Giving Thanks, PR style

Thanksgiving may be a day off work. But the spirit of the holiday provides a fantastic public relations opportunity to practice what Dr. Kelly emphasized by adding the letter S to the ROPES acronym. This practice, of course, is stewardship.

Before rushing home from your office to enjoy a long weekend of food and football, remember that giving thanks to your customers is one of the best ways to keep them coming back.

An article from an entrepreneurship Web site called Ten Ways to Thank Customers says, "The best promotional campaign is to send personal letters to your top 100 prospects... Send thank-you letters to your top 100 customers. If you're in a big business environment - send 1,000 thank-you letters."

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several marketing books and has been featured in has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week. She's written a helpful article highlighting 12 Ways to Thank Your Customers - Client Appreciation Strategies You Can Use Year-Round. Among Chandler's ideas are events, useful tips and Customer Appreciation Days.

Showing gratitude to customers is important. But don't forget about your employees, shareholders, suppliers and media contacts. Each of these audiences also works very hard to help your organization accomplish its objectives and deserves a little recognition.

This article from the National Federation of Independent Businesses gives ideas for Thanking Employees When You Can't Afford Bonuses.

No matter your budget or your number of customers, expressing your thanks is important.

So Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers!

Balancing Act: Where Books and Technology Find Common Ground

Recommended by John Paluszek, APR, Fellow PRSA at PRSSA National Conference 2009.

As a public relations professional, you have to be hungry for knowledge. Much like how reading the news is a daily-must, reading books from the professionals before you is also vital. Reading a public relations book can be a gateway to knowledge you would have otherwise never had access to.

Today, we have blogs, tweets, profiles and excerpts online, which generally give us so much information and opinion about public relations that we don't know what to do with it all-- that is if we do anything at all.

We're so inundated with information that we spend most of our time filtering what's actually valuable and very little time actually reading. Both sides of the online media/hard-copy book spectrum give us various types of information about public relations, but where is the balance between the two?

Finding the balance between books and technology is something we all need to get a handle on. Social media can be a great tool to lead us to relevant ideas by professionals we most admire because it provides a means of advertisement, which was once controlled primarily by publishers. Sites like Twitter provide accessible book tips and reviews from those who are in the same boat as us.

Sarah Essary (@ComsumingPR) is an example of this. She linked her blog post “The Essentials: References for a Young PR Pro” in a tweet. Sarah then listed the four books related to the skills needed in public relations that she is constantly using and referring to in her own career. Sarah even hints at how she balances the two worlds by meshing book reviews published via social media sites.

Hidden in those ancient books of yore, are insights to future technologies; oddly enough. "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR" expands on the growth of social media and changes of the profession over time, to the new tatical strategy and use. A careful library researcher has access to a plethora of knowledge not likely to be found in your run-of-the-mill textbook.

The AP Stylebook, an essential public relations tool, has even published their communications bible in radical new mediums including an iPhone app and an online version. You can literally take your AP Stylebook everywhere now-- which is what you've long been waiting for, I'm sure. To be fair though, the mobile application is really helpful when writing a press release while on the road. The AP Stylebook has even found its way to Twitter (@APStylebook) where someone will answer questions that may not be clarified in the book. This is just one of many examples in how technology is being balanced with tradition media.

Sometimes we have to put down our laptops and multitasking phones. Our generation and the PR profession have become wrapped up in a world of technological advances, applications and the growth of social media. It is fascinating how it has grown and how many have adapted to this new skill, but it’s also bittersweet. As you continue to focus on your professional development, do not neglect the wisdom captured in those ancient books of yore.

Sit down. Relax. Read.

Facebook Tips for the PR Intern

As a college student, you've probably been using Facebook for years. You understand how to upload pictures, create events and start groups. You're probably a "fan" of too many silly things that have shown up on your suggestions. Most importantly, you understand Facebook's potential for actively engaging publics.

Luckily for us, we grew up during the Information Age and understand all these social media platforms without much effort. That gives us an edge in the job market over a majority of experienced professionals. So, you have the basic skills, but in order to wield these skills as an asset in your internship or first job, you need to hone them a bit.

Understand the value of pages vs. groups:

• Pages send updates, groups send inbox messages
• Pages can have applications + Twitter connect
• People become "fans" of your pages rather than members of your group
• You can upload pictures and videos to pages, and only events to groups
• Pages are indexed in search engines
• Groups are valuable to clubs or common interest groups because they can be more private
• Pages are valuable to businesses because they show more content, which leads to more engagement from the audience
• Thus, a page will probably be more valuable to your client

Connecting Facebook to Twitter:

• Add the Twitter application
• Twitter will update its feed with each Facebook page update
• This way, you produce more Twitter and Facebook content simultaneously with no extra effort from you
• It's a simple procedure that will impress your client

Maintain your humanity through social media efforts:

• Although it seems paradoxical to seem human over the Internet, this is an important part of social media
• People need to feel like there's a real person with whom they are communicating
• User-generated (real people) material is your goal. Think of ways to create a discussion
• Upload content that represents the company culture. If it's an easy-going, fun culture, upload YouTube videos that your audience may not have seen. It will keep them coming back

Great Facebook page examples:

• UF Student Government
• Coca-Cola
• Barack Obama
• NPR
• Pizza Hut

Remember, engagement is key with social media. Constant, but quality, updates are a must. If your audience is bored, then you're not doing your job, and it's a waste of time. It may even make your client look bad.

If you want to learn more about social media, check out the ultimate social media guide Mashable. Also, YouTube has great tutorial videos that show you how to do anything on Facebook step-by-step. And when all else fails, Google it.