Press Tour Tips

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a major in-person media tour with one of my clients. I learned a lot, and I was beyond stoked to see the super-modern New York offices of places like Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Here are my tips, based on that two-day experience. So, obviously I’m the expert here…

Have the necessities, and then some:

Anything that can go wrong probably will, so be prepared. Here’s my recommended list:

Logistical PR Items

• Copies of the press release and anything related (such as FAQs)
• Business cards
• Extra pens
• Notebook
• Smartphone to look up last-minute details
• Back-up tablet or laptop for demos

“Life Happens” Items:

• Mints/gum
• Tide-To-Go
• Hand/face wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Ibuprofen
• Tums
• Hair/make-up accessories if your executive is female
• Sewing kit
• Phone charger
• Cash
• Band-aids

For the record, the only things I actually used off this “Life Happens” list were the mints and phone charger. But I guarantee that if I forgot one of them, I would’ve needed it. Murphy’s Law, right?

Call the Publication’s Offices Ahead of Time

The wise Lisa Astor reminded me to not only get the addresses, but call each place first and ask the receptionist about cross streets, parking, building security, etc. Your client is looking for you to lead the way – tell the cab driver where to go, and know the little nuances of various offices like you’ve been there a hundred times. Be the expert, not just in PR, but in travel time and locations. I guarantee I never would’ve found the IDG office that was above a spy store if I didn’t heed that advice from Lisa. Seriously, it was above a spy store. Yes, we checked out the spy store on our way, obviously.

Never Give Up On That Last Meeting

I really wanted to land a meeting with Bloomberg. I really, really did. We had great meetings booked in New York, including All Things D. But, I wanted Bloomberg, too. Call it a personal challenge. I called reporters, I followed-up, I talked to various editors. I boarded the train in Boston with an “I don’t have time,” from the reporter. A last-ditch phone call at Penn Station turned that into, “I can make time this afternoon.” Just because the briefing materials are printed and you’re already traveling doesn’t mean you’re out of time. 

Prep, Prep and don’t forget to prep.

So, you had a prep call and drafted briefing materials? Great, but that doesn’t mean that breakfast before your meeting with the Wall Street Journal should be spent chatting about the weather and Patriots. Okay, maybe a little about the Patriots. But take that extra time to go over the briefing materials, remind your client about the focus for each reporter and the best way to approach the demo. They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll know that you did all you could to prepare them for the meeting. 

With enough preparation, press tours can lead to valuable introductions, long-lasting relationships with journalists and incredible coverage for product launches. 

Let me know in the comments what other tips you have for press tours. 

Lessons to Learn from Boston Cab – Do You Have a Crisis Plan In Place?

This is a collaborative post written by Marki Conway and Jason Ouellette, VP of Technology at PAN Communications. This post originally appeared on prSPEAK. 

Sunday’s edition of the Boston Globe began a three-part series of eye-opening investigative journalism into Boston taxis, particularly, into the Boston Cab company. First of all, this is the type of quality journalism that keeps readers coming back, trusting sources and grateful that the media is digging deep to tell the public the stories that need to be heard.

It’s also refreshing to see this type of in-depth reporting in a world of 140-characters and here-and-gone news cycle. It has made such an impact that Boston’s Mayor Menino has ordered a sweeping review into the Boston taxi system – despite the fact that the homepage for Boston Cab’s website proudly displays a photo of Mayor Menino getting into a Boston Cab. This may even be one of those news stories so important, that it actually motivates changes in legislature.

Boston Cab was spotlighted as a company with questionable business practices, mistreating drivers and severely underpaying victims of accidents involving Boston Cabs. And what is Boston Cab doing now that all three stories have been published? Crickets.  Silence. We’ve heard nothing from the company’s lawyers, PR team or the company’s owner - Edward J. Tutunjian. Yes, Tutunjian wrote a letter to Globe reporters prior to the story being published, but he has not yet responded or reacted to the series, which portrays him and the company as soulless and corrupt.

If Boston Cab didn’t have a crisis communications plan yet, they’re kicking themselves now. We’ve been talking about having a crisis communications plan in place from day one since you never know what tomorrow will bring and it should be set up and managed by your external agency or internal communications team. Well, here is some unsolicited advice in how should they be responding.

