What’s your proudest Twitter moment(s)?

The other day I was looking through my Twitter stream and saw a few brands and other big time influencers RTing some typical, everyday Twitter followers and I got to thinking… I wonder if brands and influencers understand the impact they can make in 140 characters or less? A simple “Thanks” or “Keep up the good work” can go such a long way with consumers. When it’s done the right way, brands and influencers can even evoke a sense of pride.

I still remember my proudest moment even though it was over a year ago. I wrote a blog post on my little 10-12 page views per day blog and expected my parents and a few other kind souls to check it out. Somehow it caught the eye of some at Ragan’s PR Daily and they shared it on the PR Daily’s News Feed.

 

 

 

 

I mean that alone was awesome. I was so pumped that I tweeted @MarkRaganCEO to thank him and his team. I didn’t actually think someone with more than 30,000 Followers would get back to me. Within the hour I got a response telling me to keep up the good work. As a young pro, it absolutely meant the world to me. I still remember where I was when I saw the tweet. It was a pretty awesome feeling.

My interaction with Mr. Ragan, and a few other instances on Twitter have shown me how the power of Twitter can be harnessed to truly connect and make an strong impact in someone’s life.

Now it’s your turn. Everyone has a great story and I’d love you to share it here. What’s your proudest Twitter moment(s)?

Social Media Tools, Tactics and Trends

I have been fortunate enough to serve on the New Pros Committee this year with a few other incredible young pros. I was tasked to set up the June speaker to discuss Social Media. I am REALLY REALLY EXCITED to announce Stephanie Wonderlin (@swonderlin) as our guest speaker.

Mrs. Tweetheart TV Herself

Stephanie, based out of Austin, Texas will be joining in via Skype. At her day job as The Director of Account Services at 44 Doors (@44Doors), a Mobile Experience Solutions Agency, Stephanie empowers clients such as Kendall-Jackson, Coca Cola and AT&T with more impactful and measurable ways to engage mobile consumers.

When Stephanie isn’t on the cutting edge of mobile innovation at 44 Doors she is a @NikeWomen Make Yourself Blogger and hosts her own Youtube webisode series called Tweetheart TV, the first interactive social media show. Stephanie reviews the latest social media tools  in power packed 2 minutes videos. Check out her latest video here:

Stephanie will lead the group in a 30-40 minute presentation on the latest tools, tactics and trends in social media. We will have 20 minutes of Q and A after so have your questions ready!

Here are all the event details:

When: Tuesday June 14 @ 6:00 PM

Where: Northlich (720 Pete Rose Way Cincinnati, OH 45202) Parking is free to attendees in the Northlich lot.

RSVP to cincynewpros@yahoo.com or on our Facebook Event Page – Please submit any questions on the Event page’s wall

Tweeting is Encouraged! Please use the #cincyprsa hashtag and chat it up with Stephanie -@swonderlin

See everyone there!

Let Your Motto Be Resistance

I had the opportunity to attend the sneak preview of a new exhibit opening at The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, “Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits.” The event runs through June 19.

The exhibit includes 68 portraits of inspirational African Americans who truly made a difference. The exhibit has a very simple, but powerful layout. The entire exhibit is in one room large room. The 68 portraits hang on white walls that take you on a journey through history you’ll not soon forget.

Powerful Simple Display

In addition to the 68 portraits there are several, never seen before items on display.

Signed Muhammed Ali Gloves

A Signed BB King Guitar

You may be asking, why are you writing about this? Where’s the social media… Where’s the PR…? Well here we go. The Freedom Center does a great job of integrating digital strategy due in part to their Web and Marketing Communications Manager Jamie Glavic (@NURFCJamie). They have recently started an iPod tour and it sounds like more innovative and exciting digital integration will soon be available at the museum.

An important component of Let Your Motto Be Resistance, expressed by the curator Dina Bailey, is continuing the conversation. The exhibit has two “reflection areas” where attendees are encouraged to answer two questions.

