Lessons from Tragedy

The tragedy in Haiti has dominated news coverage since information first began pouring out of the tiny island nation about the massive earthquake that rocked the country and killed hundreds of thousands.  For small business owners and non-profits, trying to pitch a story the past week, at least in Colorado has probably seemed like "Mission Impossible."  Now, before we move on with this entry, let me assure you that is is NOT an entry on how to take advantage of others people's suffering for personal gain.  It's not that.  We are not carpetbaggers.  We are human beings who empathize with those who are suffering and struggling in the wake of this awful incident.

Let me also say that there are lessons to be learned from this event, and others like it, if you take the time to sit back and watch.  As a small business owner and non-profit the Haiti tragedy might seem like an opportunity to do something for the people of Haiti and, in the process, raise the profile of your organization.  And for some, it is just that.  But there are major hazard signs and roadblocks for any business or non-profit choosing to take this route.

Let me start by saying I've been there.  I've been on the ground at horrible events such as the Columbine shootings, working as a reporter and producer.  I've seen the public relations machines kick into gear, I've seen the botched press conferences, I've heard the spokespeople make remarks I know they wish they could take back.  I've also been in the newsrooms when releases have come across my desk trumpeting humanitarian efforts from every group from the local deli, to schools, to major and minor non-profits.  Many of the pitches were genuine and the groups involved were truly interested in helping those in need.  But, like with any major event, there were those that were simply trying to take advantage of the situation.

I've also been there working as a public relations professional, working with a non-profit trying to raise money to help people in need.  And let me tell you, this kind of community outreach and public relations effort is a road filled with landmines that could explode in your face if you're not very, very careful.

A Case Study:

I was working with a firm in Denver during the Katrina Hurricane devastation in New Orleans.  Let me say that this PR firm was, and is, run by professionals, highly knowledgable and genuinely wonderful people.  I have nothing but glowing things to say about them and the firm.  I respected them then, I repsect them now.  So when the owners approached the staff about dropping some of their daily work to pitch in for a client putting together a major fundraising effort for the people of New Orleans, of course we enthusiastically jumped in.  Another side note:  this was a completely pro-bono deal, all the work was done for free, and believe me, there was a lot of work done on the project.

The goal of the client was to raise one-million dollars, with the non-profit organization matching dollar for dollar every donation.  In other words, if the campaign raised one million dollars, the organization would match it with another million, making the total amount given, $2,000,000.00. 

We put together radio ads, we drafted print ads, we established media partnerships, created messages, and made a full blitz in the traditional media, including live interviews with the non-profit leaders on radio, tv and print.  We organized a press conference with specific members of local and state government on the steps of the state capital in Denver.  And we did all of this in about a week.  We helped the non-profit reach its goals and we felt pretty proud about our work and had a sense of satsifaction that we had done our part to help those truly in need.

So imagine our surprise when we started to hear about, and receive some backlash for our efforts.  Not from the organization, or from the company owners, but from some prominent members of the public, some of the masses and even some in the local media.  Here is where I have to tell you that the group in question is a prominent gay, lesbian and transgender non-profit organization in Denver. 

Suddenly the organization was being accused of grandstanding during a time of crisis.  We had used a photo of a family stranded on top of a car during the flood to illustrate the plight of the people of New Orleans in some of our print ads.  We were accused of being insensitive.  We had to squash rumors that the money was only going to help GLBT groups in New Orleans, which wasn't true.  And, despite the amount of money raised and ultimately given, the efforts may have actually hurt the non-profit in terms of public perception.  Notably, though the organization continues to work actively to help people in need in times of crisis, they have never been as highly visible as they were during the Katrina crisis.

Looking back, there are certainly a few things we could have done differently, starting with a less intrusive media blitz.  Our line of thinking was that the media blitz would get the word out quickly and help raise the funds needed in a short period of time.  What we didn't realize was that, since every print ad, radio ad, and television appearance was branded with the non-profits name and logo, it must have seemed to some that the organization was more interested in self promotion than actually giving a helping hand, which wasn't true.  However, if I had to do it again, I would think twice about such prominent branding in the print and radio ads.  As for the television appearances, well, the organization was partnered with the American Red Cross.  In hindsight it might have been a better idea to simply let the Red Cross representative take most of the airtime.  By allowing the Red Cross to thank the organization, it makes the non-profit in question look humble and simply happy to be helping out.  That would have been a better choice than having the non-profit take the lead all the time. 

I would also rethink the print ad photos.  You can see an example of the photo used in the print ads above.  Perhaps using scenes of devastation, rather than a family in real peril would have been a better choice.  I, personally, thought the photo would slam home the real need and the dire situation faced by the people of New Orleans.  I thought the emotion clear on the faces of those on the car would pull at the heartstrings of potential donors.  While the photo DID accomplish all those things, it also angered many, who didn't want to see a family facing death on the hood of car in the middle of a hurricane.  I know we lost some potential donors because of that photo, fortunatey, it didn't impact the overall fundraising efforts, but it could have; we probably dodged a bullet on that one.

