Eric Schwartzman

How to conduct statistically relevant market research with Tom Smith, CEO and founder of the Global Web Index, a market research company with technology at the heart.

Tom shares best practices for determining global social media penetration rates, what types of products and services are most talked about online, and why marketing professionals trust the opinions of total strangers more than the mainstream news media, experts, and pundits.

Social Media Research on Why We Trust Strangers

1:28 – How to use the online newsrooms to host and engage in online conversations. With the iPressroom you can quickly and reliably add and manage RSS feeds, blogs, streaming video, or a custom online pressroom to your organizational communications efforts.

3:56 – Tom Smith on his Power to the People Social Media Tracker, a global web usage tracking program he devised for Universal McCann, and how that led to the Strangers Report.

5:46 – Tom Smith on the methodology of the Strangers Report, which involved interviewing 17,000 people worldwide, on the differences between conducting online and offline research, and the statistical relevancy of his data.

6:50 – Tom Smith’s new online market research company Trend Stream, offers global research studies on web usage trends to PR firms and corporate clients.

8:09 – Tom Smith on the global trends revealed by the Strangers Report, including higher levels of adoption and content contribution in Asia and India, the explosive growth of online video and the widespread international growth of social media.

9:49 – Tom Smith on the global and regional levels of trust people have for online consumer opinions, whether they know the person responsible for posting those opinions, and the fallacy that social media is popular primarily among younger audiences.

10:45 – Tom Smith on how cultural traits impact social media trust levels and the correlation between adoption rates and trust levels region by region.

11:54 – Tom Smith ranks online passive consumption and creative content marketing channels by popularity.

12:38 – Tom Smith on how the average size of an individual’s personal online social network varies worldwide, which user groups by country have the most extensive and smallest networks, and the impact of Facebook on average network size in those markets where it has achieved penetration.

15:14 – Tom Smith contrasts social media marketing against mainstream marketing, likening the former to direct marketing, and lists the defining criteria by which successful social media marketing programs should abide.

16:36 – Tom Smith on digital friendships and how the internet has expanded the number of connections people have, albeit in a digital format, and how the opinions of digital friends impact corporate reputations.

18:36 – Tom Smith on the myriad of ways people are sharing opinions online and how self-publishing tools have lowered the barriers to entry for influencing opinions via the Net.

19:54 – Tom Smith on peer reviews as the most trusted source of information for consumers making purchasing decisions.

20:31 – Tom Smith defines the levels of trust people have for different sources of consumer opinion, ranking Amazon and other consumer rating sites against blogs and online media sites and describing how user-generated content hosted by branded online offerings is considered more trustworthy than content hosted by unbranded online sites.

22:00 – Tom Smith on the product and service categories that are most talked about online, the biggest surprises his research revealed about discussion levels by product and service category, and the excessive online chatter he found about products that are not ecommerce purchases.

25:25 – Tom Smith defines “super influencers” and their role in creating online social phenomena.

27:18 – Tom Smith on why marketers need to be very wary about how they approach social media channels and the importance of using transparency to govern their social media strategies.

29:32 – Tom Smith on selling social media marketing initiatives to organizations through research and the danger of not participating in online conversations about the categories in which you compete.

31:46 – End

Eric Schwartzman is the founder of online newsroom software as a service provider iPressroom, and creator of the Social Media PR Boot Camp, attended by thousands of public relations firm leaders and digital marketing agency executives from the private, public, government and nonprofit sectors. In addition to advising clients on best practices for online newsroom design, deployment, and management, Schwartzman & Associates offers training to accelerate digital literacy.

Christopher Penn, Eric Schwartzman and John Wall present a special mash-up episode about online PR and social media marketing.

Show Notes:

2:56 – John Wall on Korn Ferry CMO Don Spetner’s upcoming presentation on the skills public relations professionals need in the current job market, and Christopher Penn asks about the state of PR job market.

3:44 – Eric Schwartzman shares where the job opportunities are for PR people and what types of jobs recruiters are still trying to fill, according to Don Spetner.

4:23 – John Wall asks what percentage of a public relations program should be digital, and what part should be old guard.

4:43 – Eric Schwartzman on the downside of being an early adopter, and his view on where PR practitioners who can’t communicate autonomously online and who don’t develop new media communication skills may be headed.

