Blog

Well, it is that time of year again when our Summer Associates head back to school. We are really going to miss them! Every year, we get so excited to welcome in our incoming class of Summer Associates. This summer, we had the pleasure of working with some incredibly bright, dynamic young ladies. These women really impressed us- their dedication to the field, commitment to learning, and their hands on approach was truly inspiring. We accept less then 4% of incoming summer associates to our program. We spend an extraordinary amount of time training our associates and setting up an integrated communications program for them throughout the summer which includes access to Bulldog Reporters PR University Training program, networking events, summer social events, Daily Challenges to hone their skills in the field and intensive resume and cover letter workshops. One of the most important things about an internship or associate program is the ability to maintain a strong work ethic throughout the entire program, not just at the beginning or end of the summer. Every single day you have a new opportunity to wow your boss and impress them with your skills. But most importantly, the best internship or associate programs are ones where it is a two way relationship- where you are not only learning from your boss, but where they are learning from you also. In the spirit of giving back, here are the top 10 things you can learn from the RMG Summer Associate Class of 2014.

Top 10 Things To Do at your PR Internship

1. Show up on time. Every single day.
2. Always say yes. The people that say yes always get the most out of their internships. If your boss spends time hand selecting networking events or opportunities for you to enhance your skills, they don’t get anything out of you showing up. They are doing it for you to try to give you opportunities to expand your skillset. Take advantage of these and make the most of them.
3. Be nice. This may seem obvious- but people work with people they like. No one wants to work with a mean girl. Everyone wants to get along as a collective team. The nicer you are to your team, the better experience you will collectively have.
4. Don’t judge. Yes, this is a fast paced industry. We move at the speed of lighting. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and a method to the madness. Don’t get caught up on the craziness of any one aspect of it. The industry is a rollercoaster. Embrace the speed of it and fully immerse yourself in it.
5. Speak your mind. Believe it or not, your boss may like if you challenge them with an idea. It is ok to fight back with strong convictions if you believe a different strategy makes sense. We like seeing a fresh perspective, and no one wants to work with a “yes maam” team member all the time.
6. Have respect. Yes, I said it. Respect your elders. Whether they are five years older then you or twenty years older then you, they got to where they are for a reason. Don’t talk about them because they will always find out. Be gracious. It goes a long way.
7. The early bird gets the worm. If your boss presents an opportunity for you to do something at 6 am on a Saturday morning, do it. Don’t say no. Those rare opportunities can often lead to the most enriching learning experiences.
8. Seek clarification. Remember, your boss is extremely busy. The people that do the best always ask the most questions so they can meet expectations on deliverables.
9. Use social media. Your boss or internship coordinator spends a great deal of time putting together a program of events for you every summer to enrich your skills in the field. We love to see when associates share photos or tweet about their experience at these events. It goes a long way to know you enjoyed the programs we put together for you.
10. No task is too big or too small. There will be times when you have to do smaller tasks that you may not want to do- like stuffing 100 swag bags or moving boxes to and from an event. Remember, your boss has to do the very same thing you do and if you are lucky will be sitting right there with you doing it also. Success is about achieving the desired result through maximum performance- it is not about a power struggle.

Congrats to this years Summer Associate Class of 2014.

Ruby Media Group Summer Associate PR Awards:

Caroline Arnold- Broadcast Communications Award Recipient, 2014

Rachel Robbins- Event Marketing Award Recipient, 2014

Colleen Bennis- Social Media Strategist Award Recipient, 2014

Catherine Chumakov- International Relations, PR Strategist Award Recipient, 2014

Way to go! You did it!!

A new study claims the secret to being happier is quitting Facebook for 99 Days. According to the study, the average user would regain more than 28 hours of their life back.The challenge encourages users to sign up, change their profile photo and remove the FB app from their phone. While a good idea in theory, how realistic is it?