One final change I would make if I had to do it all over again would be this:  I would definitely do more outreach online.  Certainly, social media wasn't as big as it is today.  MySpace was still the dominant social media outlet, but blogs were already established and websites were already extremely important to the success of an organization. 

Fast Forward:

Now let's take a look at what is happening today, five years later, as organizations scramble to reach out to the people of Haiti.  One of the things I've done consistently since leaving the newsroom, is to sit back and watch how major events like these unfold.  What I've been fascinated by is how much more involved the general public seems to be now than it was even just a few years ago. 

For instance, community groups have always come forward to help out when needed.  Church groups, civic groups, school groups, non-profits, even small businesses; all have pitched in and done some extraordinary work. 

But I took a look at my Facebook page this morning and counted over 100 messages asking me to donate to help raise money for Haiti.  That's one third of my entire friends list.  My email was full of requests to pitch in with money, canned goods, clothes, anything that might help.  Go click on Google and type in Haiti earthquake.  You'll find hundreds, HUNDREDS, of websites dedicated to helping those in need, many newly christened for this event alone, many others belonging to non-profits making the Haiti tragedy their current focus. 

The event is still too new, the news still too fresh, we're too close to the tragedy still to see the entire pitcure.  But I'll be truly fascinated to see the numbers when it all shakes out.  I would be willing to bet that the amount of money raised through social media outlets will dwarf any previous social media fundraising efforts and may actually be bigger than many of the more traditional fundraising routes.  We'll see, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Lessons Learned:

So, as a small business owner or non-profit what can you glean from the events taking place in Haiti?  There are several:

1.  This is not about you, or your organization:  This is about helping people.  If you are able to put together a fundraising program, please feel free to publicize it as much as you want, but be aware, the effort has to focus on those in need, not you.  If you continually praise yourself during your efforts it will turn people off.  It will look like grandstanding.  Trust in the people that donate to you.  They'll make sure they know who is getting their money and you will benefit from their charity, even without blowing your own horn constantly.

2.  Find established partners:  This is especially true for small businesses, but it can also be important to established non-profits.  Finding a partner such as the American Red Cross, credible media outlets, or other groups that have a history of helping those in need, will allow you to accomplish a few things.  First, you'll be able to help, which is most important.  Second, you'll be linked with already established, well-known and credible organizations, who, most likely, already have a pretty high profile.  This means you don't have to work as hard to meet your goals because you'll be part of a team, not striking out on your own.  You'll also get the benefit of learning from an organization with experience.  Seeing how they handle these situations will help you down the road if you choose to pitch in again.

3.  Speak softly, but carry a big stick:  Okay, well, this isn't really in the spirit of exactly what Roosevelt the First said, but the concept is the same.  Through social media efforts, any organization can have a big impact in humanitarian efforts, particularly when the tragedy is so recent.  Making a big push online is a great idea, but, again, do it without trumpeting yourself too much.  This is where a viable partner can really help.  People will be more willing to donate online to organizations they are familiar with.  

4.  Make sure your story works:  If you insist on pitching a story to traditional media outlets during  a time of crisis, you had better be sure that your story is somehow linked to the crisis in question.  And that link had better be solid.  Because if it's not, newsrooms will see you as an organization trying to get personal gain from the tragedy.  That's a bad thing.  If you lived in Haiti once, you might be an excellent interview, and if they get you on, focus on the topic, not your business.  You can certianly mention if you're raising money, make a plea for donations even, but don't spend any time talking about what your business does.  


An addendum...let's say you own a salon or barber shop.  You might decide that you'll raise money by taking the cost of every haircut for a full day and donate it to a particular non-profit.  This is a great humanitarian effort.  You can pitch this to local newsrooms looking for interviews, but you might be better served to simply let the newsrooms know you're doing this, don't necessarily make a request for interviews, just ask them to note it in their newscast or in a short blurb.  Then make a big online/social media push to let your customers and friends know what you're doing.  Then let the social media aspect take over.  Let your customers and friends tell their friends and hopefully, you'll be packed with customers on the day in question, and hopefully, the people who come to you for the first time because of this effort will become longtime customers.


If you insist on pitching this as an interview and then manage to get one, but then get on tv or the radio and spend your time talking about your salon or shop or hairstyles or products, you will not only turn away potential customers, but you'll anger some folks enough you'll likely lose current customers.

5.  If you're only helping out for media purposes, don't do it:  For all the grief we used to give the vewing, listening and reading audience when I was in news, we as journalists still respsected the general public.  And we respsected them because, as a group, they were always going to be smarter than we were.  The American public has a pretty decent sense of right and wrong and they have a wonderful bullshit detector.  If your only goal in helping a fundraising effort is to gain some notariety or raise the profile of your organization, then you'd be better off served by doing nothing at all.  The public will know.  They will see how you react, they will hear your words and they judge you by your actions.  And if your actions are more about your and your organization than actually helping out, then you're doomed.  Even if you really want to help out, but you're still focused on your own organization, you'll suffer the wrath of an angry public.

