went wrong. Be open to criticism, suggestions and new ideas. Don’t act angry or defensive, even if you disagree. Be the consummate professional.

That’s always easier said than done! Especially for us creative folk who are so passionate about our work product.

The other five steps are great, so check them out here, but for me it’s the author’s first step that’s key. Even the clients who sing your praises most are going give you negative feedback at some point.

The most effective professionals I know have mastered the skill of polishing their creative craft with client candor.

Treasure and carefully process your client’s feedback; your work will be better for it.

Related articles by Zemanta: Why Criticism Can Be Better Than Uncertainty

Over the holidays I read The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR, by Al and Laura Ries. I don’t recommend you buy it and read it; it’s a much better library check out and scan type book.

For one thing, it was published in 2002, which makes reading it’s tales of Segway, Pets.com and The Red Tent pretty boring and stale.

Also, it’s clear the authors are terribly sad to see the age of advertising slip away and do not see a value in PR. I’m not even sure why PR is in the title, honestly. Here’s a gem from Chapter 9, page 85. Emphasis mine:

Perception is the name of the game, and advertising is perceived as the only way to create a better perception. Not true, but that the perception.

And that better alternative is publicity or, as its practitioners like to call it, PR, or public relations.

Whatever you all the function (publicity, PR, or public relations), the objective is the same. Tell your story indirectly through third-party outlets, primarily the media.

There are many disadvantages to PR. You can’t control the content, you can’t control the timing, and you can’t control the visual appearance of your message. You can’t even be sure that any of your messages will be delivered.

But the one advantage of PR makes up for all of its disadvantages. PR has credibility, advertising does not.

Gosh, too bad PR only has ONE advantage. How the heck would ANYONE hope to build up sincere media relationships that will one day help get your message out? If only there was a person one could turn to for media strategy and message control! (sigh).

Clearly, I’m still processing the tone and take-away message of this book. It has been on my read list for a while, which is why I’m sort of bitter about how disappointing the read was.

What about you? Have you read it? What lessons did you learn?

More importantly: Do you agree that PR offers no message control and only boasts ONE advantage, credibility?

My brain is sort of fried from the five consecutive hours (yeah, yeah. “Get a life.” I hear ya.) I’ve just spent watching the interweb PR geeks rant about the baby-slinging Motrin debacle (bless their PR firm’s heart) in tandem with a two hour PRSarahEvans teleseminar.

I’m worn completely out. I’ve got so many social media buzz words and random thoughts racing through my head I can’t hardly type a coherent sentence. Forgive me.

I really did enjoy the teleseminar though. It was a little more of a mutual love fest between hosts and guests than I anticipated, but I can live with that.

Besides the Motrin chatter, I took in some good points from Peter Shankman and Jason Kintzler about social media for social media’s sake. I’ve been an advocate of their startups, HARO and PitchEngine for a while now and it was great hear the actual voices of folks I’ve only “heard” via Twitter until now.

It was also nice to learn more about Sarah Evans, no, not the singer, the flack. Smart gal and very sincere about her passion for digital PR. She’s got a great thing going and I’m exciting to see what else she shares with her network.

Even though I didn’t take away anything life changing, I’m still glad I gave up a few hours of my Sunday night for some quality PR geek time. The next call is slated for Wednesday, December 10, at 8 p.m. CST. You in?

Oh, how I long to attend BlogHer next year!

Why? Here’s why:

1. From everything I’ve read, BlogHer really is the best of both worlds: It’s fun and social (lotta parties) and offers up a great deal of tangible info about blog writing, marketing, upkeep and – more importantly – identity. That’s not only good for me and FlackRabbit here, it’s also great for my clients. I really do want to be knowledgeable about the blogosphere, not simply be obsessed with it.

2. I heart blogs.

3. I have ovaries.

4. I am still not completely over the fact that the Nashville BlogHer stop was canceled this year. I was so looking forward to dipping my toe in the local lady-blogger pool.

5. I’m obsessed with Dooce and would love nothing more than to keep watch in the hotel lobby in hopes of catching a glimpse of Heather walking by so I could Twitter my elation along with a picture of her from a distance and giggle uncontrollably for the next three hours.

Here’s a little more info from their announcement post:

Yes, BlogHer ‘09 will be at the The Chicago Sheraton and Towers from July 23-25, 2009. We will kick off on Thursday July 23rd with our 3rd annual BlogHer Business Conference, and will continue with the two-day 5th annual BlogHer Annual Conference on Friday and Saturday, July 24-25.

Are you going to BlogHer ‘09?

Apparently, I’m supposed to cringe at the word “flack” as used to describe PR professionals like me. But, um, instead I kinda named my website after the term. Sorry!

From the PR News blog:

Technically, most dictionaries will refer to flack as a press agent/spokesperson. But we all know it’s not the preferred name for a spokesperson, for a communicator, for a PR executive. Yet it’s used all the time.  Whether behind your back or to your face…

…it’s a sad story — or a sad state of affairs — any time bona fide PR professionals (and I am assuming the PR dept at AIG is legit) are referred to as “flacks.”

Okay, true. It’s not my preferred name, but the use of the term flack is not the least bit offensive to me. Furthermore, I’ve had many a journalist and PR pro ask me what the word means, as they have never before heard it used to describe a communicator or spokesperson.

Now, I do agree with the blogger on several points. The NY Post was being less than professional and showing complete bias by recently referring to a spokesperson as a “flak.” I would roll my eyes if I was quoted that way, especially if it was spelled incorrectly like that.

But the bottom line is this:

The NY Post’s printed flack attack only speaks to the complete lack of trust the reporter has in that spokesperson. This is not something that can be prevented by one good response to a question. A solid media/flack relationship develops over time and boils down to how much respect you’ve earned (and keep) as a PR professional.

It’s that deteriorated media relationship, not word choice, that is so troublesome.