350 Social Networking site address

In the past several years, some networks have thrived, some vanished, while hundreds of new ones appeared. It has become a huge area to follow, and this article illustrates this well: a collection of over 350 social networking sites.

What’s Your Personal PR Plan?

With the rise of blogging and social media, individuals have more opportunities than ever to brand and promote themselves. What are you doing to brand and promote yourself today? Do you have a personal PR plan? When I take a look at some of the best-known people in the media, marketing and public relations sectors, I can’t help but notice how awesome they are at self-promotion. Is this luck? I think not. I think this is a commitment to a personal PR plan, whether formal or informal, to help them position themselves as experts in their particular areas.

What can you do to put yourself on a path to building your personal brand around your areas of expertise?

Why You Need to Protect Your Clients With a Social Media #Crisis Plan

Author:  Melissa Agnes

With the continuous rise in social media activity, and more and more brands learning the advantages of building real connections with their clients and prospects online, we can now say with certainty that social media marketing is here to stay.

However, with the sweet comes the sour and many companies and organizations are not preparing for – or even realizing that along with these great opportunities exists great risk. Risk that can destroy a brand in minimal time. Risk that, without the right social media crisis plan, leaves every company and organization highly vulnerable.

Whether you’re currently active on social media or not, and no matter the brand’s type, size or industry, social media crises are a reality that can strike any brand at any time – and the only thing we can usually anticipate is that one will strike when it’s least expected. Whether it be with the launch of a hopeful campaign, due to an employee’s mistake, technical errors… it need not matter. The only thing that matters when you find yourself in the midst of a social media crisis are two things:

• Your response time
• Your response strategy

Let me give you an example.

A couple months ago I received a call bright and early from a Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) in a panic.

Note: For those of you who are unfamiliar with Reits, a Reit is a public company that invests in commercial and industrial real estate, selling units (their version of shares) to investors.

This particular Reit called me in a panic when they found themselves faced with a social media crisis that was quickly dominating the online space.

Tips for Starting a Public Relations Firm

A small boutique PR firm doesn’t require a lot of start-up capital, but can provide a measurable return

By Jenni Simcoe, Writer

 Publicists are a unique breed. They tend to be extroverted people who can talk to anyone about anything. If you have the gift of gab and a background in communications, a start-up PR firm can be an excellent small business to start. It requires low start-up costs and can grow rapidly from one client to ten. Although starting your own boutique PR firm can be a low-maintenance endeavor, staying in the public relations business takes tenacity and patience. But the results can be worth it. Before you embark on your business plan, make sure you:

1. Have an existing client base or choose your target base by size, geography or industry.
2. Make media contacts by inviting local editors and producers to coffee or lunch and asking how they choose their stories.
3. Join industry groups that provide continued education opportunities and resources.

Make friends, influence people

The key to being a successful publicist is the quality of your media contact list. Build up local as well as national media contacts that cover the industries that you plan to service.