5:15 – John Wall and Christopher Penn discuss the importance of keeping track of everyone you interact with through social media, and whether or not PR is making use of the same tools as marketers to build stronger relationships with larger networks via the web.

7:42 – Eric Schwartzman on the economic drivers that lead to PR shoot gun distribution tactics, and his discussion with PR Week editor Keith O’Brien about whether or not this will change anytime soon.

9:19 – Christopher Penn on the importance of building your own personal network and making sure you don’t mismatch communications and contacts.

10:12 – Eric Schwartzman talks about the new Toyota online pressroom that iPressroom recently launched for the world’s largest automaker so they could live stream the reveal of the new Prius at the Detroit Auto Show to the news media, automotive enthusiasts and the public simultaneously, in their own, branded online newsroom.

12:14 – Christopher Penn wonders how organizations are going to acquire the necessary content creation skills to populate their online newsrooms with compelling content and Eric Schwartzman predicts where companies may find them.

12:51 – Eric Schwartzman on the hidden risks of using Web 2.0 services like YouTube, Blogger and Facebook for organizational communications campaigns, and where he thinks market demand for new media services will come from.

14:23 – John Wall talks about Tom Smith, author of “When We Start Trusting Strangers,” who will be flying in from London to present a special session with all kinds of valuable, quantitative research on why new media communications should play a role in any integrated marketing or public relations plan.

15:04 – Christopher Penn on the market dynamics of social media communications and why you can’t cost effectively generate your own momentum. For listeners with no macroeconomic training, he recommends Economics for Dummies.

16:22 – Eric Schwartzman on why PR is more about what you do then what you say in the digital age of transparency and authenticity. He discusses the challenge of confronting serious product or service issues with communications alone, citing examples from Comcast and AOL.

17:01 – Eric Schwartzman on how commonly asked questions at his Social Media PR Boot Camp training courses led to the idea to invite Trend Stream CEO Tom Smith to present at the Digital Impact Conference in NYC.

18:39 – Eric Schwartzman on super influencers online, word of mouth marketing, and the dangers of judging new media by old media standards.

19:52 – Disney’s podcasting strategy, and why Duncan Wardle says he considered their initial 80,000 downloads a success, despite the fact that the reach of mainstream media dwarves that number.

20:57 – Christopher Penn on the multiplier effect of social media, and how an online newsletter of a blog can reach much further than you might think.

21:31 – Search engine optimization consulting expert Lee Odden, Edelman futurist Steve Rubel, social media expert Brian Solis and many others will also be presenting their latest findings and on best practices for new media communications at The Digital Impact Conference in NYC.

22:14 – Eric Schwartzman on why online newsrooms, email newsletters and search engine optimization are the meat and potatoes of online PR.

23:34 – The Digital Impact Conference as an opportunity for social media PR gurus looking for new business, and for public relations pros looking to develop new media communication skills.

24:24 – Christopher Penn on the digital marketing opportunities social media presents public relations agencies.

25:10 – John Wall and Christopher Penn talk about their session on avoiding PR disasters, which will be presented with Eric Schwartzman at The Digital Impact Conference.

27:42 – End

Digital marketing training programs aren’t all Media Bistro offers.

Listen in as Media Bistro founder and cyber hostess Laurel Touby talks about the importance of social media lingo, how to build a profitable, sticky online community and what color to paint your nails in a down economy.

Media Bistro Digital Marketing Training Program

1:23 – Digital media marketing communication skills and training courses are important.  But effective online communications require appropriate infrastructure.  Online newsrooms give nontechnical personnel an easy way to manage content inside a custom internet pressroom.

3:09 – Laurel Touby discusses how she guided MediaBistro.com from start-up in 1994 through its acquisition by Jupitermedia Corporatation [NASDAQ: JUPM] in 2007 for $23 million.

3:36 – Marketing communication coaching, training courses and job listings, and how they helped make MediaBistro.com profitable.

4:37 – Why website marketing companies, PR firms, SEO consulting firms, and content marketing agencies send new hires to MediaBistro.com for digital marketing training, according to Laurel Touby.

5:05 – Laurel Touby on how MediaBistro incorporates word-of-mouth marketing into its website marketing strategy

5:50 -- Laurel Touby on sticky websites, consumer trust, customer loyalty, staying close to the customer, maintaining an air of exclusivity, and providing services like training courses to digital media marketing experts.

