The PR Girl

Good morning, Yahoo! Don’t let me down.

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:49:36 -0400

Good morning, Yahoo! Don’t let me down.

Family Reacts to Down Syndrome Diagnosis

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:58:58 -0500

A mom talks about telling her and her husband’s family and friends about the diagnosis of their son’s Down syndrome, and how they reacted. She concludes by remarking that most of her apprehension about family and friends negative reactions was not the reality, and instead received mostly support and acceptance.

[View Video Blog Post]

See more videos at http://downsyndromeforreel.com/wordpress.com.

Teen: "He has Down syndrome, just like me!"

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:17:00 -0500

A mom describes her teen son’s positive and enlightened reaction to seeing and being around older individuals with Down syndrome at the National Down Syndrome Congress conference.

[View Video Blog]

More videos at Down Syndrome for Reel, a video blog of real accounts from real people about living with Down syndrome.

Job Opportunity: Manager of Digital Communications

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 18:23:21 -0500

Job Opportunity: Manager of Digital Communications

About FARE

Formed in 2012 as a result of a merger between the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI), FARE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to food allergy research and education with the mission of ensuring the safety and inclusion of individuals with food allergies while relentlessly seeking a cure. Food allergies are potentially life-threatening and affect as many as 15 million people in the United States, including one in 13 children. FARE funds world-class research that advances treatment and understanding of food allergies, provides evidence-based education and resources, undertakes advocacy at all levels of government, and increases awareness of food allergies as a serious public health issue. For more information, please visit www.foodallergy.org.

Position Description

The Manager of Digital Communications is a hands-on digital generalist who will be responsible for managing FARE’s websites, online fundraising platforms and social media accounts. With support from the communications team, the Manager of Digital Communication will plan, develop and implement strategy, content and design for the organization’s digital and social platforms. This position will work closely with team members throughout the organization to help ensure all online content is mission-driven and evidence-based. With the recent completion of the merger between FAAN and FAI, the Manager of Digital Communications will be a critical team member in the launch of FARE’s new websites and rebranded digital platforms. This position will report to the Vice President of Communications.

Responsibilities

Develop strategic plans for website content and social media platforms in partnership with members of the communications department
Work with VP of Communications and the development department to develop plans and design for online fundraising platforms and e-marketing materials
Manage all technical aspects of the websites, online marketing platforms and e-marketing tools; execute design and development across the organization’s online platforms
Develop thoughtful, well-written content consistent with established, evidence-based messaging
Manage day-to-day updates to the website and social media platforms; work with members of the communications department to monitor online discussions about food allergies and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and topics of interest
As one of the primary online “faces” of the organization, be proactive, professional, approachable and responsive with online community members and ensure social platforms live up to our commitment to be evidence-based and mission-driven
Employ SEO best practices and work with team members to incorporate these into all content developed for the web
Track and report on website, e-marketing/e-communications and social media metrics
Make strategic recommendations to communications team on ways to provide increased value to our active online community and enhance community engagement

· Project coordination and management for digital launches

· Work with the VP of Communications to develop a social media policy

Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of web design, development and programming experience, preferably in a nonprofit environment

· Experience creating database-driven websites using any of the following web programming and design technologies: HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, PHP, Flash, Dreamweaver

· Demonstrated experience in designing and programming within the Sphere platform

· Knowledge of and experience with Blackbaud’s NetCommunty Grow CMS preferred

· Experience with strategy and day-to-day management of nonprofit social media platforms

· Strong written and verbal communications skills

· Ability to juggle multiple projects at once, prioritize and manage expectations

· Commitment to quality and excellence in online communications

· Integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven and self-directed

· A team player, who can work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people within a collegial, yet demanding, work environment

· Strong work ethic, common sense and a sense of humor are essential

· Friendly and willing to learn, with an overall great attitude

To Apply

Send resume and work samples to vbrown@foodallergy.org.

Feeling like I may have spent a tad too much money yesterday. ...

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:38:16 -0400

Feeling like I may have spent a tad too much money yesterday. (Taken with Instagram)

Passive Agressive Move by Twitter, NBC Spurs Controversy

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:36:17 -0400

The last paragraph from the New York Times Bits of Business Technology blog post “Twitter Learns a Lesson”:

“Eric Wemple, blogging for The Washington Post, notes the whole controversy could have been avoided. (British newspaper reporter for The Independent Guy) Adams told him, “If NBC wasn’t so arrogant and had called me up on Friday afternoon and said, ‘Look, old boy, we consider this private information, and would you delete this tweet,” Mr. Adams likely would have complied.”

