How many times a day do you hear that the media landscape is changing?  Newspapers are collapsing, television news is turning itself inside out to maintain its viewership and the online world of “citizen journalism” has traditional news outlets struggling for relevancy. If this is all true, are there new rules to follow to get media attention for your nonprofit organization or small business? Should you even bother with traditional media?

Although there are some new considerations when it comes to PR and media relations, the basics still apply. Yes, the online world has opened up many PR opportunities that did not exist before, but the traditional media still play a powerful role.  Also, whether you’re pitching journalists or bloggers, many of the basics are the same for both.

The media release
A number of tech-savvy PR pros have been predicting the demise of the media release for a few years now. That time may come but this basic document is still widely used as a way to initiate media contact.  Sure, there are isolated success stories about pitching to journalists on Twitter but most news outlets still appreciate a to-the-point document that outlines your organization’s story pitch. What is beginning to change is the style or format of the release.

Today’s winning releases are concise and devoid of jargon and overblown claims revealed by the use of phrases such as “leading-edge”, “world-class”, and “value-driven”. You might as well write, “blah … blah … blah” in place of any of these overused phrases for the effect they have on news editors. If a reader does not come to the conclusion that  your new program, service or product is “unique” or a “cut above the rest” from the evidence you provide in your description, it’s probably because it’s not and you shouldn’t be promoting it as such.

You also need to get rid of the canned quotes from your executive director or CEO. The paragraph that quotes the CEO saying, “We’re thrilled to be joining XYZ company in this partnership to provide value-driven services to our mutual clients,” has to go. Nobody talks like that and it’s a meaningless quote. Have your executive make a genuine statement about how your news is actually going to impact customers/clients, change the business/industry or affect employees.

Don’t look for the media release to do it all either. Provide media with links to Web content that offers collaboration, video and/or images that demonstrate your story and a way for journalists to follow continuing developments. The “social media release” strives to provide a format for this Web-friendly content. See the Social Media Release blog for more information.

One pitch for all will fail
In many cases, media outlets have cut back to skeletal staffs. That means that journalists are being asked to pump out more work than they use to. They’re also being asked to blog on their media outlet’s website, post late-breaking news as it happens on the site’s homepage and to engage with readers or viewers on Twitter. They have very little time to appreciate how the story about your company or nonprofit directly appeals to their readers. It’s your job to help them to see it. That means you have to tailor your pitch to the particular outlet or journalist. Know what kinds of stories they want to cover.

For example, I recently pitched a story about a fellow from the UK driving a vintage Triumph Stag across North America in support of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had a truly compelling personal story about PTSD and was a brilliant storyteller. The story had obvious appeal on a two fronts — the PTSD angle and the vintage car enthusiast angle. I pitched it to auto section editors as well as city news editors as two different stories and got coverage on both sides. One media release trying to cover both of these angles would just not have worked.

Relationships matter
It’s a mistake to think that a reporter will cover your story just because you have a positive relationship with that person. You need to have a good story to begin with. However, a positive relationship does have weight. If a reporter knows that you consistently pitch newsworthy stories, he/she will be more inclined to pay attention to your release.

If that reporter knows that you will go the extra mile to get needed information to them before their deadline, for example, and that you will make sure your spokespeople are prepared and available when you say they will be, that reporter may be more willing to cover your story. Treat reporters with respect, recognize the mutually beneficial relationship, and always act with integrity.

Follow up to stand out from the crowd
The media release is your “entry to the dance” and nothing more. It is not enough on its own to garner media coverage unless the story is so big that it can’t be ignored. Sending out a media release without follow-up with individual reporters and editors is likely to result in no coverage at all.

It is very rare that I get a call on a media release before I do follow-up calls to the media outlets I’ve sent it to. Most often, when I reach a reporter or editor to discuss the release, they have either seen it at a glance or haven’t seen it at all. Media outlets receive hundreds of releases each day. Chances are, your release will go unnoticed unless you connect with someone directly to point out its newsworthy appeal. This doesn’t mean being pushy or asking the journalist if they intend to cover the story. It means making yourself available to answer any questions and pointing out why you thought the journalist would be interested.

The media landscape is changing. With the explosion of social media and other Web-based tools, traditional media is no longer the only  way to get your story out. Landing a story in your local paper or TV news show still has influence and impact, however, and works as a complement to your organization’s other PR efforts. There may be changes afoot but media relations basics still apply.

When I heard that the folks at Pressitt in the UK had launched the beta of their social media news release tool, I decided to check it out.

Pressitt says the site’s focus is on providing journalists and bloggers with a primary research tool for stories. PR types can upload releases into the system that should then be available to these journalists and bloggers.

My very first experience with the site wasn’t great. When I first went to sign up (as a PR person) I was faced with these restrictions on the registration page:

“I confirm that the content I am about to publish is not related to adult explicit, alcohol, activism, extremism, petition, prescription or other drugs, religious, ringtones, tobacco or vitamins related themes.”

