Category Archives: Public Relations

Presidential public relations pitfalls

Search engine optimization and public relations go hand in hand –just like peanut butter and jelly. While it’s possible to have one without the other, to maximize their effectiveness, you need to employ both tactics.

political pitfalls 235x300 Presidential public relations pitfallsOnline PR is an excellent tool for creating content that creates natural, organic backlinks by utilizing keywords and links within press releases. It can also improve your reputation by creating positive content that pushes negative reviews down in the search engines.

However, PR isn’t just for businesses.  Individuals, such as celebrities and politicians, take advantage of public relations all the time.  Nevertheless, there are many traps you can fall into if you don’t know what you’re doing, and the results of these pitfalls can be disastrous.

The current presidential race has presented several examples of public relations faux pas that could have been avoided.   Here are just a few:

Herman Cain Denies Sexual Allegations

Background:  Over the past few months, several women have come forward alleging that Herman Cain sexually harassed them.   Another woman came forward claiming that she engaged in a long-term affair with the presidential hopeful.  Cain denied all of these allegations, claiming he had never even met some of the women.

The Pitfall:  Using the “deny, deny, deny” technique (also known as the “Liar Liar Pants on Fire” technique).

What he should have done: The absolute worst thing you can do during a crisis situation is tell a lie—especially when you are in the public eye.  Someone, somewhere, will eventually catch you, and then your credibility will plummet even further.  Cain should have taken control of the story by confirming what events had taken place, and making a public apology if necessary.  You would think that Cain would have learned from the Bill Clinton scandal and the Anthony Weiner controversy and would have realized that lies come back to haunt you. But I suppose everybody thinks they are the exception to the rule.  Hint:  You’re not.  Better to play it safe than sorry.

Michele Bachmann Loses New Hampshire Campaign Staff

 Background: Back in October, Michele Bachmann’s entire New Hampshire campaign staff resigned, citing frustration with the campaign.  When Bachmann was interviewed about the incident, she responded that she was not aware that anybody had resigned.  In the weeks following the incident, the New Hampshire campaign staff started giving additional details about their sudden resignation.  They stated that they were frustrated because. Bachmann’s national staff had essentially ignored the New Hampshire team, and had not paid them their wages in more than a month.

The Pitfall:  Ignorance.

What She Should Have Done: Ignorance was shown both in Bachmann’s lack of knowledge about her New Hampshire team quitting, and in neglecting them to the point that they resigned.  It’s important to always know what is going on in your organization—from knowing that your employees are frustrated, to knowing that they no longer work for you.

Disgruntled employees can be the biggest threat to any organization because they know the dirt, and can easily take to the media to spill it.  I know there’s a saying out there that “any publicity is good publicity,” but this is not the case.  Practicing internal PR is a must in order to manage your organization effectively.

Rick Perry’s Debate Blunders

Background: Rick Perry has been infamous this campaign season for his terrible debating skills.  At one point in October, the Texas governor made a comment that he didn’t want to participate in the debates anymore.  He later changed his mind after he was criticized (and I’m sure after his campaign staff told him the move would be political suicide), but his debating skills have not improved.   Since his statement, Perry has been known as the “forgetful” politician—forgetting which government agencies he would eliminate if he were elected president, forgetting the nation’s legal voting age, forgetting how many Supreme Court justices there are and forgetting the name of a Supreme Court justice he was criticizing.

On a search engine optimization related note, Perry currently holds the title for the most hated video on YouTube, which is reportedly the world’s second-largest search engine.    The video currently has more than 660,000 dislikes, stealing the title from Rebecca Black’s “Friday” video.

The Pitfall:  Being unprepared.

What He Should Have Done:  Practice speaking in front of a mirror, and bring note cards to debates and interviews.  Just do anything but wing it.  It is essential to be prepared in PR; not doing so can hurt your reputation as an expert and bring about unwanted publicity.

Jon Huntsman “Sells Out” on Global Warming

Background:  In August, Jon Huntsman tweeted, “To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming.” However, just a few weeks ago at the Heritage Foundation, Huntsman seemed to back off that statement by implying that science might not have all the answers.

The Pitfall:  Not sticking to your guns.

