Tag Archives: Twitter

Online Publishing is Easy with paper.li

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Online publishing is a hot topic in social media circles and it’s something I discussed Tuesday morning during my monthly social media segment on Farm Week Now, a production of the Illinois Farm Bureau Radio Network. You’re actually a content creator, and don’t need to spend the time publishing original material. You become a valued source of information around the web, finding the content for which other’s lack the time to search.

Paper.li makes content curation easy, and visually attractive while making you look like an expert on the topic of your choosing. Why should you do it? Because  you don’t have to CREATE the content. You just CURATE it. It’ll help you grow your online community while positioning you as an authority on the topic(s) that your niche audiences find interesting. Since Paper.li is a social tool, others can easily supply you with content or share your content with their communities, making your paper.li viral.

Want to see what Paper.li is all about? See the Chicago PR Daily, created by my friend and fellow ex-City Hall reporter Sarah Skerik, who is now an executive with PR Newswire in Chicago. Sarah curates content on Twitter, uses it in her paper, and cites the friends and followers who originally tweeted about the content (in fact, I’ve been cited in her Chicago PR Daily on more times than I can count).
paperli-tcWant to follow the latest news about food to your table? Check out the Food & Agriculture Spotlight or The Daily Agvocate.

Want news about Chicago’s hottest restaurants and bars? See the Chicago Restaurants & Bars Daily. Maybe you’re tracking Restaurants of the World? There’s a paper.li Daily for that too!

Want to learn more about paper.li?

Paper.li has an easy step-by-step process for creating your own online newspaper

Or check out How to become a Twitter publisher with paper.li 

If my post encourages you to create your own Daily newspaper, please let me know and send me the link to it.  Do Good!

 

 

 

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Need PR for your App? Sorry, there’s NO App for that!

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No app for that

In the last month, I’ve been approached by three different companies seeking help in generating news for their smart phone apps creations.  Currently, I’m working with a brother-sister team that developed BrainAttack App to help emergency room doctors and nurses save lives for stroke patients. Like my clients, all app creators are trying to rise above the noise being generated in an industry that’s growing at lightning speed.

Since 2008, when Apple launched its iTunes App store more than 800,000 apps have been downloaded. Google has quickly played catch up with just under 700,000 apps on Google Play as it marks its first birthday.

app-store-heart

If there’s a business problem, there’s probably an entrepreneur who’s created or working on an app solution. Unfortunately, there’s no app guaranteed to get news coverage for your new app. With the mix of traditional and social media required to generate awareness of your app, a one-size fits-all solution just won’t get you results.

There are so many target audiences that can make or break your efforts to generate awareness of your apps. With these hurdles in mind, I offer…

Top 10 tips to build media buzz for your App  Continue reading →

Best magazine covers; Magazine burial ground broadens.

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I’ve never heard of Vice or Flaunt, but I do appreciate the style and substance that goes into creating a compelling magazine cover.

So when Advertising Age compiled its 10 best magazine covers for 2012, I had to see them. And it’s worth the view. As I perused these beauties, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people actually purchased/subscribed to these publications and actually saw them at their best — in print. With magazine circulation numbers on a never-ending downward slide (see below),I also tried to estimate the year when we’d no longer hold a fully assembled and stapled magazine for our own personal pleasure.

From the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism

Magazine industry keeps downsizing, thanks to digital media and social networks.

My Newsweek print subscription will be no more come January 1st – I’ll have to get my Newsweek fix online and it won’t be the same.

I was saddened when Gourmet folded in 2009 and not surprised when PC Magazine suffered a similar fate. You can take a look to spot one of your favorite pubs that folded in 2009. Or maybe one of your favs ceased publication in 2008?

Will some of the best magazines remain as print versions, because they’re just too vital or beautiful or popular to die? Will many be around in 2015? 2020?

What’s your prediction on the year the last printed magazine as we know it will fold? Will you miss them when they do? Will you be satisfied reading an article or seeing your cover on a tablet or smart phone? Leave your comments because I love when you do.

