Don't let these phrases suck the life out of your writing - or your readers!

In a world where you only get a minute - or more realistically, less than 5 seconds - to grab your readers' attention, learn to be succinct. While some of us appreciate flowery prose, poetry and literature, when you're talking about newsworthiness, promotion and public relations, get the extra words out of the way.

Ragan's PR Daily shares "8 terms that suck the life out fo your writing" - read the rules now!

Press releases still relevant

On this rainy, gloomy day in Springfield, take heart PR pros! What we all knew to be the truth has just been confirmed via research: a new survey of journalists shows that journalists still rely on traditional PR methods for the facts and much of their initial story-building. Social media and less traditional methods are still gaining credibility and popularity - and some day they may be the first thing a reporter looks at - I'm sure this depends on your market - but the journalists polled in the study still wanted a press release. Read the article here
What are the takeaways:
1. Know your audience - know which journalists want different forms of communication and how to best reach them
2. Stay up-to-date with the latest communication methods - understand the benefits, styles and needs for each type of social media
3. Integrate your communications plan to best accomodate all audiences - an integrated plan means you should never get left completely behind and that you are working with early and late adopters

May Meeting Update

We’ve had a change of plans for our May meeting. Our speaker will be Jeff Nene, senior director of public relations for Convoy of Hope in Springfield. Jeff will talk about Convoy of Hope’s decision to place more emphasis on public relations. Learn why the organization made that strategic communications shift and how it has benefitted them. Convoy of Hope made another decision just before the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and Jeff will talk about that. Also learn about “the power of a story.”

PR Boot Camp – Tools For Public Relations Success

Enlist in this action-packed Boot Camp and take away tangible strategies and tactics on starting, building or improving upon your public relations efforts. This PR Boot Camp is presented by The Southwest Missouri Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Aug. 26. This half-day event will be held from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 202 S. John Q. Hammons Parkway.

The program incorporates five sessions designed to help those who want to learn or brush up on tools to promote their business or organization – whether it’s a small business, non-profit organization, church or public office. Those sessions include: Starting from Scratch – A Recipe for PR Success; Keeping it Fresh – Tactics for Energizing Your Brand; Secrets From a Pro – 5 Things You Must Know Now; Crisis Strikes, Media Calls, What Now? – An Interactive Approach to Handling the Heat; and No Budget? No Problem! – 7 Strategies You Can Start Today.

Good public relations are important to every organization and every level. This event is open to the public. To register, visit www.swmoprsa.org. For Chamber members, the cost is $40 and for other non-members the cost is $50.

This fee includes a light breakfast, lunch and all program materials. For more information, contact Tamera Heitz-Peek at 417-328-7245.

Here's a tongue-in-cheek look at designing your organization's persona - not only in voice, but in text or video. Take a look here to see what we can learn from Old Spice.

Read article here

If you write it....

If you've been tasked with maintaining a blog for a client or your organization, you know that sometimes the well seems dry. This short article may help you get started in brainstorming.

How to leverage your expertise online
No matter what you do — whether you’re a lawyer, exterminator or weekend gardener — some of the information you have in your head is valuable to someone searching for answers online.

That’s why one of the most important steps you can take in expanding your footprint on the Internet is to leverage your expertise. Don’t worry, no matter what you have to say, someone is out there willing to listen.

Blog Ideas Aren’t Hard

Your job is to leverage your expertise. But you may not know where that first step is. Here’s an easy way to start. Think about what you would tell a customer or friend who walked through your door and asked about what you do. What’s the most common activity in your business and how did learn how to do it? Congratulations, that’s your first blog.

Read the rest of the article here

Nestle's crisis communication

In public relations, the need for crisis communication is a dreaded scenario. Due to the usage of traditional and social media, word spreads like wild fire. Each organization's approach to crisis communication is going to differ depending on their mix of traditional and social media, but we as professionals can learn from case studies and situations like the one detailed in the article below.

Read full article
Nestle has been forced to change its environmentally-destructive business practices after a social media coup; what can netroots activists learn from the victory?


After it was revealed that the Swiss food giant sourced its palm oil through Sinar Mas—a company whose operations contribute to the destruction of the Indonesian rain forest—Greenpeace produced a video comparing eating a Kit Kat bar to eating an orangutan. The video certainly makes its point with graphic imagery, but such shock campaigns don't always translate into tangible action. Nestle really started to feel the heat, however, when they ordered the video taken down from YouTube for copyright infringement. Then Greenpeace sent out their call to action: supporters sent emails, made phone calls, and, most importantly, posted angry comments on Nestle's own Facebook page. I say "most importantly" because, unlike emails and phone calls, the Facebook comments didn't just reach the company, they were public for anyone to see. Nestle's PR department only made matters worse by responding rudely to aggressive commenters and also by trying to delete certain comments. Anyone who has tried to moderate a website's comments section knows that nothing can deter some users from posting.

Eventually, the criticism became too much, and Nestle announced Monday that it has begun a new partnership with The Forest Trust to ensure that all their palm oil comes from sources practicing sustainable forestry. As the Guardian points out, this kind of partnership is a first for the palm oil industry, so kudos to Greenpeace.

Read the full article

This just in!

Friday, the Associated Press announced a notable change to it's Stylebook. "Web site" is officially changing to "website," based on user input and more common practice.

What do you think about the change?

The Poynter Institution commented on the "cheers" and "jeers" in their post.

It's interesting to note the AP announced the change via Twitter:

Feb. 23 Meeting: Come See What Springfield Source is All About

Springfield Source is a bi-weekly online newsletter that provides news, events, job postings and information about the good things happening in the region. Participants represent Springfield-Greene County’s major government and education institutions and collaborative human-services networks.

What led to the development of this partnership? How has the newsletter been received so far? What lies ahead? Michelle West, Springfield Chamber of Commerce; and Michael Brothers, City of Springfield, will take us through the process that led to the creation of this new communication tool.