Boardroom Communications is proud to announce that we have been ranked No. 1 in the inaugural edition of the Daily Business Review’s “Best of 2012” in the category of Best Public Relations firms.

The DBR asked its readers to cast votes for their favorite vendors. Voting took place in September via electronic surveys that were sent to readers. There were 56 categories of businesses that support the legal, real estate and finance communities. The DBR received more than 6,400 votes.

Now in its third decade, Boardroom Communications has a long-standing history of working with companies in the legal, real estate and finance communities. We are a statewide leader in the representation of law firms. We have cultivated that expertise over many years and have long-standing relationships with local and national legal reporters and editors.

Boardroom’s experience working with real estate-related companies ranges from the promotion of new projects to building client credibility. We have a formidable track record of success representing commercial real estate companies, developers, contractors and luxury residential brokerages.

As financial industry media relations specialists, we know the importance of monitoring current events, trends and other matters important to our clients. We have represented some of the largest Florida banking and financial institutions, as well as wealth management companies and investment firms.

We are grateful for the vote of confidence we received from those who voted for us and we will continue to not only meet, but to exceed the expectations of our clients in the new year.

On Wednesday, Boardroom Communications attended the National Multiple Sclerosis Society South Florida Chapter’s Hostess luncheon at The Capital Grille in Boca Raton. It was a wonderful luncheon that celebrated all the hostesses and the hard work they have put into the MS Gala Luncheon that will be held January 23, 2013.

Around 50 people attended the luncheon to hear the honorees and chairs make speeches, while dining and celebrating the success of the South Florida chapter.  Hostesses are responsible for filling one (or more tables) with 10-12 guests of the minimum $150 donation, with additional levels indicated on the reservation card.

The luncheon will be held at Sheltair Hangar and will be an afternoon filled with fun, food and fashion!

In the Monday, October 29th edition of the Miami Herald, Boardroom Communications’ Chief Operating Officer Don Silver offers advice on how to react to online consumer reviews.

“Smart business owners and managers watch for unhappy customers and respond in ways that turn a negative into a positive.”

Don explains that how you react to a negative Yelp or Ripoff Report review says a lot about you and your business. The right reaction can have a big impact on how potential customers view you. This is an important aspect of your online reputation management (ORM.)

To check out Don’s article for more tips on ORM, click here.

On Oct. 25, our client, Bal Harbour Shops, will celebrate the unveiling of more than 60 auction lots -valued at more than $300,000 – that will go to the highest bidder on November 10, the night of Destination Fashion.

Destination Fashion is the only time that Bal Harbour Shops closes its doors to the public to raise money for a good cause. All of the proceeds will benefit The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.

At this, “Not So Silent Auction” each participating store will have its auction merchandise prominently displayed, along with a bid sheet to give supporters 15 days to place competing bids for their favorite items.

The list of items up for bid is unbelievable. You won’t know where to start. There are dazzling diamonds for her, including a Harry Winston diamond timepiece valued at nearly $35,000.

For the GQ guy, Kiton is offering a made-to-measure suit valued at $8,000.

Trips abound including a three-night trip for two to Paris compliments of Breguet. Once you arrive, you will spend your days in luxury accommodations and dine at the finest Parisian restaurants. While there, visit the Breguet Museum at Place Vendome and receive a private guided tour by Emmanuel Breguet. Minimum bid $20,000 for this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Total value: $35,000.

Salvatore Ferragamo’s donation is sure to be a shoe-in with the ladies. The Italian luxury footwear designer is auctioning off a pair of women’s shoes each month for an entire year! This treat for your tootsies is valued at $6,000.

Neiman Marcus is offering an exciting day with Venezuelan IndyCar Drive EJ Viso. You and a guest will receive total access to one of the Florida 2013 races, as well as a tour of EJ’s official race car, passes to the pit and radio headsets to listen in on what is being said. But wait, there’s more! The package, valued at $2,500, comes with his and hers luxury watches by Orefici, EJ Viso’s official time keeper.

Click here for a complete list.

Facebook has been working hard to enhance their features, making it easier for businesses to target the right people at the right time. Their latest and greatest is the “Page Post Targeting” feature, allowing brands to market to a specific target audience. By specifying a targeted segment of viewers post by post, brands can now customize their marketing strategies.

