PR Insights Blog

In a new article for CommPRO.biz, "The Real Reasons to be Scared This Halloween," I highlight five scary things we need to stay focused on as we chow down candy corn. Congress, Climate, market Correction, China and COVID-19 are on the list.

Recommendations have always been important for public relations agencies and professionals. Online reviews, testimonials, and recommendations have, and will, become more important in the digital landscape. In a new article for CommPRO, I note that, during the pandemic word-of-mouth has lost one of its drivers – in-person interaction – and at the same time increased the importance of recommendations on digital platforms.

Nearly nine out of ten consumers read reviews before making a purchase, according to Trustpilot. What do clients do when hiring agencies? Our research of Fortune 1000 companies shows they ask people they trust for recommendations. One of the driving principles behind CommunicationsMatch™ is to replicate the human hiring and decision-making process in our online tools. From the very beginning, we included the ability to incorporate recommendations from clients and add links to testimonials.

The RFP process is broken. If client-organizations & agencies implement RFP best practices, it can be fixed. As a 20-year CorpComm veteran, I’ve issued my share of RFPs, and as an agency leader I’ve responded to them. As CEO of CommunicationsMatch, I've built these best practices into our RFP tools.

At the PRSA Counselors Academy fall conference in Nashville in September, founders and leaders of small- and medium-sized agencies heard about and shared best practices, discussed their experience as entrepreneurs, and broke bread. Counselors Academy is always invigorating and an opportunity for fellowship. As a three-time supporter of the event, it offers a window into what’s on the minds of agency leaders and where they are headed.

Agencies, professionals, and service providers now have the option of adding Clutch reviews to recommendation options on CommunicationsMatch. Reviews and recommendations offer clients the virtual equivalent of word-of-mouth endorsements.

PRSA has launched a new search tool on the organization’s website to help users identify and shortlist public relations and communications agencies, professionals, and service providers with the expertise that matches their needs. Powered by CommunicationsMatch™, an industry-leading search and services technology platform, the directory allows users to find practitioners based on industry and communications capabilities, size, location, designations, diversity, client experience and more. In addition, they have the option to use the integrated Agency Select™ hiring tools to request information or issue RFPs.

CommunicationsMatch™ has partnered with the Public Relations Society of America, the nation’s leading professional organization serving the communications community, to develop PRSA’s new Find Agencies, Professionals & Resources search tool, launched on July 15.

During a recent webinar for PRSA’s National Capital Chapter, I was asked “What are the best ways to manage the return to work?” Due to time constraints, I gave a brief response. But it got me thinking about a few points that, in addition to basic safety protocols, leaders should think about as employees return to work:

As COVID-19 deaths decline and vaccinations rise, Texas and Mississippi are dropping mask mandates. A surprise? Not if we take time to look at the arc of behavior during the pandemic. In a new CommPRO.biz article, "Keep Your Masks On – Behavioral Lessons from the Pandemic," I highlight some of the lessons from the rise of mask resistance and the need for communicators to continue to lead.