Here at Costa DeVault, we’re big fans of food. Doughnuts in the morning … brainstorming lunches … snacks in the afternoon — you name it, we’ll eat it! We recently surveyed the team to find out their local favorite restaurants. Italian restaurant Enzo’s Restaurant on the Lake, in Lake Mary, was the single most frequently mentioned place. Even more people like sushi, we just can’t agree on which restaurant in town is best: Seito, Naguya or Amura.

Some of our favorites:

• Linda – Enzo’s, Ravenous Pig, Luma, Greek Flame Taverna, PR’s Taco Palace
• Nathan — Enzo’s, Ravenous Pig, Five Guys, P.F. Chang’s, Luma
• Stuart — Enzo’s, Thai Singha, Bubbalou’s, El Coqui, Lee and Rick’s
• Christian – Seito Sushi, Texas de Brazil, High Tide Harry’s, Orlando Ale House, Havana Grill
• Alexis — Jax on 5th, Nagoya Sushi, Colorado’s Prime Steakhouse, Anthony’s Pizza, Mellow Mushroom
• Simone — Enzo’s, Disney’s California Grill, Fleming’s, Ravenous Pig, Del Frisco’s
• Brooke — Le Coq au Vin, Nonna, Ocean Prime, PR’s Taco Palace,Dexter’s
• Kristina — The Vineyard Grill, Greens & Grill, Amura, Gizmo Sushi, Enzo’s
• Summer — Columbia, Amura, Le Cellier Steakhouse, The Loving Hut, High Tide Harry’s
• Kelly — Houston’s, Hue, Ravenous Pig, Ceviche, Mellow Mushroom
• Heather — Seito, Anthony’s Pizza, Bosphorous, PR’s Taco Palace, Pannulo’s

We’re always looking for new places to check out. Tell us your favorites in the comments.

Photo credit: ekiben

Being in the Online Brand Development business, we read everything we can get our hands on about changes in the industry – and we regularly discuss everything from best practices for web design … to the incorporation of social media tools … to writing for search engine optimization. The interactive side of our agency has created a real opportunity for collaboration throughout the office – bringing the writers, account executives, designers, programmers (quite literally everyone) together to do it right. It makes for a more exciting process and provides a platform for intensely creative solutions to marketing challenges.

But real success in this ever-evolving medium can’t occur with “new tools” alone. True, you have to be ahead of the curve – but if you only look forward, you may fail to benefit from very valuable “lessons learned.” Yes, the new tools need a few old rules. The first, and most fundamental: The principles of good customer service that have been at play since the first sale was made remain at the heart of everything businesses should be doing to market themselves – online or anywhere else.

Some very successful companies know this all too well. The corporate culture behind Zappos.com and their commitment to good customer service has been widely reported and has catapulted the company from $1.6 million in revenue in 2000, $8.6 million in 2001. Last Wednesday, the company sold to Amazon.com for $850 million. In a recent BusinessWeek article titled “The Web Knows What You Want,” the writer explores how analytics companies are dissecting behavioral data to create technology that will predict what online shoppers want. The article likened this new technology to an in-store salesperson observing a customer’s body language and tone of voice so that they can better anticipate purchasing recommendations. (Interesting … new tools replicating “old rules.”) That analogy drove the very simple point home.

As the “what’s new” continues to evolve, we must remain focused on what really matters. And it begins with one of the oldest marketing tenets around: Know your customer.

More on how Costa DeVault’s take on “new tools and old rules” at the Orlando IABC meeting in November. Stay tuned to the IABC web site for more details.

Photo credit: striatic

For those of us who come from a traditional communications background, the idea of “crowdsourcing” messages, content or design can hard to grasp (even though it’s happening more and more frequently). As PR people, it’s still our job to shape messaging, but there are times when taking a cue from the masses can be the best decision. For example, when Southwest Airlines, an early social media adopter, began blogging, the posts focused primarily on company culture. As the readership grew, bloggers discovered that the community wanted to hear more about news as well. Likewise, Southwest’s Twitter stream has evolved to reflect the types of information and links their followers want. This ability to listen and respond accordingly to the community is one of the key reasons why Southwest’s social media has “taken off.”

