The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #560 June 21, 2011
Publisher: Joan Stewart
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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
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In This Issue
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1. Attract Rabid Facebook Fans
2. Why Social Media Doesn’t Work
3. Dreaded Check-passing Photos
4. Land a Corporate Sponsor
5. Promote a Restaurant Reopening
6. Hound Quote of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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1. Attract Rabid Facebook Fans
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Mari Smith’s Facebook page has become the go-to place for people
who have questions about Facebook.
On any given day, dozens of people post questions–some of them
no-brainers and some of them so perplexing that even Mari doesn’t
know the answer. But she always finds out and shares the
information with her readers.
She also encourages her more than 43,000 fans to share their best
tips–and share they do.
I learned, for instance, that if you tag someone on Facebook with
his or her first and last name, you can simply remove the last
name after it’s already highlighted in blue, and the status
update will still show up on that person’s page. Removing the
last name makes the message more personal. Very cool!
Mari is arguably the world’s Number 1 Facebook expert. She’s
smart, funny, helpful, and I love listening to her “wee” Scottish
accent.
That’s why I was thrilled when she accepted the invitation to be
my guest expert on a webinar at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday,
June 28. Choosing the topic was easy. The Number One question
people ask me is, “How do I get more people to Like my page?”
She’ll explain more than a dozen ways (knowing Mari, it will be
closer to two dozen) to attract Facebook fans, provide sterling
content, and keep them coming back for more (just like the
celebrities do).
I took the big batch of question you’ve been asking the last few
months and forwarded them to her so she’ll be ready with the
responses.
One particularly knotty topic is contests. Mari wrote last week
that most people violate Facebook’s Terms of Service when they
sponsor contests. I almost did, too, until I read what she wrote.
Break the rules, and Facebook can close down your account,
pronto.
She’ll cover how to sponsor contests in detail, and address other
frequently asked questions. I’ve also asked her to explain how
you and I can encourage people to post questions on our pages so
we can imitate her, and be the go-to sources for up-to-the-minute
news in our industry.
Join us at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 29. Register at
http://publicityhound.com/facebookpages.htm.
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2. Why Social Media Doesn’t Work
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Don Crowther, the Top Gun of social media whose SMARTS course has
been my guiding light for last two years, just posted a free, new
video called “Social Media Doesn’t Work.”
Watch it here and then, correct what you’re doing wrong:
https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/spf2/a342/
Don readily admits that for most people social media doesn’t
work. And the reason is simple: It’s because of a costly mistake
that most social media marketers are making right now, a mistake
that will doom your social media efforts to failure.
The good news is, Don shows you the deceptively simple, but
highly effective secrets that can turn it all around, and sell
more books or products, get more consulting assignments and paid
speaking engagements, or just plain make more money with social
media.
You’ll also get a downloadable worksheet that shows you in just 5
minutes precisely how well you’re doing with social media. You’ll
quickly discover whether you’re wasting your time, or are on your
way to making serious money.
Last thing: You can watch the video on your iPhone, iPad or
iTouch without any hassles or delays.
Watch it here:
https://btconsulting.infusionsoft.com/go/spf2/a342/
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3. Dreaded Check-passing Photos
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When I presented a workshop on Saturday at the international
convention of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, I asked
all Publicity Hounds in the audience to stand, raise their right
paws, and repeat after me:
“I solemnly swear to never assign, take or appear in photos of
checkpassings, ribboncuttings and groundbreakings.”
Everybody had a good laugh, especially when I projected onto the
big screen one photo after another of those incredibly boring
ribbon-cutting ceremonies with the giant cardboard scissors, and
a second set of photos of checkpassings, with the oversized
cardboard checks that dwarfed the people standing on each side of
them.
“Enough, already,” I told them. “You can do better than that.”
One audience member said her club donated money for exercise
equipment to a local hospital. Rather than assigning the photo
we’ve all seen a million times, the dreaded checkpassing, club
members waited until the exercise equipment was delivered.
Dressed in workout clothes, they hopped aboard the equipment and
walked, ran, rowed, pulled and sweated their way to a great photo
that appeared in the local newspaper.