 

 

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Find Rewards by Mining Your LinkedIn Profile

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This post appeared originally on Carol Roth’s Business Unplugged Blog. 

If you noticed someone peeking through the front door of your business, would you ask “How can I help you?” You’d be silly not to make that personal connection; especially as businesspeople, we’re always looking for that next customer.

There are probably at least a half dozen people peeking through your business front door – your LinkedIn account – on a daily basis. Are you reaching out to them? Too shy? Don’t know what to say? Don’t want to give the impression that you’re spying on your visitors?

Today, I want to embolden you and arm you with the steps needed to make those valuable connections with potential customers, because I’ve learned this past summer that with the right approach, you CAN get meaningful business leads and valuable connections.

STEP 1. Start off with the front page of your LinkedIn profile. You’ll find a box that says “Your profile has been viewed (number) times in the past 14 days.” Check this page at least weekly and preferably daily. Most of the time, you will see the identities of your LinkedIn visitors. Members have the option to have their name displayed, have their title/industry displayed without their name, or remain anonymous. Many members choose not to hide their identity. With the paid membership, you can see all of the viewers of your profile, not just a select few.

I make this visit to my profile page a daily routine and it has been well worth the investment of my time.

Proof Point 1: This summer, I noticed a former client was on my page, someone I hadn’t spoken to in 10 years. I checked his recent job history, sent an email and started a conversation about what he’d been up to. I researched his new firm, checked recent news and sent him a message saying hello and congratulating him on his accomplishments. That led to a string of emails, lunch, and now, I am in conversations with his CEO for possible PR work. I landed a quality lead based on my relevant media relations work experience and didn’t have to make one annoying cold call! Pretty nice, huh? And SO easy.

STEP 2. If folks visiting your profile aren’t easily recognizable, check out their pages if you can and your connections to them. LinkedIn etiquette suggests that you request an introduction from a current member of your network. That works fine, but may take a while. However, I have found that new visitors to your profile don’t mind your direct outreach, as long as it’s not repeated and annoying. But DO be sure you do some homework before trying to connect. Also, remember to include the reason that you are reaching out and why they might want to connect with you. (See example below.)

Proof Point 2: A recent visitor to my LinkedIn page was the Director of Marketing from an MBA school at a major university. LinkedIn requires that you should have a business history with the person you’re messaging. In many cases, I haven’t done business with these people, but I have never been caught by a “LinkedIn cop” for violating the rule. And none of my InMail recipients has ever told me to stop messaging them. Hey, if I don’t get a response, I don’t bother them again. In nearly every instance, I have gotten a response. I’ve never heard of anyone being bounced from LinkedIn for the occasional InMail infraction against someone they don’t know. (If you know of someone who has been ejected, please do share!) So, when you see the LinkedIn prompt asking how you know this person, use your current firm as your reference and check we’ve done business together. If you are in a group with the person and don’t know them, you can use that option instead.

STEP 3. How to approach that visitor scoping out your profile? Here’s the gist of an InMessage I sent to that CMO of a major university:

“Hi NAME, I couldn’t help noticing that you visited my profile this week. Is there something that I can help you with or perhaps offer a recommendation for a candidate whose name we might have in common?”

I received a reply saying that he was looking for a communications person to elevate his school’s social media presence. He complimented my PR and social media credentials and indicated that he was looking for a more junior level candidate and so, I offered to aid in his search. I made a valuable connection and feel totally comfortable reaching out to him again, if needed, in the future.

What’s the lesson here? Do your LinkedIn homework every day and see who’s checking out your profile. Look for ways that you might help those people and do the research to ask intelligent, relevant questions. You just never know where that conversation will take you and your business.

Is this something that you have used successfully in your business? I would love to hear about your experiences or suggestions.

 Post happily written by Michelle Damico
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Don’t Be LinkedIn-Lazy — Use it for Business Intelligence

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By regularly nurturing your LinkedIn network, you can get valuable business intelligence that can open doors. It happened to me and I want to tell you how.

