Jenna Blumenfeld

The October monthly episode of our For Immediate Release podcast explores critical communication trends. Shel Holtz, SCMP, and I discuss six compelling topics, including Reddit's potential for crisis comms, the state of blogging in 2024, ethical concerns in celebrity news coverage, workplace connection challenges, and AI's impact across industries. In a blog post, I've set out some key takeaways that present opportunities for communicators, including leveraging Reddit for stakeholder engagement and preparing to guide organisations through AI adoption. Read more and listen now for valuable perspectives and insights on navigating today's complex communication landscape. https://lnkd.in/e5_CcMR2

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Writers, bloggers and LinkedIn posters LOVE lists, but sometimes they use them as a crutch. Here’s the eighth of nine suggestions on how to write better lists: Always number each item. I enjoyed The Oatmeal’s post on 5 Reasons Why Pigs Are More Awesome Than You. (See link in the comments section) It made me laugh, which is perhaps why I forgave them for failing to include numbers on their list. But readers are less forgiving if there’s no humor involved. If you’re giving a list ALWAYS use numerals. They orient the reader and they help make reading easier. ✍️ What guidelines do you keep in mind when writing lists? ♻️ Please share if you think this post might help others.

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I thought this was a good list that includes a lot of things most people miss. I would also suggest: 1. Tight targeting of your users in an AB test. This can be through proper exposure logging, or aiming at users down-funnel if you’re actually running a down-funnel experiment. If your new iOS and Android feature is going to be launched separately, then separate the experiments. 2. Making sure your experiment runs in 7-day increments. Averaging out weekly seasonality can be important in reducing variance but also ensures your results accurately predict the effect of a full rollout. https://lnkd.in/ejgvfNfp

Does your job include curating content for social media channels? If the answer is yes, you'll want to take a few minutes to read over this Hootsuite post. In it, the author explains what content curation tools are and why they make life easier. While it does promote itself (Hootsuite), it's honest about the other tools that are out there for consideration. What do you think? Have you tried any of the others listed? Here's their top five.

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Foretell in the wild! 🌎 Check out Erin Pelton featured in Eleanor Hawkins Axios Communicators newsletter today. Erin shares insights into how we think about CEO communications. Spoiler: being a great leader means being a great storyteller, too. These days, people want to connect with a real human, not just a logo or tagline. That’s where we come in—helping CEOs and execs define their vision, tell their story, and build trust. Dive in below 👇

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Writing is not always easy. I say that as someone who has been in communications for many years and yet still find myself staring at a blank document from time to time. Writing is a skill that can be developed and coached, but it needs practice and the opportunity to get it wrong. For those of us who are not routinely writing content, the lure of AI to do it for us can feel compelling, but it is not always the right solution. Many years ago I produced a wonderful series of creative writing podcasts with David Morley at The University of Warwick, simple exercises to build up your writing muscle and confidence. I still think of them fondly. The principle of creating space for colleagues to experiment and practice with writing, even in a digitally rich world, still feels like a very important thing to do. The other voice in my ear was my old boss at National Grid who would often applaud the thinking, but pick out what he said was w***y writing. Still makes me check everytime. (And yes, I did hit the "Rewrite with AI" button, just to see what happened. It was not a good outcome! The robots have a way to go yet!) #internalcommunications #ic #employeengagement #writing #leadership

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Unless your company has a sizeable marketing budget, I'm guessing most of us do the same thing when we write new content: 1) Ask our SMEs, farm social media, read industry publications, and look at customer conversations to brainstorm topics. 2) Pick the ones that seem like the best. We might have some metrics to go on, but mostly it's based on gut instinct and feedback. 3) Put hours of work into creating blogs, ebooks, social media, infographics, webinars, etc. 4) Cross our fingers that the campaign hits! But what if we could test market our ideas before we put the time into creating new content? What if we had access to pools of professionals in our target market (customers and prospects) so we could present, say, eight content ideas at a time to see what resonates most with them? Then take the top two and create campaigns with them. For B2C companies — and sometimes B2B — this is relatively easy to do just using social media. But tech is a different animal. It's difficult to find swaths of developers, IT directors, cybersecurity professionals, and engineers (that we're not already connected to) who are available for this kind of thing. If you had this kind of resource, would you use it? Does it already exist? Tell me your thoughts.

