February 2010

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RobinTracyPR Twitter Account Hacked

February 25, 2010 | 1 comment

I’m simmering at a HIGH boil!!  My Twitter account was hacked.  Not just hacked, I mean some loser used my profile to send obscene messages to all of my followers.

I’m a wordie and I have to admit, words just fall short tonight.

I’m thankful that several friends texted me to tell me that my account had been hacked.  In otherwords, they knew my character and they knew I would NEVER have posted stuff like this.  But I tweet with a bunch of people who don’t know me…what do they think?  So, I’m diligently working through my list of contacts and sending a quick note explaining the hack and an apology.

I represent not only my work but the work of other people, businesses, organizations and ministries.  My online reputation and credibility is as important as the one I use when I’m working face to face or phone to phone.  I can only describe this as horrifying. 

If you were one of the poor souls to have recevied a Twitter direct message from me that was risque, please know I did not send it. 

Many heartfelt apologies, y’all!

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Online Advertising: Go To Where Your Customers Are

February 22, 2010

I recently spent some time with a young, very successful entrepreneur whose company is investing in a Google adwords campaign.  They have hired a company that specializes in implementing efforts like this and are investing several thousand dollars each month.  The prospect-to-client conversion rate is not great: Only one in 10 calls results in a sale.  With key words averaging $6 each, they are investing about $60 per prospect and the average sale barely makes a profit. 

Interestingly enough, this local business was not investing in Facebook advertising.  Surprising, actually, when you recognize how impactful and important neighborly recommendations are for this service industry.  I explained some of the key benefits that Facebook advertising offers:
1. Pay per click or by view
2. Controlled budgets – wanna try it out on the cheap?  You can dip your toe in for as little or as much as you like
3. Audience precision- reach people by geogrpahical location, based on key words, interests, etc.
4. Ads can be connected to a Facebook page or a corporate website, which can be used to develop relationship with folks who could become clients
5. But most importantly, Facebook allows interaction:  Your happy clients can point their friends to your business and you can interact with your customers. 

OK, Facebook ads are not the only option beyond Google AdWords.  But listen, a staggering 175 million people log onto Facebook every day!  How many of these are potential customers who are having conversations with their friends about vendors, asking for recommendations, talking about service providers to avoid, etc.? Should this company give up their Google AdWords campaign?  I don’t know.  But I do question an online advertising plan that uses only one channel for advertising.

Where are your potential customers hanginout online?  Will you be there to join them?

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PR Retainers: What Are They & How Do They Work?

February 16, 2010


As Featured On EzineArticlesRecently I’ve fielded a number of questions about how PR retainer structures work.  It’s been a hot-button topic with some PR counterparts over the years, especially when the conversation focuses on sharing details with the clients.   More specifically, telling clients how much work they actually get in return for their retainer.  This week my article “PR Retainers—What Are They and How Do They Compare? appears on e-ZineArticles.com.

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I WANT to Be Your Customer. Please, Tell Me How!

February 15, 2010

My friend Tony Dye has a blog that I enjoy. In today’s post, “Missing ‘Obvious’ Marketing Opportunities,” Tony shared his experience in following the opening of a new local eatery.  Shockingly, no information was posted—on or near the bricks-and-mortar building or online.  Now Tony’s a really sharp, out-of-the box thinker and consultant so I know that he knows how to search for the information he wants.  If he couldn’t find it, it wasn’t there!

Living in a small-town community that is actually part of the large metro-Atlanta area, I’ve got lots of big-box shopping and eating options, so being intentional about supporting local small businesses is important.  Because of this, Tony’s post articulated something that I have often found frustrating: a business that hasn’t even begun to THINK about marketing itself.  I mean, how can I support you or be your customer if you don’t tell me how?

As a result, Tony asked for suggestions for a ”Top 10″ list: “How would you promote your brand new business to the public?”  Keeping in mind that most new starts are done on shoestring budget and new business owners are often overwhelmed with the details of launching, marketing, hiring, promoting, legalizing, trademarking, etc., I limited my suggestions to these five (a combination of traditional, online and social media options):

1. As soon as you decide on business name, GET THAT URL! Avoid fancy layouts—just post the basic stuff: the menu, phone number, hours/days of operation, contact name, email and invite people to connect with you.

2. Invest in signage! Your drive-by traffic will become your client traffic. Provide the basic information: Website, phone, email, opening date, invite them to come by.

