Great Source for PR Book Reviews

If you’re thinking of buying a book focused on public relations, marketing, communications, social media, etc., be sure to check out the For Immediate Release Book Review podcast. Bob LeDrew is the FIR book review editor who provides brief and comprehensive reviews of the newest books on the market. Some reviews are also provided by some others in the FIR community.

Recent titles that have been reviewed include the following. Links are to the book websites. For the reviews, go to: http://www.forimmediaterelease.biz/index.php?/C9/

• The Thank You Economy, by Gary Vaynerchuk
• Welcome to the Fifth Estate, by Geoff Livingston
• Social Location Marketing: Outshining Your Competitors on Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp & Other Location Sharing Sites, by Simon Salt
• Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World, by Peter Shankman
• Curation Nation, by Steven Rosenbaum
• The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, by Evgeny Morozov
• The New Small: New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies, by Phil Simon
• Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, by Nancy Duarte
• UnMarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging, by Scott Stratten
• Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans, by Wendell Potter.

The Power of the Twitter Chat

In doing some research for my own use of Twitter at work, I was a bit surprised to find that 60 percent of educators use social media for professional development, including use of Twitter. A colleague asked, “How can you possibly learn anything in 140 characters?” (Obviously, not a Twitter user.)

Well one effective tool is the “Tweet Chat.” This is a scheduled conversation where participants use a common hashtag (#) so that all the related tweets will show up in a search. This is how you can hold a news conference on Twitter or have a Q&A session on your new product.

To test it out, see this list of chats, topics and the times they run at Twitter Chat Schedule. There are topics ranging from architecture, to dogs, from baking and business intelligence to Beattlemania.

Then see Sam Fiorella’s “12 Most Helpful Tips for Conversing in a Twitter Chat,” for some great ideas on participating in a chat.

And Lee Odden has suggestions for hosting your own chat, “Twitter Marketing Tips: Twitter Chats & 8 Marketing & PR Chats to Follow.”

And remember the first rule for PR and related folk when using social media: Don’t drop in and start selling. Be a contributing member first. Then, when it’s appropriate and relevant, you can share information about things you’re working on.

School PR Association holds National Conference in San Antonio

The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) is heading to San Antonio for their 58^th annual seminar. Themed “Creating Confidence in Our Schools,” the organization offers attendees a packed program from July 10-13. More than 500 educators from throughout the US are expected to attend.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Jackie Freiberg, recognized as one of the "Top 30 Best Minds on Leadership" by Leadership Excellence Magazine, and one of the most sought-after female business speakers in the nation. Her keynote topic for her July 11 session: "Gutsy PR! Timeless Choices for Building a Brand of Leadership & Accountability" is intriguing whether you are in education or not.

Another treat on the agenda is Dr. John Draper, currently CEO of the Educational Research Service, who has developed what he calls "Crucial Conversations About America's Schools. " His July 12 presentation will help educators step back from the rhetoric and pervading myth about "failing public schools" and look at the reality of what is happening in education.

More than 70 sessions cover a wide range of topics for school communicators including managing social media, creating your own newsrooms, new professional preparation , brand building for school districts, transparency and much more.

Nonmembers are welcome to register for the event here.

Local school public relations professionals have been working more than a year to help the national organization make the conference happen. Monica Faulkenbery, APR, Northside ISD; Patti Pawlik-Perales, Alamo Heights ISD; Sharon Woldhagen, Southwest ISD; Rebecca Villarreal, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD have planned some fun evening activities for our out-of-town guests to enjoy. Check out the website for the local activities.

This is yet another way to showcase our great city and all it has to offer.

PR News Round-Up ~ July 3, 2011

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
The Pope sends first tweet, launches Vatican website
Benedict XVI tweets from an iPad to announce the birth of a site that aggregates content from YouTube and Vatican media sites. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
PR pros: Stop making these 5 social media blunders
Celebrate World Social Media Day by learning to quit making these classic goofs. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
Turn your forgettable ‘About Us’ page into a memorable one
Can bloggers, journalists and readers figure out what your organization does from your boilerplate? Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
8 tactics for developing social content for your clients
Need to feed the beast (blogs, Twitter feeds, Facebook pages) and running short of content? Here are some ideas. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
Study: 78 percent of executives think social media is essential for success
The study found that more than half of business executives believe they need to adopt social media or risk falling behind. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
14 tips for a successful Facebook page
How to attract more fans, comments and likes on the popular social network. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
Infographic: Lunch time, end of work day best times to tweet
Wondering when the most people will see your tweet or Facebook post? This infographic has the stats you need to expand your message's reach. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
Interview prep: 6 types of questions the media always asks
Are you preparing for an interview with a reporter? You don’t need to prepare for every possible question, but instead the types of questions they ask. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
10 reasons PR pros should use video
Its immediacy and personal feel make it a go-to tool for branding, product launches, crisis response and consumer engagement. Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
The PR industry ‘has not gotten around to explaining what return on investment is’
How do you measure publicity? A Wall Street Journal column debunks ad value equivalency, but says ‘no simple alternative has emerged.’ Read story.

From Ragan's Daily Headlines
8 social media SlideShare presentations to bookmark now
One communications pro sifts through the piles of SlideShare presentations to find the treasures worth your time (and your client’s time). Read story.