Pro Bono Client Lighting Up the Media

Our pro bono client Kendall Ciesemier of Kids Caring 4 Kids on FOX Chicago after being named Glamour magazine's Woman of the Year, Reader's Choice 2010:

Twitter the New CNN

When you’re in PR you have one eye or ear on the news while conducting work for clients. It’s tricky but I suppose it’s a good thing I’m a multi-tasker.

Using social media has made it even easier for me to keep up on the news. I literally get all my headlines on Twitter and click to read the stories I want to read. In fact, my Twitter account looks like a CNN ticker of latest news. And…the best part of it is that I can see how people react and comment on the breaking stories.

That’s why I found this so interesting – sent by @GuyKawaski on Twitter.

Twitter isn’t a social network anymore

Can I say, “I told you so?” Lance Ulanoff reports that “Twitter Is the New CNN.” He summarized a study done by Haewoon Kwak, Changhyun Lee, Hosung Park, and Sue Moon from the Department of Computer Science, KAIST (Korea). This is a presentation of the results of the study:

Staying on top of the news is key for my business, for obvious reasons. When I see something relative to a client I can easily craft a follow up story pitch idea and send it out immediately – while it’s still timely. More importantly, I can keep up on media and what stories they’re working on. In PR this is huge! I don’t have to read every site every day (which could be a full-time job in and of itself!).

If you’re looking to achieve PR, follow the news outlets and blogs that target your customers/audience and interact with them. Not only can you improve odds of catching a journalist’s attention, you can also listen to what people on Twitter are saying about your industry online. It’s brilliant!

We’ve already had great success in achieving media coverage for clients through….Twitter! It does take time to build relationships – like any you might build in life, but it pays off. Yes, we continue to take a traditional approach to media, but today Twitter is where news is happening and….breaking.

Follow me @SmallBizPRXpert or @MyStorySource

7 Stupid Reasons to Hire a PR Firm

This is a must read for anyone considering hiring a PR firm for their business. I always say that you have to be really educated before you make the investment, and that's what I attempt to do on Cascade Effect and also on Small Business Daily blog, if you haven't checked it out, you should!

The reality that this article poses is that you not only have to educate yourself on how PR works, how firms work, but you also have to find the right partner for your business.



7 Stupid Reasons to Hire a PR Agency
A capable agency should provide visibility and increased brand awareness while keeping your end-game in focus.
By Aaron Kwittken The PR Post Entrepreneur.com | April 20, 2010

Brand awareness, thought leadership, increased executive visibility, crisis communications preparedness . . . the laundry list of reasons companies should hire PR representation goes on and on, and a capable agency should provide all this and more. The decision to hire an agency should not be taken lightly and there are some common are pitfalls that should be avoided to ensure success. From unscrupulous agencies to recognizing your own misguided preconceptions; here are seven reasons you should not hire a PR agency.

Read more...

Need Funding? Story Offers Hope, Ideas for Entrepreneurs

So, you have an idea or you are looking to expand your business but banks aren't favorable to lending....anything at the moment and you could mortgage yourself to the hilt, and most entrepreneurs do - the risk is worth it, right?

Have no fear! You can get funding without appealing, or begging, VC's or angel investors. There are organizations, and even individuals, out there willing to lend you money whether it's $50 or $15,000, but you have to think outside the box.

This great CNNMoney story will turn your frustrations into hope when it comes to funding your new business concept/idea or grow an existing business. Corporate banks might not believe in small business but these organizations (many made up of individual investors) do believe and they're helping businesses just like yours take off!

There are plenty of options out there....go find them. They're waiting for you!

Where to get startup cash now
By Tina Peng, contributing writer, CNNMoney.com March 24, 2010

Bank credit is scarce and investors are skittish, but that didn't stop these six startups. They found creative ways to raise cash during the downturn.

Fortney Gives Answers to Burning Marketing Questions

Want to see what I really believe about our company Cascade Communications and the current and future states of marketing? Here's your chance.

WhoHub.com has created a social networking space connecting people through Q&A interviews - warning....it's LONG! They really should shorten it some, but if you really want to know my take on marketing, especially PR and the digital/social media age this is the place to go.

I cover everything from the truth about PR, what makes our company so different, the "PRetend PR people", social and digital marketing, the importance of quality customer service and the future of marketing....one guess...the Internet.

You can read my Q&A for free, but it's also a great place to look for job listings.

Love your feedback and thoughts...remember, we can and should all learn from one another.

Born to be a Billionaire?

From Forbes, Helen Coster, 03.11.10,

It takes more than smarts. Here is an honest guide for assessing your ability to go big.

