The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Twitter can be a great way to connect with customers and show off your brand’s personality. But is it safe to be sarcastic? 

There’s a thin line between being clever and sounding mean, and you don’t w…

A public relations crisis and a public relations issue are two very different things. 

Many in senior leadership are unaware of this distinction, preventing their communication teams from planning pro…

When a business faces a crisis, it can use a variety of crisis communication tactics, but changing its name may not be the best option.

On today's episode, we'll examine if changing a business name wi…

Public relations campaigns can work wonders when it comes to generating awareness and interest in your business, but they can also be expensive without any guarantee of success. 

Geofence advertising …

Actor, writer, and director Ben Affleck recently went on a promotion tour for his film The Tender Bar.

One line from Affleck's over two-hour interview with Howard Stern went viral, causing even bigger…

The key to managing a digital crisis is to unlock the cause of the crisis in the first place. Critical data and information can be found in conversations and traffic on social media and websites. 

Za…

The story of Alec Baldwin in the aftermath of the tragic shooting death of Halyana Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust" is worth following if you follow public relations and crisis communication.

Fr…

The actor Jake Gyllenhall knows all too well that bad publicity may not be the best publicity when your name is trending because you broke up with a girlfriend more than ten years ago.

Having this ex…

Media trainer Warren Weeks joined me in a webinar to discuss the top mistakes he sees many spokespeople make and how to fix them.

Our episode discusses how to overcome these common media interview cha…

A media interview could lead to one of three outcomes:

1. You nail it.
2. You get through it. 
3. Your poor performance creates its own crisis. 

Knowing how to prepare for a media interview increases the likeliho…

If an employee causes a crisis for his employer due to actions that go viral, the company needs an immediate response. 

Case in point, Southwest Airlines pilot, who used the phrase "Let's go, Brandon,…

Making news for the wrong reasons is simple. Just screw up publicly, and you're on your way to going viral. 

Bad news spreads fast, especially on social media. 

To make a positive story newsworthy, you…

Here's what we know about the fatal shooting on the set of Alec Baldwin's movie set. 

• Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that struck cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest, and the director, Joel Sou…

Vaccines are on the minds of many businesses, especially small and midsize employers. 

About two-thirds of small employers believe their employees should be vaccinated, and more than half receive ques…

It only takes a few moments for people to form an opinion about you when they see you speak in public. 

If you nail it, your reputation is boosted. 

Bungle it - your reputation is at stake. 

If you want…

In the week since an Amtrak train derailed in rural Montana, killing three people and injuring dozens more, federal investigators are still trying to determine what caused the derailment.

Despite the …

What happens when an army of people begins to dig to solve a mystery? 

They quickly find answers. 

The intense interest in the Gabby Petito missing case (now murder) also led to an intense interest in …

We've all done it.

The email is written.
The email is sent.
The email is WRONG.

Even though sending a mistake via email is a universal problem, the feeling of having an entire distribution list open that…

In this episode, how to use the backpedal in a PR response - but only if you really need to. 

Exploring the use of this response tactic as a communication for self-defense. This tactic is used as a r…

From time to time, it is normal to be anxious when you are in front of a group of people.
 
Whether it's in a group of people gathered at a work conference social hour or speaking alone on stage, being…