PR guy Dan Collins gives dozens more ideas on how to steer clear
of trite photos. He was my guest during the teleseminar “Fun
Alternatives to Boring Groundbreakings, Ribboncuttings and
Checkpassings.” It’s available as a CD or electronic transcript
you can download right now.
Read more about what it includes at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/groundbreakings.htm
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4. Land a Corporate Sponsor
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One of the best ways for corporations to market themselves is
through experts like Brendon Burchard and Jacqueline Whitmore.
And maybe even you.
After a lot of trial and error, Brendon cracked the code and
developed a surprisingly easy way to get major companies like
Wachovia, Coke, Toyota and Sony Pictures to promote and sponsor
his books, publicity and speaking tours.
Jacqueline has had equally impressive success.
She’s been the gift-giving expert for Sam’s Club, the gift-buying
expert for Office Depot, and a national spokesperson for Sprint.
She also has partnered with Clarisonic skin care products and
Hologic, which sells imaging equipment for the health care
industry.
In both cases, Brendon and Jacqueline found companies that were a
perfect fit with their area of expertise and have received
mountains of free publicity from national print and broadcast
media.
“When you’re aligned with a corporation, especially a Fortune 500
company, or one that has a reputable name, you’re perceived as
more credible because that corporation has chosen you as its
spokesperson,” Jacqueline says.
In fact, at the National Speakers Association convention several
years ago, Jacqueline heard Brendon speak about how to land
corporate sponsors and said he was one of the highest-rated
speakers at the event.
This year, Brendon will share his secrets during a free
teleseminar this Thursday, June 23, with Steve Harrison. Discover
how you can use his methods to promote your own book, product or
business, just like Brendon and Jacqueline do, and get PR firms
to pay all your expenses.
The call will be presented twice–-at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern. If
you can’t make it, please recruit someone to listen and take
notes for you. Register at
http://www.SponsorshipTrainingTeleseminar.com/?10011 (I’m a
compensated affiliate for Steve Harrison).
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5. Promote a Restaurant Reopening
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This week, seven Publicity Hounds have tips for Timothy Nishimoto
of Portland, Ore., owner of Vino Paradiso Wine Bar & Bistro, who
is looking for suggestion on changing the name of the restaurant.
He wants to know how to coordinate PR–drip it out little by
little or announce it all at once?
From Jenni Bowring:
“Courting the local food writers/bloggers is key to creating
advance buzz. Invite them-–when you, the food, and your chef are
ready–-to an advance, food-writers-only tasting.
“Close the restaurant for an evening (if possible) to make it
even more exclusive, or hold a kitchen dinner for them if closing
would be a hardship. Invite them to screen the new menu and taste
the food with carefully chosen wine pairings (perhaps the new
menu could include a wine pairing suggestion for each entrée).
“Each tabletop should have something in the center with the
message about the re-naming.”
From Everett:
“Here is my reaction to your current name (Vino Paradiso: A
friendly wine bar and bistro). Using ‘vino’ and ‘wine’ is a
redundancy, but not a felony. It would indeed be nice if you
could eliminate the repetition. ‘Bistro’ is actually a French
word, although perhaps not everyone knows that. Using a French
word might detract from your desire to communicate the new
Italian menu…You might even consider ‘Vino Paradiso
Restaurant.’ It says it all.”
From Shelley Hunter:
“There is a very popular and long-standing burger joint in Davis,
Calif., that was called Murder Burger. I think the name was
originally about butchering the beef. For obvious reasons, they
also decided to change the name. They, too, held a contest.
“I remember the contest because my brother-in-law (in college at
the time) and all his buddies were thinking of names to win free
food. I think the winner got a burger a week for a year, or
something like that. The name was changed to Redrum Burger,
which is brilliant if you’ve seen The Shining and is perfect for
this college town. I chuckle every time I see the sign and always
remember the contest.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Read all the responses to this “Help This Hound” question
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8690
Send your own question to:
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com?subject=HelpThisHound and
include your city and state.
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6. Hound Quote of the Week
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“You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give
you a look that says, ‘My God, you’re right! I never would’ve
thought of that!'” — Dave Barry
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7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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Facebook, inflight mag titles added to inventory closeout
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8752
Do you buy ads? Offer a testimonial for free publicity
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8714
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Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
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