The first few months of a campaign can be difficult, particularly for a PR novice. But this can be the most important time as well. This is the time to prime the pump, the time to brainstorm, to broaden your scope and think outside of the box.During the first two months of a public relations campaign, you are basically priming the pump. As to the bottom line, expect the first month to be a wash as far as media placement is concerned. During that time, you will be writing your releases, sending out the initial pitches, and basically introducing yourself to the media. Be calm, be patient, and don’t panic. As time goes by, you’ll start to see results. Media begets media. Once you appear on a talk show or in a magazine, utilize your press to garner yourself more media. This is where the payoff starts.Your most important tasks during this time are developing compelling media stories, writing informative, captivating, one-page press releases and creating an up-to-date targeted media list.The first few months of a campaign can be difficult, particularly for a PR novice. It is often the hurry-up-and-wait time of the campaign. But this can be the most important time as well. This is the time for brainstorming, for figuring out which stories will work with which media outlets, to broaden your scope and think outside of the box. Use this time wisely. Study the media. If you’re working with a public relations firm, make this the time to give them all of the information and tools that they can utilize to successfully launch the campaign for you.

As a Public Relations person, I’ve been wary of the supposed ubiquity of the growing social media movement from the beginning. There is a lot of talk about power to the people, the democratisation of media, and the need for companies and organisations to to subjugate themselves to the voice of the people no matter what, because that’s just how it is now.I’m all for a friendly relationship with your customers and the users of your services, but to put so much stock in, and to give your life into the hands of such volatile platforms as Twitter and Facebook seems like a foolhardy idea to me.I see the power of them as personal communication tools and even as corporate communication tools, but PR is about more than just communicating properly and in a friendly manner with the people who matter to your organisation. It’s also about controlling the conversation so the the message that you wish to disseminate into the general public or target audience gets sent out in the right direction and saying the right thing.By all means use Twitter and Facebook, and whatever other social sites on the internet you wish to. They are fast becoming an essential component of personal communications, even if one that is prone to more time-wasting and strutting than all the modes of telecommunication invented before. But, don’t suddenly assume that signing up for a free account on these services with the name of your organisation automatically gives you plenty of free girl-scout cookie points in the eyes of the audience you wish to talk too.If anything the sheer mass of humanity on some of these sites means you will spend an inordinate amount of time finding the diamonds amongst the rough, and an even greater time dealing with the misbehaviour of some of the more bored members of the general public who often have no real interest or connection with your product or service offering.When it comes to accepting online media as the ultimate saviour of all your PR woes, I’d quote the old Latin: caveat emptor. Don’t buy into these new media without making sure you know what you’re getting into, and more importantly, knowing whether the people you want to talk to will appreciate your adventures on the internet.If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And also, if it’s just not going to work for your particular case, don’t bother. Evaluate before you take the leap, and don’t forget to ask that all important why.

Working in public relations isn’t easy. The PR team is most often called out when something has gone wrong with public reputation and people are upset about something a business has done. That makes for a difficult job for anyone working in public relations. That’s why it’s a good idea to make announcements in an environment that calms down the shattered nerves of disgruntled parties. Turn a PR event into something a little less somber with the subtle use of a fire pit. Make sure to use this trick outdoors. Fire pits are lovely but no matter how lovely, it’s best to leave them outside.Here are a few tips for how to incorporate a fire pit into a public relations announcement:- Pick out two of the most soothing fire pits available. Make them above ground, beautiful, and symbolic of the occasion. What classifies as symbolic is up to the PR team.- Place these fire pits on both sides of the announcement maker.- Schedule the event for around dusk. Let it be dark enough to show the beauty of the pit, but light enough to show the face of the speaker. People trust a speaker more when they can see the face. However, due to the darkening sky, all eyes will be on nature at this press conference.Things will go much better due to the beautiful scenery and relaxing energy that will circulate throughout an other upset crowd. The PR team will have done its homework, and job, on this one.Fire pits are a great resource for a PR team even if there is no PR emergency. They can be used for friendly get-togethers to relieve tension from this stressful line of work. Employees will be very thankful to have good food and drink, and the shimmering light, of a pit to distract them from PR duties. When it’s time to return to work they can look forward to making a handful of their more stressful announcement surrounded by the light they’ve come to love so much during social gatherings.This is only one idea as to how to decorate PR events so that they are more relaxing to the speakers and to the people who must respond to whatever news is being given to them. These often stressful events are almost always best accompanied by some kind of beauty to offset any bad news.