Fifty-three billion smackers. That's how much telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu, the wealthiest human on the planet, is worth by Forbes' latest exhaustive count. (Actually, the tally was $53.5 billion--when you're dealing in 10 digits, every decimal place counts.)

Those kinds of numbers can't help but make you think: What exactly does it take to amass that kind of wealth? More important, do you have it?

13 questions to ask yourself before giving up the regular paycheck and benefits to gamble for billions.

Read more...

The Changing World of PR and Your Role as Client

Today, I came across an interesting article by Grant Cardone of Huffington Post (be sure to read the comments), and, of course, it sparked a blog post - one I believe will be a must read for anyone doing PR (professional, small business, client of any kind).

The world of media has changed rapidly, and continues to do so daily. Some of us got on the train immediately and have seen how technology/Internet can help us do our jobs better, while a lot of people simply failed to get on at their stop. Now they're running around trying to catch up telling clients "we're experts" when they really aren't.

In today's Internet-driven world, anyone can be "an expert"
Just take a minute to think of all those you've seen saying those exact words!
So, how do you decipher which ones really are experts?

The truth is that huge scores of PR people failed to catch on to social media and how the Internet can really help them be more successful for clients. They still work under the adage that if a story happens they must take credit for it (whether they achieved it or not) to look good for the client. Or worse.....they just don't know what they're doing, and sadly, there are a lot of people out there who say they do PR and really have no clue.

Back to Cardone's post: What got me on this post isn't his comment about PR dying, but that the fact that the transition hasn't happened with a majority of PR people yet; they're scrambling and not in a good way. They're trying to translate traditional PR in a non-traditional media market and they haven't quite figured out the new strategies. That's why Cardone was failing to achieve the results he wanted with his three PR firms. I agree with him that many agencies have yet to come to the new PR table, causing them to be sloppy and miss opportunities. Simply put, there's a new way of doing things these days.

Anyone can talk a big game, but can they play and win?
It's not always easy and requires patience, but you should find out
quickly whether your PR firm knows what it's doing, or not.

Here are some things to consider as a client:

• A great story ALWAYS achieves PR. This is a fact!
  
• Review your agency's press release. Is it really newsworthy or just fluff? Is it well-written and timely?
  
• I feel strongly that a PR firm's staff should all either have a degree in journalism or worked in the media writing news (PR is news! duh)
  
• They should know that, now, the other part of PR is a conversation, which is happening online everyday, where customers, not media, provide the third-party endorsement of your product/service to one another. Very valuable!
  
• Your PR firm should know that the Internet can only help their efforts, increase odds
  
• They should understand that the media environment today has created more freelancers, who are harder to track, and must make sure your online presence (online press room) is in top shape, should media find you while conducting a search
  
• SEO only helps PR
• That PR is no longer ego-centric, meaning it's not all about the agency. It's about teamwork. Today agencies can contribute to media finding your business, but the journalist may contact you directly. It's about "getting you out there" and, some may argue with me, it doesn't matter who gets the credit but rather that it happened.
  
• It's more than understanding how traditional media work (and the changes they're making) but the fact that PR has become slightly more complex with the Internet. They should be able to advise you on using video, blogging, social media and more from your end to help their efforts
• They should be experts on all fronts - traditional and nontraditional; marketing and Internet
  
• Marketing is more integrated now than ever before - I will toot my own horn and say that I did predict this in journalism school and so happy that I followed a career in general marketing (brand, advertising, promotions, PR, web and more) because the Internet has brought it all together. They work hand-in-hand
• Again, it's about teamwork and your PR professional/agency should be prepared to play fair and share one common goal with you - achieve media stories to grow your business -and they should think about being part of the team long-term
  
• Finally, PR is a patient process that clients must be sensitive to. Just because you put out a press release doesn't mean media are going to drop what they're working on at that very moment to cover your story. Any good publicist will communicate this, set expectations, maintain open communications and regular progress reports, know how to target pitches to media, rather than blanket pitches and even be able to walk away on their own if they don't feel they're getting anywhere.
  

It is a serious thing to find marketing professionals that are right for you and your business. I always tell potential clients to listen to their intuition, look for someone they like and trust, check out the agency's references, be thorough and feel good about it.

Thanks for the blogging inspiration, Grant, and good luck to you!

How Journalists Use Search & Social Media

A great blog post and the reason you should have an online pressroom!

Posted by Lee Odden on Feb 24th, 2010 in Online Marketing, Online PR, SEO, Social Media

TopRank ran a survey of journalists, reporters and editors on their use of search and social media in 2008. We found 91% use search engines like Google to do their job. 64% use social networks. Published in Jan 2010, a George Washington University and Cision survey of journalists reports 89% use blogs and 65% use social networks to research stories.