How does it work?
Page Post Targeting enables you to choose specific variables among your current followers, and then only send posts to their News Feeds based on these variables:

- Age
- Education (high school, schools attended, education level)
- Gender
- Interests
- Relationship Status
- Language
- Workplace
- Location

EX: Let’s say you are running a campaign that is only valid to women living in Miami. You will now be able to post a status/photo/etc. and only make it visible to female followers of your page who live in the Miami area.

The good & the bad

Good

- Control over who sees what
- Offer a special/give a tip that is relevant to a certain group
- Increase sharing within targets due to similar interests

Bad

- Targeted posts only show up on the News Feeds of those followers you are targeting
- ALL posts will remain on your page wall
- If you want to remove posts that don’t apply to everyone, you will need to manually go in and “hide” them
- Limiting potential reach by targeting
- Some people may not share all their information on their profiles, thus leaving them out of the target criteria

Here at Boardroom, we are ready to use the new Targeted Posts with our clients. Miami fashion designer, Rene Ruiz sells all over the world. If he has an upcoming trunk show at a store in New Jersey, we will now be able to specifically target women in the New Jersey area to get the word out via Facebook.

Click here to read a recent article from Open Forum for more information.

Are you using Pinterest to market your business?  If you haven’t heard, it’s a social network that allows users to visually share images and then like, repin, or comment on them. This sharing is done either on Pinterest or other social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

As Pinterest puts it, it’s a social network meant to connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting.

If you have a business that relies on driving a lot of traffic to your website, then Pinterest may be the way to go. Boardroom Communications has helped a couple of clients, including Brazilian furniture store Saccaro USA in Miami’s Midtown and trendy fashion designer Rene Ruiz.

The site operates on an invitation-only basis, but you can request to be invited. Or, you can ask someone who is already on Pinterest to invite you. It usually just takes a few days to get a response. While Pinterest does offer a connection to your twitter account, it does not offer one for Facebook business pages.

You can create one board, or many, depending on what you have to show off. Followers can follow your company, or just one of the boards. Because it’s all about connections, start following users who might want to follow you back.

While it’s easy to promote a business that has a lot of visuals, i.e. a designer or a furniture company, it’s a little harder to create a board when your business isn’t visual, but it’s not impossible.  Why not take some photos of people are work, create a board with executive headshots and be creative with the descriptions. Add art and graphics to your blogs and then pin them and link to the blog. Get your customers to send photos and add them to your board. Who better than a happy customer to market your company?

Remember, the goal is to create brand awareness and drive traffic from Pinterest to your website.

We are extremely excited to announce that Boardroom Communications made SFBJ’s list of the Top 25 PR firms once again. We’re #8 – with 2011 revenues over $2.15M! Thanks to our FABULOUS staff and terrific clients!

Here is the article in the South Florida Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/2012/07/the-list-top-25-public-relations.html

We appreciate all of our staff and clients and look forward to remaining a competitive PR firm for many years to come.

Media savvy business owners versed in public relations often have taken the time and effort to set up a media “chain of command,” designating whom is to speak if reporters or the media come calling. With some South Florida businesses – and those nationally, only the owner or most senior executive is licensed to speak.

For good reason. By establishing a “single voice” for the organization, it’s easier to ensure that the comments and information flow is consistent. What’s more, with comments coming from the president, the CEO or the chairman, the organization – by virtue of the comments themselves – gets positioned in the best light.

Follow the tips below to ensure your organization handles public comments wisely by finding the right partner, staffer or executive to speak publicly…

Decide who takes calls from the media. Is this the CEO or managing partner? Is it the president? If an organization has “co-leaders,” are both versed in the company line and appropriate to handle media calls? Decide before the call comes.

Set a media “chain of command” for when a reporter calls and asks, “Can I speak with someone who handles calls from the media.” Receptionist, admins or anyone answering the phones should know to never offer any commentary; instead, the caller should be transferred or directed to the one individual designated to take such calls (even if the person is not a quotable source, for example, a marketing director or publicist, who will facilitate the call).

If the “spokesperson” is not available, establish guidelines regarding who can represent the company and speak to the media instead. This should be a very select group – possibly only the most senior executives, and then, only after getting sample questions and after preparing for the interview.

