Want to maintain a successful blog? Think like a publisher.

I heard an interesting quote recently: “Every organization is now a media company.”

Unfortunately, I can’t remember who made the statement (a little help, anyone?), but the implication is clear. Given the new tools we now have at our disposal, organizations now have the ability to publish their own content. Tell their story directly to their target audiences. Be the media, in essence (side note: Although organizations can now publish their own content, the news media still plays a huge role in the PR/communications process, and in society at large. More on that in a future post).

The first step, for most companies? Starting a blog.

We all know starting a blog isn’t all that hard–it’s maintaining it that’s tough. But, you’d be surprised how much content you can extract from your existing processes, tools and resources.

The key? Start thinking like a publisher. That’s what’s really behind the comment above. To be a media company you need to start thinking like a publishing company. Here are a few tips:

* Think USA Today not the New Yorker. My point? Your posts don’t have to be 5,00o-word manifestos. In fact, I think longer posts actually work against you. Your readers typically don’t have a ton of time. Shorter the better. Sometimes just a couple paragraphs is all it takes to grab your reader’s attention and make your point.

* Make sure multimedia is in the mix. Photos, video, even audio. It all adds to the depth of your blog. Plus, it “warms up” the blog and humanizes the authors. Ultimately, you’re trying to start conversations–sometimes you need to try some different media to do that.

* Take advantage of industry events and conferences. I never travel anywhere without my Flip. Why? Because when I’m at an industry conference or trade show, I capture interviews I use as blog content for the week ahead. It requires minimal prep (crafting questions) and is easy to execute. And, most people are flattered to be interviewed “on camera.”

* Phone it in. Most execs don’t have a lot of free time to blog, right? Try asking them to phone in their post to your voice mail. Or, if they travel, ask them to write a post or two on the plane. It’s downtime for these folks anyway. Take advantage of it. Get creative. It’s all about maximizing time.

What tips do you have to share? What’s worked for you–either with your personal blog or an organizational blog?

9 social media presentations for PR pros

Close one door. Open another.

We all know today’s marketing and PR landscape requires us to think differently about how we meet our clients’ needs. Traditional tools and tactics are no longer enough. You need to consider and integrate emerging media into your plans.

But, suggesting plans and hoping clients take action isn’t going to cut it. Organizations need consultants who can help them enact real change and navigate complex business situations. They need people who understand multiple different disciplines–not just one. And, they need counselors who understand business–inside out.

That’s why I’ve decided to officially start my own consultancy, ACH Communications (I know, sexy name), starting on Monday, Oct. 12.

Seems like an odd time to take this kind of risk, doesn’t it? While I can’t argue that point, I’ve never been one to do things the conventional way. I’ve never been a big status quo guy. I like to zig when other zag. It’s what keeps life interesting, right? All I can tell you is it feels like the right thing to do. For me. For my professional life. And, for my family.

I worked for a CMO in a previous life that had a quote on her door that has stuck with me all these years: “No pressure. No diamonds.” If you want all life has to offer, you need to take a few risks. Jump into the deep end.

Well, I just did a great big cannonball. And, I couldn’t be happier.

Now, I would have never got to this point without the help of some incredibly supportive people. Most notably, my wife. Let me tell you, there’s no way anyone pulls this off without the support of their spouse. I got lucky. Angela’s behind me all the way.

But, the following folks have also played a major role in my decision-making process the last few months.

* Jen Wilbur and Kellye Crane, who helped me understand the nuances of starting my own consultancy when I was just hatching the idea. Both offered up their advice and knowledge freely. Without question. Time and time again.

* Amy Mengel, whom I feel like I’m going through this experience with together. See, Amy’s launching her own business, too. I’m actually secretly hoping I’ll have the chance to work together with Amy on a project or two in the near future.

* Paul DeBettignies, Greg Swan, Melanie Boulay Becker and Rick Mahn. My local sounding boards, Paul, Greg, Melanie and Rick have offered advice at times, put me in touch with key folks and pushed me along the way. I most likely would not be doing this without the help and encouragement of these four people.

