A media relations and video production client argued these services are part of his overall effort to build his brand, spread the word about his business and position himself as a leader in his field. He is less concerned about crunching numbers to calculate how appearing on television or posting video on his website directly impacts his bottom line. In fact, he doubts such concrete calculations exist. This philosophy reminds me of why business people wear sharp suits or top-notch outfits. The conventional wisdom is such clothing impacts their image, especially when meeting potential new clients for the first time. However, I find it highly unlikely someone could determine how much more business someone obtains by wearing a fancy suit versus a raggedy T-shirt. People don’t ask for such statistics. They simply understand looking good is a strategic part of the overall package.

Many applications offer analytics to help us determine how various efforts truly impact our business. Some analytics come with cool titles. Others offer numbers that appear relevant but some of us aren’t exactly sure what they mean. It’s like someone is building a road in the right direction, but we’re not actually clear if it will get us where we want to go. Perhaps these applications employ top secret formulas above our understanding. But maybe some of these analytics are more marketing than mathematics.

Sometimes simple anecdotal information is the most rewarding. One day, while visiting the office of the client referenced above, some people calling in said they scheduled appointments after watching the website’s new video. The client learned this using a simple formula:  When the new clients called, his staff asked “How did you hear about us?” Also, the video has received a large number of hits. That’s more eyeballs on his business although we don’t know if those hits turned into paying customers. This same client now is on the first page of Google. But he told me he’s not sure if that’s translated into more appointments.

A media relations client says after his story appeared on television, he received 20 leads. He simply set up a formula asking people how they came across his company.

Another video client says it’s no coincidence the company’s website visits significantly increased after posting two videos. He declared the videos brought an immediate and positive impact. He wrote: “Well, from this end there is the tangible measurement of web traffic increase after the release of each video … Tons of anecdotal stuff … which I feel is the best.”

If you read blogs and browse social media, it’s clear some of the public has an obsession with a concrete equation to determine how services such as video, media relations and social media directly translate into making money. On The Flip Side, some companies that provide these services also appear obsessed with trying to deliver that formula. I remain skeptical. I read a case study in which a company argued on its website how its digital services directly impacted a business’s sales. But even after reading this well-written case study, I’m not sure I’m buying the connection.

Sometimes, companies must simply use common sense to determine whether a technique is working for them. The answer may not be 1 + 1 = 2. But you might just know success when you see it.

This is the top of an email someone sent me. When I read “SATELLITE INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY” surrounded by eight stars, I did not assume this was a golden opportunity. Interviewing someone via satellite isn’t necessarily cool. I would prefer to interview someone locally face-to-face. Simply the word “satellite” did not make me feel one step closer to imagining myself as a correspondent with The Today Show.

I’m not sure why the person who crafted this email considered it important to put “SATELLITE INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY” at the top of the email. With the stars, we’re only missing some neon. Many journalists see satellite dishes nearly every day on top of their buildings. Someone offering reporters the opportunity to use one firsthand is like offering free tickets to a professional athlete.

The worst part about most satellite interviews is they usually provide you with nothing more than a talking head. After the interview, you rarely get an opportunity to shoot video of the subject to add visuals and audio that help bring a story to life. Plus this interview was available on one particular day during a certain time period. Journalists don’t typically work well around other people’s schedules.

I arranged satellite interviews as a last option. But they don’t always go off without a flaw. Too often I found myself tracking down ten people at a station to ensure someone in the building properly set up and recorded the interview. It’s not as if some techno genius pumps the satellite feed right into a journalist’s desk computer. I eventually dropped satellite interviews and instead went with Skype or even a basic, recorded phone conversation with someone’s head shot placed on a graphic. The recorded phone interview doesn’t come packaged with much flair, but it’s easy, quick and provided far fewer problems.

You might be thinking, “Why are you so against pitching satellite interviews? I see them all the time on morning news shows.” That’s true. Both those satellite interviews typically involve Hollywood stars, a political pundit or someone who shot the latest YouTube viral video. The email I received was an opportunity to interview a master plumber/contractor. I like my chances of finding someone similar locally.

Opportunity only knocks once, but plastering ”SATELLITE INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY” at the top of the pitch won’t encourage most journalists to answer your email.