Yes, people wonder what life is like without Facebook- but people are less likely to take permanent action to remove themselves from the technology. Taking a summer detox is a great idea, but you don’t need to completely extricate yourself from social media to detox. However, only 25,000 of Facebook’s 1 billion users have vowed to do this detox. It is too severe for the average Facebook user.

Here is my Social Media Detox Alternative:

Detox from ALL social media in moderation vs. abstinence

1- During family trips, put down your devices and focus on being present this summer. It is beneficial to spend time with your loved ones, especially when there is a generation divide on how social media may be used in your family.

2- On weekends, check email only when necessary (1x per day). Detoxing is beneficial for your health in moderation. It helps you reboot. The more you unplug, you re energize for the upcoming week ahead.

3- Update your status and filter your photos on Sunday evening vs. during actual events. Detoxing from social media during events will help you form stronger interpersonal relationships. Focus on being social vs. on sharing how social you are on social media. Moderation vs. entire abstinence is a better alternative for a social media detox this summer. Happy Summer! xo

We recently had the opportunity to speak on a panel with some of our favorite editors over at Westchester Magazine and Westchester Home on Social Media and PR tips for increasing exposure. If you are looking to increase exposure for your business or get published, be sure to read some of these great tips we went over on our panel!

Tips provided by Nancy Claus, Halina Sabath and Ana Mantini of Westchester Magazine and Kris Ruby of Ruby Media Group

How to get Published in a Magazine

Top 10 Tips

1. Create a website
2. Research target publications
3. Secure homeowner releases
4. Determine the correct editor
5. Email your pitch
6. Write concise subject line, including location of property
7. Send your pitch to only one publication at a time
8. Consider staging and composition with photography
9. Send image files in the correct format
10. Enter design contests for wider exposure

First Things First

Show, Don’t Tell: Architecture is a visual business and you must have a web presence. There are simple programs available so you don’t need to understand code to design a serviceable and attractive site.

Research & Pitch Accordingly

To get published, start with doing background research. Get copies of the publications you’d like to appear in and study them. Focus on ones that already publish the type of architecture you specialize in.

Separation of Church and State

Many people believe that they need to advertise in a publication in order to be featured in it. You don’t. Editorial and advertising are completely separate.

Homeowner Releases

Make sure the homeowners are comfortable with the idea of having their home published in a magazine before you pitch it to an editor.

Meet the Editor

Use emails rather than phone calls or regular post for your first contact with an editor. Check the masthead for the correct person to send your info to. Explain the project in the subject line: Pleasantville Mid-century Modern Remodel, Bedford Arts and Crafts Bungalow, Beachfront Contemporary in Rye.

Exclusivity

Do not send multiple pitches to different publications.

Photography 101

While you don’t need to hire an expensive photographer to shoot your project, you do need to send images that show off your project in it’s best light. Editors can use your cell phone photographs as scouting images, and then send their own photographer to shoot your project if it is selected.

How to Send Images

Jpeg? Tiff file? Hi res? Low? No, this isn’t a foreign language, just standard formats for sending images. Hi res is required for print publication, but the huge files can clog—or crash—an editor’s inbox, so consider sending images via Dropbox or other cloud sharing site; burning images on a CD or copying to a flash drive are also good methods of transferring files.

Getting Award Winning Images

At some point you will want to hire a professional to shoot your work. How to choose one? Again, look at the magazines and see whose work resonates most strongly with you.

Enter Design Contests

Think of it as a good discipline to organize your work with a bonus of free publicity if you win. Even if you don’t win an award, editors keep the designs we like on file for consideration for future stories.

How to Leverage Social Media to Build your Business

TOP 10 SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS

1. Establish a social media strategy
2. Define your target audience
3. Figure out what story you want to tell
4. Stop selling
5. Create an execution plan
6. Launch and engage
7. Publicize availability
8. Use social media to leverage PR hits
9. Measure results
10. Tweak campaign for maximum results

STRATEGIZE

Social media is an extension of corporate branding. In order to ensure maximum results, your social media strategy should be in alignment with your business objectives. Be able to identify the message you want people to take away from your company in one sentence. The best social media campaigns fit in alignment with an organization’s corporate communication objectives and strategic initiatives.

