It seems like that’s what a lot of people are thinking these days. After all, longtime newspapers are either shutting down, cutting editorial content and/or laying off reporters. A recent Gallup poll reports that consumers have lost confidence in the so-called Fourth Estate (See “Flack Me” blog at http://www.talentzoo.com/flack-me/news.php/The-Fine-Print-The-Medium-Also-Matters-to-PR-Pros/?articleID=8080) And with increasing emphasis on social media and “new PR,” newspapers may truly be in critical condition.

So, I ask, are they worth saving?

The “Flack Me” blog post points out that in-depth reporting is one reason why newspapers should be kept alive. As a former reporter, I must agree. There are still papers out there that afford reporters the time and resources to focus on one story or multiple stories in a series. Usually, the hard work pays off and some social injustice is exposed, dark dealings are brought into the light or community heroes get long-deserved recognition.

Unfortunately, it’s the smaller community papers that can’t afford to be so patient with the cultivation of content. Where it used to be about “getting to the truth”, today it’s all about filling that day’s edition and making deadline. The result has been a decrease in overall quality and an increase in reader apathy.

Even the reporters ain’t what they used to be. The local papers I know of are constantly dealing with high staff turnover and suddenly interns are promoted to staff writers. The truly passionate reporters burn out quickly and leave the paper or the professional altogether. Why? Because smaller community papers are being bought up by larger groups or chains. To cut costs, staffs are consolidated and given more to do. Now a reporter who used to cover one city has to find a regionalized story that can run in sister papers. They’re no longer reporting on a community, they’re reporting on an issue or topic.

When I was a reporter, the newsroom was my home and my colleagues were my family. The community we covered was usually the community we lived in. That’s just not the case anymore. For example, at one point, my local paper’s copydesk — the staff that edited the articles — was located nearly 20 miles away in another county and was responsible for editing multiple editions. The copydesk finally moved back into the city, but now the deadlines have been moved to 3 p.m. Three o’clock? Every reporter knows that all the good news breaks after 5!

One alternative is online newspapers. AOL has launched a few editions in California (and maybe other states) called “Patch.” It’s city specific and it’s pretty informative. This idea and other variations of it may be the rebirth of the traditional newspaper. The in-depth reporting may not be as deep, but at least if you want to know what your city council is up to then all you have to do is log on.

So, are newspapers worth saving?

I say let’s ask the newspaper owners.

But there are things in life that you don’t JUST do. Jumping into shark-infested waters, flying an airplane for the first time or, for most people, walking down the aisle are a few of the things that come to mind that require some planning and preparation.

Social Media is another.

I’ve been researching local businesses in my area to find out if they are on Facebook and Twitter so I could start following them or become a fan. I was surprised to learn that most are not. But whether they should be is a topic for another post. Instead, today I want to talk about the ones that had taken the Social Media plunge. Unfortunately for these businesses, every single one of them was dead in the water.

The biggest mistake is that it is apparent that these businesses simply did it just to do it. There was no value in their presence, no communication with customers and nothing to pull me in and make me want to know more about them.

For example, I found a Facebook page for one of my family’s favorite burger joints. But I was instantly baffled when I realized the only activity was a few months-old Wall posts from customers. While they were mostly positive, not once did someone from the burger place respond or thank their customers for their loyalty. Then I saw that there were a few photos and before I clicked the tab open I surmised the photos had to be of the fantastic car shows that the place hosted once a month. But no, instead, there were just two fuzzy photos of the menu. And not really photos of the menu, but more like photo scans! The quality was horrible and I could barely read the selection of breakfast items. Such a waste!

The point of this is that if you or your client decides that your public relations plan should integrate some type of Social Media marketing, make sure you aren’t doing it just for the sake of saying that you did.

Without a strategy or a commitment to maintain what you create, Social Media won’t help you at all. In fact, it could even hurt the brand or business.

 100 percent or 100%?

 Non-profit, nonprofit or not-for-profit?

 When it comes to branding your identity or your client’s identity, it’s important to know the answers to the above questions.

 To establish a brand, you have to go deeper than just a logo or certain fonts and colors. You have to have continuity in how you communicate with your audience. The best way to do that, I believe, is to have a standards guide that includes writing style.

