I’d done some reading, some evaluating, some equivocating… but I finally took the plunge and joined in the fun on Pinterest. Here are some things I’ve discovered:

It’s quiet and undemanding. It’s not about real-time conversation. It’s not really about conversation at all, actually. It IS about connections. It’s about inspiration, curation and obsession. Here are the things you’ll need to know to join in. (Note… it’s invite only. You can let me know you want an invite in the comments for quicker access, or you can enter your email address on the Pinterest.com homepage and one will show up in your inbox in a few days.)

Pinterest is a virtual “pin-board” not unlike the old-fashioned cork board you probably had in your bedroom as a teenager or may still have on your office wall (note image of mine). The difference is now you can have as many boards as you have diverse interests. On my account I have one for places I like to go, one for information I think is worth sharing, one for stuff that makes me smile, etc. Virtual wedding planning, home decor ideas, DIY home improvement, jewelry, crafts, fashion look books… all common boards.

But, the uses that intrigue me and make me think the now 4 million plus users of Pinterest are on to something are ones like these, posted by some of my Facebook friends when I asked them about the service:

• It’s like being a contemporary art director of dreams. – Jennifer Luitwieler
• “Mood Boards” for client projects. – Trisha Salas
• Resource images for photography clients. I can add them to the collaborators on the album and both of us can add images, talk about what we like, don’t like etc. – Marty Coleman (a.k.a. The Napkin Dad)

Successful brands using Pinterest aren’t doing tons of pinning their own stuff. They’re doing lots of putting out eye-catching visuals on their websites and making it easy for users to pin them to their own boards. Each “pin” is embedded with the source link from the website, so it’s a referral engine for pins that go viral and get “re-pinned” to other user’s boards. Commenting is possible, and some people do, but the beauty of the service is, well, it’s beauty. It’s visual, visceral and always changing. You don’t have to comment or feel compelled to “keep up” with the flow. Viewing a board lets you quickly scan a wealth of content in one glance, and users can follow only select boards of others if they want to. For instance, I am not a home decor makeover freak or particularly crafty. I tend to not follow those kinds of boards though I may follow the same user’s “Books I Want to Read” board.

Ready to give it a whirl? I’ve pinned some good Pinterest articles to my Info To Share board, and I’d suggest following Collen Pence’s Pinterest info board, too.

From this past week’s Optimization Summit #optsum social media conference: How to Rock PR Coverage for Your Business or Brand. It was a two-hour workshop all about finding your stories and sharing them effectively. Enjoyed the audience’s involvement, questions and results. They were rocking their first pitchengine.com releases before the end of the workshop.

And from this past week’s Oklahoma Municipal League‘s Annual Meeting: Using ICSC To Attract Retail for Cities. A primer for cities wanting to grow their retail base.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be leading a two-part workshop at the 2011 Optimization Summit on How to ROCK Press Coverage for Your Business or Brand. It’s a bigger, badder and more hands-on version of an presentation I put together six months ago for the Social Media Tulsa conference and I’m thrilled I’ll get to share some good stuff about what I do & know and how to make it all work for other peoples’ businesses. One question I get asked all the time is some form of, “When you spend time telling others what you know and how to do what you do, aren’t you afraid they’ll, well, do it? Without you? Aren’t you essentially teaching people how to NOT need you?”

Leaving out the whole, “I’ve been doing this thing I do for a long, long time and all that experience can’t be shared in a two hour workshop” angle (And it’s inherently insulting, by the way, to assume I CAN share everything I know in a workshop), let’s take a look at the underlying motivation of the question. The key is “aren’t you afraid…?” and the answer is yes. Of spiders, of heights, of not being able to find good coffee when I need it, of milk in the carton (it’s a long story)…. Yes. Of teaching business owners or brand managers about New PR and how they can use it to their best advantage? Nope.

New PR is much like Old PR in that it’s driven by the story. We as humans are hardwired to retain stories, to seek meaning and context for information. A good story is the heart of any PR effort. Always has been, always will be. What I teach people is first to find their story. Not their mission/vision/goals/new product release blurb. Their story. Or, stories… It’s not the easiest thing in the world to think about your business or brand from new perspectives and to figure out where your human touchpoints are as a business. So learning how to spot a good story, idea, trend or opportunity is the first thing we’ll be talking about in the workshop tomorrow. We’ll also be talking about the tools of New PR, the reasons why they matter, the long term effects of doing a good job with New PR and how to put it all together into a package that is shareable, sendable, marketable and effective. I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t have a story somewhere just waiting, begging sometimes, to be told. It’s in learning to see the potential and how to align it with business goals and marketing campaigns (which hopefully were conceived in partnership with the PR peeps, but I digress…) that “doing PR” becomes something much more powerful. I can’t teach everything I know in a workshop, but if I can help people learn to look at their day to day work, business environment or content in a New PR kind of way and take some steps toward implementing a strategy that works to build their brand, it will be a good day.

