I read Dale Carnegie’s timeless book, How to Win Friends and Influence People more than a year ago. I was so impressed with its human-relations tips that I’ve been applying them to my life every day since. I keep many of Carnegie’s tips top-of-mind when interacting with my colleagues, friends, family and even strangers. I have found that understanding the motivations and thought processes of others can ultimately help you get what you want.

Here are some of my favorite Dale Carnegie tips:

1. Listen
   Being a good conversationalist is not about how well you speak, but rather how well you listen. If you encourage others to lead a conversation and participate as an active listener, your colleagues will feel appreciated and will regard you as a good conversationalist.

    “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie

2. Make others feel important
   One of the easiest ways to make people like you is to make them feel important. The desire to feel important is at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. A great way to do this is to provide colleagues with compliments, remember their significant life events and show interest in their personal lives.
   
3. Don’t complain, criticize or condemn
   A valuable principle in relationships is to avoid criticizing, complaining and condemning others. Blaming or criticizing a colleague doesn’t solve problems. But it could create resentment. A better approach is to be proactive and provide recommendations and guidance for the future.
   
4.  Appreciate others’ work
   People will go the extra mile to get appreciation. If a colleague has just secured a great placement, landed an interview with a high-profile reporter or completed a big deliverable, be sure to offer sincere appreciation. If your coworkers feel valued and appreciated, they will continue to work harder and will be happier in their job.
5. Smile
   The best way to make a good first impression is so simple that we sometimes forget it: smile. When you smile, people feel accepted and will recognize you as an approachable person. A simple smile can go a long way!
6. Remember names
   Since people place tremendous importance on their names, use first names often and try to remember the name of each new person you meet. A tip I have for remembering names is to greet someone, shake their hand and respond with, “it’s very nice to meet you “ and say their name. Saying someone’s name within the first 30 seconds of meeting will greatly improve your memory.

How do you win friends and influence people? Please leave your comments below or send me an email: Hilary@landispr.com.

I gave a presentation at the recent PRGN international meeting in Los Angeles called “How To Create A Five-Star Client Service Organization.” In it, I examined companies known to provide superior customer service. It’s my belief that agencies should study these companies and mimic their success for better client service.

Here are 10 things agencies should be doing now:

1. Make it personal: Agencies must understand not just how to service accounts, but also individual clients. Find out their personal drives, needs and motivations. When you understand what motivates individuals, you’ll do a better job of deepening relationships.
2. Observe, ask, listen, think and remember: We book conference calls, client meetings and team get-togethers. We should also put time in our calendars to think about what makes our clients tick.
3. Always go beyond: To surpass expectations, deliver the unexpected and take the extra step. “Wow” your clients. If you want to know how it’s done, study Zappos.
   
4.  Always know how you’re delivering vs. client expectations: You can’t meet, let alone beat, expectations if you don’t know your client’s perception of your performance.
5. Fix problems without fuss…even if it’s the client’s fault: Fight the urge to remind the client that the problem could have been avoided if they had only followed your agency’s recommendation!
6. Surprise and delight: Little things mean a lot! A bottle of the client’s favorite wine, an invitation to see their favorite team, or a hand-written note thanking them for their role in a recent success can pay enormous dividends.
   
7. Show clients you care:The adage “clients don’t care what you know until they know you care” is true ! For example, you should know that the client’s alma mater made it to the Final Four. You do know your client’s alma mater, don’t you?
   
8. Show and tell clients that you value their business: Create your version of the flight attendant speech that begins, “When it comes to airline travel we know you have a choice…” and say it to your clients by phone, with written notes and in person. By the way, Southwest Airlines does a fabulous job of customer service.
9. Don’t be satisfied with (merely) satisfied clients: Some 75 percent of PR clients who parted with their firm in the last year report they were “satisfied” with their agency’s work. Maintaining “merely” satisfied clients won’t sustain or grow your business.
10. Be passionate: I’m amazed when I see articles about the skills necessary in PR that fail to mention client service. Today’s communicators must be superb service providers. If a team member lacks passion for client service, consider whether that person should be part of your organization’s future.

 Jacobs Communications Consulting helps public relations and communications firms grow and manage business, and improve team performance, communications and leadership skills. It does so via training, consulting and coaching. We can be reached at ken@jacobscomm.com, www.kensviews.com and at https://twitter.com/KensViews.

It’s May and graduation season is in full swing.  Graduates are ready to hit the streets and start the next chapter in life, working for a living. Granted, many students work while going to college (I know I did). But for many, graduation means hitting the interview circuit and looking for their first dream job.  For graduates looking to start their careers in the public relations industry that usually means choosing a path of in-house (client) or agency work.

