What nasty things are people saying about you online, even if they haven’t done business with you? Has somebody tried to buy a product at your website, but a glitch in your shopping cart wouldn’t put through the order? Have they called you, left a message, but no one has returned the call? Have they… Read More
crisis communications
How to un-Google yourself & push bad news off Page 1
This month’s guest blog post is from Mark Macias, a crisis communications consultant. He runs a TV production and PR company that has consulted with restaurants, retailers, lounges and Congressional candidates. He also wrote the communications book, Beat the Press: Your Guide to Managing the Media. You can read excerpts at BeatthePressBook.com. By Mark Macias Guest Blogger Everyone likes to… Read More
Manage your online reputation BEFORE bad news hits
A reader asked me to recommend a company that will help her manage her online reputation. Here’s my advice, which every Publicity Hound should pay attention to, before the you-know-what hits the fan: “I don’t remember recommending a specific company. Many companies do this. “Of far greater importance, I believe, is being proactive long before… Read More
Should BP pressure Twitter to remove the fake feed?
Here’s a tweet posted yesterday from the Twitter account known as @BPGlobalPR: That’s just one of a steady stream of sarcastic tweets that, as of this morning, has attracted more than 96,000 followers, almost 10 times more followers than BP has at its own Twitter account. CNET News offers a good summary of who might be… Read More
Bloggers, ask the right question: ‘What if I’m sued tomorrow?’
If you blog, the worst of your worries shouldn’t be how many times to post, or what to write about, or whether to use WordPress or Typepad. Your Number One concern—the question bloggers never think to ask—should be: “What if somebody sues me tomorrow for copyright infringement, defamation or invasion of privacy—what does that mean?” Here’s what… Read More
Attleboro, MA threatens granny for past-due bill of 1 cent
If you’ve done something dumb and bad publicity results, the quickest way to make the story go away is to apologize. But not in Attleboro, Mass. where the city has threatened to place a lien on the home of Eileen Wilbur, a 72-year-old blind woman because she has failed to pay a past-due water bill of 1 cent. The… Read More
Blog about your company’s layoffs before someone else does
In the old days, when a company was planning layoffs, it delivered the bad news to employees, and then—if it was smart—issued a press release to let the world know how many people had been laid off and why. These days, companies concerned about crisis management and joining the “bad news” conversation online will also post the announcement on… Read More
Grade Edwards’ ‘Nightline’ interview: How did he do?
Put politics aside for a minute. If you saw the interview that ABC’s “Nightline” did with former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday night, tell us how you think he did from a PR standpoint. If you missed the interview, you can watch it in two parts here and here. I don’t care if… Read More
Did Jesse Jackson know the mic was on?
How could the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a master at playing the media like a fiddle, not know the mic was on last week when he made that repulsive comment about castrating Barack Obama? One of the very first things you learn in Media Training 101 is that if you’re mic’d, always assume it’s on and never… Read More
What Tim Russert taught us about how to interview
After almost five days of non-stop tributes to Tim Russert, none was as fascinating as the five-year-old article I found last night titled “How to Beat Tim Russert.” Jack Shafer, who writes the press column for the online magazine Slate, dissected in step-by-step detail the strategy that any guest can use to disarm Russert, the toughest… Read More