It's All in the Timing

Not only is our title today a very funny series of vignettes for theatre written by David Ives, but it's about PR as well.  I know that when I'm trying to get interest in a story, I had better respect the media's deadlines.  But what about social media which is not so deadline oriented?

Seems that there are some times that are better than others to post to Facebook.  On this marketing site they have the details.  I understand that more people probably go to Facebook on the weekends, so a Friday afternoon might be an ideal time to post.  But I'm not quite sure I buy the fact that more things are shared at 8 am than any time. 

Many of the folks that I know are on FB late at night.  What's  your experience been?

Media vs. Bloggers

A big shout out to my friend Chad Sorg of Artist Fishbowl fame who inspired this week's post on PR Insights.  In my other life as a visual artist, we both belong to an artist's group in Reno that holds an annual art festival - Nada Dada Motel - where artist rent rooms in low end motels to show their work.  I became involved with the group about three years ago and helped with the PR which ended up with the NY Times covering the event two years ago.

OK, enough back story, here's the meat of the message - that approaching bloggers is very different than sending out news releases to media.  Since much of PR is luck and timing, I'd have to say that I agree with PressKing.com with most of its advice. 

But from personal experience working with a client who had developed a new toy for toddlers and was taking it to a showcase, I'd have to say that I did the regular "hack" job for her - that is sending out a regular release to bloggers and did get plenty of response and offers to do stories on her and her product. 

However this is just one incidence.  Actually the hardest part of the aforementioned project was to research and develop a list of bloggers who would have an interest in the story.  Although I do agree totally about not being a nag when following up after sending out a pitch!

40 More Things

One of my Twitter friends has the meat of the story for this blog post - thanks Pete at Mashable!  This looks like a very inclusive article dealing with all current social media portals.

Me?  I'm still waiting for my jet pack!

Happy New Year

Sorry it's been so long since the last post, but you know what the holidays will do to the most thoughtful plans - turn them into mincemeat pie!  But here we are again thinking about social media and public relations. 

On thing that might be helpful to you whether you do PR for other people or for your own endeavors, is to pick up a couple of copies of your local newspapers, daily and weekly.  Now, get out your laptop or just a chunk of paper and list the headlines of the feature articles, the reporter's name and a short synopsis of the story.  This is a great way to keep track of what people are writing about in the print world. 

You can also do this with your local news stations - TV of course since the news on radio is nonexistent these days due the FCC  having no power anymore.  But don't let me get up on that soapbox.

PR by the numbers

I'm beginning to be convinced that the Mashable website is a treasure trove of information for anyone dealing with PR and marketing.  A couple of years ago, I would never have had a "smart" phone because I just wasn't into texting.  That changed when I saw that some of the younger people I worked with at the theatre company wouldn't answer phone calls or emails, but would responds to text messages!

What sealed the deal for me in buying my smart phone was that I had an opportunity to work as a judge for a solo show theatre competition in Romania.  After looking at the costs to call back home from there, I became a fan of texting, which is far less expensive.  With that and gmail chat, the hubby and I could stay in touch even though I was half a world away.

But let me get back to the age issue, which is the focus of this article on Mashable.  Granted that they have slanted this article to marketing, I think it also holds relevance to PR issues as well.  How about you?

Social Media and Communications

Thanks to the folks over at Mashable, we have our new post here!  Although the article is geared towards people managing their social lives, it does have resonance for folks doing PR.  I must admit that I've not yet tried one of Facebook's newest additions - Groups.

But I am going to try it today to see if I get any more traffic for my December 5th Holiday Open House at my studio.  My plan is to NOT set up an event page on FB, but instead set up a group for all my local contacts here in Sacramento.    I set up an event page on FB for the Capitol Artists Studio Tour this past Sept and I didn't get much action from it.  I'll also set up an Evite list and see if that helps build the crowds for me.

The reason some of this works is that the biggest part of PR is merely communication.  Although PR can also take in marketing for some folks, it's really trying to find a way to get information to the individual.  We used to do it with newspapers but due to their dwindling editorial space and the fact that most folks under the age of 30 don't even subscribe anymore, social media is the other place we can post information, without even having to sell a reporter on a story idea!

Is it more effective?  Only time will tell or have you had great success in using social media to promote your clients and causes?

Arts and Social Media

Today instead of focusing on just PR, I thought we're branch out into another interesting topic - The Impact of Technology on Cultural Partnerships.  I must thank my Irish Twitter friend Saoire O' Brien for turning me onto this.  If you;re on twitter, go ahead and follow her for very interesting stuff that's arts-related.