6:34 – Training courses offered by MediaBistro.com, the communication skills they help members develop, and why the last recession 2001 created a favorable market environment for launching career training courses, writing training courses, and other professional training courses.

7:26 – Online training courses are also now available through MediaBistro.com, and Laurel Touby explains how using online training digital solutions fits into her broader business strategy.

8:55 – Laurel Touby advises professional organizations and trade associations on how to migrate their legacies online through networking opportunities effectively, digital marketing training programs, ways for people to develop the critical new media communication skills they need in the network age, offline events like the upcoming MediaBistro Circus in NYC and up to date job listings and news.

9:47 – According to Laurel Touby, new media communication skills, social media training courses, and press release search engine optimization are the types of skills people are most interested in developing now.

10:43 – Laurel Touby looks for digital skills and online fluency when considering new hires at MediaBistro.com, and why getting your new media lingo right is critical.

12:02 -- Laurel Touby on the right color to paint your nails in a down economy.

13:01 – End

Photo by Marcos Luiz Photograph on Unsplash

PR Agencies have different strengths and weaknesses.

Client’s Guide to Hiring a PR Firm with Jon Greer of Catching Flack interviewed at the Public Relations Society of America International Convention in Detroit.

Jon Greer is a senior communications strategist with over 20-years in media and communications, including over 20 years as a public relations consultant.

Before that, he served as a vice president of Public Relations at Edelman, the largest independent public relations agency.

He began his career as a business news reporter and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News.

PR Agency Hiring Tips from Jon Greer

3:31 – Jon Greer discusses the level of trust people have for public relations firms, and how that impacts the PR Agency hiring process.

4:59 – Jon Greer reveals the most important questions to ask a PR firm when they’re pitching you their services.

5:41 – Jon Greer on the most important thing to look for in any public relations firm you’re considering hiring.

6:22 – Jon Greer on what clients want most from PR Agencies.

7:05 – Jon Greer on how to deduce the health and well-being of any public relations agency by asking a few, simple questions.

8:09 – Jon Greer on how to secure a senior-level PR consultant.

8:59 – Jon Greer on what to look for in a PR Agency retainer agreement and the types of changes to negotiate to strike the best deal.

10:08 – Jon Greer on what clients need to do to get the highest level of service from a PR Agency and how to become the client that PR agencies want to spend their time on.

11:39 – Jon Greer tells future PR Agency clients what they should and shouldn’t expect from a PR Agency.

13:24 – Jon Greer talks about pricing public relations services and how to make sure a public relations agency charges you a fair price.

14:57 – Jon Greer walks us through price ranges for retaining boutique PR firms, mid-size PR firms, and large PR firms.

17:24 – Jon Greer on the number of press releases clients should expect to receive for varying monthly retainer levels.

19:09 – The economic challenges of media monitoring, what makes it relatively expensive, and how to manage those costs.

21:04 – End

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Media training can help you interview better when you talk to reporters, journalists and online influencers.

This free media training course features Commcore Consulting Group CEO Andrew Gilman, a master media trainer, who was interviewed following his master class at the PRSA International Convention in Detroit.

Commcore provides executives and spokespeople in corporations, associations and public affairs organizations with communication skills training and public relations services virtually and in-person. They have customized training and coaching services to meet thier client’s needs

Mr. Gilman is also author of the book “Get to the Point” and also posts about sticky message of the month on his blog.

In this audio recording he provides an introduction to the most important things you need to know if you are serving as a official corporate spokesperson for an organization.

If you've never experienced a media training session before this recording will get you up to speed in a short of time.

What is Media Training?

Media training involves helping business leaders represent themselves effectively when interviewing to the news media through role playing exercises, mock interviews and watching and critiquing yourself on video.

A media trainer teaches business people how to communicate in short statements or sound bites that are difficult for journalist to edit and use out of context.

Media training session with Aboitiz in Manila

You learn how to avoid making ambiguous statements. The point is to speak in no uncertain terms that can be misinterpreted.

Media training how to avoid some of the common pitfalls that arise when interviewing with reporters who are filing stories on a short deadline and may not have the time to consider the nuances or inferences of a statement and instead take it for what it is.

Media training, while still popular today, was more popular before the internet and social media, when journalists were the gatekeepers of public audiences.