* Candee Wolf, Shelli Lissick, Brian Bellmont, Jen Bellmont and Bob Rumpza. My first clients! A PRSA colleague, Candee and I have worked before in a prior life. And I’ve come to value her advice and judgment not only as a client and colleague, but also as a friend. And, I’ve had the distinct privilege of reconnecting with a former college friend in Shelli Lissick. And now she’s introduced me to three other wonderful folks in Brian, Jen and Bob. Really looking forward to working with this crew in the months ahead.

* David Mullen, Rachel Kay and Lauren Fernandez. Nothing specific, but these three have been great sounding boards and idea generators for me over the the last year. And, I’ve come to truly value their friendship and insights on a number of topics and angles relative to my new business.

If you’re reading this post, chances are we’ve chatted before either online or off. As a solo consultant, my business will live and die by word of mouth. In essence, my marketing plan is you: My community. My work will speak for itself. I believe my name will be my biggest competitive advantage. And, at the end of the day, I think that will be pretty darn powerful.

But, I need your help.

So, if you’re interested in helping me out–either now, or in the next month, year, 5 years–please do one of the following:

* Refer business my way. Plain and simple. Read more about my services and capabilities here. This is really where you can help me the most. Again, you are my single most important marketing tool.

* Need an engaging speaker for an upcoming conference? While I’m no Chris Brogan, I can speak to a number of issues, challenges and trends in the PR/social media industies. In fact, I’m speaking or moderating at the following upcoming events next month: Unsummit (Oct. 10), BlogWorld (Oct. 15-17); and MN PRSA Professional Practices Conference (Oct. 29).

* Know someone you think I should connect with? Send me a short note and connect me. I truly appreciate each and every lead and connection.

As I take this next step in my career, I can’t help but think it never would have happened without all of you. My community. Over the last year, you’ve challenged my thinking, pushed me to new places and inspired me. Basically, you’ve played a huge role in making this moment possible for me today. So, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And I hope to do the same for you sometime very soon.

The world is changing. Is your brand adapting?

Last week, my brother made a major life decision. He bought his first house. How did he tell me this momentous news? Most likely one of the biggest buys he’ll make in his life?

He sent me a text.

Earlier this year, another close friend decided to tie the knot. Did he give me a call to share this news? Nope. Wait for a face-to-face meeting? Nah. Again, it was a text.

One of my new online colleagues, Ari Adler, got married earlier this summer. Numerous people tweeted live from the ceremony.

Jason Falls even live tweeted a hospital stay last year.

We continue to see people communicating major life events–marriages, baby’s being born and job changes–on social platforms like Twitter and Facebook. And increasingly, they’re using mobile devices to do it.

Clearly, people are changing the way they communicate. But it’s not just any information, it’s sometimes life-altering news and information. I know this isn’t a big shock for most. But, here the thing:

What’s your brand doing about it?

What is your brand doing to take advantage of mobile technologies to reach your customers? After all, isn’t that where more people are conducting business every day? Think iPhone apps and FourSquare (usage of FourSquare grew from 50K users in May 2009 to more than 200K in August–thanks Dave Erickson).

What is your brand doing to engage customers on social platforms to start meaningful discussions that can help you improve products and services? (What about using Twitter or Facebook in a conference or event setting to crowdsource?)

How is your brand leveraging mobile technologies to connect with employees and foster innovation “behind the firewall?” (What about using Yammer in a mobile way with staff?)

What are you doing to bring your brand to life online? Is your Web experience truly interactive? Are you having one-on-one conversations with your customers? Are you putting your brand champions in positions to tell your story for you? As we become more dependent on mobile devices, your Web site and social platforms will be even more important.

As the way we communicate and share information as a society continues to evolve, brands will have to continue to alter their approach, too. What are you doing to keep your brand in the game?

What are your social media “must reads”?

Back in March, I published a short list of suggested PR “must reads” by the community. It was an impressive list. Even more so when you added in the 16 comments with additional suggestions.

But, with the flurry of new “social media” (technically, they’re not all “social media” books, but I couldn’t come up with a better, broader term) books hitting the market recently (Trust Agents, Twitterville and Six Pixels of Separation, for starters), I thought we’d revisit the concept on the social side. After all, ALL PR pros need to get smarter about the social space, right?

Below is the list of suggestions from some trusted members of my community. What would you add to this list?

