28: Take this short PR quiz

A few years ago, David put together a quiz for PR people on best practices when dealing with technology media. We revisit that quiz to see how well it holds up. Surprisingly, many of the most common mistakes David cited in the original 1999 document are still made today. Listen in and see how your performance compares, but first, take a moment to see how you score on the following points:

• If you must use Powerpoint to get across your message, you always limit it to five slides.
• You never follow up an email to a reporter with a phone call asking if s/he received the email.
• You know your reporter and what s/he has published — before you make the first contact.
• You get the facts fast to the right people, especially when asked directly for them.
• You put full corporate contact and product summary info in all of your press releases and on your web site.
• You never send unsolicited email attachments, of any kind.
• You’d never send out a group email that includes your entire press list in the header.
• You fix factual inaccuracies quickly and dispassionately.
• You understand the power and limitations of freelance reviewers.
• You’d never even contemplate sending out time-bombed review copies, demos, etc., knowing that writers want the real McCoy

David and Paul discuss the modern-day reaction to these questions. Also, jeers to eBay’s customer relations.

Download the podcast here.

27: Guard that address book!

This week, David and Paul discuss social networks that steal address book entries in order to recruit new members. Paul was a recent victim of Quechup, an apparently legitimate social networking service that’s outraged many people by apparently hacking their address books. Dave and Paul agree that you should be careful with who gets access to your contact files.

In a wide-ranging discussion, they also talk about how social networks are binding together technology journalists. An online network for ex-CMPers is quite active, indicating that old contacts are still strong. A lesson for PR practitioners: don’t burn bridges because people stay in touch with each other.

The sudden demise of The New York Times’ Times Select service is also fodder for discussion. Dave thinks it’s crazy to try to charge for content and that publishers should focus on building traffic. Paul thinks paid-membership models aren’t an altogether bad idea.

Download the podcast here. (14:08)

26: How to work a trade show, part 2

In part two of our interview with Pulvermedia’s Bill Sell, we talk about the role of new media in event PR. Bill believes bloggers are a hugely useful resource to PR people, but that too few companies leverage their enthusiasm and talent. Pulvermedia has been proactive about courting bloggers to cover its events but Bill warns that you can’t treat bloggers the same way you would mainstream media. By courting them appropriately, though, PR pros can find new communities of customers. Boggers bring knowledge and insight to their reporting that isn’t always evident in technology journalists, but they can also be critical and challenging. They’re worth the effort, though.

Download the podcast. (13:35)

25: How to work a trade show, part 1

In the first of a two-part interview, Bill Sell, Vice President & General Manager of Events at Pulvermedia, shares his advice on how to work a trade show. Bill’s been in the events business for nearly 30 years and has managed the biggest of the big: Comdex in its glory days. In this interview, he outlines best practices he’s seen PR pros use and talks about the future of the trade show business. He also talks about the worst of trade show PR, like the dumpster that Comdex organizers used to maintain to hold all the discarded press kits. A lot of PR people work a trade show badly, Sell says. They don’t plan well and their press kits are stuffed with unnecessary information that fails to catch attention. Hear about the best and worst practices for working a trade show.

Download the podcast here. (14:22)

Here are some of Bill’s main talking points if you don’t have time to listen to both parts of the podcast:

1. Talk with the show organizer

• Role of the show manager
• Role of the exhibitor
• Role of the public relations agency
• Role of the press person

2. Preparing pre-show, at-show and post-show media outreach efforts

• Pre-show – set goals and objectives
• Make calls to reporters you know and invite them
• Prep your press person for show site
• At-show – who is your ideal spokesperson and who wins the “quote war”?
• Handling press who visit the booth
• Planning for follow-up and thank you’s
• Post-show call to thank them (call, not email, then email)
• Summarize your show action plan and product announcements and recap for all of the relevant press your missed

3. Save some money – don’t create a press kit

• Don’t bring a press kit!
• Work the show press list early
• Pre-announce your product or service a week before and showcase it for the first time at the show “double exposure”