Media Training vs Social Media Training

Today, since anyone can communicate to the public via social media, social media training courses help non-official spokespeople used social media effectively and responsibly at work.

I have plenty of free social media training courses you can take if you're interested in training unofficial spokespeople.

Online social media training course give businesses a useful, cost-effective way to increase their social media literacy and, in turn, effectiveness.

I have a library of online social media training program with the same high-quality, top-rated content I present in my social media bootcamps all over the world, backed with an arsenal of supplemental materials.

Social media training session I led at the US Embassy to Athens in Greece.

If you're looking for social media training courses or if you need help producing customer success webinars for SaaS, check out these links. That's not what this podcast is about.

How Much Does Media Training Cost?

This is a free media training session with interview drills that I recorded with a very experienced, senior media trainer with decades of experience.

He trains c-level executives and business leaders to serve as corporate spokespeople in official capacity.

If you're looking to bring in a media trainer to conduct live media training at your organization, expect to pay from $2500 to $10,000 for one-day media training session with video recording and playback equipment.

Media training session I led at NORAD in Colorado Springs.

The price will vary based on the expertise of the media trainer, the breadth and depth of the actual media training session as well as the length of the session, number of people to be trained and the location. Here's an article with more on pricing.

Media Training Tips

3:57 – Andrew Gilman on the objective of the sound bite, and on what it takes to craft a sound bite that gets picked up.

4:22 – Andrew Gilman discusses weaving sound bites into difficult interviews.

4:40 – Andrew Gilman on the best sound bite to come out of the recent US Presidential Election.

5:40 – The importance of analogies and visualizations in crafting memorable sound bites.

6:30 – Andrew Gilman shares one of the best sound bites he ever created.

7:57 – Andrew Gilman uses the WIIFM messaging factor to craft a memorable sound bite on the benefit of car doors that open wider.

9;30 – Andrew Gilman on how the LAPD, LAFD, Teacher’s Union and other California State Employees used carefully tested sound bites to defeat Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt to eliminate Defined Benefit Contribution Plans.

10:39 -- Referencing Wired Magazine’s June 2008 cover story on The End of Science, Eric Schwartzman asks Andrew Gilman whether or not the availability of data will change the way sound bites are created.

11:29 – Andrew Gilman discusses the shortcomings of data and the importance of tapping emotional sentiment when designing a sound bite.

12:20 – Andrew Gilman on putting a sound bite to the “Hey Marge” test.

12:58 – Andrew Gilman on the optimal duration of the quintessential sound bite, and why effective sound bites are always longer than what actually get picked up.

14:45 – Andrew Gilman on the impact of sound bites on our collective IQ as a populace.

15:09 – Leveraging sound bites to drive web traffic.

15:41 – Andrew Gilman on the impact of the sound bite on media and democracy, and some of the most damaging political sound bites of modern history.

16:20 – Andrew Gilman on advocating for your interests with sound bites.

17:05 – In addition to his book “Get to the Point” and his online sticky message of the month, Andrew Gilman’s recommends the book “Made to Stick” about how to create memorable sound bites.

17:36 – Andrew Gilman on how top political messaging gurus on the left and the right use sound bites to frame debates of national and international interest, and the power of well chosen words in striking popular sentiments.

18:10 – Karl Rove’s use of sound bites to promote policy.

19:33 – End

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash

Entrepreneur Loic LeMeur talks about how he mobilized the web to support Sarkozy’s election campaign, how digital marketing has changed public relations for tech startups, the impact of increased transparency on personal privacy, and how he hires tech PR agencies.

Tech Startup Marketing Highlights

2:36 – Loic LeMeur talks about how he became one of France's most widely read blogs.

3:24 – Loic LeMeur on the cultural differences between writing a blog that resonates with the European community versus the American online social media community.

4:37 – Loic LeMeur discusses the blogosphere’s and news media’s reaction to his podcast interview with Nicolas Sarkozy.

5:41 – Loic LeMeur shares the biggest lesson he took away from his work on the Sarkozy campaign.

7:03 – Loic LeMeur discusses how the Sarkozy campaign leveraged the blogosphere to drive news media coverage.

9:14 – Loic LeMeur on why disagreed with Brian Solis’s guest post on TechCrunch about the secrets of PR.

