The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #454 June 9, 2009
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. Feed Me Bubbe
2. Mass Confusion on Facebook
3. Claim Your Facebook URLs Saturday
4. Media Lead for Small Biz Owners
5. Promoting a Holistic Business
6. Help This Hound
7. Hound Quote of the Week
8. And at My Blog…
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1. Feed Me Bubbe
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Publicity Hound Avrom Honig already has received a mountain of
coverage for his popular web TV cooking show, Feed Me Bubbe.
He’s the director and creator. But the star is his
eighty-something grandmother, Bayla “Bubbe” Sher. (Bubbe is
Yiddish for grandma.)
In one episode, she’s whipping up a bowl of refreshing borscht.
In other, she explains the intricacies of making potato latkes.
In another, she demonstrates the finer points of chicken
schnitzel.
Each episode features a Yiddish word of the day. Avrom and Bubbe
even appear in their own homemade TV commercials.
The show has become such a hit that it’s attracted the attention of ABC
World News, the Wall Street Journal, PBS’s “Frontline,” and Retirement
Living’s “The Art of Living.” TrendHunter.com named Feed Me Bubbe one of the
top trends of 2009.
But Avrom, 25, is never satisfied with the publicity.
So he used a tip he read here about asking everyone who
interviews him, “Who else do you know who might be interested in
this story?”
“I landed major publicity over at TubeFilter.tv when I asked a
blogger that question,” Avrom said. “It started when I received
an email from a fellow podcaster mentioning all of the places
where they had received glowing reviews about their production.
“I figured, well, if they received such good press, I would go
down the list and contact everyone that had left these great
reviews. One of the reviewers, a freelancer named Jacob, wrote
back and was thrilled to do an interview.
“At the end of the interview, I boldly asked, ‘Who else should
know about Bubbe?’ He mentioned that one of the places he
freelances for is TubeFilter.tv. The very next day, we found
ourselves on the front Page of TubeFilter.”
You can see the episode at here.
Pitching bloggers, like Avrom does, has huge payoffs. But make
sure you offer them ONLY what they need. “How to Pitch the Best
Bloggers and Create a Publicity Explosion” explains how.
Avrom wants more ideas for ways to promote his show. So I’m
featuring his question this week in the Help This Hound section
in Item #6 below.
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2. Mass Confusion on Facebook
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During last week’s teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed
Opportunities on Facebook,” it was painfully obvious from the
questions participants asked that many business people don’t
understand two important rules about Facebook:
–First, you cannot create a Facebook account under your company
name. This violates Facebook’s terms of service. I was astounded
at the number of people who emailed us to say they have multiple
accounts on Facebook–one for their personal use and one for
their business. If you’re among them, and Facebook finds out,
they can close down your accounts pronto, and all that valuable
content you’ve been posting will be gone forever.
If you’re concerned because you don’t want your business contacts
to see personal information that’s reserved for your family
members, and vice-versa, you can use the Settings to control who
sees what.
–Second, the only place on Facebook to promote a business is on
Fan Pages. Facebook is partly to blame for the confusion. They’ve
hidden the powerful “Create a New Facebook Page” three layers
into the site.
Christine Buffaloe, my guest expert who also creates and manages
social media accounts for her clients, said many Facebook users
complain that they can’t get traction on the site. They don’t see
any sales after they’ve been on Facebook for a few months, and
they conclude it’s a waste of time.
“Facebook is a process, so don’t have the expectation that you’re
going to be on Facebook and in one week you’re going to have all
these people wanting to hire you or use your services for
whatever reason,” she said. “It’s a process, and it takes time.”
The 28 pages of illustrated handouts we provided offer lots of
shortcuts and multiple ways to do things. We illustrate how to
find Friends, invite Friends to become Fans of your Fan Pages,
flag your Facebook Friends about information you don’t want them
to miss, and ask your Friends to help you spread the word about
something you’re doing.
We explain the correct way to use the Events application, how to
dovetail your Facebook account with other social networking sites
and how to recycle tips you’ve used elsewhere for Facebook, so
you don’t always have to create original content.
We even offered several ways to find solutions to pressing
problems dealing with Facebook. Its Help Center isn’t always
helpful.
