The Fight Against Destructive Spin

I  published this on Associated Content last week and thought it is a good post for Spin Sucks, as well. Enjoy!

By now, everyone has heard about Kevin Smith throwing a fit, and telling his more than one and a half million Twitter followers about his experience with Southwest Airlines.

Two weeks ago, the filmmaker was flying from Oakland to Burbank on Southwest Airlines. Smith is a big guy. So big, in fact, that he always books two seats when he flies. On this occasion though, there was only one seat available on the stand-by flight, so he took that, which is where the problems began.

Because I’m a communication professional, I’ll not go into why I think his getting stand-by on an earlier flight, and not having two seats available (which he purchased on the later flight), is the reason he was asked to leave the plane. Nor will I discuss whether or not he was profiled for being “fat”. Instead I’ll focus on what Southwest did really well, and what they could have done better, from a communication perspective. Continue Reading »

It’s been a couple of weeks since our launch of HAPPO (Help a PR Pro Out) and, after digging through 131 incredible blog posts we received just in Chicago, and sending them to potential employers, it’s time to draw the winners of some of the free giveaways our industry organizations have so kindly donated.

Before the giveaways, though, please note that potential employers may contact you directly. They likely will mention they received your blog post from HAPPO and would like to learn more. If you get a job, and know it germinated from this movement, please let us know so we can enter you in a drawing for additional donated items!

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I would love to say that I was riding my bike (still stuck inside on the trainer and put in 200 miles last week…so I have A LOT of thinking time) and I came up with this brilliant idea to let you pimp your blog here, but I cannot take credit.

A couple of weeks ago, Toronto HAPPO champion, Danny Brown, invited his blog readers to pimp their blogs in the comments of his blog. You should go check it out – An Invite to Pimp Your Blog – because there are a myriad of blogs on there, which surprised me. I thought it would be all PR, social media, or marketing blogs. When, in fact, those are in the minority. Continue Reading »

Spending as much time as I do speaking, writing, and counseling clients on the shift in how we communicate, Twitter invariably comes up at least once a day (if not more). People don’t understand why they’d want to read about what someone had for lunch. Or, sometimes, someone will tell me they HAVE to get on Twitter because it’s all everyone talks about and they need to have a new way to sell their wares because the old ways are no longer working.

So rather than listen to me talk about how Twitter is not a sales tool or say that, yes, some people talk about what they had for lunch, I thought I’d pull some of my favorite case studies to show how you can use Twitter for your business. By now it’s pretty easy to understand the consumer implications so, instead, I’m going to show you how businesses that work with other businesses use Twitter to generate leads (and revenue).

Caution – this is  really long post, so scan through the case study that is closely aligned with what your business does.

1. Pitney Bowes – a company that helps businesses with it’s mail, workflow, and customer engagement challenges.

A lot of bloggers and reporters have interviewed Pitney Bowes because they are perceived as an old, stody postal meter company. But they’ve done a great job of embracing the social tools to help change their brand’s image, as well as create a dynamic user experience for their customers.

In an interview with Aneta Hall, the company’s emerging media manager, Shel Israel explores how Pitney Bowes use Twitter to engage their customers.

“First, it’s listening and understanding what’s on the minds of the community Pitney Bowes engages with. Second, being helpful to our customers as well as others who want to know more about us. Third, advancing community-based initiatives such as “Holiday Mail for Heroes” (in collaboration with the American Red Cross).

“Twitter is for individuals rather than brands. If you are willing to engage in conversation on a person-to-person basis, it does not matter if you are B2B or B2C – Twitter is the tool for you. Ultimately customer service and listening to customers is about people and not B2B or B2C.“

2. Vistage International is a CEO membership organization whose audience are business owners and leaders

Because Vistage is a client and because I also am a member, I advocated they use the platform to prospect for new members and Chairs, namely the up-and-coming entrepreneurs who are Gen X and (in some cases) Gen Y. But, because their audience was the Baby Boomer, there was some discussion about whether or not their audience is on Twitter. So we tested a few tiny campaigns and began to show some results.

During a two month period, we had some pretty good success:

* There are a few hundred Vistage members, Chairs, and speakers on Twitter and this was an easy way to build relationships with them very efficiently. We  empowered them to talk about their Vistage experiences (good and bad) as part of what they already discuss on Twitter.

