The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #442 March 17, 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. Newspaper Closings? Ho-Hum
2. Thanks for Taking My Survey
3. A Handy Twitter Formula
4. Backgrounders Educate Reporters
5. ‘Window Shopping’ for a Retirement Home
6. Help This Hound
7. Hound Joke of the Week
8. And at My Blog…
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1. Newspaper Closings? Ho-Hum
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Fewer than half of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center
say that losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in
their community “a lot.”
Even fewer, one in three people, say they would personally miss
reading the local newspaper a lot if it were no longer available.
Those are among findings of the latest weekly News Interest
Index, conducted March 6-9 by the Pew Research Center for the
People & the Press.
The survey also shows that more people say they get local news
from local television stations than any other source. About two-
thirds (68 percent) say they regularly get local news from
television reports or television station websites, 48 percent say
they regularly get news from local newspapers in print or online,
34 percent say they get local news regularly from radio, and 31
percent say they get their local news, more generally, from the
Internet.
Close on the heels of the survey results was yesterday’s
announcement by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that it’s stopping
the presses and experimenting with a web-only edition of the
paper. The 118,000-circulation daily is keeping only 20 of its
journalists to work on the online edition, and laying off 145
others.
An article in the Wall Street Journal says the smaller digital
edition will no longer be a catch-all of local and national news
and features. Instead, it will cover local events and publish
blogs and columns from staff, readers and prominent local
citizens. It also plans to link liberally to other news sources
in the Seattle area.
What does this mean for Publicity Hounds in Seattle? (If you live
elsewhere, pay attention. The same thing might happen to your
local daily newspaper.)
–Newspapers like the Post-Intelligence will be hungry for
content, including letters, opinion columns and even video.
–They might even start calling on “citizen journalists,”
including local bloggers, to report on news and events. No longer
will you have to genuflect before the media gatekeepers. Anyone
with a computer or a camera can report the news.
–Hounds no longer will be able to rely on their local
metropolitan paper for major publicity. Consider pitching your
local business journal, which is probably on more solid footing
than your local daily. And, of course, continue to pitch local TV
stations.
–If you’re not on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social
networking sites where your target audience is gathering for much
of their news, start right now.
BL Ochman, a prolific blogger who creates social networking
campaigns for her corporate clients, says “the social media train
has left the station.” She was my guest during a recent
teleseminar on “How to do Social Networking, Run a Business &
Still Have a Life.”
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2. Thanks for Taking My Survey
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If you want to know what your customers think of your products or
services, don’t sit around and guess. Ask them.
That’s what I did when I emailed the link to my Customer Profile
Survey to more than 50,000 Hounds this month.
The response was fabulous, and I learned that many of you who
took the survey are more patient that I’ll ever be.
We chose the vendor for this survey after a lot of research. But
the company dropped the ball and threw so many technology
roadblocks in your way that many of you bailed out before
completing it. Some of you were “frozen” on a particular page and
couldn’t move. Others couldn’t make it onto the thank-you page to
get the code for $40 off their choice of products.
Just when we thought all the glitches were solved, the vendor’s
entire system crashed one day last week. Miraculously, we have
retrieved all the survey results, and we’re in the process of
analyzing them.
Why am I telling you this? Because 94 percent of the people who
took the survey ranked my customer service 8, 9 or 10 on a scale
of 1 to 10.
Part of good customer service, I believe, is to explain problems
that occurred, why they occurred, and what I’ll do to make sure
they never happen again.
From time to time, I’ll be asking you to take much shorter
surveys but I promise you I will not use the same vendor. Survey
Monkey, another popular survey service, doesn’t quite fit our
needs. I’m curious about companies you recommend. If you survey
your customers regularly and you’ve found a great vendor, drop me
a line and let me know.
I’ll be sharing some of the survey results through press
releases. If you take surveys, or you’re thinking of taking them,
recycle the publicity over and over again. My ebook “How to be a
Kick-butt Publicity Hound” gives you hundreds of ideas on how to
generate buzz for whatever you’re promoting and gives you an
excellent bird’s-eye view of all your opportunities. The 2009
update includes seven new chapters on how to use social
media to promote.
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3. A Handy Twitter Formula
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Confused about what to tweet about on Twitter?
Do you hate those “what I ate for lunch” tweets and vow you’ll
never write them, but you can’t think of much else to say that
your followers would find interesting?
Here’s a helpful tip from Perry Belcher, who accumulated more
than 52,000 Twitter followers in only 128 days. At the Live7
event hosted by Stompernet, the Internet marketing membership
group earlier this month, Perry shared his formula for the
content of his tweets:
–30 percent: Tips that help make people’s lives better
–10 percent: Information that keeps them informed
–30 percent: Anything that makes people laugh (He says
Fark.com is a great site for humorous content)
–25 percent: Compliments and praise
–5 percent: What you’re doing
Have you been writing most of your tweets about what you’re
doing? If so, try this formula and see how much more quickly
people start following you.
Granted, this takes a little more time and discipline. But I’m
sure it’s the reason Perry has been able to attract such a huge
following so quickly. You can follow him on Twitter at and you
can follow me.
