Here are a few “spring cleaning” questions to ask yourself:

Look back at your objectives. Are you on track to meet them? If not, it’s important to figure out why.  Now is the perfect time to make a change in the campaign if necessary, while you still have time to execute and see results.

Has anything worked extremely well so far? If so, can you make it happen again? If you were able to produce great results from executing an element of your marketing plan, why not try it again?

Has something NOT worked well? Can it be changed? If not, drop it.  Thought that monthly newsletter was going to be a great idea, but turned out to be a flop? See if some elements can be changed to turn it into a success. If that’s not possible, ditch it and strategize on other ways to reach that targeted audience. The longer you let something that’s failing go, the harder it will be to pick up the pieces and start over.

Has the marketplace changed? The marketing plan you solidified at the beginning of the year may have been perfect at that time, but things change. If your strategies don’t match the current marketplace, determine what changes you can make so that you’re again on target to be successful.

Are the growth goals of the company the same? Just as markets can change quickly, so can the goals of a company. You may have developed your plan with the objective of gaining more customers, but now leadership is more interested in positioning the company to be sold. It’s important that the goals of the marketing plan are closely aligned with those of the company for it to be successful.

It’s important to think of a marketing plan as a working document, not something set in stone. Building flexibility into it will allow you to easily enhance successful elements and eliminate those that are not, which makes it much easier to meet your goals.

Don’t wait until the year starts to come to a close to look back at your marketing plan. If adjustments need to be made, it will be too late. Do it now and you’ll be happy you did.

Ragan published an article “6 Questions to Determine Whether your Story is Newsworthy”. Remarkably, these are the same six questions my college journalism professor, a writer for the Inquirer, told us we should ask ourselves before writing a story. With my journalism background I have added a couple of tips of my own to give you eight tips to think about before you ask a reporter to write:

1. Who gives a crap? If you can answer this question, your response belongs in the headline or subject line.

          Hint: Relatives and paid employees don’t count.

2. What makes my story outshine the other 372 that crossed a reporter’s or blogger’s desk today?

          Hint: Pitch purple snowflakes

3. Where would my story fit in this reporter’s world?

          Hint: Relevance rules.

4. When is this most important? Today, tomorrow, next Tuesday?

          Hint: Yesterday = snore

5. Why would anyone sitting in their den in Utah, driving on I-95 in Florida, or bowling next to my dad in New Jersey want to pay attention to this story?

          Hint: Connect with emotions and the human factor.

6. How can this story help other people?

          Hint: It’s not about people buying your book or hiring you to train execs.

7. Approach is key

         Hint: Reporters receive hundreds of pitches a day. Stand out to them by being polite – not pushy.

8. Don’t be the boy who cried wolf. If you pitch a story as “the BEST story ever” it better be the best story ever.

         Hint: Creating false expectations for a story will lower your credibility.

Remember you are doing your job and a reporter is doing theirs-don’t make it harder for them, or you!

• Be open to criticism.  This one always reminds me that we are never finished learning.  You can always learn from your mistakes.
• Eat lunch with your co-workers.  Less specifically, I think it is truly important to build a rapport with your colleagues not only to learn more about the industry, but because it makes work even more enjoyable.

For more information about intern and entry level advice, read Sarah’s previous post on a PR Student Handbook, here. In her post, Sarah provides resources and advice for soon-to-be graduates.

So where do we turn to find PR news and trends? The options and outlets are endless, but here are three of my absolutely-all-time-favorites websites to keep tabs on new PR trends, tips, analytics and tools of the trade (the following all are completely free too):

         #1 – Ragan.com: PR News & Resources -  Ragan.com delivers practical advice, real-world solutions and field-tested strategies for today’s corporate communicator. This is where I can always find myself surfing five hours after I set out to fact-check something simple because the articles are strategically short, straightforward and smart. S much so that you find yourself thinking, just one more – you have been warned!

         #2 – HubSpot: Marketing Resources – This is mecca for any PR pro looking for a site to which to turn those begging beginners, aka those friends who what you to help them launch a Facebook page or explain what a blog is. They have awesome resources for advanced lessons in the dark arts of in-bound marketing, but the best base of basic webinars, guides and how-tos I have found let.

         #3 – Mashable – Follow the topics Public Relations & Social PR Guide Series – If you have never heard of Mashable, you have been living under a rock. However, to narrow down the infinite articles, follow the suggested topics to find PR content.

Don’t forget you can find updates, case studies, newsletters and whitepapers directly from Maven on www.mavenagency.com.

