B2E Comm

Chances are you’ve found an image on Pinterest that didn’t seem to have a natural fit among your boards. The same can be true of the documents you likely dump into a “miscellaneous” desktop folder. In that same spirit, I have a few “leftover” bits of information to share that didn’t fall into any of the previous Pinning it Down posts.

Nervous about going public?
While Pinterest does not currently offer private boards, there are several competing social bookmarking and photo sharing sites that accommodate the need to keep business information under wraps – Delicious, GetVega and Juxtapost, to name a few.

Another option is to weave the concept and functionality of visual social bookmarking within your existing intranet platform. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
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In my previous Pinning it Down posts, I’ve contributed insights on how image sharing platforms can be used to create employee brand ambassadors and to increase leadership visibility. This post on workforce engagement was especially interesting to me as an employee because there were so many existing examples to choose from, and because I’d like to personally engage in this behavior. (The topic even took the least amount of time to research but let’s face it – you can’t spend less than 20 minutes on Pinterest.) I’m truly intrigued with the various ways companies can – and already do – leverage Pinterest to engage with employees and allow employees to engage with each other to provide a glimpse into their company’s culture – sharing pictures from corporate events, snapshots of team lunches or snack breaks, articles and tips on how to improve certain skills and funny or motivational quotes relevant to their job.
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One of the biggest challenges internal communicators face is how to keep leaders visible in fresh and meaningful ways. Time constraints coupled with the physical constraints of multiple – and often global – locations can present daunting barriers to regular communication between leaders and employees. Fortunately, the emergence of social media – like Pinterest (surprise!) – can help heighten their visibility and engagement.

Rarely have we seen an outlet that lends itself to engagement like we do with Pinterest. In addition to creating their own pinboards and pinning their own content, leaders and employees can interact with each other by ‘liking,’ repinning and commenting on each other’s pins.
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As a PR practitioner, you’ve likely grappled with trying to explain what you do to your family and friends. The Public Relations Society of America may be able to help. After nearly 30 years, PRSA revisited its long-standing definition and gave it a brush-up, complete with a brief explanation of its new word choices.

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Is this definition clear enough – even for non-practitioners? Tell us what you think.

In the first Pinning it Down post, I framed up Pinterest and other image curation sites as potential social business tools to consider for your internal communications. Now, we’re diving deeper into the specific opportunities Pinterest presents.

Brands are already exploring Pinterest as a way to increase their visibility and drive traffic to their sites, and employee brand ambassadorship has become a key element in how companies communicate key messages. Take a look at how companies are using Pinterest to mobilize their employees as brand advocates.

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Image curation and sharing sites – namely Pinterest – have quickly emerged as one of the hottest new online trends. Consider this: Traffic to Pinterest has not only increased tenfold in just the past six months, but also retains and engages users two to three times more efficiently compared to Twitter at the same age. Smart companies seeing a use for the platform have been quick to jump on board (pun intended).

The possibilities of social bookmarking and photosharing sites like Pinterest don’t stop at delicious recipes or your cousin’s wedding planning. These platforms have real social business applications that can be used inside your company to drive employee engagement, foster professional development, heighten leadership visibility, mobilize employee ambassadorship and more.
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There’s a meme going around the Internet with six-tiled images depicting what various audiences think a certain occupation does.

Not familiar with memes? Wikipedia defines it as an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. We like to think of them as catchy, popular culture trends that take the Web by storm and/or simply provide a good laugh. Mashable posted their recount of the best memes in 2011 and Ragan posted a fun meme last week about what people think PR practitioners do.

Here’s our take on what this meme means for employee communicators.

We’d love to hear your reaction in the comments below.

If your work weeks play out anything like mine, your calendar is covered with conference calls, team meetings and training seminars – sometimes half a dozen in a single day. We’ve all heard jokes that these meetings are mind numbing, and we’ve seen plenty of such portrayals in pop culture. Now, new research suggests that we may, in fact, become dumber in these settings.

Scientists at the Virginia Carillion Research Institute recently reported that small-group dynamics – such as office meetings and dinner parties – can actually lower your IQ. (Read the full report here.)

Researchers used neuroimaging and IQ testing to see how the brain processes information about social status in small groups, and how perceptions of that status affect people’s cognitive abilities. As it turns out, it has quite an impact.
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As one Harvard Business Review blogger points out: “The demand for increased connectivity and flexibility and greater use of social media will shape and change companies from the inside out.” This mix of professional/personal information sharing poses some interesting questions for managers. What do you see as realistic answers to his queries?

The term “profersonal” is protected intellectual property of Jason Seiden.

No matter what industry you work in or what your specific role is, if what you do includes some form of “communications,” you will inevitably cross paths with lawyers. “Comms” people understandably cringe at the thought of a lawyer – or anyone else – disassembling our team’s creative idea or pushing the bounds of an already tight review timeline.

Sound familiar? Well, as you know, your company hired the Legal teams to keep its best interests at heart and protect it from litigation. Ironically, that’s also part of your job as a Communications person. Therefore, it makes sense that Legal and Comms should be on the same team, no? Here are five tips that might help make Legal reviews a lot less painful.
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