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When it comes to public relations, there’s often a line between what IS okay and what SHOULD BE okay. Depending on the issue, that line could be wide, with plenty of gray area open to interpretation. But that’s not always the case, so it’s incumbent on a public figure to know where the line is on different issues – or to have a strong PR team ready to go to bat for you when you cross the line. Take a lesson from former MLB star Curt Schilling. Even during his stellar baseball career, Schilling made a name for himself as... Read More >

Several months ago Facebook teased us with the possibilities of new “reactions,” otherwise known as expanded emoticons. To be honest, you could easily download emoticons for use with a couple hundred options for easy use. But that meant you had to make a comment. These you can use as their “like” button, just click on it and you’re done. No need to open the comment box and then thumb through all the options and decide if one is enough or should you use more. There are now six options instead of the one. They’ve added a heart – for “love... Read More >

In times of international crisis, the world of public relations is equally affected by global tragedies, like the terrorist attacks in Paris this past Friday night. The reaction of corporations and their public relations firms are most effective when keeping a supportive and somber tone. At the same time, companies and firms should stay in line with the corporation’s brand. Here are some effective examples: Flags, Colors, and Silences This week thousands of companies around the world flew French flags at half mast, as a form of support to France at a time of mourning. To a consumer, flags at... Read More >

PR firms – much like law firms – have conflicts of interest and issues they cannot discuss.  This is especially true when representing one of the largest companies in the world, Facebook. In recent days, APCO Worldwide made a public statement on behalf of Facebook – and also criticized the company publicly.  Leaving us a little confused. Can one of the world’s largest PR firms have it both ways? APCO Worldwide works with clients like Dell, Ebay, and international accounts like Sony Africa. The Facebook Controversy Facebook is not one of the companies listed as clients on their website –... Read More >

Like it or not, a Dislike button may be coming to Facebook. So says Mark Zuckerberg, CEO. He announced the proposed addition to the social media networking giant in a town hall-style event at his company’s headquarters recently in Menlo Park, California. And while the Dislike button is still being tested, the likelihood of its addition is very strong. What does this mean to users and what will it mean to marketers and brands? For years, many users have wanted to express something other than Like on Facebook. “Not every moment is a good moment if you share something that’s... Read More >

Where else can you have access to so many people? Where else will you find the marketing tools available to business pages for relatively small cost? Facebook offers businesses great opportunities if you know how to use them. So, here are five ways to put your Facebook Page to better use. Tell your Story You’ll hear it a lot, be yourself. Yes, you should do that, but how do you make money from that? Incorporate another thing you’ve heard you should do – tell stories. Specifically, tell your story. Not all at once though. Give it in bits and pieces,... Read More >

There are times when it is best to just stop typing on social media – at least for an hour or two. You might have had one of those nose to the grindstone kind of weeks when you haven’t had much social interaction in any form for days. So you arrive home in time to be able to slip onto Facebook and scour what has been happening in the lives of your friends and family. Over the next hour, you frantically type your fingers almost down to nubs. You revel in the complete freedom of expression and love that you... Read More >

Recently, a man went out on a hike to raise money for charity. He was wearing a full Imperial Sandtrooper uniform. The “trooper” encountered a deadly reptile, but it turned out the Force was with him. Let’s start by saying we are IN NO WAY suggesting that anyone should ever – intentionally or otherwise – put themselves in this or any similar situation. However, it happened, and not in a Galaxy far, far away. It happened in Australia. According to the report, Star Wars fan Scott Loxley has been hiking around Australia in an effort to raise money for a... Read More >

Maybe you have heard that Facebook is making it increasingly difficult for businesses, and individuals alike, to get their content seen by their target audience. While Facebook insists that the steps they are implementing is due to the exorbitant amount of content that is being posted on the site, and these new algorithms are designed to ensure the relevancy and quality of the content — reducing the amount of invaluable or spammy content that their users see — it seems to be more of a cash grab, forcing businesses to pay for post boosts and ads. While this information is... Read More >

Facebook's advertising practices have sometimes come under scrutiny for being too targeted to their intended demographics and for collecting too much user information to craft the ads. A few months ago, 27 year old marketer Brian Swichkow played a prank on his roommate to prove a point about Facebook's data collection practices and to help drive traffic to his blog by showing that hyper-targeted advertising really works. Swichkow's roommate, Roderick Russell, began seeing targeted advertising in his Facebook sidebar back in June. Russell, a professional sword swallower, began seeing advertisements targeting his condition of having a severe gag reflex when... Read More >