“We’ve built a winning culture that allows us to promote from within, and Karmina and Serene earned their new roles after years of consistently producing great work,” said Michael Fineman, agency president. “They provide our clients with the strategic and creative prowess to build reputation and trust for their brands. It is a privilege to work with them, and I’m looking forward to the next step in their careers.”

Zafiro has risen through the ranks at Fineman PR, beginning as an intern in 2004. Along the way, she built the agency’s measurement and analytics division and expanded its digital and social media offerings, leading account teams across a range of industries and sectors. Zafiro specializes in consumer PR, crisis communications and issues management. She has worked with Foster Farms, UC Santa Cruz, The San Francisco Marathon, Sequoia Healthcare District and National Outdoor Leadership School, among other high-profile clients. In her new position, Zafiro will join the agency’s executive management team and take on a larger role in managing personnel and new business development companywide in addition to maintaining her leadership of several account teams.

Buckley now takes the lead on the agency’s content strategy and brand development efforts. She joined Fineman PR in 2011 with a skillful eye and knack for written and visual content that elevates brand stories and reaches new audiences. Buckley specializes in brand development, strategic planning and content creation. She works with the Girl Scouts of America Bay Area Chapter, The San Francisco Marathon, San Francisco Boat Show, HealthRIGHT 360, Foster Farms and a host of other clients. As senior content strategist, Buckley will develop and oversee content integration and marketing efforts throughout the agency.

About Fineman PR

Fineman PR is an award-winning, full-service San Francisco public relations agency specializing in Brand PR, crisis communications and multicultural outreach. The agency works in a variety of industries that include food and beverage, construction, transportation, consumer packaged goods, health care and education. Fineman PR is a partner in IPREX (www.iprex.com), a global network of communication agencies. The agency reaches diverse audiences with its multicultural division, Mosaico (www.mosaico-pr.com), helping to facilitate ethnic and multilingual communications and culturally relevant events for general-market clients. For more information, visit www.finemanpr.com.

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If you’ve never really grasped Reddit, or how or why this social media site is one of the most powerful ones out there, let this You Tube video explain it.  This five minute vignette is one of the most clearly articulated teaching tool for beginners I’ve seen which fully addresses the question “What is Reddit?”

[At 9:49am PT the video is at 11,800 views on YouTube – let’s see what happens now]

From dabblers to die-hards, Reddit’s popularity is consistently growing, as is its content (which is as varied as the species on the planet).  Over the years it has maintained its signature, simple interface, completely void of editorialization. So when a video explaining Reddit becomes popular on Reddit, this is a community self-celebrating its culture, championing its cause, and as a result, giving Redditors an effective tool to promote the virtues of Reddit.

Here are five reasons why any Brand Manager should care about Reddit, also known as  “The Front Page of The Internet” –

1)     It’s truly, wholly democratic. There are no Google-like algorithms, SEO strategies, no         editorial agenda. Conspiracy theorists might venture to think otherwise, but Redditors typically         self-regulate their community and do so with fierce velocity.

2)     Anonymity of users can make for interesting focus groups. I know many people that         have secret Reddit lives. It’s where they feel free to express true opinion and want to give it         freely, to explore varied interests and fly their freak flag. There are polls on any topic, even         polls to stop polling. While this can be a maverick marketplace of consumer insight, it’s not         one to completely disregard, especially if the opinions of early adopters are meaningful.

3)     It inspires good content. A brand always has its best intentions at heart, but too much         inside baseball on content development can create unintentional blinders. Need a litmus test         on what may be considered “viral” or “shareable” and why?  Turn to Reddit.  What is popular is         generally likeable by a wide cross-section of individuals. It is a content inspired machine.

[At 10:10 PT, it’s at 33,816 views on You Tube- and now hosts advertising]

4)     Subreddits will help you find where conversations are taking place on your topic.         This is the quintessential listening tool, the New Republic in public relations. Discussions are         encouraged to shape the context of links and stories. Nothing is ever face-value. To take a         quote from the video, “Reddit is a lot like life: It is what you make it.”

5)     Influencer Participation. Reddit isn’t (just) Millennial Mark/Michelle living at home, cynical         and under-employed. But many people assume this. Reddit is a large community, and with so         many anonymous users, a relatively shapeless demographic.  It’s also one that hosts         politicians, actors, writers, CEOs – leaders and icons interacting with Redditors. Your top news         producers, editors and bloggers are guaranteed to be reading, reviewing and sourcing content         from– or sharing stories about what has become popular on Reddit.

[At 10:43 PT, it’s at 57,922 views on You Tube]

Love it or leave it, Reddit is a wonderfully weird place with a lot of good, a lot of bad and plenty of ugly. It is also where communicators and brands can learn by participating and listening. And what better venue than front row seat of the internet’s no. 1 content auction block? Reddit can also help build or bury brand news – good or bad. Here’s an example of Mashable’s report on Golden Corral’s PR crisis made popular by Reddit:

To know more about how Reddit views participants with a PR agenda, check out their post by veteran Redditors on “How Companies Can Properly Use Reddit.”

[Update: at 1:55 PT, views are well over 160,000]

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