Tribes (Seth Godin) and The New Rules of Marketing & PR (David Meerman Scott)–Matt Batt

Web Analytics: An Hour a Day (Avinash Kaushik), The Whuffie Factor (Tara Hunt)–Keith Burtis

Here Comes Everybody (Clay Shirky) and Free (Chris Anderson)–Lee Aase

Word of Mouth Marketing: How smart companies get people talking (Andy Sernovitz)–Sonny Gill

Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and the Science of Customer Centricity (Avinash Kaushik)–Valeria Maltoni

Putting the Public back in Public Relations (Brian Solis and Deidre Breakenridge) and Groundswell (Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff)–Heather Whaling

Grown up Digital (Don Tapscott)–Justin Goldsborough

Now is Gone (Brian Solis and Geoff Livingston), Personality Not Included (Rohit Bhargava and Guy Kawasaki), Naked Conversations (Robert Scoble and Shel Israel), Don’t Bother Me Mom, I’m Learning (Marc Prensky)–Richie Escovedo

The Cluetrain Manifesto (Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, David Weinberger)–Becky McCray

Note: Photo courtesy of Ruminatrix, FlickR Creative Commons

Activate your brand…socially

Made my annual pilgrimage to the Minnesota State Fair this past weekend. Had a blast with my family. We ate pronto pups, mini donuts, cookies and anything else that came on a stick.

We watched shows, visited the animal barns and even rode the Giant Slide.

And, as we strolled up and down the boulevards at the Fair, you were bombarded with brand messages. An endless array of organizations are represented at the Fair. Companies like John Deere, Toro, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, the Minnesota Twins and all the usual media outlets.

But, here’s my question: Are they activating their brands socially?

In an event format like the State Fair, brand activation is key. Many companies are doing a fine job there. John Deere sponsors the wonderful Kids Farm on Machinery Hill—a must for our family every year. Our kids participate in the farm and walk away with a John Deere hat and a great experience each time. Great idea.

But, did they activate their brand socially?

Every family that walks through that farm takes no fewer than 15 pictures of their kids with those John Deere hats on, digging in the dirt and riding on miniature John Deere tractors. Isn’t that just a treasure trove of shareable content for John Deere?

Why not encourage people to post pics they take at the farm to a John Deere FlickR photo group page?

Why not ask folks to share their videos they take of their kids riding those John Deere tractors on a shared video page on their site?

Why not ask people to tag their tweets about their experience at the farm with the hash tag #mnjohndeere?

Whatever the approach, the point is, John Deere—and many other brands at these types of events—are missing out on an opportunity. The content is there—these organizations just give folks the ability to share it.

Or, what about the folks over at TCF. They had a nice outdoor space promoting the new TCF Bank Stadium. Wonderful set up with a few faux seats from the stadium where you could get your photo taken. Even had one of those games where you have to throw the football through a hole about 2 feet wide. Again, great photo opportunity—heck, TCF staffers were already taking pictures.

I’ll ask again, why not activate the brand socially?

If you’re TCF, you have the photos. Why not have a staffer right there sending those photos via email to participants on the spot along with a hash tag to share on Twitter and a link to TCF’s FlickR page?

Why not hand people a flyer with the TCF social properties listed and ask folks to visit to see photos of them “interacting” with the TCF brand?

Why not have Goldy on hand, get photos of folks with the mascot (and the TCF brand mark in the background) and encourage people to use that as their Twitter avatar or Facebook profile pic?

I’m not picking on John Deere or TCF here at all. Actually, I think both do a wonderful job at the Fair of activating their brands in creative ways. I’m just using what they’re doing to illustrate a point. Brand activation is more than just games and interactive activities now—it also involves thinking about ways to socialize your brand activation strategy.

Note: Photo courtesy of MrOutdoorGuy via FlickR Creative Commons

10 online resources for today’s PR pro

A friend of mine, Eva Keiser, senior vice president at Risdall McKinney PR who also teaches of at the University of Minnesota, asked me the other day: “What are 10 online resources you’d recommend for today’s PR student?”

Good question.