1. Come clean. First and foremost, they need to tell the truth. There is obvious confusion about the way Boston Cab is operating, with independent contractors and taxi medallions in separate corporations. Time for Tutunjian and his team to come clean and explain the business processes.
2. Apologize. When the company does come clean, it will likely be revealed that some lawsuits or processes were handled improperly, and fessing up doesn’t mean the job is done. Tutunjian owes the public an apology, perhaps as an open letter to the Boston Globe. With that apology, a kind gesture to some of the victims and their families would go a long way.
3. Advocacy: The series spotlights two groups of Boston Cab constituents who have been allegedly mistreated, due to unjust legislation and insurance requirements. Tutunjian himself has noted that the $20,000 insurance payout requirement for Boston Cab accident victims isn’t adequate, but that by law, it all that he is required to pay. Now is the time for the company and Tutunjian himself to take a stand and fight for more appropriate legislature, laying our plans for what is fair and using cities such at New York  as an example. Tutunjian’s own taxi drivers have also been victims of violent crimes and accidents, for which they have been poorly compensated. A good move now would be to advocate for safer taxi driving regulations that protect both drivers and passengers. This could be a better communications system to the main Boston Cab office, or camera requirements in cars. Whatever it is, Boston Cab has the opportunity to develop this “Safe Driver” plan, advocate for its adoptions and implement it.
4. Rebuild the brand. Next comes major damage control. Boston Cab has a responsibility to the public, its passengers and its drivers. This calls for a major marketing blitz and community engagement. A couple of ideas could include:

• “Get to know Boston Cab” campaign, which uses the advertising slots on top of cabs to profile friendly cab drivers.
• Major donations to a rehab facility where motor vehicle accident victims go once they’re in recovery.
• Sponsoring a tent at the Boston Marathon,  portraying a positive image of Boston Cab in the community
• Engage in their active (and yet to launch) social communities. We live and work in a City that is all about transparency and engagement. Boston Cab should leverage our connected community.
• Posting “Did you know” facts on the interior of Boston Cabs, with fun, positive facts about the company, and safe riding tips

However Boston Cab decides to respond, the silent approach that it is choosing now is not the answer. And if they come out swinging with accusations to drivers, victims and reporters – that won’t work for them either. How would you react if you were part of the Boston Cab communications team?

So, I made myself a PR Pro

Maybe you saw the Dodge commercial on Sunday about God making farmers? Then, if you work in PR, maybe you saw Arik Hanson’s blog post adopting this to how God made PR pros? This is definitely interesting, and it makes us look like hard working, driven, intelligent and extremely busy individuals. And that is definitely true – I’m not arguing that –so thanks for the post, Arik.

What I’m arguing against, however, is that God made PR pros. God didn’t make me a PR professional, I did. I worked hard in undergrad to get into a top PR graduate school. I worked multiple jobs and was an integral part of a University social media research project at a time when the industry was trying to figure it out. I spent all-nighters working in the computer labs on research papers, campaigns, graphic design projects, studying for tests, etc. God didn’t make me do this. I did, because I wanted to succeed. This isn’t about religion, it’s about the fact that in PR, most of us have a work hard/play hard attitude. We’re multi-taskers, doers, thinkers, innovators, writers, early-risers, night owls, social butterflies and so forth. So, Arik – here’s my respectful rebut.

So, I made myself a PR pro, by never quitting, working hard and knowing when it’s time to rest.  

I said, “I really don’t want to wake up at 4 a.m., how about I snooze until 5 a.m.? Great, and then I’ll go for a run, and sign on to my computer from home. I’ll check my Google Alerts, send over the morning’s coverage to my clients, head to the suburbs for a client meeting to present updated messaging to their executive team, head in to the office by 11:30, scan additional news, Tweet out client coverage, spend my lunch drafting this blog post, call my beat reporters, set up pre-briefs for news on a client’s big customer win, write the briefing materials, make sure my managers/VPs have the monthly metrics, draft a press release, check my LinkedIn groups for comment opportunities, draft a byline, moderate a media interview with Forbes, fill in my daily time sheets, check out with managers, head over to the Mobile Monday start-up event, mingle with investors and new business prospects, get home by 10 p.m., respond to any pending emails, go to bed and do it all over again the next day.” I did this because I wanted to, not because of some calling from a higher power. 

So, I made myself a PR pro by pushing limits and exceeding expectations.

I said, “I need to sit in this meeting with Vice Presidents and the entire client team, listen to their recommendations, offer creative ideas for new campaigns, talk about metrics, and then, when my VP asks me to pull off the near-impossible in just two quarters, tell her that I’ll do it in one.”

