The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #545 March 15, 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. How to Make Facebook Easier
2. 31 Definitions of PR
3. LinkedIn: Perpetual Leads Machine
4. Use Sizzling Statistics
5. Free Twitter Bird Icons
6. Hound Joke of the Week
7. And at My Blog & Mobile Site…
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1. How to Make Facebook Easier
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If you’re like me, you want to throw your coffee cup through the
computer monitor when you can’t figure out how to do something on
Facebook.
Why do more than 200 million people use that site, then, if it’s
so darn complicated?
Several reasons:
–Many kids, who grew up with computers and practically live on
Facebook, are patient enough to figure out all the nuances.
–Many users have Facebook accounts, but they aren’t really
active on the site because it’s too confusing. So that 200
million figure is a bit deceiving.
–Business owners, like me, use Facebook primarily for business
because we know a lot of people in our target markets are there.
We also understand the value of creating fan pages and using a
powerful “welcome” page that encourages visitors to give us their
email addresses.
That’s worth putting up with all the aggravating changes that
Facebook makes every six months or so.
The most recent batch of changes, introduced last month, offers
opportunities galore for businesses, nonprofits and government
agencies to solidify their brand.
But some of the changes are more important than others. And
trying to understand all of them at the same time can make you
crazy.
My virtual assistant, Christine Buffaloe, who manages Facebook
accounts for many of her clients, is joining me this afternoon
for a webinar on “12 More Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on
the New & Improved Facebook.” It’s at 4 p.m. Eastern Time and we
have a few seats left.
We’ll explain only what we think you need to know so you aren’t
overwhelmed, and we’ll tell you about the two things you should
no longer be doing with Facebook.
You may have heard lots of people buzzing about another new
Facebook feature. But we aren’t using it, and we’ll explain why.
You’ll learn about a new tool we 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. 31 Definitions of PR
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Here’s one of my favorite explanations of the difference between
public relations, marketing, promotion and advertising:
“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying
‘Circus Coming to the Fairgrounds Saturday,’ that’s advertising.
If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into
town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the
mayor’s flowerbed, that’s publicity. And if you get the mayor to
laugh about it, that’s public relations.”
Now that you know what public relations is, how do PR people
explain what they do?
You’ll find 31 definitions of PR at Heidi Cohen’s blog at
http://heidicohen.com/public-relations-definition/
Fascinating reading.
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3. LinkedIn: Perpetual Leads Machine
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Few social media sites will keep working for you 24/7, even when
you’re asleep.
But LinkedIn will. Let’s say you’re looking for journalists who
live within a 100-mile radius of Chicago.
You plug in the details of what you’re looking for and click.
After you review the results, you can save your search.
Here’s the best part: You can tell LinkedIn to send you an email
weekly or monthly to notify you if a new journalist who meets
your search criteria has been found in your network (including
Levels 1, 2 and 3 and Groups.) You can keep up to three searches
in a free account.
It’s a perpetual leads generator. LinkedIn expert Wayne
Breitbarth recommends getting on the phone as soon as you see
that someone new has become part of your network. Set up a
meeting. It could be a home run.
Read more about what Wayne taught recently during 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.”
I recorded the webinar and you can download the video replay, the
MP3 and all the handouts at
http://publicityhound.com/publicity-products/marketing-tapes/linkedinpowerformula.htm
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4. Use Sizzling Statistics
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The next time you write a press release or a pitch, think of a
clever way you can introduce sizzling statistics to really
attract attention.
Brad Phillips uses them all the time. He publishes the Mr. Media
Training Blog, which offers daily media and presentation training
tips. And he wrote a super guest blog post for me with five
examples of how to make boring numbers come alive.
For example, percentages, he says, are a drag on your copy.
“Instead of proclaiming that your plant’s new energy efficient
manufacturing equipment will cut your company’s carbon footprint
by 35 percent, tell your audience what that means. Does your new
efficiency mean that you will save 20,000 barrels of oil this
year? Say so!”
Read the other four tips and leave a comment about how you used
statistics. Go to http://publicityhound.net/?p=7994
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5. Free Twitter Bird Icons
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Looking for some attractive Twitter icons to place at your blog
or website or use on your marketing materials?
You can download an entire set of six incredibly cute birds, some
with their “Follow Me” and “Tweet About Us” signs. Kudos to Gopal
Raju of Convax Solutions for offering these under Creative
Commons, which means you can freely use them for your private and
commercial projects, including software, online service,
templates and themes.
Smart Publicity Hounds can also use them in online media rooms
and press kits.
Grab ’em now at
http://www.productivedreams.com/free-twitter-bird-icon-set/
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6. Hound Joke of the Week
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A police dog responds to an ad for work with the FBI.
“Well,” says the personnel director, “you’ll have to meet some
strict requirements. First, you must type at least 60 words per
minute.”
Sitting down at the computer, the dog types 80 words per minute.
“Also,” says the director, “you must pass a physical and complete
the obstacle course.”
This perfect dog specimen finishes the course in record time.
“There’s one last requirement,” the director continues. “You must
be bilingual.”
With confidence, the dog looks up at him and says, “Meow!”
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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How to Promote Events on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn
http://publicityhound.net/?p=8006
Why statistics can be your greatest PR ally–or enemy
http://publicityhound.net/?p=7994
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Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
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