A company asked us to shoot a video in its lobby. In the area, people were walking in the building, going up and down stairs, going in and out of a nearby bathroom and in general, heading to and from places connected to the lobby. Employees often are talking to each other, looking down at their smart phones or lost in their own personal worlds. Our first task wasn’t setting up the shot. Our first task was setting up the shot safely.

We needed an electrical outlet for our lights. But the nearest outlet was around a corner where people were walking in and out of the bathrooms. We needed to stretch not one but two extension cords to the outlet without tripping people. We ran one extension cord pressed against a wall and taped it down in several places to ensure it was as flat as can be wedged into the corner of the floor. We stretched the second cord from the wall across the walkway accessing the bathroom to the outlet. We taped down this cord as much as possible to avoid it from buckling upward. We grabbed two bright orange sandbags and placed them on top of the extension cord on each side of the walkway. The orange sandbags were an extra layer of safety, grabbing people’s attention before they even stepped close to the extension cord.

We set up our lights and used a sandbag to weigh down the light stands to help prevent them from toppling over. We never place our camera on top of the tripod unless someone is standing next to it to hold it. It also helps when you have extra help who can direct people around the area. When estimating your time to set up a shoot, you can’t just assume you walk in and set up. You must allow for time, sometimes a lot of time, to devise a strategy on how to shoot video safely. Some people aren’t paying attention. They aren’t expecting a tripod or lights around the corner. You don’t want them to get hurt. You don’t want them to damage your equipment. You might shoot a beautiful video, but not taking safety precautions will quickly turn the day ugly.

Since leaving college, I’ve thought it odd when bosses feel upset, betrayed or irritated when a good employee decides to take a job somewhere else. I hope if I were an employer, I would thank employees for their contributions and congratulate them on a new position they believe would improve their quality of life.

But I continue to hear stories of employees leaving on uncomfortable terms. I’m not referring to shouting matches. I’m speaking of snarky remarks and ungrateful comments that ensure boss and employee won’t be later sharing Facebook posts.

Employees share these stories. And when awkward goodbyes become a trend, an employer gets a reputation. Some bosses feel no matter how many disgruntled players leave, they’ll simply draft suitable replacements. But I believe one disgruntled good player after another can’t continue to leave without some sort of eventual impact on the bottom line.

Too often many companies seem to forget their employees are customers and brand enthusiasts. The way employers handle a farewell could mean they either keep or lose these key stakeholders.

Our recommendation is for employers to at least try to be the bigger person and be remembered as someone who sent a worker off with a great farewell. Send out a positive memo to the staff. For excellent employees, throw a party or farewell lunch. Don’t allow the disagreements at the end of someone’s stay stain another good relationship. Being nasty at the end could bring negative effects lasting a lot longer than the employee’s last walk out the door.

A fellow reporter introduced us to “his” intern from Arizona State University. The intern walked into a cesspool of cynical people sitting in their seats. As if fathers warning their sons, several people surrounding me warned the intern to re-direct his career path away from broadcast journalism.

When the reporter introduced the intern to me, I told him to “follow his dreams.” The group exploded in laughter. I unintentionally tried to inspire the college student with words said in a deadpan fashion. I portrayed myself as a beaten man giving one last thumbs up before my head disappeared into quicksand. Until the day I left the TV station, co-workers randomly told me to “follow my dreams.”

I genuinely meant, “follow your dreams.” I know firsthand broadcast journalism isn’t always glowing in the glory of Walter Cronkite. Instead of regularly saying thank you for your contributions, some stations simply hope you appreciate being employed. Instead of handing you a company credit card for out-of-town stories, some stations will want you to pay up front and ask you, if you forgot to obtain an itemized receipt, to call the restaurant and request someone to fax the necessary documentation related to your meal. (The restaurant may hesitate to help you because the station required you to give the nice waitress a tip you consider to be low.) While some stations are happy to try to meet your vacation requests, others will ask you to calculate every day off a year in advance. While some stations will congratulate you on a new job and notify the public of your part in the company’s success, other stations will view anyone who leaves as a cousin of Benedict Arnold. While some stations will watch your time with James Bond technology, other stations will define your efforts by quality not quantity. And some stations simply pay better.

