Half-Day Webinar for Communicators at Food Manufacturers, Beverage Producers, Grocery Stores, Kitchen Suppliers, and Specialty Food Retailers.  Moderated by renowned social media expert, blogger, consultant and trainer, Sally Falkow, APR.

Use advanced social media marketing strategies to skyrocket visibility and sales— frontline practitioners reveal how to build loyalty, website traffic, press coverage, client satisfaction and sales

In just one-half day, you’ll cover:

• Best practices for using Twitter as a food and beverage marketing tool
• Key elements every food or beverage online newsroom must have to boost press coverage and Google search ranking
• Which social media promotions work best to boost trackable sales now?
• How to create communities of evangelists for your food or beverage
• How to track online conversations and mentions of your product—and how to respond when you don’t like what you hear
• How to create a cost-effective social media strategic plan “step-by-step”
• A bad review on food and beverage websites and blogs: What you can and should do about it
• Cultivating food and beverage bloggers and websites: What works and what doesn’t
• How to decide which social media are most valuable for your product . . . and which you can ignore
• What should your online messaging strategy be—and how can you communicate it in just 140 characters?
• To blog or not to blog: How to assess blogging costs vs. benefits
• How to build a large and loyal following on Facebook
• Most effective uses of online video—and what you need (and don’t need) to produce your own
• And many, many more tips, tricks, trends and inside approaches

Hear and confer with communicators from General Mills, Campbell Soup, and other food and beverage brands like yours, as well as other social media experts, who will share their “war stories” and valuable lessons learned.

Register Now (Early-Bird Discounts Available)

There have never been more potential outlets and opportunities for writers, but at the same time, there’s never been more competition.

In this course, you will learn how to make the current climate in both publishing and parenting work for you. We’ll explore the many different outlets available to freelance writers, from blogs to websites to magazines, as well as the kinds of story ideas and formats that today’s editors are looking for. We’ll cover the nuts and bolts of researching, writing, and revising a parenting story, how pitches differ and most importantly, how to develop strong relationships with your editors.

In this class, you will learn how to:

• Mine your life, experience, and connections for ideas
• Define yourself as a parenting writer
• Find the markets available to you as a parenting writer, including magazines, blogs, and websites
• Target your pitches
• Research topics and identify sources
• Create engaging stories that editors and readers won’t want to put down

Learn more and register now. Prefer to register by telephone? Call us at 212-547-7890.

Besides when you’re at an all-you-can-eat restaurant, of course.

The answer is when you’re trying to drag your business (or your client) into the realm of social media and/or online marketing (no, they’re not exactly the same thing – but that’s a topic for another post at another time). 

Specifically, we’re talking about companies contemplating – or trying to cope with – the following:

• Blogs
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Private social networks (i.e. Ning or Webs.com)
• eNewsletters
• Social Bookmarking Tools
• Virtual Couponing
• RSS-driven Content
• Webinars
• Social Media Monitoring
• Blogger Relations
• Discussion Boards
• Social Media Releases

… and the list goes on (and on).

If you’ve been there before, you know exactly what I mean.  The game-changing nature of these tools opens up a range of possibilities (and potential) for your business.  And because it’s so easy (and usually so cheap) to get into it, enthusiastic marketing people tend to fall all over themelves on their way in only to find themselves neck deep in a morasse of tweets, posts, updates and more that consumes a lot of time and doesn’t produce much in the way of results.

So, what’s my point? 

It’s this:

You have to take time out to figure out a mission for each message and each tool in your social marketing toolbox before you get to work.  Go in with a purpose and some idea of how you’re going to use each of these snazzy new applications to help you get there.

And most of all, don’t be afraid to leave something on the table for later.

I’ve been in a lot of meetings with clients and agencies where there’s interest in a new online service or application but noone has a clue as to where it fits in the mix.  The intentions may be right and honorable, but the execution is doomed to failure unless someone learns how, when, where and why that tool is the riht tool for the job.

If you don’t know what to do with a new technology or a new social media opportunity, you have to either be ready to fail the first few times out of the gate with it or to put it aside to see (and learn from) the mistakes others make.  There’s no lack of “early adopters” in this line of work, so all you have to do is wait and watch and then jump in after the smoke clears.

Making the mission fit the tool …
Key to making social media work for your business (or your client) is making sure you have a good, working understanding of what each piece in your social marketing toolbox can do and how that capability can help tell your brand’s story in a compelling and relevant way. 

It should seem obvious, but make sure you’ve spent time figuring out the best way to use Facebook, Twitter and the rest before you test things out on your brand or your client’s business.  Less obvious is the need to narrow the focus for each tool from what it can do to what it should do with respect to your brand’s story.