There’s a lesson we can all learn from this fiasco: communicate directly with your adversary, and whatever disagreement likely won’t blow up in your face.

Read the full story.

Support the ABLE Act!

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:00:18 -0400

Here is my PLEA that you all take 5 minutes in the next couple of days and contact your senator and ask them to cosponsor the ABLE Act.

For those who don’t already know, the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) would establish tax-exempt 529 accounts for our family members with Down syndrome (or other disabilities). The money in these 529 accounts would give these individuals the ability to save for education, medical expenses, job training, community-based supports, etc., and reduce their dependency on public benefits.

THIS IS A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT COULD DRASTICALLY AFFECT THE WAY WE PLAN AND SAVE FOR OUR CHILDRENS’ FUTURES.

The ABLE Act currently has 166 cosponsors in the House and 22 cosponsors in the Senate… but we still need more cosponsors to help us pass the bill. You can help us reach over 200 cosponsors in the House and 35 cosponsors in the Senate by July 31 (August Recess)!

Please take a few moments and make a call, send an email, and/or set up a meeting with your Senators and Representative to discuss the ABLE Act TODAY. It only takes a few minutes and makes a huge difference!

Click on the links (House and Senate) to find out if your Members of Congress have cosponsored the ABLE Act. NDSS has three easy ways to contact your Senators and Representatives:

1) Call (here) - using our call-in template

2) Write (here) - using our email template

3) Meet (here) - to set up a meeting with your Senators and Representatives

For more information about the ABLE Act, please use the following resources:

ABLE Act one-pager

The ABLE Act - The 112th Congress

ABLE Act Gains Support from 49 National, State, and Local Advocacy Organizations

"It’s not information overload. It’s filter failure."

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:02:56 -0400

““It’s not information overload. It’s filter failure.””

- – Clay Shirky

Build online forms - it's pretty easy!

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 09:58:43 -0400

Build online forms - it's pretty easy!:

I’m creating an expense summary worksheet for my event committee chairs to submit their spending and income. I think it will make the process easier and motivate my chairs to actually summit the reports more regularly.

How to find PR clients

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 15:03:12 -0400

When Linda Jay Geldens attended a computer conference and saw an internal newsletter on a table at the back of the room, she cringed when she saw it riddled with typos.

She circled all the mistakes in red and made an appointment to talk with the newsletter’s editor.

As she slid the heavily edited newsletter onto his desk, she said brashly, “You need me.”

He agreed and hired her immediately. For more than a year, she edited the newsletter for the company, Apple.

Do you wait for business to come to you? Or do you come right out and ask for clients like Linda does?

She finds clients other clever ways, which she explains in this blog post.

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”

"In this age, which believes that there is a shortcut to everything, the greatest lesson to be..."

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:32:38 -0400

““In this age, which believes that there is a shortcut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest.””

- Henry Miller

There’s YEM (Taken with Instagram at First Niagara...

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 21:17:35 -0400

There’s YEM (Taken with Instagram at First Niagara Pavilion)

Maze (Taken with Instagram at First Niagara Pavilion)

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 20:33:17 -0400

Maze (Taken with Instagram at First Niagara Pavilion)

Anatomy of the Perfect Tweet Pt. 1

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:22:21 -0400

Last week, researchers at UCLA and Hewlett-Packard’s HP Labs released a nine-page paper on how to predict the social media popularity of a news article before it is published. Astonishingly, the researchers developed a tool that forecasts popularity with an 84 percent accuracy rate.

The Atlantic’s Megan Garber dived deeper into the study, exploring how the research can help media outlets craft tweets that will be shared and clicked.

But HP Labs isn’t the first organization to try to predict the popularity of a tweet. Dan Zarrella, a “social media scientist” with the marketing firm HubSpot, has conducted exhaustive research on the topic. In 2009, he spent nine months analyzing 5 million tweets and 40 million retweets. He published the results in “The Social Media Marketing Book” (as well as other articles and infographics).

PR Daily compiled Zarrella’s research and that of UCLA and HP Labs for this advice on the perfect tweet.