So, I got to thinking. What do I read regularly? What would I recommend to those just starting out in the industry? What provides value to me on a daily basis? What helps me build my evolving PR/marketing/social media/SEO skills?

Here’s my best shot:

10–#PR20 (Twitter chat, Wed. evenings 7-8 p.m. CST) I have a hard time following this one personally because it coincides with bed time for my kids, but I usually try to browse the transcript later that evening or the next day (thanks Beth!). Beth Harte, community manager for MarketingProfs moderates this weekly discussion. It has also featured various guest moderators including Shel Holtz and Lauren Fernandez.

9—Mashable. Probably goes without saying, but a rich resource for all things social media, Mashable has positioned itself as the Huffington Post of social media blogs/sites. A must visit several times per week.

8—Commentz. A new service courtesy of Sarah Evans and David Teicher, Commentz provides you with a daily email recapping some of the more interesting and insightful posts from the PR/social media blogosphere each day. It’s only been around for about a month, but already it’s become a must-read for me each day.

7—DaveFleet.com. Without a doubt, one of my favorite PR blogs. Why? Because Dave provides thoughtful, well-researched content on a consistent basis. How many PR blogs can you say that about? But above and beyond that, the reason I follow Dave’s blog so closely is he’s not afraid to tell it like it is. Go against the grain. Tackle a controversial topic. Ask tough questions.

6—A Shel of my Former Self. One of the smarter guys in the field—and someone who’s been operating in the PR/communications/social media space longer than just about anyone. Also, highly recommend subscribing to his “For Immediate Release” podcast—a great listen on the way into the office during the week.

5—Ragan.com. I know Ragan is positioned as more of an internal communications/business communicators organization, but lately they’re daily email has been a great resources for new ideas for me. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a frequent contributor to Ragan.com.

4—Alltop. Looking for the top mommy bloggers? What about the most well-read tech blogs? Or, how about political blogs? Alltop has it all. And then some. A great resource for searching all things blogs.

3—Tough Sledding. Had to include one academic PR blog and this one, in my opinion, is far and away the best. Bill Sledzik’s posts are thought-provoking and well thought out. And, much like Mr. Fleet, Bill is not afraid to take on the tough issues. Just recently, he reviewed Brian Solis and Deidre Breakenridge’s new book, “Putting the Public Back in PR.” It wasn’t the most glowing review, but it opened up an honest and frank discussion. Something we need much more of out here.

2—Journchat (Twitter chat and live events). The best way to learn in this profession? Start participating. Almost a year ago, Sarah Evans created Journchat and gave PR pros, bloggers and journalists the opportunity to meet each Monday night at 7 pm CST and discuss issues that impact us all. Over the months, Sarah’s had a number of guest moderators including a number of journalists. And recently, she expanded the concept to live, in-person events in seven markets across the U.S. (including Minneapolis/St. Paul).

1–PR Reader’s Choice Award Blogs. OK, so this is a bit self-promotional, but really, all the blogs that were nominated for these awards are fantastic reads–and they were all nominated by the community at large. Plus, these blogs cover a lot of ground. There are a number of up-and-coming PR bloggers (Lauren Fernandez and Amy Mengel come to mind) as well as more seasoned pros (Todd Defren, David Mullen and Danny Brown). I’d definitely suggest adding these ALL to your Google Reader immediately. 

What would you add to this list?

Note: Photo courtesy of Nate_Williams on FlickR Creative Commons

Rants N Raves: Thank you? No, Thank YOU!

I was raised to use good manners; to always remember to say please and thank you. But when someone says “thank you” for a retweet, it always strikes me as a bit odd. I understand that it is a way to be polite, and perhaps even to acknowledge appreciation that the message is being passed along, but really, shouldn’t I be the one saying thank you? After all, the original tweet offered me value; that is why I decided to pass it along.

I do not retweet as a favor to the author of the original tweet. The RT is directed at my network. I respect the time and attention of my network and when I read a tweet that teaches me something, or provides an interesting perspective, I am eager to pass along the “gift.”

My Twitter network includes a wide array of folks in the public relations industry. Some are well established practitioners whose advice and knowledge is highly regarded throughout the industry. Others are students or entry level employees. But Twitter levels the playing field, providing everyone 140 characters to make an impression, to create that “gift.”