LinkedIn MerlinWizard

LinkedIn MerlinWizard (Photo credit: Adriano Gasparri)

If you’re like most of my friends, you treat LinkedIn as an online resume-storage box. You probably devote most of your social media time sharing information with friends on Facebook or Twitter, and rarely visit or update your LinkedIn profile, seek recommendations, join groups, list accomplishments or even add a profile photo.

If you’ve been LinkedIn-Lazy, it’s time to change your ways. It’s the first place recruiters do their hunting; it’s a place where it’s totally cool to strut your stuff, and your achievements get showcased in a nicely organized way.

What’s most important to me? On LinkedIn, you can easily gather business intelligence by learning about nearly everyone who is sizing you up on a daily basis.

That little bit of information — above all else — is LinkedIn’s most valuable benefit to my business.

I treat LinkedIn as my little treasure hunt in reverse. The treasures aren’t hidden. They are in full view EVERY DAY. Every single day I find valuable gold nuggets for my business — the names and companies of those who’ve visited my profile page.

It’s my free business intelligence about who may be looking for a PR or social media consultant. It also tells me who’s trolling for possible partnerships or internships. With a little chutzpah, you can connect with those people and see what unfolds.

Here’s a nugget that recently dropped in my LinkedIn lap. I noticed a few days ago that a marketing exec from a major university visited my page. So I took the initiative to send this message:

Dear PERSON, I couldn’t help but notice your recent visit to my LinkedIn profile. Please let me know how I might help you or whether any potential job candidates have listed me as a reference. Enjoy your summer!

The next day I received this response:

Thanks for the note. I am looking for a XXXX to take XXXX to the next level. Ideally I am looking for INDUSTRY X, Y AND Z who can help to further raise our profile and engage prospects. (TEXT ALTERED BY ME)

By simply checking up on my LinkedIn profile visitors, I now have a continuing conversation with someone I might never have met. A door opened for me and I didn’t even push. I’ll let you know if it leads to business.

Having a solid, 100% complete LinkedIn profile is a must for any professional, whether or not he/she is looking for work. And it’s equally important to make daily trips to LinkedIn to see who’s scoping you out.

It also helps to take the initiative (or maybe, audacity) and let LinkedIn visitors know that you’re looking at them while they’re looking at you. As long as you can do it in a welcoming, helpful, non-creepy sort of way, you have nothing to lose and some valuable business intel to gain.

Happy Reverse-Treasure Hunting! 

Post happily written by Michelle Damico

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It’s #FollowFriday — You sharing the love?

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It’s February’s First #FollowFriday, which means time to fulfill Twitter’s mission — to be helpful.

Every Friday on Twitter is #FollowFriday — or #FF — whenTweeps recommend others within their networks who have worthwhile things to say and are worth following.

I have many #FF choices and I hope to add more to this list when I can catch some time today. Please don’t be offended if you’re not on this list. You will be!

Here are some of my #FF choices. If you follow them too, tell them I sent you, and don’t forget to use the #FF hashtag.

@SarahSkerik — leads social media initiatives at PR Newswire and included my quotes in her highly respected PR Newswire blog.

@PRSaraHEvans — a leader in the PR social media community and founder of JournChat

@AnnDwyer_Crains — writes about Entrepreneurship and the challenges facing small business people

@PRSoapBox — Colleen Campbell, a former colleague, is brilliant and her observations about digital PR and the industry in general are spot-on.

@ScottKleinberg – 0ne of the most helpful journalists you will ever find on social networks. He writes for the Tribune and assists other Tribune staffers with their social media actvities.

@BernieTafoya – Newsradio 780s veteran street reporter. One of the most creative guys on radio and a class-act pro.

@GiniDietrich — Social media powerhouse, super creative CEO, author and founder of the popular “SpinSucks” blog.

@MarjHalperin — She’s a colleague, and fellow radio news junkie, communications strategy maven, and is all over Chicago‘s cultural and arts scene. She is now heading up Mayor Emanual’s initiative to craft Chicago’s Cultural Plan.

