Continue reading » Related posts:

1. [PRESS HIT] Client Mindy R. Smith Makes Front Page of HuffingtonPost.com Our new client, Mindy R. Smith, is a family law...
2. VIDEO: Natasha Hastings on Good Day Columbia Here is client, Olympic Gold Medalist Natasha Hastings, on WACH...
3. ATLANTA: Celebrities Get Involved with Diet Coke and The Heart Truth Ella Bee PR had the distinct privilege of helping Diet...

Continue reading » No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]>

PR Lessons Learned from SkyDiving: Ella Bee PR’s Publicity Stunt.

Earlier this year, I was able to do something I had been putting off for years. I finally went tandem skydiving. I decided this would be the year for several reasons, but one main phrase stayed with me as I made this decision and until I actually jumped and that was “you have to be fearless.” These were words I uttered to myself as I jumped 14,000 feet from the sky towards the earth attached to someone I hardly even knew.

As I moved closer to my actual jump, all kinds of thoughts raced around in my head, but I was able to pull some key lessons from my jump which I titled, “Ella Bee PR’s Publicity Stunt.”

Throughout everything that jump meant to me, I walked away with some great PR advice to live by and thought I would share with you.

Just Do It
I didn’t realize it until I made it back to Earth safely, but some of the skydivers congratulated me on my jump. “For what,” I thought. Well, it seems there have been several occasions where people have made the plane ride up, but they did not actually make the jump down. They froze and couldn’t go through with it. This was my first jump and I was convinced to crank it up a notch and add more distance. I thought, sure why not. I jumped 14,000 feet on my first jump and the entire plane ride up I kept telling myself, just do it…don’t even think about it. In PR you have to be the same way. If I have goals for my clients, of course I think about it for their overall strategy, but you have to put your words into action. If I do my research (as I have with tandem skydiving) and I think my client would be a good fit for a certain media outlet or publication, then I just go for it with a well-crafted and targeted pitch. This approach has helped me to land my clients in a variety of media outlets from USA Today to the The Huffington Post. You have to be bold. Don’t be intimidated.

Capture the moment
There’s a saying in skydiving that if you didn’t record it, then it didn’t happen. I had been telling my family and friends for weeks that I was going to finally go skydiving. I used Twitter and Facebook to provide up to the minute updates on my jump. I shared cell phone pictures online, but it did not become real to them until they saw my video created for the jump. Thanks to sharing the video via social media, I was able to get feedback from family, friends and my online connections. That’s when I got the outcry of support and congratulations. In PR, it is the exact same way. I always tell prospective clients, you can stomp, holler and shout but without PR no one is going to listen or hear you. Whether it is for a new product launch, a recent discovery from research and studies, or simply career/business achievements and accomplishments, hire PR to help you tell the world your story. In this day and age, if you are effectively using social media, your fans and followers instantly become your audience and you can directly communicate with them by providing updates and news.

So What?
I was taught early on, maybe from a blunt reporter, that no one probably cares about your story, unless you follow the basic PR guidelines for what makes a story newsworthy. My favorite guideline is proximity. I always tell my clients “press begets press”. You want to make it on CNN, Good Morning America or The Today Show? Well, start with your local news. I used to watch The Oprah Show and think how in the world did she find that story? Oprah’s show had an amazing research team who would find those unique stories from various news outlets which may include small, local press. If people in your own backyard don’t care about your story, what makes you think the entire nation or world will? Don’t forget about the relations part of public relations. If you can start with news that is relevant to your target audience, you will attract more attention. There is also a saying in journalism when a dog bites the man that is not news, but it is news when the man bites the dog. That is exactly what I learned from my skydiving jump. Have something unique and interesting to share.

Do for others
I love my clients and I love helping them share their stories, but there is a common theme that allows our team to successfully secure top-tier media placement. Reporters, talking heads and the press always want to know how can this help my readers, listeners, viewers and/or audience. Whether it is for informational or entertainment value, will your story help others make a decision, improve their lifestyle, or lift them from a bad mood. For the talented entertainers, musicians, actors and athletes that I represent, I have noticed that reporters always start the interview with how did the subject get started and always end the interview wanting advice in how others can follow in their footsteps or words of encouragement. From skydiving, I didn’t realize that my jump would encourage and motivate others to be fearless. Have valuable news to share and keep your target audience in mind.