As a director in public relations, I have had the chance to interview many candidates over the years.  Based on my background in both corporate and agency public relations, I would estimate that 90 percent of the time the first question interviewees ask me is which I like better.  I take this question very seriously as I know many graduates have offers from both sides of the public relations industry and may be struggling with the choice. Below, I’ve listed the top three reasons why I enjoy agency work.

1. Variety – Agency public relations will offer you experience with a variety of clients.  Your accounts may span several industries, from consumer, financial or technology.  This allows you to build knowledge in areas where you may not have thought you would venture to.  For example, a typical work week may include staffing a press event on an NFL football field followed by handling an interview with largest entrepreneur magazine in the U.S.
2. Experience – Agency work is fast-paced and you will wear many hats as an agency professional.  You will be asked to juggle multiple projects, from research, to writing press releases to pitching reporters, and a variety of deadlines.  Effective time management is an absolute necessity.  If you show initiative and master the skill of multitasking early, you will generally be able to gain job promotions quickly.
3. Flexibility- In my experience, agency public relations has allowed for me to manage a more flexible work schedule.  I’ve had the opportunity to work on so many different clients that have different schedules.  This allows me to set my work schedule accordingly and accommodate my family needs.

These are just a few of the reasons why I enjoy agency work. Graduates looking for a career that will offer a variety of work experiences should consider agency public relations.

Let me know what you think.  What are your top reasons for choosing agency public relations? I look forward to your posts!

In today’s technology-driven world, we are inundated with advertising. From social media to traditional media, someone is always trying to sell us something. Typically the product’s advertising theme has something to do with puppies, babies or sex because that’s what gets noticed. However, that’s not the case with Dove’s latest advertising initiative as part of its “Real Beauty” campaign that launched in 2004.

According to Dove’s website, a wider definition of real beauty was needed when a major global study found that only 2 percent of women around the world describe themselves as beautiful. We are taught very young in life that people come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. So why is it that only 2 percent of women think they’re beautiful? Could it have something to do with the Carl’s Jr. commercials or that airbrushing or photoshopping of women’s bodies for print publications has become the norm?

This is all too evident in Dove’s latest Real Beauty Sketches. A group of women are asked to describe themselves and a woman they just met to an FBI-trained forensic composite artist. Separated by a curtain, the artist draws a likeness of each woman based on words alone. As the video unfolds, women are judging themselves much harsher than their new acquaintance. Phrases like, “My mom told me I had a big jaw” and “I kind of have a fat, rounder face” were some of the self-described characteristics while the words used to describe the acquaintance were less critical, “nice, thin chin” and “short, cute nose.”

The video concludes with the drawings side by side revealing two drastically different images. Each woman was tearful as they reflected on their own self-image versus what someone else sees. As one woman states, “I’ve come a long way in how I see myself, but I think I still have a long ways to go.”

According to Media and Body Image: A Fact Sheet for Parents, media can lead adolescents to think that their own bodies are not attractive or acceptable and that their value depends on how they look. This way of thinking can be very powerful and, as evident in this video, is carried with us into adulthood. No matter a woman’s age or every success she has achieved, “women are their own worst beauty critics.” As a relatively new stepmom to a tween girl, I hope to break this stigma in my house and using Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign is a great place to start.

Questions or comments? Please leave comments below or connect with Jennifer on Twitter: @jayjunelay.

I just returned from the first of our bi-annual meetings with the international affiliate members of Public Relations Global Network (PRGN). These meetings are always inspirational. Our now nearly 50-member network shares business leads, best practices, expertise and even recipes and travel tips from around the globe.

The spring meeting only required a short hop for me.  It was hosted in Los Angeles by our Southern California affiliate, VPE PR.  We inducted great new member agencies from Tokyo (Integrate Communications), Chile (RumboCierto) and Portugal (Global Press). This PRGN meeting held great personal significance for me because I was installed as the network’s new President.

The new job is definitely a thrill – and a challenge. 

This position got me thinking about true leadership and the skills required.  Too often, we go through our daily paces and forget that leadership requires time, effort, forethought and guidance.  It doesn’t just happen on its own.

What are the qualities of a great leader?  Here are five of mine:

1. Listen. Good ideas can and do come from all levels of an organization.
2. Delegate.  If all you do is tell people what to do, colleagues will never learn how to handle responsibility on their own.
3. Allow failure – safely.  Make sure you don’t give them more rope than they can handle.
4. Mentor.  I honestly think this is the one I never seem to find enough time to do, but it’s extremely important.
5. Celebrate success.  At LCI’s weekly staff meeting, we ask each team member to share a great accomplishment for the week.  Then, we celebrate with a round of applause.

