Archive for social media
‘Arrested’ and Other Real World Lessons from Social Media
Posted by: | Comments
In recent months I’ve participated on several panels with the media where we discussed using social media tools in crisis communications situations.
Last week I was on a panel, “Crisis Communication in a Social Media World,” with CNN political commentator Maria Cardona and The Washington Post‘s James Buck. Cardona, also a principal with the Dewey Square Group, provided insights into political scandals and the need to be prepared to move quickly with social media as a key part of your crisis PR plan. Since former Congressman Anthony Weiner is “old news” in the Twitter world, we focused on the Herman Cain controversy and the impact of social media.
Buck talked about how the Post uses social media in its reporting, including live-tweeting meetings and events and verifying sources via Twitter by looking at Klout scores and level of engagement among other factors. Buck has first-hand experience with the power of social media. While covering protests in Egypt in 2008 he was detained by Egyptian authorities and placed in a vehicle that was to take him to a prison. In the back seat, he tweeted one word - “arrested” – which triggered a response that eventually led to his release. Twitter’s founders use this as an example of how one word tweeted to a handful of followers can have a big impact.
Still think social media is for following Justin Bieber or Snooki? It’s so much more, and you need to have a plan and tools in place – before the crisis hits.
Sawmill Partner Invited to Share Public Affairs Success Tips
Posted by: | Comments
I will be a featured speaker at a full-day learning event, “Resources & Tools for Public Affairs Success,” co-hosted by Erickson Living and the Maryland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel on Thursday, September 29, 2011 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The day includes panels looking at the role of social media in crisis communication and today’s newsroom, as well as hands-on workshops on Twitter and LinkedIn. Attendees will also hear the State of News Media from Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Here are “my” sessions:
The Role of Social Media in Crisis Communications – 9 a.m.
Featuring a behind-the-scenes account of a shooting at Johns Hopkins Hospital and how social media was used, I will guide a discussion that will demonstrate the importance of monitoring and being aware of today’s online tools to protect your company’s reputation. 9:00 a.m.
• Justin Fenton, Crime Reporter, Baltimore Sun
• Anthony Guglielmi, Spokesman, Baltimore City Police Department
• Jeffrey A. Davis, APR, Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
Twitter Tactics for PR Professionals – 10:15 a.m.
From basic tools and etiquette to the many ways media and PR professionals are using Twitter, this session will offer a hands-on look at the latest tactics.
• Jeffrey A. Davis, APR, Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
The event is held in collaboration with Erickson Living as part of their national Corporate Communications Summit. Because of this, PRSA is limited to 20 seats at $50 for PRSA members, $65 for non-members. For additional details and to register, visit the PRSA Maryland Chapter website.
Merry Christmas, Hon
Posted by: | Comments
Laura Vozzella’s column in the Baltimore Sun does a great job of capturing the PR firestorm over a local restaurateur’s decision to trademark “Hon.”
Rather than debate the merits of the decision to claim rights to the word and the way the restaurateur went about defending her point of view, look at how PR missteps and social media are intensifying this storm.
Many people continue to say “any publicity is good publicity.” BP doesn’t think so, and the owner of this restaurant (and gift shop and festival) surely won’t believe it when this fiasco eventually fizzles out.
The mishandling of the news led to a spoof Twitter account, boycott the restaurant Facebook page, blog posts, newspaper comment section posts, a protest and a string of critical Yelp “reviews,” all within hours of this firestorm. Fanning the flames even more, the restaurant’s graphic design (and presumably not PR) consultant weighed in with a profanity-laced post (click on comments to find the one from “springray“) that went viral, while a rejected Yelp review found a new life and many more eyeballs on countless blogs.
In the meantime, Buzz is dying to hear what counsel the unidentified “publicist” referenced in The Sun‘s column offered when the the idea to trademark “Hon” was discussed!