As a social media consultant with a variety of clients, projects and events to publicize, I was immediately put off by the limitations, namely because the two things I wanted to create social media releases for were a wine branding company (alcohol) and a philanthropic campaign (activism, petition).

Undeterred, I filled out the rest of the registration so I could at least check out the tool’s features. Pressitt is entirely free, compared to the existing social media release tool PitchEngine which I wrote about previously. Here is an example release I created on the PressIt site.

Here’s how Pressitt stacks up as a Social Media Release (SMR) tool:

1. Ease of use. Pressitt has a very straightforward fill-in-the-blanks format. The link to create a release is prominent and obvious. Once you start one, you have the ability to choose which brand to attach to the release to.
2. Content prompting. Pressitt offers basic fields for your release headline, overview, and core facts. It does not accommodate for the main body text, but instead prompts you to build your release with overview, core facts, as well as quotes and links. Unfortunately, Pressit doesn’t prompt you to develop a Twitter-friendly blurb for your release so you can easily tweet a link to it.
3. Multimedia Integration. One of the critical aspect of SMRs is the integration of multimedia into a release. Pressit lets you upload videos and images, as well as document files (.doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .xls, .pdf and a maxiumum filesize of 8MB). While uploading my release to Pressitt, I ran into a technical glitch that I couldn’t get past. First, it would not let me upload .jpg files because it was expecting .jpeg files.  The site specified it could accommodate these files: jpeg, gif, bmp, png and a maximum file size of 4MB. I changed the .jpg to .jpeg and tried again. Pressitt gave me an error message saying .jpeg files were not allowed. So I converted the images in PhotoShop to .bmp. The site then gave me an error message saying .bmp files were not allowed. I gave up, so my test release doesn’t have any extra images.
4. Social Media Options. The second critical aspect of SMRs is social media integration. I was impressed with the extensive array of 16 or so social media posting options on Pressitt, including some that are probably more popular in the UK, such as Bebo and Propeller. Pressitt doesn’t seem to have its own URL shortener. It is also a little confusing to have Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin buttons at the top of page, but instead of being able to share the content using these services, these are meant to be links to the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts for the person sending the release.
5. Enterprise-level features. At this time, Pressitt doesn’t offer more enterprise-level features, or embedded social media newsrooms. While major companies might be using Pressitt, it is more likely for the ease of use and the fact there are fewer SMR tool options overseas than because of robust enterprise solutions.
6. Reach. It is a little too early to see if Pressitt will expand beyond being a UK- or Euro-centric tool. That isn’t a bad thing, but it just might not have the marketing muscle to make a big impact in the States.

The Verdict

If you are looking for a fast, easy solution without a lot of bells and whistles, Pressitt could work well for you. Me? I like the idea of using all the social media release resources available, particularly when I want a more global reach. I’m still disappointed, however, that some of my company’s clients will never be able to use Pressitt because of the site’s legal limitations.

Which SMR tool do you use and what do you like about it?

In my previous post I talked about how company’s can effectively use Facebook Fan Pages as their online newsrooms. However, before companies leap into the Facebook realm, they should consider the drawbacks of doing so first.

Jon Newman, a partner of the public relations firm The Hodges Partnership, wrote a post about his company’s Facebook Fan Page. In the post, he wonders if it could replace their company’s online newsroom given the fact that its free, and easy to update and add content to. Newman received several responses to this post, one being from Steven Momorella of TEKgroup

Coutersy of xxsed.com

International. In Newman’s next post, he posted Momorella’s rebuttal to replacing the online newsroom with Facebook, and states that everyone should take a look at it. Here is what Momorella had to say:

According to Momorella, one problem with Facebook as the online newsroom is the fact that not everyone has a Facebook, and therefore will not be able to access your Page without an account. Also, journalists that are on deadline are not likely to access your Facebook Page, request to be a fan of your page, and then wait to be accepted in order to get the information they need for a story. They just don’t have the time. Also, when it comes to some information that you would like to password protect, you are unable to do so with the Fan Page. Likewise, if you wanted to send out information to a key group of reporters before it is released to everyone, you cannot do so. Another aspect that might pose as a challenge is photo sizes. Journalists need access to many different size photos whether it be high-resolution or low resolution. However, the photos that show up on the Facebook Fan Page are thumbnails that cannot be pulled for use.

When it comes to the design of the Facebook Fan Page, Momorella stresses that your limited to a template and you have no option to create categories, such as contact information, biographies, etc. The fact that the Fan Page is not broken into categories causes navigation to be difficult, and reporters need easy navigation if you want them to use your content. All of these limitations can hinder your brand image.

Courtesy of imranhunzai.wordpress.com

Momorella also stresses with online newsrooms you have the option of having email alerts where you can send press releases, photos, audio, and video to your media contacts. However, with Facebook you don’t have that option, which stands in the way of getting your information out quickly and effectively. Also, there is limited search engine optimization because Facebook is a closed community. In addition, you don’t have control over keyword tags, therefore, making it hard for your Fan Page to show up in Google Search, and other search engines.

