#21 - 25 Best PR Tips According to 10 Best PR

#21 of 25 Best PR Tips Programmers wield HTML, PHP and Microsoft Excel with magic and power. In today's world, public relations is less handshaking and more social media, web design, customer loyalty programs and digital marketing, all of which require geekery. Front-end developers can optimize a user interface for ease-of-use. Graphic geeks can work magic with Photoshop, InDesign and PowerPoint. So familiarize yourself with publishing media. If you are not a self-proclaimed technophile, find someone who is, and buy him lunch.

#22 of 25 Best PR Tips To know YouTube is to know Millennials. Millennials love unique experiences, the latest news, flat authority structures and shared emotions. To know YouTube is to be funny and to be personable. YouTube can be utilized in dozens of ways, including video press releases, blog videos, customer testimonials, promo reels and more. Keep videos less than two minutes in length and include an attractive thumbnail image. Optimize for short-tail keywords and share, share, share.

#23 of 25 Best PR Tips Jaded listeners may not initially respond to press releases, social media advertisements or radio interviews, but everyone and his mother can appreciate donuts. Reel in your audience with enticing treats: theme park ticket coupons, glazed donuts or product discounts. Extend two hands: One with a press release, and the other with a gift.

#24 of 25 Best PR Tips Blogs have evolved from emotional dumping grounds into deep, fervent wellsprings of information. Some bloggers write from passion, some from experience, and some – not many – for profit. Approximately 10 percent of Americans author blogs, and Wordpress alone receives more than 300 million web page views every day. The blogosphere is the leviathan of the Internet. People trust bloggers, and therefore no public relations campaign can succeed with blogger outreach. Selecting a blog is simple. Browse blog directories to search by keyword, readership and activity. Read each target blog and leave relevant comments. When pitching, write informal letters that explain why the blogger and his or her readership will benefit, and offer to link back to the blogger's site.

#25 of 25 Best PR Tips Only Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie and God can speak into thin air and have reporters fall groveling at their feet. Other human beings must coax listeners like fish on a line. In other words, a public relations agent must either find or manufacture interest, and as columnist and creative wizard Russell Davies claims, the key to being interesting is to be interested. "Being good at sharing is not the same as talking and talking and talking. It means you share your ideas, you let people play with them and you're good at talking about them without having to talk about yourself." Share the podium. As Lou Hoffman recommends, "Let customers and analysts tell the story." Because that is what PR is: a story. It is a story of business, and the underdog, and how a business can brighten the story of its customers. These 20 top public relations tips are more than rules. They are characters in a story, and you are the author.