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Today Tesla announced that they dissolved their PR team - the first in the auto industry to make such a move and choose not to speak to the press. Exact reasons were not stated but many can speculate. It’s fairly common knowledge that Elon doesn’t respond well to criticism, and also that the Tesla PR team is one of the most cycled through teams in tech history. We’ve seen this “resistance to PR” before in different capacities, for example, Apple PR not speaking on certain items and other companies choosing to execute reactive Communications only. 

But, nothing at all? 

Obviously Elon is a man of surprises and is often critiqued by the press for his harsh comments and off the cuff tweets, but from a PR perspective, it begs a few questions: does this matter? Does not having PR impact the bottom line? Is this strategic or or a brash reactive move?

My initial reaction to this news as a PR professional was: 

“What happens when inaccurate...

by Michelle Garrett, Consultant and Writer, Garrett Public Relations  

Brands in hot water – it happens FAR too often. CrossFit. L’Oreal. Burger King. Just a few of the brands that have faced a crisis in 2020. 

Each time one of these stories makes the news, the cry from PR pros everywhere can be heard – “Why didn’t they consult their public relations team BEFORE this happened?” 

In many cases, the mess they created could’ve been avoided had the brand consulted its resident PR pro. But, if the public relations team is brought in after the crisis has been created, there’s only so much they can do. After the fact, they need to struggle to salvage what’s left of the company’s reputation. 

And fast. More than half of consumers expect your business to respond to a crisis within an hour. More than a third say a brand should respond within 30 minutes. 

Gone are the days when the PR team could go...

In partnership with the Public Relations Society of America - San Francisco Chapter, RemotePRJobs hosted a webinar with top PR recruiters from various companies to discuss the secrets of research, recruitment, and retention during COVID-19, in order to win and locate the best opportunities. 

Below is a recap of the session, that touches on how agencies and brands are identifying top talent and how candidates can ace the interview process in a tough job market.

RESEARCH

Navigating the Job Search

Resumes and LinkedIn: For resumes, you may be thinking of how to have the “perfect” resume. Your resume should be crafted from the job descriptions from jobs you apply to, using other LinkedIn profiles to obtain key job points, as well as incorporating keywords, numbers, and statistics. What you don’t want to do is to focus on specific tasks, use company specific jargon, or assume the reader knows what you do. 

Is it ok to have a resume that's more...

We know that it takes more than a press release to get headline media coverage. It's a jigsaw puzzle, and one of the pieces is media relations. Media relations is simply the act of reaching out to the media in a personalized manner. However, I wanted to quickly re-visit, breakdown and explain three different media relations strategies that clients often have questions around: pre-briefings, embargoes and exclusives. 

THE EXCLUSIVE

An exclusive is when you give your story to one media publication only, in advance of your announcement. There are pros and cons to this, since you ARE putting all of your eggs in one basket.

• Pros: getting an exclusive is very enticing for a news outlet. It makes them feel more invested in the story and they will be able to cover news that their competitors won’t. In turn, they will likely push their editor harder to get the story to run, which increases your chances of coverage. 
• Cons: It’s always risky to put your eggs in one...

"We just need a Press Release, right?”

Attention Startups Founders: it takes more than “just” a press release to get media coverage.

A common frustration amongst PR professionals is how often they are approached by startups, founders and businesses who say “We don’t have much of a budget. We just want a press release so that the WSJ will cover us.” Sigh.

It’s time to demystify this statement - not only for the startup founders, business owners, and entrepreneurs, but also to help PR professionals properly articulate their value.

So here it is. Your PR consultant (or agency) is doing a lot more than “just” writing a press release to get you that headline media and press coverage. The journey from signing a contract to seeing media coverage for your company involves many laborious steps. It includes research, writing, competitive analysis, and relationship-building to boost credibility.

What is startup media coverage?

Startup media...

Imagine if after building your startup where you spent many sleepless nights cultivating the value proposition, identifying your target audience, understanding what you were solving for, getting customer validation, pitching investors, showing how it will impact the world...you launched. And well….

- The press stories were negative.

- The reporter compared you to your competition incorrectly.

- Your founder wasn’t even consulted for an interview.

- ...nobody wrote about you at all.

Now you have to be reactive. You go into crisis mode. You have to go and fix everything. That is 10x harder to come back from, than had you gotten ahead of the news and identified your story before anyone else. This is why PR matters early on. It allows you (the startup) to control your own narrative and story out the gate, as well as who gets to tell it. It’s important to be proactive with the press instead of reactive. This is achieved by working with PR early to create your company...

Join these PR groups to advance your career

A career in public relations (PR) is tough. A career in PR by yourself is even tougher. Nobody to bounce ideas off of, or get that second set of eyes. There’s nobody to ask about billing questions, or simply get a gut check on if a pitch is good or not. On top of all of this, you have to make sure you’re filling the pipeline and sourcing jobs as client contracts end.

The good news is that there are support and resources everywhere if you know where to look. Where do the top PR and Communications professionals go when they need support? Or, when they need contract work?

The top PR resources

You might be surprised to learn how many social media platforms cater to journalists and PR groups. Popular platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn may seem like obvious picks, but did you know that Reddit also has media relations communities?

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are a great place for professionals to connect, share their...

Whether it’s just you or a small agency; it’s crucial to establish yourself as a go-to PR resource for brands. Word of mouth, advertising, and former client referrals help. To get massive authority and credibility as a PR executive, you need to get published and share your knowledge. 

Getting published can have a significant effect on your brand, encourage new levels of innovation and make you stand out in the market. One way to do this is to write guest posts for important and authoritative websites. Often known as bylined articles or contributed articles, guest posts are written by you and are intended to provide a vendor-neutral viewpoint. 

Here are the benefits of guest posting, to help you build your PR business and get you more freelance jobs:

1. Build Credibility + Awareness. Remember you are speaking to the reader by talking about things that interest them or that they have questions about. After seeing your byline, readers can look for more on...

You have probably heard that Public Relations (PR) can help your business grow and make you money. Who doesn’t want that? However, you're not quite sure how it works, what it should cost or who is good at it.

You ask to be put in touch with a “PR professional,” this mythical creature who has relationships with the press and can supposedly get you published in all the top newspapers and magazines. It sounds awesome, and you’d love to be able to say you’ve been published.

However, where do you start? Do you know what you need PR for? Do you understand what it can do for your business? How do you know if the PR professional is good at what they do?

You don’t know what you don’t know, so here are some tips on how to have an effective conversation with a PR consultant or agency, to make sure you are getting what you need to help you reach your goals.

What can PR do for me and my business?

PR is not one size fits all. Like any business objective,...