Rebecca Denison (@RebeccaDenison) is one PR intern who has become an extremely valued member of my Twitter network. Rebecca is currently an intern at StrategyOne and author of the clever “Dr. WHAW” (Didn’t Read While Hard at Work) blog. Rebecca’s enthusiasm for social media and for embracing new experiences comes across clearly in her tweets and it has been fun to watch her start her blog, attend her first tweetup etc. I enjoy following Rebecca and I learn from her fresh perspective.

Yet when I retweet Rebecca she’ll send me a DM that leaves me shaking my head. With her permission, I’ll share, “Thank you so much for all of your support! It always floors me when I see your Tweets!! Really means a lot, thank you. : )”

I would like to say to Rebecca (and others), know that I am tweeting about something you wrote, because it is smart and because you consistently demonstrate your professionalism and talent. Don’t be “floored.” I am the one who is floored and I should be the one saying thank you. You are doing an excellent job of building your brand, your reputation. While I know that people will continue to say “thank you” for a retweet (and yes, I get it), Most of the time, I would personally feel more comfortable with a “you’re welcome”!

I recently read a quote from Kevin Richard on Danny Brown’s blog. “You should wow your customers and let them do the talking.”  When you “wow” people they talk. It’s what happens. Don’t be surprised. And please do keep that in mind as you continue your path to a very successful career in the field of public relations.

Do you say thank you when someone RT’s your tweet? Is your inspiration/motivation for Retweeting based upon the original author or your network?

Valerie Merahn Simon serves as a Senior Vice President at BurrellesLuce media monitoring and measurement, and writes a national public relations column for examiner.com. She is also co-founder and host of #PRStudChat, a monthly twitter chat between PR professionals and students moderated by Deirdre Breakenridge. She can be found on Twitter or LinkedIn. This is Valerie’s first (public) rant .

Note: Photo is credit of PS Photo Goods via FlickR Creative Commons.

Adopting social media networks internally: An exercise in change management

If there’s one thing we know will never change, it’s this simple fact: To succeed, organizations must embrace a culture of change.

What does that mean, exactly?

It means fostering an environment where the status quo is not tolerated.

It means challenging “what we’ve always done” on a regular basis.

And it means rewarding those who exhibit these behaviors.

Basically, if you’re not changing you’re standing still. And we all know what that means in this economic environment.

But, making this mindset shift, well, that’s easier said than done.

So, it should come as no surprise that when organizations start adopting social networking tools internally—whether its to drive innovation, foster collaboration or build stronger communities—it’s often met with serious resistance.

Why? Because typically companies are using social media tools to tackle a significantly larger issue: culture change.

Think about it. At Best Buy several years ago, they knew they needed better ways to harness the innovation and collaborative spirit of their 155,000 employees across the world. Enter Blue Shirt Nation (hat tip: Gary Koelling and Steve Bendt).

At Fairview (full disclosure: my current employer), we recently introduced a social tool across the organization as a way to drive innovation and collaboration. The real need? We need to change the way we deliver care, for less cost. And we need to do it much faster than we’ve done it in the past. That’s HUGE culture change-type stuff.

Often, the resistance organizations run into when implementing social tools is more about the reluctance to change than the hesitation to join an internal social network. For example, at Fairview one of the biggest hurdles we’ve faced with staff is getting them to think differently in terms of how they find information on a social network. Mostly, they’re used to sifting through hierarchal folders in a logical manner. As you may know, social platforms don’t work that way. It’s more about search and tagging than it is about intuitive navigation. We need them to think in terms of Google, not a structured file folder format.

That’s a big change for most folks. Not because it’s about navigating a social network. But, because it represents a big change in the way they think about accessing information and doing their jobs. That’s culture change.

What can organizations do to address these changes? Here are a few simple to-dos to keep in mind: 

• Build success…slowly. Instead of rolling out our tool to all 24,000 Fairview employees, we chose a more organic approach. Roll it out to those we thought may be our “early adopters.” Too soon to tell if this has worked, but the early results are promising.
• Recognition is key. Your early adopters are instrumental to your success when launching a social network internally. So, you need to make sure they are publicly recognized for taking risks. Others will see that management is rewarding that behavior—and follow suit.
• Take baby steps. You’re not going to convince all 20,000 employees at your company to join the social network overnight. It takes time. A long time, in some cases. Let adoption build organically. But foster and nurture that adoption behind the scenes. Take it slow. Build early success. And don’t bite off more than you can chew. A series of early and small success will prove much more valuable (and probable) than one big one.