What He Should Have Done:  Jon Huntsman should have either a) never tweeted his position on global warming or b) made his statement at the Heritage Foundation to be in line with the tweet.  A social media marketing strategy could have done wonders in this situation.  You can’t have it both ways to please everyone.  If you try, you just end up disappointing everybody.

Newt Gingrich Thinks Poor Kids Should Clean Dirty Toilets

Background:  On more than one occasion, Newt Gingrich has stated that he would do away with child labor laws in order to allow “poor kids” to work as janitors and earn money for their families.  He also stated that he believes schools should get rid of their janitorial staff and hire the students to clean the schools.  Gingrich claims that this would teach children a good work ethic and give students a sense of pride in their schools.  Gingrich has since backed off from his comments.

The Pitfall:  Offending your publics.

What He Should Have Done:  Gingrich should have done some quick research on his publics to find out if they agreed with eliminating child labor laws.  By making such a bold, unpopular statement, Gingrich offended many voters, which could jeopardize his presidential bid.

 

Rick Santorum Feels the Wrath of the Bloggers

Background: Almost 10 years ago, Rick Santorum made some disparaging remarks about the gay community.  One blogger, Dan Savage, was angered by the remarks and held a contest on his blog to redefine the meaning of the word “Santorum.”  The new definition was meant to be shocking and offensive.   Savage then encouraged his followers to link to the definition.  The campaign was so successful, that it outranks the senators own website and Wikipedia page.  Savage recently threatened to redefine the word “Rick” if the senator does not play nice.  Last year, Santorum approached Google asking them to remove the website from its rankings, but Google decided to take a transparent approach.

The Pitfall:  Offending the wrong people

What He Should Have Done:  So, as mentioned before, it’s impossible to please everybody.  However, Santorum has done little to fix his Google problem.  Santorum should have employed a few search engine optimization tactics to outrank the website and nip the problem in the butt.

Mitt Romney Flip-Flops

Background:  Over the past few years, Mitt Romney has been famous for taking a stance on an issue one day, and then changing that stance, causing him to be labeled a “flip-flopper.”  There is even an entire website dedicated to keeping track of all the flip-flops that Mitt Romney has made.

The Pitfall: Trying to please everybody.

What He Should Have Done: The fact of the matter is, you’re not going to please everybody, and you shouldn’t try. Mitt Romney needs to concentrate on pleasing his publics.  Utilizing online public relations would also be a good idea to offset the flip-flop website.

Obama’s Online Store Took All My Money

 Background:  Barack Obama hasn’t really ramped up his campaign yet, but I wanted to keep this blog post as unbiased as possible.  So this anecdote is a personal one.  Recently, I was trying to purchase two coffee mugs for some Obama fans on my Christmas list.  I put my credit card info in, and a dialogue box popped up saying “I’m sorry, your payment did not go through, please try again.”  I then proceeded to “try again” 42 times before eventually giving up.  A few days later I received a bank statement in the mail saying I had been charged overdraft fees.  After a tearful call to the bank, I was told that while I was never officially charged for my purchase, I had $40.00 withheld 42 times on my bank account.  Long story short, those coffee mugs cost me a lot more than $40.

The Pitfall:  Detail disorientation.

What He Should Have Done: OK, so I doubt the president himself is the code monkey for his own website, as I’m sure he has more pressing issues to worry about (like war and the economy and stuff).  However, his campaign team needs to become more detail oriented – especially if they are promoting said coffee mug over the social media channels every day.   Mistakes can hurt a company’s reputation and cost a lot of money, and a political campaign is no different.

Candidates RSVP “No” to Trump Debate

Background: Donald Trump announced that he would be hosting a Republican debate on Dec. 27.  Trump also announced that he would officially endorse one of the candidates for president following the debate.

All but two (Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum) of the Republican candidates have said that they would not attend the debate because they were afraid that Trump would find a way to turn the event into an episode of “The Apprentice.” Critics say that this is not becoming of the presidency.    Trump was eventually forced to cancel the debate.

The Pitfall:  None.

What They Should Have Done.   This is one move political candidates have done right.  It shows the American people that they take the campaign very seriously and do not wish to see the campaign turn into a reality TV show for sheer entertainment.

