Find your public relations rhythm and groove

Getting out of rhythm is hard reality for a musician especially while playing live. Sometimes you can space-out and miss the beat or just get out a sync. Recovery is usually pretty swift for seasoned performers, even though internally it feels like an eternity.

Getting off beat is no fun. In fact, for a PR pro it can be disastrous. There are ways to prevent it though. It really just comes down to finding your rhythm. For a professional communicator, having rhythm is the difference between successes and failures. 

PR Rhythm
PR rhythm takes planning, professional development, patience, and persistence:

• Planning - Getting into your PR groove means preparing campaigns, programs, through adequate strategic communication planning.
• Professional Development - Don't be satisfied with your current professional knowledge and wisdom. Be a continual learner and seek out ideas, mentors, concepts and trends that will help you hone your skills.
• Patience - Sometimes planning doesn't prepare you for the unexpected. Roll with it and improvise. Having the right perspective on things can make all the difference.
• Persistence - Even when things go wrong or even through a full-blown crisis, it is imperative to keep the beat using a planned approach, relevant lessons learned through research and professional development, and especially feedback from the community. This takes a certain level of mental agility for a professional communicator since there will be many moving parts. Both internal and external influences (and influencers) require a greater level attention these days.

Also, don't forget to smile.

What do you think? What are some other ways keep rhythm and find your PR groove? The comments are yours.

Note: I really just wanted a post to share this fun Phineas and Ferb video and I needed a way to get back into my rhythm of updating this blog.

(Image credit: McBeth)

Getting Perspective

This week I have the privilege of joining other musicians and singers from my church on a short-term music mission trip in San Sebastián, Spain. In fact this post is being written in the hotel by the large flat-panel TV with the seemingly constant (and wonderful) hum of Spanish language play-by-play of a soccer game. We are relaxing after an interesting day.

This post is really just a way for me to try out posting from my phone. Thanks for indulging me in this little experiment on this blog.

This trip is reminding me just how important relationships and people are in the great scheme of things. We are relational beings and should feel the need to share experiences and thoughts with one another. While it's good to get a break once in a while, they can still be useful in remembering who and what we are…

…humans.

Hasta luego mis amigos.
- RE

34 Unforgettable Posts for PR People

That's right, I said 34 unforgettable posts. I compiled a round-up list last year as my gift to you on my 33rd birthday and wanted to continue the tradition on my 34th trip around the sun.

These are writings from some of the top thought-leaders in the public relations industry or from those who provide remarkable contributions for communication professionals or are just really pretty cool and I think  you should read. So without further ado, this year's list from oldest to newest:

1. Micro Interactions in PR (Conversation Agent)
2. Personal Branding: Be careful what you wish for (The Harte of Marketing)
3. Why You Shouldn’t Trust Social Media To An SEO Consultant (Social Media Explorer)
4. 7 Things I Learned Online that I Use at Work (Conversation Agent)
5. Being a Director of Community (Altitude Branding)
6. Hashtags: Coming to a conference near you (Media Bullseye)
7. Moving from Siloes to Hives (The Buzz Bin)
8. Public Relations Roles explained through Baseball Positions (Next Communications)
9. Social Media ain't about one-night stands, it's about relationships (The Viral Garden)
10. Social Media in the Nonprofit Workplace: Does Your Organization Need A Social Media Policy? (Beth's Blog)
11. Could It Be? Is PR Becoming Unnecessary? (The Bad Pitch Blog)
12. Are corporate communicators hopeless in social media? (Mengel Musings)
13. Public Relations Activities That Affect SEO (Online Marketing Blog)
14. Five reasons why your company blog sucks (The Viral Garden)
15. Journalism 2.0: Don't Throw Out the Baby (Read Write Web)
16. Communication silos don’t work (The Harte of Marketing)
17. A 12 Step Program to End PR Fail (The Lost Jacket)
18. Beware the PR Prophets (Communication Catalyst)
19. The last PR stand (Fort Worth PRSA)
20. Your Press Release has a Long Tail in New Media (Conversation Agent)
21. Public Relations Pros Must Be Social Media Ready (Social Media Explorer)
22. Who Owns the Social Media Play: Marketing, PR or Advertising? (Communication Overtones)
23. Building Community for Your Employees (Deirdre Breakenridge)
24. 9 simple words to live by in the digital age (Communications Conversations)
25. Bad Apples in PR (PR Squared)
26. How Are You Measuring Your Community? (Outspoken Media)
27. Relationship Chaining: Building and Activating a Community (Communication Overtones)
28. Proof the Splinternet is real (Groundswell)
29. When Clients Want Coverage in your Blog: Social Media Ethical Dilemmas (PR Squared)
30. ROI: How to Measure Return on Investment in Social Media (Brian Solis)
31. Facebook Friday: 5 Essential Elements to Your Facebook Page Guidelines (Fresh Influence)
32. Captain Planet Style: Powers Combined in PR/Marketing (LAF)
33. What does tomorrow’s PR pro look like? (Communications Conversations)
34. Take the next step: Meet in Real Life (PR Breakfast Club)

Wow! That took longer than I thought it would. Just like last year, there are some source repeats, but I still read some of the same great content creators. I hope you take some time and go through this gift of resources or save it for later. As always, the (comment) party is yours.

(Photo credit: young and with it)

Social Networking For Texas School Districts Presentation Slides

In case any of you have been wondering why my postings have been sporadic lately, here's the story: I have had the pleasure lately of presenting thoughts, research, and tips on communication and public relations in an education setting to a few groups.

Last week was a presentation during the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) 2010 conference. This week I was invited to speak on social media tools during the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism's Social Media Week. Additionally, I had the rather unique experience as the speaker for the Texas Association of  School Board's CommLINK webinar. (More on the webinar experience in a later post.)

As promised to yesterday's webinar attendees, here are the presentation slides:

Social Networking For Texas School Districts

View more presentations from Richie Escovedo.

As stated during the presentation, there are many other social networking opportunities through groups and specific communities through tools such as Ning and even wikis that are worth exploring by school districts. I primarily stuck with Facebook for the discussion yesterday.

If you took part in this webinar and have any questions, please feel free to leave them here via comments or contact me.

Related Bonus: Feel free to use any or all of the suggestions in the Facebook Fan Page Rules for a School District.

I will attempt to get back to some regular blogging soon. As always, the comments are yours.

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• TSPRA Conference 2010: Let the School PR Networking Begin (nextcommunications.blogspot.com)