TIP #1

Include links. Tweets that included a link were three times more prevalent in retweets than those without, according to Zarrella’s researcher. That means you don’t tell your Twitter audience, “We conducted some great research.” You show them the research by sharing a link to where they can find it (your blog, ideally).

I’ll be sharing tips for the perfect tweet over the next 8 days. Check back here tomorrow for TIP #2.

By Michael Sebastian | Originally published on Ragan.com June 19, 2012.

Anatomy of a tantrum

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:49:00 -0400

Anatomy of a tantrum

"Say what you mean, but don’t say it mean."

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:47:23 -0400

“Say what you mean, but don’t say it mean.”

4 Cool Ways to Promote Using Instagram

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:47:00 -0400

If you have a smartphone, most likely you’re using Instagram. I love using Instragram to tell a story of my day using pictures. As cliche as it is, a picture is worth a thousand words, especially when you’re a sleep-deprived mom who can barely string together a 3 word sentence. So, why not tell it with visuals - pictures are attention-grabbing, evocative, and promote click ability. Here are 4 fun and practical ways to use Instagram to promote yourself or your brand.

1. Build a collateral collage. Most likely you have a few pieces of branded printed collateral that were designed to look really great together. Use an app like PicFrame (my favorite) or Diptic to create simple collage of your marketing materials and share it with your social networks. Be sure to link the caption to full-sized versions of your collateral.

2. Photoblog LIVE: Blog about your special event using pictures and smart, story-telling captions in real time.

3. Share your portfolio: Photograph your best work, and share this shameless promotion with your fans. Don’t overuse this approach - as long as your promotion posts are 20 percent or less of your total posts, you won’t be branded a walking commercial.

4. Shoot up the party. Take photos at your next networking event to record and share the connections you made. Include those connections in your caption, which will help promote them among the networks as well as help build your new relationship.

Popcorn Party! (Taken with Instagram)

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:03:05 -0400

Popcorn Party! (Taken with Instagram)

Sprinkler and clothes goes together like peanut butter and jelly...

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:16:33 -0400

Sprinkler and clothes goes together like peanut butter and jelly (Taken with Instagram)

54 reasons to send a press release

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 11:33:00 -0400

When should you send out a press release? When your announcement is newsworthy and if it’s useful to the reader. It’s not news that your grandmother would want to hear about, it’s news your grandmother’s friends would want to know.

What’s newsworthy? Here’s a list of 54 reasons you might want to write and send out a press release.

Announce a new service.
Announce a new product.
Tie in with a national holiday, a birthday or anniversary.
Report a new study of your own and your analysis or forecast.
Tie in with a controversy by commenting on it.
Co-op an event with the media.
Utilize a national survey or study to your benefit.
Announce your exhibit at a trade show or convention.
Commission a survey and report the results.
Write a white paper and announce its availability at your web site.
Create and promote a special event.
Use a current news event to frame your release.
Host a seminar and announce the information discussed.
Announce an upcoming speaking engagement.
Schedule a speaking engagement at the local library… for free.
Make reprints of speeches available at your website.
Create a contest and offer a prize that’s newsworthy.
Pricing and policy changes.
Patents and trademarks.
Litigation won.
Announce the results of a new study.
The number of hours your employees donate volunteering in your community.
Involvement in various community events and activities.
Innovative use for your products.
First person stories about people using your product or services.
New clients you’ve obtained.
New testimonials.
Celebrities that use your product or service.
Financial projections and forecasts.
Announce a public appearance.
Appointments by government officials to offices.
Retirement of well respected and revered employees.
Recognition of long-time employees with 25 years of service or more.
Internal promotion of key staff members.
Send a letter to the editor and CC the media and your audience, “in case they miss it.”
New members of important committees.
Results of an election.
The passage of an important resolution.
Anniversary of the founding date of the organization or company.
Charitable donations by your organization.
New awards won.
Association membership.
Publicly release a letter from a soldier or someone with poignant thoughts.
Report on a public project and offer insight to the problem.
Protest an activity or issue.
The sponsorship of a community event.
How to apply for internships in your company.
How to apply for scholarships offered by your company.
Open house where people can tour your plant, office etc.
Create an award to honor individuals in the community.
The appearance in front of a public entity, i.e. testimony before the US Senate.
Host a public debate.
Announce a fact finding trip and then report your findings.
Host a celebrity event and tie in your company.

These ideas are suggestions and not hard and fast reasons for sending a release. When in doubt, ask yourself: is this news for grandma or her bridge club?