What do Halloween and PR have in common? Who would win in the battle between YouTube and Vimeo? How can you become an expert on vetting experts? Check out the Hoffman team’s favorite PR blog posts and articles from this week:
- Already missing the copious amounts of candy and fun costumes? Never fear because PR Newser brings the spooky holiday back in its 5 things PR pros can learn from Halloween. One of the lessons that can be applied all year round is that dressing things up isn’t always the best practice. Your pitch should be concise, transparent and accurate — otherwise that reporter might blacklist you. Of course, creativity is always appreciated, but it should never be at the expense of the truth.
- Lights, camera, action! While most PR folks put a great deal of their planning into how to effectively create an original, viral video for their clients, there is not as much thought put into the video hosting platform. Luckily, the Meltwater PR Blog thought it out for you with the post “YouTube vs. Vimeo: Which is Better for B2B Content Marketing.” No matter which platform you end up using, thinking about your audience, quality and end goal are all essential.
- Chipotle finally broke its silence over the E. coli outbreak in its Pacific Northwest stores, according to PR Week. The popular Mexican restaurant chain closed 43 restaurants in Oregon and Washington despite there being only eight restaurants that have drawn concern. An important move on the chain’s part was hiring a food-safety consultant firm to help the chain improve and assess its standards. However, despite these measures, there was no proactive mention of the outbreak or restaurant closures on its website or social media pages. Do you think Chipotle should have been more transparent with this crisis?
- Many news organizations (and readers!) love a good infographic, but the easy-to-read layout and content are easier said than done. PR Daily shares the must-know infographic design tips that communicators should study. One important tidbit to remember is that the size of the infographic should always be determined by what is appropriate to tell your story. You don’t need to design something that is going to take ages to scroll through.
- Even though PR pros are jacks (and jills) of all trades, sometimes you just need to call in an expert. The Beyond PR Blog came up with a quick checklist to help you vet that expert for your content marketing. Treating the expert like you would a potential employee will aid in the process. For instance, if there are large gaps of time in your experts’ employment histories or they don’t have a degree in the subject you are looking for expertise on, it might be best to pass on them. Doing the extra work now will mean that the content they provide you will be accurate and the best it can be.
Check back every Friday for our This Week in PR roundup to discover more PR trends and news.
