Interesting… An RFP for the National Endowment for the Arts recently required spec work, so the leading graphic designer’s association responded in a well-written letter.

The irony is quite strong here… that an arts organization would be requiring free work (and damaging an industry they are supposed to protect)!

This got me thinking… what exactly is PR? Do we all have a different idea of what it means to influence our publics?

On the way home from the conference, my friend and I got on a Southwest Airlines plane to go home. As we walked on the plane, we noticed a King of Hearts graphic that looked like it had been ripped out of a magazine taped on the wall near where the attendants stand. My friend and I both noticed it.

A few minutes after the plane took off, my friend leaned over to me and said, “That what the king was about!”

“What?” I responded.

She gestured to the passenger in front of us, who was reading a USA Today. A huge graphic on the newspaper showed Southwest as the king of the airlines.

We looked at each other and said, “Wow, that’s cool.”

No one made the these Southwest airlines employees proudly display their status as king. They ripped it out of the newspaper and taped it there because they were proud of their company. And we were glad to be on a plane with happy employees. I gained a new respect (and loyalty) for Southwest Airlines that day. No ad, press release or media relations effort would have made Southwest’s employees react this way. It was the best PR… however, this opportunity to feel and show company pride came as a result of Southwest having a hardworking PR staff, I’m sure. Southwest wouldn’t have gotten that kind of press had their staff not worked well with the media.

The best PR comes from doing good and then having someone who can share it with the world.

So I guess this is why we’re particular when we choose clients to work with; we need to first find a company who’s doing something good before we can help them share it with the world.

P.S. By the way, it’s interesting to note the reason I was on Southwest is because I’ve always had good experiences, and I felt dissed by American after they deleted all my hard-earned frequent flier miles after only 18 months without a flight.

In fact, many company leaders never even look at their own websites. Their awareness is seems to be more focused on what their staff puts in front of them or what their customers tell them. What they’re missing with these feedback loops is the hundreds (and maybe thousands) of people visiting their website. A company’s website is the most accessible way that a customer, potential customer, news reporter or random person can find that company.

As a result, having an outdated website is like making a sales presentation in your underwear.

It makes you look bad. Just like if you were standing in a meeting in your underwear, most people would laugh, look away, or tell you to take a hike. However, few would hire your company, even if you told them that you were too busy selling products to put on pants that day.

The same is true with websites. Your website is what gives you credibility… most people won’t see that new wizbang brochure or catalog, but they’ll likely go to your website to find your phone number, location, and browse to see what your company is about. It’s the world’s biggest tradeshow… and you already have a booth, whether you like it or not.

Let’s face it, everyone’s always looking for a cheaper way to do everything. So I’ve decided to embark on a journey to try out most of the free press release distribution services to see what kind of results they produce. Are they worth my time as a PR person, or am I better to stick with the establishment?

I think it will be fun and interesting. I’ll report my results here when I’ve done a few field tests.

Our awards in the 2009 Communications Contest: 

• First place in Special Articles: Business
• First place in Web Writing, For-Profit Business
• First place in Magazine Section Editing
• Second place in Special Articles: Science (Energy & Green Issues)
• Third place in Magazine Feature Story

On the inside, however, it was just like every other direct mail seminar pitch, except of course it included two free tickets to admit us to this special event.

My husband and I both laughed, and I couldn’t quite throw it away. I wanted a photo of it for this blog (and to show my grandchildren someday).

Then I got thinking about it? Is the economy so bad that Donald Trump has to hawk educational seminars and give away free CDs? Or did some training company buy the rights to his name? At any rate, is it the type of celebrity endorsement that all PR people dream of OR does it tarnish The Donald’s reputation?

At any rate, I won’t be attending the free Trumpathan training event.

In the past 4 months, Linkedin has really started taking off. I think it’s starting to reach critical mass: everyone is starting to use it. Along with the growth of people using it, the groups function is continuing to mature. Coming from an association management background, I knew the groups could become powerful. Why? We all need recommendations, resources, and peer advice. With the downsizing of America, many of us lack co-workers with whom we can discuss and share ideas.

Now when I go to a local association chapter luncheon, like PRSA, I can build relationships with the people I meet. I send them a Linkedin invitation, and then I can see when they’ve changed jobs or gotten a recommendation. This starts conversations that would have never happened before.

Plus, smart associations are building groups for their members so that they can network and share resources, articles, and ideas. My local PRSA chapter looked into creating a listserver 5 years ago, but it was too expensive. Now that same group has a free Linkedin group that will complement its face-to-face meetings.

I’m excited to see that others are beginning to catch on to the great possibilities for connection through the Web.

By the way, I received some great packing tips and recommendations for movers from the LinkedWorking St. Louis group. Read the comments here.

How do I know?

On company websites of all sizes, I find typos, outdated information, vague details, and very little about the people who work there and the products or services they sell. Sometimes its even a chore to find a phone number – hard to believe, but true!

Ironically when I make it through the red tape to appropriate person to interview for the article — usually a marketing director or CEO — then I am often sent a capabilities brochure on the company. These brochures are amazing: great photos, interesting text, and all the proof that this is indeed a professional company.

So why is it that the boss cares more about a printed piece stored in their backroom than the website which is available to entire world in one click? Because that’s what they see. They aren’t looking for information about their own company. They are looking to hand something to someone they meet. And yet, if they actually went to their own websites on a regular basis, I think they would be shocked at the less than professional image they are projecting.

So if you are part of a company, go to your website. Pretend that you are a first-time visitor. And if you can’t, ask someone else to check it out for you. Get their honest opinion. Then consider: what image do you want to project to the world?

I submitted it to one of my husband’s favorite personal finance blogs, GetRichSlowly.org. The editor, J.D. Roth, liked the post and offered to publish it. It went online yesterday at GetRichSlowly.org.

Yesterday, I got my Google Alert on Coleman Unlimited. The post was picked up everywhere! Plus, on the GRS website, it’s caused quite a stir with 54 comments already. This has really illustrated the speed and intensity of the web to me–no wonder newspaper reporters and PR people feel overwhelmed.

I was also surprised to find that not everyone thought my story was funny! Some thought I was smug. Others inferred that I was calling the customer service lady dumb. Still others loved it. Now that I have a little taste of celebrity, I know that, with exposure, comes criticism. It’s an interesting time for communications, that’s for sure!

Check out the post at Get Rich Slowly.

He always looked at me and said something like: “It’s on the list.” I usually then shook my head and thought that he needed better planning skills.

This was before I left my 9-to-5 job as PR director of a national association to start my own business. Since then, I’ve been whisked into the crazy world of entrepreneurship, or what I lovingly call, “finding work to get paid.”

I made many lofty goals and business plans. I created to-do lists using my favorite service, www.rememberthemilk.com. I planned on writing a blog post every week and networking on Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook. I would do everything to market my company, plus some. It’s what I do for a living!

Then reality hit. My blog posts went from once a week to once every other week. My tasks got postponed…again and again.

For the past month, we’ve both been slammed. I haven’t written a post in a month, and I haven’t done much proactive marketing either. I’ve just been working for clients.

So is this irony? I’ve got so much work to do that I haven’t had time to market myself, even though this is part of what I do for others. It’s like doctors who smoke and let their waistbands expand: they take care of your body all day long, so they let their body go.

So you either work and make money… or you market yourself and sacrifice some cash. Tough call.

I guess that’s why my husband’s new website is still three-fourths done, while his clients’ sites all look great. I’ll have to work a bit harder at fitting it all in this year and start “hiring” myself to promote this company.