*BONUS LESSON*
Tandem
According to Wikipedia, tandem (or in tandem) is an arrangement where a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. Did I mention that I jumped 14,000 feet from a plane on my first skydiving attached to someone I didn’t even know. I had to trust my entire safety and life to someone who could have been having a bad day and decide last minute that he wanted to end his life (the crazy things that run through your head before you jump out of a plane), but I had to trust my life in his hands. I will never forget Frank.

Frank gave me very serious instructions on how to cooperate in my jump. If I decided to go rouge, I could cause us both serious injuries. I had no choice but to trust Frank because he was the expert and had the experience. My word of advice for you is to trust your PR professional. I have the task as a personal publicist to manage my client’s way of life and their business which is their livelihood. At some point you have to trust the advice, consultation and direction of your PR representative to ensure that your campaign, strategies and tactics are implemented effectively. Don’t stand in the way of progress thinking you know best. PR professionals are the experts, let them do their jobs. It’s all about teamwork.

Those are just some of the PR lessons I learned from my skydiving publicity stunt. Maybe I will have more to share after my next jump.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Continue reading » No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]>

@TheChrisTavarez on Good Day Atlanta

Teen Chris Tavarez a Busy Actor

You can catch our next guest as a regular on Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns . He’s also appeared in Big Momma’s House 2 with Martin Lawrence and Nia Long. Atlanta’s own Chris Tavarez isn’t just a rising actor, he’s also the gifted athlete who has Ivy League colleges lining up to recruit him!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Continue reading » No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]>

I help entertainers and small businesses with social media and blogger outreach. The publicity they gather from a blog post is definitely greater than being featured in a newspaper or magazine because GUESS WHAT?-NO ONE IS REALLY READING PRINT MEDIA ANYMORE and by the time it is printed, your story is old, outdated and has probably been told somewhere else online. (See Stephen Colbert’s interview with the New York Times aka the gray old lady).

That doesn’t stop the skeptics though.

There are still some people and businesses who don’t see the benefit of social media which is basically the process of engaging and communicating directly with your target audience. Social media-like a relationship- takes time to develop and communication is crucial. Earlier this year, I shared a blog post of a slide show attempting to define and elaborate on the power of social media.

Here is an updated version with even more amazing statistics to dig deeper in explaining “What the F**k is Social Media NOW?”

WATCH:

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Continue reading » No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]>

Last week was wild! Client, model and good friend Dawn Montgomery had to deal with mounting pressure from both national and local media outlets as a result of a controversial ad from Akoo, a clothing line by Atlanta rapper, T.I. In a matter of days, more than 300 news articles were posted online about this issue. Everyone from CNN to Bossip.com were commenting on the story.

The best way to deal with any crisis or controversy is to tackle the issue head on-avoid the “no comment” approach. Having a skilled crisis communications team is not easy and it takes planning BEFORE an unfavorable situation occurs. Any organization, business or public figure not prepared to deal with crisis is constantly at risk. Risk management, issue anticipation and crisis communication programs should be a part of any public relations strategy.

But, let me be clear. Crisis management does not mean that an organization or its public relations team can manage outside influences-but what we can manage is the response.

Anyhow, check out Dawn Montgomery’s response amid this controversial billboard ad for the clothing line, Akoo:

Essence Magazine
EXCLUSIVE: Akoo Jeans Model Speaks About Billboard-Essence.com

Rolling Out
Model in T.I.’s Racy AKOO Jeans Billboard Calls the Outrage Hypocritical- RollingOut.com

The Loop 21
T.I.’s clothing line Akoo proves fashion isn’t for the prudent at heart-The Loop 21

Dawn also made an appearance on the Frank and Wanda morning show on Atlanta’s V-103 and CW 69 to discuss her involvement with this controversy.

More media coverage to come from Sister 2 Sister Magazine.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.