Hopefully, you spent some time polishing up your personal PR skills after last week’s post. This week, I want to focus on the value of promoting your team. If you happen to be the one in charge, you can set the tone for two-way communication that keeps your stars rising and gives you positive news […]
How to Manage a Public Relations Crisis
It’s a privilege to be a trusted resource for clients in crisis. The issues vary—from an executive being on the receiving end of a tasteless email, to news investigations and lawsuits, to threats of boycotts and employee misconduct—but the anxieties and risks often are the same. For businesses and non-profits in crisis, it is critical […]
5 Ways to Quickly Improve the Security of Your WordPress Site
I’m a big fan and proponent of WordPress. Over the years, I have personally built dozens of sites using it, but there’s always been one caveat for me: security. I’m not a Linux-using IT geek who builds his own server and all of that stuff (although I do know a couple of them for when […]
Personal PR: Putting Down Roots While Branching Out
In her most recent post, Margie offered great advice about establishing or extending your professional reputation in a new city. Even if your feet are firmly planted in your dream city – or even better, your dream job – you need to be proactive about communicating your value right where you are. We look at […]
State-hopping professionals: let LinkedIn ground you
Whether you are a corporate or non-profit state-hopping professional, you’re facing a major challenge: establishing your credibility and maintaining your confidence while starting a new job—or looking for one—in a new city. For you, “Don’t they know who I am and what I can do?” is a common, exasperated internal mantra. Trust me, I’m on […]
State Your Mission (the kitchen sink belongs elsewhere)
Lately, I’ve been talking plenty about mission statements—with everyone from an education client with a wonderful heritage to a new leadership development organization to my own family, the latter inspired by this WSJ article from Bruce Feiler and encouraged by my friend and colleague Cora. At some point in every process, so many hands have […]
Effective PR Requires Partnership, Passion
One of the first things Tabatha and I do when we’re talking to a prospective client is present them with this caveat: Intesa serves clients who do good things, and strive to do them well and profitably. Intesa colleagues are more than strategic public relations consultants; we are partners who share your passion. Intesa clients are […]
In Message Development, Be Positively Persuasive
Last week, I met with a client who is rightly concerned that people in her company view her unit as a roadblock. Divisions have to get clearance from her group before they can proceed on their projects. As we talked through her concerns, we identified a simple, but significant theme. People inside and outside her […]
On Storytelling: Weave a Yarn That Sticks
Like all parents, my husband and I spend a lot of time educating our daughter. Fostering a global perspective, particularly on economics—really abstract concepts for a kid—can be one of the toughest lessons to master. A few years back, we stumbled across If the World Were a Village, a book that made our job so […]
How to Nail Your Next Media Interview
A colleague recently asked me about the key to a successful media interview. When I answered, “stop talking,” she laughed and said, “That sounds so simple.” It is. As I always say: to nail your next media interview, think “period” not “comma.” Much like perfect is the enemy of good, a comma is the enemy of […]