As prep for a presentation I’m giving Thursday at Online Marketing Summit on the intersection of SEO, Social Media and PR, I reached out to a few local journalists and industry news contacts and asked for examples of how they used search engines or social media to do story research.

Newsrooms are cutting staff and reporters and editors are hard pressed to do more with less. Tools like search engines and social media make available a tremendous amount of information in real-time. The news world is a world of deadlines and it would seem the use of search and social networks to source experts or people/companies that fit a story angle would be ideal. Even respected news organizations like the BBC are encouraging their journalists to embrace social media.

Read more of this article

Jennifer Fortney
Cascade Communications
@SmallBizPRXpert and @MyStorySource

A Negative Attitude is Bad for Business

Last month, I was interviewed to comment in a story on an unlikely industry - horse racing.

The industry has certainly seen its ups and downs. Consumers get revved for the Triple Crown races (aired nationally, internationally), but local tracks are seeing fewer and fewer ticket sales. Maybe this because young people aren't interacting with the sport like their parents and, more likely, grandparents. They are seeking alternative entertainment venues and the sport has lost its "sex appeal". Or maybe the industry has failed to capture the new audience by picking up the same entertainment models the NBA, NHL and MLB have in the last 10 years.

Well, anyway, a few key industry players have sought government funding to keep horse racing alive, that combined with a few stunts. They were hoping to catch the attention of media and customers, and force an uprising amongst fans to fight for the industry, but their negative approach may have cost them more. Now it seems the only way out is to ban together in a united front, pool their money and promote the lifestyle of horse racing nationwide with a number of events to attract young adults. This demographic has to be given a reason to come - and the race isn't enough. But that's just my two cents on saving the industry - an American past time. It would, truly, be a shame, to have only three races a year worth anything to anyone.

What these executives don't realize, and most small business owners don't either, is that the attitude you present to the world, to your customers, can actually dictate whether or not you will be successful. If you're struggling now and acting like its Doomsday, chances are the outcome will only continue to be bad, or get worse. Call me crazy but people don't want to support or buy from grouches, or something far more devious. This is the worst customer service and marketing program you can implement and it continues to perplex me why these people believe that this attitude will take them somewhere.

Call it the Law of Attraction, the power of the universe evening itself out, or you get what you give, all of it is relevant in running and growing a successful business. What you put out, you will get in return.

As I mention in this article, business owners (you) are the most powerful, credible and reliable source for communicating about your business. If you tell people it's failing, it probably will. And I know first hand that the reverse is true as well. So the next time you feel like telling the whole world how bad your problems are, think twice. You just might dissuade customers from supporting your business!


Read more in this article by Vic Zast on HorseracingInsider.com.

The Power of One Targeted Media Story

In truth, it is very rare that your marketing strategies work immediately, including PR. Why is this? Simply put sometimes the most targeted media story you can get may happen to be in a magazine, and national pubs work up to six months out. So, while you've secured the opportunity, you still have to wait six months for it to hit. This can be true for a lot of media. But then again, you realize that marketing, in general, is a long-term process that needs nurturing and requires patience.

There are those few precious times when a journalist can take interest in your story and change the face of your business overnight. The best way to explain this is to give you examples of two of our clients.

About two years ago my friend, Dr. Michele Kehrer came to me and said "I'm one of few people in the country who treats chronic dizziness and balance issues, which 90% of Americans will suffer from at one point, and doctors don't know about me". It was a great story and was immediately picked up by the local ABC affiliate's HealthBeat. They came out the next week, taped and ran the story not just once but four times over the next several days - mostly appearing late night. Her business, Lifestyle Physical Therapy & Balance Center got more than a shot in the arm - she picked up over 100 patients and it transformed her clinic, literally, overnight. Two years later she has doubled her staff, again, and is enjoying less work and more management of the business.

More recently, as in this week, our pro bono client Kendall Ciesemier of Kids Caring 4 Kids, and I, finally saw the fruits of our labor. Roughly three months ago, Channel One, a news resource for six million kids across the country that is fed directly into classrooms, called and said they were in from New York for a story and wanted to cover Kendall's interesting story - and it is interesting (read more). Her primary goal: to distribute her "i care 2" kit and encourage American kids to support AIDS orphans in Africa. It took a few months to edit (and breaking for the holidays) and finally aired January 11, 2010 on Channel One. The result - within just a few days hundreds of kits were requested, donation pages set up on her website and....to date those numbers are still growing.

