By, Aaron Blank
We hear it every day – “Twitter is changing the way we tell stories.” As a PR professional, I have to love it.
Twitter and the endless tools and apps that rally around it each have contributed to my professional development, my awareness of the community around me, my ability to connect with others at any time. More importantly, it has aided me in telling stories and to hear those of others.
When I was asked by Dana Hughens and the Clairemont Communications team (Raleigh, North Carolina folk) to carry the @PRBaton, I was immediately interested. Though in its infancy (I was baton twirler #3) it was the chance to help the PR industry tell a story about itself that excited me. People always ask – “what is it exactly that you do?” My answer is usually – we help build relationships for people and companies with people and companies. But it is way cooler and sexier to show your industry in a visually compelling way.
The PR Baton opens up a window in to our world. We’re fathers and mothers. Husbands and wives. We drink coffee or tea (or wine!). We have small offices or big offices or no offices. We run, jog or drive to meetings. We’re up early and go to bed late. We listen, read, taste and dream.
As a PR professional, no two days are alike. One day we are live streaming a major announcement, the next we are in the trenches with our clients strategically planning for 2014, or helping them through tough situations. In the morning, it is writing blog posts, by mid-day we are building out a social media strategy plan and come nightfall it is off to an event to support media. Big brands, small brands. Business to business. Business to consumers. From Forbes to the community daily newspaper. From C-Suites to those on the front line. Every day we get the chance to help people tell their stories – so who are we?
The Baton is a powerful new tool that displays our PR profession, brings it to life and shares a story from one end of the world to another.
Dana is thinking fearlessly. She and her team have created a simple concept, using off-the-shelf social platforms, to tell a story. The PR Baton does this so perfectly and it gives the world a straight up look at what Public Relations is really about in a visual way. The goal of it is simple – Show the world what a day in #PR looks like one photo at a time. It allows PR pros come together in an Instagram photo relay that offers a play-by-play pictorial of what it takes to make it in the PR business.
Dana, the Baton was a great experience. You have me hooked. You have my team hooked. As a result, we’re giving you the title of: “Ultimate PR Baton Twirler!”
My experience was documented. It came and went. If you missed it, you can still check out my PRBaton.com story to visualize my day and see exactly why I switched phones because of the Baton experience.