Just in case you missed my recent guest post on Kyle Lacy’s blog last week, check it out, 4 Tips to Discover the Value of Twitter Chat and have a great week!
Last week I had the unique opportunity with the Hoosier PRSA Chapter to be a passenger on an in-flight refueling missing on a KC-135 at Grissom Air Reserve Base as part of the 434th Air Refueling Wing (the largest Refueling Wing in the Air Force Reserve Command) in Peru Indiana.
The experience was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. At the end of the day, I walked away having learned much more than I expected. In addition to the flight, the day also consisted of a Crisis Communications panel in the morning (more posts on that coming soon), and a lot of social media use as we shared our real-time experience via our favorite social media outlets. I gained new perspectives on the way that social media can work for us, and a new appreciation for the U.S. Air Force.
Much like social media acts as a force multiplier to get our messages, stories and news across to the public, I learned that the 434 Air Refueling Wing (ARW) acts as a huge force multiplier for our Air Force. On this particular day, I was able to witness both.
Social Media can be used to allow others to work for us, spreading our key messages, good news and best pictures (we love our twitpic apps) to the masses. Through our friends and followers on Twitter and Facebook, and through our loyal blog readers, we are able to advertise ourselves (or our companies) and broadcast our messages to a much wider audience at a much faster rate than ever before. Throughout the day the 13 of us in the group tweeted, twitpic’ed, recorded and updated our status’. We were able to use our favorite apps to share with our friends and followers a little piece of what Grissom does on a daily basis.
Similarly, in-flight refueling missions allow the Air Force to conduct several operations much more efficiently. It allows pilots to fly longer missions and cover greater distances — bringing troops and supplies to different US military stations around the world. The 434ARW runs more of these missions per day than any other Air Force Reserve Command, acting as a huge force multiplier for the U.S. Air Force.
At 31,000 miles above the Appalachian Mountains, traveling at a ground speed of 405 mph, sitting on approx 120 thousand pounds of fuel pouring out at a rate of 6,500 pounds per minute into the C-17 flying next to us (also traveling at 406 mph)… I realized just how vital (and cool) these missions actually are, and how important the 434ARW is to the Air Force and the defense of our nation.
It’s a situation many of us have been in before: You have an important dinner coming up, and you need to provide the appetizer, a side or maybe the dessert. A perfectly selected, expertly prepared recipe that you’ll be remembered for for years to come.
No pressure.
The planning and work that goes into that prize-winning dish is, in many ways, similar to the job of media relations. Instead of an important dinner, though, it’s the release of big client news. Here are five ways the media relations desk parallels with the kitchen stove.
1. Shopping around – A cook pores over recipes, debating methods and comparing choices. Then you spend time at the optimal grocery store, circling the aisles and choosing the perfect ingredients for the dish.
A successful PR pro or media relations specialist knows their client’s industry inside and out, or is at least able to speak that way with the media. They spend time researching and gathering all of the necessary information or ingredients they need to be able to conjure up the perfect mix of information that intelligently positions their client’s news.
2. Preparation – My dad always said, “All it takes to be a good cook is preparation.” A cook cleans their kitchen, sets out everything they will need, and plans the preparation so everything comes together at the right moment.
In media relations, a significant part of the process is preparing the perfect media list that reaches the right media for the target audience. Then they’ll supply hyperlinks that direct the media to the right information and attachments that will ensure they have everything they need.
3. Timing – In the kitchen, one of the most invaluable tools a cook uses is a timer. No one wants to serve a burned dish.
At the desk, a media relations specialist must be aware of media trends, so they can jump on timely opportunities and meet deadlines — giving their clients the chance to be seen and heard.
4. Presentation – For a cook, it’s all about visual appeal. Nobody wants to eat something that doesn’t look great. What will make mouths water?
In media relations, you want to position your client’s information the right way. As Peter Shankman says, be a helper. You are not just helping your client – you’re also helping the media by providing relevant and interesting content. It’s all in the presentation and how you deliver that information.
5. Share and provide council – Your dish was a hit! When you’re asked about your recipe, you can respond — explaining why you substituted olive oil instead of butter to make the meal healthier or taste better, for example.
