Disqus - Latest Comments for rachelakay

Re: Media Relations vs. Influencer Relations

rachelakay — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:34:04 -0000

Good post, and I'm just here to comment on the press release part. While press releases are probably not relied upon as much as they were 20 years ago, they aren't dead. We sent out a press release on a traditional wire service on Monday and received a lot of coverage and many requests for interviews with our client from the exact outlets we were hoping for. The problem with press releases is that they are misused by companies and people who have no real news to tell. They want the SEO value, and they can work for that if that's the goal. Evolution is the key word.

Re: Fear My Blog • Some Advice for my Social Media Friends

rachelakay — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:07:39 -0000

This is the best post I've read all week and something I've been saying myself lately. It's already happening. Many social media strategists have begun moving in-house or taking on different roles and it will continue. Companies are recognizing that social media does not stand alone - it's a tactic that should be a part of an overarching marketing strategy. And there are too many people who do well at social media but they don't know anything about marketing.

Re: Be Prepared as Digital Natives Demand the 4 Hour Work Week Lifestyle

rachelakay — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:03:39 -0000

Great post and I'm blown away by the insightful comments. I would not consider this structure for my business but good points are made all around.

I think one question that comes to mind is that a lot of this model seems to be based on the hiring of part time consultants, which means employers are not responsible for providing benefits or stability. I think it's important to consider what the motivation is for some of these arrangements. I'd be curious how many companies are providing benefits to remote workers.

Re: My Name is Mike.

rachelakay — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 11:17:05 -0000

How awesome!! Glad to be a part of the adventure!!

Re: 2010: Oh, what a year

rachelakay — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:57:14 -0000

Kasey! You are so kind, but I'm the one who owes you for all you helped me with this year. We'll definitely meet - hopefully in 2011, but regardless, I'm happy to have you as a friend. It's been great connecting with a brilliant communicator.

Rachel
@rachelakay

Re: Ranking Content: Fresh Content Providers, Third Quarter

rachelakay — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:05:24 -0000

Rich,

Wow - how embarrassing - I just noticed your mention of me in this post! Thank you so much for including me with this incredible group of writers, commentators and thinkers. What an honor and such a great compilation!

Rachel Kay

Re: How much is too much?

rachelakay — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:16:04 -0000

Love this post Arik. I 'm so satisfied with the work/life balance I've created for myself owning my own business. Getting to do things I enjoy makes working hard so much more rewarding itself. I work hard, but I'm not overwhelmed - that's awesome. I will add to one of your points though - about how much money you need to get by. To be frank, I don't think everyone wants to just get by, so I think you need to decide how much money you want to have. Having work/life balance doesn't have to mean just getting by. I think a lot of us strive to be prosperous AND enjoy outside interests. Why can't we have it all?

Re: Using Death as a Motivator

rachelakay — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:26:07 -0000

What an incredibly heartbreaking, but inspirational story. It's understandable that tragedy like that leads many people on a destructive and debilitating path, so it's really encouraging to hear how it made you a stronger and more determined person. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Rachel Kay

Re: Twitter: 20 PR Pros to Follow Right Now

rachelakay — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 12:04:33 -0000

Thank you for including me with this list - it's a great honor to be included with some savvy PR legends, including some I wasn't yet following!

Rachel Kay

Re: How To Conduct A Social Media Audit

rachelakay — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:56:17 -0000

Great, comprehensive post. When we conduct audits, we also look at key competitors and the particular industry as a whole, i.e. how many people are talking about the products benefits, but who may not yet be aware of our client's option. It helps us to see where our customers are and where we need to go.

Re: Serving Oddballs: Fresh Content Project

rachelakay — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:37:42 -0000

Hi Rich,

Thanks for mentioning my post and I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to put together, and I myself fit a few of the profiles. :)

Rachel Kay

Re: Why the Digital Divide is Death to Your PR Firm

rachelakay — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:58:59 -0000

Elizabeth - It doesn't surprise me to see your name on such an insightful and well-written post. Such great ideas here, and I appreciate how you've translated each idea into actions that can actually help PR pros meet real new business and client goals. Thanks for the great read.

Rachel Kay
@rachelakay

Re: Six Steps For Dealing With Detractors

rachelakay — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:11:29 -0000

Great post with a really valuable approach for companies. I'd like to take your question a step further - are brands forced to into handling detractors off-line differently than they handle them on-line, and the answer is absolutely. It's good and it's bad - brands are held accountable for customer service and the consumer has more power, but unfortunately brands are also under the gun to prioritize detractors who can cause a ruckus online. I have sympathy, particularly working in consumer products PR. I know one person in particular who skips traditional customer service channels altogether, taking any grievances or questions on-line. Typically the two outlets are run by different departments (customer service and PR), so it's hard to expect the same reaction from both.

Re: How Fast Company Confused Ego with Influence

rachelakay — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:19:28 -0000

Amber,

I think that fact that you've written on this and received this much feedback and generated this much conversation within 10 minutes of posting is a better indicator to me of influence. Nice job.

Rachel Kay
@rachelakay

Re: Second Annual PR Reader’s Choice Blog Awards

rachelakay — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:54:38 -0000

Really tough here.

