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Dec 11 2015

PRSA International Conference Recap: Five Tips From Experts on Trust, Risk-Taking, Integration, Live Streaming and More

Talk about being a kid in a candy store. This author simply needed an airplane ticket, an Uber ride, a hotel room and registration to the 2015 PRSA International Conference in Atlanta (thank you again, Orlando Chapter) to jettison into Willy Wonka’s factory for communications professionals – minus the Oompa Loompas. From smart storytelling to engaging Millenials, and from the art of Periscope to the science behind trust, keynoters, professional development sessions and speedy roundtables offered a treasure-trove of information. Below, I offer some highlights and tips from five of the presenters. May you find a juicy, (preferably chocolate-filled) inspirational nugget or two.

James Kane on The Secret to Building Loyal Relationships Digitally

  • By sharing our lives with others, we establish connections and give the brain information that it can recognize.
  • We follow people because we believe in the same things and have shared interests.
  • Unlike animals, human beings are totally dependent on one another and have emotions like fear, envy, love, loyalty, hate and danger. These control our behavior.
  • The brain seeks three things: trust, belonging and purpose. If you provide people with this, then they will be loyal to you. But you must manage and deliver on their expectations.
  • Loyalty is about the future. You can’t buy someone’s business; you must earn it.

KIND’s Daniel Lubetzky on The Power of AND: Learning to Think With AND Instead of OR

  • Own your failures. It’s OK to falter. That’s when you create disruptive change.
  • Challenge the meaning of things and challenge conventional thinking. “Think: ‘AND then what?’ instead of ‘OR then what?’ If you’re not coming up with dumb ideas, then you’re not really stretching yourself.”
  • What sells your product is the product. Use communications to tell that story.
  • Make sure you care about your mission, which will help you to not get discouraged.
  • Be authentic. If you have an ulterior motive for kind acts, they lose their magic.

Shonali Burke, ABC, on Why Integration Is PR’s Key to Success:

  • Many consider media relations to be PR’s strong suit but we can’t function in a silo in a multi-faceted communications world. Integration is the name of the game.
  • Enough with the zombie pitching! Ditch the E-blasts and make pitches personalized and creative.
  • Be an active, smart listener, use easily accessible tools, such as lists, hashtags and alerts.
  • Engage with influencers and comment; then share solid, yet versatile, content that is useful, helpful and shareable. Be patient; it takes time to build a network.
  • Build measurement into your plans.
  • Tools she’s using now: Talkwalker (free alerts, alternative to Google); feedly (news/RSSS feed aggregator); IFTTT (to sync social networks).

Dustin W. Supa, Ph.D (Boston University) on the Impact of Social Media on MediaRelations Practice

  • Effectively managing media relations often means that PR pros must constantly maintain communication, build credibility and trust, and provide journalist with relevant information.
  • With the proliferation of social media use, one would think that social media is an excellent tool to build relationships between PR pros and journalists.
  • But as Wilson and Supa’s study found, this is not the case. In fact, there is a great divide.
  • PR practitioners surveyed found SM to be a substantial, useful tool to build relationships and rapport with journalists.
  • Journalists surveyed, however, were far less enthusiastic about the changes social media has produced; as one journalist said, “it’s another medium they use to bug me.” Another cited it as a “both a gift and a burden.” Others said social media’s rise is leading to unprofessional behaviors on the part of some PR pros.
  • The takeaway: the impact of social media on the relationship between PR pros and journalists depends on which profession, and which professional, you ask.

Cathy Hackl on Periscope and Meerkat: What PR Pros Need to Know About Live-Streaming Apps

  • Live mobile broadcasting is here to stay so get on board! Many now call it Web 3.0.
  • By 2017, 69% of all consumer traffic online will be video-based.
  • Periscope and Meerkat allow users to livestream videos directly from mobile devices to social media, and are a great way to promote a personal or corporate brand and increase engagement. Major brands are using live streaming. For example the Huffington Post has a show on YouNow.
  • Sites like Blab.im enable anyone to have their own TV show. Uses include “after-shows,” interviews, podcasts, and coaching/teaching.

Story originally published by prsaorlando.org.

Written by: Jennifer Bisbee

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