Attracting media attention is a double-edged sword: You want the coverage of television, print, online, and radio journalists, but they are often on deadline and need your information last-minute.

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Social media has dramatically raised the stakes for publicists who specialize in damage control communications. Three examples of this are mapped out in the infographic from Alterian we’ve reproduced below.

How do these examples compare with your own experiences on Facebook? Let us know what you think of the infographic by posting your reactions in the comments section beneath this post.

Don’t let your Facebook content lose its sizzle just because summer is over. Here are five tips to keep Facebook posts hot and spicy even as the temperatures cool off. Read the rest of this entry »

Use caution in leveraging the millions of Facebook users or your marketing will take a dive.

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Facebook added to its rapidly growing communications team with the hire of former television news producer Jennifer Yuille, who will be based in New York.

Mike Allen’s POLITICO Playbook had the details Friday morning:

She will be leading consumer media efforts. She’ll…be spending time in Palo Alto. She starts at the end of July.

According to her bio, Yuille is an award-winning journalist who has produced for CBS, MSNBC, and CNN. Last year, she left the CBS Evening News, as the producer for Katie Couric, to join Silicon Valley startup Polyvore. She graduated from the University of Michigan, where she majored in communications and Japanese.

This move continues the flurry of hiring activity in the communications department at the social networking site.  Over the weekend, we shared the news that Sarah Feinberg, former assistant to President Barack Obama, was joining the Palo Alto team in California. Former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart, who was named vice president of corporate communications last month, also worked for NBC in Washington. Most if not all of the recent public relations hires share backgrounds in politics and national news media.

As the company continues to grow and it faces the usual pressures from competitors, regulators, politicians, and the like, Facebook will need professionals schooled in crisis communications and rapid response to react to a 24/7 news cycle.

Readers: What do you think of Facebook’s overall communications efforts? Any ideas for improvement?

Our post “8 Essential Tricks for Publicists Using Facebook” drew several comments and even more recommendations from readers. We listened and thought we’d list these additional tips that public relations pros can use to spread their messages more effectively.
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Publicists have been telling their clients that it’s impossible to completely control what the media says — and today’s top story about Facebook epitomizes that.

Facebook has conceded it hired Burson-Marsteller to try to seed anti-Google stories, specifically panning the search giant’s privacy practices, or lack thereof.

A blogger (Christopher Soghoian, pictured) approached by Burson-Marsteller decided to publicize the attempt to seed an an anti-Google story.

Now various hacks are saying that all of this tarnishes Facebook’s reputation among the media.

But outside of journalists and bloggers, does anyone else really care?

Does the social network need to do any further damage control, or is it time to move on?

We’re curious to know your opinion here: What sort of public relations tactic, if any, do you think Facebook ought to utilize here?

Please vote in our reader poll below and share your voting rationale in the comments section. Then check back later to see how others have voted.

Back in September, AllFacebook reported on how Southwest Airlines uses its Facebook page. After an incident at Midway Airport in Chicago Tuesday, media relations should be added to the list.
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Some people call public relations one of the most stressful professions today. So P.R.  pros need all the help they can rally up.  Thankfully, there are multiple resources within Facebook that flacks can turn to — here are some of their favorites.
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Facebook is well known as an advertising platform but an event last week could signify a closer relationship with another branch of marketing – public relations.
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