Archive for social media
Baltimore PR Firms Share Social Media Tips
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Baltimore Business Journal‘s “Crash Course in Social Media” event yesterday at Sheppard Pratt in Towson. Attendees were treated to a half day of solid content from some of the top PR and social media companies in Baltimore. Here are links to the tools I mentioned during my presentation:
Dashboard for monitoring social media accounts: HootSuite; daily emails with mentions on Twitter: Twilert; instant alerts from across the web: Google Alerts; advanced monitoring and analytics: Radian6
For social media policies, the policies by Southwest Airlines and Ford are good examples. For a searchable database, check out Social Media Governance.
For examples of crisis situations, search for Domino’s Pizza and Chrysler. The new book I mentioned is #FAIL: The 50 Greatest Social Media Screw-Ups by Bernhard Warner.
Finally, here is my slide on steps to take to protect your reputation:
Are You Ready to Go Mobile?
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NEW ORLEANS – It’s time to get ready for mobile.
During a breakout session during the Counselor’s Academy conference this week, “Mobilizing Your Firm for a Smartphone World,” presenters Linda W. Cohen, APR, CEO of The Caliber Group, Inc., and Michael Barber, director of digital strategy, Cohn Marketing, shared the following eye-opener facts and insights:
- By June 2012 (next month!) more people will read email on their mobile devices than on laptops or the computers at their offices or at home. No longer are they tethered to the stationary computer work-stations of the past;
- In 2012, a total of 58 percent of consumers will buy something using their mobile device;
- By 2013, half of the internet traffic to your site will be via people on their mobile devices;
- By 2015, more people will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wired computers;
- To accommodate and promote all of this, the marketing spend has flipped as budgets for mobile now dominate social. Now is the time to plan your mobile marketing strategy, from providing apps to converting your website so people can access your information when they need it.
If you haven’t done so already, grab an iPhone or Android and visit your company’s website. Like what you see? Ready or not that’s the first impression you’re already offering a significant percentage of visitors to your site.
Helping ‘Mother Made’ Helps Us All
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Our attraction to Mother Made was instant and compelling: helping single mothers to become entrepreneurs while also protecting our environment. The organization was created and is led by smart, creative, committed entrepreneurs — accessible, caring role models for the people they serve.
Their mission is to promote the financial independence and job training of low-income mothers/women in Baltimore by creating and selling products that reduce the impact of consumers on the environment.
We are looking forward to conducting social media workshops early next month — part of the job training curriculum the organization conducts for the women.
We eagerly anticipate lending our expertise in ways we hope will help the organization to grow, which in turn will help more single mothers in Baltimore to grow as well.
In the meantime, we hope our readers will also help by donating whatever is possible to help fund critical job training activities.
‘When Handed a Lemon—Make Lemonade of It’
Posted by: | CommentsAfter dinner at Petit Louis Bistro in the Roland Park section of Baltimore on Jan. 31, two women were confronted by a robber who got away with a purse. You could almost script the media coverage and quotes from customers and neighbors, as crime is relatively rare in that neighborhood. But not in this case, as one of the victims was Sally Michel, chair of the Parks and People Foundation, who did not want the incident to harm the reputation of the restaurant or her beloved Baltimore (click the invitation to read the quote).
To “make lemonade of it,” the Parks & People Board of Directors (I am one of the members) moved quickly to organize a “Fill Sally’s Purse” fund-raiser for Feb 28 when Petit Louis has generously offered to donate 20 percent of proceeds that evening to the Foundation. It also happens to be Sally’s birthday!
‘Arrested’ and Other Real World Lessons from Social Media
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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
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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
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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!