When a client inquires about why you chose to bypass an opportunity, as council, you must be able to explain the strategy behind that decision, keeping that client’s best interest (and reputation) in mind.
Both media relations and cooking require a certain amount of preparation and positioning to provide the most appetizing and successful result. So PR and media folks: remember, take time for the right setup, perfect ingredients, and a tempting presentation… and then, bon appétit!
(Originally written for post on MillerBrooks.com)
May’s PR Week claims that the iPad has the potential to fundamentally change the way people access media and that PR pros must view it as what it is…a true game-changer.
I want to know specifically how it will change the game for us. We already had direct access to the internet and to media via our multiple daily updates, micro-blogging, status updates and breaking news alerts then how will the iPad significantly change this?
What do you think?
I started “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by @dmscott this week, and I’ve already picked up some very valuable truths… I’m excited to get past the first few chapters, I have a feeling this book is going to be filled w/ golden nuggets of information for the PR world.
Here are some tips I learned simply from the first few pages….
1. You don’t need to spend $80,000 on marketing videos anymore. Instead, get a hand held and start posting to you tube. This could be huge for companies to save some cash. Make sure your in-house PR staff, or your agency, is familiar with filming and then have them do it for you rather than blowing your marketing budget to produce a video. Also, I think an important aspect of PR is to be transparent with your brand, and doing a “made at home” video is another way to do this. Use it as an opportunity to show your audience and customers what your brand is really about – behind the scenes. (Maybe this means I should get a flip camera for Christmas?)
2. Press releases are not only for the press… Dare to think outside the traditional PR box. You don’t have to only use Cision to send your release. Are there other organizations interested in your information, other outlets outside the traditional Public Relations-reach? Don’t hesitate to push your information out further. As long as your information is relevant to the person who you are sending it to, encourage yourself and your team to consider more than the traditional pitch-audiences.
3. Don’t underestimate the blogger. Reach out to bloggers much more often, and continue to build up that media list with blogs vs. print media. The internet is where people access their information now…and bloggers are the future.
4. Share information, don’t hide it. Don’t be nervous about competitors, if you have information that is valuable to customers, readers and buyers, share it!! (Example: several books started out as blog postings, and when the readership-grows then go on to be turned into books. Most authors wouldn’t think of publishing their information for free – but this is how some great books go their start!)
5. The old rules of marketing, are old. They no long longer apply in an online world. (AKA: Obnoxious pop-up ads don’t catch attention, they tend to annoy people.) Cater your marketing and advertising efforts to the mediums that people now communicate through. From delivery to design, advance your methods as the rules and trends change.
Here are the facts: I have attended many webinars, seminars, boot camps, and teleconferences teaching the ways of PR and the new rules of social media, marketing, pitching etc.
I am a PR professional, early on in my career and I am hungry for knowledge and advancement. I have a passion for networking, learning from others and educating myself in and outside of work. This is all in addition, of course, to my love of Public Relations strategies and emerging social media trends. I don’t think I am a minority here, I think there are plenty of young-er minds out there that want to learn to adapt new practices and learn how to blog better, engage better, pitch better (whatever it may be) and ultimately grow in their industry and in their career.
Specifically I want to learn more about SEO, HTML, and social media and blogging (but not for beginners). And the sad truth is, I don’t really have all day. I’m in the office from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm most days at an agency I love and give 100 percent to. So here’s my plea, if you’re out there and you know about boot camps, webinars, classes, or people who would be willing to sit down with me. I’m sick of going to seminars and webinars that repeat the same A, B, C rules of Twitter and Facebook, I’m looking for more.
So as I continue to dig for opportunity, and find time and vehicles to further my education in the industry I’m asking you, readers and friends…. to share your knowledge, and challenge me!
In addition to our day-to-day pitching, monitoring, writing, etc… as a PR pro we are also supposed to provide strategic council for our clients, while keeping them happy, adding value to their businesses and having a broad understanding and up-to-date knowledge of industry happenings. Sometimes this means we need to be able to advise our clients on the right action to take and this can mean informing them they are about to make the wrong one. How does one do this and keep their client happy? It’s not easy….
Here a few tips to help you maneuver around an awkward conversation while essentially telling your client…it’s a bad idea.