Just because you can get thousands of followers on Twitter doesn’t make it a good fit for your brand.  If, on the other hand, you’re able to identify key bloggers, writers and industry thought leaders’ Twitter ID’s you may want to consider using Tweets as an easy and convenient way to keep them in the loop and to alert them of new developments.

Taking that line of thinking to the next level, if your team decides you want to maintain several Twitter feeds as a core element of your social marketing program, you need to have some idea of which application will give you the control you need to manage and monitor activity on each feed.  And for heaven’s sake, don’t just go out there and recommend a social media strategy to a client (or your boss) without having tested it out on your own first!

Knowing the practical application of each social media tool is just as important as clearly defining the story you want to tell with it.  Just as I encourage clients to develop a message matrix – I insist we do the same thing when it comes to developing their social media marketing program.

If I don’t, I run the risk of being the “social media tool” at our next meeting.

Astroturfing is bad … and there are plenty of published floggings of PR firms guilty of “over-enthusiastic” shilling for clients.  Enough, in fact, that many PR folks are viewed with disdain by journalists and bloggers.

There’s no doubt that PR firms that plant good reviews on blogs, write letters to the editor in support of their clients, etc. – and don’t identify themselves as agents for their clients are stepping over an ethical line.  But what do you do when you find bloggers (and journalists) who offer to provide positive reviews and/or coverage at a price?

Danny Brown, social media maverick and PR guy, posted an example of this on his weblog yesterday and it deserves further review and comment.

Here’s how Danny related the experience:

I was speaking with a very good friend of mine who runs her own PR agency. She’s established a terrific reputation as one of the best PR people around and has deservedly won awards for her approach. Simply put, she’s a role model for great PR.

We were talking about the relationship between bloggers and PR and how we can improve it (”we” being both the blogosphere and the PR industry). This was when my friend shared one of her examples as to why that improvement might be further off than hoped.

She was working with a client whose core audience were “mommy bloggers”. The client’s product was ideally suited to the thousands of moms that have families of their own and blog about products in that niche. So, it would make sense for the PR campaign to connect with the blogging audience it’s suited to. So far, so good.

When my friend approached some of the key bloggers in this field, she had this response: “It’s $75 for a positive review, $100 if there’s an image attached.” When my friend queried this, she was told, “Get your client to splash the cash. If you’re getting paid, we want [to get] paid too.”

Now don’t be alarmed.  This is actually a pretty common practice in places like Russia and China – there it’s known as “black PR”.  But there’s no doubt this blogger’s idea of a “revenue model” for his/her site is a bit out of bounds in this country.

Clients shouldn’t fall for this and neither should their PR firms.  In fact, I’m of the opinion that bloggers (and reporters) who resort to extortion should be exposed by name.  My buddies Kevin Dugan (with his Bad Pitch Blog) and Peter Shankman (at HARO) have both been known to take draconian measures with PR firms who step over the line.  Danny should have done the same.

The fact that he didn’t doesn’t mean this isn’t a serious problem that deserves attention, though.  Be aware that these kinds of scammers exist out there on the web – just like they do in print, in the world of infomercials, behind the desk at fly-by-night loan companies and everywhere else in the world.  Don’t give in to extortion in the name of positive press. 

It’s a bad investment in your brand’s future.

In short, Brian Clark offers this thumbnail description of a catablog:

A catablog is basically a blog that is designed to mix content and commerce in a very deliberate fashion. It’s looking to attract people who are interested in buying things, but who are also interested in immersing themselves in the lifestyle surrounding the products.

For traditionalists, this is an excellent example of how to blend the “new” social media with the “old” concept of a direct mail catalog.  Focus on the story-telling and follow some basic rules for catalog sales.  The measurable aspect of the medium (online) will help you fine tune your product offering, refine your approach and improve your ROI.

I received an e-mail from a friend of this blog today who filled me in on an interesting online exchange between a blogger and the president of a company he blogged about.  As it turns out, the post written by the blogger provides a less-than-friendly portrayal of the president’s company. 

Nineteen months after the fact (Tuesday, as a matter of fact), the president contacts the blogger with more than one nasty e-mail message.  Threats of lawsuits follow and the ‘libel’ word is thrown around liberally.  The blogger was sufficiently po’d to contact another blogger, who wrote about the exchange and then passed the information on to me.

And now I’m blogging about it – albiet third-hand and without using names or quoting accusations.  You see, I don’t know either party involved in this broughaha and can’t vouch for them.  But that’s not my objective here.  Instead, I’d like to dive into the tactics employed and their ramification on reputation and, eventually, market share.

First off, consider the actions of the blogger who wrote about his personal experience with the company in question.  He wrote what he knew from personal experience and linked to information he found on the Internet.  His criticisms in his blog post, in fact, didn’t seem to be out of line.  Most of his post was opinion and direct observation.