If your company is participating in social media, does your community drive content, or are you taking a more traditional approach? Watch this interview with Paula Berg, manager of emerging media at Southwest Airlines, to learn more about their approach to social media.

Orlando Business Journal reporter Anjali Fluker is next up in our “5 Questions With” series, where we ask journalists to shed some light on pitching, reporting and journalism. An award-winning journalist, Anjali covers real estate, retail and minority business for the OBJ. Prior to coming to Orlando, Anjali covered economic development for Crain’s Detroit Business. She’s also worked as a community reporter for the Detroit News and as a sportswriter for the Times Herald in Port Huron, MI.

Without further adieu …

1. If you could give PR people one piece of advice, what would it be?
Research your client as well as the publication/news source you’re pitching to before you make a call. If you don’t know or understand what your client does, you look like an idiot. And if you don’t know what the publication is about, the reporter gets insulted.

2. What do you think non-journalists would be surprised to learn about journalists?

We love food!

3. What do you think about the integration of social media and journalism? Good, bad, indifferent?

I think social media has both its ups and downs in journalism. On the upside, it sometimes makes it easier during our newsgathering phase, if we can find better sourcing and tips through Tweets & Facebook. But there’s also the downside that some news organizations are starting to believe that the real “news” is what’s being discussed on social networking sites. That means they’re spending oodles of time on one subject and not getting enough information on other stories of value. Additionally, it could get people in trouble if they use social networking sites as a source and don’t back it up. There’s a lot of drama & hating going on in those places.

4. How do you prefer to be pitched?

I prefer e-mails with information that relates directly to what I cover and our publication.

5. What’s the worst pitch you’ve ever received from a PR person?

There are way too many to name! Too often, I get e-mailed press releases that are full of company slogans and jargon, and then a follow-up call from an account exec who has no idea what his/her client’s real news is when I ask more questions. Just ask a few questions and maybe you’ll find a story that’s real “news.”

By making the media more accessible than ever before, Twitter is changing how public relations professionals engage with journalists. Offering insight into the day-to-day (and sometimes personal) lives of reporters, Twitter puts a “face to the name” – and provides other, non-traditional ways to “connect.” PR pros would be wise to use this to their advantage. Creating any sort of relationship – even a virtual one – is better than simply making a blind pitch.

More accessible

Pitching via Twitter works especially well when the reporter is actively searching for story leads. Follow journalists in your area – or nationally if you have appropriate clients – and pay attention to their tweets! By reading one tweet from a TV anchor, my coworkers and I were able to land six different TV news stories for multiple clients.

Twitter can also work when the reporters aren’t actively seeking story ideas or resources. Pay attention to the stories they link to – and the comments they make. Do you have a client who would be an appropriate follow-up to a story they’ve linked to? If so, pitch them.

Where to find them. . .
Twitter has spawned many different web sites purely dedicated to listing media personnel who tweet. Two of my favorites are Muck Rack and Media on Twitter. Muck Rack contains real-time updates from tweeting reporters – an excellent resource for national leads. Media on Twitter allows you to search for particular publications (like your local daily paper). In addition to those online resources, many publications list employees with Twitter accounts. (Check out the Orlando Sentinel’s tweeps.)

So how should PR pros contact reporters?

I’ve encountered varying opinions on this topic – and everyone has a different preference for being pitched. To alleviate any future issues, I think a quick direct message or @reply to the reporter to ask about their contact preference should suffice – and answer your question. If they don’t respond, there’s a good chance they don’t want to be pitched through Twitter. However, if the reporter is asking for leads or a story idea on Twitter, then by all means respond via direct message or e-mail.

I’d like your take on this: Do you think there are certain rules that need to be followed when using Twitter to pitch media? Have you had success using this channel?