UPDATE: This conference is still coming to OK, but will be making its debut in the Spring of 2012 with a more intensive format and open to both men and women. Watch this updates as we firm details! — Mandy

The name is actually misleading, I think… because the conference isn’t really about getting all fired up because Yay! We’re Women! In Business!

It’s about teaching and sharing tools, ideas, methods and collective wisdom about being better in business as a woman. Whether that’s in your own business or as a team member in someone else’s company, the WES is about going further and accomplishing more through leadership, brand and marketing management, and business/entrepreneurship core concepts. The conference is a learning module format with an accompanying workbook. Less rah-rah, more brass tacks. The kind of thing that will help close the entrepreneurship gender gap.

Want to know more? The conference website is here. Register to attend here (and email me if you want a special discount code just for my network).

Hear Deborah, me, Angela Allmond, Joan Vasquez and Aprille Franks talk about some of these issues.

And I hope to see you October 29th in Oklahoma City!

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.

At Crossroads Communications, LLC (the “official” name of my business, although you probably found me by searching my name; it’s just the way the Google search bounces) we essentially are a message company. We discover the stories of our clients and share them, whether through PR, marketing, advertising, social media, content-creation on blogs, videos, etc. The tools are less important than the focus on the messages. Before we can find and authentically help brands, businesses, and places tell their story, we have to really, and I mean really, get to know them. You can’t effectively market what you don’t understand.

I use a set of questions to help get that process started. They’ve evolved over the past several years, but not as much as some might think… because they are focused on the business goals and objectives rather than the tactics. I hear often that just going through the process of defining the business and its profit centers, challenges, goals and marketplace in the way that we do is valuable to business owners. I also hear that answering the questions we ask is hard work. Until we have a solid idea of where your business IS, why that’s true, and WHERE you want to go… how will we all agree we’ve reached “there?”

While I won’t share the whole set of questions here (I do have to feed my family, after all), I am going to share a few of them with you, and then share some additional thoughts in upcoming blog posts. I hope they’ll be valuable conversation starters for you and your business supporters, partners, or even that little voice in your head who pushes back whenever you want to go try something new.

Defining the Business

Current Challenges

1. What is the biggest obstacle, in your opinion, to purchasing one of your top profit-generating services for most of your potential customers? When you hear “No…” what is the “why?”
2. How much time must you typically invest face to face and behind the scenes to close a sale? Please list face to face separately from behind the scenes. How much of this time is spent explaining what you do, the benefits of using you or of having the service, and generally in educating your prospects?

Looking forward

1. Thinking about the future, what would you like to be different about your business in one year? In three years? What kinds of clients do you want to be serving? What services do you want to sell them?
2. Considering your profit-generating activities of today, what do you see changing, growing, fading over the next 1 to 3 years in those activities? Do you see an increasing demand for what currently drives your profit or a declining demand? Why?
3. If the demand for today’s profit-driving activities may decline or remain flat, what other activities or products are within or adjacent to your current expertise and offerings which might be increasing in demand over the next 3 years?

Did anything above make you stop and think for a minute about your business? How do you keep your business “on-track”?

If you’re a regular visitor, you know I tell the stories of businesses, brands, people and cities for a living. Recently, I went to Mandan, ND to meet with the city staff and leadership and to see the city firsthand so I could tell their story to the retail marketplace and help them attract new retail and restaurants. Most of the people who heard of my trip in advance, or saw a tweet the day of, responded as if I were heading to the end of the known universe. And while some things were a little different 150 miles from Canada than they are here in Oklahoma (it was May 2nd and there was snow on the ground from a weekend blizzard, for one thing), the most important things from an economic development perspective were exactly the same.