Where things may have crossed the line is in the comments area – where readers commented on their experiences and the blogger responded.  The number of posts to the blog seem to have helped drive its placement in search engines like Google, putting this less-than-flattering review of the company directly under the listing for its web site.

Unfortunate but not intentional.  And even if it was, so what?

In fact, neither the post nor its placement in a Google search results page seems to have mattered to the company (or its president) until more than a year and a half after the fact.  Infer what you will from this fact, the appearance is that no one with the company was aware of this online negative impression (at best), or no one cared.

Point Number One: Pay attention to what people are saying about you and your brand(s) online by actively looking with some regularity.

Next, the president of the company acted – probably before seeking counsel from either his legal counsel or, most certainly, his PR counsel.  Threatening lawsuits via e-mail is rarely a good idea.  In fact, I can’t think of an occassion when it would EVER be a good idea.

Point Number Two: Don’t threaten lawsuits by e-mail.  Ever.

Next, the blogger gets his dander worked up and starts quoting from the U.S. Constitution to defend his right to free speech.  He may be right, but this could hardly be considered a constructive tactic.  Then again, it’s pretty obvious by the bulk of his post, there isn’t a whole lot of respect left in this relationship anyway.

But the point is, quoting the Constitution and correcting grammar and spelling in e-mails is almost certainly leading you down the road to conflict.

Point Number Three: Don’t poke the bear.

Now if “poking the bear” wasn’t enough, the blogger went on to share his experience (or possibly vent) to a fellow blogger who has picked up the cause and reported on the incident in his blog.  The quote at the end of blogger #2′s post is, I think, quite telling:

“Big no-no, Mr. Buchan. If you’ll look in the revised 21st century PR handbook, it says to never send angry emails to bloggers and expect them not to post them. Actions like that tend to come back and bite you in the ass.”

So, I suppose in a way, passing the news on to me is part of the ass-biting process.  Okay, I’ll bite.  Just maybe not as expected.  And that’s my next point.

Point Number Four: When you decide to stir up the shit, beware of the splashback.

Now I’m not critical of either of the bloggers in this case.  The fact is, they’re doing what bloggers do.  The first is writing what he knows or has learned.  For the most part, he’s sharing an opinion and there appear to be a number of folks out there who appreciated his insights.

The second blogger is also doing what bloggers do – he’s passing on an interesting story.  And he’s right.  This little firefight between blogger and company president is an intersting study in how NOT to react to a negative blog.  But by passing the story on to me, this second blogger runs a risk of fanning the flames of controversy with an (apparently) litigous adversary.

I’m not making any assumptions about intentions here.  What I am trying to do, though, is point out one of the inherent dangers of this social media we work within.  Rumor and inuendo are so easy to pass around in the blogosphere that we all have a responsibility to keep that in mind as we read, write and respond.

This is, in much the same way, at the heart of the big eBay controversy concerning seller feedback.  In a two-way medium like this, both parties need to have a channel that allows for civil and transparent dialog.  Inflamatory e-mails (like the kind sent by the company president) or the practice of holding positive feedback hostage (a very real fear for eBay sellers) certainly aren’t civil or productive.

Maybe thinking first before firing off that e-mail is a best practice all of us should follow.

The premise of the podcasts might be problematic. In his first transmission, Mike explains that he’ll build a weekly summary of marketing stories derived from the usual industry sources. He’ll add some additional information gleaned from ad-oriented blogs and wrap everything up in under ten minutes.

To be truthful, by the time Mike has done his weekly wrap-up and posted it to his site, the news is so old that most of us who keep up on it may not have much interest in hearing him read it back to us.

Here’s hoping the delay in getting installment #2 of the Adnews podcast up is the result of Mike fine-tuning his concept and creating a truly unique voice worth tuning in to hear.

Good luck, Mike.

- Your company name
- Your company URL
- Your company’s public-facing figures
- Your product names
- Your product URL’s
- Your industry hang-outs
- Your employee’s blogs
- Online conversations about your brand/company
- Your brand’s image
- Your competition

Thanks to Steve for tipping us off to Cameron Olthuis’ blog post on this subject. Cameron provides a list of web sites and tools that you can use to “track your buzz.”

Sounds like a full-time job, doesn’t it? I know a firm that would be happy to help.

SEO will remain an important factor (if not THE important factor) in driving the implied importance of your blog or web site. Links are the basic connector between sites and because of that search engines will continue looking for them and scoring your site accordingly.

And if 101 tips aren’t enough for you, try this.

My favorites:
#2 Half baked ideas are better than no ideas.
#15 Sympathy drives traffic.
#21 One comment is a fad; three trackbacks is a trend

and my personal fave …
#6 Intellectual plagiarism is rarely called out.

Thanks for the content, Colin.

PS – love the new look for the blog.