On top of poor SEO, Facebook does not have the tracking option to monitor how many views the site gets, and how many images are being looked at and downloaded. However, with an online newsroom you can check the status of who is accessing it, how frequently they are accessing it, what is being downloaded, and how often content is being downloaded. This allows you to measure how effective your online newsroom really is.

Lastly, you can’t create a social media release, which can include, multimedia and press releases, using a Fan Page. Reason being is the fact that in the Fan Page images are separate from videos, and separate from news. Everything is scattered throughout the page, which does not allow for packaging. However, with the online newsroom you can create a page or a press kit that has all the multimedia and news about any event packaged together.

Momorella states that not only is the above important, but credibility and security are also important aspects that a company should consider before creating a Facebook Fan Page as their online newsroom.

So the question now is should you or shouldn’t you replace your online newsroom with a Facebook Fan Page…I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare asociated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com.

About Not on My Watch Prevention Campaign

To protect patients by reducing the risk of HAI, healthcare professionals must continually update their knowledge of infection management.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.

The “Not on My Watch” campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.

For details about the “Not On My Watch” campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

HAI Education Bus

At Kimberly-Clark, it’s our mission to find innovative ways to develop and maintain a variety of accredited education, equipping healthcare providers with critical insights and information on today’s important clinical issues. That’s why we’re proud to introduce the HAI Education Bus, an impressive new one-of-a-kind mobile classroom that brings accredited CE education right to your door.

Look for this tour bus as it makes its way across the country, delivering education about healthcare-associated infections and other critical healthcare issues from the plains of Texas to the California coast to New York City and places in between.

Types of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Ventilator – Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

VAP is the source of the highest morbidity and mortality of all Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About VAP

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Any breach of patient skin can lead to a surgical site infection.

Read More About SSIs

Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer)

Contact transfer (touch contamination) is the number one source of Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About Contact Transfer

About HAI Watch

HAI Watch is your resource for collateral and supplies to help keep your organization aware of the importance of healthcare associated infection prevention. The following guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare settings and other tips are available now, but keep checking back. New HAI awareness tools will be added on an ongoing basis.

About Kimberly-Clark Health Care

At Kimberly-Clark Health Care, we deliver innovative healthcare solutions that you can depend on to meet the demands of your fast-paced world, supported by in-service training, clinical research and accredited education.

Our solutions help you prevent, diagnose, and manage major issues in these clinical areas: Infection Prevention (Protection & Infection Control, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Surgical Site Infections), Digestive Health and Pain Management.

About Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries.

Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being.

With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company’s 137-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare asociated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com.

About Not on My Watch Prevention Campaign

To protect patients by reducing the risk of HAI, healthcare professionals must continually update their knowledge of infection management.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.

The “Not on My Watch” campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.

For details about the “Not On My Watch” campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

HAI Education Bus

At Kimberly-Clark, it’s our mission to find innovative ways to develop and maintain a variety of accredited education, equipping healthcare providers with critical insights and information on today’s important clinical issues. That’s why we’re proud to introduce the HAI Education Bus, an impressive new one-of-a-kind mobile classroom that brings accredited CE education right to your door.

Look for this tour bus as it makes its way across the country, delivering education about healthcare-associated infections and other critical healthcare issues from the plains of Texas to the California coast to New York City and places in between.

Types of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Ventilator – Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

VAP is the source of the highest morbidity and mortality of all Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About VAP

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Any breach of patient skin can lead to a surgical site infection.

Read More About SSIs

Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer)

Contact transfer (touch contamination) is the number one source of Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About Contact Transfer

About HAI Watch

HAI Watch is your resource for collateral and supplies to help keep your organization aware of the importance of healthcare associated infection prevention. The following guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare settings and other tips are available now, but keep checking back. New HAI awareness tools will be added on an ongoing basis.

About Kimberly-Clark Health Care

At Kimberly-Clark Health Care, we deliver innovative healthcare solutions that you can depend on to meet the demands of your fast-paced world, supported by in-service training, clinical research and accredited education.

Our solutions help you prevent, diagnose, and manage major issues in these clinical areas: Infection Prevention (Protection & Infection Control, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Surgical Site Infections), Digestive Health and Pain Management.

About Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries.

Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being.

With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company’s 137-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare asociated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com.

About Not on My Watch Prevention Campaign

To protect patients by reducing the risk of HAI, healthcare professionals must continually update their knowledge of infection management.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.

The “Not on My Watch” campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.

For details about the “Not On My Watch” campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

HAI Education Bus

At Kimberly-Clark, it’s our mission to find innovative ways to develop and maintain a variety of accredited education, equipping healthcare providers with critical insights and information on today’s important clinical issues. That’s why we’re proud to introduce the HAI Education Bus, an impressive new one-of-a-kind mobile classroom that brings accredited CE education right to your door.

