INK PUBLIC RELATIONS

I have a new rule I live by – a fashion rule (don’t hurt yourself laughing): I don’t leave the house without texture, color and shine. Every morning as I’m getting ready to head out the door, I make sure it’s all here: what was previously a basic (and boring) outfit of black t-shirt and jeans now has a splash of red (shoes), a touch of texture (knobby scarf), and a dash of shine (chunky gold bracelet). Fine to fabulous in three easy steps. Since instilling this What Not to Wear rule I have received more compliments on my put-together look and requests for shopping tips (“WHERE did you get that?”) than at any previous time in my life. If only I was this fashion forward in high school…

This same approach can be applied to media interviews. Too many times I’ve witnessed knowledgeable executives go into interviews without truly thinking about what they want to say (after all, who knows their business better than them?) and lo and behold the resulting story is not quite as colorful as they were hoping. “He misquoted me!” or “She didn’t quote me at all!” are common complaints of this (non)strategy. But what if they had approached the interview with some colorful commentary already in mind? A shiny sound bite ready to go along with some substance full of texture? While reporters are looking for the story basics, they also need those quotable nuggets – the color, texture and shine – that bring a story to life and get their readers engaged.

You be the judge – as a reader, which quote engages you more:

“Renewables will not work unless we have the transmission issues resolved.”
“The transmission issue will be the short pole in the tent real quick, if it’s not already in certain places.”

The first one makes a point (the basic black t-shirt); the second one adds the punch (the bold, bright green scarf). Both are necessary – in fact, these two quotes were from the same executive, in the same article – but the first without the second might have been left on the editor’s floor.

So apply a little fashion sense to your basic information wardrobe the next time you do an interview. I guarantee the results will be worth the extra effort.

For the past five years I have been building a monster. I have been working, no, slaving, away – dedicating every free moment I have to a creature that has always been stronger than my grasp. I have gone to countless seminars (I have even sat on a panel or two), dedicated a ridiculous number of catch phrases to memory, been a willing guinea pig (alpha and beta users UNITE), commented, blogged, digged, tweeted, hell, I have become transparent—all in an effort to understand and enable this crazy thing called social media.

Here at INK we have rolled out successful campaigns for clients using social media – from blogging to vlogging, and everything in between – and we have encouraged our clients to follow three key tenets of living in the social media space: 1) always give much more than you get; 2) one size does not fit all (just because Skittles did it doesn’t mean you have to), and 3) listen and participate (with a heavy emphasis on the former and a demand for the latter). But as is so often the case in client services, we have neglected our own participation in the social media space (there are only so many hours in the day, people), for the betterment of others.

It has been awhile in the making, but the lightning bolt has finally struck, the heart is beating and my monster is officially alive. It is with great pleasure and pride that I introduce to you my little army of creatures: @millionbaker, @karihernandez, @nashwilliams and @ckvincent. I would also like to note that already the monsters are stronger than I – with more followers, more friends, more fans, and far more presence and influence than they even know.

My name is Blair Poloskey (@poloskey) – I empower social media participation and passion.

I am Dr. Frankenstein.

“None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science.” -Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Turning five rocked. Seriously, five-year-olds get to do all sorts of things four-year-olds don’t…like, um, go to school. Kindergarten is the ultimate rite of passage. In fact, you learn everything you need to know in kindergarten. You learn to share, be independent, help others, grow and be successful. The first four years of your life are essentially dedicated to learning how to walk – but then when you get those five candles on your cake, all of a sudden you are out the door running.

In January, we got our fifth candle – INK PR is now a fully functioning five-year-old with all the exuberance and excitement of any kindergartener on their first day of school. We’re evolving from a small boutique agency with the top-notch traditional PR skills of the most seasoned veteran to a true collective of five creative professionals with the savvy to not only write the press release, but also know when to not (and more and more often the answer is to not – sounds like a future post topic).

Our director of new media, Blair Poloskey, has chronicled many of her experiences in the PR world at her blog Really? This is my job? since June of 2007 (she was always an advanced child) – but the rest of us were waiting to be pushed out the door, onto the bus, into the school – waiting to be ready. And now that we are five, stand back. We have A LOT to say and Fresh INK is where we are going to say it.

Our one word mission statement for this blog is “empower.” We want to empower our clients to run their programs efficiently, yet effectively. We want to empower ourselves to get out of our own heads and learn something new. We want to continue to empower each other to do the best job, everyday, and have fun while we’re doing it. My personal goal in my writing for this blog will be to empower our industry to do a better PR job for itself.

To that end, I direct you to Jennifer Willbur’s guest post on Sarah Evan’s blog, PRSarahEvans.com, Don’t be a PR Geezer. She poses five (hmmm, five – how fortuitous) questions that EVERY PR pro should consider, and encourages us all to get with the program of using social media technology to have conversations with your audiences. Well, HELLO AUDIENCE. We couldn’t agree more and therefore we are wholeheartedly embracing blogging with Fresh INK – we are getting with the program.

We, all five (seriously, it just won’t end) of us, hope you enjoy it!