Whether you’re a business looking to improve your image, or an individual looking for advice on how to manage your reputation, public relations can do wonders.  If you’re seeking more common public relations pitfalls and how to avoid them, check out this PRMarketing.com e-book.

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Presidential public relations pitfalls

The Do’s and Don’ts of Blog Pitching

pitching grips The Do’s and Don’ts of Blog PitchingHere at Abraham Harrison, we understand exactly what the challenges are in making an effective pitch to bloggers. Blog pitching is an art. It needs to be handled carefully and strategically from start to finish. In a world where the blogosphere is continually growing with its online influence, it is essential to know the ins and outs of the art of the pitch.

Chris Abraham, President and COO of Abraham Harrison, is a leading public relations professional who shares his expertise and tips on both how and how NOT to pitch a blogger. Knowing what to do right and what mistakes to avoid altogether will make a pitch twice as effective.

Do’s:

  • Role-Play. This is one of the main things to keep in mind. Put yourself in the shoes of the receiving end, the blogger. If you stick with this mindset, you’ll go far. As Chris says, “It all starts with the right attitude — putting the blogger first is the secret of how to pitch a blogger.” 
  • Network. PR is not only about establishing mutual relationships, but it’s also about maintaining those relationships with trust and credibility. It’s the basics in the PR field, so reach out to those you already know first. The people in your network are there for a reason. Keep them on the top of your list, and then think about reaching out to others.
  • Be timely. “Time is of the essence.” This is certainly true and crucial to you and/or your company’s success. The golden rule here is to never keep your blogger hanging. Give yourself a 24-hour grace period to reply. Yes, e-mails do have an expiration date when you’re pitching a message. Albeit, be patient, kind, charming and courteous.
  • Be authentic. If you’re representing a business, don’t sound like an automated machine. You are, in fact, your own self with your own individuality and own personal voice. Don’t be afraid and let that be known. Be friendly, genuine and real. My rule of thumb: Stay professional, yet personable.

These are some of the main points that Chris touched on how to successfully pitch to a blogger, but do you know what NOT to do? We’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly, so now we’d like to share what we’ve learned throughout our years of experience in the digital world of PR. Click here for tips on how NOT to pitch a blogger.  

Qwikster: Netflix's biggest mistake

Note to all marketers- never launch a product in the tenth paragraph of an apology for miscellaneous poor communication.

qwikster 300x278 Qwikster: Netflix's biggest mistakeThis advice goes out in particular to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who dropped the Qwikster bomb late Sunday. Qwikster is the new name for Netflix’s DVD-by-mail-service and man oh man was there an immediate negative response.

Almost 10,000 comments had been left on Hasting’s blog entry by noon today. One former Coca-Cola employee compared the launch to that of New Coke in 1985.

“Hubris has brought down many a company,” she added. “You are going to lose thousands more members, including myself.” Me too, ma’am, me too.

It’s no surprise that Netflix aims to migrate away from the original DVD model. Its goal is internet streaming, something Hastings has pioneered for years, even bringing formerly impossible rival Blockbuster down. However there’s successful marketing (clear, concise, accessible, entertaining) and then there’s the method where you lose a bunch of your customers by being inanely confusing.

Mashable found several reasons why Quikster may be the worst idea ever. The largest? The name. No, it’s still not cool to misspell words.  Several rappers should probably be informed of this. I can already see the surge of Google searches for Quickster and Qwickster. Another is its lack of necessity. Add a new product and keep it under the Netflix name. Loyalty will remain if a successful product remains under an already successful entity.

The one really comical aspect of this? Whoever is in charge of Qwikster’s social media. Unfortunately the Twitter handle is already registered…to a rather foul mouthed marijuana enthusiast. Mr. Hastings…back to the drawing board with you!

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Social Media’s Unstoppable Power Lies in its Collective Influence

While the Economist is calling what I do “my spiel,”

bernays 1 Social Medias Unstoppable Power Lies in its Collective InfluenceHere’s their spiel: the mainstream media—the traditional gatekeepers of news and the bane of the PR man’s life—are becoming less important. So is the worth of the advertising slots they sell, and therefore so are the sort of paid-for, hard-sell campaigns that the ad men and marketers deal in. Meanwhile social networking, with its cacophony of bloggers, Facebookers and tweeters, is becoming more influential. It is also confusing and hard to control. The public is becoming deafened and confused by a barrage of contradictory messages. Bernays’s maxim about the public needing trusted “influencers” to tell them what to buy and think is therefore becoming truer than ever.

