Just when it’s your time to shine – lights, camera, action! – with Meerkat, Twitter releases its live-streaming video app, Periscope.

We knew this was coming.

Meerkat was launched with much fervor, and the fanaticism grew quickly. According to Simply Measured, during its launch at SXSW 2015, 91,776 Meerkat videos were streamed – and the numbers continued to explode. In the midst of all the fanfare, reports surfaced that Periscope, the live-streaming video app that Twitter acquired a few months ago, would put the social phenom back in its place. Twitter then took action by turning off access to some of its native features, including the ability to automatically add Twitter users during setup and removal of push notifications. Despite these inconveniences, Meerkat’s impressive initial critical mass continued, the company growing its user base by about 30 percent per day…which earned it another round of funding, only a month after launch.

Either Meerkat or Periscope will breathe new life into your Twitter strategy by providing live-streaming video abilities, and creating a great opportunity for marketing, PR, and social communications professionals to turn any client or brand into a star. With conference and tradeshow season in full swing and opportunities for summer branding events on the horizon, here are few ways to incorporate Periscope or Meerkat into your social media toolkit:

• Conferences or Events: Show off product demos, say hello to key partners, give prospects a sneak peek at your panel session, and showcase the company’s personality at your next industry function.

• Focus Groups and Man-on-the-Street Interviews: Enjoy the weather and try your hand as your favorite nightly news reporter by conducting interviews, taste tests, or even informal focus groups right on the street. Stream live and answer questions from followers in real-time.

• Create Your Own Channel: Periscope and Meerkat can be the catalyst to creating a network for your brand, executive or company. Schedule weekly broadcasts and share the latest news, give insight into the industry topic of the day, or just set aside time for a reddit Ask Me Anything-style Q&A session with followers.

If you have an Apple device, you can do your own comparison and make your choice in the Meerkat and Periscope streaming wars. Whichever app you choose, Meerkat or Periscope may shape up to be the best tool available to build your brand online. What will you live-stream on Twitter?

Once the bases are covered and the press release is distributed to your media contacts, how do you get a story written? A press release only opens the door. Relationships and resources are necessary to securing the coverage your investors can smile about. Let me explain.

Derived from the word relate, which means to narrate or tell; to bring into link in logical or natural association, the ability to relate is critical to a successful public relations endeavor in two ways. First, as an executive, you are entrenched in the details of your business and the excitement of a new deal. While it may be newsworthy, a story is different from your news. Your news is a gateway to the story. PR firms specialize in relating the association between your news – a large deal with a prestigious brand – and your story – the deal is a reflection of changes in the investments being made in your industry.

Second, strong relationships are needed to get things accomplished. Just like calling your neighbor to help with the carpool duties, reporters like to rely on people that have been there for them in the past. Many experienced PR professionals already know who is covering what topic, how they handle interviews, their style of writing and how to present your story to the editor.

Resources encompass having something of credible value to share with reporters to develop your story. A press release is only one tool and it is not enough. At minimum, resources include industry analysts that can add authority to your perspective, customers that can explain what is happening in their business and how working with your company benefits their success, and finally partners that can explain the impact of the sales or channel strategy.

In addition to lining up the people resources – analysts, customers and partners – in today’s world, seeing is succeeding. Videos and infographics are crucial elements for extending your message and adding validity to your story. For example, a short video of a question and answer session with your company CEO that explains what the news means to the market along with an infographic that provides a historical look at key milestones in your industry would go a long way in explaining the relevance of your news—thereby creating a strong story for the reporter to write.

While press releases play a central role in your SEO strategy, press releases are still written for the press – editors, bloggers and reporters – that cover your industry. Do not write a press release alone and expect a story; relationships and resources are the key to great coverage.

With all of the new, cool and trendy products for the media to ogle during CES, it can certainly be hard to keep up. And despite all of that product-focused hoopla, CES still managed to give us plenty of drama to report on this year. Amidst all of the chaos, there are both beneficial lessons and industry trends that PR pros can add to their client services toolkit.

Let’s start with Samsung. The company lit the twitterverse on fire with the news that famed Hollywood director Michael Bay had a diva-esque meltdown. After being on stage for less than three minutes, his performance came to a crashing halt thanks to a malfunctioning teleprompter during the company’s presentation for its 105-inch curved ultra-high-def television. Bay apologized hours later via his blog, calling his actions (including his abandoning a Samsung executive, presumably unable to ad-lib, on stage) embarrassing.