I’m not afraid because sharing what I know, about something I love, expands the universe of potential clients for me and potential stories for us all. And that, I think, is something to embrace, not fear. If you’re at this year’s #Optsum, I hope to connect and share some stories while we’re here.

(and my apologies… if you ever tweeted or shared a post from the site, the numbers were all lost when I changed servers. I appreciate each and every share… just don’t have who recommended, liked, tweeted, etc., anymore)

I have been using Google + for a few days now (and no, this is not a post all about Google +) and have noticed an interesting phenomenon already. Everyone wants a “do-over” on social connectivity. Much discussion is happening around posts like, “Will you build your network differently here?” And the consensus seems to be that many people want to approach the whole concept of networking differently. Either they intend to be more selective in who they follow or add or they intend to be more rigorous in the groups (“circles” in + parlance) they form or maintain.

Another common thread is the desire to return to the halcyon early days of social networks when the novelty of connecting with other people – interesting people –was the driver behind the growth of Twitter or Facebook. You know, back before brands and marketing became the main focus of those old networks. Yes, that was a tiny bit sarcastic, I admit. Google + could potentially be much larger than Twitter given its much larger reach and the opportunity for even the most casual, non-networked internet user to be exposed to it every time someone does a search. Google + will be baked in to the search experience in a very seamless way by early indications (new “share” buttons have appeared in my gmail and my Google Reader apps already).

I remember the euphoria that accompanied my early days on Twitter, now nearly three years back, when someone new followed me. I long ago turned off “new follow” notifications because the emails were swamping my inbox. But I have the “notifications” from Google + turned on and that old feeling is back…. a little rush when someone adds me or comments on a post or shares something with me. Will it last? Probably not. Google + may end up being a better tool for personal connection, but professional networkers will soon be all over that platform and newly minted Google + jedi, knights, gurus and the like will be hawking their professional help. Soon, the who is following whom will become a game of sorts… social climbing for the 21st century.

Will anything be different in two years? Won’t Google + (or whatever is next) become what the users make of it and choose to do with it? Is a “do-over” really possible if defining relevance online via social cues – really the reason Google is doing this – will continue to be driven by who you know/are connected to and who’s talking about you, your brand, your company, your last presentation, slideshare, blog post or content bit? What do you think?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Blake Ewings’ closing keynote at last weeks’ Social Media Tulsa conference. One of the key takeaways for me was this statement:

It doesn’t mean only “tweet positive” but it does mean when sending thoughts, links, info etc. out into the world, we should all be mindful of the larger effect. It’s easy to say, “If you wouldn’t want your Mom to know, don’t post it,” but really, most of us feel a little more insulated in our online worlds than that. We use the public conversation to share our private frustrations. Sometimes, before we’ve taken the time to try to solve them privately. I have been guilty of this…

I’m still processing how and what I want to change about how I participate in the public conversation. What kind of social responsibility comes with a larger-than-average audience online? Mine isn’t anything like the superstars of the Interwebs, but it’s exponentially larger than the “average Jane” on Twitter, Facebook, etc. What obligations does that, or should that, entail as far as sharing?

And… based on some feedback I’ve already gotten on this post… does being more human actually give you more of a voice? Do people just care more if they “know you?” My instincts and experience tell me yes.

Like I said, still processing… and interested to hear your thoughts!

Speaker Group from 2011 #SMTulsa conference. Image by Captured Charms Photography

When I entered the Hyatt Downtown hotel to find the registration area for the Social Media Tulsa 2011 Conference, I was running a wee bit behind, had parked (and trekked) two blocks carrying my very heavy laptop, iPad, charging cords and cable connector laden bag, and was mentally rehearsing the presentation I would shortly be giving on New PR: Beyond the Press Release. In short, I was not really focused on the people or environment around me. Don’t we all get that way? A little wrapped up in our own to-do lists, pressing work, writing, whatever?

Then I rounded a corner about five people said, almost simultaneously, “Hey! It’s Mandy!” I had kind of “Norm!” moment. (If you don’t get it… here’s a YouTube vid to help you, first minute will do it.) And yes, five people mildly excited to see me does equal a “moment” for me. Don’t judge.