So, I made myself a PR pro by being confident enough to challenge the norm and offer advice to leadership, but humble enough to learn from anyone who has lessons to offer.

I said, “ I need to analyze these Cision metrics and Google Analytics and explain to clients why what they’re doing isn’t working and what can work. I need to step up when that client asks for a release turned around in 15 minutes, or when there is breaking industry news and my client wants to be the first to respond about it. I need to mentor interns and younger staff, while learning and taking advice from my more veteran colleagues. I need to respect my clients while offering realistic guidance. Sometimes, I need to vent about things, but I can’t complain.”

So, I made myself a PR pro because I learned how to weed out the important from the trivial, and that true success means a work/life balance.

I said, “I need to be level-headed enough to handle a crisis–executing carefully strategized crisis plans with a calm voice and steady hand. I also need to be fun, and learn how to laugh even when work is stressful, because the people and the passion are what make working in PR the best job in the world, and no one likes the fuddy duddy who’s all work and no play." God didn't tell me to keep calm, and he certainly didn't tell me to go get drinks with colleagues after a hard day's work. 

So, I made myself a PR pro because I’m passionate about communication and continued learning.

I had to learn how to write and edit, and that means writing and reading often, whether for school or pleasure. I need to offer advice and take it. Learn to do things on my own, and work well with others. I need to know what industry trends are changing PR and excel in them. Be an expert in social media even while I’m learning about it. Become the office guru in mobile because I never want to stop learning. Each day, I read more about stats, trends and new technologies that impress me and make me wonder what’s next. This is due to my insatiable curiosity and as a result, I am able to keep up or stay ahead of the curve. 

So, I made myself a PR pro because I am my own moral compass.

But above all, I needed to keep a strong moral compass, and this had nothing to do with God. Free will,  learning from my mistakes, sticking up for the underdogs, overcoming hardships, and gratitude for opportunities I’ve had have made me an ethical PR professional.  Being spellcheck-obsessed in my personal life, my love for NPR, my incessant FourSquare check-ins – these are all attributes, but they don’t make me a PR person. Determination. Humility. Passion. Confidence. Insatiable desire to learn. These all make me a good PR professional. And these are all traits I am proud to say I cultivated through a lifetime of hard work, not because God made me a PR professional. 

Is Tim Cook the new Steve Jobs? No, but that’s okay.

If you haven’t checked out Business Week‘s interview with Tim Cook yet, do yourself a favor and read it.

It’s long but well worth the read, especially considering Apple’s influence and the insights into Tim and the “new” Apple. And if you don’t think that Apple influences you, pull out your mobile phone and then get back to me. If it’s a smartphone of any kind, then Apple influences you. Without the creation of the first generation iPhone, the whole smartphone industry wouldn’t be where it is today – not even close.

I’m glad Tim stepped up to do the interview. Any PR pro or journalist will tell you that Steve Jobs “got” PR better than most executives. Ask Walt Mossberg or any of the other handfuls of journalists who received personal phone calls from him on a regular basis. I’m not telling every CEO to go call up journalists this second on a whim (not all can be Steve Jobs) because for most, calling requires strategy and a good reason. That said, kudos go to Tim for his in-depth interview with Josh Tyrangiel, and understanding its importance. It seems especially fitting considering that Business Week was the first publication to put Steve Jobs on its cover.

In the interview, Josh did a nice job of asking personal and business-related questions. Personal questions aren’t appropriate for every executive interview, but Apple is unique. Its fans are so loyal that they truly care about who’s running the ship – Josh and Tim both know that. Tim didn’t get overly personal, and knew to bring the responses back to what’s most important – his Apple business philosophy. In my opinion, we finally got to see something in Tim that I’ve wanted to see for a while – his passion for the company and its products. No, he’s not Steve Jobs and no one realistically expected or wanted him to be. But we did want to see – no, us Fangirls and boys needed to see – is that Tim Cook absolutely loves Apple. He does.