MICRO-TARGETTING

Who is your ideal target audience? Who are the industry leaders you would like access to? Leverage social media as a PR tool to initiate the conversations within your industry.

TELL BETTER STORIES

Understand your brand’s story and tell it. One of the biggest mistakes brands still make on social media is using social channels as a promotional tool versus a storytelling tool. Understand what story your brand is trying to tell, and use social media as a way to tell the story. Every post every day should be a different way to tell the central story. There is a direct correlation between positive brand story telling and user engagement.

STOP SELLING

Social media is inherently about branding to a focused audience.  It is about the ability to quickly get in front of prospects, current clients and leads, and to establish an online relationship with them and build customer engagement.  Social media marketing differs from traditional marketing in that it does not focus on immediately establishing the value of your services or products, but rather it is about establishing you as an icon and thought leader in the industry—to create an awareness of your name and brand.  It is not a specific advertisement for a given product or service—it is about brand engagement.

READY, SET, GO!

A Campaign is only as good as its execution plan. For example, lets say you work with your team to develop a strong plan. The team has drafted a content calendar, created a custom media list of influencers and distributed it to reporters. Success! A blogger calls one of your internal employees to ask about the release you just put out. Problem—the person managing the social media account is not the person who is directing marketing. All of this could be avoided with a tactical Social Media Process plan.

SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVEN PR

The best PR campaigns are those that are cohesively integrated between social media and public relations. Social media should be used to complement a PR campaign to drive continued media exposure and interest of editors for your business. Utilize social media to share press placements, connect with bloggers, and get on the radar of editors while executing multi-platform PR campaigns. Use social media such as Twitter to search for and pitch journalist queries in real time and build an ongoing relationship with reporters. One of the best ways to get a journalist to read your pitches is to engage with them on Twitter. Take a vested interest in what they write and re-tweet content that you find useful. Furthermore, use social media to research the beat they cover before you pitch them.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO LEVERAGE PRESS HITS

So you recently secured a major press hit. Now what? Here are RMG’s top tips to maximize the buzz into long term exposure and more hits.

• Share the press link on your company’s social media networks
• Thank the writer and outlet and include both handles in your social media posts
• Create a clipping of the press hit and include in your electronic media kit
• Add the press hit to your company’s web site
• Order a plaque of the press hit (if it is a feature article) and prominently display in your office
• Share the press hit with clients that may benefit from the content shared in the article
• Send the article to other outlets that may want to do a follow up story
• Pull out the best quotes written about your company by the writer and share in your media kit.

MEASURE

The best way to re-engage fans is to measure what is working, what your fans really connect with. One mistake brands make is getting lost in the editorial content calendar shuffle. They are so obsessed with posting and keeping up with the social media rat race that they forget to actually measure what’s working. Pause. If you are not continually measuring what has the greatest impact with your audience, you will lose followers, and it will ultimately damage the value of the community you are trying to create.

Westchester Magazine teamed up with Murphy Brothers and Ruby Media Group to present a seminar on publishing, advertising, and social media at Westchester Magazine’s Headquarters in Rye, NY. 

1. Remember who you are connected with digitally before you post, share, pin or tweet. One of the biggest mistakes people make on social media is posting extravagant party photos on weekend getaways and forgetting that their colleagues and/or clients can see it. If you want to broadcast how well you are doing and that you are “living the high-life” be prepared for co-workers at home to expect you to live up to the same expectations. Drinks on you!

2. Don’t over check-in. If you are connected to clients on your social media profiles and check in 15 plus times this summer gallivanting around the Hamptons or a tropical island, be prepared to have people ask if you did any work at all this summer. Sometimes, less is more with check-ins.