The point is I snapped back to the present… engaged, listened, conversed, became social. I left the mental gymnastics and the day’s earlier frustrations behind and settled into the moment. I met lots new people, learned some new information, witnessed other professionals sharing what they knew with the audience. And I presented my session on Public Relations and how to use social tools to get better results. It was a blast… not just because speaking, teaching and interacting like that energizes me, but because the audience rocked. They had great questions, and didn’t wait until very end to ask them. That meant we had the opportunity to branch out and explore a few topics like negative comments, corporate versus personal voices and other aspects of the world of socially enabled public relations. People in the audience were connecting with each other, too, which means more knowledge-sharing and learning per capita than what would have happened if it were just me talking up there.

I left at the end of the day reminded of why I love what I do… I love finding the (sometimes hidden) stories in a company or personal story and helping to tell them through public relations, marketing or even traditional advertising. But, if you don’t get out there and meet people, listen to what they wonder, what they question, what they believe, what they want… you miss out on lots of great stories. Even if they aren’t the kind that need to be told to a wider audience.

I like to speak because I like to connect, listen, learn and share. I like to speak at events like Social Media Tulsa and last month’s Spark and Hustle because the audience they attract is top notch, and that elevates the conversation and connections to a place where the time spent preparing, delivering, and attending the whole conference is totally worth it.

Thanks, SMTulsa people, for making the day such a vivid reminder of why I love what I do and for sharing your day with me and the other speakers… and most especially thanks to Cheryl Lawson for putting the whole thing together. Can’t wait till next year!

Photo Credit: Captured Charms Photography.

Last summer, I moderated the PR panel at the Get Social Conference in OKC (Oklahoma City for the uninitiated). The conversation turned quickly to How do I Get Media Coverage? Panelists were Dave Rhea from the statewide Journal Record newspaper, Andrew Speno from Fox25 News in OKC and Mike Koehler, blogger, PR pro and former reporter. Here are some of their PR pearls of wisdom:

1.) Don’t suck. Pretty simple, but powerful when you think about it. Don’t be a user… don’t lie… don’t spam… don’t be disrespectful. Don’t pitch news that isn’t news. If you’re in PR, you know what I’m talking about, whether or not you are following the advice. If you’re not in PR, what I mean is be human first. You need to reach out and interest another human in your story if you want it covered, and that means it needs to be interesting to other humans. And that you need to respect the time and attention of the media people you’re trying to reach.

2.) Write well. Headlines matter… and if you’re e-mailing, that means the subject line of your e-mail should be something OTHER than “News Advisory!” or “MEDIA ALERT!!!!” Special note: multiple exclamation points don’t make your news more newsworthy, they just make you seem desperate.

3.) Think about timing. Andew suggested having your press conference or announcement on Sunday afternoon. Stations spend all day Sunday scrambling to fill the same broadcast time they have to fill on Friday night. Mike mentioned a situation where a local group sponsoring a tournament wanted coverage… the same day as a major OU/OSU game, a draft and a coaching scandal. Obviously, some things are beyond control and cannot be planned for, but not planning your little league coaches awards ceremony on the same day as college football season kicks off will help your chances.

4.) Think about angles. Is something happening RIGHT NOW that you can add to, build on, be an expert for? For instance, as snow blankets Oklahoma, again, and people go into bunker mode, again, are you a mental health professional who can speak to the real aspects of “cabin fever” and how to help? Recognize that “Mental Health Service Adds Dr. X to Lineup” isn’t really interesting beyond anyone in Dr. X’s family. Dr. X talking about cabin fever, however, is timely, relevant, and his (new) affiliation with your practice will certainly be in the story.

5.) Don’t always be selling. Be the person who’s always available, always good for a quote, or for an honest attempt to help source a story. Coming through for reporters means you get on their “people who don’t annoy me” list and you are much more likely to get their attention when you need it.

Dave Rhea summed it up this way: Be Real and Don’t Be Boring. Pretty succinct, I think.

In my opinion, here’s what small business owners should do, first, to start this process: Use the search functions in social media and find and follow every individual in their respective niche or local markets. Listen to and read what they tweet or share. Get to know them (that whole Be Real and Don’t Suck part mentioned above) and what makes them tick. Every reporter or blogger has trigger subjects… things they’re passionate about. Find out what they are. Re-share relevant information. I did a radio interview on this subject, and using social media to help achieve better PR, available here, if you wanna give it a listen for more info.