If you get a chance to attend the event, I would highly recommend writing your thoughts down. In addition to writing your thoughts, why not add in a social media component. The NURFC is encouraging users to share their thoughts and comments during the exhibit using the #FantheFlame.

When you #FantheFlame remember…

They were activists… MLK and Malcolm X

They were athletes… Ali and Jesse Owens

They were singers… B.B. King and Sammy Davis Jr.

They were educators… George Washington Carver and W.E.B. Dubois

They were difference makers. #FanTheFlame

Building Relationships with Charlene Li

I recently had the opportunity to take part in a Skype presentation (courtesy of Cincinnati PRSA) featuring renowned author, Charlene Li. She is the founder of the Altimeter Group, co-author of Groundswell, and author of Open Leadership. She also really knows her stuff!

Charlene shared her insights on building relationships with social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, etc. She emphasized that while these tools help facilitate relationships, they aren’t the foundation.

That foundation comes from a mutual understanding of the informality of the platform.  Think about your personal relationships. They are safe, trusting and friendly, right? Now, envision social media relationships exactly the same way.  Here are two important things to remember:

Relationships take time to grow.

A strong social media community will not be built overnight. Yeah, Charlie Sheen may have been the fastest to 1 million followers, but is that really a community or simply a popularity contest?  Healthy social media growth is built on a strong strategy of consistent and valuable content that helps everyone succeed.

Relationships are not immune to problems.

In all relationships, mistakes are made and apologies are needed. Inappropriate tweets and status updates will inevitably happen. When they do, take ownership, apologize, and begin the process of rebuilding the relationship. That old adage about what you put into a relationship is what you get out of it.

Yeah, it applies to social media…

CrowdSourcing at Its Finest

I absolutely love to crowdsource questions. The answers you get are always so interesting and varied, as they say… “more brains are better than one”.

This is an emerging theme in social media with the advent of the latest social media platform, Quora. If you’re not familiar with Quora check out this awesome article from Dia Dalsky ~ “Quora Strategy: The Incomplete Beginner’s Guide”.

Being the person to ask the questions is great sometimes, but I’m a big proponent of “you get out what you put in“, so I always try to answer as many questions as I can.

I was perusing Twitter a few days ago and came across a tweet from @SWonderlin (a must follow social media specialist). She crowdsourced a question for an upcoming segment for her innovative Youtube show, Tweetheart TV: The First Interactive Social Media Show.

Make Sure and Check Out Tweetheart TV

I hate, loathe and abhor auto DM’s, so I definitely wanted to jump all over the question. I responded with…

Automatic DM's SUCK!

In addition to my answer, Stephanie was inundated with responses. She used the responses to gain insights and develop a great segment for Tweetheart TV. Check out the clip here:

I love how she pulls out a few tweets and individually highlights them. This is a great example of engaging with your audience, and then showcasing their value.

Do you engage and empower you social media audience? If you’re looking for some new ideas, think about crowdsourcing, it worked on me!

-Andrew

Remembering Your First #FF

February Fourth is the First Friday in February. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. In honor of the First Friday in February, I thought it would be fitting to highlight the first person who fancied me for a Follow Friday.

Photo courtesy of askaaronlee.com

The first person to give me a #FF was Jeff Cole (@JeffCole53). Jeff is a PR and Marketing consultant that understand the importance of social media. You can also follow Jeff on his blog: PR 101. 

I still remember thinking to myself, “What is #FF”. Once I figured it out… It was so cool to learn that someone actually read my tweets. That was cool, but I wanted to know why. I took the opportunity to reach out and learn that “why”. I sent Jeff a DM and asked, “Would you mind sharing what I said that piqued your interest?” He gave some feedback, and thus a connection was made, and learning was shared.

It was definitely one of the “ah-ha” moments that got me “hooked” on the power of social media.

Photo Courtesy of businessgrow.com

As many of us know #FF has gotten a little out of hand with massive lists on people and no real understanding or reasoning behind why a follow is warranted.

Let’s get back to to basics…

Limit your #FF to 1, or maybe 2 people. Tell us how they provide value to your community. Other interesting #FF options are suggesting a list to follow – or why not a hashtag?

