How much does it cost to hire a professional speaker to speak at an event? Budgets drive decisions. But before you settle on a specific professional speaker – or number, think about how you want the speaker to engage your audience: as an entertainer, motivator or educator.

Even though professional speakers may cover similar topics, each has a unique delivery style and their experiences define their content. Are you looking for a professional social media marketing and PR speaker?

In the social media space, many speakers who used to speak for free now negotiate fees that reflect their accomplishments. Authors and those with solid and far-reaching platforms command much more than someone just starting out.

Isn’t like that in most businesses?

If your group will be mostly beginners and your budget is minimal,  a beginning speaker with less experience and a lower fee may be a good fit.

Looking for a name to attract a crowd? Then you’ll want to find someone that has a following. Fans come out to see bloggers, authors and celebrities they follow.

While most speakers are willing to negotiate fees, the actual time they invest in developing an outstanding experience for your group is much more than the amount of actual presentation time in front of the room.

Investment levels vary depending on a variety of factors. For example, selecting an existing presentation is much less than commissioning a custom production with a more impressive impact.

For comparison purposes, professional speechwriters may earn around $7500 for a 50-minute speech, or $150 per minute. Published authors and celebrities may command $10,000 and up per appearance.

Look for ways to get added returns on your  investment.

A professional speaker with an influential social network can bring visibility and attention to your group in the way of exposure through social networks, video and digital PR channels.

Think about the value this extra exposure will bring your group. It may be worth investing a little more in exchange for event promotion throughout the professional speaker’s social media networks.

First, choose the professional speaker whose personality, presentations and experience best matches the needs of your group. Then, start negotiating price.

What do think makes a great professional speaker?

Image thanks to Shutterstock.com.

UnGeeked – what is it and who is it?

Before you say “Wait – don’t tell me,” check out the UnGeeked Elite Video Channel at the bottom of this post. Thirteen people talk about what UnGeeked means to them. We got sort of a prelude in Chicago at “Using Social Media to Align the Personal and the Corporate Brand” conference in March in Chicago. That’s me with Olivier Blanchard.

Thanks to Cd Vann, the conference organizer and founder of SohoBizTube and both events, I’m a social media content marketing speaker at UnGeeked Elite on May 14 at 2:00 p.m.

From the press release . . . Soho Biztube Announces ‘UnGeeked Elite: A Social Media & Marketing Forum’ May 13-15 in Milwaukee

SohoBiztube.com is proud to present UnGeeked Elite: A Social Media & Marketing Forum, a three-day national professional event that will bring together entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, marketers, and social media practitioners from a broad spectrum of industries. This series of interactive forums will be held May 13-15, 2010 at the University Club in downtown Milwaukee. Throughout the three-day event, participants will learn about positioning your internal and external brand; managing inbound and outbound marketing efforts; facilitating online customer relationships; building strategic public relations campaigns; and monitoring social trends among clients and customers. The loose format will be “Take the Mic,” in which attendees are encouraged to ask questions and openly engage in dialogue with expert presenters. UnGeeked Elite keynote speakers are nationally and internationally known social media, communications and marketing authors, product developers and content management practitioners and experts.

UnGeeked Elite Speakers include Olivier Blanchard, Jason Falls, Dan Schawbel, Sally Hogshead, Chris Brogan, Hubspot and Scott Stratten.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with Olivier, Jason, Dan and Chris and meeting other social media enthusiasts in Milwaukee. This is a new conference and will be one to watch. Will you be there?

“Twitter has a place in business. Twitter combines two of this year’s hottest Internet marketing trends — real time updates and local search – into one simple, concise update box.” excerpt from “Taking Flight with Twitter” article, viewed – as of today – 2842 times according to The Business Ledger.

Note: This is not a “look how great I am!” post. This IS a thanks to The Business Ledger for the contribution opportunity and a huge shout of appreciation to everyone who read it and passed it on. It’s also a place to begin a dialogue about how twitter works for you and your business. So, please share in the comment box.