In the end, what it comes down to is helping for helping sake.  With the social media tools at your disposal today, you can really have a positive impact if you want to.  Remember that partnerships can be beneficial, whether it's in traditional media outlets or in social media circles.  Join hands with your fellow small business owners and non-profits and do what you can to help out.  If you do that, everyone wins and once again, we can stand witness to the power of social media, public relations and, more importantly, the goodness of the human soul.

Daily Article of Interest for Thursday, January 14, 2010

Ooops, I missed yesterday's daily article of interest entry, and for that I sincerely apologize.  So today I'll be giving you, basically, TWO articles of interest.  I know, you might say it doesn't count because both articles are from the same place and they both address the same thing, but the information in both is very good and I think you'll find it extremely educational. 

Todays' two articles come from the HARP Social website.  There's a link to the blog on the side, plus you can just click on the link and it will take you to the article in question. 

Here is just a snippet of the entire article.  Note, this is the second of two articles dealing with the subject of monitoring your social media efforts.  The website will take you to part one of the articles as well.

Online Reputation Monitoring can be as simple as creating alerts on Google or as comprehensive as subscribing to a syndicated monitoring service like Radian6 that  gives you a complete platform to listen, measure and engage with your customers across the entire social web. You can hire a Social Media Monitoring company who will not only use syndicated or subscription tools like Radian6 and employ a combination of techniques and report on what’s being said but will also formulate effective response strategies and implement reputation management techniques.

The subject of monitoring really hasn't come up in this blog as of yet, but it is very important, particularly to non-profits who have to account to various shareholders and donors.  Not that it isn't important to small businesses who are watching every penny as well.

Successful monitoring efforts will let you see how effectively your money is being spent.  Since the whole purpose of this blog is to give small businesses and non-profits inforamation on harnessing the power of good public relations and social media without having to break the bank, knowing who is seeing your information and responding to it, is valuable information.  I hope these articles help you gain some insight into the ever-changing and fluid world of online media monitoring.

A TV Executive Talks, more video

Sorry about the delay on the video.  I got caught up in the Mark McGwire story, and I've been working on another entry about the Earthquake in Haiti and how Social Media is making a huge impact on the fundraising and humanitarian efforts there.  In the meantime, here are two more videos from last week's interview I conducted with KCNC Executive Producer, Duncan Shaw.

I was talking to a colleague the other day about this blog and, in particular, the video interview with Shaw and others I plan to do.  One of the questions asked of me is if I thought the interview was relevant to small businesses and non-profits given that it gives one opinion of one TV executive plus the diminishing impact of traditional media outlets and the growing power of social media.

My response was, and is, a resounding, "YES!"  Granted, this is one interview with one point of view, however, Mr. Shaw is a professional, who has worked in newsrooms from California to Denver and has exposure to newsrooms and journalists across the country every day.  While he doesn't speak for an entire industry (who could?) the thoughts and opinions and insight he offers are generally speaking, those of journalists across the country.  Additionally, while traditional media outlets have indeed lost some of their impact as compared to ten years ago, it still plays a vital role in any public relations efforts you might undertake on behalf of your small business or non-profit.  In other words, traditional media is still viable, and if you overlook or ignore traditional media outlets as you go forward with your campaign, your chances of success are much smaller than if you included them.

Social Media and the News:

With that said, here is the first video today.  In this snippet, Mr. Shaw discusses the impact that, gasp, social media is having on the way newsrooms gather and disseminate information.  He also talks about how they are using Twitter to not only keep the public informed, but also to give viewers an insight into the decision-making process.  I discussed this in an earlier entry, but his station is also using social media as a conduit to the public to let their voice be heard and, in certain cases, find interview subjects and experts.



As I stated previously, if you have a small business and aren't connected to your local media outlets via the myriad of social media tools, you are missing out on potential opportunities to grow relationships in newsrooms, pitch your story and gain much needed exposure for your ogranization.

Remember, it's not a commercial:

In today's second video, Shaw talks about what newsrooms do and don't want when dealing with a pitch from a small business or non-profit.  The points he makes in this short clip is extremely important to keep in mind when dealing with any media outlet, whether it's a traditional venue or a social media/online site. 



Much like the Krispy Kreme example Shaw uses, your appearance on television or in a newspaper or online doesn't have to mean you completely ignore your product or service.  You just have to make sure that if you're pitching a product or service, there has to be a news peg, a headline, a real news angle to your story.  If you can manage to do this, then your media appearance can become a kind of paid commercial, but even in these rare cases, there has to be a real news angle to your story that will interest their audience.  If you can't find a news angle, then you'll have to find another way to pitch your story, or find another outlet for your story.

I have a few more clips to upload from Duncan, and then I'll be posting some clips from some social media professionals, as well as some radio news and talk show host interviews and so on.  If you have any suggestions or ideas for who I might interview, please let me know. 

