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The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Episodes

Jan. 18, 2022

170: 5 Ingenious Ways Your Brand Can Respond to Social Media Bullies

Do you work for a brand, company or organization that has been attacked online? Social media has made bullying easier than ever before. In this episode of the Indestructible PR Podcast, we’ll discuss how social media bullies…
Jan. 11, 2022

169: Is it Safe for your Brand to Have a Snarky Twitter Account? with Dusty Weis

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 want your brand to cross i…
Jan. 4, 2022

168: What is the Actual Difference Between a PR Crisis and an Issue?

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 properly. In this episode, w…
Dec. 28, 2021

167: Can a New Business Name Get Rid of an Old PR Crisis?

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 will help if that name has…
Dec. 23, 2021

Bonus Stocking Stuffer: Why PR and Geofence Advertising Are a Match Made in Heaven

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 may offer an effective PR…
Dec. 20, 2021

166: 3 Media Interview Lessons from the Ben Affleck Interview with Howard Stern

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 problems for him and th…
Dec. 14, 2021

165: How Real-Time Data Can Keep You in Control in a Crisis with Zack Condry

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. Zack Condry, President of Ev…
Dec. 7, 2021

164: Alec Baldwin's Sit-Down with ABC News: A Public Relations Post-Analysis

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. From the first news storie…
Nov. 30, 2021

163: Is There Any Truth to the Saying, "All Publicity is Good Publicity?"

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-girlfriend record a song…
Nov. 22, 2021

162: The 3 Mistakes Most Spokespeople Make in their Media Interviews (and how to avoid them).

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 challenges straight from th…
Nov. 16, 2021

161: The Biggest Media Interview Mistakes of the Month (and what we can learn from them).

A media interview could lead to one of three outcomes: You nail it. You get through it. Your poor performance creates its own crisis. Knowing how to prepare for a media interview increases the likelihood of a positive outcom…
Nov. 9, 2021

160: The Best PR Response for a Rogue Employee Who Makes News

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," a euphemism considered …
Nov. 2, 2021

159: How to Think Like a Journalist and Make Your PR Pitch Land with Kristi Piehl

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 have to cut through a lo…
Oct. 26, 2021

158: How to Respond Publicly to a Tragic Event of Your Own Doing: Ten Steps to Control the Narrative During a Crisis

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 Souza, in the shoulder. Bald…
Oct. 19, 2021

157: Your Indestructible PR Tip for the Week is About Vaccinations

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 questions about vaccinations.…
Oct. 12, 2021

156: 3 Effortless Tricks To Be a More Confident Speaker with Kerri Garbis

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 to appear confident on s…
Oct. 4, 2021

155: The First 48 Hours: Amtrak’s Effective Crisis Response After the Derailment

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 rarity of situations suc…
Sept. 28, 2021

154: Why Social Media Sleuthing Can Bring it All Down Quickly

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 discovering why the case …
Sept. 21, 2021

153: How to Backtrack When You Send the Wrong Email

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 email and see your e…
Sept. 14, 2021

152: How to Successfully Manage a PR Backpedal: Mulaney, Hollis, Murdaugh, and OnlyFans

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 result of an incident in wh…
Sept. 7, 2021

151: 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Appear Easygoing When You're Nervous

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 able to calm yourself in…
Aug. 30, 2021

150: 10 Listening Tricks to Get the Most Out of Every Interview

Interviewing someone for a news story, video, or podcast can be extremely stressful. As an interviewer, part of your job - after you conducted your research - is knowing how to ask the right questions to get your source talk…
Aug. 24, 2021

149: How to Crush it on Twitter: 10 Ways to Build Authority and Thought Leadership

Are you someone who thinks Twitter is a waste of time? Or are you someone who understands the value of a social media platform with nearly 200 million active daily users, but feel the overwhlem of the site and don't know whe…
Aug. 17, 2021

148: How to Win the Trust Jackpot with Jordan Berman

According to guest Jordan Berman, leadership is about cultivating and maintaining the trust of others. In this episode, exploring three winning leadership characteristics that are key-drivers in high-trust organizations. Ber…