Hatching a Twitter for Business Article

After presenting at The Business Ledger’s Newsmaker Forum as social media speaker on the topic of twitter for business, editor Jeremy Stoltz graciously asked me if I would like to contribute an article. Set at 750 words, the article summarizes the background of my talk and sets up an action plan. Here’s a brief clip.

Taking Flight with Twitter by Barbara Rozgonyipublished by The Business Ledger on April 16, 2010
Twitter’s search engine (http://search.Twitter.com) searches updates instantaneously. Test it out the next time you’re watching a game, going to an event or want to follow what other people have to say about you, your business, your industry or the competition. Use Twitter’s advanced search option to fine-tune your search by location or people, (http://search.Twitter.com/advanced).

So what, exactly, is Twitter? Twitter is a social media platform that connects people through messages, known as “tweets,” that measure up to 140 characters long, including the user’s Twitter ID. To give you an idea of the actual length, the previous sentence is 141 characters long, or 140 without the period.

Response to Taking Flight with Twitter Article by Barbara Rozgonyi

Google results for “Taking Flight with Twitter”
Want to see where your post or article lands? Type the title or a content clip into the search box to track it down. Then, contact the publication or blogger to say thanks and find out how to contribute to their site.

117 Comments on Social Networks via Ubervu
Check out Ubervu to track your social mentions.

Search.twitter.com results show who is posting the article. This, to me, is the most interesting measure of distribution. You can find out who subscribes to your feed and then follow them on twitter – and thank them, too.

2842 Reads from The Business Ledger
Taking flight with Twitter
Friday, April 16, 2010 (2842 reads)

To read more about the social media panel for business presentation, check out this Business Ledger article:
Social media is a commerce driven necessity by Sherri Dauskurdas.

“Social media is not about technology and tools, it’s really about people,” said Barbara Rozgonyi, principal at CoryWest Media, LLC. “You can use Twitter to listen, you can search, respond to people for customer service. If people have a problem you can get to it right away. You can ask questions and connect with people, and you can also spy on your competition.”

How many ways do you use twitter in your business?

Image: screenshot with number of reads

Looking for a workshop on how to hone your digital PR and social media skills? I’m teaching one on October 27.
Here’s the event description. Register for DIY Digital PR Social Media Workshop.

“Ingredient X: Top Secret Digital Fuel for Powerful Business Results”

Learn how to propel your reach directly to people who can bring you business using the power of low or no cost digital PR.

PR is the hottest, yet most overlooked, marketing tool in the business world. Why? Most people mistakenly think PR only stands for press release or public relations. As media outlets shrink and more people move online, traditional PR is morphing into new models. Go behind the screen to see how CoryWest Media, LLC redefines PR as page rank, personal record, pitch redux and publicity redefined with real-client success stories from businesses in DuPage County and find out how you can put the power of low or no cost PR to work for you and your business.

You’ll Learn How to . . .

· Think like a publisher that distributes highly valued information

· Use keywords to get your news on page one and share throughout social networks

· Make media connections that have local and global impact

· Attract attention with stories that get picked up and spread around

· Build credibility with journalists and social networks

· Track results that give you insights you can’t get anywhere else

· Set up an always-on online newsroom for reporters, investors and the community

About Your DIY Digital PR Guide . . . .Barbara Rozgonyi

DuPage county marketing, communications and PR projects: Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio, Bridge Communities, C.H.A.D., District 41, Village of Glen Ellyn, Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce, Glen Ellyn Public Library, Simple Truths, Glen Ellyn Economic Development Corporation, Healthy DuPage, The Academy for Non Profit Excellence at College of DuPage, Naperville Women in Business social media workshops, Wheaton Chamber Women in Business Expo Workshops

Known for being edgy, grounded and prophetic, Barbara’s the founder of CoryWest Media, LLC, a virtual public relations and marketing consultancy that gets new media to work for you. An accomplished marketing and PR strategist, Barbara’s creative career highlights include managing the intranet launch at Sears in 1998. As publisher of wiredPRworks.com, Barbara reports on ways to use marketing, social media and public relations to grow business, build brands and connect communities.

