Note: This post was originally published on TechCrunch as “PR Secrets for Startups.” Many thanks to Michael Arrington and Erick Schonfeld for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences with the startup community. Due to space constraints, the original draft, which was entitled “PR Tips for Startups,” did not run in its entirety. Some of the edits actually wound up changing the context of the post and its intentions. I’ve included the full draft for you here, as I…
MicroPR Personalizes Public Relations
New media is forcing the rapid evolution of communications and is reinventing the science of public relations into the art of “personalized” relations. And, with micromedia further refining and improving how we communicate with each other, PR is going to learn the hard way, that the days of blasts and untargeted spam pitching will get us nowhere with today’s influencers. Stowe Boyd placed a stake in the ground during the Web 2.0 Expo with the introduction of #TwitPitch, a very…
Gary Vaynerchuk Puts the Social in Social Media
Shot at SXSW08 If there’s one person who personifies the words, “Internet Rock Star” or “Internet Famous,” there’s no need to look any further than Gary Vaynerchuk, host of WineLibraryTV. Gary is the epitome of the old adage, “If I can do it, anyone can do it.” Vaynerchuck’s passion, dedication, and perseverance has given way to success that has yet to reveal it’s full potential. He’s moving on up… The Web is fertile ground for those who can transcend its…
Should PR Agencies Blog?
Sam Lawrence lit a fire under those in Social Media and PR today by sharing a story about whether or not his PR agency of record should blog about working with Jive Software. Jeremiah Owyang, Chris Brogan, Strumpette, and many others discussed it on Twitter (my favorite place for listening to and joining amazing and insightful conversations.) Sam’s headline says it all, “I want our new PR Agency to blog about us but they don’t want to.” He’s certainly no…
Social Media is Not The Final Frontier of Marketing
Pierre Far has a thoughtful post asking whether or not Social Media is the final frontier of marketing. He concludes that if you could answer the question, then you might be the next Seth Godin. Well, not even Google can help me turn up the consensus on the subject. However, the Holy Grail of marketing is an active discussion. To be fair, Pierre’s path to staging the original question and exploring potential answers is interesting and insightful. The history of…
Get Rich Quick with Social Media Marketing
I guess Social Media has arrived and I should say that I’m not surprised by some of the things I see these days. It was bound to happen. Really good friend, and someone I admire, Erica O’Grady, pointed me to a very interesting conference coming up that has temporarily deflated my hopes for elevating and empowering marketing communications passionate marketers along with it. The conference is not in any way, attempting to mask its intentions… How To Use Blogs, Podcasts,…
Social Media Releases In Action
I recently ran “The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases,” which has received some great feedback. Thank you everyone! Even though it’s a blog post, it doesn’t mean that its shelf life is merely limited to the brief period of time in between new posts. I’d like it to live on and evolve over time as we learn more about SMRs. And, you’re a big part of that evolution. I was planning on letting that post sit up there for…
The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases
The Social Media Release is back in the spotlight once again and its sparking conversations, inspiring experiments, and raising confusion along the way. This time, intent and distribution take center stage. Good friends Todd Defren and Christopher Lynn took the time to research how wire services are positioning their products for Social Media. Todd posted the results here. Great work guys! Basically, when you call your local representative, you’re presented with the following capabilities. Now, whether these stats are accurate,…
BrandWeek Runs My First Article: You Are the Online Brand in 2008
My first article for BrandWeek is now online, originally entitled, “In 2008 the Online Brand to Focus on is You.” Here’s an excerpt: Yes, it’s a new year. And no, this isn’t another “Top trends for 2008” piece. For the last 12 years, you’ve been reading how to leverage online tools to amplify visibility for company brands. In 2007, it was all about how to leverage Social Media to “engage” brands, and the people behind them, in the “conversation.” Well,…