Look for this tour bus as it makes its way across the country, delivering education about healthcare-associated infections and other critical healthcare issues from the plains of Texas to the California coast to New York City and places in between.

Types of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Ventilator – Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

VAP is the source of the highest morbidity and mortality of all Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About VAP

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Any breach of patient skin can lead to a surgical site infection.

Read More About SSIs

Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer)

Contact transfer (touch contamination) is the number one source of Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About Contact Transfer

About HAI Watch

HAI Watch is your resource for collateral and supplies to help keep your organization aware of the importance of healthcare associated infection prevention. The following guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare settings and other tips are available now, but keep checking back. New HAI awareness tools will be added on an ongoing basis.

About Kimberly-Clark Health Care

At Kimberly-Clark Health Care, we deliver innovative healthcare solutions that you can depend on to meet the demands of your fast-paced world, supported by in-service training, clinical research and accredited education.

Our solutions help you prevent, diagnose, and manage major issues in these clinical areas: Infection Prevention (Protection & Infection Control, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Surgical Site Infections), Digestive Health and Pain Management.

About Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries.

Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being.

With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company’s 137-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare asociated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com.

About Not on My Watch Prevention Campaign

To protect patients by reducing the risk of HAI, healthcare professionals must continually update their knowledge of infection management.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.

The “Not on My Watch” campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.

For details about the “Not On My Watch” campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

HAI Education Bus

At Kimberly-Clark, it’s our mission to find innovative ways to develop and maintain a variety of accredited education, equipping healthcare providers with critical insights and information on today’s important clinical issues. That’s why we’re proud to introduce the HAI Education Bus, an impressive new one-of-a-kind mobile classroom that brings accredited CE education right to your door.

Look for this tour bus as it makes its way across the country, delivering education about healthcare-associated infections and other critical healthcare issues from the plains of Texas to the California coast to New York City and places in between.

Types of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Ventilator – Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

VAP is the source of the highest morbidity and mortality of all Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About VAP

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Any breach of patient skin can lead to a surgical site infection.

Read More About SSIs

Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer)

Contact transfer (touch contamination) is the number one source of Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About Contact Transfer

About HAI Watch

HAI Watch is your resource for collateral and supplies to help keep your organization aware of the importance of healthcare associated infection prevention. The following guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare settings and other tips are available now, but keep checking back. New HAI awareness tools will be added on an ongoing basis.

About Kimberly-Clark Health Care

At Kimberly-Clark Health Care, we deliver innovative healthcare solutions that you can depend on to meet the demands of your fast-paced world, supported by in-service training, clinical research and accredited education.

Our solutions help you prevent, diagnose, and manage major issues in these clinical areas: Infection Prevention (Protection & Infection Control, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Surgical Site Infections), Digestive Health and Pain Management.

About Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries.

Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being.

With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company’s 137-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare asociated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com.

About Not on My Watch Prevention Campaign

To protect patients by reducing the risk of HAI, healthcare professionals must continually update their knowledge of infection management.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.

The “Not on My Watch” campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.

For details about the “Not On My Watch” campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

HAI Education Bus

At Kimberly-Clark, it’s our mission to find innovative ways to develop and maintain a variety of accredited education, equipping healthcare providers with critical insights and information on today’s important clinical issues. That’s why we’re proud to introduce the HAI Education Bus, an impressive new one-of-a-kind mobile classroom that brings accredited CE education right to your door.

Look for this tour bus as it makes its way across the country, delivering education about healthcare-associated infections and other critical healthcare issues from the plains of Texas to the California coast to New York City and places in between.

Types of Healthcare-Associated Infections

Ventilator – Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

VAP is the source of the highest morbidity and mortality of all Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About VAP

Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Any breach of patient skin can lead to a surgical site infection.

Read More About SSIs

Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer)

Contact transfer (touch contamination) is the number one source of Healthcare Associated Infections.

Read More About Contact Transfer

About HAI Watch

HAI Watch is your resource for collateral and supplies to help keep your organization aware of the importance of healthcare associated infection prevention. The following guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare settings and other tips are available now, but keep checking back. New HAI awareness tools will be added on an ongoing basis.

About Kimberly-Clark Health Care

At Kimberly-Clark Health Care, we deliver innovative healthcare solutions that you can depend on to meet the demands of your fast-paced world, supported by in-service training, clinical research and accredited education.

Our solutions help you prevent, diagnose, and manage major issues in these clinical areas: Infection Prevention (Protection & Infection Control, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia and Surgical Site Infections), Digestive Health and Pain Management.

About Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries.

Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world’s population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being.

With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company’s 137-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com

Usually we say, “Out with the old, in with the new,” around January, but that also describes what is happening to the news release.

For decades, communications people have relied on the traditional news release to generate coverage of an announcement. Now, the preferred format is more of a social media toolkit, a one-pager that provides journalists and bloggers with more access to information and encourages sharing. Instead of the traditional one- or two-page, text-only news release, the SMR opens with three or four bullets of core information and then goes on to provide links to additional product information, video, audio, an RSS feed for product information, links to influential bloggers, and opportunities to share via Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr.