Recently featured on inc.com, Barbara’s content ranks in junta42’s top marketing blogs, is featured on Alltop PR and is mentioned in David Meerman Scott’s book, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” A founding member of Social Media Club Chicago, Barbara loves to share her passion for communicating effectively online with everyone, especially at live events.

Barbara is featured as a LinkedIn expert in Larry Weber’s new book “Sticks & Stones: How Digital Reputations are Built over time and lost in a click.”

Barbara’s training experience goes back to her late 20s when she was the national sales training manager for a major healthcare provider. She left her corporate career to found CoryWest and took her love of teaching and training to college classrooms and the business world. The creator of the Marketing Transformations Process and The Accelerated Marketing Plan, Barbara blends her experience as a sales trainer, agency owner, marketing consultant and social media enthusiast into lively, dynamic programs that start working while her students are still in the room.

Reviews and Recommendations

“As I said to you personally, when I was looking for teacher suggestions, four different people mentioned your name. And they were certainly correct! Based on my observations, and the enclosed student evaluations, the class was very successful. Everyone commented on your depth of knowledge and your engaging style of teaching.”
Kathy Doyle, Academy for Non-Profit Excellence, College of DuPage

“Great speaker and great topic for today’s techno savvy consumers! Barbara presented ideas for every level of experience.” West Suburban Women Entreprenuers, LinkedIn 101

“The majority of evaluation forms gave you the highest mark in all categories. The large majority found the information very valuable and left motivated to jump in and get started in social networking.”

Liz Stapleton, LE, CPE Electrology Association of Illinois

“Barbara enthusiastically shared her wisdom of LinkedIn 101, with our woman’s group. I found her wonderfully open to working with the various levels of need. She was thorough, lively, warm and generous with her presentation style. I loved having the opportunity to work with her. I’d recommend Barbara as a speaker and as a social media expert”

“Barbara’s presentation was outstanding. Her warmth, charm and funny stories made everyone feel comfortable and at home, as if you were chatting with a friend.”

“Barbara was informative, approachable, and responsive to every question.”

“Barbara is warm, positive, and patient. Barbara adapted her slide materials for our group, rather than have the group adapt to her knowledge. She is knowledgeable, professional, thoughtful, and through.”

“Since your presentation, I have activated one new blog, at wordpress, which I had never previously heard of, added a couple of posts to another new one, upgraded my profile on LinkedIn, signed myself up for Google Alerts, checked myself out on Google and was amazed at some of what I found, and followed up on a conversation with another attendee who may be a new business lead. Not a bad ROI for my time. Thanks.”

“I’ve known Barbara Rozgonyi for over 8 years. During that time, she has consistently been on the
cutting-edge of marketing, leveraging the latest technology to produce big results … whether teaching
entrepreneurs how to write for the web, landing top blog rankings or using social media to connect with an audience. I’ve learned to listen carefully when Barbara talks about the newest tool she’s been “playing” with … because within 12 to 24 months, it’s bound to be something that mainstream marketers are using and teaching. If you want help navigating the fast-changing world of social media, Barbara Rozgonyi is your guide.” Jenny Hamby, seminar marketing coach and copywriter

Guarantee

We want you to be completely satisfied with your experience. If, at any time after the first two hours you don’t feel that the workshop is right for you, let Barbara know. We will refund your tuition – no questions asked.

Sponsors

Organization: Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce http://www.glenellynchamber.com

Location: Crowne Plaza, Glen Ellyn http://cpglenellyn.com

Questions? email corywestmedia @gmail.com or call/text 630.207.7530

Image: courtesy of Shutterstock.com