I discussed the concept of native PR last month. Unlike native advertising, there’s no charge for media placement in native PR. If there were ever a forum for communicators to experiment with storytelling, this is the place (no cost = low risk). I think it’s fair to say that the BuzzFeed Community has emerged as …more
Jeff Bezos trekked to D.C. on Wednesday to meet with The Washington Post talent. I wonder how the boss felt about The Washington Post headline, “Bezos Courts Washington Post Editors and Journalists.” I suspect he viewed the sessions as preconditioning. Naturally, he spoke about differentiating the product and thinking big: He urged the paper’s journalists …more
Good question. This was one of the questions that surfaced recently during an interview with an Asian newspaper. I’ve captured the high points in an abbreviated version of the interview . Q: Define storytelling as it relates to business communications. A: Obviously, companies don’t have 300 pages or two hours on the silver screen to develop a …more
Dear First-time CEO of a Startup, I know it’s intoxicating. Take a breath. Maybe you’re 26 with a killer idea that melts Facebook- and Yelp-like functionality into a travel app. Or you’re 40ish and finally – after shelling out a fortune for that MBA with the promise of a career catapult – getting the chance …more
I’ve made 20 or so trips to China since my inaugural adventure in 1999. And make no mistake, every trip feels like an adventure. Beyond the obvious learning, I can count on China to deliver a happenstance or two (or three) that remind me, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we‘re not in Kansas anymore.” This one …more
We continue to experiment with all forms of visual storytelling. Anyone can point and click a camera. Thanks to the numerous make-me-better tools, amateurs can doctor a photo into something “watchable.” Not so with the illustration. Only legit expertise can create a professional-grade illustration, but the reward comes in a fresh communications asset. Any time …more
Public relations is more than news releases and pummeling journalists to write about clients. The PR profession has been chanting this mantra for years. It’s finally come true. The rise of digital communications has given way to a content gold rush. Replacing the picks and shovels, storytelling has moved to a core tool of today’s …more
It’s the sister of native advertising. The difference between the two forms of communications comes down to cost. Unlike native advertising, the media placement for native PR is free. Shifting from theory to reality, check out how this plays out on what’s called the BuzzFeed Community: What a great platform for communicators to hone their …more
This not-so-little recent tweak to Google’s treatment of link schemes certainly caught the attention of the PR industry: “Creating links that weren’t editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s owner on a page, otherwise known as unnatural links, can be considered a violation of our guidelines.” Google goes on to call out “links with …more
