By Ted Rossman
Last night, my dad showed me some apps and other features on his Droid. The flashlight app is simply a white screen that illuminates the darkness. There’s also an app that turns the Droid into a remote control for your TV. I enjoy and appreciate technology, but I’m beginning to wonder, how much is too much?
By Ted Rossman
There have been a lot of gloomy predictions that PR, as an industry, is dying a slow death. There is no doubt that the last decade has been rough. This especially applies to the technology industry, since the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2000-01 and the “Great Recession” of 2008-09 have dealt a potent one-two punch. But this Economist story offers a much rosier picture.
By Ted Rossman
One of the best proof points for media and analysts is a testimonial from a customer/end-user. Unfortunately, these references are often hard to secure, even from happy customers. Many companies have policies that prohibit them from endorsing specific vendors. Others simply don’t want to take the time to speak with a reporter, travel to a conference or participate in a written case study.
By Ted Rossman
I was skeptical about Twitter at first. I thought I had to sort through too much junk to find anything of value. That’s still true to some extent, but I’m finding more and more personal and business utility for Twitter. Increasingly, I’m finding that reporters are posting valuable information about stories they’re working on and issues they’re pondering. That makes it easier to take action and provide them with value like a client that can serve as an expert resource. I’m also finding that Twitter can be a great conversation starter. It provides a window into people’s interests, hobbies and personalities that otherwise might not appear.
By Ted Rossman
The best PR campaigns involve a compelling story. Rather than pumping out disjointed content, companies must arrange their entire communications strategy underneath an overarching umbrella. This umbrella should be a narrative that guides all communications activities. It should be crafted with care, because consistency is important. Here are some items that should be included in a good communications story:
By Ted Rossman
Measurement is an age-old conundrum for PR professionals and their clients. Especially for smaller companies, I think it’s crucial to stress quality over quantity. A great hit in a targeted vertical publication, an impactful speaking opportunity in front of the right audience, a blog that gets the right kind of traffic — these are all a lot more valuable than boiling the ocean in less targeted ways.
By Ted Rossman
We’ve been talking a lot as of late about the changing relationship between marketing and sales. Of course, there’s the old adage, “You either make the product or you sell the product.” It has never been more important for marketers to play an active role in selling the product.
By Ted Rossman
In this Fox Business Channel clip, veteran reporter and author Liz Trotta proclaims that local news is dead. I disagree — I actually think that there is still a lot of potential for local news. The Internet is undoubtedly changing the way that people consume news, and there is certainly a lot of media consolidation, but local news is a niche that I think still has a lot of demand. I can see where big-picture news outlets are struggling, since there’s so much competition. But at a very local, granular level, there isn’t much competition. If I want to learn about county elections or town news, I only have one or two choices. Whereas if I want to learn about what’s new globally or nationally, I have a much longer list of choices.
By Ted Rossman
The New York Times published an interesting take this week on the ongoing decline of print journalism. While this is hardly a new trend, I think it’s important to point out that the world needs quality journalism, but it doesn’t need print journalism. Don’t get me wrong. I feel badly for all of the journalists that are losing their jobs, and I think many of them do quality work. But the discussion around the viability of print publications is misplaced.
By Robin Bectel
As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, NVCA and NVC-client StartUpHire are partnering to promote the thousands of jobs available at amazing venture-backed companies. And we want your company stories … in 140 characters or less! Click here to submit your story. Some of the best ones will be included in a round up and press release on November 20th.