The SMR is rapidly gaining interest, because we are quickly moving away from the old one-way, controlled messages. Shel Holtz, the guru on all things technology, says there is still a place for the traditional release. One reason is because some trade publications still have a news hole to fill, and it can be easier to receive a page or two of text, edit it down, make a couple of phone calls to confirm details, and print it. Shel doesn’t like the phrase social media “news release”; he would prefer to call it the social media “press kit,” because people should still write the old release and then link to the SMR for additional information and resources.

One thing that is noteworthy is that this is one of the rare occasions in our cultural history that we transform the way in which we format and organize a document in business. E-mail did not dramatically change the way we write memos. E-mail and the traditional Word document memo are both written in a descending order of importance, with the most significant details in the beginning (in most cases). And the only real change in business-letter formatting was that with the advent of technology, which justified all text to the left, people stopped indenting paragraphs and stopped positioning the signature over on the right (some people still do, and it’s OK).

But when it comes to disseminating news, we have different and better ways to influence an audience today.

Properly used, press releases can be a very cost efficient way to promote your brand. It can be relatively low-cost to create and disseminate. Done well, the exposure gained is tremendous.

Now, with the power of the Internet, press releases become yet another great source of constantly updated information – similar to blogging, but perhaps – for the wary – allowing a little bit more “message control” (we’ll reserve the debate of whether that works for another time…).

Here’s why press releases work and how to use them:

1. Press releases can maximize your reach both in traditional media and new media: Press releases can be sent out to your traditional media channels – whether local, industry and other targeted publications – to attract the attention. But, they can also submitted to online distribution sites to maximize your visibility in new media (i.e. online) outlets.
2. Press releases are inexpensive: Relative to paid advertising tactics, press releases cost very little. All you need is time and a savvy knack to give your intended audience something “newsworthy” (that savvy knack is what you rightfully pay good PR consultants for – not just the stringing of pretty words!). The dissemination of your press release is basically close to free – especially with the Internet. Of course, you can pay for enhanced online submissions or mail your releases out with samples and other supporting information. You can, of course, use free online distribution sites like these.
3. Online Press Releases can leverage Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) benefits: A well-written, well-formatted and effective press release, will contain targeted keywords, links and very specific information about your business. When your release is distributed online, many web sites, news and search engines will pick it up and it will increase your visibility dramatically.
4. A good press release can enhance your credibility: If you consistently write and submit relevant and well-timed press releases, they can quickly increase your exposure and brand name recognition among your target audience. Plus, you can create a media section on your web site where you can list your releases as news items. You can even develop a media kit that contains your releases and other information on your business that interested parties can download.

From companies to media people—this is the practice companies are used to when it comes to publishing their press releases.

Having been exposed to the world of public relations during my internship last summer, I was kind of used to this kind of activity. Writing of press releases, press rounds (that is, distributing the press release from one publication to another and having a small talk with the editors), and monitoring. Although traditional, a lot of companies are still using this kind of PR.

But not known to a lot of people, there’s a new way of writing press releases.  And this is through the use of social media.

Here’s some comparison of the old and new ways of public relations.

This only shows that in the new form of writing and publishing a press release, a company’s presence on television, radio, and print is not anymore given much importance; instead, public relations is about buyers/customers buying your product. It’s not about your boss seeing your company on TV and print, and hearing your company on radios. It’s all about your customers seeing your company.

This advancement in public relations has given us a new form of publicizing companies. Here is an example of a social media news release:

The New Social Media Press Release Template

From the sample, we can see the various features of social media that is of great help in contributing content to the story. Features include tagging, bookmarking, and linking to relevant contents. Also this social media press release connects various platforms. There’s interconnectivity among different websites, podcasts, blogs, and so on. Most importantly, this form of press release gives bloggers and journalists enough space for them to use the story on their own. They can use the links, photos, videos, and podcasts for additional information that they can use for their articles. And as I have noted earlier, PEOPLE is now added to the focus of companies. In this way, they are not only doing the broadcast way of promoting their products and services. Instead, products and services are co-created by companies and their consumers.

True enough, sticking to the conventional way of writing press releases may not be effective all the time. Although not a lot of companies in the Philippines have done social media release yet, I can say that it is still worth a try.

As a blogger, my inbox is filled with press enquiries. Every day I get perhaps 3 or 4 or 5 or 6. Perhaps, ummm…none of them are social media ready. I’m serious. I receive them from fairly large companies and really large companies, as well as small ones and few acknowledge the realities of the web in 2010.

That reality can be summed up in a quote I heard at the Blogher conference this year: “Twitter killed the blogsphere.”

In reality, of course, Twitter did not KILL the blogsphere, but like many bloggers, I often find it easier to tweet out interesting pieces of information than to write a blog post about them. That goes for Facebook, Myspace and a variety of other social media sites.