If you work in Public Relations or advertising, I am sure you are familiar with creating corporate identity manuals for either your client or your own organization. But how many of those manuals include a section on writing style? Maybe you and/or your client refer to the AP Stylebook (or other type of published handbook) for guidance. But what about those unique, specific words or phrases that only apply to your business?

For those of you who don’t know, the AP Stylebook was created by the Associated Press and is the Bible of sorts for major newspapers around the country. Way more than just a dictionary, it really does set THE standard for journalistic writing. Ever wonder what is the correct way to abbreviate California? According to the AP Stylebook, there are actually two ways: One for postage (CA.) and one for use with a city (Calif.). Even if you aren’t writing a news article, it’s a good book to have handy when writing web copy, brochures, press releases and, well, everything.

When I first started at my organization several years ago, the subject of a corporate writing style came up a lot. One time I asked my boss how our organization used “health care.”

“Is it one word or two words,” I asked. She looked back at a couple of different projects and told me, “We’ve used it both ways, so whatever you want is fine.”

So I told her, “How about from now on, we always use two words?”

She agreed. Other style issues continued to come up and eventually I just stopped asking and would simply announce “From now on, we use this.” I kept a running list on my own computer until finally it was time to redo our corporate identity manual and suggested we add a chapter on writing style. It’s a mix of AP style and our own corporate style. The handbook has really helped us take control over our identity – both externally and internally.

For example, every once in awhile someone from another area will challenge my edits to something they have written. All I have to say is “That’s not our style,” and they back down.

My background is in journalism so maybe that’s why I’m partial to AP style. But that doesn’t mean I’m against creating your own style – just as long as you follow it – consistently.

Then the subject started to come up more and more at my organization. So I decided I better start doing my homework. Very quickly I realized just how little I knew and just how much I needed to learn. Not just in case I needed it one day for my job, but because I realized that Social Media had, in fact, become a very big part of PR. I also realized that because it could be awhile before my organization took the plunge, all my learning would have to be self-taught.

But where to start? Since I was already on Facebook that seemed like a logical place. I began posting as much as I could and downloaded the app to my Blackberry so I could check my news feed and post my status throughout the day. At first it was fun to keep up to date with friends, but I knew I needed to also understand the other side of Facebook – how to promote a business or a client. So I started my own “fan page.” It’s called “You Know You’re a Working Mother When” and it’s just funny anecdotes posted weekly targeted to working moms. My fan base is slowly growing, but it’s definitely been a great learning tool.

I needed advice on what to do next. I found a great Web site called Talentzoo.com which features job listings in advertising and public relations and also articles from some great communications and marketing experts. The first article I read was by none other than the “Branding Diva” herself, Karen Post, who wrote about how Twitter had just helped her land a big client.

I had heard of Twitter of course, but never understood the appeal. But because the Branding Diva was using it, then I figured I should be too. I thought long and hard about what my profile name should be. I knew it should have “PR” somewhere in it since this was mainly going to be a “professional” platform. Finally I settled on @prmom2three. I started immediately looking for people to “follow” and decided I wanted to look for more PR experts such as the Branding Diva (whom I did find and now follow @brandingdiva). I also picked a few “fun” ones like @azizansari and @torianddean (although one could argue that Tori Spelling is a PR expert in her own right when you look at how she successfully markets her family, her businesses and, basically, her entire life). I was shocked when within one hour of signing up for my account I already had a couple of followers of my own. I guess the “PR” in my profile name helped me market myself to others without me even really trying.

It’s hard to “tweet” every day, let alone every hour like most people. And it’s taking me some time to figure out the lingo and special functions like “hashtags” and “retweeting.” One thing I have mastered is the “short link.” I started noticing that a lot of url addresses on tweets had “bit.ly” included within them. So I found bitly.com and can now shorten links with the best of them.

But, in the beginning, I really had no interesting links to shorten. I needed a Web site or a blog to drive my followers to – a place where I could share my knowledge and expertise for those who were interested. I read a few more articles (mainly on copyblogger.com), visited the WordPress site and ended up with this blog I’ve called “BetterPR.” It’s a blog for PR folk just learning the business and in need of some tips (like how to learn about Social Media on your own) or seasoned professionals in need of some basic reminders. I like the fact that I can track hits to my blog, link to my Twitter account and keep track of comments.

