So, what’s this all about?

Hello and welcome to our blog! Perhaps you may have noticed a few of our postings in the past few weeks, or perhaps this is your first time visiting. Either way, we wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves and share with you the purpose of this blog.

 

Boardroom Communications is a mid-sized public relations agency located in South Florida. We have been in business for more than 20 years, and we feel that we have a thing or two to say about the local business community — public relations, marketing and journalism in particular. We have come across people and organizations of all types — small businesses, large businesses, and non-profits. C-level execs to young professionals.  Journalists, editors, reporters, producers, anchors, freelancers, writers, and even the occasional graphic designer or two.

 

We are connected. And we want to be the eyes and ears of our community. We want to share our thoughts with you, and we want to hear yours! We are entering the blog-o-sphere because we want to create a dialogue.

 

What do you think of the new design of the “Sun-Sentinel?” Because I can tell you, we all have plenty to say.

 

How is the economy affecting your business?

 

Can you believe there is another storm out there? Because neither can we. Fay may have been nothing, but perhaps now is a good time to start reviewing your hurricane plans. And we can help you with that!

 

In addition to sharing our thoughts, we also want to share valuable tips and tools with you, to hopefully help improve your business, and your professional and personal lives.

 

So from time to time, you may see postings about how to utilize community relations, or about our friend Peter Shankman and his new service, Help-A-Reporter-Out. Or, we may simply be sharing our thoughts and viewpoints on things such as the state of the newspaper industry, or what it’s like to be a new grad.

 

Either way, we hope you will visit our blog often, and we hope you will participate. Add us to your RSS readers, send a link to your friends. Don’t know what an RSS reader is? Don’t worry — we’re here to tell you J

 

 

For the future college grads among us…

As a new school year begins, I can’t help but reminisce on my college days. Upon graduation I felt confident that I was prepared to enter the working world; armed with my AP stylebook, sample press release format and a couple internships under my belt, I thought I had everything I could need. Most of all, I had my painstakingly crafted portfolio. I was sure that future employers would be impressed with all I had written – countless articles, press releases, backgrounders and reports. I studied crisis communication and proposed mock campaigns for major companies. We discussed ethics, analysis, stewardship and public speaking. However, my feelings of ease quickly turned to panic as I came to the cruel realization that none of this really prepares you for this ever-changing career path. As a PR professional, your schooling never really ends.

 

While I don’t believe that teachers purposely withhold useful information, I can’t help but feel as though college curriculums should some how incorporate the wisdom of publicists already “in the trenches.” There are simply some things that you’ll never learn until the first time you are thrust into a client crisis, a press conference, responding to negative news, event planning, etc. Learning by doing, or at least by example, is huge in this field.

 

So what is an inexperienced recent grad to do? It’s simple: everything. Volunteer to work on new projects and clients, listen closely to your colleagues’ pitching techniques and ask questions – lots of them. What’s more, join professional organizations and take a leadership role when possible. You’ll want to form your own contact base as soon as possible.

Finally, remember that as a PR newbie you can’t prepare for everything, especially when many of the situations you’ll encounter are completely new. Be honest about your capabilities and accept the fact that you won’t know everything, no matter how prepared you feel when you walk across a stage holding that diploma.

 

When the times are tough, the tough get going!

With the downfall of the economy, many companies feel that public relations services should be one of the first cost-cutting measures. However, in difficult economic times, the complete opposite is true. When times are tough, it’s more important than ever for small, medium and yes, even large-size companies to profile their services, corporate environment and community outreach efforts.

The public wants to see that companies are thriving and businesses are still succeeding, even during times like this. Think about it…There are only so many doom and gloom articles one person can read. This is exactly why many newspapers are turning to hyperlocalism, or featuring everything with a community angle. People want to read news that’s close to home, with a positive spin.

Also, everyone will always want to do business with successful entreprenuers and companies. Take the time to show the your current and potential customers who’s making things happen in the marketplace – publicize your new employees, awards, products, services – While your competitors are complaining about the state of the economy, your name will be in the headlines!

Furthermore, public relations isn’t only for the general public. It’s for employees as well. Employees feel a sense of pride when they see their company in the newspaper or on TV—they’re excited to tell their friends and family about it. Alternatively, when a company stops its public relations efforts, rumors can result about company trouble and uncertainty arises among employees.

Clearly public relations affects many more people than you might think—from employees and current clients, to future clients and the community at large. Despite tough economic times, it’s more important than ever to continue your efforts to get your name out there and remain on top of mind. You never know how many potential customers are out there watching, listening and reading.