Archive for June, 2010

A Grassroots Event Can Provide Content for Social Media PR

Friday, June 18th, 2010

By Brittany Oat

Sometimes a brand really lends itself to grassroots PR, so when the perfect opportunity comes along to promote it on the local level you just have to go for it. Case in point: Anti Monkey Butt Powder and the Westchester Mountain Bike Association’s 2010 Fat Tire Festival. As an avid mountain biker, I heard about the festival and my first thought was, “Wow, this is a great opportunity to get the powder in the hands of thousands of bikers and use the results for our social media outreach.” And it was!

The Anti Monkey Butt Powder “exhibitor” table was right next to the main festival tent and it was packed with people all day long. Anti Monkey Butt Powder sample packets were flying off the table and the riders were able to get all their questions answered by one of the product’s developers. The festival also gave us the opportunity to give away some custom-made Anti Monkey Butt Powder jerseys and t-shirts, and donate some product to the charity raffle. What a fun, feel-good way to get the brand out on the trails!

But grassroots PR doesn’t have to stay at the local level. To help take this event global via the Internet and social media, I brought a digital camera and a Flip camera. The still photos were uploaded to a photo album on Facebook for our 24,000-plus fans to check out and to share with new friends from the festival. Also, I took some video testimonials and made a music video of the bikers that I was able to upload to both Facebook and the Anti Monkey Butt YouTube channel. Now, we can share the links to the videos with the bikers, post it on the bike forums and the bike association Facebook page.

So, don’t discount grassroots PR…but also look for ways to take it beyond the local level.

Posted in Promotions in Motion, Video | No Comments »

Thanks to Social Media PR, Your Communications Team is Even More Invested

Friday, June 11th, 2010

By Anne Carlantone

The other day, I was really stressed at work. That’s not unusual for anyone, but the source of the stress was much different than it would have been years ago. The source of the stress was not my boss, my client or even a reporter – it was a less-than-happy Facebook fan (or “liker,” as we say now) of one of my clients’ brand pages! I felt an urgent need to help set things right for this person, not only because it’s in my client’s best interest to do so, but because this person is very active on the page and, in a way, I feel like I know her.

As professional communicators, identifying our audience is half the battle. We spend a lot of time discussing our “targets” and analyzing who our clients’ consumers are. We spend time on focus group research, segmentation studies, etc., and those things are still important. But I don’t think anything has ever “connected” us on a personal level like social media has.

For instance – when a client’s product is placed in a magazine article, we know that a huge number of people are seeing it, but we can never really be sure what the reactions from the readers are. On the other hand, if it’s featured on a blog, there is generally a long list of personal comments to give us an idea on how the product is being received and a reaction to how it’s being presented. As we grow in the management of Facebook pages for our brands, I am constantly amazed at the valuable information we get from the people who “like” our brands…in a matter of minutes. None of this is scientific by any means, but it’s real-time, and well, “real!”

And in turn, as professionals, we feel even more accountable and invested in our clients’ products. If a product isn’t working out for someone, or if there is a problem with product availability in a particular market, they let us know, and we genuinely want to connect them with the information they need. We’re not just discussing our targets…we’re truly interacting with them.

Posted in Chit Chatter, Facebook, Social Networks | No Comments »

Networking: The Single, Greatest Lesson I Learned in School

Friday, June 4th, 2010

By Nicole Egan

I recently graduated Iona College with a Master’s degree in Public Relations. Although I was taught many lessons in each of my classes, one of the most important lessons that I learned wasn’t found in my textbooks. Regardless of the subject matter, every single teacher stressed to us the importance of networking and how this will affect our future.

The administration, as well as the faculty, reinforced the idea that networking is a vital skill that every student should be involved in. Internships, teachers, sites like LinkedIn, etc. are all great ways to network and can be instrumental for future jobs for yourself, friends/family, or provide great opportunities for your business. Everyone you encounter in all walks of your life can somehow play a role in your life – now or in the future.

I’ve noticed the power of networking outside of the classroom at my job here at Robin Leedy & Associates where we help our clients engage in social networking PR, as well as traditional media relations. Whether I’m networking with editors of magazines or bloggers, it’s all about the relationships you can build. You never know who whose path you’ll cross, so it’s important to treat everyone respectfully and not burn any bridges. Returning calls and emails promptly, is just one way to show someone that their communication means something to you – even if just to say, “Thanks. Happy to help you.” It takes only a few seconds or minutes of my life, yet that communication could someday be very important to me.

The value of networking is immeasurable, and to me this lesson was worth the cost of my graduate school tuition. If you want to join my network, you can find me on LinkedIn. I look forward to networking with you!

Posted in Chit Chatter | No Comments »