1. Forward-thinking. This may seem obvious, but resist the urge to tell your client NO without stating your case. Why is the a bad idea? Short term effects, long term effects, help your client project the situation to see the future outcome. Yes, this may seem like a good idea at the moment to promote a certain event or product, but could it hurt your client’s credibility in the future? Our clients tend to get carried away with big ideas, before they get too excited help them take a forward-thinking approach to see what the right actions are.. today. It may seem simple, but explain your case, and be able to back it up with solid reasons that are in place to position your client for a successful future.
- Encourage your client choose the right one…
2. Brand Consistency. Encourage your client to think about whether or not this move/decision is “in-line” with their branding and reputation. This is always a strong stance to take, stressing the importance of a strong brand consistency will be a persuasive angle when talking your client out of potentially bad decision. Remind them that you don’t want to disrupt both of your efforts to create a reliable company brand.
3. First-things-first: Some of our clients can be big dreamers or visionaries… if you will, which in many cases is what makes many of them successful. However, having an over-sized dream or goal can be a set back if it’s not handled correctly. These types of clients sometime need us to pull them back down to earth and make them a first-things-first list. Take care of #1-3 before you rattle off what #26-30 will entail. I have experienced clients that don’t make progress because they obsess over the end point. Encourage them to focus on how to make things happen now. Help them take it step by step, often times this will avoid decisions that don’t make sense for your client at the current time. Remember, we are here to give them a plan/campaign for a reason, and those steps should be followed and clearly understood in order to achieve measurable success.
4. Be direct, without being direct. Choice of words is a huge factor in this situation, you can likely find a way to tell your client, “don’t do it”, without using that exact phrase. Encouraging your client to take action with A, B or C… is different than telling them, don’t do D. Push your client towards positive action/movement, rather than pushing them away from a bad idea. Simply re-direct them. Maybe you will be successful in distracting the client from an un-wise release or announcement by suggesting a difference course of action be taken.
This week I decided to trim down my twitter following – aka. stop following hundreds of people I don’t know, that aren’t saying much that I am benefiting from.
I think it’s important to follow people on twitter that are:
1. Adding value – If you’re tweeting your friends and/or boyfriend on twitter non-stop (and nothing else) then you’re probably not that interesting in my twitter feed – and I might unfollow you!
*With that said, my entire family, sister-in-law’s family, boyfriend, co-workers and friends are on twitter and do I talk to them through tweets from time to time? Absolutely. But do I also attempt to also contribute to twitter in the ways listed below? Of course!
2. Teaching you – Tips, great blogs, new ideas and perspectives. I learn from those I chose to follow on twitter. If you want to know who is teaching me, take a look at those I follow on twitter.com.
3. Sharing relevant information – I’m aware of current events, interesting articles and funny advertisement bloopers because of some of my twitter friends! I follow @Mashable so I’m sure I won’t miss their many interesting and educational blog posts throughout the day.
4. Making you laugh – I follow many people simply because…they are funny, they make me laugh and that’s valuable! @WeirdNews is always interesting, and @DesignerG tweets about his love of coffee nearly every morning, but never says the same thing… always entertaining.
Slimming your twitter following is a good reminder to make sure you add value on Twitter, be creative and interesting! What would your Twitter followers say about you?
In light of YouTube surpassing 2 billion daily viewers, here are some interesting facts about e-waste, shared with me from a coworker @millerbrooks…. How green is web and e-communications? Here’s a few enlightening stats for you to ponder today…
- Electronic devices are much more complex and expensive to recycle then print, recover and reuse due to the toxic nature of many of their components, and current systems are still in the early stages.
- The average data center serving our electronic devices consumes the same amount of energy as 25,000 households
- Server farms that power the web have become the fastest growing users of fossil fuel in the world, and the amount of energy they use is doubling every year.
- 70 percent of toxic waste in U.S. landfills comes from e-waste.
- Spam emails sent annually, have the footprint of driving a car around the globe 1.6 million times. (Can you believe that??)
- Swedish researchers found recently that in Europe, reading the news for 30 minutes online produces more CO 2 per year, per reader, than reading a printed newspaper.
