Boardroom P.R. CEO Profiled In South Florida Media

Julie Silver Talenfeld

Boardroom Communication Inc., founder and CEO, Julie Talenfeld, was profiled in a recent issue of Plantation Forum, part of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel family of newspapers. Read the On The Spot article here.

Known locally as a marketing communications professional who’s also a strong proponent of work-life balance — including in her company’s Plantation, Florida, offices, Talenfeld discusses her family, her summer, and her work in and for the community.

When Decorum is Lost: How to Recover From Public Displays of Disrespect

Kanye West, Joe Wilson and Serena Williams Provide Lessons in Bad P.R. and Crisis Management

Kanye West grabs the microphone from Taylor Swift on the MTV Music Video Awards – and proceeds to ruin her night, and tarnish his own reputation.

Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouts “You Lie” during a speech by President Barack Obama on the floor of the U.S. Capitol – and is chided by fellow Congressmen and admonished by his constituents.

Serena Williams threatens to shove a tennis ball down the throat of a linesman at the U.S. Open – and is left to answer for her actions and try to salvage a blemished reputation.

These represent only the latest public instances of potentially reputation-harming activities on arguably the largest stages of their respective arenas.

Setting aside what got society to the point that such boorish, disrespectful or threatening behavior seemingly is commonplace, what should people do when they’ve erred publicly?

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.

Where have all the reporters gone?

The economy is taking its toll on newspapers across the country and South Florida is not immune. Just recently, the Miami Herald announced a 17 percent workforce reduction with many of those job cuts coming from the newsroom. And the same scenario is playing out at newspapers from Fort Lauderdale to Jacksonville due to falling circulation and advertisers who are bolting for the web and other platforms.

 

So how is this downsizing affecting the way PR professionals do their jobs? A great deal.

 

 

The news hole is shrinking at most dailies as publishers try to maximize the space for advertisers they do have, and as a way to cut printing costs. So with less editorial space, that means it’s becoming more competitive to get news in the paper. And with staff cutbacks, reporters’ workloads are getting heavier. All this means story pitches need to be more targeted, concise, relevant and timelier than ever before.

 

In addition, many newspapers are tweaking the direction of their content to satisfy the perceived desires of their readers. It’s important that PR folks take note of these changes and tailor their pitches accordingly. You may have been successful in getting something in the paper last year, but this year the rules have changed. You might hear editors say, “We don’t cover that any more,” or “We’re covering that, but in a different way.”

 

It’s often easier to get news in the paper when pitching a specific beat reporter. However, with the downsizing of people, there’s also a downsizing of beats. Many beats are simply going away or reporters are being asked to double up.  This can be frustrating because if your news item doesn’t fit neatly into a “little box” or beat, it may get lost in a black hole. All this can lead to new opportunities however. For those reporters who are assigned new beats, they will be eager to learn all they can about the subject matters and you may have a client who can help them.

There’s another silver lining, or should I say a silver “on lining.” Many print reporters now have blogs were they can opine on issues that will never see the print edition. So in this case they invite ideas and discussion. As a publicist, you may have a better shot of getting your clients covered in a web story rather than in the paper which is a still a very positive thing because many of these blogs are widely read. Many experts think online news is the wave of the future. I grew up reading a newspaper and despite having the Internet at my fingertips, I still relish the idea of getting my daily information from the print edition. But such will not be the case with my children’s generation who get their news exclusively on line.

There’s a lot of anxiety in newsrooms these days, which means reporters now have a lot more to worry about then simply journalism which is their first love. So it’s very critical you are in tune with what’s happening and be very targeted with your pitches. You may also want to consider hiring a PR Agency to help get your message out. They spend their entire days talking with reporters, understanding their needs, following editorial changes and tracking all of personnel changes. The harder it is to get news in, the more you want to rely on a professional to do it.

Harnessing the PR power of community relations

Community relations is an excellent public relations tool, but it’s too often forgotten in many PR and marketing campaigns. When used effectively, community relations can significantly optimize one’s exposure in the media and corporate world increasing the public awareness about a company, individual, event or product. 

