Our clients often ask us for advice on developing a program to place their employees (frequently the “up-and-comers”) on nonprofit boards. There are lots of good reasons to do this, and we’re happy to encourage the practice. Here are some of the steps we suggest they take.
Public Relations
This is our public relations blog.
What I Didn’t Learn in College
There are some lessons even the most diligent of students can’t learn from the best of instructors. Only seven months ago, I was still a student. In June, I began my internship at Buchanan PR, where I have learned crucial skills to set the framework for career success. The following are the surprising but useful PR lessons that my experience at Buchanan PR has taught me:
Wake Up Al! (Songs to Revive the Punctual Individual)
Poor Al Roker—at least he’s taking this all in stride. After oversleeping for the first time in 39 years, Mr. Roker is enduring a friendly thrashing by his colleagues and across Twitter for failing to show up for “Wake Up With Al,” his (very) early morning show on The Weather Channel.
Calculator, Please
It was sometime in elementary school—when calculators were unjustly banned from use during tests—that I decided to break up with long division and started serious relationships with reading, writing, and art (we’re even Facebook-official).
When high school and college rolled around, I decided I didn’t want to starve as an artist later in life, so I began to pursue writing. Seven failed novel attempts later, I discovered public relations and immediately felt at home.
Fast-forward to this past December, when I began seeking a summer internship. Googling “public relations + Philadelphia” produced more results than any human could possibly wade through, so I narrowed it down and applied only to the firms that seemed human, had a great social media presence and whose websites were beautifully designed. Hello, Buchanan PR.
It’s All About the Reunions
Our new Account Supervisor Nicole Lasorda has been a longtime volunteer with the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, an organization that provides support for animals involved in fires and other disasters. Below is a blog post Nicole wrote for the Red Paw website:
I’ve always loved animals – that’s probably an understatement. Ever since I was a kid, sick, injured, and homeless animals had me on their radar. It was like a beacon on my head that said “FIND ME. I WILL HELP YOU!”
Getting the Hook Can Really Hurt
On a whim, I performed in my very first Story Slam about a year ago. The way it works is that, if your name is called at random, you stand up on stage and tell a 5-minute story related to the given theme in front of an audience of 50 to 100 people. I was shaking in my flip flops the first time, but braved my way through the entire thing. And I wasn’t bad.
Over the past year, participating in the slams got me thinking — “This is a lot like what we do in PR.”
6 SEO Rules Every PR Pro Should Live By
Search engine optimization (SEO) determines where and how businesses rank on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. As the competition for online real estate continues to heat up, B2B and B2C marketers have planned to increase their SEO budgets by 43 percent and 45 percent, respectively.
With marketing departments increasingly seeing more value in digital services, PR professionals must understand how to best incorporate SEO tactics into their service offerings.
Public Relations: The Importance of “Measuring Up”
By Emily DiTomo & Emily Geesaman
Last week, representatives from Buchanan PR had the opportunity to attend a PRSA Philadelphia seminar on “The Principles of Measurement: Best Practices and Real-Life Case Studies.” Presented by Ketchum Global Research & Analytics’ Caroline Eichman and Mary Elizabeth Germaine, the event focused on the seminal question for all PR pros: How can we successfully apply the principles of measurement to public relations, and in turn demonstrate quantifiable ROI for what we do?
Why PR Institute Should Be on Every New PR Pro’s Bucket List
For the past six weeks, I have had the honor of participating in the annual Nancy Bacher Long PR Institute, PRSA Philly’s intensive training program for junior-level public relations practitioners. Participants are split into mock agency teams that compete to create a comprehensive communications plan for a local nonprofit.
Raising Funds While Raising Good Corporate Citizens
If you’re responsible for raising money for your nonprofit organization, you might be thinking of approaching corporations for support. And it might make sense. But there are a few things you should consider before starting out.