3. No one likes a bragger. Guest of a Guest recently captured the phenomenon of people taking photos of their feet while lounging at the pool out East, the “Footside Humble-Brag” shot. It’s okay for major holidays out East, but don’t overdo it.

4. Hashtag appropriately! Want to show off your summer style? Hashtag the designers you are wearing from head to toe. If you are lucky, they may even follow you back!

5. Tagging Etiquette. Ask people if they are OK being tagged in your photos on Facebook before blasting a photo of them from the latest charity event. People appreciate being asked, and if you don’t ask before tagging, you may find your friend or follower count quickly dwindling.

Published in Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journal

To read the full article, click here 

When Ruby Media Group was founded five years ago, social media and PR were still viewed as different service categories for businesses. Executives wanted to jump on the social media bandwagon and were interested in either PR or social media.

Today, there are numerous social media companies all over this region, and all of the traditional PR agencies have added social media as one of their integral service offerings.

The agency model of the future is one that seamlessly combines social media and PR. Agencies that continue with the old model of only being a social media agency (without PR) or a PR agency (without social media capabilities) will be left behind. Today, clients want a full-service approach. From content creation to promotion and distribution, clients want one agency handling their social media and PR needs.

The top PR and social media changes over the past five years include:

• Social Driven PR: The days of “cold” pitching are dead. Social Media has changed the pitching process. Journalists now want to put a face to the avatar. Agencies that embrace the social driven PR model understand how to leverage these tools to get maximum exposure. With the plethora of data available to PR practitioners today, one of the biggest ways to get ignored by journalists is not to read what they write on social media. It is better to pitch a story to a journalist based on what they are writing about in that moment vs. pitching something that is not relevant to what they are covering.

• Data Analysis: Five years ago, executives wanted to know “What is social media and should I use it?” Today, executives want to know, “What is my social media content strategy and how can I maximize it to increase campaign results?” Expectations of social media measurement and analytics have also increased. Clients want to see an ROI (return on investment) on all social media and PR spends. Calculating media impressions, Facebook fan likes or website visits is not enough to stay competitive today. Social media and PR campaign goals must be linked to overall business objectives to create maximum results. Agencies that fully embrace this model will win in the new economy.

• Social Strategic Planning: The most effective campaigns today link back to an increase in overall business growth. For example, a successful campaign could be measured by an increase in new diners, members or customers by X percent. The best way to measure this is through benchmarking and data analysis. The expectation of PR practitioners as “data analysts” has become standard. Benchmarking is critical in determining campaign results.

• Interactive Sponsorships: From a PR and advertising perspective, there has been a big shift in client’s expectations on ROI of sponsorships. It is no longer enough to purchase a sponsorship to “get the brand out there.” Clients want to strategically align their brands with event sponsorships that link back to an increase in business. The sponsorship model of the future will be more interactive and give clients an opportunity to engage directly with prospects vs. standing behind a table collecting leads. The most effective sponsorships will embrace the new mindset of Westchester Executives and understand how to meet their needs.

• Traditional is back: We are seeing a renaissance back to traditional media. There is inherently more “trust” in the editorial offering of print based outlets vs. digital. With everyone as their own publisher, executives yearn for the fact checking that comes along with traditional media. High profile media mentions in print publications are still extremely important.

The old agency model is dead. Social media has become commoditized. The agencies that will win in social are those who are leveraging talent with strong journalism and graphic design skills. Content is king and the medium has become more visual. Look to hire former journalists or graphic designers when hiring social media content managers. Journalists know how to write copy that is compelling and elicits feedback from fans. Agencies that will win in the new economy will fully embrace an integrated, 360-degree approach to social media marketing and brand development.

Kristen Ruby is the CEO of Ruby Media Group, a full service public relations and social media agency in Westchester, Greenwich and Manhattan that is now 5 years old. Ruby Media Group specializes in creating strategic, creative and measurable PR and social media campaigns. For more information, visit rubymediagroup.com.

