Organizations are fixated on what the news media will do to them when something bad happens. They dutifully write crisis communications plans and tuck them away, awaiting the dreaded phone call from a breathless reporter. But a crisis plan does little more than add a large dose of false security. Sooner or later something bad […]
The Art of the Informational Interview: Ten Commandments for Job Seekers in 2012
You graduated from college in May. You polished up your résumé (and shoes) and check the want ads every morning. So why haven’t you landed your dream job yet? I know how tough the job market is — I just went through my own search in 2011, and I’ve met with a handful of recent […]
Social Networks 101: Facebook for Businesses
Social Media’s Role in a 21st Century Crisis: Lessons Learned
At the North Carolina Chamber’s Media Relations & Crisis Management Conference in November, our own Albert Eckel moderated a panel on “Social Media’s Role in a 21st Century Crisis.” The panel included three unique perspectives: a news maker (Deborah Johnson, CEO of the North Carolina Pork Council), a news reporter (John Clark, executive producer of the Reese […]
Two MacBooks
In January of 2008, my good friend Albert Eckel and I launched this company. We filed the necessary paperwork and made a trip to the Apple Store. In one simple retail transaction, we opened our firm’s IT department. Two beautiful, black MacBooks were bought, loaded with a whole lot of software and a whole world […]
Social Media: Singular or Plural?
As a social media specialist here at Eckel & Vaughan, I am constantly reading and writing about social media. Through this, I’ve discovered an issue that I just can’t get over—when writing about “social media,” should the term be plural or singular? My AP Stylebook and old-school professors at UNC Chapel Hill would probably scream […]
Newt Gingrich Discovers the High Cost of Paying for Followers on Twitter
This week, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich learned a valuable lesson about paying for Twitter followers: not only did he put his reputation at risk; he also demonstrated that the strategy simply doesn’t work. It all began with Mr. Gingrich informing the Marietta Daily Journal: “I have six times as many Twitter followers as […]
Six Guiding Principles for Developing a Successful Social Media Strategy
Earlier this year, Eckel & Vaughan launched a new digital division focused on enabling our partners to more effectively integrate social media into their marketing and public affairs campaigns. We have always defined ourselves as a “conversation agency,” and social media platforms provide unparalleled opportunities to start conversations and get people talking about an idea. […]