I added Digg and foursquare to my repertoire next. I have accounts with both and try to visit them at least a few times a week. These are my newest ventures, so I’m still learning the ins and outs. And although I had visited YouTube before to look at popular videos, I never uploaded any of my own – until now. It’s a home video of my youngest daughter, but hey, it’s gotten a few hits thanks to her aunts and grandma.

I’m also constantly reading articles on Social Media and subscribe via e-mail and/or Twitter to some very informative Web sites and blogs such as “PR2.0” by Brian Solis (www.briansolis.com) and “The ProActive Report” by Sally Falkow (www.proactivereport.com), and I’m always on the lookout for free or low cost webinars on Social Media (Ragan’s PR Daily has become a good resource). Whenever a new platform or blog is referenced, I immediately look it up to see if it is something I want to use.

And that’s the thing about Social Media these days. There IS always something: Something new to learn or something new to sign up for. It’s definitely a huge investment of my personal time since who knows if my organization will ever take the leap. Because of that, I do feel guilty spending so many hours on my laptop at home instead of playing a game with my kids or talking with my husband. It’s almost like I’m running after some train that has already left the station and every time I think I’m close enough to jump on board, it speeds away from me.

But then, every once in awhile, I’ll be reading a blog or a tweet about Social Media and all of sudden I’ll realize, “Hey, I actually understand what this person is writing about!” A smile comes across my face because I know that even though the transformation is far from complete, I am, in fact, on my way to becoming a Social Media butterfly.

OK, kinda corny I know. I told you I had a lot to learn.

I like this post because it really is telling of the love-hate relationship between PR professionals and newspaper reporters. We need them. They need us. And even if you believe that newspapers are becoming extinct, as long as there is a major one still in your client’s targeted service area you need to include them as a PR vehicle.

Because when the relationship works and the stars align, the result can be beneficial for both of us. We get positive exposure for our client and the reporter gets a great story for his or her paper.

There are times though when the relationship is unbalanced and as a PR professional you find yourself struggling to get your story ideas picked up. There could be different reasons why this is happening. To achieve that so-called Perfect Pitch, you may just need to know a few insider tricks.

In a former life, I was a newspaper reporter and wrote about everything from crime to education to lifestyle features. And while my coverage areas and editors changed over the years, I always heard the same thing: “Good stories don’t come from press releases.”

That said, I must admit to you now, lots of stories that end up printed in newspaper have indeed come from a press release or was pitched by a PR person. Any self-respecting reporter who wants to keep his job will deny it, but it is the truth.

Now, not every story that you or client think is newspaper-worthy will make it to print. But follow these tips and you just might get some bites:

PUT A FACE ON IT

The most interesting articles are those that tell a personal story. If you want to promote a new service or program, identify someone who can talk about their personal experience using it. The first paragraph of your release should be about this person. You also need to make sure the person is willing to be interviewed/photographed in case a reporter is interested. Also make sure the person lives/works in the city the newspaper covers and, if needed, can be interviewed in a different language if you are pitching to non-English publications.

TIMING IS CRITICAL

Read your targeted publications regularly so you can know what types of stories they use and the topics that have already been reported. Maybe your client or organization just acquired a great new piece of technology and you want to send out a fabulous release with testimonials and statistics. You better make sure that the newspaper hasn’t already run an article on someone else who is also using that same great new technology because the only person who will ever get to read that fabulous press release will be you.

 THINK IN TERMS OF TRENDS

Like every other business right now, newspapers are downsizing and have had to come up with ways to be more efficient. Many of the larger newspaper groups have consolidated their resources and have combined their staffs. That means that one reporter can write an article that will be used in multiple editions spanning different cities and counties. That is why reporters love stories about trends or subjects that can be regionalized.

FIND A “HOOK” (MAKE IT RELEVANT)

This also has to do with timing. Try to tie your subject matter to something relevant in the here and now. It can be a holiday, a groundbreaking study or a topic already in the news. If you don’t have one, make one up. You need a news hook, the thing that turns your generic press release into something that needs to be covered NOW. Maybe a business is looking for, well, more business. Suggest that the business organize some type of special event that will draw in more customers and, hopefully, HOOK a reporter and even a photographer. It could be a charity fundraiser or a free “whatever” day. As long as there isn’t a fire or other natural disaster, you should get coverage because every newspaper is always in need of stories with great art (photos).

If you work at an agency or firm, the job descriptions are probably, generally, the same even if the exact job title may differ. These staff members are responsible for handling your accounts, right? If you asked me, I would say no. I think that they are responsible for handling your clients.

