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Archive for the ‘Bloggers’ Category

When Jen made the decision to go to BlogWorld, I was very excited for her.  But then she told me it was in Vegas, and I was excited for me, too!

I started researching all the Blog World “stuff” that would be going on. I wanted to learn from Jen’s sessions, but since I wasn’t an attendee, I wanted to see if I could participate in some way.  I stumbled upon a charity poker tourney.  I don’t drink (I’m actually allergic to alcohol,) and I am not much of a party person. But like many bloggers (it turns out), I do like to play a little poker.  There is no better place for poker than Las Vegas.  AND the proceeds went to charity. What could be better?

The charity poker tourney would be put on by Blog With Balls, and hosted by Annie Duke (a professional poker player and runner-up in the most recent season of The Apprentice). There would be a number of famous poker players including @andybloch, @jeffmadsenobv, and @devopoker. The buy-in was $60 with $50 rebuys the first hour.  The proceeds would go to the people of Darfur via the Ante up for Africa charity.

I arrived at the event at The Hard Rock and you could immediately see that this event was going to be fun. 100 players showed up- 10 per table, with the top 2 from each table advancing to the final 20. Each table had a professional poker player participating, as well as a couple of well-known blog writers. Adding to the fun, the pros had a bounty on their head. If you knocked one of them out you received a prize.

The bounty prize at my table was a 2009 Nike SQ Driver.   This is a VERY nice golf club and was I excited for the chance to snatch it up. [Author edit (and braincramp): The person that I needed to knock out at my table was Phil from Gunaxin.   This is a must read site for any guy (or any girl that wants to know exactly what guys like).]  Luckily for me, I won it! That was the good news, the bad news was I finished 3rd at the next table, and did not move on. I had a blast though. Great people, tons of fun, and a new golf club for my bag!

I was fortunate to meet a number of very nice people (including Capitan Morgan himself, very funny guy) and I was happy to be a part of this event which ended up raising $10,000 for the people of Darfur. This was a great tournament, and I thank and congratulate the Blogs with Balls gang and Annie Duke for hosting.

It’s nice to give- in any small ways you can.  It was fun playing a tournament knowing the money was going to a charity.  At the same time, I participated in the #beatcancer Twitter campaign that raised over $70,000 dollars for non-profit cancer orgs.  Using social media for good is a great thing.

Did you attend this tourney? Did you contribute to any charitable activities at the show?  Do you use social media for social good?  I’d love to hear about your experiences.

BlogWorld was the muse I needed to push my practices forward.  I want to share everything with you all, but I think you’d fall asleep before I got very far.  I like lists, so I present you with the Ultimate (high-level) Top 10 list of BlogWorld lessons for the non-attendee.

1. Don’t be afraid to be awesome.  You are awesome.  Own it.  Now go do something with your awesomeness.
2. We all know content is king.  It still is.  If you don’t have great content, no one will care about your blog.
3. More than content, a blog should drive your end-user to take some kind of action. Maybe that action is to enter a contest.  Maybe that action is to answer a question.  Perhaps the action is to purchase your product.  But the main thing is that you want to sustain your visitors.  Think about how YOU can do that.
4. We can’t forget that social media is an “us.” Your blog isn’t about you or your company.  Blog to build a community, not an audience.  In fact, if you pay attention, your community will control your content- and this is good.
   1. Speaking of which, go and meet some of “us” face-to-face.  Old fashioned networking is still awesome.
   2. Listen before you sell, and maybe don’t even sell at all: The phrase “you wouldn’t walk into a networking event and yell at the crowd, “HI! Read my book!” came up in almost every session.  You know why?  Because we all really need to learn how to listen better to all of “us.”  Even online.
5. Use social media for good.  This might mean that you work with attendees at a conference to #beatcancer and raise money.  Maybe you introduce two people who have collaboration potential to each other.  Maybe you blog about why someone else/some other company rocks. Whatever you do, help people.
6. Businesses- you get a few bullets.
   1. Let go.  People that are not your top executives may want to blog, and they should.
   2. Stop worrying about negative comments.  People leave negative comments because they care enough to have their problem fixed.  These folks like giving praise when their issues are resolved.  Why hide from this?
   3. Don’t just arm your bloggers with a list of don’ts.  Why not give them some dos?
   4. Don’t assume your end-users will come to you.  Find where they are and talk to them there.
   5. Show your personality.  Mix your business posts with human posts.  People buy products from people.
7. Search is important.  Use keywords to drive people to your site. People might visit your site to solve one problem one time.  That’s ok.  And if you think about it, your search terms are the only thing you really can control when you blog.
8. E-mail marketing is back.  But now, it’s a forum to be personal, build relationships and generate conversation.
9. There are a ton of tools you can use to make your job easier.  (I will post about these tools separately.)
10. PR people:
    1. The journalists don’t care about your press release.  They care about the story you are trying to tell.  Send them the story.  Only the story.
    2. Bloggers don’t care how many people you have been ordered to pitch.  But they REALLY care that you follow their pitch rules and send targeted, concise information.
    3. Build relationships with bloggers before you ask a favor.  Maybe e-mail and say “hi” and thank them for an article they have recently written?

So there you have it.  My top 10 take-aways from BlogWorld 2009. Oh, and it was FUN, too!  Where else can you pose for a picture with Captain Morgan?

JenMitch and Captain Morgan: BlogWorld 2009

Did you attend?  What makes your list of take-aways?

For those that didn’t attend, did any of these resonate with you as something you should be doing better?

Thanks, as always, for stopping by.

BlogWorld 2009

I am headed off to BlogWorld today.  I have been awaiting this day for months, and am so excited to hit the road.  But let’s face it, going to a large conference all by yourself can be extraordinarily intimidating.  I am definitely nervous and I don’t think I am alone.

Instead of focusing on my nerves, I thought I’d create a list of the top 5 reasons I’m excited to go to BlogWorld.

1. I will be attending 20 sessions ranging from “B2B  Social Media” to “How Social Media is Changing the State of News” to the “ROI Smackdown.”  I will have the opportunity to hear about 20 relevant issues for me and my clients, from 20 different perspectives.
2. I will be able to learn… from everyone who attends.  It’s nice to step out of your own box as often as possible.
3. I have the opportunity to sit in on sessions with some of my social media heros like Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Robert Scoble and more.  I have read books by all three, and it will be enlightening to hear them speak in real-time.
4. I will be making connections, some new, some previously existing on Twitter, all valuable.  Some of these connections will be made at the event itself.  Some will be made at the parties (which are sure to be amazing) wherein I will have the opportunity to connect with folks in a personal way.
5. It’s in Vegas!  Really, being in Vegas alone is reason to be excited.

For all that are going, I look forward to meeting you there.  For all who miss it this year, I look forward to sharing what I learn.

Social Media: Participate. Image by: davidking

One of the things I tell my clients: If you engage in transparent, relevant two-way conversation in your industry, you can eventually expect industry professionals and media to look upon you as a source for information.

I started blogging in September of last year.  At first, it was an experiment.  I learned that if you update consistantly, your audience will grow.  If you drop off for a bit, your audience will disappear.  This was especially true as I phased out my blog for a corporate Website.

I have a policy: I only blog about subjects relevant to my business.  Sometimes, I contribute to an existing conversation.  Sometimes I add something new to the mix.  I try to give props where props are due.

I also engage in the Twitter community.  I have developed meaningful relationships with business professionals.  I have grabbed chances to “guest blog.”  I have gained clients.  On Twitter, I can be more light-hearted and mix in social media tweets with those of a more personal nature.

I use my mistakes, experiments and successes to advise clients.

After 11 months, today I was contacted by a well respected publication to provide my insights on social media for corporations.  It’s more proof that the advice I give clients is true.  If you participate, you will rise above the noise.  It’s also proof that I eat my own dog food for MY corporate dealings, too.

As all PR professionals know, a media interview is not a guarantee that you will be covered in the story.  If it’s printed, great. But a media interview is a compliment and today I feel honored to have been asked for my opinion.

Social media takes time.  Many corporations are afraid of that time committment.  But I can say, 100% that time is well spent.

What successes have you had as a result of YOUR social media participation?

Nothing warms my day like an article filled with social media statistics. (I’m being serious.)  I know that 82.4% of all statistics are made up on the spot, but I’m inclined to believe the findings of Ketchum’s recent Traditional Media vs. Online Media report as reported by Mashable.

Bottom line:  more people are getting their news from network news (local and national) and local newspapers than blogs, the Internet or social media sites.

I’m not surprised.  How about you?

Here’s where the good news comes in.  According to Mashable:

- Blogs are now used by 24% of Internet users, up from 13% in 2006

- Social networks are now used by 26% of Internet users, up from 17% in 2006

- Videocasts are now used by 11% of Internet users, up from 6% in 2006

Also growing, RSS feeds and Podcasts.

So what do we do with these statistics?

Blogging:

I am a big proponent of Corporate blogs and suggest that nearly all of my clients start one.  Not only do blogs allow for Corporations to control their own message, but they also have the opportunity to give a corporation a human-feel.  The best Corporations understand how to disseminate their news in a fun-to-read manner.

Sometimes, a Corporation shouldn’t blog.  If a Corporation doesn’t have the ability to post updates consistently, has difficulties with the approvals process, or can not answer comments in a timely manner, I do not suggest blogging.

With the rise and public acceptance of blogs as legitimate news combined with usage of RSS feeds, will we as a society ultimately prefer to receive our news from Corporations themselves?

Social Networking:

Pretty much everyone participates in a social network on a personal level in one way or another.  Even my mom listens to Pandora radio both at home and on her iPhone.  (My mom is not very tech-savvy, but I love her anyway.) What should businesses do to reach the 26% of Internet users partaking?

Social networks are not one size fits all.  In other words, while MySpace might work for a band, LinkedIn might be best for a company looking to focus on expanding their sales efforts.  Likewise, Twitter might be best for a marketing organization.  There are many social networks to choose from and they should be chosen wisely.  It is better to be effective in one social network than participate poorly in many.

For a decently comprehensive list of Social Networks, and to see if your username is available, check here.

Videocasts:

Videocasts (or podcasts with video), are on the rise.  I can’t figure out a reason why I would create one for me YET, though I am starting to find lots of compelling reasons for my clients to create them.  If you are speaking at workshops, trying to have a more personal connection with your followers or just want to take your podcast to the next level, this is a growing area worth considering.

RSS Feeds:

It does surprise me that MORE people don’t use RSS feeds. I subscribe to everything I find interesting and by using RSS feeds, my life is simplified greatly.   I never thought it would be possible that I could read all my news on one page, share from that page, and talk about the news.  If this doesn’t stick as the number one way of receiving our news as a society, I REALLY wonder what will.

Traditional Public Relations:

Most importantly, we can’t yet forget about traditional public relations.  We still need to build relationships with our local newspapers and broadcast journalists and pitch them with compelling, interesting news.   There is no such thing as one size fits all public relations.  Our industry is growing.  I will continue to get all my news online, and in all likelihood, my mom will get three newspapers delivered every morning until the newspapers are cancelled.

Public Relations is about delivering the message to EVERYONE.  And while Social Media is certainly rising, it’s not time to forget where we came from just yet.

The problem:

Honestly, NO ONE in the world could be a more HORRID PR practitioner than Lois Whitman-Hess.   You didn’t hear about her?  Click here, or here.  This is a woman who thinks that just because a reporter is attending a tradeshow, they HAVE to meet with her client.  This is a woman who CALLS 45 reporters at the Wall Street Journal in ONE day.  This is a woman who spams journalists like it’s cool.  This is the kind of PR practitioner that makes bloggers think “PR” is a bad word.

WE GET IT.  There are some REALLY HORRIBLE public relations practitioners out there.

The solution:

Bloggers- I want to ask you a HUGE favor for 2009. HUGE.  I want to see one of you- one of you with the respect of the entire PR industry start a new blog or weekly column.  It will be called: The PHENOMENAL PITCH BLOG or something similar.  In this blog/column, you will call out the most outstanding PR pitches you have heard and call out the individuals who pitched.  This will be the anti-blacklist.  (The White-list.  Generic.  You get the idea.)

The philosophy:

I don’t think people learn from rants.  (Ironic since I am writing one.)  I think people learn best from shining examples of good.  In 2008, we’ve suffered through the economy, and if there is one thing that social media has taught me, it’s that (most of the time) positivity rises to the top while negativity sinks, ignored.   Maybe if we have a list of GREAT PR folks, people will strive to MAKE the list.  Let’s give PR people something to strive toward, not a list of avoid.

What now?

I’m one person.  A PR person, a blogger.  If you agree, if you want to see the PHENOMENAL PITCH BLOG come to life… forward this blog.  Who will do it for us?  For the WHOLE public relations industry?

I would be forever grateful.

It has been speculated by the new (fabulous) blog Lalawag that Qwitter has possibly gone under.   Article.  Could it be?  (Wahoo!)

For those unfamiliar, Qwitter is/was a Web application that e-mails Twitter users (who sign up) every day notifying them of fellow Tweeps who stop following their micro-feed.   While interesting in theory, what followed was an onslaught of Tweeps complaining about being “Qwit,” threatening to un-follow anyone who un-followed them and really, general high school patheticness on a massive level.

I never signed up for Qwitter, and this is why:

1) Not every person I find valuable is ALSO going to find my tweets valuable.  Should this offend me?  No.  We all have different offerings/services to provide to the greater community.  This is what makes Twitter great.

2) If I Tweet 140 characters, and someone doesn’t like what I have to say and therefore un-follows me, I am not going to change the way I tweet and “who I am online” to please one person.

3) When Twitter started, there might have been an unwritten code that if I follow a person, he/she should follow back. Given the size of Twitter now, those codes are off.  I follow over 500 people, and honestly, my favorite Tweeps are getting lost in the information shuffle.  At some point it’s IMPORTANT to be more selective to serve your business needs.

4) Finally- why?  What did I stand to gain to find out who was quitting my feed and when?  I would rather focus on the positive and learn about my new followers.

Services like Qwitter reinforce the feeling that social media can be just like high school.  If we put the focus on how many people are our friends or who quit today, we lose focus on what we stand to learn today.

I would never wish for a company to go under.  But in hard economic times, I would prefer that social media, and social media tools help us as a community stay in touch with positive forms of networking  and helpful dissemination of relevant information.

What do you think?  As always, I welcome your feedback.

Day after day I am seeing tweets on my Twitter account from journalists that say things like:

• PR Pro Tip: Do NOT pitch me on Facebook, or;
• Pitching me on Facebook is an invasion of my privacy, don’t do it!

Is Facebook Private?
I am not surprised that many journalists aren’t appreciating this. I am surprised that PR professionals are slipping business pitches into a space that IMHO is “invite only” and private.

From my perspective, Facebook is a semi-private domain on the Internet. I decide who my friends are and I also decide how I utilize the tool once I’m in. Many people use Facebook as a social service, planting gardens and posting pictures to share with their friends. In my case, I utilize Facebook to catch up with old friends, share my thoughts on issues that are important to me via FriendFeed/Twitter, post my resume, share my blog, etc. For me, my Facebooking is a combination of social and business usage, and as a result, I don’t want everyone to have access.

Measuring Interest
At this point, any of the PR pros who have sent a Facebook pitch are probably thinking: Yeah, but I can send a pitch to a reporter without being their friend via the “Message Me” function. Yes, on Facebook you can pitch Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal. But do you think he’ll appreciate it?

I went on Twitter to find out. Walt Mossberg has 902 followers. He is following zero people. NONE. I don’t think it’s a leap to guess that he likes sharing what he has written with the world, but might not be as interested to hear what PR pros have to say via a social media tool.

Even with bloggers, it’s much the same. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, for example has 25,000+ followers but only follows 480+ people.

How to Achieve Results
I understand, it’s hard to get your message out to these very influential folks. So what are PR pros to do? Follow the rules. Of each individual journalist, and pay attention to follow out what those rules are. Paying attention will lead to results.

You Decide
But nothing is definitive. I believe as much as some journalists dislike Facebook pitches, there MUST be some out there that love them, right? I have created two new groups on Facebook to find out.

Dude, don’t pitch me on Facebook!

Dude, I love being pitched on Facebook!

Journalists, bloggers, writers of all kind, please help us PR pros out! Please click on one of the pages and register. What do you think? Should Facebook pitches stay, or go away?

What happened to relationships in public relations?

The process for pitching a client’s product or service offering used to look like this:

• PR professionals would scour editorial calendars and then actually read each possibly relevant publication.
• PR professionals would then familiarize themselves with each editor they might pitch, including recent articles.
• Then, and only then, would a PR person pick up the phone. The point of this exercise was to build a relationship with the relevant editor regarding their client’s product or service offering.

The goal of this process was to position your client as the number one subject matter expert for an editor. Public relations was about trust. Relationships. Results usually followed.

Today the process is has (sadly) become about speed, numbers. Many PR professionals have placed their focus on hitting as many media outlets as possible to get their message out using high-tech spamming tools offered by MediaMap and other PR services. In the defense of PR professionals, I know these tactics work with many trade publications, but they aren’t resonating with bloggers.

In my observation, there are a few things PR professionals are doing as a rule in pitching these days:

• Sending press releases- they are available on the wire.
• Sending a scripted pitch, not specific to the publication/blog, which is obvious to the recipient.
• Sending pitches that demonstrate a lack of familiarity with either the blog/publication, the editor or both.

Todd Defran of PR Squared addresses this issue in a recent post “Bloggers: Be Proactive in Educating PR Pros.” The rules, PR gang, are really simple:

• Be brief.
• Demonstrate in your pitch that you have read the blog before.
• Look to see if the blogger accepts PR pitches, and if they do, do they have specific rules and/or requests for the pitches they receive? If you follow those, your chances of being picked up will increase greatly.

Easy, right?

There are a few rules Todd doesn’t cover, that I also think carry great importance.

• Link everything. Bloggers print everything on the Internet at lightning speed, and your news has a better chance of being picked up if you can provide them with a link. This means you have to have your links ready to go in your press room.
• Be transparent. Bloggers can read through all of your PR spin BS. So don’t have any.
• Be available to the Blogger.

While we don’t pick up the phone and call editors as much these days, I do believe bloggers are asking us to take steps back and focus on relationships again. If the news is relevant, a Blogger will print it. If it’s not, they won’t. Read their news, focus on relevancy and keep your focus on being the subject matter expert just like you did in the “old days” and you’ll have results.