I'm always open to hearing from professionals in their field.  This includes other small business owners and non-profit directors who have their own stories to tell about their forays into self-organized public relations and social media efforts.  Every story helps inform and educate, so feel free to tell me yours.  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

The power of "I'm Sorry"

Just a note.  Sorry about the delay for the Duncan videos.  I have some more ready, but I wanted to adress something else today before adding more snippets.  Please be patient.

So, by now you've all seen, or heard, the admission from baseball slugger, Mark McGwire, that he did indeed use steroids during is career.  Now, all the records, the achievements, the accolades, they're being questioned, just as we now question Clemens and Sosa, and several others involved in the scandal over the past decade in America's Pasttime.

After the announcement on Monday, I had many discussions with friends and even family about my reaction to the news that McGwire was a steroid user.  I have to say that while I was disappointed, I wasn't surprised.  But this isn't an entry about my take on the situation, it's really an entry on how to handle a crisis.

Every organization goes through a crisis at some point.  Whether it's a large corporation, or a small non-profit, every manager, CEO, director or owner will be faced with a crisis of some size at some point.  The question isn't if, but when will it happen.  The bigger question is, are you prepared?

I've covered some basic crisis pr in previous entries, but I thought the McGwire situation would be a great opportunity to delve a little deeper into how to handle such situations and how to turn a crisis into a positive.

Let's start with McGwire.  I think it's safe to say that many believed he used steroids.  There were also many who believed, or at least hoped, that he hadn't.  In 2005, McGwire sat before Congress and didn't confess.  We now know that he had admitted a day earlier, but wouldn't do so before congress publicly because he wasn't guaranteed immunity.  So he testified, and then went on about his life, as questions continued to swirl around him and others involved in the steroid scandal. 

Now he's come forward and the fallout will continue long after we crown next season's baseball champion.  I have to wonder; could this all have been avoided?  What if he had simply confessed when all the steroid hulabaloo began?  Certainly his records would still be tained in many people's eyes.  But would we even spend much time thinking about McGwire?  Would he eventually have been voted into the Hall of Fame based on his numbers as well as his honesty?  Perhaps. 

As a friend said to me last night.  Who is talkinga bout Petit, or Palmiero?  Two guys who admitted early on that they took steroids.  They admitted their mistake, apologized and moved on.  We dont' spend a lot of time focusing on those guys because, well, there's no story there.

How about former President Clinton?  Many of my Republican friends, as well as my Democrat friends say the issue wasn't really whether he had sex with an intern, but the fact that he lied about it to Congress.  I liked Clinton, voted for him twice, and we can debate all we want to about the legitimacy of the proceedings at the time, but the fact still stands that he skirted the issues and eventually lied. 

Bad move.  One wonders what might have happened if he had just said, "yes, I had sex with an intern."  End of story.  People could question his integrity, his decision-making skills, is choice in women, but they wouldn't be able to catch him in a lie, which is often worse than the actual indescretion itself. 

Now let's take a look at another political figure that didn't lie when called on the table for crimes and misdemeanors; Ollie North.  You remember him, right?  The general caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan years?  Say what you want about him, he didn't lie.  Or if he did, no one could prove it anyway.  He sat in front of Congress and laid out what happened, his role in the process and took his lumps.  Some may call him a fall guy for the administration, but regardless, he didn't try to hide, or duck the media or Congress.  He stood up, spoke his peace, apologized and moved on.

We don't spend a lot of time thinking about him nowadays.  And that's because there's no story there.  No more dirt to be dug up, no more scandals to expose, no more skeletons in the closet.

Are you starting to see a pattern here?  A friend of mine, Patricia Demchak-Billinger, who handles communications for the Denver Red Cross, summed it up when she asked if it's better to tell the truth and have one story and be done with it, or to duck the issue and have many stories hounding you.  I'm paraphrasing, but the sentiment is accurate.

Not all crisis situations are major incidents:

I know, some of you are sitting there saying, "But Chris, I'll never be called before Congress, I never used steroids, or broke major Constitutional crimes, how does this apply to me?"  The answer is, not all crisis situations are major incidents.  Certainly your office or business could be subject to something tragic, such as a shooting or suicide or explosion or fire, and hopefully you'll never have to deal with any of that.

But what about the smaller crisises you face nearly every day.  I'm talking about problems with dissatisfied customers, or questions from donors or even false accusations from disgruntled employees or sharholders.  These can, and do, happen frequently.

Here's an example, I posted it in an earlier entry, but it merits revisiting.  A Sears driver, delivering a refridgerator runs over a families small dog.  The dog owners are upset, but they're not looking for financial compensation, simply an apology from the store manager and driver.  For some reason the store manager not only refused to apologize, but blamed the family for the incident.  Certainly you can, in hindsight say the family should have kept the dog inside and out of the way of the large moving truck.  But that's not the point.  A simple apology was warranted but not forthcoming. 