Is it the same thing? I don’t think it should be. I think that account managers need to be more about managing the client. I’m talking about making the client happy and providing great customer service day in and day out. This is because service during the project process is just as important as the final product. Both will determine whether the client comes back for more.

I’ve been an account manager and I’ve been the client – and in some instances I have been both at the same time depending on the project. I’ve had my share of poor customer service and service that went above and beyond. So, I’ve compiled a list of my top do’s and don’ts to serve as a reminder that client management – not account management – is really the essence of what we do in Public Relations, Advertising or Marketing:

Don’t make any assumptions about your client’s knowledge, capabilities or resources

This is basically a failure to communicate with your client. If you are unsure about something, it’s always better to ask. I once worked with an agency whose reps constantly sent me files in formats I couldn’t use either because I didn’t have the software they did or because they were using a different version. And it would always take them a couple of resends to finally figure out why I couldn’t open the files. I finally just asked them to send me everything they had ever done for me, clearly told them what formats to use and then never gave them another project again.

My former boss likes to tell the story of how during her first few weeks in her new position she met the principle of an agency already retained by her new employer. The person spent most of the first meeting explaining the process of media buying in very. simple. terms. If that person would have taken a few minutes to ask some questions about my boss’ background, she would have learned that my boss had many years experience working in an agency and was quite the expert already in media buying. A few months later when the retainer was up for renewal, she let the agency go and took over all of the media buying herself.

Do make the extra effort and ask those basic, yet important, questions. It will save time and frustration down the line.

*** 

Don’t be a pest

While it’s important to keep the lines of communication open, don’t push it. Nothing irritates me more than someone calling me more than once just to let me know he or she just faxed or e-mailed me something, especially, if it’s not urgent or on deadline. So, so annoying!

Do follow up on urgent issues, especially when there are deadlines involved. Find out how your client prefers to be contacted and how often.

 ***

Don’t keep your other staff in the dark about your clients, especially when a project is pending.

This can really be useful in any service type industry. While some clients do prefer having only one main contact, make sure others at your agency or firm are still available for questions or just informed about the client overall. One or two companies have lost out on new projects from me based on one phone call alone. If I can’t get an answer to my question on a rush project right away because my contact is on vacation or out of the office and no one else knows me or knows my organization, then I’ll take my business elsewhere and most likely won’t come back.

One of the many things that impressed me about a new agency I just hired was the fact that every time I called during the bidding phase, the receptionist who answered called me by my first name and never put me on hold for more than a few seconds. She obviously knew she needed to make a good impression on a potential client for her agency – and she did.

Do make sure your client feels like he or she is your priority, as well as the priority of your entire firm.

 ***

Don’t dismiss lower level staff employed by your client

Just because you think the receptionist or office manager probably won’t have a say in whether you get the project doesn’t mean that you don’t need to treat them with respect every time you call. And if that office manager shows up in a meeting, you better not act like he or she is invisible or doesn’t matter.

A colleague once told me that when she was first starting out at her previous company her boss invited her to a meeting where an agency was going to present a new ad campaign. During the meeting, the agency person never acknowledged her presence or answered her questions. After the meeting, the boss asked for her feedback and she gave it. The boss was impressed and she was brought in to every meeting after that. Eventually, she was the agency’s sole contact. After the campaign was completed, she let the agency know in no uncertain terms that its services were not going to be needed for any of HER future projects.

Do respect and value the importance of every person you work with on a project because job titles shouldn’t make a difference.

 ***

Don’t constantly remind your clients that you are an “expert”

They already know that or else they wouldn’t have hired you. However, you are an expert in Public Relations, Advertising or Marketing – you are not an expert on their company. If a client pushes back on an idea, don’t play the “expert” card. Listen to his or her concerns, answer questions and see if a compromise can be reached. “Because I said so” is a response for toddlers – not for clients.

 Do pitch your ideas and back them up with research and proven results. And be willing to accept the fact that there will be times when your client’s own ideas may just be better.

That said, sometimes we all need reminders about the basics of PR and that this profession is based more on ”client management” than “account management.”

In my 15 years experience in public relations and communications, I have been both the client and the client manager. Sometimes, I’ve been both at the same time depending on the project.

So Better PR is all about what I have learned, what I’m learning and everything in between.