* Every time the Twitter community talked about their Vistage experience, five to 10 people asked us about the organization, which led to warm leads.

* A lot of the traditional communication tools we use (news releases, Webinars, and white papers) began to feature some of the really smart members we met on Twitter. So, instead of always using the same experts, we were able to widen our reach through adding new experts and new topics.

* In a two month period, the Twitter campaign secured 36 member inquiries and six new members, which was attributed to our network of members, Chairs, and speakers.

3. I’m a big fan of OPEN Forum because of the excellent business content it delivers on a daily basis.

The reason OPEN Forum uses Twitter is to provide information, strike up conversation with small business owners, and to drive people to their conversational site (which is separate and apart from its corporate Web site).  Their goals are to: Build brand equity, acquire new customers, and build loyalty among existing customers.

OPEN is totally hands-off when it comes to the conversational element. They have had the guts to let the conversation happen … to let the conversation be directed by small business owners and entrepreneurs, and not try to control it. Because of that, they have created even more brand loyalty among existing customers. I just wish their corporate side of things were better because, as much as I love OPEN Forum, using them as a finance option (as a small business owner) just isn’t an option.

4. Intel, as most of us know, provide the processors inside the machines we use for work.

According to Intel employee, Michael Brito, the company doesn’t have an official “Twitter strategy” but it is a tool that many employees use to build relationships, listen, learn from others/each other, and get the latest in news.  Their tweets are not typically Intel related because:

* Pe0ple relate to people, not logos or brands

* Twitter is a place for conversations, not one-way marketing messages

* Twitter builds community, connects people, and fosters relationships; and in order to do so requires authenticity. It’s difficult to be authentic when hiding behind a company logo

5. Last, but not least, and certainly very self-serving, a case study on how we’ve used Twitter to grow Arment Dietrich, a B2B company and service business.

Last January (2009), I was going to the International Franchise Association show and wanted to see how this Twitter thing worked, in terms of creating an opportunity to meet people there, who also are on Twitter. I don’t think, at that point, I even knew the term TweetUp. I just wanted to have an informal happy hour to meet as many people as I could. And it worked! I met @rieva @kategroom @aaswartz and others in less than two hours.

But just meeting them was not the final goal. It ended up that Rieva asked me to write for AllBusiness.com and I was on BlogTalkRadio with she and Angie multiple times. So, an efficient way to use Twitter was to invite people to a happy hour. Then it resulted in various ways for me to build the firm’s reputation through contributed columns and guest appearances on the radio program.

From there, I realized there is certainly a way to use Twitter to network, to prospect for new business, and to convert leads into real revenue. Since then, (many of you know from following me on Twitter), I’ve become a huge advocate of the tool as part of our business growth strategy.

Lots of people say to me, “Well, Twitter makes sense for your business because you’re a communication company.” I don’t agree with that. We are a business. We have to market and sell, just like any other business. We use Twitter to network 24/7, which leads to new business prospects. It doesn’t matter what our company does…we’re finding people who would hire us, just by using Twitter to network. That strategy applies to any company.

A few lessons you can take away from these case studies:

* Twitter allows you to engage in conversation on a person-to-person basis

* Twitter provides information, strikes up conversation with potential customers, and to drives people to your Web site or blog

* Twitter is a way to network 24/7, to develop new relationships and to encourage brand loyalty among current customers

* Twitter is a place for conversations, not one-way marketing messages

* Twitter builds community, connects people, and fosters relationships

If you want even more B2B resources, my friend Scott Hepburn wrote a brilliant post that has a zillion links in it called B2B Social Media: A Resource Guide.

I was catching up on my Google reader and subscribed blogs and came across Jeff Bullas, a blogger in Sydney. His blog, JeffBullas.com, discusses ideas and tips for better Internet marketing, including using the social networks as part of your overall strategy.

The blog post that caught my eye, however, is one that has 30 tips for making your blog rock. As I started to comment, I realized I had 10 additional ideas, which I share with you here (but make sure you also read his blog post…then you’ll have 40 ideas).