The family was so upset, they put up a website called, www.Searskilledmydog.com.  Take a second, go to Google and type in, Sears killed my dog.  Do it, I'll wait.  Okay, back?  Surprised to see how many listings you found?  You shouldn't be.  The site received millions of hits.  Suddenly, millions of Americans were aware of the incident and Sears was getting a very black eye over something that could have, and should have, been handled in a much classier manner. 

Once Sears upper management heard about the situation, they moved promptly and took care of the problem, quickly. 

There are horror stories all over the net about companies making a mistake or an employee treating a customer poorly and suddenly it's being talked about in chatrooms and blogs and other social media sites.  It today's world, something seemingly small can snowball into a major crisis for a company.

How about the Dominoe's Pizza video showing some employees doing some disgusting things to the food about to be delivered.  Certainly this isn't a "small" issue, but it's a video that went viral and millions of Americans will probably no longer dial dominoe's for their late-night pizza call. 

Ask yourself, do you know everything your employees do when you're not there?  Are you aware of how your employees or staff treat customers or other shareholders when you're away?  What if they do or say something that reflects negatively on you or your organization?  It only takes a minute for someone to post a blog or video.  It could ruin everything you've worked so hard to build, in a blink of an eye.

Companies like Dominoe's or Frontier Airlines or The Westin Hotel Chain or Sears can absorb the kind of business loss (even if only temporary) that a crisis can inflict.  Can your small business handle the impact of losing customers based on a crisis?  Can your non-profit rebound if suddenly donors question whether they want to donate time or money based on a crisis?

Most likely, the answer is no.  So what do you do?  How can you make sure that a crisis won't destroy your organization?

Be Prepared:

Let's face it, your organization is going to face a crisis at some point.  It might not be on the magnitude of lying before Congress, but for small businesses and non-profits, even a small crisis can inflict major damage to future success.

The answer is to be prepared for any crisis situation.  Have an infrastructure in place to quickly disseminate information and communicate with customers, donors, shareholders, and even employees in case of a crisis.  Just a side note, often small businesses and non-profits forget to communicate to staff or employees during a crisis.  This is a mistake.  Employees and staff carry the banner for your organization not only when they're working, but also when they're off the clock.  If they are confused or in the dark about an incident, they'll make assumptions, fill in the gaps with information that might not always be accurate.  During a crisis, friends and family will ask them what's going on and they'll explain to the best of their ability, whether they have all the information or not.  Then, like a game of telephone, that information will be passed on from one person to another, often with facts being skewed or wrong and it spins out of control.  Take care of your employees and staff, let them know what's happening so if they are asked, they can tell the real story, not a wrong one.

Okay, so you have a communications infrastructure in place, a way to respond to a crisis, quickly and effectively.  You have to make sure that your message remains focused and strong, even during a crisis.  Stay true to your roots, so to speak when dealing with a crisis.  Too often, companies and organizations suddenly want to become something they aren't when a crisis happens.  Again, mistake.  Your best asset during a crisis is the stability and message that you have built up.  Lean on that base to help see you through.

What to Do:

Here is what you need to do when a crisis comes your way.  These rules hold true whether you run a non-profit, a small business or a major corporation.  These rules are tried and true.  They work, commit them to memory and use them when putting together any kind of crisis communications plan.

1.  Admit -  Don't duck the issue, don't hide and don't try to blame others.  Admit if you made a mistake.

2.  Apologize - If your organization messed up apologize.  Americans have a great capacity to forgive.  What they don't like is when you lie to them or won't fess up to your mistakes.  A simple apology goes a LONG way towards mending fences with upset customers or shareholders.

3.  Move Forward -  Fix the problem.  If it's a problem with employees, make sure you communicate a plan to make sure you have better customer service training, or hiring practices.  If it's a product issue, let the customer know what you're doing to make sure the product works correctly.  This allows you to move away from what happened and let people know what you will do looking forward to make sure it never happens again.  Don't make promises, but DO let people see you actively working to fix the problem and let them know that, no matter what happens in the future, they still come first.

Sears, Dominoe's, Westin Hotels, all earned high praise for how they handled their particular pr crisis situations.  Remember, stories like these don't just end up in front of customers, they also end up in front of potential customers and shareholders.  These people are sitting there making decisions based on not just what happened, but on how the company responds. 

In other words, a crisis situation is also a great time to reach out to new potential customers and let them see how you handle adversity.  It's a time to get the word out that you are, indeed, a quality organization that they want to do business with or donate money to. 

A crisis doesn't have to destroy you.  It can actually help you in the long run if you respond correctly, take an honest look at the problem, and fix it.  By doing so, you will become a stronger organization for it.  And people will notice.  They'll hear your apology and often times give you the benefit of the doubt.  These people will also be watching to see how you follow up.  If you truly follow through with your fixes, customers will come back and new ones will suddenly appear. 

Here's another tip.  The same outlets and venues in traditional and social media that were used to hammer you, can also be used to help you.  Find out where you're being mentioned and talked about and hit those same sites and social media outlets to make your apology, to outline the fixes and to move forward. 