Not convinced blogging is right for you or your company? PRDaily put together a list of 5 reasons why your company should start a blog. Check them out below.

1. Search opportunity is knocking

Having a blog gives your company more opportunities to show up in search results. Without a blog, someone searching relevant keywords for your site may only find your homepage. By blogging about timely subjects on a regular basis—with relevant keywords—each post has the chance to show up in search. If your blog has a clear tie back to your main site—and it should—the traffic to your blog has the opportunity to drive people to your company site as well.

2. Google gets fresh

In an effort to provide users with more up-to-date and relevant search results, Google introduced the Google Fresh campaign. Essentially, the search giant now ranks sites with fresh content higher than static, unchanging sites. With a blog, you have the capacity to very easily add new, fresh content every week so those Google bots will continue to recognize your site.

3. Social hub

A company blog is the ideal place to create the content that you share on other social channels. Why drive your followers and fans to other sources when you can direct them to your site? Detailed posts on interesting topics or new products also serve as the destination for potential new customers, rather than sending everyone directly to the homepage to search for the relevant information on their own.

4. Viva la PR coverage!

As PR professionals, we work hard to generate awesome media coverage. However, news happens fast and that post on Yahoo News can be buried within a few days, maybe even hours. Writing a blog post to summarize and link to the coverage gives the story a new online home—a cozy place where it can live forever. Again, this is a great place to direct fans and followers to view your great PR hits.

5. Get personal

A blog is also a great place for current and potential customers/clients/employees to learn more about your company. Posts about team members or company outings and events—as well as the writing style on the blog—can tell someone a lot about your organization on a more personal level.

If you do decide to start a blog remember to update often and check back for comments from your audience. Creating content is only half the battle. By responding to comments left by your audience it shows them that you take their concerns and comments seriously.
I have enclosed links to my favorite company blogs. Some of the blogs are informative, others are fun but all of them show off their company’s personality.

Disney Theme Parks

Google

Jcrew

Linkedin

The article is essentially about companies who jumped on the tablet bandwagon before putting together a real strategy around how they really plan to use them – or in some cases, why. As the article demonstrates, a lot can go wrong when a company implements a new platform (or technology), without a strategy.

The same goes for social media. I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had with some very smart marketing folks, who, when asked about the strategy or even reason behind their social media use, can’t give me a good answer.

Inspired by journalist Shara Tibken, here are three of the biggest mistakes companies make when jumping into social media:

No. 1: Failing to have a plan before rolling out the campaign

Too many companies jump on the social media bandwagon without first having a clear plan of action or strategy. Doing it because everyone else is doing it is not a good reason to do it. A social media strategy should be just as well thought out as a marketing strategy – and in fact, they should tie into one another. Clearly defined objectives, tactics for achieving them and measurement methods should all be determined before creating a social media presence.

No. 2: Not understanding what social media is – and is not – good for

Social media is a great way to connect and engage with target audiences. But it’s not a total replacement for tried and true relationship building methods. Social media is a wonderful way to show another side of a company’s personality, but it cannot successfully be the only way that a company communicates with target audiences.

No. 3: Thinking social media is cheap (or free)

Social media is not free, or even cheap, it’s just a different kind of expensive. Just like most things in life, you get out of it what you put in. So to really make a social media campaign work, it takes time, a lot of it. And as we all know – time is money.

Ultimately, companies need to realize that social media should be part of the marketing mix and be thought out and about as much as other marketing tactics. Don’t assume that good things will happen just because your company now has a presence on social media. It takes time, strategy and work to reach success.

“Stand by your decisions. Be confident that you know what you’re talking about. I will sometimes find myself in situations where a client disagrees with a recommendation or strategy, because it’s uncomfortable or unfamiliar to them. It is in these instances where I have to remind myself that I was hired for my expertise, and I have to be confident that I know what I’m talking about. Never doubt yourself.

“Always be nice (or at least cordial), especially toward other women. You might be competitors today, but you never know what the situation will be tomorrow. Show respect, even if you disagree, because people will always remember how you treat others – even years down the road.”

To read what the other 15 had to say, click here.

• The best time to post on Facebook is when fans are not at work, typically between 8:00 pm and 7:00 am.  In addition, engagement tended to increase when posts were made on Wednesdays.
• As you might have heard before, quality wins over quantity when posting to increase engagement.  This was true when measuring posts per day, as well as posts per week.
• Shorter (1-40 characters) and simpler (text only) posts proved to increase engagement.

