Every Thursday, socialTNT channels the spirit of citizen journalism by putting bloggers, reporters, PR pro’s or anyone with something to say about social media in front of the camera for a short, three minute interview. In addition to helping PR peeps pitch these individuals more effectively, the videos are meant to encourage dialog between reporters, PR/communications practitioners and marketers on the future of media.

While at interactive marketing and advertising conference ad:tech, socialTNT had the chance to catch up with fellow PR blogger Paull Young. We’ve enjoyed Paull’s blog, the Young PR Blog, for quite some time and couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. In today’s interview, Paull gives some advice to graduating communications students entering the workforce, and offers some tips to social media pr and marketers on how best to listen to your audiences.

Paull started off his career doing traditional PR at a Sports PR firm. In December of 2005, Paull started blogging his experiences as a freshly graduated PR professional. Less than a year later, Paull shot to celebrity status in the blogosphere by launching an “Anti-Astroturfing” campaign with Trevor Cook in July 2006. In March 2007, Paull left the big island of Australia for the Big Apple to join Constantin Basturea at social media communications firm Converseon.

As Paull’s career has evolved, so has his blog. No longer just a chronicle of his progression up the PR ranks, it now includes tons of tips, tricks, strategy and case studies. Check out this great post on using Twitter to form a conversation.

Fun Facts About Paull:

• Noted as being Australia’s first student PR blogger
• Huge Rugby Fan
• Conducted a world tour to meet with fellow bloggers
• In addition to Twitter and LinkedIn, you can also find Paull blogging at Forward
• Paull’s mom is also a blogger!
• Was recently on Fox News giving advice to Small Biz peeps

Watch as Paull explains the differences he’s encountered moving from traditional PR to strictly social media, gives advice to new PR pros entering the workplace, and shares a secret about listening to your audience.

How do you track the conversation around your clients? What advice can you give students graduating in May?

If you haven’t done so, please join PROpenMic, Robert French’s social network for communications students. They’d love to hear your insight

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Bummed about recent media relations lovers’ spats? As with Mr X and Ms Y from the break-up email, sometimes the relationship between reporters and PR flacks can be on-again off-again. In any healthy relationship, communication is the key. You have to listen to your partner, try to get to know them, prove you have listened and then show them you care.

Here are a few pointers on how to get your blogger groove back:

• How often does your wife get upset if you forget your first date? Bloggers/reporters care about that, too. Did you meet them at a MediaBistro or a Lunch 2.0 party? Follow-up and stay in touch, but stay respectful and professional.
• KNOW YOUR BLOGGER. Know what they cover. Look them up on Facebook. Get an RSS feed and eye it throughout the day. Seriously. You wouldn’t (or maybe shouldn’t) book reservations at an Indian place if you knew your spouse’s stomach couldn’t handle curry, so don’t send a video game pitch to a network security blogger.
• You don’t tell your partner you love them just on Valentine’s Day. Maintain your relationship, not just when you have news. It also doesn’t mean just through email. You can respond thoughtfully on their posts and participate in the discussion.
• Wow, a teddy bear that says “I love you!” So cliche. Don’t just send a blogger a press release. The best way to get heard is to remain clear and concise. Fluff-free writing and bulleted summaries serve that purpose best. Better yet: blog it!
• Like making a date, you have to be clear on embargoes: When and what time?
• Sometimes when your lover is ready to go, they are ready to go and you have to jump in bed at moment’s notice. Since blogs and online news run on a different cycle, you have to be available for quick follow-ups or briefings.
• Ok, so maybe you can’t find Mr/Ms Right. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Don’t limit yourself to Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. Look at tier two and tier three bloggers. Maybe their beat is more closely related to your product or pitch.

Traditionally, PR professionals would build relationships with reporters: meet for coffee, have the occasional social phone call, send thank you notes, etc. Today, we don’t have to have those offline, real world relations to build reporter rapport. With the advent of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn we can see casual sides, share interests (music, movies, hobbies), and engage in thoughtful conversation. But, you still have to do your homework.

We are all learning this together. Hopefully, too many witches won’t have to be burned before we get it right.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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