The Public Relations Blog

Use PR to become a leader in your industry

We know the story well: Barack Obama went from a relatively unknown first-term politician to win the hearts and minds of the people and take the presidency of the United States. It was considered by many to be a major PR achievement and is featured in the recently published book Campaigns that Shook the World by Danny Rogers.

Not long ago, the Axia team blogged about dark sites – what they are and why they exist. But some may question their value in this age of rapid-fire, immediate communication. Now we take an in-depth look at dark sites and why we need them.

Available since the dawn of the Internet, dark sites are optimized, informative web pages that temporarily reside in the deep web of the Internet. Given limitless coding options, the Internet has layers like an onion.

A few months ago, social media platform powerhouse Twitter announced plans to alter its design. While some changes were aesthetic, a polarizing decision to remove the “share count” button sent Twitter users, developers and social media pundits into frenzies.

Twitter’s share analytics allow businesses, bloggers and everyday Twitter users to track the value (by share count) of their content. Twitter owners know instantaneously what content is perceived as most valuable. Some may wonder why the removal of the share count button is such a big deal, while others are scratching their heads over Twitter’s baffling decision.

PR communications in a crisis must be handled with empathy and sensitivity

Given the reality of 24-hour news, both large and small events receive intense scrutiny during a crisis. The larger networks, in an effort to cater to the American public, will switch to real-time events. Any type of news – good or bad – can become top billing in today’s news cycle. Stock market gains, job market changes or violent crises all can take the main stage for viewership.

Google has changed the SEO and social media game again, so you’ll need to change with it

Google recently announced a major change in how it handles Google+ for businesses. Most of the features a Google+ profile had before, such as phone numbers, reviews, operating insights and page insights, can now be found on the Google Maps profile. This update affects how a company should manage its SEO and prioritize its Google profiles.

How to use a PR nightmare to help you improve your bottom line

The country’s current social climate is an opportunity for better public relations between PR firms and their clients. One of the best examples arose recently at the University of Missouri, and smart companies are paying attention and making changes.

Understanding an important tool for crisis management

Experienced PR firms that are skilled in crisis communications work closely with their clients to build “dark sites” (aka blind sites, black sites or ghost sites). Dark sites are fully functional, pre-packaged web pages prepared for immediate publishing in the event of a crisis. Dark sites are so named because they reside in a different layer of the Internet than the layer most of us typically use, and their main purpose is to communicate accurate and timely information, given the immediacy of viral social media.

Use PR to solve problems, build your customer base and achieve results

Engineering firms today face a challenging marketplace. In order to stay ahead of the competition, you need to increase your visibility, prove that you add value and differentiate yourself as an industry leader. Help from PR can make these vital tasks easier.

To engage clients, handle crises and communicate effectively with target audiences, every kind of business requires assistance from experts who excel in these areas.

Let PR show you how to help your company while helping others

You have done a good job of fostering a company culture that encourages and celebrates charitable giving. Of course, you did not do this just to receive recognition, but it would be nice to get some anyway. The trick is to promote your corporate social responsibility efforts without sounding like a showoff and possibly alienating customers. With help from PR, you can reap both the internal and external benefits of your charitable giving efforts.

Late Friday night, when gunfire and blasts took the lives of at least 128 people in Paris, the world turned to social media for updates on the tumultuous situation. Among the tweets of condolence, sadness and worry, there was the occasional corporate tweet about products, the sporadic blogger pushing his posts and some of the usual whimsical content you find on Twitter.

While social media is a fun way to connect with consumers and prospects, it’s also a source for news and community-building during times of tragedy.