 

Executives in corporations should get involved with organizations that would both benefit their business and interests them. When one believes in the mission of a charity, they are more apt to participate in projects, attend meetings, etc., thus increasing exposure and networking with other key players who share the same common bond. Also, it’s important to remember that taking on a leadership position within an organization will only add to its business development value.

 

Attending fundraising events is another great way to network. What’s more, hosting/sponsoring those events is even more beneficial to a company.  Keep in mind that when hosting a charity fundraiser, it is important to take advantage of both pre- and post-publicity.   

 

When planning for pre-event PR, always distribute calendar announcements in time for printing deadlines to daily, weekly and monthly publications.

 

When it comes to post-event publicity, it’s vital to have a capable photographer at the event. A picture is worth a thousand words. Therefore, a single photo with a cut-line can sometimes be even more valuable to a publication than an article alone.

 

Finally, don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. The society pages are a great place for companies to be recognized for their work in the community. Most centers of influence not only read these publications but look forward to them every week.

 

 

Don’t cut the PR & marketing budget just yet

It’s been a common practice among companies experiencing tough times to drastically cut their public relations and marketing budgets; however, in light of today’s economic state, many executives are finding the exact opposite to be true.

 

In fact, from a PR standpoint, an economic slump is a great time to get your message heard. While your competitors are cutting back and trying to limit their spending on their public relations and marketing, you should be ramping up yours! Send press releases to your local media and show them you’re available for interviews. Highlight your expertise, or maybe you have something unique or newsworthy they should know about?

 

When times are tough, non-profits and other civic organizations often suffer. Now is the perfect time to give back to your community and reap the networking benefits. Join a service organization or a civic association that interests you. It’s best to join a group that meets on a regular basis, like the Rotary Club. This will allow you to network and share your company with new people.

 

Also, become more conscious about marketing to your current customers or clients and ask them for a referral. While it seems like common sense, it’s often forgotten that your long-time clients are your biggest promoters.

How to get the most bang from your PR buck

An effective public relations campaign is vital to growing a business. PR can get the public talking about your company, your cause or what you’re selling. Ultimately, the right kind of publicity can help you connect with your target market long-term.

 

However, what should you do once you’ve gotten the campaign up and running? How should you reap the benefits of your PR results? It’s easier than you think. By integrating your PR materials into your other marketing efforts you’ll be getting the most bang for your buck.

 

Here are some ideas for making the most out of your PR efforts:

 

• Reprint relevant articles and other media hits and use them as supplemental copy in your direct mail packages, e-newsletters to clients or customers and potential investors. You can also use them as handouts at trade shows.

 

• If your company relies on a sales team, provide them with copies of some of your best feature articles, business profiles or guest columns so they can pass them along to customers on sales calls. They can also mail them along with a personal letter as a follow up.

 

• Use positive news briefs in your company’s advertising campaign to enhance credibility.

 

• If you don’t have one already, create a news room or media link on your company’s website. Here, you can post recent news articles and video clips for both current and potential clients to view. Remember to keep it updated often.

 

 

 

Public Relations: A constant in a constantly changing world

The need for increased visibility, elevated awareness and third–party credibility is what makes public relations a necessity. No marketing plan is fully realized in the absence of public relations.

Marketing is a rapidly changing industry, where evolution happens at breakneck speed.  In the world of PR, the message has always changed, now the messenger is frequently new, yet the need for the message is still the same – it’s vitally important.

Traditional public relations has a huge media coverage element.  The foundation has heretofore been print media – newspapers and magazines, and the electronic media – television and radio.  The past ten years has witnessed the rise of the Internet, where web stories are as valuable as their predecessor, and even more so as searchability becomes a priority.

New media is now part of the equation.  Podcasts, streaming video, blogging – these are all critical messengers to get clients news out into the public.  By ignoring these, PR practitioners are bypassing an important audience that could be influential in their market.  By the same token, ignoring the traditional media is also a mistake.

The fact is public relations is a constant.  It’s necessary and fundamental to the viability of any company, service provider and professional business. So we inaugurate our own new media with today’s blog.  Welcome.