Yes, you can use Twitter to promote. But you have to do it much
more subtly than the way you promote in other venues. Twitter
expert Warren Whitlock gives you the step-by-step process on “How
to Use Twitter to Amass an Army of Followers, Customers &
Valuable Contacts–and Promote.” It’s available as an electronic
transcript and your choice of CDs or MP3s. Publicity Hounds raved
about the two teleseminars I hosted with him several months ago
because his advice helped shorten their Twitter learning curve.
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4. Backgrounders Educate Reporters
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If a complicated story is about to break within your industry,
consider hosting a backgrounder, a one-on-one meeting with a
journalist and others who might cover it.
The March 16 issue of PRWeek magazine says backgrounders are
particularly helpful in the health industry, where stories about
new drugs, diseases and devices can be difficult for journalists
to understand. Backgrounders help educate reporters who aren’t
under the pressure of deadlines.
Radi Medical Systems, for example, invited a reporter from the
Wall Street Journal who wanted information about cardiology
procedures, to a hospital to watch a procedure and speak with
cardiologists.
AstraZeneca has been hosting media briefings on various cancer
topics the last few years.
Briefings also let companies control which reporters they speak
with and which spokespeople they provide.
You can also use briefings to educate the editorial boards of
newspapers because they’re the ones who decide the positions that
the newspaper will take on certain issues. Sometimes an hour-long
briefing with a group of editors can help you gain their support
for a cause or issue you’re promoting.
Afraid of meeting with a group of journalists? Don’t be.
During a teleseminar I hosted, I explained exactly how to contact
them, ask for a meeting of the editorial board, what to take with
you and what to say. “How to Use Newspaper & Magazine Editorial
Boards” is available as a CD or an electronic transcript that you
can download and be reading as soon as your order has been
approved.
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5. Window Shopping for a Retirement Home
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This week, 10 Publicity Hounds have tips for Keri Gerlach, the
marketing director of Clement Manor, a retirement community in
Greenfield, WI. She’s looking for ways to encourage families to
“window shop” now for long-term care for their aging parents.
From Barry Lebow:
“Look up which is the Senior Real Estate Specialist website.
It identifies Realtors who are dedicated to working with Baby
Boomers and their parents. Get a list of members within, say,
50 miles of your location and invite
them for a special tour of your facilities. Work with the
Realtors who are in the field, create a program for them and
welcome their referrals. Make it easy for them to recommend you
by sponsoring a lunch, have a speaker on a subject relating to
seniors and real estate (will and trusts?). Keep them in the loop
and on your mailing list.”
From Patricia C. Vener:
“Keri, have you heard of Eons? It?s an online social media group
for people over, I think, 50 or so. You’d be surprised at how
many early Baby Boomers are pretty computer-savvy.
“You might also look into those health fairs that are often
sponsored by newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, and other health-
oriented businesses.
Finally, offer an open house affair with a dinner (or coffee and
dessert) and a presentation, kind of like what the vacation
share companies do.”
From Alan McBride:
“I worked for a radio station with a 55+ audience and we put on a
Seniors Expo. This involved all the retirement villages but it
would be just as easy to hold the event at yours. Invite funeral
parlous, local tour operators–in fact, anyone who provides a
service. Each person buys time on the radio over eight weeks and
gets a stall. Radio stations love you, providers love you. Even
invite Scouts and guides to generate goodwill to the elderly.”
The Publicity Hound says:
Keri, how about using the Milwaukee Craigslist regularly to
attract the attention of Baby Boomers and others? You can share
tips on how to choose a retirement community, create short videos
and offer the links on Craigslist, and even do video interviews
with some of your residents. Nancy Mills, an expert on how to use
Craigslist, was my guest during a teleseminar and she shared all
of her time-saving tips on how to take advantage of the world’s
giant classified ad bulletin board.
The Publicity Hound says:
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.
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6. Help This Hound
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Mitchell Teplitsky of New York, NY writes:
“I am self-distributing a documentary to the home video and
institutional markets.
“I do my own PR, but as one-man band, it’s too much. I’m thinking
of trying to find an intern or PR firm pro bono. The benefit:
They’ll get to work with and learn how to independently market a
film (few can do it well).
“The movie tells the story of two women raised in different
worlds–an immigrant folk dancer from the Andes, and a modern
dancer from Queens, NY–who return to Peru to reconnect with
roots and an astonishing world of traditional dance and
celebration. You can learn more about it.
“Do your Hounds have any suggestions on where I might look? Are
there any sources you can recommend to find people?”
The Publicity Hound says:
Many companies and nonprofits are looking for PR interns this
time of year, so you’ll be up against some stiff competition to
lure the right person.
My Hounds who have used interns will be able to offer some great
shortcuts. Hounds with tips for Mitchell can post them to my blog.
But don’t just hire an intern then send them off on their own.
They need guidance, training and mentoring. I can help. My
teleseminar series on “How to Help Your Boss or Client with a
Publicity Campaign” is an in-depth course on how to do
publicity–perfect for summer interns, virtual assistants, or
anybody who works in a PR capacity and needs help understanding
fairly quickly the best ways to promote any product, service,
cause or issue.
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7. Hound Joke of the Week
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Dear God:
Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the
mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE
named for a dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around?
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8. And at My Blog…
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