1. Ask your readers what they want you to write about

2. Let your readers pimp their own blogs in your comments section

3. Ask questions

4. Create contests (which goes along with the poll/survey idea)

5. Install the SEO All In One pack on your WordPress blog

6. Use StumbleUpon and AllTop to increase your readership

7. Create content for Associated Content by republishing your blog posts there (it helps with readership and news outlets will republish your content on their sites)

8. Comment on other blogs and news articles to show your thinking/expertise, but also link people back to your blog

9. Make sure, when you use Twitter to promote your blog post, that you’re tweeting about it more than once a day

10. Subscribe to SmartBrief newsletters, RSS feeds, and Google alerts in order to find ideas for new content

What do you do to make your blogs rock?

This post is guest blogged by Molli Megasko, an account executive with Arment Dietrich. Molli started her career with us and has been integral in how we’ve moved our business model in the past 18 months. She is our Facebook guru and is here to talk to you about creating a fan page, engaging with your fans, and developing creative ideas for posts and photos.

Yesterday every person wanted to be on Facebook and today every company wants a fan page.  When working with clients I begin with the same five tips and we work from there.  If you can master these five, the fun strategic stuff (contests, crowdsourcing, and word-of-mouth) comes easy.  And don’t forget, I get paid to do this, so I would pay attention!

1.  First and foremost, get a unique URL.  Instead of having the URL be www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/crazylongcompanyname/119081977941, make it www.facebook.com/CompanyName (or something similar).  It’s really easy to do this.

If you are the administrator, go to the Facebook user name Web site and follow the directions.  If you have a unique URL, you can share it with  your customers, employees, stakeholders, and prospects. You can include it in your email signature and in any marketing, communication, and sales  materials.

2.  Now that Facebook pages are a part of Google’s real time search results (as of this week), I suggest using keywords liberally and constantly update your company information.  This helps with search engine optimization and also turns your fan page into a second Web site for potential customers to learn more about you and your company.

3. Add photos of employees and capture fun stuff around the office.  Take a look at the Arment Dietrich fan page (and fan us while you’re there!).   One reason our fan page is a hit is because we’ve turned it into a personality.  By letting your fans see the faces behind the brand, it creates loyalty and customer engagement and connection. Remember, people want to see inside companies; no, they don’t want it, they expect it. Give them the personality of your culture and your team.

4.     Now you can focus on your posts.  Most fan pages post a lot of company info, which is GREAT, but it’s not giving your fans a reason to engage or come back.  This is not another avenue for your news releases, nor is it a sales tool. Asking questions and posting articles that are not self-serving are the easiest ways to get your fans talkin.  Gini says time and time again…LISTEN!  Having a fan page is a great way to listen because you can ask questions and your fans will tell you what they think.  Listen to what they are saying and start communicating WITH them.

5.     Now for my favorite part.  Once you get more comfortable on Facebook, take a look at the insights and download the interaction data (both in the administrator’s dashboard) to help you track and set benchmarks to ensure each post is getting more clicks than the last.  I love tracking our company’s Google analytics and seeing how many people come to either here or to the Web site through Facebook.

What are some of the things you recommend people do when starting a Facebook fan page?

The tagline contest started on my personal Facebook page when one of my crazy friends suggested we have a slogan such as Arment Dietrich: Better than Sex. As you can imagine, it created a fun little conversation, which got me thinking, “What if we practiced what we preach and crowdsource a new tagline?”

So we started the conversation on Facebook and then we moved it here. All in, we had 206 entries, which we narrowed down to our top 20 favorites. Then we let you vote here for your favorite (or, in some cases, favorites because we do, after all, live in Chicago – vote early, vote often). We then took the top five and we asked our clients to vote on their favorite.

And, from there, in honor of the Olympics, we have awarded bronze, silver, and gold medals.

The third place winner, with a bronze medal, is Nathan Matthews with Creating Conversations. One at a Time.

The second place winner, with a silver medal, is Barry Silver with Your Voice. Your Vision. Your Success.

And…drum roll, please!

The gold medal winner is Kevin Vandever with Engage. Communicate. Connect.

Check out our Web site – it’s already listed there! Congrats, Kevin! You’ll be featured there until April 1.

In all of my years working with Web guys, I’ve never found someone as good at search engine optimization (SEO) as Nick Harrison at Dashal. Watching him work SEO is like watching a carefully choreographed ballet. Everything he does has a part and, when it all comes together, you suddenly own not just the first couple of listings, you own the entire first page. I asked him to share his wisdom here…SEO for bloggers.

