February 4, 2012

Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Blog / PR

Use Twitter to Reach Journalists

February 26, 2010 By David Leave a Comment

Reason #27 to set up a Twitter account for your organization: journalists are using it to research stories. The Online Marketing Blog reports on the study, which says 65% of journalists are using social media to find information about stories.

The study looked at social networks more broadly, but from my own experience, most newsrooms have at least one reporter who frequently checks Twitter for story ideas. Many of them are following local nonprofits, government agencies, and companies — and will follow up when a bit of news from the Twitter feed piques their interest.

Setting up a Twitter account is free and easy, and there’s really no excuse not to have one. If you do nothing else with Twitter, set up the account, search for your local news organizations, and start following them.

Filed Under: Journalism, Nonprofit, PR, Social Media Tagged With:

Tribes: Why you need to be some kind of leader

October 9, 2008 By David Brazeal Leave a Comment

Hugh McLeod has a must-read Q&A with Seth Godin, on Godin’s new book, “Tribes.”  Here’s a taste:

The world has always been organized into tribes, groups of people who want to (need to) connect with each other, with a leader and with a movement. The products, services and ideas that are gaining currency faster than ever are ones that are built on a tribe.

Barack Obama has one, John McCain tried to co-opt one. Arianna Huffington has built the most popular blog in the world around one. Harley Davidson and Apple are titanic brands for the very same reason. They sell a chance to join a group that matters.

The punchline is that the only way to lead a tribe is to lead it. And that means that marketing is now about leadership, about challenging the status quo and about connecting people who can actually make a difference. If you can’t do that, don’t launch your site, your product, your non-profit or your career.

Get thee to Hugh McLeod’s blog and read the rest. It’s outstanding stuff.  And as you’re reading it, think about what kind of leadership your organization can offer to people who are eager to connect with you.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Filed Under: Blogs, Marketing, PR Tagged With:

New media and the changing face of PR

October 8, 2008 By David Brazeal Leave a Comment

iMedia Connection talks to Steve Rubel about how blogs are changing the face of PR. If you’re a professional communicator, you should listen to what Rubel has to say — especially about how social networks can fit into your communications plans:

“When a company can determine what it wants — and that overlaps with what a consumer wants — and you participate in a meaningful way in a social network to make that happen, I think that’s very credible,” he says.

I think that’s a key factor to consider when you’re thinking about how the Web fits into your strategy. Don’t participate in a social network for the sake of participating. But decide who you want to communicate with, then take some time to interact with them online. Find out what they want to hear from you, and give it to them. That’s the best way to use social networking to communicate, and to ultimately build relationships with the people who matter to you.

Filed Under: PR

Podcast on new media

September 30, 2008 By David Brazeal Leave a Comment

One of the projects I get to work on is a blog and podcast series for the Missouri Foundation for Health. It’s part of a program to help anti-tobacco professionals share information and work together.  The program manager, Angela Wilson, interviewed me the other day for a podcast on new media — especially as it applies to nonprofits.  You can hear it here.

Technorati Tags: , ,

Filed Under: Blogs, Marketing, nptech, Podcasting, PR

Blogworld08 Takeaways: Make your podcast a complete experience

September 29, 2008 By David Brazeal 1 Comment

A podcast — or any kind of audio or video element — is just one tool for telling your organization’s story to the people you care about reaching.  But it’s important to treat that tool as part of a complete experience.  That’s one important point from Mike Harper’s session at Blogworld 2008.  Among the highlights of that talk:

  • The experience requires structure. Consistency is important.  You need to find a podcast producer — or become a podcast producer — who can give your show a consistent look or sound.  It’s important to set and meet audience expectations.
  • Design your podcast for the participant.  And note the use of the word “participant.”  A good podcast, while not necessarily as interactive as a blog, should invite participation from listeners.  It should be a 2-way conversation, not a 1-way broadcast.
  • The environment is constantly evolving. Don’t assume, just because your program is meeting the needs of participants today, that it will still be meeting their needs in two months.

Bottom line: make sure your multimedia content is not just an add-on to your organization’s communications plan. Instead, do what you can to integrate it into everything you communicate.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

If you liked this post, subscribe to this blog! You can get the RSS feed here, or just enter your email address in the box on the left column, and I’ll deliver updates to you — no more than once a day. And I promise not to spam you, or make it difficult for you to unsubscribe.

Filed Under: Marketing, Podcasting, PR
« Older Posts