As PR professionals, we are challenged to expect the unexpected and to have back-up plans in place. Teleprompters fail and Wi-Fi gets dropped. What if someone spilled coffee on the laptop or there was an unanticipated power surge? While these aren’t things that we can control, we can and must support the client in their time of need.

When we manage events for clients, we know that sometimes making a chair available, jotting a few inconspicuous notes, supplying a podium, or even providing a graceful out, can turn a mistake into a cleverly executed maneuver that doesn’t distract from the topic at hand. From what I read, details about Samsung’s new 105-inch curved ultra-high-def television came as an afterthought, certainly not what the company wanted or expected.

Next, CES brought us the mobile wars. T-Mobile U.S. CEO John Legere, a Twitter fave who enjoys pushing the envelope with customers and press online, showed up at the AT&T party, only to be escorted out by security (Legere was said to be a huge fan of Macklemore who was performing at AT&T’s party). He then took to Twitter to poke fun at the incident, posting the photo used above, and even stopping to pose for a selfie with a CNET journalist on his way out.

While this may have been funny in the moment, trade shows are infamous for competitive spying. Competitors will register as press or bloggers to disguise their intentions and get closer access. I once managed the press room for a large industry trade show and had to turn away two “fauxporters” from the same competitor. This practice speaks to one of the ten commandments of PR: Anywhere reporters will be, there shall PR have a guiding hand. If press or analysts are invited to the evening entertainment at a trade show, the PR rep should have input into the guest list and recognize the competitors that lay in wait.

But ignoring Hollywood-style meltdowns, CEO hijinks and bendable screens, one of the other mind-blowing (but less widely reported) stories to come out of CES delved into the human brain. Intel talked about its theoretical chip designed to imitate the functions of the human brain manifest in its new message “make everything smart.” Intel previewed prototypes of this advanced chip in action with biometric earphones that can track your heart rate, and a coffee mug that doubles as a baby monitor. While Intel and other chipmakers are some time away from actually creating this little marvel, it got me thinking about the implications for this kind of technology for the vast universe of life sciences. While you may not look at CES as a show that impacts the life sciences, consider how journalists are covering technology products. Journos have an inner geek, a curiosity about why, how, and the potential future use of a product.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Pane, IEEE Standards Association

Life sciences, healthcare, and other industries certainly tap into these curiosities and creativity, so perhaps we’ll see these industries more heavily represented at trade shows like CES in the future?

With that in mind, PR pros can think about how their clients B2B technology product can tap into the “what if” and take their clients message to a wider audience. Many of the hot technologies we learned about at CES may have started out as part of a B2B technology or government solution.

Fitness technology, connected life/smart homes that will be a key part of the Internet of Things, wearable technology, and automotive technology all fit this thinking. Maybe you and your clients have a new story to tell…but how will you get that message heard? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.

Welcome to the home of our newest platform, Interprose Voice!

Stop, collaborate, and listen – this famous phrase popularized in the early 90s certainly still rings true in communications today. As a strategic communications company, Interprose has navigated the profound changes in the industry around social media and content creation. We are excited by the evolution of PR, the disappearing lines between PR and marketing and the availability of social networking tools to extend the message. The new Interprose Voice blog will provide a peek into the best social networking, marketing, and PR techniques for which we are known.

The birth of Interprose Voice comes during our yearlong celebration of 15 years in business. Throughout this time, we have maintained an eye on delivering meaningful results for our clients while still having a lot of fun along the way. We made our mark through our ability to hire the communications industry’s most talented individuals regardless of physical boundaries. With the ability to achieve a harmonious balance between work and lifestyle, Interprose enables its employees to get the most out of their personal lives and their careers. Interprose Voice will also highlight our unique perspective on this oft-discussed business model.

Among the many voices of Interprose are former developers, publishing executives, financial gurus, and marketing and PR pros, who are here to deliver insights in a diverse, enlightening, and fun manner. Get to know the Interprose team – check out our adventures by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter.

Please bookmark this page and come back often. We encourage questions and comments and look forward to hearing your voice.