Ruby Media Group was recently featured in an interview on Reputation.com giving business owners advice on how to effectively use social media to leverage your brand. Click here to read the full interview for helpful social media tips for your business. We were also excited to share some history on the company. Thanks Reputation.com for featuring us!

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we started thinking about the correlation between social media and cheating.

An increasing number of marriages are breaking up due to inappropriate social media activity, which begs the question: is it more important now than ever before to have a pre-nup?

Social Media Expert Kris Ruby of Westchester PR Agency Ruby Media Group weighs in

In 2012, divorce lawyers surveyed by Divorce-Online UK said that Facebook was implicated in a third of all divorce filings the previous year.

Almost one in five online divorce petitions dealt with by one firm cite Facebook in one way or another.

It is now easier then ever to catch your spouse cheating on social media sites such as Facebook, or even the new dating review app Lulu, which enables women to tap into their existing Facebook network to review the males performance and likeability “ratings” she is associated with from her Facebook friends.

Imagine how shocked you would be to find out that your husband was just rated on Lulu last week by an anonymous Facebook friend on his “performance.” Social media cheating scandals like this are happening at an increasingly high rate. In order to be prepared for a social media cheating scandal, you need to have a social media pre-nup in place which covers digital cheating.

The world has changed- has your pre-nup changed with it to reflect the new rules of dating?

Top 4 ways to check if your partner is digitally cheating

Ask your active “Tinder” friends to see if they spot your partner on the dating app

Do a quick Lulu search to see if your partner has recently been reviewed

Check to see if you notice any suspicious Facebook inbox messages

The new Mac software links imessages to multiple devices. If anything is suspicious, this is another clear giveaway.

If you find anything, don’t delete it. Take a screenshot and capture it.

Looking for ways to re-engage your social media audience? Here are RMG’s top tips to re-engage, re-energize and re-fuel your social media content strategy.

We recently read a great article over the weekend by Drew McLellan discussing the 10-year Anniversary Facebook movies Facebook allowed users to create. He raised an interesting question: “If your Facebook Business Page had a movie, what content would show up in it that your fans took the time to enjoy?” We really agree with his main point here-“Seems like this movie gift was a very good reminder to all of us that Facebook (whether it is our personal page or a business page) is all about the audience and what they care about.”  As a follow up to his article, we came up with some fresh ideas for your business to re-engage your social communities.

Tweak Go through Facebook insights and look at the top 10 highest ranked posts by your fans. What did they care most about? What did they like and share the most? Tweak your content strategy accordingly to what your fans find most interesting, not what you find most interesting.

Monitor Selfie Hashtags for your Brand Create a selfie campaign for your customers. While I do not advocate open ended “selfies,” I do think they are a powerful tool for brands to connect with their customers. Search the hashtag of your brand on Instagram and Twitter. What photos do people post with this hashtag when they are using your service, at your restaurant, or experiencing your brand? Connect with that content and make that a central focus of your social strategy.

Tell Better Stories Understand your brands story and tell it. One of the biggest mistakes brands still make on social media in 2014 is using social channels as a promotional tool versus a storytelling tool. Understand what story your brand is trying to tell, and use social media as a way to tell the story. Every post every day should be a different way to tell the central story. There is a direct correlation between positive brand story telling and user engagement.

Measure The best way to re-engage fans is to measure what is working. Measure what your fans really connect with. Another big mistake brands make is getting lost in the editorial content calendar shuffle. They are so obsessed with posting and keeping up with the social media rat race that they forget to actually measure what’s working. Pause. If you are not continually measuring what has the greatest impact with your audience, you will lose followers, and it will ultimately damage the value of the community you are trying to create.

For more helpful social media tips for your Westchester, Greenwich or Manhattan business, contact kruby @ ruby mediagroup.com