What impressed me most was how much some of Tim’s responses channeled part of Steve Jobs’ business mantra. For example, Tim Cook stated that, “we’ll keep disrupting and keep discovering new things that people didn’t know they wanted.” This sounds eerily similar to Steve Jobs’ famous quote, “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” It’s not exactly the same, but was just similar enough. In addition, throughout the article Tim praises his coworkers as if they are the best thing to happen since sliced bread. He went to an absolute hyperbolic extent to describe the best, smartest, most creative business people in the world – working with him at Apple. Steve Jobs did this often, dramatically describing how ingenious his people and products were. Tim has definitely taken on this trait. That’s not a bad thing at all. As CEO, it’s critical to have confidence and respect for the people you hire.

I also need to give props to Tim for his JFK quote – not just the quote though, but his meaning behind it. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Tim spent some time explaining Apple’s desire to give back through charitable donations and employee match programs, but also to set a good example. Apple would still be wildly successful whether or not they were more transparent regarding supply chain practices and conditions for workers in overseas factories. By no means do they have to do this. But Tim’s right, they’re a corporate and tech superpower, so why not set a good example?

Tim Cook isn’t Steve Jobs, not even close. And as Steve told him before he died, he shouldn’t try to be Steve – that’s no way to run a successful company. He has his own way of stirring the creative process and leading, and that’s okay. But he did learn a lot from Steve, and I think this interview proves it.

Check out the article and let me know what you thought in the comments. Was Tim channeling Steve? Was he way off the mark? By the way, if you’re looking for a cliff notes version of the article other than this fantastic one you just read, check out Jon Mitchell’s article from Read Write – he provides a great analysis of Tim’s responses.

A version of this post appeared on prSPEAK, a blog by PAN Communications. 

Want to Connect on LinkedIn? Tell Me Why, First.

This week, I got to chat with a class of seniors from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. As a part of their Public Relations Management course, taught by PAN Communications President Phil Nardone, they spoke with a roundtable of us younger employees here at PAN. We addressed topics such as nailing an interview, networking, salary negotiations and what to expect your first day on the job. While addressing networking, it’s only natural that social networks, particularly LinkedIn, dominated a portion of the conversation. It got me thinking about my own LinkedIn connections, and how I’m pretty picky about it. Here’s the gist of it: if you’re going to request a connection with me, I better know why.

That’s not to say that I only connect with people I’ve worked with in-person on a professional level, or that I attended school with. There are plenty of people out there that have interesting backgrounds and there are a lot of opportunities for us to connect on future projects. What I’m saying, is that if you’re requesting a connection out of the blue, make your intentions clear. Explain to me why you’d like to connect in the message. Was it something that sparked you interest in my profile? Did we have a connection in common that mentioned we might be interested in connecting? Is there a specific project or opportunity you’d like to potentially collaborate on? Give me some insight into why you want to connect. If you don’t, then I probably won’t accept the connection. 

That being said, there are many who argue against my philosophy. I respect and welcome those opinions as well. For example, there’s my colleague Katelyn D’Eramo, who believes in connecting with almost everyone she meets in person, via email or on Twitter. As she says, you need to connect with people you’ve met, worked with, exchanged emails with because you’re both in similar fields – you never know where the next opportunity lies or where people are moving in the market. Some reporters just connect to search for sources, while client contacts can jump from company to another company that may need PR. For the record, I absolutely agree with Katelyn in regard to connecting with clients. LinkedIn has also become a valuable resource for news. For people like me, it’s more about the LinkedIn Today feature that brings me news that’s relevant to me. For Katelyn, it’s more about following the feeds of her connections, what articles they are updating, and learning more about the news that’s most important to them, or where they’re headed on their next venture.

Is one way better than the other? Not necessarily, like most social networking, it’s about what you make of it. That’s my PR thought for the day. What are your philosophies for connecting on LinkedIn? Are you more liberal about it like Katelyn, or are you even pickier than me?

Public Relations Redefined…Supposedly

If you’re in the PR industry, then you probably didn’t miss this New York Times article by Stuart Elliot regarding the latest official definition of public relations. As Stuart’s article states, this initiative to redefine public relations began this past November out of the supposed need to redefine out practice in the era of social media and “spin doctors” – his words, not mine. The initiative drew a lot of interest from PR professionals, organizations, critics and the general public. Gerard Corbett, the 2012 chairman and chief executive of the Public Relations Society of America, led the initiative that resulted in three final options to be voted on this past February. Those three definitions are below, and the second definition was declared the winner:

• “Public relations is the management function of researching, communicating and collaborating with publics to build mutually beneficial relationships.”
• “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
• “Public relations is the strategic process of engagement between organizations and publics to achieve mutual understanding and realize goals.”

