One of the best ways to prepare for a difficult media interview is to make a list of a few of the worst questions you can imagine being asked, and prepare responses to each question. It’s easier than you might think, thanks to a bridging statement that “bridges” from the reporter’s difficult question to your… Read More
crisis communications
Share Tips for Sandy’s Victims
The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week Issue #660 Oct. 30, 2012 Publisher: Joan Stewart ========================================== “Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity” =================================== In This Issue =================================== 1. Share Tips for Sandy’s Victims 2. Artists Brag on Facebook 3. Meet Me in Des Moines Nov. 15 4. Hound Video of the Week This Week… Read More
Dog Tweets—6 times you should call a press conference
Here are my Top 10 tweets from this past week, great for retweeting! If you missed these, follow me on Twitter. 6 times you should call a press conference. http://ow.ly/evLJC Infogr.am, another cool & free infographics tool (will it put designers out of business?). http://ow.ly/ewiMZ 8 Clever Ways Brands Are Newsjacking the Election for Marketing.… Read More
Prepare your PR company for hurricanes, earthquakes
If you’re in the path of massive Hurricane Irene, and the home or office that houses your PR business is severely damaged or wiped out by the 115-mph winds and torrential rains, could you continue to conduct business? How to prepare for natural disasters is the stuff they teach in Crisis Communications 101. But many… Read More
7 things Weinergate teaches us about bad PR
Every political scandal, it seems, has a lesson or two on how to act—or not—during a crisis. The latest is courtesy of Rep. Anthony Weiner, a textbook example of how to completely botch a bad news situation. Here are the five lessons he teaches us about bad PR. None of them is new. 1. This… Read More
Monitor “(your brand) sucks” and do damage control
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
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