What other key steps can organizations do to spur culture change as they implement social tools internally? 

Twittertales: Four stories about relationships, opportunities and collaboration

Last week, Valeria Maltoni asked her readers to share their “Twittertales” with her—stories of how we’ve connected, shared, helped others and even earned business as a result of relationships built on Twitter. I promptly left a comment with my story of how I connected with—and attempted to help—Sonny Gill and Scott Hepburn.

But, I felt like I had more stories to share with Valeria—and all of you. So, I thought I’d tack on a few more:

* Learning from and collaborating with one of the best. I can’t recall how I met Allan Schoenberg on Twitter, but it doesn’t really matter. The point is I was lucky. Allan’s one of those rare people who cares far more about giving than he does about receiving. After our initial connection, we quickly learned we had much in common. We both came from B2B/financial services backgrounds. We both have a love of “giving back” and mentoring tomorrow’s PR pros. And, as many on Twitter are painfully aware, we both share a love of microbrews. We’ve also had the opportunity to meet in person twice—at BlogPotomac in June and at BlogWell a few weeks ago. And we co-founded the B2B Voices blog, which admittedly we’d like to improve, but has been up-and-running for the last few months. I’ve only known Allan for about eight months, but I already consider him a trusted colleague, good friend and a mentor.

* Opportunity, please meet my friends Amy and Mike.  I was fortunate enough to meet Amy Mengel and Mike Pilarz early in my Twitter career. Once again, two people I have a lot in common with (seeing a theme emerge here?). We talk PR, social media and corporate and agency life (I’ve sat in both chairs in my career). This story starts three months ago when I met Bryan Person, founder of Social Media Breakfast, for the first time (a tremendous guy, by the way). We got to chatting and it turns out, despite SMB’s huge success here in Minneapolis and in other parts of the country, there are a number of prime markets without SMBs. Hmm… That got me thinking, wouldn’t my friends Amy Mengel and Mike Pilarz be prime candidates to start up SMBs in their respective markets (Amy lives in Albany, N.Y. and Mike in Chicago)? So, the next time I spoke with Amy, I brought it up—why don’t you start a SMB in Albany? Great leadership opportunity. Chance to meet folks from across the country. And an opportunity to build new skills. She jumped at it. Fast forward to today: Amy’s two months in and has successfully launched SMB in Albany—all due to her work ethic, creativity and ability to take risks and learn on the fly. Almost at the same time, I floated the idea to Mike. While Chicago had a strong Social Media Club, the SMB concept really never took off in Chicago. Mike saw the opportunity and ran with it. Just a couple weeks ago, Mike hosted his first SMB. And I’m certain he’ll be a huge success in Chicago. Now, I want to be clear, I take absolutely no credit for starting these SMBs in Albany and Chicago—that’s 110 percent Amy and Mike. But, Twitter gave us the chance to connect. And through that, we developed relationships. And through those relationships, opportunities arose. That’s the power of Twitter.

* Collaborating with a local thought leader. The first time I met Rick Mahn was at a Social Media Breakfast event last year in Minneapolis. Then, after chatting a few times online, I interviewed Rick for my PR Rock Stars series—I thought Rick represented a good example of a non-traditional PR rock star, a notion of what tomorrow’s pro could look like in terms of skills and background. That allowed us to get to know each other a little more. Next thing you know, we’re chatting offline and via Skype a couple times a month. Then, we decided to form a local advisory group that gets together monthly with four other individuals. We co-founded a Twitter chat (Behind the Firewall, Thursdays at 8 p.m. CST). And we’ll be co-presenting at a MN PRSA event in late October. Now, I can’t say Twitter was the sole reason I’m collaborating and working with Rick, but I definitely think it played a key role. And you know what? I’m the better for it.

What are your Twittertales? Please share them over on Valeria’s blog or post your own for her e-book.