Media Relations

Social Media Exhaustion...Observations

I've been bad in the eyes of social media experts.  I haven't posted on my blog for a few weeks.  Why? Too busy, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY - I didn't have much to say.  Sure, I inhaled a lot of new information, and exhausted myself with FB and Twitter.  Some observations for your entertainment.

1. 1. Tried to buy the book, "The Four Hour Work Week."  After 30 minutes of keyboard arguing..couldn't get Amazon to let me (didn't recognize me as a regular customer...which I am).
2. Hired a virtual assistant in Kentucky. I live in Utah. This feels weird.  Maybe I'll learn to like it a lot.
3. Helped hold a blogger seminar for a client.  Fast and furious debate.  It was really cool ;)
4. For the first time, sent a news release with this wording: Media/Blogger Contact Numbers.
5. For the first time, sent a client news release to reporters via Facebook and Twitter...THEN proceeded to do some emailing and phone calling.
6. Hired an SEO consultant. Exhausted myself over Thanksgiving following all his advice.
7. Got mad about no longer being the top spot if you search Google for Cartwright Communications.  A tech firm and a PR firm in England now beat me out  :(
8. Helped a TV station coordinate a story on the new FTC guidelines for bloggers.  Couldn't get through to bloggers for the story via phone or email.  It was twittering them that got response.  Oh yeah, the reporter and I went back and forth through Facebook.  He said to me, "don't any of these bloggers have phone numbers?"

And life, however hectic and hard on the hands, arms, neck and back, goes on.  What's your week been like?  I'd love to hear about it.

Bloggers: Are You Now Legally Vulnerable?

If you blog, the government has now recognized the power of blogging by issuing an 80+ page document  you need to be aware of.  On December 1, in American Fork, Utah, there will be a free seminar for local bloggers (seating limited to 25).

Why attend? Newly released Federal Trade Commission guidelines may:

1) Affect the way you advertise on your blog or in social media.

2) Require you to declare when you have been paid to blog about a product.

3) Require you to reveal when you've received free product.

4) Require certain disclaimers on your blog.

5) Make you more cautious when blogging about news, products, businesses and people.

Lunch will be provided.  Register here for a FREE ticket through Eventbrite by Nov. 30. Space is limited to 25 attendees.

Full disclosure: I do PR for Bank of American Fork.  This event merits space on my blog.  It is designed to reach out to local bloggers, and at the end, the Bank will discuss its annual charitable event.  The synergy here - bloggers come, get up to date legal information to help them with their online ventures.  In return, the Bank hopes to get them to blog about its 10th annual Project Teddy Bear to benefit thousands of Utah's at-risk children.

Schedule

11:30 a.m. - noon: Lunch, bloggers introduce themselves and their blogs.

Noon - 12:30: Legal advice presented by John Rees of Callister Nebeker & McCullough

12:30 - 1:00 p.m.: Learn about Project Teddy Bear, networking

Meet Utah's New Media - Utah Mama and Today's Mama

Two moms once pondered why there wasn't a more central information site for parenting issues and info.  Today, they manage employees in Utah and have 27 licensed Websites in the U.S.  This "Mommy Blog" network started with Utah Mama and moved into a more global "Today's Mama."

They have a payroll to meet, they have advertisers and you can read all about them here, on Utah Pulse or on Utah Policy Daily. 

Don't Disrespect Mommy Blogs - These Women Have Clout And Advertisers Know It

Do you have an attitude about "Mommy blogs?"  I've seen a few people, especially several men I know, roll their eyes when I mention the mommy blog phenomenon. 

Moms aren't just moms.  They can be CEOs, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, or even simply a mom raising her kids.  All have incredible influence and power when it comes to how their household dollars are spent.

One Utah woman, who has a mom blog, also conducts weekly events called Girls' Night Out, on Twitter.  She has ad sponsors and 7,700 followers.  Her name is Jyl Johnson Pattee and she is showcased in a column on Utahpulse.com this week.

Her husband, who calls himself her "assistant" and has a great attitude about his wife's online obsession, once painted his toenails blue...just to see how long it would take for her to notice.  Answer:  One week.

Read all about Jyl  and her Mom It Forward network on Utahpulse.com

Newspaper Girl Janet Thaeler - Meet Utah's New Media

She's concerned about balance in her life, thus she only spends 7-10 hours a day online...not as much on weekends. She always wanted to be a reporter, but then learned how little it paid. She still misses the rush of writing in a noisy newsroom. Blogging is "so solitary," she says.

I went to her site and saw four display ads in the right column. She is making some money at this. I think she is an important facet of emerging new media.

If you'd like to meet Janet, here she is.  Thanks to UtahPulse for picking up the column!

My Sudden Career Change And A New Golden Rule

I finally have a new career. 

Same PR business, same clients…but my toolbox is brand new and full of social media strategies.  Even better, my clients are stepping up and are willing to try them. 

I studied Web 2.0 for four years, engaged in a forced reorganization of my brain cells.  I’m so glad it finally paid off.   I’m no longer forced to focus only on news releases, public events, media training, and story pitching.  Now I roll up my sleeves and teach clients how to communicate directly with their customers, via social media.  This is as good as it gets, and it didn’t come easy.

The arguments were fierce.

1. "We’ll lose control of our message."

Did you ever really have control?  Your news releases, news conferences and community events were either read or witnessed by only a handful of people.  The reporter wrote your story. 