Most PR practitioners would agree that all three are solid definitions of our field and what we do every day. Particularly, I’m glad to see that ‘strategic’ made it into two definitions, and ‘relationships’ into two as well. Still, I need to beg the question – what has changed? To be fair, I only graduated from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University less than two years ago, so maybe the difference is unclear to me because I learned it so recently. For the veteran PR pros out there – is this not what you learned was the definition? Has it changed all that much?

That being said, has the rise of digital and social media actually created the need to redefine our industry? Our role remains the same: we are the communications professionals that develop and maintain relationships with our clients and their publics. It’s true, how we communicate with those publics has changed. It’s not all about picking up the phone anymore – though we don’t forget the importance of that tactic as well. Often, these relationships are built through social media and engaging in new ways – over Skype, through a Tweet, group discussions on LinkedIn, etc. Our role has not changed and therefore, the definitions above are not as evolved as this attention makes it seem.

That’s not a bad thing; it’s because the time-tested best practices of public relations will always remain effective – the medium to how we implement those best practices and build relationships may change with new media, but not the practices themselves. That's my PR thought for the day.

What do you think – has the rise of social media created the need to redefine our practice? And if so, did the chosen definition fulfill that need? Drop a line in the comments and let us know.

A version of this post originally appeared on prSPEAK, a blog from PAN Communications.

Relevancy, Engagement, Value - Why You Should or Shouldn't Follow Me

I love Twitter. Well I love all social media, but I have a special place in my heart for Twitter. It continues to prove itself to me, both for personal and professional networking. Too often though, I hear negativity about following too many people - as if it's a bad thing. I'm not attempting to defend spam bots here or anything. But I've heard and read many comments about the ratio of people you are following to people who are following you. It even affects some influencer measurement scores such as Klout. I understand that perspective, because there are certainly people and organizations who will follow anyone and everyone in an attempt to increase their own follower count. However, I do think other other factors need to be considered. Here's just a few of those factors:

1. Relevancy: Are the people who you follow relevant to you, on a personal or professional level? Sure, I follow a few hundred people - Kim Kardashian is not one of them. That's not to say anything against her or those who follow her, but her Tweets simply aren't relevant to me. I follow my friends and colleagues to stay connected, as well as folks in industries that interest me - PR, journalism, mobile, marketing, IT, etc. Oh, and of course I follow both of my alma maters, Merrimack College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

2. Engagement: Are you engaging with the people you follow? Okay, I haven't retweeted, mentioned or sent a message to every single Twitter handle that I follow. But you can bet I've engaged with people across all of the industries and interest areas I follow. I may not retweet everyone, but they're on my list of followers because I think they have potential to share compelling content with me - content that teaches me something, makes me think or just brings interesting news to my attention.

3. Value: Are the people you follow actually sharing anything important with you? If not, why the heck are you following them? Value doesn't have to mean that you should only be following the likes of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Value's different to everyone, and there's all different kinds of value too. You could find value in a humorous Tweet when you needed that comedic break in your day. Or it could be that news or research report that brings you the perfect angle to pitch a trend story for your client. Value doesn't mean any one thing in particular, but all of those you follow should bring it to you in some form or another.

Maybe I'm naive or drinking too much Twitter Kool-Aid, but the way I see it, you should follow as many people as necessary to obtain value. I don't follow people just because they follow me, and I certainly won't unfollow anyone who chose not to follow me back. If they decide they will not gain anything from following me, then why should they? Sure, there are definitely some industry folks out there I wish would follow me back (ahem @BrianSolis). But I won't stop following them because I'm too proud. If I'm getting value out of their Tweets, then I'll continue to follow them and retweet or respond to anything I find compelling enough to share.

Again, I understand both perspectives here, but I think there's more to consider than a simple comparison of followers/people you follow can provide. So when friends and family ask my opinion, I never preach "don't follow too many more people than who follow you." I preach to follow those who will make Twitter as valuable and fun as it has been for me, whether that's 10 people or 1,000 people. That's my PR thought for the day.

Keep it Real: Welcoming Friends and Family to Twitter with Open Arms and Retweets

As somewhat of a social media geek, Twitter has been a big part of my daily life for a while now. Recently, my social media social life has been overlapping with my good old fashioned social life more so than usual. My friends and family, who have perviously made fun of me for my love of Tweeting, are starting to sign up for accounts. I was thinking about why that is, and then I started noticing how much it's showing up in mainstream media, not just in my work and online circles.