11:20 – Loic LeMeur’s opinion of Seth Godin’s newest book, Tribes and the concept of managing communities instead of brands.

12:57 – Loic LeMeur on how organizations that provide necessary products that don’t always breed enthusiasm should approach social media communications.

14:02 – Loic LeMeur on why cell phone providers and utilities should be on Twitter and how customer service can propel positive word of mouth.

16:01 – Loic LeMeur on Twitter’s response, or lack thereof, to hacked celebrity accounts.

18:04 – Loic LeMeur on the expectation management trap of over-transparency.

19:42 – Loic LeMeur on the most prominent challenge government communicators face concerning social media engagement.

22:29 – Loic LeMeur on sustaining the momentum of social media communications campaigns beyond an election cycle.

23:52 – Loic LeMeur on how he used social media to solicit input for his session on privacy at the World Economic Summit.

24:43 – Loic LeMeur on personal privacy and the prospect of segmented communications in the social media age.

27:47 – Drawing a question from an interview by Brooke Gladstone with Nicolas Carr, author of The Big Switch on the NPR program On the Media, Eric Schwartzman asks Loic LeMeur if he is concerned that companies may someday use personal information to manipulate behavior.

32:15 – Loic LeMeur on the potential cultural threats of a world without physical media.

35:04 – Loic LeMeur on the social benefits of MMOGs

36:25 – Loic LeMeur on his online video social networking service Seesmic.

41:24 – Loic LeMeur on how video can build more meaningful relationships online.

43:53 – Loic LeMeur on how genders dress their Seesmic shots differently.

46:08 – Loic LeMeur on how Chris Pirillo and Leo LaPorte use video to create a personal brand online.

50:14 – End

Photo By Christopher Michel - https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmichel67/15796673517/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37210918

In this exclusive interview on crisis management, PIER Systems Founder & CEO Gerald Baron explains the trends in online crisis communications, software public relations firms rely on, and the insatiable quest for speed in the media relations business.

PIER Systems is an on-demand information management software. PIER Systems differentiates its software by tailoring its offering to public relations and media relations crisis communications objectives.

PIER unifies innovative technology and tools in one web-based application to help organizations maintain business continuity while simplifying organizational communications.

PR Crisis Communications Workflow Tips

2:54 -- Gerald Baron outlines his presentation on handling crisis communications with public relations software titled "Building Trust in a Threatening Media Environment," delivered at the PRSA International Conference in Detroit.

3:42 -- Gerald Brown on the disappearance of news cycles in a hyper-competitive environment based on immediacy. Gerald talks about a reporter who broke the news about Hurricane Ike, a Los Angeles Fire Department distributing fire safety information on Twitter, and what it all means for crisis communications.

4:49 -- Gerald Baron on the impact of the news media and people’s insatiable quest for up-to-the-second information on the business of crisis communications, public relations, and media relations and the inherent risks associated with letting others tell your story for you.

5:43 -- Gerald Baron shares his "Ps" of effective online communications: Policy, Plans, People, and Platforms. He also discusses why communicating with incredible speed and directly to constituents are critical to telling your story in a world without news cycles.

6:36 -- Gerald Baron uses the Virginia Tech massacre as an example of why organizations need the ability to handle direct-to-the-public crisis communications with incredible speed and the role of public relations software in that process.

7:23 -- Gerald Baron reveals the key features a public relations software package should have: a single online newsroom control platform, be entirely web-based, exist independently and outside of the organization's IT infrastructure, and be entirely controlled by public relations professionals.

8:35 -- Gerald Baron discusses the lessons he learned from the Virginia Tech Shootings, one of which is raised expectations for rapid communications directly from organizations. He says the VT shootings underscore that we no longer live in a world where people can depend on the media for urgent information during emergencies.

9:39 -- Gerald Baron explains why stand-alone text notification systems not integrated into public relations software platforms are potentially dangerous to PR professionals because they attempt to substitute notifications for communications.

He says research from PIER Systems shows outbound notifications drive demand of inbound requests for additional information.

10:53 -- Gerald Baron lists the additional modes of communications, like your website or online newsroom, RSS, and email, which are just as crucial as the instant notifications people now expect to receive from organizations during a catastrophe.

He paints a hypothetical crisis scenario where students get a text message to their phones about some disaster or emergency, jam up the phone lines in search of more information, and then go to the school’s website, which is hopefully built to handle vast numbers of simultaneous incoming requests.

