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Monthly Archives: May 2010

How to Get on TV Shows 5 Steps

Posted on May 28, 2010

Barry, Barry, Barry . . . that’s the name that kept coming up as someone I had to meet. Today I’m happy to introduce you, too, to Barry as in Barry Moltz.

Thanks to Barry for buying me lunch at Navy Pier and telling me how he helps small businesses get unstuck. In the course of our conversation, I offered him the opportunity to guest post [hey - I know a good writer when I meet one!] about a variety of topics. Lucky for us, he picked this one.

How to Get on Television 5 Steps by Barry Moltz

Night after night, you sit and watch all the business pundits on network television and you think to yourself, “that should be me!” As you watch the replays on Youtube or Hulu, it starts to make you mad, until you realize there are tens of thousands of people out there just like you. At this point, a sense of hopelessness sets in.

Rarely, does the producer from Oprah just call you up and ask you to be on the show. You need to be proactive in your efforts. Here are five key elements to follow:

1. Be an expert. Write and speak about a niche constantly. Have a book or two published to “prove it”. Get endorsed by other famous people and companies about what an expert you are.

2. Have video of you talking in front of people on your website. Even if you are an expert, producers do not want to take a risk that you are bad in front of the camera. It maybe the chicken and the egg, but you need video to get video opportunities. If you do not have any video of yourself, have a professional produce a few clips for you.

3. Talk about current events. Follow the news. Relate the topic that you are an expert on to what is going on in the news. That is what the media wants to talk to you about.

4. Get referred to producers. Do you know someone that was on a business show that you would like to be on? Ask them to introduce you to the producer and monthly, stay in contact with them to tell them how what you are an expert at and how it relates to what is going on in the business world.

5. Hire a PR person. It is expensive, but it works. Make an investment in a PR person that has a track record of getting clients on the business shows you want to be on. As in any business, it’s who you know, not what you know that will mean success. Their relationships with producers will make a big difference.

What successful strategies have you used to get on television?

Barry MoltzCNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch multiple times. He was thrilled about how good the spray on makeup made him look on television.

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Community PR: 5 Relationship Circles

Posted on May 20, 2010

Creating community: one of the biggest missing pieces in the marketing and PR puzzle. Whenever we present our accelerated marketing plans, we always talk about creating, building and nurturing a community.

In plumbing the depths of my experiences archive, I remembered this presentation I created four years ago. Dual cast to a live audience in the room and over the Internet, the presentation covered the five keys to creating your customer community. First posted in 2008, here’s the outline with 2010 updates. .

1. Discover who you are and how you relate to your community
Values + Communities = Core Business Values
values: how to determine your core values
communities: internal, external, vendors
business values
What types of communities do you belong to or resonate with – personally and professionally? Online and offline?

For me, my online connections become real life relationships that get nurtured and cared for at events like Social Media Club Chicago. When you see people frequently, you get to know them. Common sense – yes? What’s really intriguing for me is the ability to carry on simultaneous conversations face to face and screen to screen. What intrigues you?

2. Reveal how your community relates to you
Target x Questions = Answers + an active customer advisory board
current target market
interview questions
evaluating answers
Choose your top ten customers and interview them to find out how your business fits into their lives.

You [and your company] are who you hang with. So, choose your social media and IRL [in real life] friends and business associates carefully. Target your interactions to connect with people that bring you alive and make your more successful. Marathon runners train with marathon runners. Who’s running as fast as you? Who has a common course or finish line?

3. Listen to your customers tell your story
common vocabulary
case studies = successes
open lines of communication
Can you tell your story in your customer’s voice?

One client asked us to interview 43 people – that’s how many folks he thought he needed to hear from to be able to tell his company’s story. In the course of the interviews, a vocabulary developed, an approach took shape and a success theme got scripted. How do people talk about you and what you do? Last night someone told me I had the reputation of being very friendly and approachable – I treat everyone the same. While it felt good to hear that, it was also a call to action to keep being who I am. What’s your reputation?

4. Connect your inner circle of communities
who: customers, partners, vendors, personal
what: you do for them
what: they do for you
How do you fit together?

Some people never, ever, ever mix business with anything other than business. In their personal community, they’re more known for social, athletic, family or local leadership accomplishments than they are for professional pursuits. Social networking allows you to blur the borders and present a multi-dimension presence. How do your communities represent you? How do you represent your communities? How does your business get social?

5. Cascade communications in tiers
internal: inside
external: outside
online: on screens
offline: direct
in person: face to face
The most effective communication plan delivers consistent messaging to every audience via sequencing to maintain a visible presence in each community.
How do you draw your circles?

Image credit: Phoebe Svoboda for www.thesociallens.com
Contact Barbara about making this presentation to your organization or community at 630.207.7530.

3 Comments - Posted in Marketing Tagged with: ,

Social Media Beats Traditional PR Pitches

Posted on May 16, 2010


On April 19 I covered key highlights from a 2010 media survey, but I missed an important one. When I tweeted this stat:

according to PRNewswire 70% of social media tweets result in coverage vs 20% traditional PR

given at presentation at the UnGeeked Elite Conference in Milwaukee, it got retweeted and questioned.

Some people didn’t think it sounded right. So, I asked the speaker for the source, which led back to the 2010 media survey. Here’s a clip that confirms the stat.