Cities who want retail have to be strategic if they wish to accomplish the goals. And, as my colleague Rickey Hayes says, they must have a firm grip on reality. I think our project in Mandan will be successful, and here’s why:

1. The city knows the truth about itself… they are grounded in a reality that includes their population, growth, proximity to other retail or cities, ability to offer incentives or enticements, and what land or environmental factors affect them. For good or ill, they are interested in the truth about what they have to offer, and who might be interested.
2. City officials and leadership are committed to smart growth and to focusing on key areas rather than a shotgun approach to development. After a years-long and largely successful downtown revitalization effort, Mandan is ready to seek retail investment from further afield. Studies and surveys have been done in the past that helped shape completed projects and brought resident’s concerns and wishes to the forefront. Leaders in the community are anxious to move forward with retail recruiting efforts, but they want to remain true to the master plan and development goals for the city.
3. Mandan is growing… our preliminary research into the demographics and drivers for the city is positive. They do have something to offer businesses who fit the opportunity gaps in their marketplace and the city wants to partner with the development community to make the process as simple and painless as possible. More importantly, they have taken steps (like contracting with me and with Retail Attractions) to prove it and share it.
4. They understand their brand. Mandan, ND is not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s OK. They promote what they have (which was impressive to see in person), and they work to further the business community’s understanding and first impressions of Mandan.

Cities who want to grow must think of themselves as brands and businesses and market accordingly. Slick, beautiful marketing brochures (the approach many of them take) are not the answer. Thoughtful attention to streamlining the development department and a reputation of being easy to work with goes further to close a deal. A city website full of solid, up to date, third-party verifiable economic development information on the market (demographics, property, characteristics, government or regulatory issues, retail or business environment, etc.) that is regularly updated, or even contains a *gasp* blog, goes further to attract interest. It sounds basic to many entrepreneurial businesses, and perhaps it is. But too often, cities don’t approach a marketing problem, or economic development marketing, from a business perspective. And they should.

When you think about your place, business or brand… are you grounded in reality? Are you committed to smart growth and to delivering exactly what your customers need? Is it easy to do business with you… no hoops, obstacles, or processes that might make people re-think their initial interest? And is your brand authentically YOU and do you deliver on what it promises?

I kept my list short… what would you add?

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)

Three big reasons: Truly heavy workload (yay!); husband now has a night job (hours and pay aren’t great, but the benefits and tax-paying help are both necessary and welcome); wrestling with some deep thoughts on the direction of the blog, of my business, and of the channels used for connecting.

In short, I haven’t had the time… and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get back to a regular blogging schedule. For me, that usually meant one or perhaps two posts a week on this blog and a post a week on the PR blog over at the Journal Record web site. I’m working on how to use my more limited time (husband’s job has cut out about two hours a day of my “normal” worktime) as efficiently as possible so I can give clients the quality of work they’ve come to expect from me, meet all deadlines, and continue to connect meaningfully here with this community and with my networks on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. And Foursquare and Whrrl… *sigh* And take care of my family… who sometimes must come first, regardless of what else is happening in the work world.

I rarely “just write something” here because I think you visit to read something more… whatever… than that. Most of you who’ve commented here over the past year are people I’ve connected with in some other medium, too, and I know you to be a smart, savvy bunch. You deserve more from me than just a post. So it isn’t really a matter of having the time to write… it’s having the time to think first, then write. Having enough mental space available to let the bigger thoughts germinate, grow and flower. And that has been in desperately short supply recently.

• Here are the things I’m trying to let grow so I can write about them for you:
• Revamping your business or your city’s logo & identity (hint… don’t start with the logo!)
• Evolution of a Nascent Blogger (why maybe I was wrong about Blogging Being Dead)
• What to say and do on your business Facebook page to make it work for you (caveat… I’m much better with clients’ pages than the Crossroads Communications page. My effort is definitely going to clients like Smith Farm Marketplace and Andolini’s.)
• Working your online presence for offline results (business aspects)
• Integrated Marketing in 2011 (what does it look like, feel like, accomplish?)