A friend of mine, an avid blog reader, rather than blogger, commented to me yesterday that the new standard appears to be to update your blog once a month. I think that is perhaps an exaggeration, but there is definitely a trend toward writing less and tweeting more.

For companies sending out press releases, this means, fewer blog posts perhaps, but more mentions….if it’s easy. By that I mean, if it’s easy for a blogger to tweet out the information.

Press releases and enquires without a permalink to which a person can link end up requiring way too much additional effort on the part of the blogger. which leads to…”delete”.

The process goes something like this: I open my inbox to find 47 new messages, I browse through them, deleting those that are uninteresting. Those I find interesting, of which there are usually at least 10-20, I scan through to see about which one, if any I would be interested in writing. Often I would like to write about 5 or 6. Usually I have time to write one to none. If I can quickly tweet out the information in those enquires, I do. If not..”delete”.

So what’s the answer? Instead of writing a press enquiry, write a news story. Assign it a permalink. Send me a brief note including a link to your article.

I assure you…you’ll get more mentions that way! My clients do!

Since the Social Media Release (SMR) was developed by Todd Defren from SHIFT Communications in 2006, public relations professionals have debated its value. Many ask if it’s needed to be on the cutting-edge of PR, while some question its use against traditional means (i.e. personalized pitch letters, phone pitching, etc.).

Is it really useful? Or is it just a fad?
I believe the SMR has taken the traditional press release, and accompanying news content, and made it relevant to the digital age. It’s harnessed the power of multimedia and Social Media, transforming traditional media communique into technologically robust user experiences.

The components that make a SMR a great value include:

• Rich HTML text throughout the release (Great for Web site SEO, indexing, cross-linking, etc.)
• The ability to link to or embed photography, audio and video
• RSS feed capabilities within the SMR to create viral distribution
• Keyword selection, tagging and moderated comments to enhance user experiences, while creating heightened engagement

Brian Solis, a leading Social Media expert and author, wrote about the SMR in a blog post entitled “The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases.” He said that wire services are adopting SMRs and making them a prime distribution source. Within his article, he posts the results, compiled by Todd Defren and Christopher Lynn, of a comparison model of wire services using SMRs and the functionality they provide.

Findings revealed that major wire services are all seeking to jump on the SMR bandwagon, fighting to make their service the most sought after.

Top SMR services include Pitch Engine and RealWire. RealWire summarizes the SMR in the following video:

Should I use this tool and why?
There are many PR folks out there using the SMR just to say they used it – to make themselves look cutting-edge among their peers and bosses.

But with any tactic, we as PR pros must remember to keep our strategic hats on, always asking ourselves – what’s our objective and who is our target public/s?

Let’s not forget why we are true counselors and advisors to our clients, organizations and companies. It’s to provide the strategic mindset and calculated planning, execution and measurement needed to reach our primary objectives. Though some PR people have little ability or desire to attain this level of professionalism, those of us who do MUST strive to be trusted advisors.

How to create a SMR
We have to also keep in mind that a SMR without purpose, proper messaging, excellent writing and a call-to-action is worthless. Just like a traditional release will fail without being well-written, newsworthy and timely, the same is true for a SMR.

Solis hits the nail on the head when he said:

I’m sorry to say, that just because a new tool is available to you, you still have to make your story interesting, relevant, and newsworthy. The Social Media Release is not going to miraculously fix a hyperbole-ridden, over-stated, incomprehensible document riddled with BS. The people that matter to you are simply seeking context, relevance… You still have to do your homework and write something compelling and clear.

John Cass, author of “Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging” and the PR Communications Blog, interviewed Todd Defren about SMRs, blogging and word-of-mouth. Defren, in his July 2009 interview, talked about PR pros taking an early lead in blogs and social media. He said:

Good PR has only ever been about relationships, context and relevance. We also like to talk and write. We’re communicators. We took to Social Media like fish to water!

So, in the end, it’s a PR professionals job to be the leaders, advocates and counselors when it comes to social media and its accompanying tools.

This Saturday’s class (Sept. 12) was all about looking back on traditional PR practices (which are still used by most PR firms) and innovating PR by means of the Internet which is practical because it connects people no matter where they may be in the world. But before that, the respective groups in class had to report on how effectively they promoted their viral videos. Everyone made use of their respective social-networking sites and all other possible means including sending group text and instant messages over the YM just to make sure people would find out about it and check it out. I am even guilty of taking advantage of my job by promoting it on my radio show, but that’s part of the perks of having my own show and set of loyal listeners.

I’ve posted videos in the past on my public Facebook account and they’re pretty viral. Haha. They were probably even more viral than the video my group made and it’s probably because it makes me look pretty stupid. My latest is a 23-second video that I made for kicks at one of my Sunday radio shows. I played one of my favorite 80s tracks from Michael Jackson (Rock with You) and I started dancing and even attempted a moonwalk. I got a bunch of comments which has actually motivated me to shoot more. Haha. I already posted that embarrassing video on my public account and even got comments there too. Going to back to the groups’ videos, most of us got a good deal of views but for some they weren’t really able to achieve what they initially had as a goal in making the video.

