For now, here are some of my Pins.

Even though the work didn’t stop here, it did slow down, and it’s been nice to have time to refresh, regroup, re-organize, etc., etc. The noggin’ needs a vacation every once in a while … especially before the new year kicks into full gear. As I stop and reflect on 2011, I think about what we’ve learned at L’Acadian:

1. Use resources: When trying to be original, there’s still no need to re-create the wheel or start from scratch. We have so many online resources to existing templates, promos, ideas, plans, presentations, and more. It may not always be the best use of your time to come up with the “most unique” of them all. You just need to tweak and improve.

2. More is not always better: When posting to a clients’ Facebook Page or Twitter Feed, we have to stop and think, “Would I care to read this?” If we don’t have anything to say, is it better to fill up the quiet space with noise or do we wait for quality content to come into play? We choose the latter. Jibber-jabber is just annoying, and besides, consumers know when you’re forcing it. The same applies for sending out press releases.

3. Push back. This has been a work in progress since the inception of L’Acadian 3 years ago, but as we gain more experience, we learn to say, “I’m the pro, and this is what I advise.” – Said in a non-arrogant tone, of course. :)

4. Tame the inbox. As we gain more clients, sign up for more newsletters, subscribe to more feeds, and on and on and on … our inbox can get OUT OF CONTROL! Personally, I schedule a time every week to clean out the inbox and spam, unsubscribe to newsletters I don’t read anymore and set certain chain of emails as priority. And as the L’Acadian team grows, this will become a part of standard training. Sounds fun, huh?

–Laurie Driggs Fontenot

1. Clients. I’m not trying to kiss up here. Ok, maybe a little. But without clients and the opportunity to work with amazing people and brands, L’Acadian wouldn’t be in existence.

2. Friends in the Industry. This is a broad category, and it goes even beyond PR and Social Media. Being on the consulting side, you could say that things could get a little competitive, but I’ve found that there are so many people out there who want to help you and want your business to succeed. So, to everyone that has referred business, answered my endless questions or brainstormed with me, I say thank you for being a friend and not just a “colleague.”

3. Google. And yelp. And Yahoo Answers. And Mashable.com. Etc. Etc.  The world wide web is an ocean of answers, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to go back to the days when we didn’t have it. Research has never been so easy and fun.

4. Tangible Results. For the past 2 years, Liza Jones of Full Circle PR, and I have talked about impressions and website visitors and what that really meant. e.g. Facebook Insights new reporting on Shares, Likes, Reach and Talking About This allow us to provide more substantial reporting. It seems like more and more brands are focusing on the quality rather than the quantity, the outcome and not the output.

5. Danielle. Last but not least, I’m thankful for L’Acadian’s new hire, Danielle. Because of her, I forget what it was like to constantly work nights and weekends, and that’s a GOOD thing!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Enjoy some Turkey. And if you’d like to try a new twist on your Turkey recipe, I’m going to throw in a shameless plug for our client, Bayou Teche Biere. Check out this link for the directions.

The other day I read an article about a communication meltdown that happened on ChapStick’s Facebook Page.  I was amazed that they handled the situation so poorly. Also, I wasn’t satisfied with their “apology” afterward.

Here is a quick rundown (please read the article for more in-depth info):

ChapStick posted an ad of a girl bending over, looking for her ChapStick in the couch. Some people were offended on what it seemed to represent and commented on what they didn’t like. It kept getting bigger, and the attacks started on ChapStick. Rather than addressing the comments or even deleting the photo, ChapStick proceeded to delete  the comments with the opposing and negative opinions (oh no!).  You can imagine this didn’t go over so well, so the fans and bloggers went wild!  Did I mention that ChapStick has a campaign ad called “Be Heard” going on right now?

Cutting to the chase here, for a company that wants to “hear” their fans, why would you delete their questions and comments? In fact, they let their fans know that they didn’t really care about what they said at all. In the end, no one remembers the “offensive” picture, but they do remember ChapStick’s disregard of their fans’ opinions.  And as for their apology … “We apologize that fans have felt like their posts are being deleted…” and “…we never intend to pull anyone’s comments off our wall…” Ummm…What? I’m new at this, but as brands struggle to become more personable, isn’t it better to ‘fess up like to what you did, apologize and promise to work on improving … like a person?

Guess it’s a plus for Burt’s Bees and Carmex!

I learned from some of my first courses in PR that transparency is always the best policy. The public always appreciates when a brand communicates with them. Even though fans did not like the ad, ChapStick could have done some crisis communication and avoided the whole crash and burn.  Address it, don’t delete it.

