While home for the holidays, I got asked the inevitable questions by my parents: “So, how is work going? And what exactly do you do?” As I discussed recent projects and client wins, by parents zeroed in on one activity: tweeting. They’re aware of Twitter but don’t really get it. I explained how Twitter lets…
Recently, I had the good fortune of being handed one of the “holy grails” of PR: a reporter contact of mine reached out to me with a story idea and wanted to know if I could connect him to a source. Naturally, I was ecstatic he had thought of me and immediately presented the opportunity…
If you’re a PR practitioner, I think you’d enjoy the conversation on John Raffetto’s post, What PR pros know that content marketers don’t. One of the highlights is the commenters’ emphasis on PR as a learned discipline with strict principles – a fact that eludes people who use the term “PR” as synonymous with “hype.” As…
Public relations is a big industry. As such, it has its fair share of cringe-worthy moments. Like the one last week, when a PR rep contacted reporters and offered to pay them money to write favorable blogs about their client. This is an elementary-level no-no that is taught in journalism and public relations schools throughout…
When people learn that I work at a PR firm in DC, I often get asked if my job is like the TV show Scandal. While crisis management is certainly a component of public relations, it’s not everything. Still, it does seem that most of the exposure companies generate is during times of crises. All…
I recently took a Gallup Strengthsfinder survey, which helps people identify their talents and what they do best in order to develop them into strengths. One of my strengths is “Futuristic.” I suppose this is why I was drawn to tech PR. Every day I get to read about emerging, exciting technology trends that promise…
If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you know that we often discuss the impact and benefits of being a thought leader. In our business, thought leaders carry the message, elevate and create visibility for the brand and, hopefully, shape or re-shape attitudes and views. If you know Randstad Technologies you probably know…
I recently returned from a week’s stay in Paris, where I hadn’t been for 10 years. It’s one of my favorite cities, but in my usual quest to find traditional French fare, this time I found mostly international cuisine – particularly Italian. I couldn’t go any place without running into at least two Italian restaurants,…
While channel surfing one evening this summer, I stumbled upon a great miniseries on National Geographic – “The 80s: The Decade That Made Us” followed up by “The 90s: The Last Great Decade.” Both offered the history buff in me an overview of cultural and political milestones that I wasn’t around to experience firsthand or…
If you read a lot of marketing B2B blogs like I do, you know that inbound marketing, social media, and SEO could not be any hotter. These are no longer trends; they are core components of growing a modern business. However, they are mostly about reaching people who don’t know you. What about those who…
When it comes to discussing my generation, I don’t normally hear much praise for millennials. Other generations view us as lazy, entitled and expecting overwhelming amounts of praise. And in some aspects I understand that we as a generation aren’t the best. We literally don’t understand the definition of the word “literally.” One of our…
Selling to government agencies is all about the RFP. And winning an RFP is a battle that starts way before the RFP is ever written. It is also a process that includes influencers and decision makers comingled from agency purchasers to political leaders, sometimes even the White House. The key is using the integrated approach…