Using social media to achieve better PR results isn’t fundamentally different… it’s a connection engine that helps you find and then build relationships with media contacts. In the end, good public relations is still about relationships. Social media can help you build them more quickly and nurture them more easily.

There’s only 5 things on this list… anything you think is missing from our Don’t Be Ignored list?

(A version of this post was originally posted over at The Journal Record’s blog hub but this a topic I’ve been seeing a lot lately, so wanted to re-share with the audience over here… plus, some updates/edits have been made to this version. — Mandy)

This is the framing post for the Wednesday, 2/9/11 #smchat on Twitter.

When you live in a social media fueled world, you sometimes forget to examine the larger perspectives out there. The more engaged in social media you are, the more likely this is to happen to you, your company, your clients or your brand. Social Media blinders are dangerous and marketers, PR people, brand managers and small business owners need to know the signs and how to look beyond.

Signs you may be wearing blinders:

1. You can’t remember the last time you watched an entire local newscast or read more than two stories from one issue of your local newspaper (even online)
2. You have no idea which local TV or newspaper reporters cover your business area or expertise
3. You get all or nearly all of your news from either your Twitter feed or your Facebook feed

What can happen?

1. Missed PR opportunities, missing trends or local shifts in perception that may not be filtering through to social media
2. Skewed view of your marketplace or your target audience’s wants, needs, problems or challenges
3. Giving up market share to competitors who are not constrained by blinders

How can you combat Social Media Blinders?

1. Use Google Alerts for more than just your name or your company name. Stay on top of key concepts or phrases in your industry or marketplace.
2. Stay in touch with what is happening in your local community by staying engaged with your local media.
3. Create content that is easily shareable beyond Twitter or Facebook. Think larger, think longer-term.
4. Get to know how much time your target market spends online, and where they spend it. Most importantly, figure out WHY they’re online. Posting coupons to Facebook is great if customers are there for coupons. If they are there for backstory and to find out about your corporate responsibility, you’ll need a different strategy.
5. Get out there… literally.

Got more? Other concerns about living to much in a hyper-connected world as it pertains to marketing, PR, brand, business or reputation? Anything you want to be sure we address in the chat? Post away in the comments!

Hope you’ll be able to join us this Wednesday, 1PM Eastern/noon Central for the chat. If you miss it, check out wthashtag.com for the transcript afterward. I’ll post the link in the comments on this post after we wrap the chat.

Twitter became meaningful for me two years ago today. Happy Anniversary, sweetheart

Today is the anniversary of the day I figured out the power of Twitter. I’d joined a few months before, in November of 2008. I’d tweeted some, and found and followed about two dozen people I respected in my industry… names I knew from MarketingProfs.com or from reading blog posts or articles. But mostly it was just for fun and a way for me to collect links and articles more quickly. I’d yet to really utilize a news/blog reader very well, so Twitter was serving that purpose. I’d first become intrigued after spending the previous year on Facebook, joining FriendFeed, and then hearing/seeing/reading about Twitter in industry articles. No one seemed really clear on what to do WITH it, just clear that everyone should be DOING it. I began to read… a lot. I didn’t follow anyone else and decided to start tweeting the good content I found, and commenting on it. I knew nothing of hashtags, really, other than that they existed. I’d never participated in a chat. I was determined to see if sharing good content was a strategy that actually worked, though…. so away I went.

After a couple of months, my following had grown to several hundred, based on luck and retweets of the content I’d created or shared. I still wasn’t actively following anyone, but I’d begun to talk to the followers I did have and with those I’d initially followed. Cool… but still not earth-shattering or profoundly game-changing. Then came Superbowl 43. I sat down to watch with my family, with my laptop… and started tweeting about the commercials (Hey, the Dolphins weren’t in it, and growing businesses is my profession). Suddenly, as the hashtag for the ads connected me to a slew of people across the globe all seeing and reacting to the same thing I was, at the same time, through a single medium, the power of Twitter (indeed, of all social media) became crystal clear to me. The conversations and engagement were infectious and addicting. I debated, agreed, challenged, tweeted and retweeted though the entire game, and have been actively engaged ever since. Because life is always happening, everywhere, all the time, and people are talking about it. Online, offline, all the time. The power of Twitter is not that I can talk to you, or you to me… it’s that WE can talk to EVERYONE else out there, anytime we want, one conversation at a time. Even if all we have in common is a love of Superbowl commercials, for today, it’s enough. Let’s connect.

What was your moment like? When did social media hook you?