Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: event planning, leadership, public relations
I’m posting in response to a challenge from ready2spark about what leadership means to me during these trying times. Although I’m merely a student who has yet to experience a leadership role in the event-planning industry, I figured I’d give it my best shot and share my thoughts on the subject.
I think leadership means having the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide direction, cultivate innovation and obtain results- no matter what the circumstances might be.
It All Depends on How You See the Glass
“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” -Albert Einstein
I’ve always considered myself to be an optimist – and considering the fact I’m about to graduate and enter the worst job market in years, I guess I’d have to be, right? Even when the outlook seems bleak, I tend and try to look for the best in a situation.
I think it’s easy to fall into the habit of dwelling on negativity rather than being positive and responding proactively. Strong leaders should be optimistic and motivate others even when things don’t go as planned.
According to the Tal Ben- Shahar, author of The Pursuit of Perfect:
“The key difference between a perfectionist and an optimalist is that the former essentially rejects reality while the latter accepts it.”
I think event planners have the mindset they need to plan ahead for everything; unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot anyone could have done to really prepare for this financial crisis. The plunging economy has taken its toll on all aspects of commerce in our country, but I think leaders should accept this economic challenge as an opportunity for creative change in the industry.
Why not look for the upside to the downturn?
After collecting responses from professionals in the industry, the EventManagerBlog identified the following five qualities of successful event managers:
- Flexibility
- Communication
- Organization
- Passion
- Time management
While all of these characteristics are important, it seems like during these trying times, the only way to avoid failure is to be flexible and embrace changes. Planning cost-efficient events without sacrificing quality is essential. Leaders should have the ability to rely on creativity and savvy marketing skills to come up with innovative, new strategies for planning events.
In addition, good leadership is about motivating others to take action. Leaders have the responsibility of encouraging teams of professionals and volunteers to come up with alternatives to traditional planning methods and still meet the objectives of their company or clients.
A professor once told me that all the good ideas have been done before, but I don’t know if that is really true in this case. Although our economy is struggling, new technologies are thriving. As social networks like Twitter and Facebook continue to expand, they present endless opportunities for future networking and event-planning purposes. Leaders should see this an exciting time to be optimistic and embrace changes in the industry.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blogger outreach, blogging, event planning, public relations
I was listening to the radio last week, and I heard a conversation about Heather Armstrong, the award winning mommy blogger of Dooce. After blogging for nine years and building an audience, exceeding hundreds of thousands of readers, Armstrong has positioned herself as one of the most influential woman in the parenting industry. As a result, she earns $40,000 every month for all the advertisements posted on her blog.
Over the past couple years, I have noticed bloggers continuing to gain credibility and publicity. It seems like now more than ever, public relations professional need to focus on blogger outreach strategies rather than traditional media relations to enhance interaction with online communities.
Blogs have transformed the way the public views traditional forms of media. Transparency in blogging has increased the ability for people to detect dishonesty, and it has given citizen journalists opportunities to enhance the way they express themselves. Bloggers have the unique ability to reach extremely targeted audiences because they post content that appeals to a niche group of people who share similar interests. More PR professionals are starting to rely on relationships with citizen journalists as part of low-budget, new media initiatives to sustain successful PR campaigns.
According to a post on PR 2.0, it is best to listen and observe before initiating any type of communication with bloggers. Building relationships with bloggers is not done aimlessly; they require traditional media relations skills, as well as planning strategic and creative approaches to promoting your client online.
PR and social media marketing expert David Parmet offered this advice:
“Here are a few tips on how to get me to get interested in your clients work. Don’t pitch me. Instead, get to know me, and build a relationship, leave comments on my blog, Join the conversation. Find out what I’m interested in. Read my blog, examine the keywords, read the about page, my focus is on Web Strategy, find out what that means! I usually ignore the generic press release, it gets deleted quickly, consider a personal message. Consider not pitching a press release or announcement at all. Why not point me to relevant blog posts from the client (non marketing ones) that I’d be willing to add to my blog. Always remember that I’m thinking of my readers first, so if the content is not going to help them, I’m not going to point to it–think backwards.”
Stop Sending Spam
Consider the following tips before filling a bloggers inbox with irrelevant information:
- Know the blogger. Make a list of bloggers who post about events or who have written about your company previously, and then research those blogs. Building a foundation and basic understanding of bloggers and their target audiences will help when determining which bloggers to pitch and what information they’ll consider to be most relevant and compelling.
- Be objective. Make sure to find a news hook to make the event newsworthy and of interest to the blogger. Make sure this event is entertaining, informative or of other value to the specific blog’s audience.
- Develop a relationship. Establish an initial connection with a blogger before asking them to do anything. Always share honest, transparent information to build credibility. Make your message personal and concise, don’t send a press release to a blogger.
Communicate Cautiously
Bloggers aren’t held to the same ethical responsibilities as professional journalists. Bloggers act as their own editors and they have the ability to post whatever they chose. Because blogging etiquette remains undefined, there is always the potential for bloggers to generate negative coverage and risk harming your client’s reputation. It’s crucial to monitor blogs and feedback from the online community to make sure and respond to criticism or negative comments. However, most of the time bloggers should work cooperatively with professionals as long as a mutually beneficial relationship has already been established.
Social networking and blogging technologies are going to continue evolving and influencing online audiences, so interaction between bloggers and professionals should continue to improve-and eventually become just as routine as dealing with media relations for traditional reporters and journalists.