Most importantly, don’t call me “Mr. President.”  That sets up a “we” and “they” situation.  In truth, as with all successful businesses, we’re a team.  We are all in this together.

What leadership qualities would you add to this list?  Please leave a comment below or email me directly at: david@landispr.com.

Did you know 40 percent of people respond better to visual information than to text alone? So it’s no surprise that many brands are flocking to Instagram to promote targeted campaigns and enhance user engagement.  A photo can literally be worth a million fans on Instagram, which has more than 100 million users. To excite your fans, consider creative ways to incorporate visuals that are authentic to your brand.

Here are three creative brand campaigns on Instagram:

Purina One

Brands can piggyback on social media phenomena (or create one) by plugging into current trends. Theron Humphrey, a professional photographer, kicked off a yearlong story-telling documentary, Why We Rescue, highlighting how pets transform people’s lives.
The initiative is designed to increase pet-rescue awareness and is sponsored by Purina One.

Fans share pet rescue stories and photos of their dogs with the hashtag #WhyWeRescue. Humphrey features one story in each state on Instagram and a website. Fans can follow his travels and attend Insta-meet-ups to meet Humphrey and share rescue stories in-person.

Red Bull

Contests are a great way to engage users and target specific demographics. Red Bull hosted an Instagram contest to win tickets to the “King of the Rock Finals” basketball tournament in San Francisco. To enter, followers posted photos of themselves holding a basketball in unexpected, surprising locations. The contest excited basketball fans and expanded Red Bull’s audience reach.

Tiffany & Co.

People often share more intimate photos of their day-to-day lives on Instagram than other social sites. For brands that evoke a specific emotion, such as romance or silliness, it’s an opportunity for consumer’s to interact with brands with photos they have posted elsewhere. For example, in 2012, Tiffany’s tapped into the personal lives of their fans by offering custom “Tiffany Blue filters” to be used with the hashtag  #TrueLovePictures for a deeper brand experience.

Which Instagram campaigns have caught your eye?
Please share your comments below and follow me on Instagram, @tarahbeaven.

Tell us about your dream assignment.

My dream assignment would involve recipe development that is sweet, crafty and/or kid-friendly. I love empowering people to get creative in the kitchen and to enjoy playing with their food.

Describe the wackiest story you’ve written.

I write about my life as a wife and mom in a house full of boys so there is no shortage of wacky stories. I wrote about the Tuesday Toilet Fiasco, training to run a 5k race and being lapped by a 60-year-old man  wearing silver swishy pants and sporting a Walkman and making Creepy Peeper Jell-O (just odd in every way). No shortage of crazy in my life.

What is your PR pet peeve?

I dislike getting completely irrelevant pitches or those that begin with, “Hello Author! We love your blog!” I fear there is no remedy. Some companies continue to use blanket PR pitches. Another peeve is receiving a pitch that does not fit with the readership of my website. If I’m giving away a $600 kitchen appliance, I might not be in the market to review your trial-size pantry item.

Top trend in the industry you’re currently covering.

I have a son who was recently diagnosed with a peanut allergy at a young age (before his 2nd birthday). Until then I truly didn’t comprehend the importance of allergy-friendly recipes. I am now more in tune with peanut and tree nut labeling. It is imperative for our family to be informed if packaged food is produced in a facility that handles peanuts.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a wife and a mom in a house full of boys who like to eat. Join me at In Katrina’s Kitchen, where dessert is always served first! My husband and I are having a blast raising our boys. We are high school sweethearts and we’ve had the privilege of getting to know each other since 1995.

Katrina Bahl created her blog, In Katrina’s Kitchen, in 2011. She provides her readers with her family’s favorite sweets and new recipes. In Katrina’s Kitchen was named a 2012 Babble.com Top 100 Mom Food Blog, a 2011 Readers’ Choice Top 100 and has been featured on Parents Magazine, Yummly, Foodgawker, Tastespotting, Food Porn Daily, iVillage, Yahoo Shine! and more places in print and online.

Questions or comments? Please send them to Katrina at inkatrinaskitchen@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.

Each week during our internal staff meeting at LCI, we like to discuss what we call “PR Ideas of the Week.”  These are clever ideas that we’ve seen in the press or on social media outlets from companies that have garnered public attention.  In this week’s blog post, we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite PR Ideas of the Week with our readers:

Burger King’s Left-handed Whopper:  now southpaws can have their burger and eat it too with Burger King’s Left Handed Whopper.  The new burger is designed so that the all the condiments rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the sandwich so that the bulk of them skew to the left.  (Our leader, David Landis, has said how much he appreciates this.)

The Google Fiber bar:  to combat the effect of eating too many Whoppers, Google has come up with Fiber Bars, yes dietary fiber. Google’s bars come with 100 times more fiber than any source of fiber available today.  The video below explains how it works.

