Social Media 101 with Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo

If you are on BC’s coast, are interested in social media (or need a refresher), here is a one-day workshop you can’t afford to miss. Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo of Capulet Communications are presenting their  Social Media Marketing Bootcamp in both Victoria and Vancouver.

As Julie writes in a recent blog post, “adding social media into the marketing mix is increasingly important for marketers who want to establish an online presence for their businesses.” As a full-time PR and marketing professional, I would say that anyone who ignores this important medium is in danger of missing their market altogether. The full-day workshop will teach you to:

• Bring more visitors to your website
• Increase your company’s visibility online
• Approach bloggers and other online influencers about your products and services
• Get your website social media ready
• Craft a potent social media pitch
• Incorporate online channels like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter into your marketing programs
• Avoid campaign killers and online faux pas.

Julie and Darren are old friends (well the friendship is old, but they aren’t) who were pioneers in the social media world. They have such wisdom and experience to share based on experience from Canada, Dublin and other wonderful, exotic locations. All for only $299, which includes a copy of their first book and many useful templates.

The Victoria workshop takes place Thursday, April 30th; Vancouver’s is Thursday, May 28th. Go to their website, Capulet Communications, to register. And hey, let them know that you heard about it here. Like all good marketers, they will want to know what worked.

Hope to see you there!

Five tips for news releases that get read

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“So just what is news, these days?” Mr. Higgens asked me the last week. “Should I just go out front and be a flasher? That would get me noticed.”

He’s right of course. On the second part. But is that really news you want for your organization? (I guess it depends on what business you’re in.)

Good media relations are definitely based on offering story ideas and tips to the media that are relevant to their editorial plans, offer interesting links to current events, or present new information that will be of interest to their readers.

I always think back to the days when I edited a women’s magazine. Our tagline line was “Empowering Women,” and a quick scan would have told you that while it was a general women’s magazine, there was a definite feminist slant.

One day I received a typ0-ridden news release from a local strip bar announcing that one of their top strippers was becoming their first female bartender. In the early 90s, this was the bar’s acknowledgment that women, by watching men do their job, could finally move up the corporate pole, er ladder. The accompanying photo was of the new bartender, dressed not as a barkeep, but swirling on her pole. It was news, but I didn’t believe it was news my readers would be interested in.

Here are five tips to help you figure out if you have news of interest – and if it’s good for you to announce:

1. Be interesting. Would you read your announcement if it was about another business? If you think you should be profiled because you are nice and have a business on main street…sorry, that’s not news.
2. Do your research. Read the media you are sending to, and learn what they cover and who reads them. Once you envision the readers, it’s much easier to write to them.
3. Stay informed. Know what’s news in your category and respond to it. If your community is experiencing a rash of break-ins and you have a security business, offer tips to the public to keep their properties safe.
4. Be genuine. By offering free information to the public, you will earn goodwill for your organization. No media will be interested in a news release suggesting people hire you. For that, buy an ad.
5. Make it easy. Write your news release as if it is a news story (there are hundreds of templates on-line). Tie it into local news, if applicable, or make your news announcement in the first paragraph or two. Make it easy for the editor and you will earn a fan.

Okay, here’s #6 as an add-on: Include your email and phone number…then be sure to be available if they call. Please remember that the media is doing you a favour, not the other way around. Don’t ask for an interview, then try to dictate the rules. Journalists are very busy and have grueling deadlines; therefore, you are on their schedule. More than one disgruntled person who didn’t return a reporter’s call has had their topic covered but with quotes from a competitor.

As for Higgens, he didn’t flash anybody, nor did he make the 6:00 news. He went home armed with all the local papers, a list of TV stations and an assignment to determine how he can speak to the public.

Wherefore art thou, Canadian media?

CTV cuts 118 jobs

Last night I attended an excellent evening hosted by Douglas business magazine in Victoria. Highlighting the Top 10 businesses to watch in Victoria, publishers also announced their new city lifestyle magazine YAM.

This is interesting news in challenging times. Earlier the same day, CTVglobemedia Inc. announced the layoffs of 118 staff at stations across Canada, including 18 at A Channel in Victoria. Just three months ago, Victoria’s other station, CHEK, layed off 19 staff and is for sale.

What’s the underlying story? Well at last night’s  event I ended up in the corner with a knot of local journalists and the subject naturally strayed to the current state of the media. It didn’t take much to agree that media is in decline, but we didn’t all agree on what’s next.

I fear newspapers are soon to be dead. Too bad, because I love spending weekend mornings in bed with a pot of tea and a stack of newspapers. But during the week, I depend on RSS feeds and my favourite news sites. Citizen journalists aren’t just a bunch of yahoos…many are professional journalists who are contributing to news sites as events unfold from around the world. This may be the new economic model, and the new social model. Heck, you’re reading a blog, aren’t you?