This shouldn't be handled by an employee or assistant.  For the apology to be sincere and accepted, it has to come from the top, period.  People will only accept the apology if it comes from the person in charge, if it comes without excuses or blam, and if it comes with a solution. 

Do this and you can overcome almost anything.  Don't follow these procedures and you could find yourself without an organization as fast as it takes for a video to go viral.  And in case you haven't noticed, that's pretty damn fast.

Article of Interest for Monday, January 11, 2010

Here is today's article of interest.  We spend so much time focusing on the things that we HAVE to do in order to make our social media efforts successfull, we often don't take the time to look at what we SHOULDN'T do. 

Today's article comes from the GISuser website, click on the link to see the entire article.  It was written by Glenn Letham of the GISUser.com site.  It features five things you should avoid when working with social media.  Here are the tips:

1. Not responding to @mentions or request/questions sent directly to them. This is particularly frustrating when experts ask for an opinion, feedback or information from their followers. You take the time to reply and help them out only to never hear back from them. I’m sorry but if Guy Kawasaki can effectively reply to almost everyone that reaches out to him then so can you!

2. Boasting about the number of followers they have. Its cool to have large numbers, however, given that there’s many ways to attract auto-followers, on Twitter quantity isn’t everything and a true expert is all about sharing and caring, not all about them!

3. Re-Tweeting the same people all the time and constantly Re-Tweeting only those who have huge followings. This is somewhat honorable, however, if all you do is re-tweet Gary V, Mashable, Guy Kawasaki, or other “celebrity” Twitters come on, you’re likely just kissing ass… try coming up with your own words of wisdom and own advice.

4. Auto-follow everyone that follows you and automatically send your followers a message that reminds them how great you are. Unless you happen to be a robot, what value is there in automatically following anyone that follows you? As more and more automated and robotic functionality gets incorporated into Twitter this is going to become hugely problematic in the future.

5. Tweeting only about “buzzword” topics. Sure, Twitter, facebook, the iPhone, Google, and Ashton Kutcher are all popular, trending topics, however, if these and other trending topics of the day are the only thing you tweet about then you are clearing trolling and begging for followers and re-tweets. If you are truly knowledgeable about the trending topic then prove it!
You may have no desire to become an "expert", however, to increase your chances and to become a little more productive with your social media efforts watch some experts or social "die hards" and observe what they do, how they do it, and most important, check out the tools that they use. If Mashable  uses the Disqus comment system on their site then I'd say it's likely good enough for your blog too! If your favorite news outlet tweets using Hootsuite then chances are good that its a decent tool. If you notice many mobile Tweets coming from Echofon or Tweetie then they are good tools to investigate.


This is a great example of things that too often we do, without thinking about the real benefit.  We all make mistakes, and the only problem with making mistakes is not learning from them.  Having a list of things NOT to do, alongside a list of "TO DO's" can be very helpful as you put together your PR and social media efforts.

The Release!

Greetings to all, hope you had a wonderful weekend.  It's strange to be in 2010.  It's early in the year, a time so full of promise as resolutions and goals remain fully in focus.  I hope you all have been able to take some time to really figure out what your public relations, marketing and social media goals are for the upcoming 11 and a half months.

As always, this blog and I will be here to help you navigate your way through the landmines and hopefully achieve success.  With that said, it's time to get back to focusing on the reason for the Real Public Relations blog; helping small businesss and non-profits handle their own pr and social media efforts.

I have so much more from the interview with Duncan Shaw, Executive Producer for KCNC-TV in Denver.  There are more video clips coming, so don't worry.  I'll have a couple more in the next entry, I promise, but first, I have to fulfill a promise I made at the end of last week.

I have been getting some feedback regarding pitching, most notably, the press release.  What role does a press release actually play in the pitch process?  What makes a good press release?  Are press releases even relevant anymore?  All excellent questions.

First, let me say that, yes, press releases ARE still relevant, but they no longer are the keystone to a successfull pitch, whether it's to traditional media or to online media outlets.  There was a time when a carefully crafted press release could garner earned media coverage almost by itself.  That has changed dramatically over the past decade, clearly.

There are a few organizations that can, and still do, use releases almost exclusively to get information out to newsrooms and media outlets.

Government offices (this includes District Attorney's, office-holders, Government agencies)

Municipal agencies (fire dept., police dept., hospitals, etc)
Utilities
Certain major non-profits and businesses (Red Cross, Apple, etc.)

These organizations already have very close tie-ins with local and national newsrooms.  This means they don't have to necessarily put together full-blown pitches to catch the interest of journalists.

There are also TIMES when only a release is adequate.  Generally, these are crisis situations.  Let's say a major crime is committed at your business or non-profit.  Perhaps it's a shooting, or scandal of some sort.  You will already be on the news radar, therefore you don't have to pitch anything, you simply have to inform.  These types of releases focus on explaining what happened, or, more often than not, notifying journalists about a press conference to explain what happened.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, these instances are very rare.  This means most of the time, your interaction with media organizations will involve a story pitch of some kind.


