Inside PR: 2.97: Jazzing it up NOLA style with Counselors Academy

This post was originally published on Inside PR 2.97.

Live from New Orleans… well live to tape – Gini, Joe and I are together at PRSA Counselors Academy’s annual conference for agency owners/leaders (and we all had our parts to play…). The theme is ‘Jazz Up Your Agency: Stylings from the Best in the Biz’ and we thought we’d recap our first day and a half. 

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Irrelevance could be just around the corner

A friend of mine recently commented that he still doesn't get Twitter.  

I understand how he feels because I was there…many of us were when we started. And from trial and error and all the hours spent, we start to see the value – or don't.

But the flood of negative responses surprised me because you could see they were from people who'd based their opinions on things they'd heard or read. Not from a personal experience with the site.

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Counselors Academy: a double major in business and PR

This is a slightly revised version of the message I wrote as chair of the 2012 PRSA Counselors Academy conference, which is, as I've said on a number of occasions, my PR highlight of the year. I've learned more about running a business, understanding people and communication industry trends and challenges from Counselors than anywhere else (including Mad Men ).

If you're a PR agency owner or leader, I'd encourage you to check out this year's schedule and join us in New Orleans. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or want more info. 

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Is PR going through the social media motions?

I recently wrote a piece for PR News Online about why it still feels PR agencies are missing the social media boat.  There's talk-sure, but not enough action (i.e. participation). 

Too many PR agencies are doing social media the way ad agencies do PR. Of course, I'm generalizing when I say this. But I've been in lots of meetings where ad folks equate PR with publicity—for the ad campaign.

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The face of a new media company

With all the talk about the upcoming Facebook IPO and the insights into their revenue (85% from advertising), it's hard not to consider them a media company. And if you've ever seen a presentation by the Facebook sales team, you've already figured that out. They start with data and effortlessly segue into ads. 

Then there's YouTube, (soon to be launching original channels with shows by well-known producers), not to mention Google+ and all the other Google products.  Twitter may claim otherwise, but aren't they really a social newswire?  LinkedIn has hired editors.  Pinterest is still in beta, but as a souped up catalogue with social elements, imagine the possibilities. 

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