Let me explain: my agency is not banking on a shift of power from mainstream media to bloggers and social media.  I have little or no interest in any particular blogger’s or tweeter’s personal influence, though my strategies are not typical. I am interested in all of their voices equally.  There is power in numbers.  I am egalitarian and am not interested in becoming a King-maker online.

In fact, we embrace the chaos!  Nobody in my agency feels like we’re the boss of anybody online. We also understand how scared mainstream media like The Economist are — they don’t really like the shift of control, can’t handle the fact that you really should not — cannot — herd cats.  We have just mastered the art of making a can-opener sound loud and compelling enough to attract kitties from all over the neighborhood!

Abraham Harrison is banking on the disruption of the mainstream online, though not only online. Both worlds bleed together through the mediasphere.  We’re banking on the dilution of the power once held by a handful of journalists, reporters, and anchormen.  At least I see that there is a new and fecund seedbed that is so very fertile and so powerful that even mainstream media tends to follow the lead.

WikiLeaks Social Medias Unstoppable Power Lies in its Collective InfluenceMainstream media is picking stars from YouTube and they’re picking more and more stories right out of the trending topics on Twitter.  We’re not banking that the social-mediasphere or the blogosphere will usurp the New York Times or the Economist, we’re banking — and experiencing — the WikiLeaks effect.

What is the WikiLeaks effect?  Well, we’re watching the irrational exuberance of newspaper publishers in one giant feeding frenzy over Julian Assange‘s leaked content on his terms.  Influencing hundreds or thousands or millions of bloggers, tweeters, and Facebookers en masse to school around a message, an issue, product, an event, or a passion can spur political and news decisions.

Actually, it can change the direction of the conversation. It can change the world. Seriously, this is not hyperbole.

I know this is yesterday’s news but it still hasn’t changed: each one of you — of us — has more access to tools that can expedite, influence, effect, and harness change than ever before. Justin Beiber and Charice Pempengco are the highest-profile example of going from nowhere to King and Queen of pop, but there are an infinity of examples. Perez Hilton, for example.  And no, that land grab is not over.  New titles are awarded every day. Blogging is not dead, it is hard. People giving up because something is too hard is not the same as something dying.  All those tweeters and bloggers who have ceased blogging and tweeting are not reading blogs and tweets.  They’re committed lurkers.  They’re readership.  Yes, even you PR and Ad men, you too.

In mainstream media’s desire to keep up and keep relevant, they have become indiscriminate and frenzied.  There is a lot of opportunity there.  Now is the most empowering time to actively participate in the conversation that is happening now online, happening every day on message boards, forums, Twitter, Facebook, hi5, Orkut, Second Life, irc, Ecommerce sites, blogs, email lists, and whatnot.

My agency and I are not depending on the voice of one blogger or tweeter, we’re depending on their choir of voices in concert.  That’s what The Economist missed.  The new media and social media war is not the war of the flanking Redcoats (MSM), it is the Revolutionary war: the mainstream media Redcoats against the social media Rebels.  Not conventional war.

the economist trainee Social Medias Unstoppable Power Lies in its Collective InfluenceMind you, Abraham Harrison offers earned media services, meaning that our messaging and outreaches aim to inspire folks online to seriously consider what we’re proposing with the goal of writing, tweeting, blogging, podcasting, videoblogging, sharing and/or Facebooking it.

Not one front directly opposed to another across trenches.

The mainstream media, including The Economist, is physically unable to see what is before them.  They’re unable to even recognize what is going on even now.  They’re not even completely clear that they have been reporting on news, content, events, and political action that has been influenced, steered, instigated, catalyzed, and propagated by communications shops the world over, from crisis shops to public affairs, from promotional agencies to social media marketing teams; from PACs to lobbyists — every day.

Personally, I’ve been herding cats by opening cans of cat food and planting catnip online professionally since 2003. Sorry, Economist, too little too late.

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