3. Hire people who love your concept, who are happy to be there. They will be your first brand representatives.

4. Facebook, Facebook, Facebook! Your customers are on there…you should be, too. They WILL talk about you to their sphere of influence. Will you be part of the conversation?  Remember, Facebook business pages, fan pages and groups are FREE. And the localized advertising options are SUPER affordable.

5. Recognize when you need help. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes and ears can be the difference between a forgettable idea and an unforgettable experience.

What do you recommend for those businesses that—seemingly—just can’t seem to be saved from themselves?  Add your’s to Tony’s list.

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Start-Ups and Marketing Help

February 11, 2010 | 1 comment

Inc.com’s Howard Greenstein’s Startup Toolkit blog is filled with great counsel for, well start-up business.  His post titled 2 Services to Help Start-ups Promote makes the observation that “Start-ups often work in secret until they’re ready to go public. Then, suddenly, it’s time to promote what they’re doing…“  Generally they want to do this with a press release, to get media to talk about them and their product or service.

So true…I’ve met and sat across the table from many of these entreprenuers.   

Greenstein’s article provides a number of methods to distribute press releases. But for small start ups, finding the mechanisim to distribute the information is only a small part of their challenge. Crystalizing their core identity, product and service descriptors is key. This is one of the best benefits of getting help froma public relations professional. A fresh, unbiased brain and set of eyes and ears can transform a forgetable idea into an unforgetable story.  In fact, Greenstein talks about this a bit in his post Top 5 Tips For How to Promote your company to a reporter.

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Is Twitter Dying?

February 9, 2010

Brandweek’s article, “Is Twitter the Next Second Life?shares some fascinating trends, success stories and failures in this social media environment. 

If you tweet for business, it’s a must read!

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I Am a C.L.O. (Chief Listening Officer). Are You?

February 5, 2010

Forbes’ John Ryan delivers a great reminder about the value and importance of being a good communicator in his article titled, Every CEO Must Be A Chief Listening Officer.  But it the importance of LISTENING—as an integral part of communicating well—that I appreciate most.  And he challenges CEOs (or any organizational leader for that matter ) to become  Chief Listening Officers. 

Ryan cites former P&G leader A. G. Lafley as the best example of an executive who used listening to improve collaboration and innovation. 

Ryan also enlists the help of Michael Hoppe, a retired faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership, to offer these six ideas to be a better listener:

1. Pay attention.Turn off your BlackBerry. Maintain eye contact. Nod to show you understand. Otherwise the conversation is dead before it starts.

2. Suspend judgment. Hold your criticisms, and let others explain how they view a situation. You don’t need to agree; just show some empathy.

3. Reflect. Periodically recap others’ points to confirm your understanding. Often it turns out you missed something.

4. Clarify. Ask open-ended questions that encourage people to expand their ideas. For example: “What are your thoughts about how we might increase sales in this economy?”

5. Summarize. Briefly restate core themes raised by the person you’re talking with. You’re not agreeing or disagreeing; you’re simply closing the loop.

6. Share. Once you know where that person stands, introduce your own ideas and suggestions. That’s how good conversations get even better.

But I’d suggest that this list is missing an integral point:

7.  Affirm.  Recognize good contributions and thinking.  Share encouraging comments, such as “That’s a great observation!” or “Yes, I’ve wondered that myself,” or “Thank you for bringing that idea to the table.” Give your colleagues the recognition that they deserve.  Their collaborative contributions are important.

In my industry, getting buy-in from my clients and their team members is important.  They view me as an expert in communications, branding, media relations, etc.  But my clients are the experts in their business niche!  For this reason, I have become an expert listener.  I take copious notes.  Everything they share is important, has relevance, plays a part in shaping the outcome of our work.  Affirming their great contributions is one of my favorite things to do!

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Super Bowl Commercials are Coming & They’re Bringing Gamblers

February 3, 2010

I love the Super Bowl pre-game, game and post game broadcasts not only because of the great sports competition, but also because of the entertainment value of the commercials.  Now I’ve watched these for years but only this morning did I learn that folks who enjoy gambling bet on these.  While we will TiVo the whole shebang at my house so we can enjoy them at our leisure–lest we turn away at an inopportune moment and miss something amazing–others will be watching them to identify potential payouts.  Who knew?

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Who Do YOU Follow?

February 1, 2010 | No comments

Today I discovered Ad Age’s Power 150  daily ranking of top marketing blogs. 

What a great resource! 

Enjoy!

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