What it is, what it isn't:

The press release is, essentially, your entry into a newsroom.  It is the reason you are contacting a media outlet and it provides necessary information about your organization, event or story.  Think of your press release as a resume for your story.  You're giving all the pertinent facts needed to make a decision about your story.  And, like resumes, there are a number of different ways to structure your release.

The structure depends on what you're pitching, really.  For events, there is a proven structure that gets to the point and will improve your chances of success.  This is what I call the, "Just the facts" release.

Here is an example:
(the organization and event are completely fictional.  Any resemblance to actual non-profits or events is coincidental) ***NOTE***  Click on the releases to see a larger version.

Okay, notice a few things about the release, let's break it down.  First you have your logo at the top, with contact information.  This is vital.  I'm sure most of you are already doing this, but if you're not, start.  Second, the logo and other aspects of the release have some color.  Visually, you want your release to catch the eye of the reader, just like television and print, visuals matter.

Also notice the fact that the release actually says, "PRESS RELEASE" at the top, followed closely by, "For Immediate Release".  You might ask yourself why they are there.  Journalists receive hundreds of emails a day...HUNDREDS.  By putting "PRESS RELEASE" at the top, followed by "For Immediate Release" you quickly let the journalist know what they are looking at.

This is followed by your headline.  Notice that there are really two headlines at the top.  One catches the eye of the journalist, the second explains with just a little more detail.  Detail that SHOULD generate more interest in the story.

Remember what Duncan said in his pitch clip.  Journalists think in headlines.  They need to be able to see the headline and think right away, "This story will interest my audience."  In this case, the headline addresses an issue that is always of interest to local journalists; the homeless problem.  This headline doesn't just mention the homeless problem, it actively addresses a solution.  The secondary headline fills in some detail, letting the journalist know, quickly, that a local non-profit is partnering with retailers to help the homeless find jobs, thus inferring that these individuals would no longer be homeless after getting work.

The release goes on to show the What, Where and When of the event.  This is a very effective way to get the information across quickly.  The journalist can get the facts within just a few seconds.  They have all the pertinent facts right at the top.  The Why and How, you'll notice, isn't actually listed, but is instead handled with a series of short paragraphs.  This allows you to tell your story in a more detailed manner.  The top information is designed to draw the journalist to this section.  Generally, with this type of release, most journalists will get this far.  That means your first sentence here has to be powerful and strong and immediately address the newsworthiness of the story.

In this case, the release is focusing on the partnerships formed to help "take a bite" out of Denver's homeless problem.  The first sentence could just as easily have been, "A local coalition of non-profits and small businesses, led by Good Earthworks of Colorado, hope to save Denver millions by helping area homeless find jobs."  This first sentence focuses on the financial impact of the story.

Here's some quick advice, if I can digress; generally speaking, any story that deals with government spending, tax dollars and saving money, will appeal to journalists, regardless of where they are or who they are.

After the why and how paragraphs, there is a short "boilerplate" about Good Earthworks.  This gives the journalist a little bit of information on the organization, who they are, and what they do.  Always add a very short boilerplate to your releases, just to give the journalist some information on you.

Finally, at the bottom, the release has the website information again and lets them know that you also have a Facebook page and a Twitter account.  Always add this information.

There is another angle that the headline could have taken, and that is the economic angle, but would probably be an entirely different pitch.  Here is an example of what that pitch might look like:

 

Notice this release has some different information, as well as a different focus for the story.  This release isn't pitching an event, but an idea, a story that has a specific goal and timeline.  In this case, the timeline is 12 months.  It can be covered by a news organization at any time during the 12 months.  The fact that it's being pitched now is what gives it a sense of timeliness, sort of.  The strength of this story is going to be the impact, relevance, character (the release could offer to let the reporter follow a specific homeless person through the process) and some wow factor given the potential visuals and the number of retailers and non-profits involved in the effort.

Many of the basics are still there in this release that were there in the first release.  The only thing that has really changed is the focus of the story and some of the wording (including the headline, you'll notice)

While these releases focus on a non-profit, the rules still apply to a small business.  For instance, when I was doing some freelance work, I worked with a hair salon.  Just pitching the daily events of a hair salon won't get you much media coverage.  However, we found out that this salon went to the local Women's prison to teach prisoners how to look their best for potential job interviews.  They also held a monthly singles salon party to bring lcoals together, offer grooming and makeup tips (the men really only got the grooming tips) share some wine, good music and potentially meet someone.

These stories were interesting, and we pitched the salon singles as an event, that got some great coverage as a great, odd way to meet members of the opposite sex.  The prison outreach story also received some great coverage, even though it wasn't pitched as an event, but more as a human interest story.

If you want to see those actual releases and the pitches that went with them, let me know and I can email you copies of the releases.  Just email me at cdgallegos01@earthlink.net.

