The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #545 March 8, 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. Don’t Fight Facebook
2. LinkedIn Sleuthing
3. Wanted: Milk Mustache Stars
4. Publicity Hound Charlie Sheen
5. What’s Your Klout Score?
6. Hound Video of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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1. Don’t Fight Facebook
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Just when I start feeling comfortable with the latest round of
changes to Facebook, along comes another series of new features
that throw me into a tailspin.
For example, I voluntarily converted to the new format rather
than waiting until later this month when everyone will be forced
to convert. But that places an ugly photo ribbon right at the top
of my fan page.
That’s prime real estate, darn it!
Most of the photo ribbons I’ve seen on other people’s pages
include a series of five unrelated photos that show fan page
owners posing with people they’ve met at events. The photos are
usually poorly cropped, too dark, or so small that people looking
at the page can’t identify who’s in the photo.
Nor do they care.
But I’ve figured out a way to manipulate that photo ribbon so I
use it to promote my business and bring visitors to my website,
blog, Twitter profile and even product pages–without being
obnoxious.
You can check it out by going to
http://www.Facebook.com/publicitytips
While you’re there, click on the Like button at the top of the
page. Then click on each of the five photos and see what happens.
Knowing how to use the photo ribbon to help your visitors and to
promote–and understanding what you can do with all the other new
Facebook features–will give you incredible power that you never
knew you had.
Three years ago, when I hosted the webinar “11 Ways to Avoid
Missed Opportunities on Facebook,” Christine Buffaloe, my virtual
assistant, walked participants through Facebook and demonstrated
how to use the site to attract friends and fans, join the
conversation, find your target audience and make people love you.
But that was three years ago. So much has changed on Facebook
that some of the strategies we recommended back then can actually
waste hours of your precious time due to the numerous changes on
Facebook.
I’ve fielded so many questions about Facebook’s new look and
navigation that Chris and I are hosting a webinar at 4 p.m.
Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 15. It’s called “12 More Ways to
Avoid Missed Opportunities on the New & Improved Facebook.”
If you participated three years ago, or you’re confused by any
aspect of Facebook, you owe it to yourself to take this crash
course to learn about the new tools and how to use them to
promote your expertise.
We’re even going to be sharing a cool new tool I discovered that
will help you find other people’s fan pages where you can post
helpful content to their walls, talk directly to their thousands
of fans, and get a link back to your own fan page–without
spamming.
Register here, even if the time is inconvenient for you because
I’m recording it, and I’ll send you the replay link and all the
handouts:
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/facebook12ways.htm
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2. LinkedIn Sleuthing
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Last week, I explained how LinkedIn’s Advanced Search Feature
serves as your own Lt. Columbo and helps you track down important
people with whom you want to connect.
But here’s the best part.
Advanced Search can deliver to you a long list of purchasing
managers, event planners, journalists, bloggers, publishers, or
other business people in almost any industry who you’d like to
meet–within just a few seconds.
Let’s say you need only names of people with a certain job title,
in a certain state, and within a 50-mile radius of a certain zip
code. Lt. Columbo can deliver that, too.
Once you see the list of results, then what do you do? One answer
is to choose someone from that list who’s a second- or third-
level connection, and then look for people who are connected to
you and to them. Ask the mutual connection to introduce you.
But what if you have no mutual connections? And what if the list
includes someone identified only by first name and last initial?
Then what do you do?
Wayne Breitbarth, who was the expert guest last week on my
webinar, “Your LinkedIn Power Formula: How to Make Killer
Contacts, Pull Crowds to Events, be a Star in Your Industry &
Track Down Leads Like a Bloodhound,” shared a sneaky little trick
that can let you penetrate even big companies and go directly to
the decision-maker you need even if you aren’t connected to them
yet on LinkedIn.
I recorded the webinar and you get download the video replay, the
MP3 and all the handouts at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/linkedinpowerformula.htm
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3. Wanted: Milk Mustache Stars
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If you know a wholesome teen-age girl who would be the perfect
spokesperson to promote milk, tell her that she could one of the
next stars of the “got milk?” ads–complete with the signature
milk mustache.
Seventeen magazine is looking for nine teen-agers for its
campaign.
Joining these kinds of contests, by the way, is great training
for publicity puppies who might want to become full-fledged
Publicity Hounds when they grow up.
Send your publicity pups to my blog to learn more about this:
http://publicityhound.net/?p=7956
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4. Publicity Hound Charlie Sheen
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Ideas for piggybacking your story idea onto the Charlie Sheen
drama:
–Parenting experts, how would you advise the parents of the two
goddesses living with Charlie? Should mom or dad try to talk some
sense into their daughters, or is it beyond too late? (I often
ask myself, where are these girls’ mothers?)
–Addiction experts, what’s your advice to alcoholics or drug
addicts who might think they “aren’t as bad as Charlie”?
–Teachers, how are impressionable kids responding to the
publicity stunts? And what are you telling them?
–Write an article on “5 Things Charlie Sheen Can Teach You About
(fill in the blank)”
Can’t think of an idea that ties into Charlie? How about stealing
an idea from “116 WOW Story Ideas from January through June” at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/JanIdeas.htm
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5. What’s Your Klout Score?
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Klout is quickly becoming one of the most popular tools for
measuring your influence online and in social media circles.
Go to http://www.Klout.com. Type your Twitter handle into the
box and hit “View.”
Now, go through the same process for your competitors and see how
your score compares to theirs.
Your score will fluctuate a little from one day to the next, so
return periodically and check it.
Today, my score is 60 and I’m working like crazy to improve it.
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6. Hound Video of the Week
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This video, about three and a half minutes, has had more than 2
million views on YouTube. It features an exercise instructor who
looks like a poodle and her obedient students–a pack of poodles
that look like the exercise instructor.
Is this an optical illusion? How do think they made this look so
lifelike? It starts slow, but stay with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdX_OBUeHb4
DOG JOKES & QUOTES EBOOK: 170+ G-rated dog jokes and quotes,
perfect for a dog-lover, your favorite vet, or just for a few
good laughs.
BONUS: Buy the ebook and you also get a compilation of the 50
best websites for dog humor.
http://publicityhound.com/dogjokebook/
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7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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Girls, you could be the next Milk Mustache star
http://publicityhound.net/?p=7956
Publicity Hounds are still posting dozens of comments to my piece
on whether to accept a journalist’s invitation for an email
interview:
http://publicityhound.net/?p=7900
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Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/PublicityHound
Join my Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/publicitytips
Connect with me on LinkedIn (and tell me how we know each other):
http://www.linkedin.com/in/publicityhound
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Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
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