Prepare before – and during – crises. Bad things can happen to good companies. Plan for a crisis. Have a game plan – who will answer calls, and how your crisis communications public relations team will help. If you don’t know a crisis communications firm, ask around your peer groups for a few recommendations and do some preliminary interviews – before you need them. “Preparing” includes media training. Knowing what – or what not – to say to the media doesn’t come naturally to all people. Sometimes, working with a public relations firm in advance on media training – that is, role-playing to discover what questions you might encounter and how to answer them – can help make executives comfortable being interviewed.

Avoid saying, “No comment” in response to a reporter’s question. It may appear the company is hiding information or avoiding the issue. Instead, say “We’re still looking into this matter and will gladly respond once we’ve learned more.”

This is not to say that a law firm with 75 attorneys wouldn’t be very well served by letting a department chair comment on a case or a specific topic when contacted by a reporter. Same goes for a business with vice presidents or managers highly knowledgeable in areas of interest to reporters. We’ll discuss this in our next blog: “When Expert Employees Must Be Released to Serve as Spokespeople.”

Are you using social media to do business?

Do you blog, tweet, “like” a product or service?  Or, do you find it all a big waste of time?

Faced with so many choices, many businesses simply don’t do any of the above. Recently, a client stated that while he had a LinkedIn account, he really didn’t know what good it would do him for his business.

For professionals, LinkedIn is a great way to connect, find people in the same profession, make referrals, get referrals and learn more about each other.

According to the latest statistics, there are more than 3.2 million CEOs and VPs, 3.8 million financial service professionals and 3.4 million technology leaders on LinkedIn.

Where else are you going to find such a vast universe of potential business partners and clients?

If you’re looking to become recognized as a go-to person in your profession, consider this: 92 percent of the media is on LinkedIn, and when looking for a source on a particular subject, many turn to the social media outlet.

If you want to stand out from the rest consider the following:

Make sure your profile is up to date with your latest jobs and responsibilities. Make sure it’s complete and interesting. If you read it as someone who didn’t know you, would you understand what you did for a living and how it could help someone else?

But just having a profile isn’t enough, you must engage in conversations within discussion groups and post regularly on subjects about which you are an expert. Putting up quotes from Albert Einstein or Gloria Steinem isn’t providing value. Give your readers something they can learn from.

Often clients talk about how they don’t want to “LinkIn” with every person who makes the request, and rightly so. Before clicking the “accept” button determine what you will learn or gain from connecting with that person. Google them to make sure they are who they say they are. If they say they work at a particular company, make sure they do. Anyone can claim to be anything.

Should you optimize your LinkedIn page by cramming it with keywords so that you come up higher in online searches? Not necessarily. Showing up higher up in Google searches may not get you the results you are seeking. You don’t need to be found by everyone, just the right people.

For the busy professional, LinkedIn can serve as a dynamic calling card and provide numerous opportunities to make valuable connections to grow your business.

Florida’s strong Cuban community is gung-ho for two things quintessentially American — the first, of course, capitalism, and the second, baseball. So when Time Magazine quoted Marlins Manager Ozzie Guillen saying, “I love Fidel Castro” this past weekend, things got a little fishy.

The Cuban community has made their voices loud and clear on this one, demanding that Guillen be fired from his post. The comment is not only insanely offensive, but it comes after the inauguration of the brand new Marlins stadium built in Little Havana this year. Who’s tax money do you think helped get that job done?

Today, Guillen inaugurated a crisis communications plan in attempt to make up for his hurtful words. “This is the biggest mistake of my life,” he said to a press conference. “When you make a mistake this big…I will learn from it.”

But honestly, Guillen is going to do have to do a tad bit better than that to win back the respect of the Latino and South Florida community at large. Suspended for five games, Guillen will have some time away from the ballpark to hopefully enact a smarter plan of action.

Guillen needs to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. He should take pause to truly educate himself on why it was that his words were so painful and ignorant, and share his reflections with the public. In his return on April 17th — ironically, the anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion — hopefully Guillen will address us with wise words on the day. He should look at this coincidental date as a public relations miracle, and correctly preparing for it may be the best way  to recover from the scandal.