When asked about SEO, most people will tell you they have no clue how it is achieved, even after reading everything they can find. In fact, most people don’t realize they can do things on their own to improve their site’s SEO with nominal effort and knowledge.

But I’m not going to lie to you, SEO isn’t easy. There is a lot to know and most of that knowledge is obtained by doing it, rather than reading about it. A true SEO professional spends a lot of his time learning how the search engine spider thinks, what it likes to eat, and what makes it feel warm fuzziness. So, I am not going to write a 300 page blog post and teach you every intricate detail about SEO. What I do share is that you can improve your blog’s SEO without being an expert coder or reading five books to understand only about a third.

Here are five key points and tips that will help increase your blog’s SEO as soon as you start:

1. Plan before you write: Remember, it doesn’t matter how well you wrote that article or blog post if nobody reads it! Think to yourself, what are the terms and words that are relevant to my article I am about to write? I suggest using a keyword tool, such as Google AdWords. And really think about how people search for your topic. It may not be what you think it is. Imagine yourself going to Google to search the topic. What do you search?
2. Title and META tag lengths: Most blogging software has numerous plug-ins dedicated to SEO. I like the All in One SEO Pack for Wordpress. Google only uses about 60 to 66 characters in your title so make them count! You always want to fit one or two of your main keywords in the title. Unless the article is about your blog, the title should come first, THEN your blog name. Your META description should be around 160 characters and your keywords should be between five and eight (no more than 10).
3. NO SPAM: Search engines are a lot smarter than you think. The spammer is a search engine’s worst enemy. Even if you don’t think you are spamming, you could be. Don’t be excessive, the spiders aren’t deaf, they can hear what you are saying without you telling them 100 times. Using keywords excessively not only can hinder your results, they can get you kicked off! So use your keywords just a couple of times…not 10 times.
4. URLs and images: A lot of people don’t realize that what you name your URL (normally your article title) and what you name your images and alt tags really matter. If you go search Google right now, you will notice that the URLs that contain your search term is highlighted. Your title and URL are much more relevant than your META keywords. Other search engines place more importance on META tags, which is why they are less popular. You should always separate your words when naming titles and images. This article should not be called /seoforbloggers. It should be seo-for-bloggers.  If I were to put a Google logo on this post, I wouldn’t name it image_5d4ws3f. I would name it google_seo_logo.jpg.
5. Blog outreach: Page SEO only goes so far. You could have the perfect titles, META tags and keyword rich articles around, but that won’t get you to the top. These are key components, but there is more. You need sites linking to you in order for the search engines to deem you relevant. When you create a post, plug it! Put it on your public FB fan page, tweet it, yahoo buzz it and more. It is very easy to write a comment on a top site and include a link. Just make sure you create a real comment. There are a ton of social media sites that will let you link away. The most important thing to remember though, is it isn’t about how many sites have your link, it is about “WHO” has your links. Focus on getting your blog post link on the sites Google deems important. 1,000 links on crappy sites will only hurt you.

There is much more involved with SEO and I could write a 300 page book on the topic. The important thing, is that even though you can’t make a site completely SEO friendly yourself, and even though you don’t know everything there is to know about SEO, if you spend this week implementing these five ideas, your SEO results and blog traffic will increase.

Thanks Nick! I learned something myself…I didn’t realize what I name the image is important. So I’m taking your advice and trying it with the image included in this post.

Readers: What other SEO tips do you have for bloggers?

Image courtesy: Shark Space

A lot of people have asked me what I think about Tiger Woods and the apology he gave on Friday. I’m never one to react with a knee jerk. I like to let it all soak in, discuss opposing sides, and then tell you what I think. But this one is a little bit different…mostly because the incident happened three months ago (so I’ve had plenty of time to let it sink in) and my opinion of how he should have handled this is no different just because he read a scripted apology on Friday.

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I spend a lot of time of time on the road speaking to Vistage groups, doing keynotes, providing workshops, and sitting on panels. The topic?  Social media for executives. The one thing all of my audiences have in common is they all are business leaders and they don’t understand how to translate social media to their companies. Continue Reading »