What does this mean for PR? More social media, yes, but we need to integrate these tools into other areas of PR. We also need to ensure that we remain accessible to ALL  people we need to consult and inform, otherwise our results are seriously skewed.

Finding Blogs Online

Tonight I had the honour of discussing social media with the great group of women who belong to the Victoria, BC chapter of e-Women.

My best analogy for social networking was doing what they already did so well in that room: gave each other leads, introduced each other to new members, and built their networks based on needs, knowledge and expertise.

If you are a woman in business, in a job, or looking for connections, look for an e-Women chapter near you. I was very impressed.

I promised I’d post a couple of great tools for finding blogs of interest. Here they are:

Technorati describes itself as “the leading blog search engine and most comprehensive source of information on the blogosphere…we index more than 1.5 million new blog posts in real time and introduce millions of readers to blog and social media content.” This is a great tool to search for the topics you are interested in.

Google Reader is another great way to search for blogs, and it allows you to bookmark or subscribe to your favourites. Rather than having to sort through tons of bookmarks in my Internet browser, I have them all in Google Reader and I can read all my fave blogs at once.

There are lots more tools – please feel free to post your favourites. If you were at the talk tonight and have any questions, post them here and I promise to answer.

Top five things clients can do to help their PR agency succeed

1. Keep your PR company informed of business developments, HR successes and just about everything else. They will likely see opportunities you may overlook.

2. Be upfront about your expectations for PR. What do you want your PR campaign to help you accomplish? This will ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.

3. Understand that no PR campaign can be successful if it its claims are unfounded. A dishonest campaign, or one that “spins” the truth will only discredit your company.

4. Be open to new ideas and methods. A good PR firm will have reasons for their ideas and you should seriously consider them.

5. Understand that building or managing a company or product’s reputation takes time. Give your PR firm adequate time so they can do their work right.

Great books on social media

Hey there! Tonight I had a lot of fun speaking with PR students from Royal Roads University and University of Victoria at a CPRS student mixer called “Get Connected.” As well as me were three other PR pros – Katie Josephson, City of Victoria; Deidre Campbell, Tartan Group; and Marisa Adair, BC Public Affairs Bureau – and we had a great debate and discussion going about what it takes to be in PR, and probed the interesting and evolving world of social media.

I promised I’d post the name of two books I’m re-enjoying, so here they are to share.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting,
Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly, by David Meerman Scott

Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business, Larry Weber

I look forward to hearing from you about what books you’re reading. I also would be pleased to continue our discussion, “What is PR about these days?”

Social Media Embodies PR

I just read an interesting blog post by Richard Bailey, a university lecturer who teaches PR at Leeds Metropolitan University. Richard cites the the chapter “Survival of the Publicist,” in the book Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble, when he asks the question, “is social media killing PR?”

In my mind, PR at its highest and best invites two-way open communication with your stakeholders. This is no longer the age of “push” marketing—social media presents the opportunity to engage stakeholders and respond to their beliefs and opinions. Yes, it can be a little intimidating at first, but my clients are really excited about the results they are getting.

So if a publicist is pushing out information for the public to swallow, I hope social media does kill it. And if true PR is inviting open community engagement, then I say a resounding “No, social media is not killing PR; social media embodies PR!”

It takes more than a giant cheque

I’m often surprised by the lack of attention that companies give to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. CSR can be powerful and energizing for a company but oftentimes, the investment isn’t being maximized to its full potential.

So how do you make your charitable efforts make sense financially and a sincere difference in the world?

First, you look at your company’s values and identify a cause you and your employees as passionate about. This will likely be a cause that relates to the work you do.

Then, you identify unique ways for your efforts to make a real difference. You do extensive research to find a service or organization that you believe in. Then, you decide how to support their efforts and maximize your contribution. It can be an annual cash donation, supplying goods, giving staff time off to volunteer or hosting a free event (all of which our client Townline has done this year). You can also consider setting up your own program, such as having your staff drop individualized milks off at a low-income school every Friday for the kindergarten classes.

Lastly, you promote your efforts. Some people hate this part, but it makes your employees and clients feel good about your company, and it encourages others to pull up their socks and give back too.

There are lots of reasons to have a program: corporate values, building your brand’s reputation, stakeholder benefits and sales (87% of consumers would switch from one brand to another if the other were associated with a good cause), to name a few. Through a strategic, meaningful and sincere corporate responsibility plan, you can maximize your contributions and see benefits from your actions.