Media & PR & Social Media
The prevalence of social and consumer-generated media has led to several changes in the way that PR practitioners view and engage the press. While, PR professionals still consider email to be the most effective means for pitching journalists (74%), 43% of journalists report having being pitched through social networks compared to 31% in 2009. Higher success rates may be a reason behind the increase. In both the US and Canada, pitches through a social network resulted in coverage approximately 70% of the time. In contrast, the standard pitch to a US or Canadian journalist rarely leads to coverage, with 66% pegging the success rate at 0-20%.

Source: PR Newswire Study: Journalists Tap Social Media; More Bloggers Associate Work as Journalism; PR Practitioners Increasingly Leverage Online Opportunities

Qualifier: Results based on survey of a total of 1,568 traditional and non-traditional media and, for the first time, 1,670 PR practitioners.

Two questions for you: How do you pitch your stories? If you use pitch via social media what works for you?

Image: Milwaukee Night Light by Barbara Rozgonyi for thesociallens

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Reality Show PR: Marketing Tickets to Success Stories

Posted on May 13, 2010

Take your prospects behind the scenes with a ticket to see client success stories:
all ready and made for marketing by Barbara Rozgonyi, founder of CoryWest Media and Public Relations Expert, updated and first published in May 2007.

When clients want to know what you do, invite them into a behind-the-scenes reality show. Giving them a play-by-play of how your business impacts lives gives them a better appreciation of how to work with you. Talking about how you make your client’s lives or businesses better is much easier when you can use a case study. And, having a format makes it even easier.
Here’s how to make your product or service come alive using the S-A-R method.

S=Situation
What are your prospects looking for when they find you? What needs to be changed? Why do they come to you? What are their common needs? How do you relieve their pain?
Looking at the situation or starting point from a prospect’s perspective gives you insights you can use not only in your case studies, but in your marketing messages. Using a before picture helps prospects relate to the need for your services and supports the need to change.

A=Approach
How does the client fit into the project approach? Who best benefits from your company or product? What did you do, specifically? When did the project take place? Where is the client located? Why did you decide to take this approach?
In describing your approach, include common elements plus individual design components. That way, prospects know you have a proven system that includes their input and they can see themselves.

R=Results
What was the payoff – higher profits, better results, a new lifestyle?
Many times the value goes beyond just one measurement. For example, an article we placed in a leading trade publication resulted in higher employee satisfaction, a greater awareness in the industry, improved investor relations and yes, more sales. Let your client talk about the results in a quote, video or audio testimonial. And, check back every six months for an update. After images can be graphs, charts, the client’s logo and photos.

Once you have these three elements, you can package them into a white paper, special report or include them as ongoing studies in a newsletter or blog. Before and after pictures with photo captions makes a quick case study for fast readers. Test out a few formats to see which one appeals to your prospects. An mp3 recording of a client interview works for those who like to learn on the go while a printed and first-class mailed formal publication appeals to luxury buyers.

Photo credit goes to Shutterstock.com Disclosure: images provided in exchange for credit and source link.

What client success stories do you share?

2 Comments - Posted in Marketing, PR Tagged with: , , , ,

Monthly and Weekly Special Events Lists

Posted on May 11, 2010

One way to get media attention is to tie your news into special days, weeks or months. Sure, you can make up your own -that’s a good strategy. But, why not build on a celebration that’s already going to be going on? For example . . .

What’s so special about today?

May 11,2010

Eat What You Want Day

1858, Minnesota becomes state 32
1862 Confederate navy destroys their ironclad Merrimac to prevent Union capture
1910 Glacier National Park in Montana

Birthdays include Irving Berlin, Salvador Dali and Martha Graham.

What’s coming up in June?

Monthly and Weekly Special Events

June
Accordion Awareness Month, Natl
Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month
Aphasia Awareness Month, Natl
Bathroom Reading Month, Natl
Cancer from the Sun Month
Candy Month, Natl
Child Vision Awareness Month
Childhood Cancer Campaign Month, Intl
Children’s Awareness Month
Dairy Alternatives Month
Effective Communications Month
Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing Month
Fireworks Safety Months
Gay and Lesbian Pride Month
GLBT Book Month, Natl
Great Outdoors Month
June Dairy Month
June Is Perennial Gardening Month
Men’s Month, Intl
Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism
Potty Training Awareness Month
Professional Wellness Month
Rebuild Your Life Month
Rivers Month, Natl
Rose Month, Natl
Safety Month, Natl
Skyscraper Month
Soul Food Month, Natl
Sports America Kids Month
Steakhouse Month, Natl
Student Safety Month
Surf Music Month, Intl
Vision Research Month

Source for all: Chase’s Calendar of Events

Monthly and Weekly 2010 Special Events
About Chase’s Calendar of Events. . . from the site
Chase’s Calendar of Events today is the most comprehensive and authoritative reference available on special events, holidays, federal and state observances, historic anniversaries and more. Each spring, thousands of new entries are submitted to join the more than 12,000 items that make up each year’s book. Each event listing (where applicable) contains contact and mailing information. There is no charge to be listed in Chase’s. Each new edition appears in late September preceding the year in question.

Submit a date for 2012 edition starting in October 2010.

Thanks to Felicia Slattery, who’s planning an online event for Effective Communications Month, for bringing up this reference on our mastermind call this morning.

Calendars

Monthly Calendar of Events and Monthly Special Days to Celebrate Calendars from the Family Crafts Section at about.com

2010 Calendar of Events, Observations and Special Days
Up-to-date, accurate, validated + fun, serious and traditional holidays, theme days, awarenes observances in the US + Moon Phases.

What celebrations do you include on your media calendar?

Image Source and Credit in Exchange for Usage goes to Shutterstock.com

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