After that took up three-fourths of the class period, we had quite an intense discussion on PR and how it has revolutionized thanks to the Internet. We also pointed out the differences between online marketing and online PR especially since they are often thought of being overlapping or similar subject matters, when in fact they aren’t.

With that discussion, we were assigned to create our very own Social Media Release on a store or establishment of our choice that’s due at our next meeting.

This is all about a homework on SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE instead of the traditional PRESS RELEASE. I think I somehow overdid it because I really made a video and pseudo-podcast for this homework (some told me that the URLs in their homeworks don’t work).

So what can we get from a social media release?

• It obviously serves as a press release but now it is online
• It is cost-efficient and a company doesn’t have to spend a lot to disseminate information
• Aside from plain text, you can also add other media such as numerous photos, videos, podcast, blog, vlog (videoblog), and link up other sites such as the company’s official website.
• Allows the company to be interactive because it can gather real time feedback from the audience since it is online!

Is there a difference between a social media release and a press release?

Aside from social media release being an online media release, another difference between them is that social media release shifts the focus from the company’s products and services to the customers’ needs and concerns. Meaning, from the traditional press release that introduces new products and services comes the new social media release that introduces the answers and solutions to the consumers’ needs and concerns.

What do I have here for you? Here is a sample social media release about Hotshots located at Robinson’s Midtown Mall. I also included the interview video with Mr. Jeffrey Yap, OIC for Robinson’s Midtown branch, and the official FM Demo of Hotshots.

Hotshots FM DEMO

There you have it! A million thanks to Mr. Jeffrey Yap and to the rest of the wonderful crews of Hotshots Rob Midtown!

I hope you’ll visit the said branch today and get that ULTIMATE BURGER EXPERIENCE!

 Many CMO’s ask what is the landscape in social media, how much, how deep, how high?  This list may have terms you have not heard of and need to get up to speed on fast. 

I love the Mashable blog and it’s info and some of the answer to that questions is in this blog piece. Peter Kim has done a fabulous job of naming the 22 steps in a social media plan.  What he is missing is the gaming pieces for the youth market and texting SMS, MSM and mobile. I also really like that he linked examples for each.

Reading his blog, he is very spot on.  Here is his bio. “Peter Kim is a Senior Partner at Dachis Corporation.  He blogs about social computing and marketing at Being Peter Kim.”

“Here’s a framework of 22 tools to consider with notable brand examples:

1. Blogs (Johnson & Johnson, Delta Air Lines)
2. Bookmarking/Tagging (Adobe(), Kodak)
3. Brand monitoring (Dell, MINI)
4. Content aggregation (Alltop, EMC)
5. Crowdsourcing/Voting (Oracle, Starbucks)
6. Discussion boards and forums (IBM, Mountain Dew)
7. Events and meetups (Molson, Pampers)
8. Mashups (Fidelity Investments, Nike)
9. Microblogging (method, Whole Foods)
10. Online video (Eukanuba, Home Depot)
11. Organization and staffing (Ford, Pepsi)
12. Outreach programs (Nokia, Yum Brands)
13. Photosharing (Rubbermaid, UK Government)
14. Podcasting (Ericsson, McDonalds)
15. Presentation sharing (CapGemini, Daimler AG)
16. Public Relations – social media releases (Avon, Intel)
17. Ratings and reviews (Loblaws, TurboTax)
18. Social networks: applications, fan pages, groups, and personalities (British Airways, Saturn)
19. Sponsorships (Coca-Cola, Whirlpool)
20. Virtual worlds (National Geographic, Toyota)
21. Widgets (Southwest Airlines, Target)
22. Wikis (Second Life, T-Mobile Sidekick)”

TODAY’S BUZZ TIP | July 14, 2009

Social Media Releases (SMRs) are the new way to distribute company and product news.  Call it the press release of the digital age.  This is an exciting and revolutionary new mode of communication that is changing the world of PR.  Below I provide you with information and links to experts on SMRs.  I can not call myself one — I’m really just a disciple and active participant.

First off is this definition of the Social Media Release:

The term “social media release” (SMR) is used to describe a media release which incorporates social media tools (social bookmarking, RSS etc) to provide background data, context and on-going updates to clients’ news, so as to help journalists and bloggers better understand and/or research the story behind the releases.

Todd Defren is actually the one credited for coining the term SMR and developing the first SMR template (www.pr-squared.com/2008/04/social_media_release_template.html).  It’s since been copied and updated as technology and our understanding of social media progresses.  Another expert and great source for the latest information on social media releases is Brian Solis.  On his site he has  an amazing article, “Social Media Releases: Everything You Ever Wanted to (or Should) Know” (www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you/).  Brian is one of the pre-eminent experts on the topic and provides insight as well as a wealth of examples.

