This space is for communications and marketing links, thoughts and ideas and my commentary on them. Hopefully you can find something that helps you out or at least intrigues you!
Media relations is just one blade in the PR knife. A spot outdated (Vine!) but here is a solid mix of a communications/marketing campaign that I believe works in many fields.
PR News: 4 Key PR Trends For 2018
Points 1 and 3 here really talk to me. It’s fashionable to say you keep up on trends but few do. This link is a good start for 2018.
PR News: Media Relations In The Clickbait Age
“Digestible and concise.” This explains why Twitter is popular with journalists, but this is a subject I think about often.
Media Mention Scorecard
I saw this in a webinar and yanked it. I think this is a good way to evaluate media mentions for sentiment and intent.
Spin Sucks: News Release Into A Blog Post
I wish this was more applicable to college athletics. But it got my attention from a standpoint of going from “we need a release” to “making something that works for the modern web.”
PR Daily: Promotion Without Angering Editorial
For those outside of athletics, this is a dance we dance when talking to journalists. The key is finding mutually beneficial avenues (page views!) in which to get coverage.
Muck Rack: Getting Coverage Through Studies
This is something I would bring to college athletics – and I am constantly hunting for in agency life. Position your leader as a subject matter expert – when appropriate.
Media Relations Wheel
This isn’t as funny as that “what we do” meme (that I can’t find), but it’s actually useful. This would be the kind of thing to look at if you’re looking at jobs outside of sports.
Tech Crunch: Instagram Algorithm Change
Instagram has heard you – they’re going back to a chronological feed, rather than relevancy-based. As communicators, this we be easier to keep track of.
Cision: Major League Social Insights
If you like baseball and social media, you’ll find this interesting. Since going the agency route, I’ve spent more time doing things like this.
Ignite Visibility: How To Do A Social Media Outlet
This is the kind of thing comm pros don’t think about enough. Think about how useful measuring sentiment would be for college athletics!
Statista: Instagram Cities
The hashtag is forever misunderstood. But, is it dead? Not in these cities.
MarketingLand: How To Get The Most Of LinkedIn Demographics
I didn’t realize how important LinkedIn is until I left college athletics. I’ll touch on that platform on this site from time to time.
PR Daily: When To Post On Social Media
I suppose there are good guidelines to go by, especially for folks starting from scratch. But we consume at all times, scrolling with our thumb. The key is to be aware of your particular audience and post when it’s active and online.
Business Insider: Watching Sports On Facebook
I read this a few times. Facebook and Amazon (et al) will jump in. Production value will be the key.
Digiday: How The Guardian Got Profitable
I follow digital media monetization closely – from legislation, trends, challenges and opportunities. One of my life’s goals is to own 4 houses because I figured it out.
John Lincoln Marketing: What Is Domain Authority?
When I worked at search agency Three Ships in Raleigh, I was introduced to domain authority. I’ve spent time improving the DA of my current company’s site.
Search Engine Journal: Are You Wasting AdWords?
Some SIDs are charged with paid digital advertising and don’t know where to begin. I didn’t kill it in AdWords and am trying to get better. That’s why I offer this piece.
Search Engine Journal: SEO Audit
This might be as important as anything – and most athletic departments don’t spend a minute on it. I’ll be touching on this subject in tandem with paid search and how it helps college athletics.
BuzzSumo: Writing Headlines
This analysis of 100 million headlines is useful. Depending on what you’re trying to do, it’s good advice. Otherwise, it’s good to know and understand.
Nick Kolenda: 31 Copywriting Tips
“SIDs don’t generate revenue.” Wrong. A ton of stuff here about effective copywriting. I don’t think SIDs understand that’s what they’re doing most of the time. Write with a purpose and help you demonstrate how you generate revenue for your department.
Peter Shankman: How To Get Your Emails Read
Peter Shankman is pretty sharp, and these tips help any PR guy (sports or not) or really anyone else entice people to read an email. We tend to underestimate the skill of sending emails: “I sent it, it’s in their court now.”
eClincher: Successful Content With A Small Team
This is valuable inside and outside of sports. Thinking like this will help small collegiate shops stand out and cover more ground.
Fast Company: Getting Over Freelancer Fears
I’ve done some freelance work and briefly considered going 100% out on my own. This one’s for comm pros who also need to think about business development.
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