Here are a few tips to putting together a solid release, regardless of the structure you use:

1.  Always have your logo and contact information at or near the top of the release

2.  Let them know that this is a release and that the information can be reported on immediately

3.  Make your headline newsworthy.  Imagine your release headline as the headline for a print article or the lead in to a television or radio segment.  
4  Make your sentences short, your paragraphs short and make the writing clear and concise.
5.  Releases should, again generally speaking, never be more than one page long.  

Sending it out:

Okay, so now you have your release put together, it looks good, all the information is pertinent and the newsworthiness is evident.  None of this matters if the journalist never even looks at your release.  As I mentioned, journalists get hundreds of emails a day.  When they sit down at their computer every day, they have to wade through a pile of emails, most of which are meaningless to them.

In order to make sure they look at your release, you have to be creative with your email header.  It shouldn't say "Good Earthworks Event".  Chances are they don't know what Good Earthworks is, and won't open the email.

You have to make your email stand out among the hundreds of others.  Write something like, "Press Release: Denver Homeless Event."  This header does a couple of things.  First it lets the journalist know that it's a release.  Second it is specific enough to let the journalist know what it's about, but vague enough to raise some curiosity.  IF you think your headline is good enough, you can even use it in your email header.  Regardless of what you put, you should always precede it with the words, "Press Release," so they know what they're opening.

The Pitch:

As I mentioned earlier in this post, your release isn't really your pitch.  It's a fact sheet, a selling point to be sure, but often times, the release is where journalists will go to find information, answer questions or be the deciding factor if they are on the fence about the story.  My pitches almost always take the form of a short, personal email that precedes the actual release.

In this case, my pitch would look something like this:


Duncan,


I have a story I think is perfect for your show.  Local non-profits and retailers hope to save the City of Denver millions in funds that normally go towards policing, jailing, educating and sheltering homeless individuals.  The first of 12 workshops designed to help the homeless find work kicks off this Saturday.  Several retailers are donating services, clothes and training in an effort to help the homeless find work and get off the streets.  Representatives from the Governor's office will be in attendance along with an estimated 100-plus homeless, getting haircuts, being fitted for new clothes and receiving training on applications and interviewing skills.  

This would make a great package, or even a live shot during your 7am hour or noon show.  We could even supply a representative for an in-studio interview if necessary.  We have photos available as well as some video of our first dry-run workshop. 


I can be reached at any time at 720.555.1235, or via email at chris@goodearthworks.com.  I look forward to hearing from you to schedule an interview or live shot.


Thank you,

That is the pitch.  Notice I did a few things in this short email.  I let them know that I think this is a good story for their show, and I let them know immediately why it would be of interest to their audience; the money-savings for the city.  I followed up by giving a few facts, including some potential visuals they might be able to use.  I also gave options for coverage by letting them know we were open to a variety of possibilities, from a pre-packaged story, to a live interview to a remote live shot during different shows.

Finally I let them know that I was available, how to contact me and encouraged them to move forward with scheduling coverage.

Sales people out there will recognize this last element.  It's classic sales.  Instead of asking for coverage (or a sale), assume the coverage is imminent (or sale is forthcoming), and let them know how to get in touch with you to make arrangements.

Will this pitch and release be successful?  It's hard to say.  It depends on a variety of factors, as you know if you've been following the blog.  But if you consistently send out releases and pitches like this, you'll find that you'll see your organization in the media more often than not.

Daily Article of Interest - Social Media Tips

Here is today's "Daily Article of Interest" (must be said with loud, booming voice for full effect).  Today's entry comes from the Web Worker Daily website and blog.  Here is a quick preview of the article.

Why Social Media Marketing is Still a Red-headed Stepchild

January 6th, 2010 (1:00pm) Aliza Sherman 

I’ve been discouraged in recent months to find that in the wider business world there is still an enormous resistance to embracing newer communications tools such as blogs, microblogs and social networks as part of a fully-integrated marketing strategy. I watch as public relations and marketing departments all but ignore the social media marketing vendors they bring in. I see print ads still going into newspapers failing to mention that the company or organization are now on Facebook or Twitter. I hear PSAs and radio ads failing to mention these new consumer touch points in addition to a web site.

I have to admit that I'm constantly amazed that businesses still don't see the benefits of social media.  And I'm not only talking about major businesses, in fact, the larger corporations are actively leading the way in social media experimentation and success.  Companies like Nike, Apple, Dominoes, etc, are using social media in ways that will impact overall business online practices for years to come. 

There are also small business and entrepreneurs who are creatively using social media to raise their profiles, generate interest online and draw customers to their organizations. 

Meanwhile, there are public relations firms, ad agencies and about a million small to medium to large businesses and non-profits across the country who not only don't get it, but they aren't actively doing anything to learn about or use, social media tools to expand successfully.

I think the tips in this article are very effective and thought-provoking.  In a sense, we're all still learning this crazy thing called social media as it continues to grow and change.  But while we know there will be growing pains and many lessons along the way, if we can establish some rock solid basics that we can jump off from, the process will be much smoother and we can all grow successfully together.