There’s also PitchEngine (www.pitchengine.com), a site that will help you develop your SMR and also share it within their SMR newsroom — that’s a whole new world too.  Whew.  I don’t know about you, but my head is spinning!

The term “press release” is a whopper of a misnomer. The public communication we call a “press release” hasn’t simply been a message to the media for a long time.

Now, though, the web makes the term virtually meaningless. So many different people and audiences other than the media can access our press releases in real time that calling it a press release is almost a blunder. [If someone's got a better phrase, let me know]

So if reaching many different audiences is now both a given and an objective of our releases, what do we need to know to make the most of the opportunity?

This, in a nutshell, is what we will be talking about on Wednesday at 1 PM ET on the PR University audio conference, “New Ways PR Can Use SEO and Smarter Writing Techniques to Reach Wider Audiences.”

I’ll be moderating and will be joined on the call by:

• Paul Furiga, ABC, President, WordWrite Communications
• Laura Sturaitis, Senior Vice President, Media Services & Product Strategy, Business Wire
• Paul Dyer, eMedia Director, WeissComm Partners, Invigorate Communications
• Greg Jarboe, President & Co-Founder, SEO-PR

We’ll be covering these and other topics:

• SEO Fundamentals: How to conduct preliminary keyword research—plus online tools and new techniques for finding your company or brand’s keyword sweet spot
• Word counts, hyperlinks, headline writing rules and other SEO guidelines for optimizing press release copy without alienating readers
• Using video, audio, photos and multimedia to boost your online footprint
• SMR Update: What a social media news release (SMR) is and how it differs from a traditional press release
• Overcoming the challenges of creating and distributing effective social media news releases
• Online Distribution: How to seed your releases, announcements and ideas in blogs, forums and even Facebook, LinkedIn and beyond
• Measuring your success: new tools for measuring the effectiveness of your press releases

Hope you can join us!

Text 100’s global blogger survey 2009 tells us a few things we should already know but perhaps just haven’t been arsed to put in practice often enough. Here are some highlights, with my comments in italicised parentheses.

1. Most bloggers welcome contact from a PR firm or other corporation. The preferred means of contact is email and, particularly in APAC, they appreciate receiving an email or F2F introduction prior to receiving PR material. [You wouldn't ask someone for a favour without first telling them who you are, what you do and what's in it for them, would you? Poor manners = poor pick-up.]

2. Computers, technology and the internet are the subjects most commonly posted about. Bloggers like to hear of new products and interviews with key people, and hate receiving corporate news announcements. [It's only natural that the message is so closely aligned with the medium. Technology and current affairs are the two subjects with a constant stream of blog fodder, and you wouldn't expect commentary on the latter from young turks such as this one who claims to be "one of Singapore's youngest professional tech bloggers and a social (media) expert", would you?]

3. Treat bloggers like partners, not journalists; but don’t insult their intelligence. Give them social media releases with photos and RSS feeds to buttress their posts with. Some choice quotes:

Not being a professional journalist doesn’t mean unprofessionalism in writing and content. (Finland)

PR people generally send us the standard press releases, so I don’t participate proactively. (South Korea)

Press releases don’t work for bloggers, we are not journalists. We don’t need to copy and paste the nonsense we get. If you are sending the same release to the press, why would I want to blog about it? I am not unique then, and am the same as a paper. (Ireland)

[I think journalists and syndicated news bureaus will have something to say about what's implied there. Regardless, the need for targeted pitching is rather obvious - I certainly wouldn't send identical cover letters and resumes to different prospective employers.]

Sometime ago I got a mail from the PR folks at Text1oo asking me if I’d like to participate in a global survey of what bloggers expect from Public Relations professionals.

Since I get  a lot of poorly pitched PR press releases I volunteered.

Karthik from Text 100 emailed me to say that the results of the survey is now public and here are some of the findings, no surprises here

- More than 90 percent of the 449 bloggers surveyed welcome contact by PR people

- Most report a high level of regular contact from PR people, with more than 96% of bloggers in the US being contacted once a week or more (versus 36% in APAC and 65% in Europe)

- Email is the preferred form of contact, no matter which part of the globe bloggers reside; and SMS and IM universally are the least preferred forms

- Around half of all bloggers in APAC and Europe indicate their preferred form of contact on their blogs, and as a result of this survey, a number were planning to add their preferred form of contact if they weren’t already showing this. 88% of bloggers in APAC preferred an introduction before receiving information from PR people and corporations and many of these bloggers also wanted a face-to-face meeting

- Bloggers are united in their desire for distinctive content, particularly around new product developments and reviews, feedback on content posted on their blog, and interviews with key people

Continued bad Habits from PRs

- PR people continue to blindly send corporate press releases to bloggers

- PR professionals are failing to read the blogs and truly understand their target bloggers’ communities.

- They seem to expect bloggers to post corporate material, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the medium and the very reason why bloggers blog.

- They treat bloggers as they would journalists – not as influencers which is more appropriate.

Here is the slideshare ppt of the whole survey