@PointA_PointB — My friend, Catherine Morgan, Brainiac, extremely connected life coach who has an answer to every entrepreneur’s question. She’ll steer ya right!

@MrMediaTraining – one of the most insightful and spot-on interview training coaches, who is so good at finding others’ media blunders and picking them apart with great precision

Keep checking in here, as I plan to do a favorite journalists Tweep list.

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Great Tool to Follow Journ Tweeps

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twitter logo map 09

Image by The Next Web via Flickr

If you are a news junkie and a Twitter fan, you will want to check out this directory of journalists on Twitter, listed by their media outlet. It comes from Muck Rack, which follows what journalists are reporting and talking about on social media. It also ranks the most active journalists on social media on the Muck Rack Leaderboard, which is a great way to follow trends and developing news.

Muck Rack is a fantastic source for anyone interested in news and communications. It was started in 2009 with about 150 journalists on Twitter and now lists thousands of reporters and editors who are active on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Quora, Google+, LinkedIn and more. What’s best is that the list is actually fact-checked by a team of editors, so you know you’re getting great info.

If you want to get even closer to the action, subscribe to the Muck Rack Daily email to learn on a daily basis what journalists are saying. This is a great resource for anyone who is trying to promote their own business, or who is doing PR and Media Relations on a shoestring!  If you subscribe, let me know what you think.

 

 

 

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“How do I…?” The entrepreneur’s most common PR question

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“How do I use PR to…    

  • Get more customers?
  • Grow my business?
  • Stand out from the competition?
  • Inject new life into my online presence?

Almost every week, small business people and entrepreneurs ask me how can PR build your customer base and grow your business?

It doesn’t happen overnight, unless you’re one of those rare savvy jack-of-all-trades who hits the PR jackpot and has your product or service featured on The Today Show or on the Chicago Tribune front page in your first round of media outreach.

It starts with building relationships with the people who can help you spread word about your business.

Look at your local newspaper or radio station. What stories do you see about your industry? Who is the reporter, how can you contact them, what are his/her interests? Do you have any interests in common?

You can find out a lot about reporters by simply following what they write about. Many media outlets provide online profiles about their writers and editors. Often, they’re buried online under the “About Us” or “Contact Us” sections. For example, many major metro newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald (serving the North and Northwest suburbs), have a very detailed list of their reporters, writers and editors.

These editorial directories can be a bit hard to find. For example, the Daily Herald lists their media contacts under the tab “Services & Info, which isn’t the most intuitive for searchers. Often, media outlets bury their “Contact Us” link at the bottom of their web page in very fine print. Take the time and patience to look for it.

If you’re looking for contacts on a magazine web site, often you’ll find an editor to reach by clicking on their “Advertising” tab and clicking on their “Media Kit” or “Editorial Calendar.”

Trying to reach TV reporters? You’ll often find their contact information online as well, although it seems TV stations make it the hardest to find that info. For example, this NBC5 Chicago contact site has minimal information. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, pick up the phone, call the station or outlet’s general number and ask to be connected to the Newsroom. Someone staffing the news desk will be able to direct you to the appropriate person. Don’t be surprised if you get a reporter’s voicemail.

Use the search tool available on nearly all media outlet web sites to see past stories. If their stories are archived (often for a fee), make a small investment to get copies of their most recent reports.

Consider ways to get their attention by sending them samples of your product, inviting them to visit your business, or sharing a new angle or bit of advice on something they’ve reported on. Better yet, send an email, complimenting their work and offering your expertise for a future story.  Invite them for coffee (most reporters don’t have time for lunch, but you should still extend the invitation.)  Don’t be discouraged if they say they’re too busy for an in-person meeting. They really are busy – their jobs have become more demanding. Besides reporting the news, media reps also are expected to post on social network profiles and/or provide additional content for media-owned blogs (or even their own personal blog).

Are you on Facebook or Twitter (either a personal or professional page)? It’s very likely that reporter is also on social media, so take the time to “Like” their page, follow what they do, and engage. Post items on their wall that are helpful. And I mean helpful - not bragging or advertisements. Show them that you can be a valuable resource.

