If you have logged into Facebook recently, there is no doubt your newsfeed is drenched [no pun intended;)] with videos of friends and family dousing themselves with ice water. The #IceBucketChallenge, as it is called, is a social media campaign that was put in place to help raise awareness for ALS, a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. If nominated, you have 24 hours to soak yourself with ice-cold water or donate $100 to the ALS Association.

Now while many believe that awareness can only go so far, we as PR professionals know that creating a buzz around your brand is the key to success. And for ALS, its proof of success is not just in word of mouth, but in the numbers as well.

In 2013, from July 29th- August 7th, ALS raised $14,480. This year, during the same ten-day period, ALS raised close to $160,000.

This viral campaign is proof that social media is truly the wave of the future and the quickest way to get the word out. It is important to understand that when people are talking about your brand, ROI is almost an inevitable by-product.  So if your business is in need of a pick-me-up, you should probably just throw a bucket of ice water on your head and post it to Facebook. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?

If you are engrossed in the media world, you know that the PR-Journalist relationship is a sacred one. We asked our friend and colleague, Danya Henninger, Philadelphia Food/Drink Editor at Zagat, for advice in navigating this tricky partnership by unveiling the do’s and don’ts from a journalist’s perspective.

 Q: What is your preferred method of contact from PR pros?

 A: Email. I know some tech reporters (Farhad Manjoo, NYT) who like Twitter DMs, because it   strips away the pleasantries and makes people get right to the point, but I primarily use email to organize everything. DO. NOT. CALL me with an initial pitch unless it's an exclusive, or scoop. However, I would still prefer to get a text to a call.

 Q: Roughly, how many emails a day do you receive from PR pros?

 A: 20-35, depending on day of week. More Mon-Wed, usually less Thurs-Fri. Nearly none Sat-Sun.

 Q: What was the worst email you have ever received from a PR pro? 

 A: Hmm. I don't want to name names or anything. But I can point to a worst. Characteristics included sentences that didn't relate to the ones previous, half-baked information (leaving out prices or leaving out other details), unrelated information in blubbering paragraph form, which led to this tweet: https://twitter.com/phillydesign/status/476322290226192384

 Q: How much time should PR pros give journalists to respond to their press releases?

 A: Depends on the industry. In food and drink, I think 4-5 days is a good measure for follow-up.

 Q: What is your opinion on follow-up emails? Are they annoying to journalists or a helpful reminder when things get busy?

 A: Useful. Emails can get buried fast. Just be honest that you are following up.

 Q: What is your biggest pet peeve when working with PR professionals?

 A: False pleasantries. You have a job to do, I have a job to do, let's do it together. "Happy Monday, hope you're well" is a waste of both of our time. See: https://twitter.com/phillydesign/status/392660197023305728

 Q: We've entered an age where every company and individual can be a media outlet with the capacity to create and syndicate content, has that altered the PR-Journalist relationship and how would you describe that relationship? 

 A: Definitely altered. I get more of my news from Twitter than from email. I love catching wind of new dishes or promotions on twitter. In this way, there's a chance to get ahead of the other journalists — not scoops, necessarily, because it's all public, but if you follow up (sometimes through the PR firm), you have a chance of telling a better story, first and faster. PR folks are still very important. Most of social media is put out there for the general public, not for journalists. Entities still don't want to deal with writer questions, that's why they hire PR firms. PR is still an important liaison.

 Q: Do PR pros depend more on journalists to do their job properly or vice-versa?

 A: Depends on the industry/beat. If you're a crime reporter, or write about school funding, you do not depend on PR folks. If you're in tech or food, you do. In those cases, it’s a two way street.

 Q: Can you tell a difference in a PR pro's approach depending on if they are local or from a different market? Do you prefer working with PR pros that are local or from different markets? 

 A: It's not so much local PR folks vs. out of town PR folks, but who their clients are. PR firms representing national clients (liquor brands, for example) are obnoxiously impersonal, while pretending to be your best friend. If a PR firm reps a local restaurant, they're usually responsive. That said, it's always nicer to work with local folks who really appreciate the entire vibe of the scene from minute to minute.

When you think of summer, you think of things like backyard barbecues, baseball, fireworks and fireflies. But over at Food Shelter PR, our mind goes straight to delicious summer seasonal craft beer.

Like most folks, we’re pretty obsessed with craft beer. We also want this blog to be a helpful resource for our friends in the industry. So we combined two of the things that we spend the most time doing: Drinking good beer and PR.  Here is a look at the PR industry through a pint glass.

1)   Experiment with new channels

Experimentation is at the heart of the craft beer culture. Breweries are constantly coming up with new ideas for beers and even breaking into the world of food collaborations, keeping customers on their toes.

PR Takeaway: Experimenting with a variety of media channels, whether it is YouTube, Twitter, Vine, or even just plain old email, can only benefit your clients. By taking full advantage of every media channel and resource available, you are putting yourself in the best position to get your message out to the public.

2)   Keep a good HEAD on your shoulders

If your beer doesn’t have a good head (aka the right amount of foam), it’s not going to taste all that great.

PR Takeway: Common sense and levelheaded thinking are always en vogue. If you don’t have a good head on your shoulders in the PR world, or just life for that matter, you are going to run into lot of trouble.  As a PR professional, you are faced with multiple challenges on a daily basis, but if you can think quickly and clearly, you and your business will thrive.

3)   Too much of it, will give you heartburn

Everyone knows that feeling. That feeling where you know that one last beer will take you over the edge, but you can’t seem to fight the urge to have just one more. I mean it tastes so freakin delicious, how can you resist?  And that’s when everything stops feeling incredible, and you just want a glass of water so your damn heart will chill out.

PR Takeaway: As a publicist, things are always a little bit nuts. Whether it is working with demanding clients or dealing with not-so-friendly journalists, your day is always a hectic one. That being said, you need to remind yourself to take a few deep breaths each day and just relax. If you keep taking on more tasks and let the craziness win, you, your clients and your career will suffer.

As teenagers, we distinctly remember allowing ourselves to fall backwards into the arms of our closest friends with complete faith that they would catch us. TRUST FALL, we would call it.

Now as working PR professionals, we’ve learned that the client trust fall takes some time (And by time we don’t mean 12 hours after the retainer is signed).

It is almost inevitable that you and your client will experience waves of ups and downs; it’s a natural part of the process. However, through hard word work and perseverance, you will eventually earn each other’s undeniable respect and be able to form a relationship based on mutual trust.

Recently, a survey done by RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates) and USA Today concluded that there are 4 ways to build trust in agency-client relationships:

1.    Focus as much on interpersonal communication as we do mass communication.

2.    Work with clients to better define and understand the evolving role of creativity.

3.    Support clients in recognizing the distinction between "different" and "risky".

4.    Practice the art of business as much as the art of PR.

Take these tips with you to your next client meeting and rest assured that your agency-client relationship will only flourish.

Word of advice: You might want to wait a few months on the trust fall..

In our experience, many of the people who are fantastic at what they do, rarely apply it to themselves or their own personal business objectives because their own needs take a back seat.  Food Shelter is no exception to that idea.  Despite counseling clients and initiating a number of new sites, we spent months, possibly years (really who are we kidding), of discussing what our own site needs in terms of updates, functionality, adaptability, etc. Well, we got fed up and the time has finally arrived.  We introduce our fresh, new look to all.  May it be nothing short of the riveting,  typo-free, easy to navigate and to those in need of a loud, tenacious, creative PR group, high up in the SEO rankings masterpiece it was intended.