I’m curious to know: Have you heard of a cool CRS program lately? What companies come to mind when you think of CSR?

So you want to be in PR…

People often ask me how to get into public relations. Here’s a summary of what I tell them:

Get an education. Being good with people or enjoying events isn’t enough. There are a lot of ways to get PR training, and I don’t want to promote one over the other. I’ve hired people with creative writing degrees, communication degrees, English Lit degrees, and PR certificates. Once you’re done, don’t stop. Lifelong learning is a requirement, and should be a passion, for PR professionals. Take courses – almost anything is relevant – as often as you can.

Polish your writing skills. Write, write, write and then write some more. Know the basics: style, structure and grammar; become a grammar nut; learn CP Style; and practice creative writing so you can create cheeky headlines and write compelling copy for websites and other marketing materials.

Read. Read the news, search the web, check out blogs. Know about local issues, national issues, what bestsellers are out and what makes compelling reading. If you don’t read, you can’t write.

Stay on top of current events and be a trend watcher. You’ve got to know what’s news to help people make the news.

Be a sponge. Learn everything about anything. Do you know a construction worker? Ask her or him about trends in the workforce, the different jobs on a site and absorb the terminology. A huge part of my job is learning about industries and issues so that I can help my clients communicate more effectively. The more you know, the more you have to draw on when you’re standing in front of the media or a boardroom.

Keep your skill set wide open. PR requires a diverse set of skills. Yesterday, I made a presentation to clients (public speaking), finalized a communication plan (strategizing), proofread marketing materials (editing), brainstormed slogans with my team (creativity) and reviewed the logistics of an event (detail-oriented). To be a good practitioner, you need to keep yourself well rounded. Don’t get caught up in having a specialty.

Volunteer. There are a lot of great organizations looking for communications help. Gain experience by volunteering for them, then put it on your resume.

Maintain a portfolio. Keep all those essays you stayed up all night writing. Lay out your best writing samples in a professional and creative way. Interviewers don’t want to just hear you say you’re a good writer. They want to see that you are.

Promote yourself. Your first job is to do your own PR. What are your potential employers looking for?  How can you make yourself standout?

Network. Get out there and meet people. Keep in touch with classmates and past colleagues. You never know who will lead you to your dream job.

Find a mentor. Make friends with someone who has been in the industry for a while.  They’ll be able to offer you advice, can be a reference for you and might even give you some good job leads.

Join a professional association. The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) or Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in the US are wonderful resources for networking, job leads, professional development, mentorship and more. If you are enrolled in a PR program, you can join for a student rate that more than pays for itself.

Please post your questions, and I’d be happy to answer them. And good luck!

Why cutting back on marketing in a bear market is bull

I won’t say the R word, but we all know these are shaky economic times. Doom and gloom financial reports are making people nervous, and consumers and companies alike are cutting back spending. During an economic slump, budget cutbacks are a necessity, but experts warn companies against lumping marketing, advertising and PR budgets into their “discretionary spending” category.  And for good reason: it’s harder than ever to maintain your client base and reach new customers. Now is not the time to let marketing fall by the wayside.

No matter what kind of business you are in, now is the time to communicate to your customers that you still have a service/product they want/need.  A strong brand will always put you ahead, and an economic downturn can even present an opportunity to outsmart your competition. Many of your competitors may be cutting back on their marketing expenses, leaving your brand to standout in the minds of wary consumers looking for high-value products and services. Now may be the time to re-vamp a tired brand.

Companies with strong brands have historically outdone their competitors, in strong and weak economies. A 1998 PIMS study showed that increased marketing spending during the last recession achieved an average return on capital employed of 4.3%, compared to 0.6% for those that maintained marketing spending, and -0.8% for those that cut spending.

Top five ideas for brand management in an economic downturn:

1. Just do it.  Nike did it during the economic slump in the early 90s.  Reebok didn’t.  Nike upped their marketing budget and created one of the most recognized brands in the world.  When’s the last time you bought a pair of Reeboks?
2. Through good times and bad.  Recessions go away.  A strong brand won’t.
3. Spend wisely.  Just like your customers, your business is looking for value. You need sound business reasoning on all of your investments. The right blend of marketing, advertising and PR can promote your brand and reach your target markets, keeping your business afloat during hard times. Savvy marketing is worth its weight in gold.
4.  Get smart. Pay attention to how your target market is reacting.  Have you noticed a decrease in business?  What can you do to increase customer confidence in your brand and increase brand awareness?
5. Get noticed. Don’t be a wallflower!  Hiding in the corner won’t bring in timid consumers. Reaching your target market with a brand that reflects the strength and uniqueness of your organization will.