If you missed the call, you can order the CD, transcript or MP3
download. CDs and transcripts will be ready by the end of the
week. All come with the 28 pages of illustrated handouts that you
can download immediately.
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3. Claim Your Facebook URLs Saturday
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Facebook just announced that users can claim their vanity Profile
and Fan Page URLs starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 13.
I wrote about this last week and urged you to claim your URLs, or
kick yourself later when somebody else has claimed them.
Facebook is offering vanity URLs for both Profile and Fan Pages.
At the bottom of that post, you’ll also see a link where you can
contact Facebook if you want to ensure that you keep the rights
for a trademark or other protected name.
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4. Media Lead for Small Biz Owners
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Karen Klein, a columnist for BusinesWeek.com and the Los Angeles
Times, is looking for sources for a BusinessWeek column she’s
writing on what small business owners think of President Obama.
“I’m taking the temperature of small business owners on the new
direction Obama has set, and what key issues are important to
them right now,” she said. “I have some polls and metrics, but
it’s always good to get quotes from real entrepreneurs as well.
“For instance, business owners historically have tended to skew
Republican because they are the ‘party of business’ and tend to
be for lower taxes, less regulation, etc.–all things that are
near and dear to most business owners’ hearts. I’m wondering if
that’s still true, however, or whether small business owners are
more willing to give Obama a chance right now.
“The idea came about after the tax/tea party protests of a month
or two ago, when I wondered whether small business owners might
be strongly represented in those ranks, or whether they were
taking more of a wait-and-see attitude about Obama’s ideas and
policies. Are they worried? Hopeful? Angry? Shocked and appalled?
And why?”
Karen also has written for Newsday, the Chicago Tribune, Newsweek
and Sunset. You can follow her at her blog and start building a relationship
with her. See “Special Report #49: 17 Ways to Build Valuable
Relationships with Media People.”
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5. Promoting a Holistic Business
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This week, eleven Publicity Hounds have tips for Nancy L.
Jerominski, of SeaTac, Wash., a holistic health coach, who’s
looking for ways to generate publicity for her business.
From Dina Eisenberg:
“Like you, my market is Baby Boomers. Do a Technorati.com search
for ‘menopause’ and ‘Baby Boomers,’ and then find 10 bloggers to
befriend by commenting on their blogs. You might even ask to
share your knowledge via a guest post or two.”
From Brent:
“Get involved in your local Toastmasters club. It helps in public
speaking and writing, and gives you a safe place to practice.
It’s great for networking and has gotten me to the next level.”
From Jennifer Manocchio:
“Start by pitching local television news shows. Morning shows and
weekend producers love these kinds of topics, especially if you
can tie it into something timely like how to get flatter abs this
summer without doing crunches. Once you get a few under your
belt, incorporate your exposure into your bio (‘Nancy has shared
her expertise on XYZ.’) You can also use the TV coverage in your
pitch to national TV shows to show them what a great guest you
are!”
The Publicity Hound says:
One of my most popular training tools is “How to Get on the Local
TV News Tomorrow” in which TV producer Shawne Duperon explains in
step-by-step detail how to pitch your local TV stations. Read
more about it.
Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question.
I need more questions! Send yours and include your city and state.
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6. Help This Hound
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Publicity Hound Avrom Honig writes:
“My three-year-old web TV show Feed Me Bubbe, which features my
Bubbe (Yiddish for grandmother) demonstrating how to cook a
variety of kosher foods, has received national media attention.
“Of course, we’d like to receive more. Can your Hounds recommend
the best ways to pitch a story about the show to the big food
magazines? We’ve already been on ABC News and PBS’s ‘Frontline,’
and in the Wall Street Journal. But we’re always interested in
any other media attention we can generate, including blogs.
“We’d love to hear ideas from your Hounds on other media outlets
or bloggers that might be interested in covering Feed Me Bubbe.”
The Publicity Hound says:
I’m a Food Network junkie, and even though their shows are a
little too slick and polished for you and Bubbe, I still think
you should pitch them because your show has a real down-home
charm.
Hounds, what ideas can you offer for Avrom and Bubbe? Post them
to my blog.
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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Sign in the window of a pet shop:
“Buy one puppy. Get one flea.”
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8. And at My Blog…
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