Public relations officers: Take time to learn your job

The dear, departed, Miss Elizabeth pillowed against my Toastmasters portfolio

 With the beginning of July, in Toastmasters clubs (and in other clubs and groups), new vice presidents of public relations have started serving their terms.

This seems a good time to refer them to my suggestions for effective club publicity:

• Dealing with media requires its own fluency, May 9, 2009
• Get it in writing!, March 8, 2009

I wrote both of these pieces while serving in the first of two terms as vice president of public relations for my local Toastmasters club, No. 8731 in Lakeport, Calif. During that time I worked (and work) as an editor for a northern California news company.

Another piece advises, circa June 12 of this year: Articles are not letters are not articles. In other words, pick a format and write to its conventions instead of submitting a mash-up of both.

One last thing: you will write publicity for both online and print media; understand the characteristics of each and submit PR appropriately.

The phrase  “click here” should be permanently deleted from your public relations vocabulary. Newspapers do not have hyperlinks, March 8, 2011, addresses this in greater depth.

Reader comments responding to this subject brought up search engine optimization (SEO), incorporating search terms into descriptive phrasing that forms the text of a link.

A definition of SEO can be found on Wikipedia and Paradux Media Group has a Pinterest board devoted to explaining SEO. I am newly exploring this subject but, suffice to say, “click here” is not effective SEO.

Cynthia Parkhill
Advanced Speaker Bronze,
Advanced Leader Bronze
in Toastmasters International