When I say mainstream media, I don't mean celebrities Tweeting. I mean that Twitter is being talked about in venues that my friends will actually pay attention to - their TV shows. Two weeks ago Grey's Anatomy included Twitter as a main theme of the episode, as Dr. Miranda Bailey Tweeted her surgeries live. On the Big Bang Theory, it was a main theme when Sheldon Cooper's lecture became a trending topic. They even discussed supposedly well-known Twitter acronyms like KMN - for kill me now - to convey boredom. These were both main themes, but I've seen Twitter mentioned in many other shows as well, even if it's just a passing comment here or there.

Now, as a lover of Twitter, I get excited seeing these themes in a few of my favorite shows, and I even point it out to my roommate with a quick, "See, I told you Twitter isn't lame." But I had to step back for a minute and ask myself, are they setting the expectations too high?

In PR, of course we'd love to have all of our clients become a trending topic each day, but that's just not always plausible. These shows make it look simple, when it isn't always. Is it realistic that while live-Tweeting a surgery, a fellow surgeon would Tweet a recommendation that leads to saving a life? And would a boring lecture from a nerdy physicist really become such a trend on Twitter when there are so many exciting things going on? Isn't it more likely that a compelling human interest story or massively-engaging current event will trend?

It's certainly interesting to think about, and maybe it could be some day, but I think we're still a long way from these things becoming reality. Maybe I'm wrong though, maybe a Tweet can save a life. There is that case of the girls who updated their Facebook statuses and were thereby rescued from a storm drain in Australia. Of course, my thought was that if they had her phones, it probably would have been more efficient to dial 911, but maybe I'm just being old-fashioned that way.

Twitter's great - I love it for real-time updates on news, staying connected with friends and people in my industry and so much more. I welcome my friends and family to the social network with open arms and retweets. But when my friend has to ask why she doesn't have as many followers as me after only a week of Tweeting, I think it's important to keep our Twitter expectations realistic. That's my PR thought for the day.

Applying Freakonomics to PR

I just finished reading Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner and my head’s now jam packed with some fun facts. Apparently, Americans spend $1 billion per year on chewing gum, which is the same as is spent in a typical election period, including campaigns for the Presidency, the House and the Senate. Also, you have a greater chance of being killed while dealing crack in Chicago, than if you’re sitting on death row in Texas. Like I said, fun facts – not that I need to know them, but still interested regardless. Beyond the fun facts, the book was great in other ways. I learned that the world is a bit more corrupt than I had imagined, and the idea that incentives make the world go ‘round is forever engrained in me. How can this be applied to PR? I’ll tell you.

Using incentives isn’t rocket science. People like to get things and if it’s free – that’s even better. How can your company be using incentives more effectively? Let’s talk Foursquare, one of the newer social media platforms that’s still getting its feet wet in terms of getting value out of it for business. Some businesses are doing it right though. These are the coffee shops that will give you a free cup of Joe after so many check-ins, or the bar who gives a free drink to the mayor of the venue. These places are taking advantage of incentives and of social media.

Incentives can work internally as well. Sales departments creating contests for employees with a bonus for the winner. Or just general sales goals that aren’t contests. Offer a gas card to someone who’s been working really hard on a particular account. These are all simple things that can go a long way.

Another applicable point for PR in Freakonomics is the use of expertise and information hoarding. Considering all the power that experts are given, the best thing to do is to be really good at something. Be an expert. Become the go-to person about a specific topic in the office, and people will begin trusting you more and more as you build a reputation and credibility. For public relations, it’s important that you try to establish your company or client as experts in their field. This way, people trust them. Journalists need experts just as experts need journalists. If you’re an expert and a journalist needs a quote about your field of expertise, you can earn more media exposure.

Lastly, the book offers advice on questioning the conventional wisdom, which can go far in a professional setting. Just because a company has always done things a certain way, does not mean that this is the best way to be doing it. In questioning the conventional wisdom, a manager may find a much more efficient way to inspire employees or way of getting work done faster. Change is good. Wisdom is great. But conventional wisdom can lead to mediocrity. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Change things up and it might improve business.

Freakonomics is a great book, applicable to all businesses and just generally interesting to read. If you’re looking to gain new perspective on the way the world works, read this book. That’s my PR thought for the day.