Four Years of ‘Social Content Integration’ – aka Social Media
Posted by: | Comments
This week marks the anniversary of our move in 2007 to add social media to Sawmill’s suite of services (media relations, media training and crisis communications were the original three). As an early adopter and one of the first PR firms to go in this direction we gained a lot of attention for the move, and the Baltimore Business Journal marked the occasion with a news story about Sawmill’s role in this emerging trend, headlined: “PR firm trying to get its clients face (book) time with new media”
Back then, we didn’t quite know what to call it and wound up with the moniker “Social Content Integration.” Now everybody calls it Social Media, but we like the original name and that’s what it still says on our agency materials. Since the beginning, we’ve never viewed social media as a separate strategy or tactic. Instead, we believe it should be integrated with traditional communications and that the emphasis should be on solid and authentic content and not on automated or gimmicky Facebook or Twitter promotions that someone sitting in a back office passes off as “engaging in a conversation.”
Craftsmen Developers LLC Selects Baltimore PR Firm for Awareness Campaign
Posted by: | Comments
BALTIMORE, Md. (July 12, 2010) – Craftsmen Developers LLC, a residential and commercial land development firm, has selected Baltimore PR firm Sawmill Marketing Public Relations for a public relations campaign to increase awareness of the firm’s land development projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and its expertise and commitment to environmentally responsible green development.
The Baltimore-based PR and social media company is implementing a comprehensive public relations campaign that includes media and community relations programs and that will initially focus on Craftsmen Developers’ distinction of achieving the first National Association of Home Builders Research Center 4-Star Green Land Development Certification on the East Coast.
About Craftsmen Developers, LLC
Based in Glen Burnie, Md., Craftsmen Developers, LLC, founded in 2008 by CEO W. Dennis Gilligan, is one of the most experienced land developers in the Mid-Atlantic region, serving the real estate needs of residential home and commercial building industry clients with properties in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware. For more information, visit www.craftsmendevelopers.com
About Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
Sawmill Marketing Public Relations is a Baltimore PR firm and social media marketing communications agency established in 1995 specializing in the development and execution of marketing public relations programs as business development strategies for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and professional services clients. The Maryland public relations company specializes in social media, traditional media relations, media training, and crisis communications. For additional information, visit www.sawmillmarketing.com
###
Integration is New All Over Again and It’s Never Been Better
Posted by: | Comments
Some time ago, advertising agencies were the pioneers into the unknown world of integration. Specifically, integrating PR into, and often in support of, advertising campaigns. The rationale offered to clients was typically centered around “a single message delivered by ads and publicity” that any communications pro knew was suspect because a promotional message is rarely, if ever, also a newsworthy one.
However, that was then and this is now when integration has assumed a new and powerful role in maximizing the benefits and values of social media campaigns with traditional marketing communications ones. As many of us know, this new role for integration has expanded far beyond messaging to now include how, when and what social media and traditional communications tools are used and their exact purpose in the campaign.
We all have much to learn about how best to creatively and strategically utilize (or not) integration and to then share our knowledge with our clients so they can reap every possible benefit from it.
Recently we met with a prospective client whose business is not a tech oriented one. Imagine our surprise and delight when he indicated his interest in our help to integrate the social media tools he was already using by weaving the fingers of his hands together — the sign language of integration!
Reminder: Twitter is ALWAYS a Conversation
Posted by: | Comments.
Oops, my bad.
I recently bumped into an acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in months who explained her absence by telling me how consumed she is with the ongoing woes of the company she has been with for nearly 15 years. The shining example of these woes is the dramatic drop in headcount since the first of the year.
Later that day I tweeted about this update using “local, one-time high profile, fast rising firm’”as the descriptor of her company. I hit “update,” never giving the tweet a second thought, other than it was more substantive than “…can’t wait for this day to end” sort of post.
In a flash, I received a DM (direct message) from @robterry26, associate editor/Web editor of the Baltimore Business Journal, asking me for details about that tweet, including the name of the company. Then, and only then, did the reminder light bulb go off in my head that Twitter and other social media tools are all about conversations!
Also, this tweet could have had serious consequences. However, the information was accurate, verifiable and caught the attention of a good reporter who knows the source of it as well as the value of the information he was handed.
In addition to being reminded that Twitter is all about the conversation, I hope this also serves as a an elbow in the ribs to think before I tweet and then think again before I hit “update.”