He says the system breaks down when organizations deploy a notification system without fortifying their ability to respond to the increased incoming requests for additional information.

12:02 -- Gerald Baron talks about the importance of integration when selecting public relations software to support external communications and the need for effectiveness and efficiency, particularly when staffing levels are being reduced and individuals are being asked to do more with less. He also discusses the cost benefits of an integrated public relations software platform.

15:49 -- End

In this exclusive episode, Edelman Media Chief Steve Rubel delivers a gripping keynote about the state of news media relations and what it means for PR firms.

Show notes:

1:13 - Intro to Rubel’s speech at the Digital Impact Conference.

2:51 - Rubel online public relations responsibilities at Edelman Digital.

3:46 - Rubel on the erosion of mass reach media.

5:21 - Rubel on the Twitter and FriendFeed of tomorrow.

5:58 - Rubel on the 53 percent of people not engaged with online media.

6:33 - Rubel on Google.

8: 47 - Rubel on today’s think signals.

19:02 - Rubel on breaking down the web using the example of the NBA widget strategy.

12:38 - Rubel on today’s attention crash.

14:13 - Rubel on Will it Blend from Blendtec.

16:13 - Rubel on high interest niches using the example of Popurls.

18:47 - Rubel on using Google Trends to track data.

22:06 - Rubel on how to employ collaboration in marketing communications using the ideas of controlled and open communication.

26:33 - Rubel on his idea of living room 2.0, where branded content like Flickr will be transported directly into the living room.

29:37 - Rubel on geek marketers.

31:19 - Rubel on hallucinations for the future like the bloggers behind, Anywired, some of the new digital nomads.

33:36 - Rubel on today’s corporate data leaks occurring through Facebook, Gmail or Yahoo conversations.

36:30 - Rubel takes a question on how to keep social media simple and still sustain the depth of the message.

39:36 - Rubel on corporate blogs and how they can and can’t work.

41:00 - Rubel takes a question on whether organizations should have their agencies ghostwrite blogs.

43:45 - End

This is an exclusive interview with Content Marketing Lead, Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) at Facebook Mike Manuel recored at the PRSA International Conference about managing digital public relations campaigns and social media management best practices.

Show Notes:

4:45 - Mike Manuel discusses the presentation he delivered with Patrick Seybold and Jeff Rubenstein of Sony Computer Entertainment, which covered the now fabled "All I Want for Christmas is a PSP" astroturfing fiasco.

7:15 -- Mike Manuel discusses the fallout and what happened behind the scenes when the fake blog developed by the branding team and Zipatoni was outed on somethingaweful.com.

8:23 -- Mike Manuel on Sony Computer Entertainment's crisis response plan.

10:51 -- Eric Schwartzman shares a sinister tactical response plan suggested by an attendee at a recent Social Media Boot Camp.

12:38 -- Mike Manuel on dealing with negative comments on company blogs.

13:41 -- Mike Manuel on feeding back valuable research from company blogs back to HR, sales and product marketing.

15:10 -- Mike Manuel on Sony Playstation Facebook PR strategy.

16:11 -- Mike Manuel on the unique challenges of creating social media communications campaigns for gamers.

17:35 -- Mike Manuel on the basics of content marketing for community engagement.

18:27 -- Mike Manuel on estimating resources required to launch and maintain a successful corporate blog.

19:22 -- Mike Manuel on identifying and allocating staff for social media engagement initiatives.

19:53 -- Mike Manuel on the "messy middle" of social media marketing.

21:03 -- Mike Manuel on the public relations industry's readiness for online engagement programs.

23:01 -- Mike Manuel on innovation, open source software and homegrown content management systems.

24:19 -- Mike Manuel on Google's Open Social.

25:35 -- End

Photo by Josh Halett.

I recorded an exclusive podcast interview with Michael Cherenson – incoming CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and an accomplished public relations agency leader – who explores a spectrum of pivotal topics.

From the evolution of professional development within public relations agencies to the intricate integration of social media into PR campaigns and the critical aspect of substantiating PR's value through quantitative research and data analytics, this conversation promises valuable insights for PR agency professionals and strategic marketers.

