Big Mistakes In PR That Can Easily Be Avoided

Wanted to discuss today some of the common mistakes made by people and agencies in public relations.

A few of the most common mistakes are actually very simple and easy to avoid, if you just take a little time and have a little knowledge.

1. Overdoing it with the media and contacting them too much. You do not need to contact the media 7 or 8 million times, this annoys them and if you burn a bridge, you may not have a second chance with the person you have harrassed to the point of ignoring you.
2. Making sure you have the right contacts at press outlets. Many times lists are out of date or have everyone at a press outlet on a list. This is not appropriate and you need to research and know who your contacts are for whatever type of story you are pitching. There can be more than one person at a publication, but you need to know who they are, not just randomly contact every reporter at an outlet. This makes you and your agency look like hacks and is not good.
3. One very important rule is to never ever lie to a media person about a company, product or service. We all want to score the meetings and the big stories with Wall Street Journal, New York Times, TechCrunch and Good Morning America, but when you lie you are risking not only your reputation with the media, but the company you represent. I have seen PR agencies and people lie and have warned them about this, and some have found out the hard way what it costs to try and fool the media. You cannot buy your reputation and if you soil your name with someone in the press, it could have a very negative effect on your career.

Just a few simple rules to follow when working with the media, and it is always best to be open, honest, and know your media outlets and contacts. A good PR agency or team lead will make sure their people are doing things the right way, and will educate and assist them on learning and developing in their career and skills, and help them to avoid blunders like those listed above.

Good luck pitching all you hungry PR people.

Which Is Best, Public Relations or Advertising?

Over the years I have been asked which is more important and best for a company when choosing a marketing tool, between Public Relations or Advertising?

The answer is simple, Both.

Advertising and public relations are both highly effective functions for people, companies and organizations to use for promoting a company, product or service. The differences between the two are unique, as it is a simple yet complex difference.

When choosing which service is more important a company needs to determine which will be most effective, in cost and results. In some cases public relations is more advantageous and cost effective, while other times an ad campaign will return greater results. In a perfect world a company would be able to use both public relations and advertising, but for many small and startup companies with limited funds and resources, advertising can be costly, whereas public relations is a more cost effective way to push and build the brand for growth, market expansion, customer retention and ROI.

For most small and startup companies that are operating under limited budgets, public relations is the best option.

Maxima PR Launches PR Services For Foreign Companies Looking To Break Into The U.S. Market

Maxima Public Relations launches new agency Monday, November 7 2011.

PR Firm Serves Up America with a Savvy Social Media Punch

Maxima PR, a veteran marketing and public relations team today launched new services aimed at tapping new revenue sources in Europe and around the world.  Maxima PR redefines public relations with a savvy combination of traditional full-range PR services and new social media communications strategies, tailored to meet the needs of foreign companies looking to build a strong presence in the United States...

See full release via Business Wire at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111107005042/en/Maxima-PR-Launches-PR-Services-Foreign-Companies