Heal Magazine- Launching a Blog for a Cause!

Our Advanced Communications Skills class is in the process of developing a blog for the new Heal magazine. Visit Heal Magazine online- http://healtoday.com

What is Heal?
Heal, a magazine written for cancer survivors, strives to help patients nurture their mind, body, and spirit as they transition into a period of recovery.

The Blog?
There are so many blogs floating around in the blogosphere- how do you make it stand out? Since this blog is written about cancer the content is sensitive, but it should be welcoming-bright and colorful. If the blog is filled with pages and pages of type it can be overwhelming. The blog of course should contain valuable information- but different than what you can find on a bookshelf.
Blogs connect people. A blog should be a place where people feel free and comfortable to exchange information. Connect cancer survivors to other survivors. Many cancer websites feature encouraging stories or patient profiles. Perhaps if there is a daily profile or a documented online journal written by a recent survivor- there would be a steady traffic to the blog. A daily story would keep bloggers interested and involved- there would be constant traffic to the blog because “fans” would often check for updates. Sally Young, a bone cancer survivor, has an excellent blog (http://sallyyoung.blogspot.com). The blog can promote discussion of past articles found in Heal, book recommendations by staff. Blogs are a GREAT resouce for feedback-know what your readers want to know! Since Heal focuses on the mind, body, and soul, the blog could consist of three main sections.

MIND- How much does the mind influence the body? Can mind and body interventions improve one’s wellbeing? Self-image and cancer.
BODY- getting the body back into a healthy state- exercise, healthy food , self image and cancer.
SOUL-dealing with pain, exploring spirituality.
-An interactive platform that allows experts, not just doctors but health and fitness experts as well, to chat with cancer survivors.

Blogs can host many “fancy” features. Videos are an excellent medium to incorporate on blogs. The blog could feature videos detailing how to make healthy recipes, exercise instructions, yoga, etc- all geared towards healing the mind, body, and soul.
Also- many cancer websites have a disclaimer at the top warning that the information provided should not be subsitited for professional medical advice- see (www.thecancerblog.com)I don’t know if Heal has any plans to reach out to the local Dallas community since the magazine is based here. The blog could have a local section to alert people of upcoming events- fundraisers, marathons etc. Essentially, survivors could connect person to person and create a meaningful support system.

To be continued

Video Blogs?

For those of you who are uncomfortable with sharing your thoughts on your blog...be prepared for this new trend of video bloging.What if you could accompany someone as they carry on with their daily activities- watch each and every move they make? No, it's not stalking. Apparently blogers are taking a step further and using video blogs to capture details of their lives. Instead of a bloger writing about whatever is on their mind, now they can voice it out loud in a personal video blog. Blogers now are no longer annonymous writers- video blogs allow one to put a name with a face.
Jeffrey Ressner's recent Time article, "See Me, Blog Me," includes an interview with Jeff Jarvis, founder of BuzzMachine.com.
"Vlogs are a weird, new kind of way that people can document their lives," says Jarvis. "It has the potential to be the farm team for new talent used by big, mainstream media. Suddenly anybody can become an Andy Rooney,"commented Jarvis.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040419-610076,00.html
Is this trend going to catch on? Who knows. Check out some free video blog cites below:
http://videoblogging-universe.com/
http://www.vlogs.ca/vlogs.html

Media Relations Strategies- How to Maintain a Relationship with the Media

A public relations professional’s relationship with the media is just as important as their relationship with a client.Ben Silverman,Director of Development and contributing editor for Indie Research, claims, “The public relations industry and the media have always had a curious relationship. PR people will tell you that the media can't do its job without them. Media folk, meanwhile, will suggest that PR people are nothing more than mouthpieces for people who would talk to them if PR people didn't exist. On the surface, both are correct”.
http://www.ereleases.com/pr/pr-media-relationship.html

How to maintain a strong relationship?
Since I am not yet in the public relations industry and have little experience with the media, I must lean on advice from those who are already established in the profession. Based on the following words of advice I have gathered - here are my two cents. It is important to remember that the media act as gatekeepers. This means that the media, specifically a journalist, can decide whether your story is even relevant. Therefore, ones pitches to the media must be “newsworthy”, but also stand out above the rest. It is more likely that a journalist will publish your pitch if you two share a personal, yet professional relationship. This in no way means “sucking” up, but let the journalist know you have read their work and that you find them interesting. It might even be beneficial to reference a quote from one of their articles. Journalists want to be recognized for their work as well. Journalists are constantly hit with stories and pitches to write about and it helps if someone takes the time to appreciate their work. Getting ink for your client is contingent on a PR professional’s relationship with the media.

How can one do this?- professional words of advice

-Know the media outlet and review its editorial calendar. (This information can be accessed on a publication's Web site.)
-Research a journalist's background and find past stories written by him. (A simple Yahoo! search can pull up this information.)
-Investigate exactly what type of stories interest a contact, and pitch accordingly.

Deirdre Breakenridge
http://www.phptr.com/articles/article.asp?p=25077&rl=1)

What do fellow blogers think?
A recent blog survey conducted by IndiaPR reveals top 15 media relations tips.
http://indiapr.blogspot.com/2007/01/15-media-relations-tips-by-pr.html

Eric Seidel, partner in TMT/The Media http://tmt1.tempdomainname.com/gallery/articles/relationships.shtml

Journet
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=14200&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Getting ink for your client is contingent on a PR professionals relationship with the media. Every PR professional has the goal of getting ink for their client. To rise above and beyond and make a splash for your client-GET CREATIVE! Here are some examples of some great PR and advertising campaigns!

-Target put a store on a boat at Chelsea Piers after failing to find adequate store space in Manhattan. One can promote “ink” for their client and support a good cause at the same time.
-BMW Motorcycles –BMW got ink for their client while also sponsoring the Guggenheim's Art of the Motorcycle show.
(examples: http://www.stanwoodpr.com/faqs.html)

How Do Blogs Help PR?

The creation of blogs has rapidly quickened the pace of the public relations and corporate communications industry. Blogs create a new platform for the consumer where one can be truly honest about their opinion. Blogs have transformed the voice of the consumer from passive to active. In a non-threatening and comfortable environment, bloggers can give their anonymous and honest opinion about a product with a sense of security. John Cass explains in his website-www.pr.typepad.com- that companies such as Microsoft and Macromedia developed blogs for their support staff as a way for clients to suggest ways of improving their products. Simply, blogs give consumers their own voice, a voice companies simply cannot afford to ignore. Blogs have the power to shape public opinion. Infact. General Motors consulted environmental bloggers before they invested in energy efficent technolgy. Flickr (www.flickr.com) is a Web 2.0 service that allows people to upload pictures instantly online. Therefore, journalists can get a true “inside” view of an event they might be covering. RSS, known as real simply syndication- is a tool that provides blogers with instant information. A company can add an RSS feed on their website, which could announce the launch of a product immediately-no more waiting on slow press releases.
Blogs can give public relations professionals valuable insight into their own work. A blog-goodpr.blogspot.com- comments about the successful actions of public relations professionals. Also, a program created by Blogpulse.com tracks online conversation between bloggers. Therefore, companies and PR professionals can always instantly be “in the know”. Podcasts have the power to revolutionize the future of press releases. Instead of an actual paper press release companies can send audio news releases to promote a new product. Marketingsherpa.com is a website dedicated to promoting this upcoming trend.