"Our school punches below its weight.""Our school is not as visible at it should be.""We need to strengthen partnerships and engage more broadly with the business community."These are common refrains I hear from university presidents, deans, marketers and other school leaders. I would argue that it is virtually impossible to move the needle on these concerns if faculty are not engaged …
Academics: Please Stop Rambling during Media Interviews
It was painful to sit through. A while back, I was listening in on an academic's interview with a journalist. Each answer was probably about eight minutes long as he segued from one topic to the next without giving the journalist an opportunity to interject. He was going on and on, flippantly using big words that the average person would need to look up. His points were communicated in a dry and …
How to Make Your Bio Stand Out
Look around the web at various schools and research organizations and you will see a variety of different ways in which bios are presented. Perhaps you think your bio is stale. Maybe you haven’t updated it in many years. Or alternatively you might be curious to know about other compelling ways that faculty members and researchers write their bio. Here are some tips and ideas from others that you …
Podcast Episode #59: The Importance of Media Monitoring
The success of a PR program depends on monitoring. We need to have the tools in place to know not only what is being said about our brand, industries, competitors and audiences. We also need to have the appropriate systems to share intelligence with our different stakeholders, whether it be senior leadership, faculty, alumni, students and the communications team.Episode 59 of FIR on Higher …
9 Media Relations Tips from Journalists at Tech Crunch, the AP & More
Guest post by Michelle LewisA room full of journalists from publications such as Fast Company, TechCrunch and Triangle Business Journal who are eager to share their advice is a PR pro’s dream. Needless to say, I was excited to have the opportunity to attend Experiential Communications’ media event on entrepreneurship and innovation on March 22 at the PNC Triangle Club at the Durham Bulls …
Communications Commandment #1: Know Your Audience
There is a common thread that led to success when writing a cover letter, marketing message and media pitch: know your audience! I recently interviewed Heidi Scott Giusto on the FIR on Higher Education podcast to discuss a topic that I am not an expert in: communications during the career search. It was interesting for me to hear Heidi discuss how many make the mistake of not communicating …
Podcast Episode #51: Nurturing Relationships with Journalists
Newsrooms are shrinking. The ratio of PR professionals to journalists in the United States is almost 5 to 1. Journalists complain about the exorbitant number of pitches they receive. For media relations professionals, it can be difficult to get on the radar of a targeted journalist.On episode 51 of FIR on Higher Education, media relations expert Kiki Keating discusses the art of developing …
Introducing the Experiential Media Event: Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Positive press can open doors for individuals and organizations in dramatic ways. For start-ups, awareness is generated amongst investors, clients and future employees that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. For a university, it leads to visibility among key stakeholders like current students, prospective students, alumni and the community. Rarely does ongoing positive media visibility happen by …
Podcast Episode #50: PR Strategies and Tactics for Events
Are you maximizing the public relations opportunities around different events that you are organizing? Higher education related events usually feature interesting content, particularly if it is an academic conference or some sort of multi-day symposium. Making the most of such events from a PR perspective can be challenging. We delve into this topic on episode 50 of FIR on Higher Education …
Podcast Episode #47: Video Storytelling Tips from a TV Anchor Turned School Communications Director
Jim Hanchett has covered major news stories as a journalist for various media outlets, including NBC. These stories included the Bush – Gore 2000 election, the Pope’s visit to Cuba and Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial for several media outlets. In 2012, Jim turned in his media accreditation card and now is telling the story of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs …
New Survey: The State of PR and Communications at Public Policy / Public Affairs Schools
Public policy and public affairs schools still have work to do in ensuring that their PR activities are aligned with institutional big-picture goals.This is among the findings from Experiential Communications’ inaugural public relations and communications survey of schools focused on public policy and public affairs. The 10-question survey was conducted in May and June 2015 with the goal of …
Episode #35: How to Work with Practitioner Publications Like Harvard Business Review
Getting visibility in Harvard Business Review can be a game-changer. In the case of thought leader Dorie Clark, an HBR blog post led to a full-length piece in the print magazine which then led to a new book (and she had written a follow-up book for good measure).On episode 35 of FIR on HIgher Education, senior editor Gardiner Morse discusses the best ways in which academics and PR professionals …
Episode 28: McGill University Professor Karl Moore on How to Build Your Thought Leadership by Conducting Interviews
It is great to be interviewed. Benefits come from the external exposure if you have properly communicated your message. There also benefits from being the interviewer.McGill University Professor Karl Moore can attest to this. He conducts a CEO Interview Series in which he interviews a CEO or throughout leader.The interview is disseminated across various external communications channels. But …
How Professors Can Take Their Media Presence to the Next Level
Perhaps you are a media star. Or maybe communicating to public audiences is foreign territory. Regardless of where you are at on the spectrum, consider following these tips if you want to take your external communications to the next level.Study others. There are many academics that are acing various aspects of external communications. Surely there are individuals either at your institution or …
Re-thinking Media Training at Your Institution
For university communicators, it is important to get faculty engaged and on board with the school’s PR program. The problem is that many professors aren’t necessarily comfortable communicating their research and knowledge through social media and the traditional press. Hence, university communicators need to offer a first-class media training service.Communicators should re-evaluate how they go …