So I guess putting that little “please don’t print unless absolutely necessary!” at the bottom of our e-mail signatures isn’t really that noble of us is it?
Foursquare??
What’s the deal with Foursquare? Why you no longer need a bouncy ball and a court to play…..
When our slew of Miller Brooks employees head out to lunch on any given day of the week, I’m usually on my phone within the first few minutes after we sit down at the table. My co-workers, who know me well, don’t need to ask what I’m doing. They roll their eyes because they know I’m “checking in” to our to our favorite lunch spots on Foursquare.
The growing location-based social media application trend is led by Foursquare, a service that provides real-time user location updates specific to a venue. Location-based services (LBS) like Foursquare are expected to really take flight in 2010 — providing they aren’t beat out by location-based features being added to Twitter and Facebook.
Much like the case with Twitter before it mainstreamed, many have heard of Foursquare, but very few actually use it or understand how it works. So if you’re among those who still think Foursquare is a playground ballgame played on a court divided into quadrants, I’ll help you out.
Let’s start with a quick breakdown of the application, and then I’ll give you my two cents.
What is Foursquare?
Foursquare is a location-based social networking application for mobile devices.
How does it work?
Users go to a venue (whether it be a restaurant, bar, park, retail store, office, etc.) and check in using their mobile application. When you’ve checked in, you are awarded points. Foursquare adds up the number of times you’ve been to that location. You receive more points at certain places, and when you are the person who has checked in to that venue the most, you become the mayor.
What is a badge?
When you become a regular user, and start checking in at multiple venues, you will receive badges for your check-in. From the start, there are a slew of beginner badges you receive for becoming an active Foursquare user. First, you’ll receive the newbie badge, then the adventurer badge, then the local badge, and so on. Badges and points aren’t really connected; badges are more of a reward system for interesting check-ins.
My two cents
Now that you know how it works, let me tell you what I think about Foursquare: it’s awesome!
I see two main arguments for the use of Foursquare, whether it’s for fun, for work… or simply because you’re starting to feel left out!
- Competitive gaming quality: I’m convinced that the competitive nature of the application makes it quickly addicting. (It was for me!) I’ve only been on Foursquare for 5 months, but as a person who’s new to Indianapolis, I’m always sure to check into my new favorite hangouts. I don’t want to miss out on the points or badges I might receive that will document the discovery of my new city. To help keep the application competitive, most mobile Foursquare applications feature a “LeaderBoard,” which shows you the amount of points you’ve earned on Foursquare each week – resetting every Sunday evening.
- Networking: The “check-in” aspect of Foursquare creates a stream of content that contains all your daily travels. Other users can then follow your stream and engage you in conversation about your favorite places. It’s another way for you to connect with someone and get to know him or her better. You can also follow other people’s check-ins to see where they have been. If your friends are using Foursquare, you can locate them in the city without ever making a single phone call. Also, as you watch your friends check in, you may discover some great restaurants and shops that you never knew existed!
Foursquare’s Challenge
The application clearly has the “cool factor.” As of early 2010, it claimed about 725,000 members — and it has only been around since early 2009. But the question is, can it be proved useful? Besides being fun, Foursquare was launched for business — and participating businesses say yes. Here’s why:
- Foursquare allows venues to provide deals and discounts to the Foursquare users who check in. Some even offer special deals to mayors. It’s another way for businesses to engage their patrons.
- As a business owner, you can learn a lot of valuable insights about your customers by monitoring their activities on Foursquare. You can find out where else your customers go, as well, to learn who your competitors are.
- Businesses can monitor their brand presence across social media mediums. You can identify both your biggest supporters and people who might be unhappy with your company. You can then engage these people and make sure they continue to be supporters of your brand, or right the wrong and gain back a customer.
As Foursquare becomes more mainstream, the application is rapidly gaining users (adding almost 100,000 in a 10-day period during SXSW in Austin, TX). But as the fan base builds, questions arise as well. One in particular: with people checking into (and out of) their homes via Foursquare updates (which can push out to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), is personal privacy at risk? This, no doubt, will be a hot social media topic throughout 2010.
Can you really weigh what you think about Foursquare if you don’t give it a try? Sign up at Foursquare.com and tell me what you think!
