PR Planning for Nonprofits

Nonprofit organizations (and some arts-oriented businesses) are always lacking the funds to really  put together effective marketing plans.  It takes bucks to buy ads no matter what the media.  This is why PR is so very important to most nonprofits.  Yeah, it's a crap shoot but with proper planning sometimes you can get killer results.  Although this article is focused on British charities, David Hamilton has some very good ideas for nonprofits here in the US.

and here is your unrelated photo from 2013

Hear those Birdies?

NO?  Then you must not be on Twitter, one of the most interesting social media sites.  Twitter can be a useful tool in the PR practitioners kit bag, but it's also good to get an overview on what it can do for you first.  Here at Running with Scissors, where I have my art studio, they recently had someone come in to give a low-cost class in it. Unfortunately it didn't work out with my schedule so I wasn't able to attend.  I'm always interested in seeing what other folks have to say about the intersection of Twitter and PR. 

But the big issues with any kind of marketing (more than PR) is how to measure results.  In PR, it's rather loosey-goosey as it can take years of solid work to create an image in the public's eye, especially when you're just using that and not spending money on advertising.  So I thought it was interesting when this arrived in my email.  I'll save you the spam that you'll get if you sign up for it with your own email address.

Then I stumbled across this article on Forbes.  Best takeaways for me were:

• Join a Directory: There are dozens of directories of Twitter users online, including Twiends, WeFollow, and Twellow. Add yourself to as many directories as you can find under the proper categories, and you will begin to see some users following you from these sites.
• Guest blogging or blogging about your twitter account.  “This strategy works very well if you can give readers an incentive to follow you.”

Follow me @anntracy..... and now for the unrelated photo of the day

 Shot during a performance by Collective Motion, a new modern dance company here in Southern Maine.  Shooting by the seat of one's pants is always exciting and even more so when the photos turn out!  If you'd like to follow my photography blog, here it is.

Point of View

Is so very important whether you're writing a novel, play, screenplay or news release.  I hadn't thought about it in context of marketing and general sales, but my friend David Ligon just made a very good post about points of reference on his blog and I thought it would be good to share it with you here.  It's also true about artists in valuing their work. 

And here is your random photo of the day - Venice from 2010 as a painting.

Be a PR Star

But of course you know that fame is fleeting and you're only as good as your next "hit".    And of course it makes a difference in the community in which you work.  If you're doing PR for some large company in a large city, it's almost twice as difficult as it is if you're in a small city where the newspapers (whatever's left of them) are looking for stories and don't have that many reporters so they depend upon PR professionals for interesting stories at times.

There are 15 very good points in this article that first appeared in DaveFleets.com and they ask for one more point - which I would say is:

#16 - go volunteer to do PR for a nonprofit social service agency and / or arts group so you'll see how the other half without resources live.  It will make you more creative!

Some Good Advice

Nothing like starting off the New Year with some good advice about who to pitch a story to in various media.  Or how to start a media list with the emails of those who might be interested in your story or concept.  The Social Media Today site has a good article on that subject written by Carrie Morgan.  As a former member of the 4th Estate, I think she's right on in finding out who to target where.  As your release hits the desks of these people, just pray there isn't a 5 alarm fire or high profile crime story that can knock you out of the running for inclusion. 

Even with the best of advice and best practices, PR has been and looks like it always will be a crap shoot.  But those who succeed in developing good relations with media, there will be a pay off on a slow news day.

Home for the Holidaze

If you read my other blog, you'll know that this has been a busy summer for me as an artist and photographer.  I apologize for not posting anything here since June, which seems like it was years ago as I gaze at the snow here in Portland Maine.  But I ran across this very good article about using social media for your brand.  It's a hard thing to do, not to toot your own horn these days, but in dealing with social media, I think it's good advice.

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday and a Bright, Prosperous New Year - with a cherry on top!

What One Thing do Baseball and PR Have in Common?

Today a first for me - writing a headline that is a question and almost sounds like a joke!  But it's not when you think of PR as pitching - which is quite important in baseball as well.  Except when it comes to pitchers duels, those really bore the crap out of me.  But enough of me, what about you when it comes to pitching?  If you're like me, the news release headline is probably the biggest of the pitches I'll use.  But Sarah Skerik begs to differ with us and I think she's got some good points in her article here.  And she is specific as to the WHY being the biggest W in terms of pitching, especially when it comes to social media.