When I began my career in public relations (and I won’t say when that was), publicists and media relations specialists longed for the day when they could reach audiences with their clients’ or company’s news without first having to go through a media filter.

Eventually, their wish came true; first through social media, then through online services, such as PRWeb, that disseminate news and information directly to a broad, if indiscriminate, audience. (Disclosure: PRWeb is owned by Vocus, a corporate partner of PRSA).

Continue reading " Is PRWeb Really to Blame for Google Hoax? "

Sixty percent of Wikipedia articles for companies and clients of respondents who were familiar with them had factual errors. That surprising number, and more, can be found in the infographic below, which is based on a research study of the relationship between public relations professionals and Wikipedia. The study is published in the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) scholarly publication, Public Relations Journal.

The research was conducted by Marcia W. DiStaso, Ph.D., co-chair of PRSA’s National Research Committee and an assistant professor of public relations at Penn State University in State College, Pa. DiStaso surveyed 1,284 public relations professionals from PRSA, the International Association of Business Communicators, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, the Institute for Public Relations and the National Investor Relations Institute to assess their working relationship with Wikipedia. The Arthur W. Page Center at Penn State’s College of Communications funded the research.

Read the press release.

An article explaining the implications of that study is available through the Institute for Public Relations.

Wikipedia’s “Bright Line” Rule For PR Pros

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Continue reading " Infographic: Measuring PR Pros’ Engagement with Wikipedia "

Editor’s note: The following is a guest post by Burghardt Tenderich, Ph.D., associate professor and associate director of the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Burghardt manages the development of the biennial Generally Accepted Best Practices for Public Relations study, which assesses the scope of the public relations industry.

Corporate public relations budgets are mostly up, and the scope of the profession is experiencing growth in areas such as internal communication, customer relations and social media. These are some of the findings of a new study published by the USC Annenberg Strategic Communication and Public Relations Center.

GAP VII, the seventh biennial Generally Accepted Best Practices for Public Relations, shows some of the most significant findings in the area of measurement and evaluation: On average, corporations now spend 9 percent of their total PR budget on research-related activities, a sharp incline from 4 percent in the previous GAP study. This pronounced rise speaks to widespread adoption of social media monitoring tools and increasing use of primary research in program planning and evaluation.

The GAP VII research team, led by Jerry Swerling, Kjerstin Thorson and me, surveyed 620 senior public relations practitioners. This makes GAP VII the largest and most comprehensive study ever of the most senior communicators in public and private corporations, government agencies and non-profits in the United States. USC Annenberg conducted the study in cooperation with PRSA and other professional associations: Arthur W. Page Society, Institute for Public Relations and International Association of Business Communicators.

GAP VII aims to provide PR practitioners with actionable information they can use to better manage the communication functions in their organizations; identifies best practices against which they can benchmark their own organizations; and pinpoints trends to be aware of as they plan for tomorrow.

Continue reading " What the USC Annenberg GAP Study Tells Us About Public Relations’ Success "

The FDA’s draft industry guidance for off-label responses to consumers’ health care queries is a start but could benefit from specifics to appropriately advise health care communicators.

Last week, PRSA and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) filed joint comments with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concerning its proposed social media guidelines. Our central points can be summed up as follows: self-regulation works, and professional communicators and marketers are responsible and ethical practitioners.

The comments are a continuation of PRSA’s recent regulatory affairs work with the Federal Trade Commission and the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight.

The feedback we provided the FDA reflects the core values of PRSA’s Code of Ethics. We made clear our belief that public relations professionals are keen to protect consumers’ rights through open and honest communications, while advocating for the brands they represent. Those goals do not have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, each can enhance the quality of information provided to the public through proactive and transparent communications practices.

Our comments are the culmination of a long-standing advocacy campaign by PRSA to obtain adequate social media guidelines from the FDA. Through a variety of commentary pieces, we have expressed our perspective that the regulatory framework that currently governs health care and pharmaceutical brands’ online communications with consumers is inadequate. Moreover, the lack of specificity in that framework has led to inaccurate and outdated information swirling around the Internet concerning health care and wellness issues.

It is crucial that the FDA presents viable guidance for how companies can utilize social media to accommodate consumers’ fact-finding needs concerning health care and wellness issues. While a start, the proposed Guidelines lack specificity and relevance that communicators and marketers require to successfully perform their jobs within FDA guidelines. (Related: Dear FDA: Your Social Media Guidance is Requested)

Continue reading " Reviewing the FDA’s Proposed Social Media Guidelines "

Editor’s note: In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent public relations professionals to offer their views and ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. This is the sixth post in the series. A compilation of previous PRSA Black History Month blog posts can be found here.

A major highlight of my Fleishman-Hillard career was the privilege of not only knowing our co-founder, Al Fleishman, but calling him a mentor and friend. He was a man of many gifts: A great instinct for communication. A sharp, strategic mind. A big, big heart. He, along with his friend and business partner, Bob Hillard, became a pioneering force in public relations.

But Al’s greatest passion extended well beyond our profession. He was a great champion of diversity in all its forms. He was recognized as a tireless fighter for human rights who devoted much of his life to supporting the less fortunate and to helping people communicate with and understand one another better. It was a commitment that played out in many ways — from Al’s relief effort with European refugees after World War II, to his lifelong involvement with the nation of Israel, to his work with at-risk young men and women on the streets of St. Louis.

So, when we needed a name for an ambitious new diversity initiative at our firm, we didn’t have far to look.  We were proud to announce earlier this year the launch of the Alfred Fleishman Diversity Fellowship initiative. Under this program, we are reaching out to both ethnic and non-ethnic colleges and universities to generate a pool of qualified minority applicants at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Continue reading " Diversity Matters: Addressing Public Relations’ Diversity Deficit "