The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #463 Aug. 11, 2009
Publisher: Joan Stewart
==========================================
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”
=========================================
In This Issue
=========================================
1. ‘I See Your Name Everywhere’
2. Share Your Best Food Nuggets
3. Use Receipts as Marketing Tools
4. Inflight Mags Want Your Events
5. Promoting Skirts for Chairs
6. Help This Hound
7. Hound Video of the Week
8. And at My Blog…
=====================================
1. ‘I See Your Name Everywhere’
=====================================
When people search for a product or service you sell by typing it
into the search engines, you want your website to appear on the
first page of Google.
But these days, that isn’t good enough.
Prospects often visit several sites, and then decide what they
want to buy–and from whom. That’s why it’s important for people
to find your website numerous times on that first page.
If you have only one website, or one blog, how can you capture
several of those top slots?
Paul Colligan, a faculty member for Stompernet, the membership
site for Internet marketers, said it’s much easier than you
think. In the latest issue of The Net Effect, Stompernet’s
subscription magazine, he has identified 10 websites that let you
create an account or page. All 10 tend to do very well in the
search engines for a specific term or phrase.
“Find enough of them and you’ll end up with a great batch of Top
10 listings where you can control the messaging,” he writes.
He calls it the “I’ve seen you out there” effect. I call it the
“I see your name everywhere” effect. Those phrases should be
music to every Publicity Hound’s ears.
Not surprisingly, those sites include Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube. They also include one you might not have thought of–
Digg.com, the most popular social bookmarking site.
“Update your profile for your message and ‘Digg’ a few articles
that help make your point,” Paul says. “This shows you’re a
serious player in this space–geek and non-geek alike. Those who
think Digg is important will be thrilled to find you there. Those
who don’t care will find you on yet another page.”
I’ve gotten so many requests for information on social
bookmarking that I’m hosting a teleseminar at 8 p.m. Eastern Time
on Thursday, Aug. 13, on “How to do Social Bookmarking to Promote
Your Expertise, Attract Followers & Pull Massive Amounts of
Traffic.”
Colin Martin, my guest expert, has created four videos that show
how to create your accounts at these sites, how to bookmark
content, how to make friends and join groups, and everyday uses
and results of this powerful marketing tool. Everyone who
registers will receive a link to the videos. We suggest you watch
them before the call.
If the time is inconvenient, sign up anyway and receive the MP3
download.
Hint: If you want major publicity in top-tier media, remember
that journalists and big bloggers frequently visit social
bookmarking sites to find out what people are talking about.
=====================================
2. Share Your Best Food Nuggets
=====================================
On Twitter, do you get tired of reading about what people ate for
lunch?
I do. But Internet marketer Sherman Hu says his Twitter followers
react most favorably to tweets about unusual food he has eaten,
or links to photos of spectacular restaurant meals he has
enjoyed.
Here are food-related ideas to discuss in social media without
boring your friends and followers. If you can somehow tie this
information to what you do, that’s even better.
–Yummy recipes for seasonal foods.
–The best and worst restaurant food you’ve eaten recently.
–Fun foods you’ve tasted at summer fairs and festivals. I wrote
about eating a pickle on a stick, rather than a fattening cream
puff, at the Wisconsin State Fair and got lots of comments
from my Twitter and Facebook friends.
–What are you doing with all those veggies in your garden? My
recipe for Tomato Pie gets fabulous feedback from my followers.
–Your favorite mixed drinks and summer beverages.
–Fast and healthy back-to-school lunches for kids.
If you’re using Twitter for business, learn how to promote
without beating people over the head with an obnoxious sales
pitch. See “How to Use Twitter to Amass an Army of Followers,
Customers & Valuable Contacts–and Promote.”
=====================================
3. Use Receipts as Marketing Tools
=====================================
Here’s a great tip courtesy of Jaime Oikle, of
RestaurantReport.com, who hosted a teleseminar last week on how
restaurants can use social media. (I was a guest expert.)
Let your customers and clients know where they can find you on
the social media sites by printing your Twitter name and Facebook
URL on the front of your receipts.
Go a step further and add that information to your invoices, paid
ads, paper and plastic bags, product wrappers and business cards.
