Social Media Rx

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #489 Jan. 27, 2010

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. Social Media Rx

2. Newspaper Map of the World

3. Let Bloggers Test Your Product

4. Getting Artwork onto TV/Movie Sets

5. Help This Hound

6. Hound Video of the Week

7. And at My Blogs…

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1. Social Media Rx
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At social media sites, act the same way you would at a backyard
barbecue.

When you arrive at a barbecue, you look around to get the lay of
the land, greet your hosts, and find out where to get a cold beer
and snacks.

If you don’t know most of the other guests, you watch and listen
for clues as to who might be the most approachable ones.

Do not:

–Walk up to the first stranger you see and shove your book into
his hand.

–Ask a woman you’ve never met if she’ll attend your telephone
seminar next week.

–Start handing out your business cards to everyone who walks by.

–Approach a small group of people and tell them they can sign up
for your ezine.

You’d never act like that at a party, would you? Yet, that
happens all the time at social media sites. Part of the reason is
that people don’t know what else to say. So they do the first
thing they can think of. They offer a free commercial.

Jeanne Hurlbert, my new business partner, and I created Social
Media Rx specifically for those lost souls who don’t know what
else to say. I introduced Jeanne to you a few weeks ago at my
blog at http://budurl.com/jeannehurlbert and told you we’d be
letting you know about Social Media Rx soon.

We’re finally ready. And we’re offering you a free webinar, chock
full of social media tips, specifically for people who haven’t
even dipped their toes into the social media waters yet, or for
those who are participating, but aren’t quite sure what they’re
doing or aren’t seeing a return on investment.

It will be at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (2 Central) on Wednesday, Feb.
3, and you’ll come away a heck of a lot smarter. We’ll also give
you a glimpse of Social Media Rx. It’s an assessment you can take
by answering a series of questions designed to show find out how
much you do or don’t know aobut social media. When you’re done,
within seconds, it delivers a customized report and your own
formula that explains exactly what you should be discussing at
social media sites, based on your job, hobbies, interests and
level of expertise. It’s already received rave reviews, and we
can hardly wait to show it to you.

Everyone who registers for the call will receive the free report
“3 Dangerous Social Media Problems & How to Solve Them.”

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2. Newspaper Map of the World
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Thanks to Jill Cranford of Livermore, Colorado for tipping us off
to the incredibly helpful worldwide newspaper map that shows the
headlines in today’s newspapers in hundreds of countries.

Go to NewPaperMap.com and choose a continent,
country, state or city. Put your cursor on it and headlines from
today’s newspaper will pop up.

Double-click on the dot and the page gets larger. You might even
be able to read the entire story or the entire newspaper.  This
site, maintained by Newseum.org, the interactive news museum in
Washington, D.C., changes daily with new editions of the papers.

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3. Let Bloggers Test Your Product
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I’ve written here about BloggerLinkUp.com, a neat website that’s
getting rave reviews from people who want to write guest blog
posts for other people’s blogs, and for bloggers looking for
guest writers.

Here’s another way to use the site. Offer your product to
bloggers for review.

Sometimes all it takes is just one terrific review by a blogger,
and word starts to spread all over the Internet. And that can
turn into sales.

I submitted information last week about my free ebook, “The Best
of the Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2009″ and already
received queries from several bloggers who want to read it and
share it with their audiences.

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4. Getting Artwork onto TV/Movie Sets
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This week, two Publicity Hounds have tips for Consuelo Okdie from
Tampa Bay, Fla., an artist who wants tips for getting her artwork
onto TV and movie sets.

From Michael Carr:

“Research first. Most states and some larger cities around the
nation have online film production guides which list crew
members. You want to really focus on the Art Department–
particularly designers, set dressers, decorators as well as local
production companies and still photographers. These are the
decision makers who may determine the look of the production,
based on the input they receive from the director or, in the case
of production companies and still photographers, from the
client.”

The Publicity Hound says:

Check out the teleseminar I did with Amy Bates Stumpf, who rubs
elbows with lots of the Hollywood insiders, and knows how to get
your consumer products onto the sets of TV and movie sets.

Read all the responses to this week?s “Help This Hound” question.

Send your own “Help this Hound” question to and include your city and state or province.

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5. Help This Hound
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Jill Starishevsky of New York, NY writes:

“I am a prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes in New York
City. I wrote a children?s book called My Body Belongs to Me to
teach children that if someone touches them inappropriately, they
should tell a parent or teacher right away.

“In a non-threatening, engaging manner, this guide establishes
boundaries and teaches kids that when it comes to their body,
there are some parts that are for ‘no one else to see’ and
empowers them to tell a parent or teacher if someone touches them
inappropriately.

“Most importantly, this narrative assures young ones that sexual
molestation is not their fault, and by speaking out, the child
will continue to grow big and strong. A ?Suggestions for the
Storyteller? section is also included to help lead a comfortable
discussion afterward.

“How can I promote this book in traditional and social media?”
The Publicity Hound says:

I checked the media room at Jill’s website and found more than 30
reviews from bloggers. Good for you, Jill. But there weren’t
nearly as many hits in traditional media. Hounds with ideas for
Jill can post them to my blog.

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6. Hound Video of the Week
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Here’s a silly YouTube video of Romeo the Pug playing piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFAy84Pesb0

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7. And at My Blogs…
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Consider retweeting these blog posts:

Membership directories could include social media URLs

9 freebies artists can offer to build an email list

Misnamed online media rooms can confuse visitors

Publicity dilemma? Let Publicity Hound readers help–for free