Also, if you aren’t currently talking with your customers online, you have already lost control.  Anyone can say anything they want about you and you won’t even know.

2. "Our industry has regulations that limit this kind of communication.  Or…we have a profession that will lose credibility if we blog, twitter, etc."

Top government agencies, publicly traded companies, businesses that normally cloak themselves from the light of day…they’ve gone online.   My friend’s son has a new job…he blogs for an attorney.

3. "We need to be able to measure our communications."

Yes you can!  Social media will overwhelm you with details: Numbers, activity tracking, interest tracking, unique visitors, partial but not final clicks, audience reaction, and regular feedback to help you sharpen your message.  In the past, our measurement depended on traditional media via circulation, subscribers or ratings.  Social media measurement is to business what DNA testing is to the criminal justice system. 

4. "We could hurt our reputation.  Employees could offend our customers with photos and even offensive posts."

Yes and yes. But measure this risk against not using social media.  Your competition is or soon will be.  Meanwhile, you will be perceived as hunkered-down and non-transparent.  Write a social media policy and open your doors to the world.

My new PR mantras:

1. BLOG.  Companies that blog have far better marketing results.  Blogging increases Web traffic by 55 percent and grows inbound links by 97 percent (HubSpot research).

2. Become the news.  Put a newsroom on your Website and link your releases to your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn pages and others.  Oh yes, you can still send news releases to media but I’m warning you, reporters are overwhelmed.

3. Send your announcements to industry bloggers. Do it delicately and do it right.  Do not nag!

4. Buy a good still-camera, an HD video camera, a professional microphone and MP3 voice recorder.  These are so inexpensive it will make your heart sing.  Become the news reporter at your company and document, document, document.  Then post the visuals and your announcements on all of your social media pages.

5. Give your online customers something of value:  Research, prizes, product to sample, free Webinars, ebooks, white papers, a sneak peak at your latest whatever.  If you give, you will get back.  Almost sounds like a new Golden Rule, doesn’t it?

Forbes Forming Network Of Women Business Bloggers

I just received an email asking me to join the ForbesWoman Blog Network (FWBN).  This is a very interesting trend - several months ago I discussed General Mills' efforts to creat a blogging network of individuals willing to try and write about General Mills products.

The Forbes proposal is very different.  Its team wants to be my "sales force" and approach blue chip advertisers...ultimately putting ads on this blog.  Think about it.  What if you had created a company blog and its content was so popular that you received a similar proposal from Forbes?  I'd call that good PR. 

The new world we've been predicting is here NOW.  The big guys are stepping into the non-traditional media mix.  I applaud this and plan to give it careful consideration.

A portion of the ForbesWoman Blog Network contract:

"We will promote the FWBN to our roster of blue-chip advertisers and while we will only run campaigns that are appropriate for your audience, our technology gives you the ability to review and approve every campaign, if desired.   Our advertising platform enables you to:
 

1. Review and approve any advertisement; 
2. Access to on-demand, real-time reports regarding the performance of campaigns and naturally your earnings; and 
3. You set your own rate card"

In addition, Forbes will provide me with a blog network badge to denote membership.  It then prompts me to go to a link to apply and accept the terms and conditions of the Ad Network Member Agreement.

This is the portion of the agreement that I REALLY liked - an effort to bring credibility to blogging content:

"You shall not display or make accessible on Member’s Site(s) materials that: (A) infringe or otherwise violate any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrete or other intellectual property right; (B) are libelous, defamatory, indecent, obscene, threatening, libelous, abusive or hateful; (C) are fraudulent, deceptive or intentionally misleading, or (D) violate any applicable law, rule or regulation or any other right of any third party, or suggest, encourage or intended to incite any criminal conduct."  

 

Ready To Share Yourself With The World? Marketers Are Quietly Salivating

Do you enjoy Facebook?  Are you pretty relaxed about what you say?  Have you carefully walled off certain items, wanting privacy?

Marketers are anxious, waiting for a "let down" of the public guard.  When that happens, they'll be able to mine social media to a new level of research, a closer step to understanding the American consumer who has embraced online social activity.

So if you use Facebook, and you decide to click on "public" for your site....be prepared.

Full story here from BusinessWeek.

Getting Paid "Twaid" To Tweet - Ad Dollars March Into Twitter

Imagine being paid, just like a celebrity who endorses product, to tweet about something?  According to today's ADWEEK,the same company offering bloggers compensation for writing about a product, IZEA, is moving into Twitter.  Call it: Pay per tweet.

New careers are being created.  Question is, will those who take payment be honest and credible?  Will they disclose their compensation? 

Those who venture into this new phase would be wise to treat their online reputations just as they do the ones they have in the non-cyberspace arena.  Let me quote William Buffet: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

The Power of Mommy - General Mills Creates The Mother Of All Blog Networks

The latest from Adweek...General Mills has been very busy.  The company has recruited more than 900 bloggers, 80 percent of them are moms.  General Mills calls this new network MyBlogSpark.  Members "can register to be eligible for everything from sampling campaigns to product coupons to news of a new ad campaign. General Mills plans to use the network to promote its wide portfolio of products in the food and beverage, beauty, home, electronics, health and automotive categories."

This type of wide open outreach might scare some companies.  But if MyBlogSpark participants read the fine print, the conditions for participating read: "If you feel you cannot write a positive post regarding the product or service, please contact the MyBlogSpark team before posting any content."

Read on...