So there you have it, thoughts from a PR “noob” on communication.

Danielle K.

The weather is cooling off (and now back to warm again, at least in Louisiana), and Halloween is quickly approaching. With this holiday, come promotions packed with pumpkins, treats, goblins and ghouls. Almost all of the “big brands” are participating in the fun, so we did some snooping around on Facebook to find some cool Social Media promos and sweeps.

i.e. Starbucks is keeping things amusing by promoting their Pumpkin Latte through “Pumpkin Pic.” You upload your image and it goes on a pumpkin! How creative! Something that the kids can enjoy too. You can also view their gallery of pictures uploaded by others.

Wonka decided to entertain us with a game of “Wonkaween.”  You can battle ghosts, collect yummy candies and help to save the factory, all in a super cute “Wonkaween” costume! I thought this sweeps was a great idea to keep people coming back to your page and entering the sweeps.

Click here to view the embedded video.

·         For many students, including myself, we thought we were for the most part finished learning.

·         I thought that I had been completely prepared for my profession through my education with no need for adjustments.

·         I thought the constant changing of habits to environment (classes and professors) was done.

For instance, as I began to write professionally I found that I expected to jump right in with no alterations. I was wrong. Not only does my style of writing change but all those habits I formed in college need to be changed as well.

I spoke to a friend in my graduating class who has always been a good writer and his thoughts are the same as mine. When he turned in his first press release, his supervisor returned it to him saying he needed to practically cut it in half and make multiple adjustments.  His knowledge was there but not the technique for his position.

So the conclusion I have come to is this…

My misconceptions are in no way negative and have not hindered me in my career. If anything they have showed me that I can use them to fine-tune my skills. Continued learning is not a bad thing! And I have been prepared for my profession with the essentials, but there will always be new things to adapt to.

Things like writing style and technique change in every industry and every position. We will never stop learning and adjusting the skills we learned in college. We have our fundamentals, now we need to look forward to learning more about the real world industry and how our position changes with it.

Here’s the contest and prize details:

Watch out …  NCAA seems to be on the prowl. Ohio State players are being punished for accepting cash for their football memorabilia  while Miami’s program may receive the death penalty after accepting prostitute parties and more since 2002 from booster, Nevin Shapiro.  Now, my alma mater, LSU, has their own debacle. Jordan Jefferson and Josh Johns are suspended indefinitely after getting into a fight at Shady’s Bar in BR and being charged with 2nd degree battery.

Just like Public Relations has a code of ethics to follow, the NCAA provides guidelines to college teams and players. When you don’t follow the guidelines, there’s a price to pay no matter what industry you’re in (with the exception of politics, sometimes). Unfortunately, with the NCAA, the price payers are 18-22 years-old. It’s a tougher pill to swallow when you ask a 21 year-old college student to come home at curfew, to not drink excessively or to stay out of trouble, but when they sign onto the team, that’s it. They can forget a common college life! (Luckily, I wasn’t blessed with strength, endurance, speed and a desire to wake up at 6 am to run stadium steps, so my college life was full of  “common.”)

This is the biggest part of the debate with my husband … is it fair for a kid to be held at such high standards? Maybe not.  I understand that more pressures are thrown at them that they have to turn down and, for some, their Mama may not have taught them any better. But, at the end of the night, specifically at Shady’s Bar, a guy was sent to the hospital with 3 broken vertebrae. As hard as it may have been in the heat of the moment, “Break up the fight, Jefferson!”

At L’Acadian, when a client is scrutinized or in a situation where they feel the need to “fight” back, we have to remind them to take the higher road. It’s even more important when a business grows and receives more attention from the media or public. With more attention, you’re open to more criticism and you’re going to be “picked on” and punched (figuratively). In the same way a player signs on to a team, you sign on to build a brand, and it’s your responsibility to hold that brand to the highest standards.

“You can’t expect everyone to think like you,” says my husband (who, by the way, doesn’t forgive these athletes any more than I do). But I respond, “If the player were a client, it would be my job to make he/she think my way.” That comes off a little controlling, yes, but when the urge arises … we always advise to take the higher road.

My props to Les Miles, by the way. I’m reminded by Jeff Palermo from WWL in New Orleans, “This team has faced some very interesting challenges during Les Miles’ tenure. From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, to time-management issues, to back-to-back losses…they have always rebounded.” I agree, and as a fan, I think Les has done the right thing so far. On a positive note … Geaux Tigers!

Now, as for this Nevin Shapiro guy … phew, he’ll get his PR counseling in jail!