Establishing media relationships is one way to open the door to possible coverage and demonstrate your expertise and credibility.

Next time we’ll talk about how you can use social networks to spread word of mouth and get your customers and their friends talking about you and providing untapped exposure.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your experiences working with reporters. What have you done to get their attention?

Was it fruitful? What could you have done better? Leave a comment and I promise to respond!

 Post happily written by Michelle Damico

 

 

 

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Kicking off December with Thanks to You

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This is a great time to say thank you for following my blog and participating in great conversations that (I hope) have helped you realize your PR goals and your business dreams.

This year has been tough for nearly every organization seeking to boost sales or increase awareness through traditional media such as print and broadcast, or word-of-mouth platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

In 2011, professionals were faced with a double whammy: shrinking marketing budgets and trying to follow and adapt to an ever-changing media landscape. We’ve all had to learn a lot of new rules and tools to stay on top of social media marketing.

As my way of saying thanks, I’d like to share a few timesaving tools and resources that kept me on top of my game this year:

1.    PR Daily: A fantastic eNewsletter for PR and marketing professionals following traditional and social media trends and topics.

2.    LinkedIn’s Answers: Saves countless hours researching an infinite number of topics or challenges. Why start from scratch when you’ve got experts eager to help on any topic for any industry.

3.    Google Docs: Invaluable for collaborating on projects. Edit or create documents on a Google Doc and use Google’s chat tool for instantly discussing or improving upon your changes. It’s simple and elegant.

4.    Join.me: Share your computer desktop view with others remotely for presentations or collaboration. Others can view your desktop presentations or follow as you navigate web sites by simply clicking on a link to Join.me.

5.    Highrise Contact Management: Following-up with the reporters you pitch, or the prospects you’re trying to reach is easy with Highrise. It helps you track all emails and phone calls and sends reminders about the tasks related to those contacts. An easy way to create, organize and monitor all your customer info, emails and notes.

Give these free tools a try and tell me what you think. And if you would like to review your PR efforts this year, or want to discuss your 2012 strategy,  don’t hesitate to contact me through the form here on my blog or at michelle at michelledamico dot com.

Wishing you happiness in the Season of Giving and lasting prosperity in 2012.

Enjoy these photos as a gift from my personal collection. 

Gifts from an ice storm, by Michelle Damico

 

A visual feast is often the next best thing, by Michelle Damico

 

Your passion will take you there, by Michelle Damico

Yes, social media can motivate and inspire

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Running by Coolidge Corner

Image by jpo.ct via Flickr

I ran/walked today for 30 minutes. Not a big deal for most people. But I hate running. Have hated running since college. But since having emergency surgery this summer, I lost interest in my power walking routine and gained weight. Now I want it off.

So much of my life is directed by chance, and this little story is proof once again. My new client, Coach Brendan Cournane, planted the idea of a run/walk routine when reporters picked up on this training technique and wrote about it in their news coverage of Brendan (he coached 400 runners) in this year’s Chicago Marathon. I am amazed and inspired by his stories. I’ve been thinking about running since he called me a week before the marathon. But in my mind I made all the expected excuses why I could not “Just Do It.”

Why did I decide to  lace up today? A simple Twitter inquiry from @GiniDietrich, PR Maven and Blogger Extraordinaire. She was following up on my comment to fellow tweep @MSchechter about his run-walk program.

Gini’s question: “how are you doing?” was code for “so have you gotten off your butt yet and started the program?” That simple prompt stayed with me all day. Whenever I checked Twitter, it was staring me in the face.

By 4:30 this afternoon, I said enough with the BS. No more excuses. End the week with a positive accomplishment. And I did.  Thank you Brendan, Michael and Gini for the inspiration and motivation this month.

Once again, my writing and social media idol Roger Ebert is right: ‎”So much of what happens by chance forms what becomes your life.”  Life Itself, a memoir. 

 

 

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