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RFP etiquette. Let’s talk about it. ⬇️  Brands seem to be getting to a place where they can seek out an agency partner to end the year strong and “fire up” the beginning of 2025. But I’m noticing agency searches (PAN and peers) following a few concerning patterns: 👻 Ghosting  ⏰ Pipeline delays  💰 Disconnects due to poor budget disclosure    The kicker: a lot of these disruptions are happening post-RFPs.    Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that getting an #RFP has any guarantee you land the client. But in the past, brands may have sent RFPs to five+ agencies. Today, that number balloons to as many as 15+ agencies.    Now you might be saying: competition breeds innovation – and you don’t have to participate. Why is this a problem? 🤔    The problem lies in the work that a well-structured RFP requires. It’s not a plug-and-play template. When we get an RFP, our teams spend days, sometimes weeks, digging into data, evaluating the budget, and attuning strategies to the prospective client. It’s an investment. And because an RFP (A) demonstrates a vested interest and (B) only gets to a handful of competitors, it’s an investment we feel good about making.   That calculus changes when dozens of agencies reach this RFP stage. And if you’re tasked with reviewing RFPs, this larger number represents a big time commitment. Enter: ghosting and pipeline delays. Within those delays, budgets can change. Which dates an RFP’s content.   We’re dealing with an ecosystem where everyone is spending more time to get what they want. 👎    That signals three things to me:    1️⃣ Setting expectations is increasingly important. If you receive an RFP, see how many competitors received one. If that number is reaching levels that don’t feel right, you may need to bow out.    2️⃣ Businesses could use help crafting RFPs that offer a well-rounded look at agencies. In other words, they may need an RFP that introduces more confidence and momentum in the buying decision.    3️⃣ Brands need to ensure they’re asking the right agencies to dance. A higher number of RFPs can indicate a lower level of confidence in the research a brand has conducted. This is an important milestone – no need to rush!   ⭐ But here’s the big takeaway: we need to respect each other’s time. ⭐    Nobody wants to wait months to hear back about an RFP. Nobody wants to spend months reviewing RFPs.    Changes happen – I get that. They could be department-driven or unforeseen. I think we all understand that this is business; uncertainty creeps into the process. But let’s not ignore what started off on the right path.    If you want to see what I think helps save time, check out the scorecard in the comments. I find scorecards make it easy to rank agencies *and* tailor criteria that speak to agencies and brands.    Any thoughts about the current dynamics of sitting in your pipeline or the challenges we face “bidding” on a brand? Please feel free to chime in! You know I love hearing what you all have to say.

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I chatted with Forage about pursuing a career in marketing and the skills you'll need. “Write, write, write,” Bode says. “Everything we do in this industry is about content — writing for ads, campaigns, long-form, public relations, emails, and even AI prompts. The best way to grow your writing skills is to practice. Set up a blog, and write about whatever you are passionate about. It doesn’t matter what it is about; practice makes perfect.” #publicrelations #marketingjobs

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Managing your media list just got easier! 🙌🏼 Today, we're recapping what we heard from 10 PR experts in #Denver who told us all about their best tips for keeping an organized list. 📝 From using Slack and Microsoft Excel to your advantage to tracking, tracking, tracking, we have these pro tips and more on the blog today. https://bit.ly/3WQUIul