A Multifaceted PR Authority

Michael Cherenson brings a wealth of experience, spanning diverse PR disciplines. His extensive background encompasses corporate communications, marketing, internal and crisis communication, government relations, event management, media training, and interactive public relations. Michael Cherenson's multifaceted expertise positions him as a notable figure in the PR industry, poised to delve into the critical aspects that drive PR success.

Navigating the PR Landscape

As the senior public relations counselor and strategist at Success Communications Group, a comprehensive marketing, advertising, and social media communications firm, Michael Cherenson is deeply embedded in PR. His involvement spans the entire spectrum of public relations activities, offering a holistic perspective on PR professionals' challenges and opportunities.

Join us in this exclusive podcast interview as we venture into professional development within PR agencies, the transformative role of social media in PR campaigns, and the indispensable art of substantiating PR's worth through the power of quantitative research and data analytics. Michael Cherenson's profound insights and expertise will illuminate the path forward for PR practitioners seeking to excel in an ever-evolving landscape.

Attendance and Sentiment at PRSA Conference (2:35)

Michael Cherenson opens the discussion by reflecting on the attendance and overall sentiment at the 2008 Public Relations Society of America International Conference in Detroit. He shares insights into the conference's dynamics and attendee engagement, setting the stage for the podcast.

Youngest PRSA CEO and Improving PR Agencies' Image (3:40, 4:15)

Michael Cherenson highlights his unique position as the youngest incoming CEO of the Public Relations Society of America and the first second-generation PR practitioner to hold this office. He discusses the challenges and opportunities ahead for PR agencies, emphasizing the need to enhance the image of PR in the industry.

Controversy Surrounding PR Trade (4:58)

The podcast recaps a controversy involving Andrew Cohen's critical remarks about the PR trade. Michael Cherenson provides insights into the PR industry's response to such criticisms and the ongoing efforts to address challenges within the field.

Advocacy and Professional Development (5:28)

Michael Cherenson stresses the importance of advocacy and professional development in the PR profession. He discusses initiatives like Eric Schwartzman's Social Media Boot Camp and its role in advancing PR practitioners' skills and expertise.

Retooling PR with Social Media (6:31)

Michael Cherenson delves into the role of social media in reshaping the PR industry. He emphasizes the need for PR professionals to adapt to new technologies and gain confidence in setting boundaries with clients and managers.

Quantitative Research and Data in PR (7:05)

The discussion shifts to the significance of quantitative research and data analytics in demonstrating the value of PR to organizations. Michael Cherenson underscores the importance of organizing and presenting data effectively to reinforce PR's impact.

Challenges of Achieving Technical Tasks (9:32)

Michael Cherenson addresses the challenges of incorporating technical tasks like analytics and data visualization into PR practices. He discusses how PR professionals can bridge the gap between technical requirements and their non-technical expertise.

Enhancing Online Presence and Resources (9:56)

Public Relations Society of America's plans to revitalize its online presence, including new web content, improved search functionality, and expanded online resources, are outlined. Michael Cherenson highlights the importance of accessible resources to help PR practitioners secure budgets and achieve their goals.

Upcoming MyPRSA Social Network (10:20)

Michael Cherenson provides insights into the development of MyPRSA, an upcoming social network designed to enhance connectivity within the PR community. He discusses increased advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening the business case for public relations.

Working with Local Public Relations Society of America Chapters (11:32)

Michael Cherenson's plans to collaborate closely with local Public Relations Society of America chapters are explained. He emphasizes the importance of training courses and leadership development opportunities for PR professionals.

Networking and Knowledge Sharing (12:43)

The discussion underscores the significance of networking and knowledge sharing within the PR agency community. Michael Cherenson encourages PR practitioners to acquire new communication skills and expand their professional horizons.

Building Personal and Professional Brand (13:26)

Michael Cherenson shares insights on how public relations agency professionals can build their personal and professional brand through engagement with the Public Relations Society of America. He highlights often overlooked opportunities within the organization.

Balancing Responsibilities (15:03)

Michael Cherenson discusses the challenges of balancing responsibilities as the CEO of the Public Relations Society of America, managing agency commitments, and family life. He provides insights into maintaining equilibrium in a demanding professional role.

Conclusion (16:15)

The podcast concludes by summarizing the key points discussed with Michael Cherenson, shedding light on the dynamic landscape of public relations and highlighting the evolving role of public relations firms in a digital age.

Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash