Crisis, “PR disaster” or #epicfail: labels with a lot of subjective latitude in the fast-moving stream of social media opinion When assessing this super-sized instalment of Bytes from the PR Sphere, I’m casting a line of request to keep a fishy image in mind that reeled me in oceans of time ago. Attending a Toronto client presentation from a media monitoring company, a senior staffer from its Chicago head office captured our attention with a screen image of a large, loosely woven net, plus a number of fish—of varying sizes, commonplace looking and exotic—swimming into or through the mesh. My …
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With the explosion of high speed internet and the social media scene, businesses that aren’t getting in will most certainly be put out. It is important to exhaust all possible resources – especially free ones – in order to expand a business, connect with customers, and be more productive. Free advertising is a blessing that is hard to come by, and the use of social media networks as advertisements is particularly helpful and cost-effective. However, businesses often do not spend the time and resources on social media properly, and instead they find that their work becomes fruitless and a waste …
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I sure hope so! In fact, since I’ve done nothing but B2B sales since 1977, I’m counting on it! First let me say that I am very excited to have been invited by Neal to be a regular contributor to this site! The best way to start with this topic may be to review a few of those things that are most important to B2B sales professionals. They want to: Find new opportunities and new customers – keep their pipelines full with qualified prospects. Improve their closing ratios and keep their sales figures (and commissions) well above goal. Develop closer …
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There is a popular term in social media circles that “social is the new SEO.” The relationship between being active in social media and how it affects your search engine optimization cannot be denied, especially with the emergence of the Google +1 button and Google+. The issue on hand, however, is that social media marketing and search engine optimization should be two completely disciplines, but some of the latter discipline experts feel that social is becoming an important part of their role.
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To be honest with you, in light of all of the recent blog posts and Twitter conversations about the subject, I never intended to write this blog post about Klout. But as I pointed out earlier in defense of Klout, it is one barometer of how active someone is in social media. Klout is in a never-ending battle to measure activity and display those that have actual influence with a higher number, and that is not an easy task as you can imagine. I’m not a fan of the debate among those in social media as to whether or not …
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I recently wrote a blog for Idea Girl Media about building a strong board and what areas nonprofits should address when structuring their board. While “Non-Profit Essentials: Blocks For Building Strong Boards” addresses the “what” when building Boards, one reader commented that it’s finding the “who” that can be troublesome for small nonprofit organizations. NPOs should be striving to recruit C-level Boards (CEOs, COOs and other high ranking executives from local companies), but how do you break into that elite circle? “Recruiting high end board members is no different than cultivating potential major donors. The key is building relationships, and …
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As we begin to close out this amazing year of growth (ubiquity?) of social media in 2011, it is time to take a look back and try to grasp at the true significance social media plays in our daily lives. Years ago, the masses were silent. As I often present in my speeches, up until just a little more than two decades ago mass communication was one way, and information was only served through television, radio and print. Today, with the vastness of the Internet and the rise of mobile technology, the masses have suddenly found themselves with virtual megaphones …
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The inaugural byte focused on two of the three pillars of PR: reputation and value. Now let’s gnaw away on the third pillar of relationship building to test its sturdiness, particularly in relation to social media (“engagement and information”). As a framework, let’s revisit key definitions from the last Bytes from the PR Sphere column: Relationship building – connections, informal or formal, short- or long-term, developed with various stakeholders through dialogue, actions or transactions. CPRS definition of PR “…relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of communication, to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve …
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In an online marketing world where SEO is critical, businesses and bloggers pay close attention to optimizing content for SEO and strategically choosing keywords to increase their chances of showing up high on Google search results. But what about the rest of us? You know, us professionals, who also want to put our best foot forward and make sure that content that best represents us shows up high in Google search results for whatever objective we might have such as personal branding, job search, or even just networking? A service has now emerged to bring the same SEO benefits that …
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I get asked by a lot of companies as well as bloggers as to ideas on what they should be blogging about. My golden rule, as a tool of Inbound Marketing, is to try to blog about topics that my potential clients might be interested in. As you know, I believe a blog should be an essential component of any social media strategy. Now, since I provide consulting and coaching services to companies as well as sell books to individuals, my target audience is pretty broad. However, I always try to blog to showcase my expertise as well as attract …
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