Why did these work to produce so much for these two organizations? Because the story truly hit their target demographics. Other key ingredients for success are two great stories, something the public would be interested in as well as learning about, they differentiated themselves from anyone else and both are extremely passionate about what they want to accomplishment.

This is what one truly targeted story can do for your business

This isn't to say that you aren't passionate about your business, it's about locating your story, writing and presenting it in a compelling way (Make it News!) and finding the one media outlet that reaches the particular audience you desire most.

Look, there are a lot of people out there who practice the "Bowl of Spaghetti" theory to PR - take a bowl of spaghetti, throw it up on the wall and see what sticks. In this case, write a press release, SPAM it to every journalist on the list and see who shows interest. Our particular approach was hands on, meaning our clients gave us their media wish list of about 10-15 and we went out and got them interested. It was more than just "sending an email", we crafted our story to each particular media and audience and....gasp....we even called them on the phone over just distributing by email.

Yes, generating PR, and marketing in general, takes time. Valuable time out of your day when you could be doing other things to run your business, but isn't it worth it to you and your business to focus on it for a week and see what develops? It could change your business and make your dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur come true.

In both cases, it took one person to stand out from the crowd with a great story to impart success. There is only one way to success.....go out and find your amazing story and if you're struggling, then it's worth it to find an experience news/PR professional to write it for you.

Follow me on Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert and @MyStorySource or subscribe to MyStorySource.com for FREE to pitch your story to media.

Positive PR for Great Nonprofit

In 2009, my involvement with I Should Be in The News, a nonprofit with a national network of PR people helping other nonprofits achieve positive PR, led me to Kendall Ciesemier and her organization Kids Caring 4 Kids (www.KidsCaring4Kids.com). We shared her vision and she became Cascade Communications' pro bono client for the year.

We rarely toot our own horns but this one story is a great example of what PR can do...for any organization. Her amazing story drew attention from Channel One news (about 6 million viewers in schools across the country) and resulted in the largest number of requests for her "i care 2" kit since she was on Oprah a few years ago.

http://www.channelone.com/onair/finding_strength_archive/

Kendall's story has inspired all of us to do more for AIDS orphans in Africa, and around the world - providing them with school uniforms, education, meals, bicycles and clean water. Many of these young kids walk miles to school and to get water while at the same time taking care of their younger siblings. No 11, 12, 13+ year old child should have this kind of responsibility. As a journalist and PR professional, it is these unique stories that make our jobs worthwhile and we're thrilled that the opportunity came our way.

Congratulations, Kendall! We hope the request for kits continue to pour in!

Do You Really Value Your Company, Customers?

In light of times like we’ve been through it’s easy to see why so many companies have been pushing major sales promotions – a. to move product and inventory to prepare for new and b. to just make the sale.

While this is not typically a bad thing, and something most businesses do regularly, it can become a problem when you do it just to make money; a quick sale. These business owners are focused on making money and lots of it, not nurturing the value of their brand, company, products and services, let alone their customers (who, I might remind you, are the reason you’re making money).

What I mean is that sometimes we can get so focused on “the money” that we fail to zero in on what is making that money. Obviously your customers, and their buying because they see value in what you’re offering. When you cheapen it with incredibly deep discounts or sales promotions that you can’t possibly fulfill just for a quick shot in the arm of cash, you are devaluing your brand, products and services.
Why do some people do this? Well, because they don’t see their own value.

When you don’t or stop seeing value in your offerings you become nothing more than annoying sales people and your customers will leave – you will always be chasing money (customers) rather than focusing on keeping existing customers happy and growing that base for real success.

Now, don’t get me wrong, a business always needs to think about its sales process, but what it can’t do is become so centered (to get tunnel vision) on that one element. It will fail you over time. Why? Because today’s consumers are smarter than they’ve ever been before. They want customer service. They want to feel valued by you and your business. They want to feel good about buying from you and part of a unique community supporting your business. Trust me, if they don’t receive any of this then they will leave and buy from your competitor.

Sometimes customer service can be the difference between you making the sale or your competitor. It’s time that we all remember who drives this economy, the consumer, and start:

• Developing customer service plans (even if it’s only one sheet)
• Planning special promotions in advance
• Stop working in “crisis” mode to making money
• Develop open and customized communications plans specifically for customers
• Focus on the long-term, keeping the customers you have and let them be part of the marketing process by giving valuable referrals
• Stop being a sales company and be good at what you really do. If you do it well and right the sales and success will come to you.

Here’s to a New Year with a new focus on how we run and grow our businesses and get back to what’s important – the customer.
Jennifer Fortney
Cascade Communications
Follow me on Twitter: @SmallBizPRXpert and @MyStorySource