Weather you believe these stats will improve your follower and fan engagement, or not, there is no doubt that social media is an important aspect of your communications plan.  According to the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer, social media saw the biggest percentage increase (75%) in trust among media sources.

Read more about social media strategy in a previous Maven blog post about effective social media techniques.

Advent of Social Media

The wide adoption of social media has fundamentally changed how people communicate and share information, and how brands communicate with their customers. When we started the company, Twitter was a relatively new tool that no one really knew what to do with. Most companies did not have a Facebook page yet – in fact, many people didn’t have a Facebook page yet. And LinkedIn was for recruiters.

Today it’s a given that companies and brands will have a social media presence. It’s also a given that journalists and bloggers can access company information and news easily online. It is now essential for up to the minute information to be at people’s fingertips.

It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination

Sorry to quote Aerosmith, but they have it right (in this instance at least). It used to be that a PR campaign would build and build and build until, WHAM – the big story in (insert your dream publication here). But that’s not how it works anymore. A mention on small blog X results in a Tweet by person Y, which results in a retweet by more influential person Z, which results in a guest column request by online publication A, which results in multiple “likes” on Facebook, which results in a link in blog B… which may or may not ever lead to national broadcast or big-time print. But that’s okay, because that’s probably not where you need to be. It’s nice to get your company name in an Old Guard publication, but that mostly likely won’t impact your business as much as a mention in one of the smaller, but very targeted outlets will.

Infographics

Who has time for words anymore? Based on the proliferation of infographics, not many! With the speed of content generation, it’s nearly impossible to get the attention of your target audiences. Infographics get your message across in an efficient and effective manner.

The Press Release Survives

Every year I read a new blog entry about the “death of the press release,” but after five years of reading the various reasons it’s no longer relevant – it’s still here. And I have to say, better than ever. Multimedia releases are more informative and useful than their cumbersome predecessors, including instant tweets, hyperlinks, embedded video, quotes, images and various ways to share information socially. Perhaps all the press release needs is a new name.

ROI is King

In the first half of 2007 the economy was still booming and companies were spending big time on marketing. In those heady days, there wasn’t a magnifying glass over marketing budgets like there is today, and much of PR was still unmeasured. Now, decision makers need to see ROI for all services and as a result the PR industry has become much more measurement-focused. Presentation of campaign results to a client must also include metrics and reports that demonstrate how the PR campaign also made the needle move. The old standard clip report no longer makes the cut (and thank goodness for that).

There are numerous other ways that the PR industry has changed over the last five years. I’d love to hear what else you think has been impactful in changing the PR landscape. And I look forward to embracing future tools that come our way in the next five years.

Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)

The Komen v. Planned Parenthood drama that played out earlier this month will be a marketing case study for the ages.  For 30 years, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has been the gold standard of corporate sponsorship, trademarks, swag, alliances and feel good visibility in the battle against cancer.  After announcing the decision to withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood, the once untouchable pink ribbon had millions of consumers seeing red and embroiled the organization in a political morass from which it may never fully recover.

The about-face in public sentiment says a lot about how quickly social media chatter can subsume even the strongest of brands.  (Read Kate’s post on the McDonald’s #McStories campaign for an example).  But it also demonstrates how dangerous it can be for nonprofits with a macro mission (preventing cancer) to naively insert themselves into the political fray.  Komen, who must have weighed the pros and cons before making their decision, nevertheless appeared flatfooted, issuing a series of inconsistent, slow and seemingly sterile responses.  The backlash was immediate, bringing an association once known for its ubiquitous pink merchandize and walks into a lightning round debate around abortion, women’s rights and a highly politicized Presidential nomination process.  Komen quickly reversed their decision and reinstated Planned Parenthood. The Vice President who more or less led the effort resigned shortly thereafter.

The issue Komen faces now is not whether or not they responded poorly to a crisis, but how the issue impacts the cause and the brand moving forward.   Until now, Komen had succeeded in staying out of controversial women’s health care issues.  Everyone can get behind pink ribbons, well-publicized events, stories of survival, and fighting the Big C.  By withdrawing their financial support for Planned Parenthood, they seemed to be taking a stand, which is dangerous ground for them to be on. Instead of pink power and races for the cure, Komen will now be associated with a divisive political issue that is only going to detract from its core mission.

To be clear, Komen is in no danger of going away.  Their network, brand power alliances and fundraising capabilities continue to make them one of the most powerful nonprofits in the world.  However, their star now burns a little less brightly and casts a long shadow.  Whether that translates into sponsorship dollars remains to be seen, but you can be sure Komen’s moves will be closely watched both the left and right in the months and years ahead.