Do you remember your first?…

Happy Following!

-Andrew

Information as Currency

I recently watched Episode 10 of Brian Solis’ (R)evolution webisode series. The episode featured an interview with Dan Farber of cbsnews.com discussing the future of news.

Please take a minute and check out the video:

I had a total “ah ha moment” at the 4:30 mark in the video. I had never thought about Information as Currency ~ Had you?

I know the SEO mantra of “content in king”, but didn’t think of that information/content in terms of currency. However, the information you share with your social network carries enormous weight. It shows people what you value, the beliefs you stand for, and how they can identify and engage with you.

As we delve deeper and deeper into the digital age, news outlets have to becoming increasingly aware of information as currency. Farber and CBS understands the importance: “It’s all about building relationships and trying to engage. We want to actively participate.”

If information is currency ~ how much are you worth to your social media community?

Reaching Out to Different

A quick thought…

As a young communications professional I do everything I can to connect, interact, and engage with all kinds of different communications professionals. It is great to network of course, but what I really enjoy is collaborating and sharing ideas. It is so interesting to meet new people who come from different backgrounds, have had different experiences, or are just plain different!

A couple of questions for discussion.

Veteran pros, what is the best way to reach out to you?

Young pros, what do you think are the best ways to reach out to veteran pros?

Interested to hear different thoughts and perspectives from different people!

Until next time, whether it’s B2B or B2C it’s all Business to Person

Brand U

I was recently given the opportunity to give my first presentation as a communications professional. I spoke to an Electronic PR class at Northern Kentucky University (my alma mater) on the importance of self-branding.

As social media plays an ever-increasing role in the importance of PR, students HAVE to learn to use these tools effectively. I wanted to share a few easy to remember points about Twitter and LinkedIn. These are 2 social networking sites where every PR professional should have an active presence.

Twitter (I’m @Andrew_ShipPR)

• Make sure your profile explains exactly why you’re on Twitter ~ “A PR student in _________ looking to develop relationships with PR pros that will help me learn and develop as a communicator”
• Put your LinkedIn web address or personal blog into the “web” section of the profile
• DO NOT protect your tweets ~ That doesn’t exactly scream transparency…
• Interact with industry leader’s ~ Check out one of my previous posts that goes more in-depth: “Building Relationships with PR Pros through Twitter“

LinkedIn

• Pick a vanity URL ~ Ex. http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewshipPR
• Have a professional picture
• When inviting people to connect, personalize the message ~ It takes less than a minute, it will set you apart, and it will open up communication
• Make sure you fill your profile out to 100% completion ~ Remember the more robust your profile the higher likelihood your profile will come up in search results.

http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=nkupresentation-12877997810615-phpapp02&stripped_title=pr-student-social-mediaselfbranding

The most important thing to remember, above all else, is to be yourself. Nothing can replace The Human Factor.

Do you have any additional suggestions? I would love to hear them ~

Until next time, whether its B2B or B2C, it’s all Business to Person

I’ll Admit it, I’ve Been Slacking

Alright, no post since March? What’s up with that? Well, there’s no way to sugarcoat it… I’ve been slacking.

However (Pause – Pause) however… I’m excited to announce… NO MORE SLACKING! I am officially rededicating myself to writing a weekly post. I have been a full-time communications professional for almost 6 months, and I’m beginning to really get my feet under me… Remind me again why I picked a profession that has no idea what 9-5 is? Because it’s awesomely addictive – that’s why.

I am glad to be at an early stage in my career because it is a great time to be a communications professional in Cincinnati. In the short-term, there are two exciting events coming up that everyone should check out: The Digital Non-Conference and Cincinnati PRSA’s Media Day.

For the long-term Cincinnati has been named an “Innovation Hub”, urban renewal is in full-effect, and there are tons of movers and shakers doing their part to showcase everything Cincinnati has to offer.

So, here we go – I’m ready to advantage of what this awesome city has to offer a young communications pro.

Until next time, remember ~ Whether is B2B or B2C it’s all Business to Person