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Press releases are dead. Says every comms person on LinkedIn. I get it. When using press releases as a "drumbeat," considering a sequence of press releases a strategy, or just the sheer amount of terrible, non-news "press releases" out there, maybe they should be dead. I am not one to say they are dead - they just aren't as needed or relevant and shouldn't be the default. It's a tool in the toolbox, and sometimes they will make sense as a tool depending on what the news is and objectives of your effort. What I often don't see after the bold statement is what we do if press releases are indeed the bane of everyone's existence. To me, it always comes back to the business objective, the audience you're trying to reach and outcomes you want. Some (many tech companies) push their owned channels, be it blogs, newsletters or similar. Reporters that follow them know this is what they do, so it works for some when combined with embargoes/exclusives or targeted pitching. That same group may release news at an event or conference - makes sense if your audience is there. Some just focus on targeted media pitches and no release. At times and when relevant, some will use a version of a press release as additional context or content. Some will newsjack (jump on trends or cultural conversations), to insert brand into conversation. Could be social engagement or various types of social content, product placements or shipments, or a distinct POV. Usually combined with pitching and only works when super relevant and a brand has already established they are (insert fun/quirky/relevant/distinct/etc). And then there's this platform. One example we recently executed with a client: A LinkedIn article from the CEO. Business objectives were to gain attention for a new concept from potential partners and those in the industry, ultimately building interest and pipeline. Media coverage was a desire, but not the most impactful outcome. We knew LinkedIn would push this first article, though of course, the content had to be relevant. It was written like a story with a good hook, new news, timely and relevant anecdotes, and left the reader wanting just a bit more. The article gained about 50K eyeballs (no where near a big media push vanity metric). However, those eyeballs were all targeted eyeballs. The CEO received quite a few emails and calls from partners, industry leaders and potential customers. The internal team was excited and contract conversations heated up. A press release and strong pitching may have garnered some coverage, but can we guarantee those same people would have read the article and acted? No. People mistake PR for media relations. PR is relating to the most relevant stakeholder in most relevant way. Sometimes media is not the way. It doesn't mean press releases are dead. It does mean they should not be a default tool and that the tactic should ultimately ladder up to a strategy that supports the overarching business objectives.

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Readability vs. Grammar Which camp are you in? Grammar: If we’re not on point, nobody will trust us. Readability: If we don’t share digestible content, nobody will know us. My two cents? Understand the rules before you break them. And then break them with a purpose.

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PERSPECTIVES WANTED: Ragan Communications and PR Daily have teamed up with Ruder Finn to conduct a survey gauging where senior and executive-level comms professionals stand on AI, how they’re currently using it, how (and if) they plan to use it in the future and their hopes and concerns for the changes it will bring.  Take a look!

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What happened when I lost my cool at work (and what I'd do differently now) Early in my PR career, I worked at a big agency where two things defined your success: 1. High-profile clients. 2. Billable hours. I was already stretched thin working with major clients like P&G and AMEX when I was asked to join the Microsoft team. I hesitated because burnout was on the horizon. But I said yes, on the condition I could choose my projects. Fast forward to a meeting where I was abruptly dismissed from a project I'd been promised. I was furious but stayed professional in front of the client. Back at the office, I stormed into the president's office and had a meltdown. Yelling, frustration, the works. In hindsight, I wish I'd handled things differently. Today, I would have: ↳ Trusted my instincts and said no to the assignment. ↳ Acknowledged my burnout and protected my boundaries. It's never worth it to sacrifice your well-being for a project at work.  It's ok to say no.  Burnout isn’t a badge of honor. Protecting your mental health is just as important as any client.

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Human Resources leadership roles are increasingly strategic.   Where can HR professionals collaborate to drive growth?   Here are five ways HR can partner with finance: https://aon.io/4d7KieC

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PR is *wildly* misunderstood. 🫤 A lot of folks — even super smart execs at very large brands — think they’re paying PR agencies for *access* to top reporters. Like we’re agents or brokers. Or consiglieres to some secret journalistic underworld 🤫 That’s not how it works. Anyone reading this can buy a database of reporters’ contact info. That’s right. Even the top reporters at TechCrunch & The Wall Street Journal! **But contacts mean zilch if you don’t know what to do with them** You want a write-up from top reporters? The best of the best? *YOU MUST HAVE A KILLER STORY TO TELL* 🤯 It must be *factual and defensible*, not fanciful or aspirational. And this is key: you also need *perfect timing*. That’s why your PR agency works so hard to stay top-of-mind with key reporters: Because when they’re ready to write about your industry, we’re there for them. Armed with: ✔️Facts ✔️ Data & research ✔️ Customers ✔️ Analysts ✔️Graphics and visuals This is what you’re paying a PR agency for. Earned media requires a great story, impeccable timing and constant spade work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is peddling snake oil 🐍 It’s not who you know. It’s how you roll. This is the way ✊ #publicrelations #storytelling #pragency

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9 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Podcast. Don’t Get Left Out of the Podcast Boom.

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