Author Archive

Simple, short, and sweet. Period. The end.

By Sharon Harper on October 13th, 2009

Brevity is de rigueur for PR professionals, especially when it comes to pitching—both traditional journalists and bloggers. And while we’re now using social media to assist with these efforts, these tools have created an entirely new dimension of brevity.
A leader in the PR and social media world, Peter Shankman suggests that brevity is among [...]

“Free” advertising?

By Sharon Harper on September 17th, 2009

When it comes to social media, some people are keen on writing about the pecan-encrusted tilapia or risotto Milanese they had for dinner. Others—nearly 20 percent of them—are tweeting about brand names or products, according to the “Twitter chief scientist” at Penn State University. He and a doctoral student sought to uncover why [...]

Roc Rocks!

By Sharon Harper on June 24th, 2009

Rochester is home to considerable communications talent. On the heels of yet another successful Addy Award ceremony, the Public Relations Society of America Rochester Chapter celebrated the 20th year of its annual PRism Awards program. The event was held on June 11 at Casa Larga Vineyards.
The PRisms acknowledge the highest standards of performance in public [...]

The art of WOM

By Sharon Harper on May 27th, 2009

It was tough getting back to the grind yesterday after a relaxing Memorial Day weekend, which began with a family visit in Connecticut (truly there’s no place like home, but only in small doses…). I grew up in a small town surrounded by state forest with three traffic lights and one recent fast food addition. [...]

Social media for change

By Sharon Harper on April 30th, 2009

In my previous blog post, I wrote about Twitter…particularly about its growth rate and how it competes with Facebook. That was not very long ago and, yet, so much has happened since. Oprah endorses the micro-blogging site; Ashton Kutcher is the first to exceed one million followers; and the Rochester community prepares to host its [...]

Social media duke it out

By Sharon Harper on April 9th, 2009

Twitter and Facebook are seasoned veterans of the social media scene. Yet, there continues to be considerable discussion around these two behemoths of late—particularly when it comes to their mind-boggling growth rates.
Twitter is a phenomenon in its own right. With a 1,382% annual growth rate, it’s hard to disagree. There’s even talk about Google acquiring [...]

What’s PR got to do with it?

By Sharon Harper on March 12th, 2009

I was thrilled to have been chosen as a RIF RAF blogging team member. Ever since, I’ve been looking forward to my inaugural blog post. Yet I’ve also been debating what to write about, because I am a PR girl in RAF’s largely advertising world.
It seems there are several misconceptions about what public relations [...]