Issue #746 Aug. 31, 2013 Publisher: Joan Stewart
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
In This Issue
- Facebook Loosens Page Rules
- Back-to-School Ideas
- New Posts at My Blog
- Hound Video of the Week
This Weekend in the Hound House:
The flower gardens are brown and crisp, except for the spectacular pink hibiscus, with blooms bigger than dinner plates. The blooms last just one day–long enough to get a quick pic yesterday and to upload to “My Favorite Flowers” on Pinterest.
1. Facebook Loosens Page Rules
Facebook administrators no longer have to fuss with third-party apps for promotions such as contests.
Promotions can now be administered on Page Timelines as well as in apps, just like before. You can now:
–Collect entries by asking your fans to post them on the Page, or comment or Like your page post.
–Collect entries by having users message the Page.
–Use Likes as a way for people to vote.
You can’t administer promotions on personal timelines, however.
The other major change is an update to the Page Terms to prohibit Pages from tagging or encouraging people to tag themselves in content that they are not actually depicted in.
It’s OK, however, to ask people to submit names of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize.
Read all the details on the new Facebook Promotion Guidelines.
2. Back-to-School Ideas
Forget about backpacks and bullying when sharing back-to-school tips for 2013. Those topics have been exhausted.
Offer your expertise, or a demonstration, or how-to tips about really hot trends. Here are three examples:
–Emmy-winning tech and trends expert Brett Larson and host of KillerApps.TV says the VTech InnoTab 3S is the next generation of children’s learning tablets with Wi-Fi. Built for ages 3-9, it features VTech Kid Connect–an exclusive communication app that allows kids to be connected with their parents and friends.
–Carly Gatzlaff, of À La Mode Wardrobe Consulting, a personal stylist and wardrobe consultant in the Twin Cities, says ankle boots for girls will be huge, the perfect way to accessorize skirts, dresses or pants.
–School districts throughout the U.S. are bailing out of the National School Lunch Program, much to the dismay of First Lady Michelle Obama, because they say the kids hate the new food, and there isn’t enough of it. Nutritionists, chefs and others can offer advice to the feds on how to create new guidelines that offer enough food that’s healthy as well as tasty.
If you do PR for a school, college or university, you’ll find tips galore on how to position yourself to be heard, maximize your PR resources and educate your school about the media. See “Special Report #15: Publicity Tips for Schools, Colleges and Universities,” a PDF that you can download immediately. Only $15.
3. New Posts at My Blog
7 places to find freelancers to write about you
PR News needs contributors for crisis management book
Dog Tweets of the Week–8 Steps to Higher Facebook Graph Search Rankings
4. Hound Video of the Week
Thanks to Publicity Hound Meryl K. Evans of Plano, Texas, for these photos of the weirdest dog breeds ever.
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