Young journalists shouldn’t walk into any job as if they landed on a new planet of shiny, happy, perfect people. But young journalists also should follow their dreams and never let a disgruntled news veteran discourage them. Most of my college classmates in broadcast journalism never tried for their first job after hearing the salary and the small city they might initially live in. I, on the other hand, rented an apartment in North Carolina, drove about an hour each way to work and smiled like a young fool filled with passion.

Follow your dreams. I mean it. And if a station inexplicably takes months to reimburse your out-of-town expenses after you light up the airwaves with a series of awesome live shots, don’t worry. You’ll eventually get your money … I think.

Some social media blogs remind me of a game of musical chairs. The author re-arranges the words but tells me nothing new.

Some businesses don’t want to invest time in social media. So they hire someone. Some businesses approach social media as they would direct mail or a billboard. So they should hire someone. But social media doesn’t need to be complicated. Some people simply make it that way.

Good social media strategy doesn’t seem much different than strategy used by door-to-door salesmen decades ago. Good salesmen didn’t knock on doors and shout “buy, buy, buy!” They tried to make a personal connection with people who opened the doors. They tried to provide useful information. They offered pictures and demonstrations, which businesses now post on social media. Good salesmen also hoped to create fans. For the most part, social media is similar but on a different platform. The biggest difference between then and now is measuring return on investment.

Social media: Keep it real. Keep it a source of information. Try to start conversations. You don’t need to get fancy.

Dr. Grey Stafford of the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium appeared on The Tonight Show. The Flip Side Communications interviewed him via Skype about beating the competition with your story pitch, what to include in your pitch, creating a connection with the media, how pitching a story is like the stock market, the most challenging part of a story pitch and tapping into a TV personality.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s 10:52am and a TV producer is asking if one of our clients is available for a shoot. But when?

“Before 12:30”

“Today or tomorrow?” I ask.

“Today” is her one-word answer.

I have essentially one hour to contact our client, confirm he is free, ensure he can meet at the producer’s requested location and check if the location will let a TV camera inside.

This is the Bermuda Triangle where many businesses and PR pros get lost. When I reported on air, I often called a business or public relations representative and explained the station wants to shoot today, within an hour or two, a previously discussed pitch. The business often couldn’t fulfill such a request. PR pros couldn’t quickly connect with their clients. They lost opportunities. They asked if the station could shoot the story the following day. The following day, the station typically moved onto the latest, greatest idea.

Journalists have a need for speed. Businesses who are serious about obtaining media coverage must expect the unexpected and be ridiculously flexible. Public relations firms must explain this to their clients ahead of time. Journalists don’t often care about your schedule and the game of musical chairs you must play to meet their requests.

In my case, I reached the client, I got him to the requested location and the location welcomed the TV camera. Maybe I enjoyed some luck. But I also prepared our client for moments such as this. He understood. You can’t be picky. So get ready for a quicky.

Here are some replies I’ve received from reporters who liked my story pitch:

“Uh u know as well as I do, what I think doesn’t matter.”

“I like it, but these producers don’t listen to me.”

“They didn’t bite, sorry!”

“My producers passed on this idea.”

Journalists sometimes don’t actually like your story idea. They fault editors and producers to avoid the awkward moment of saying they don’t like the pitch you spent so much time crafting. But I attended many editorial meetings when reporters passionately pitched someone’s idea. Co-workers nodded their heads in approval. But a producer sat in silence planning to justify why something you didn’t care about was more significant. Yes, the argument may have contradicted the rational he or she gave only a week earlier, but you could see out of the corner of your eye the cane preparing to pull you off stage.

Reporters may get some of the glory. But editors and producers often wield the wand of power. Getting a journalist to pitch your story is only half the battle. Getting the producer you can’t see to say yes is how you achieve victory. Learn what producers want and what they think makes a good story. Just don’t be exasperated if what they want changes from week to week. Because producers will tell you it doesn’t matter what they think. The managers don’t listen to them.

The story airs Friday. I defeat the Dark Side. I obtain publicity for a client without abandoning one of my journalistic principles. Would you have done the same? Would you have instead taken all the coverage you could? Would you have taken the sure bet Thursday story over the possible Friday one? I stand by my decision.