Giving back to our local community is very important to all of us at PMG. Due to H1N1 and concerns around the wellness of children in relation to this, we have been advised and have decided not to host the Vermont Toy Share this year.  Our intention is to return in November 2010 with this event.  Thank you to the local community for all of the interest and support for this event – it has been overwhelming. When one door closes, another opens. After making the decision to shelf Toy Share for t... Read Full Story

I have always been a big believer that you need to consistently be feeding your brain to be happy in life. I think most people feel that way. When it comes to my career, I long ago realized that my education did not end when I graduated from college.  That was merely a starting point.  As a professional, I need to consistently educate myself on new trends, practices within my field, changes in business, etc., etc., etc. Sure, in the past my employer has paid for me to attend seminars and get ... Read Full Story

…to be nominated, really! Sarah Evans (of Mashable, #journchat, and Twitter fame) started the Top 50 Tweeples to Follow on Twitter.  Now in it’s second year, this award is a “people’s choice” style award where nominations come from the community and voting is open to anyone.  The idea is that this list of 50 are the best people to follow to help other better understand Twitter and how to use it.  There are several categories.  Being nominated for this is really a... Read Full Story

I have been a little slack in updating the PMG blog, but with good reason… as they say, the cobblers children have no shoes. I have four, what I think, are great posts in the works.  Watch for them to make it to the blog over the next week or so (I have a lot of plane time!). In the mean time, Sarah Evans (who is one to watch in her own right) is bringing the Top 50 Tweeps award to Twitter once again.  Check out the details on her blog, and then search #Top50Tweep on Twitter to see who ... Read Full Story

Hello everyone, my name is Chris Garafola and I’m honored to say I’m one of PMG’s new PR Interns. I’ve only been working here for about a month and I’m already amazed at how much I’ve learned. Having the opportunity to have a hands-on learning experience is invaluable. Currently, I’m a senior at The University of Vermont and I’m majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Sometimes we PMG’ers like to get together and grab a nice lunch on the town. However, ... Read Full Story

I have a window seat in the PMG office. Okay, there’s only one desk that’s could be considered to be turned away from the windows, but that’s neither here nor there. I, the summer intern, have a window seat in the office. As a result, on occasion, I get to gaze upon the Waterfront. Or more truthfully, upon the people who are outside enjoying its splendor. At least, some of them are. Others are parallel parking. It’s a regular sight, people attempting to parallel park outside my window. Some ... Read Full Story

Last week I was invited to talk about the basics of social media on the Mark Johnson Show on WDEV as part of my participation in Vermont Business & Industry Expo. As always, Mark was delightful to chat with. In case you missed it, here it is: Nicole’s Interview with Mark Johnson Thanks again to Mark for welcoming me to the show. If you missed the Expo video that we produced for the show, you should see it.  Izabela Socha at PMG scrambled to get this together and did a great job!  We... Read Full Story

Social media done well includes three things: Contribute to the conversation. Sure, there is a lot to be learned by reading tweets from others, but chances are you have nuggets of information that others would find incredibly valuable. Why not contribute your thoughts? Listen to your customers, critics, competitors, brand evangelists… really to everyone who has something to say about your company, brands and you! Chances are you will learn something, and better yet, you may be able to get... Read Full Story

When did the occupation of public relations become so confusing to people?  When I graduated from college, I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication.  My studies were concentrated in public relations.  I understood this to mean that my job would be to communicate a business’ message to the public: directly, through the media, and if needed and depending on the company I worked for, lobbying. Today, there seems to be some question as to what this practice entails.  Is it just effe... Read Full Story

Twitter.  We have been hearing about it a lot more lately.  In fact, as a pr person I have been seeing an increased number of queries from the media asking for “experts” on Twitter - so there must be something to it, right? Ellen tweets.  And apparently Jay Leno did too for awhile. I have blogged about it before… and here I go again! A few of my non-marketing friends have recently dipped a toe into the Twitterverse and wonder what all the fuss is about.  Well, friends…... Read Full Story