So… thanks for sticking around. As I navigate these new waters of waaay busy, 4 kids and being a single-parent much of the time (when hubby is working), I’ll find the right course. One that allows time for the ideas to grow and time for the writing to happen. And, if you know of elves who will drop by for laundry duty overnight, I would be so very appreciative if you’d share their contact info.

Yes, I’m making changes on the blog/site. And yeah, it’s dark and the colors aren’t “me.” I’m working on it… you did arrive at the right place, it just doesn’t look like home yet. I loved the clean, simple lines and colors of my old site/theme, but the limited functionality was hindering its usability. So it may be a little messy ’round here for a bit, but I think you’ll like it once the changes are implemented. And if you don’t, or if you have ideas on what you’d like to see, tell me!

Thanks for coming:)

I was pretty fired up and then wrote a veritable novel over at the Journal Record PR blog today. Thought I’d post the link here for those of you who read this blog but not that one (the content on the Journal Record is paid, EXCEPT THE BLOG… that is free!) If you want to read my take on the Doubleshot Coffee / Breastfeeding and/or the Iguana Mexican Grill v. Taco Johns and #TacoTuesday twitter and PR dustups, here’s your chance!

I’ll have additional content here soon… working on some context and relevance posts to continue the thoughts and discussions from last week’s post.

I live a digital life. I don’t mean that I’m involved in digital media, though I am (hey, you’re reading this, right, and you probably got here via Facebook, Twitter, or Google). I mean that my first instinct to discover, research, connect or share now involves digital platforms. Cases in point:

I saw a tweet by Heather Caliendo on Twitter about the movie Inception last Friday. It was positive, and I know and like Heather and more importantly, respect her opinions and know she has high standards for smart stories. So, when my husband and I considered a movie on Saturday night, guess what we saw? Yep… Inception, based in large part on Heather’s tweet to the world. I’ve not seen Heather in months, since she’s moved to Colorado, but our relationship matters to me regardless of our “face-to-face” interaction (or lack thereof).

I recently dropped my iPhone into a toilet. It suffered a severe case of PTSD (Post Toilet Submergance Dysfunction) and then died. Through my digital friendship with Bobby Rettew, who sympathized with my phoneless plight and had also recently upgraded to an iPhone 4, I became the very happy owner of his lovely 3G S phone. I’ve never met Bobby in person, though we keep threatening to make that happen. However, I consider him a friend, not just a “friend” in the Facebook sense of the word.

On a trip through southeast Kansas over the weekend, we stopped in Pittsburg to eat dinner. I used my UrbanSpoon app to check out possibilities and we discovered some awesome Italian food at a place called Napoli’s, located on Broadway in Pittsburg. I posted via Foursquare & shared the post to Facebook that we’d really enjoyed our visit. A FB friend, local to the area and someone I’ve not seen in person for many years, said they’d been hesitant to try it, but now they might after hearing our experience.

What is the point of all this? Digital relationships matter. People do pay attention. The relevance quotient for digital relationships is high…. I didn’t do a Google search for restaurants in Pittsburg since I didn’t want to know about all of them… just the good ones. I didn’t buy a phone from Craigslist because I depend (and Crossroads Communications depends) on my phone for my business and I trusted Bobby. And the movie… we see maybe two or three a year. So we choose carefully… and Heather is a writer. She knows a good story when she sees one. Her recommendation elevated Inception to the level of “worth spending one of our two movie nights left this year on” status.

Relevance is the engine that drives our digital decisions. The future of the web as a connection medium  lies not in creating more information nor in more platforms for sharing information. It lies in better ways for relevant information to be funneled to the people who care about it. When you think about how to use the web to drive business, or use social media, or anything else “2.0″ related, start with answering the question, “Who cares?” because that forces the question of relevance. It’s not about creating buzz, or getting hits, or driving traffic… it’s about nurturing relationships that allow your offering, be it information or an iPhone, to become relevant to a very specific set of consumers at exactly the right time. THAT is what translates digital interest into business or brand success.