Google Voice for Pets: Ever the innovator, Google has created its own “special Voice Communication Collars” to let pet owners record audio directly from his or her dog or cat’s vocal chords. What’s more, a tiny micro-LED emitter built into the collar projects a keyboard onto the floor, so pets can tap their front paws to send text messages.

Virgin Volcanic:  At LCI, we are all big fans of Virgin Airlines, so you can only imagine our excitement when Richard Branson introduced Virgin Volcanic, a new carrier created with patented carbon materials designed for space exploration, which enables flights into the core of an active volcano and straight into molten lava.  Holy hot cow!

WestJet Introduces Kargo Kids is another great offer from a top-notch airline.  Who hasn’t been completely annoyed by screaming kids on a six-hour flight?  Canadian carrier WestJet has cleverly come up with Kargo Kids, a new program that allows parents to check in their kids in the cargo section of the plane where the kids can go wild, and the parents (and everyone around them) can enjoy a relaxing flight.  Check out the video below to see how it works.

Oh, and by the way:  Happy April Fool’s Day!! Gotcha!

Do you have a favorite April Fool’s press release or video that you would like to share?  Please post your link in our comments section below! Or email me at: donna@landispr.com.

From the never-ending world of new apps, are two that PR Pros may find incredibly helpful. Both are free, and both have clear and practical applications in the public relations industry.

VINE

Vine is a mobile app for capturing and sharing short (6 seconds or less) looping videos with sound. Owned by Twitter, Vine loops your short videos together to create a clip that can be shared via the app itself, or via Twitter and Facebook.  For PR Pros, Vine can capture an event or campaign in a six-second video or series of videos to give viewers a richer, visual experience.

Vine can be used to create a product demo, a video elevator pitch, media clips for a new business presentation or a “sneak peak” of a new product or program. It can also record media training sessions (record and play back first impressions, body language etc.), to capture sound bites from a media interview or an industry event.

VOLIO

Volio is a new app that uses artificial intelligence to give humans the characteristics of virtual assistants. Volio combines video with natural language processing software to help computers make sense of human speech. The platform allows anyone to give the impression that they’re available anytime to chat and offer advice on a specific topic.

Videos created on the platform are extremely interactive and driven by the user’s voice. Similar to using Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, users need only talk to guide the experience. To learn more check out the “Talk with Esquire” app which features Esquire Magazine’s fashion director Nick Sullivan, grooming expert Rodney Cutler and drinks guru David Wondrich, each ready to address your fashion or mixology questions. PR Pros take note, Volio technology could be used by a celebrity or brand seeking to interact with people on a more personal level.

Which app do you like the most? We want to hear from you so please leave a comment below.

– Valeria Prencipe

– Alessandra Malvermi

Valeria Prencipe hails from Milan, Italy and is a student of the University in the Valle d’Aosta (Italy) and the Université de Savoie (France). She has a background in languages ​​and communication for business and tourism. Thanks to Alessandra Malvermi and Matteo Prencipe, owners of Sound PR (LCI’s Italian PR affiliate through the Public Relations Global Network), Valeria works as an intern with Landis Communications Inc.

On March 7^th, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that News Feed, one of the main pillars of its social network, will undergo radical changes. Some reasons behind the innovation include the desire to remain hip, especially when users are on the decline and to satisfy the public’s short attention span. So with a big focus on photography, Facebook has decided to bet on their “visual gallery” to create an amazing user experience.

What are the New Changes?

The new Facebook News Feed is designed to reduce clutter and focus more on stories from the people you care about.

They’re hoping to achieve these goals by implementing the following features:

• Photos, news articles, maps and events will look brighter and more beautiful
• Photos posted by friends and albums will appear larger, spanning the width of the News Feed
• Photo albums will also appear larger
• Shared articles and events will feature larger images with more information like snippets about the author
• There will be special feeds for best friends, music, photos and games
• They’ve also added a Following Feed that lists posts from the brands, pages and public figures a user follows in chronological order like a social network newspaper

What are the Benefits for Business People and PR Pros?

First off, ads and the “like page” button will be bigger so people will be more likely to click on them. Secondly, articles will appear in a format similar to a well-curated magazine. That means images accompanying articles will be displayed along with a description. Business logos will be given more prominence as well. Thirdly, when a friend checks into a business or a store on Facebook, his or her other friends will see a larger map in their News Feed and additional information regarding the business or place. Lastly, thanks to the Following Feed there will be more engagement opportunities since brand content can appear in multiple feeds.

The changes have already been rolling out and if you’re one of the lucky ones already experiencing News Feed’s new look, we want to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or contact me at valeria@landispr.com.