5 Borough
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Client Login

Let's chat a bit about website branding...

3/1/2022

 
How long will someone spend looking at your website before bouncing? Are you utilizing the "above the fold" to keep them interested in scrolling down to read more? How are your major elements positioned to enhance attraction?

Read below for some ideas on how to keep visitors engaged and what key elements should be placed "above the fold."
Typing on computer

Read More

What's the deal with "off the record" and "on background"?

2/1/2022

 
Record
This is a question that comes up at both cocktail parties and when training new comms staff. Many people are interested in knowing whether they should be "off the record" or "on background."

Most outlets and comms professionals acknowledge "off the record" as information that cannot be attributed or used for publication. "On background" reflects information that can be published but attributed to an unnamed source (most likely at the organization you represent.) 

Read More

What Traits Do I need in my Comms Team?

1/1/2022

 
​Famed Harvard organizational psychology professor J. Richard Hackman, who spent 40 years studying teams, identified the three main conditions of effective teams: direction, structure, and support. 
  • Clear direction is the main component of a great team. Teams work towards a common goal and grasp how their work impacts an organization's mission.
  • A strong structure ensures that the team balances diversity in knowledge and views while promoting positive dynamics.
  • Support includes reward, information, and development. Team members are aware of their roles, know how to obtain the information necessary to complete tasks, and are continuously encouraged and developed.
Team

Read More

What's in your Office Manual?

12/1/2021

 
Notebook
​If you are just beginning to build your shop, or have recently inherited one, consider creating an office manual for your team. A handbook will be a one-stop for internal information ranging from the history of the office to protocols to the voice mail code. At my first shop 20 years ago, I started a manual to help me consolidate information, and at every shop since then, I bring a copy and adapt it to the new organization. 

Read More

What I learned in my 16 Hours of LinkedIn Jail & Tips to Take Today

11/1/2021

 
​LinkedIn has become so ubiquitous in my life that I never imagined what would happen to be locked out...or deal with the potential of losing access forever.
 
Sure, I realize that LI may not be everyone’s most important tool, and I know people who rarely utilize it. But if you are in the middle of building what one hopes to be a successful consulting gig and rely on LI for networking and ads, losing access just became your worst nightmare that you never prepared for.
 
So here is a quick story and a few tips that you can take right now. 
Jail Bars

Read More

Fielding Media Inquiries

10/1/2021

 
Old Timey Telephone
How does your shop field and track inquiries? How do you report the inquiry appropriately within your structure, and how are you tracking the outcome?

Read More

Are You Ready for PR? – 10 Tips for Startups

9/1/2021

 
At some point in the evolution of your business, you will need to start thinking about public relations. But when? 
 
Your new business has limited resources, and your focus is getting your product or service to market. Big PR agencies come with big retainers, and after all, those dollars should be invested into the core business, right?
People standing at meeting

Read More

Online Resources

8/1/2021

 
Tools
The following resources include ones that I regularly use in my day-to-day (marked with an asterisk) or potential tools that I wanted to organize for future use.



Content Generation
Pitching
Crisis Communications
SEO
Comms Documents
Stock Images
Editorial Calendars
Miscellaneous
Monitoring Service
  

Read More

But...is it news?

7/1/2021

 
Typewriter
Some of the most diplomatic moments of my career are when I have had to gently manage the expectations of an overly excited principal or client who believes they are sitting on a huge news story. Sometimes they genuinely do have something exciting to share or an idea on how to generate some buzz. Still, most of the time, I have to gently redirect their enthusiasm by either reframing their idea or flat-out explaining why something isn't going to make it into the New York Times or Journal.

So what is newsworthy? Let's first discuss what typically isn't.

(Note: for the sake of brevity, we are not discussing your goals for media attention or the audience you are trying to influence or how it ties into your business objective. That will be a future post.)


Read More

2, 21, 10....Action!

6/1/2021

 
Microphone
Run a search on the average length of a sound bite, and you will see that it lasts anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds. So let's split the difference and say the average is 10 seconds in length. (This is in sync with an NPR article on The Incredible Shrinking Sound Bite, which has it at 9 seconds, but 10 is easier to remember.)

Well, that is about 21 spoken words.


Read More
<<Previous
Forward>>
    Picture

    The Press Pass

    Distilling 20 years of communications experience.
San Francisco | New York | 415-692-4860
©2023 | 5 Borough Communications, LLC
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Client Login