Best Up and Coming - wwwPRBreakfastClub.com - This team has done an incredible job of building their site in such a short amount of time. They do a tremendous job of talking about stuff that's difficult and keeping good content flowing.
Most Educational - DannyBrown.me I don't know how he does it, but Danny consistently churns out ridiculous amounts of content that I can't keep up with. The best part is he's introduced me to a lot of new tools and strategies I hadn't known about. I learn a lot from reading his blog.
Most Though Provoking - www.thebuzzbymikeschaffer.com Everything Mike writes makes me go WHERE does he get this stuff. But it's all very entertaining and witty, and hides some really education stuff in there. This blog is unique, and has it's own voice (melding PR with Pop Culture).
Blog of the Year - www.ConversationAgent.com I love Valeria's blog because every post is extremely well thought out, fresh, timely and educational. Her posts not only help us understand communication, but also good overall business practice. I typically read Valeria's posts several times to digest it all. She is a thought leader.

Re: I’m Not The Welcome Wagon, but I’ve Got Some Advice For You

rachelakay — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:28:01 -0000

Jessica,

I could see both sides of this story, but when I read the PR agency owners response, I completely lost any sympathy. What the blogger did, whether right or wrong, did not warrant that petty, nasty and completely baseless attack, insinuating that she was mentally unstable. How childish, and it doesn't do anything to elevate our industry.

Rachel Kay

Re: Paying to Speak? No Thanks C.A.P.S.

rachelakay — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:38:07 -0000

Scott,

I am very perplexed by that. I'm by no means as seasoned a speaker as you are, but I've always had travel and conference registration covered. Their loss!

Rachel Kay

Re: The Curious Case of Benjamin Roethlisberger

rachelakay — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:06:01 -0000

Mike,
Wow - great topic for discussion. I think the other commenters have made some great points so I won't add too much more. I think when the issue is violence, a whole new can of worms emerges. I think its necessary for him to pursue treatment, and admit that there are issues that he needs to deal with. He owes his fans an apology. And he certainly does need to avoid any drinking or partying in the public eye - now is the time to show a reflective, mature individual.

Rachel Kay

Re: Thanks for the Memories

rachelakay — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:57:49 -0000

Mike,

I'm so excited for you! Change it good, and helps us grow. congratulations on an exciting new venture. They are lucky to have you!

Rachel Kay

Re: Facebook to Say Goodbye to App Notifications on March 1st

rachelakay — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:23:02 -0000

With emails from multiple social networks I tend to just hit the delete button when I see one. This could prove to be a mistake. I'll be interested to see how they determine if this is a successful strategy. However, there are so many pointless notifications that maybe it will work in their favor.

Re: Journalists vs. PR Pros: This debate will never be settled

rachelakay — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:51:21 -0000

Kate,

I love this post. I also blogged about this. Good PR pros have always rallied against spam, but I think trying to create a movement complete with "Bill of Rights" is just silly, not executable, and just highlights the bad seeds rather than the significant role we play in brand building.

Rachel Kay

Re: The Challenges of Social Media Talent Acquisition

rachelakay — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:28:06 -0000

Hi Tac,

Great question - I wanted to expand on my thoughts in a few more than 140 characters. From a PR perspective, I think it's a question of strategy vs. tactics. There are many people who understand how social media works from a logistics perspective - it doesn't make them qualified to provide strategic counsel - and it may never. That's why not everyone makes it to a strategic role. That said, many people can understand, with a little teaching, how to turn a statement into a conversation using some of the new tools available. Many people can learn to monitor, react and respond.

Great variety of responses - interesting to see how different people interpret the question.

Rachel Kay
www.communikaytrix.com

Re: Stop Bashing Media Relations—More Important Than Ever

rachelakay — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:41:45 -0000

Keith,

Great post. I could sit and chat about this very topic for hours. Media relations isn't dead by any means. The landscape is changing, but there are still thousands of reporters writing the same types of stories they always have been. I'll probably get smacked in the head for this one, but I think it's often the new age of self-proclaimed PR practitioners who weren't raised to understand the heritage of journalism. It's easy to get sucked into the latest buzzwords, but the press is still alive and well.

Thanks for sharing some great thoughts.

Rachel Kay

Re: Social Media Slim-Down

rachelakay — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:58:25 -0000

I'm in.

Re: Light The Torches

rachelakay — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:14:25 -0000

Hey Colby,

Thanks so much for your reference to my post. I do agree with you that as communication professionals, we should set the standard for dignity, but that doesn't often happen. Many PR people did become heated and nasty, and that doesn't reflect well on our industry. That said, and I certainly tried not to go down this path on my own post, I don't agree it's my duty to embrace her decision to become a publicist, and to help her learn the profession. I'm too busy doing that with my interns and entry-level staff who choose to learn the ropes through education, experience and good old fashioned hard work. It's the same reason I didn't try to start an agency at the age of 19. I learned from senior level professionals and worked in the trenches. While I don't think we need to be catty, I also don't think we owe her anything. I have many friends in the profession who I enjoy sharing information and resources with and the value in networking is unbelievable. I'm not sure we've seen any attempts at that here. But I am accepting resumes. :)

Good post, and thank you again.

Rachel Kay