And don’t forget your website.
Did you know that Facebook lets you create an attractive “badge”
for your website or blog? When visitors click on the badge, it
takes them to your Facebook profile.
Christine Buffaloe of Serenity Virtual Assistant Services, my VA
who manages many of my social media accounts, explained in step-
by-step detail how to create the badge during the teleseminar “11
Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.” The recording or
transcript comes with 28 pages of illustrated handouts that show
you how to get the great return on your investment of time on
Facebook.
=========================================
4. Inflight Mags Want Your Events
=========================================
Sponsoring an event that tourists as well as locals will love?
Don’t forget to submit a press release and photos to the inflight
magazines published by airlines that serve the city where your
event will be held.
On a recent trip, I found the following events listed in Midwest
Airline’s inflight magazine:
–The EAA AirVenture, the annual aviation event, in Oshkosh, Wis.
–Concerts at The Wolf Trap’s Filene Center in Washington, D.C.
–The Music City’s Brewer’s Festival in Nashville, Tenn.
–The National Derby Rallies’ soapbox derby championships in Des
Moines, Iowa.
–The BDO Women’s Junior World Cup, a field hockey event, at
Harvard University.
–The quirky Bumbershoot Festival, featuring music and
entertainment, in Seattle, Wash.
These magazines, by the way, absolutely love promoting things
like art exhibits and cultural programs.
It can take you several days to track down the correct contact
information for the inflight magazines where you want publicity.
Save time and aggravation with my “Special Report #29: Fly High
with Publicity in the Inflight Magazines.” It gives you contact
information and pitching tips for 49 magazines published by
domestic and international airlines. Buy the report today and
you’ll also get the October 2009 update in two months.
========================================
5. Promoting Skirts for Chairs
========================================
This week, 11 Publicity Hounds have tips for Suzanne Fox Sevel,
of Melbourne, Fla., on how her client can promote Scurtz. They’re
stylish, decorative skirts for chairs.
From Lori Green LeRoy:
“Try contacting some of the HGTV, TLC, DIY renovation
shows and give them some of the Scurtz to use on the shows.”
From Sonia Singh:
“Try something around event planning. It’s a little late for
the wedding season but may be a good start for holiday parties.
Or partner with an event planner or venue to be one of their
vendors.”
From Maria:
“Create YouTube videos about ‘How to Decorate for a
Mother/Daughter Tea Party’ or ‘Create a Fairy Tale Birthday Table
for your Daughter.'”
The Publicity Hound says:
Take Maria’s idea one step further and pitch those ideas to mommy
bloggers. That niche is huge, and often ignored.
Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question.
Send your own Help this Hound question and include your city and state.
=========================================
6. Help This Hound
=========================================
Martin Amm of Boston, Mass., writes:
“Our company, Adenin Technologies, Inc., provides a complete
intranet suite for businesses. We also offer software that turns
your existing intranet into web 2.0, including blogs, a Twitter-
like app and more.
“Employees communicate and interact with each other better using
the intranet software. It’s a simpler and more user-friendly
intranet than Sharepoint.
“We’ve been using social media to build relationships with the
intranet industry and prospects. We’ve also contacted specific
publications with story ideas rather than pitching them. We’ve
made great connections, but haven’t seen many results in terms of
publicity and sales. What can we do to help our little company
gain more attention?”
The Publicity Hound says:
For starters, pitch a story about your business to the Boston
Business Journal. It’s one of 40 newspapers published by American
City Business Journals. Appearing in that publication will make
you more credible in the eyes of other journalists, bloggers and
web visitors.
Hounds with suggestions for Martin can post them to my blog.
Paul Furiga, a former business journal editor, says there’s a
great way to rub elbows with the top editors and reporters at
these newspapers and start building the relationship long
before you start pitching them. He explained the strategy when I
interviewed him on “How to Use Business Journals to Tell Your
Story.”
=====================================
7. Hound Video of the Week
=====================================
This video titled “Stealing Animals” includes four dogs, so it
qualifies as a Hound Video of the Week. My favorite thief is the
Dalmatian that pilfers from the toaster oven.
=================================
8. And at My Blog…
=================================
Share Your Two Cents