Last week I was invited to speak at the Professional Aerial Photographer's Association's International conference in Las Vegas. Aerial photography is probably one of the most fascinating jobs around, but is also one of the most unknown. Most of us see aerials in a newspaper, or in movies or TV shows, but rarely do we wonder where they came from. When I speak to clients about social media, a main focus is on content. What content do you have, what should we have, where can we get it, who are we targeting, and how do we share it? This industry has nothing but content! That was a main focus in my talk, Social Media: A How To Guide.

The below presentation was created for an audience of small business owners, 95% of which had little to no experience with social media. In addition to being an intro to Twitter, I also touched upon how to use it, specifically when working with the media.

I had a fantastic time, and my presentation went over really well! My goal was to convert 1 person in the crowd of 80. After all the buzz the talk got, I think that number went up to more like 30. And according to PAPA President, Patrick Belanger, my talk was one of the best of the weekend (according to the end of conference survey) and I'm already getting Twitter alerts from the attendees. Looking forward to the 2012 International conference cruise

Note: From 2006-2009 I managed the the PR/Marketing efforts for The 111th Group / ProAerialVideo.com, two ventures owned and run by Patrick and Julie Belanger.

Before starting any campaign, I ask myself "what are we trying to achieve here." Every client is different. PR goals are typically in line with business goals, which range from increasing revenue to increasing users. Whenever a client (or fellow team member) suggests a campaign or initiative that isn't in line with our current mandate, I compare it to grocery shopping. Anyone can blindly enter the supermarket and buy anything that looks appealing, but at the end of the day, you still don't have anything for dinner.

As digital integrations become more and more commonplace in the industry, it becomes painfully obvious which campaigns were executed with a clear goal in mind, and which were not. A good example of this is a promotion launched by the new AMC show "The Walking Dead." They are running a contest that gives viewers a chance to win a "stagger on role" on the show. Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a die hard zombie fan, so I suffered through the commercials to find out how to enter. The rules: At some point during the Sunday program, a code will be given. Viewers simply have to go to a landing page (on the AMC) site, enter the code, and their contact information and press send. Upon doing so I quickly looked for the sharing tools. Obviously I wanted to share this great contest with my social networks. No. No sharing tools. No "Share on Twitter"; No "Post to Facebook"; No "submit to Digg." You would think that the goal of the network would be to increase viewers of this new program. The logical thing to do would be to give existing viewers the opportunity to become advocates, and share the show with their friends. It isn't that difficult to integrate these tools, but somehow AMC failed to recognize the opportunity. They went to the grocery store and bought a microwaveable dinner.

On the other hand, they have an active and engaged Twitter account at @WalkingDead_AMC with more than 26k followers, and an official Facebook page with more than 354k likes. These tools, however, were created to inform and maintain the existing fans of the 5-episode strong series, not increase viewership (I may be wrong, but you would assume a network with a new series would want that).

This can be easily remedied. Below are my top 3 recommendations for AMC:

1. Heard of chicklets? Add links to Twitter, Facebook and Digg that enable fans to seamlessly share information on the show, contest, video content, etc. with their friends
2. Use what you got! Add embed codes to the videos on the main site that enable fans to share them on their blogs.

3. Promote the newsletter! I've spent the last week obsessing over this show, and didn't realize until a few moments ago that a newsletter existed. In addition to encouraging e-mail signups, create an interactive newsletter that will live on Facebook. The newsletter tab will become the main page for the Facebook fan page and include the great content that already lives on The Walking Dead website. But since it lives on Facebook (where a majority of the show's fans already live!) it makes it easier for fans to share it with their friends.


The only way a show can survive is if it has a strong, growing community. I implore AMC to give their fans the tools to make that happen.


PS: Don't forget to to TiVo "The Walking Dead" (Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET)

I consider myself fairly social media savvy. I'm a member of multiple social networks, I'm active on collaborative and location-apps on my iPhone, and I love Farmville. As a PR person in the tech world, my life is online. Recently, however, I've noticed it's become more of a chore than a treat to keep up with it all. But how much is too much? And where can I draw the line to make it fun again?
I've compiled an inventory of my social media activities to help get to the bottom of this:


TWITTER

* A member since May, 2008
* 2,462 tweets
* Average of 10 tweets per day
* Total saved search terms/hashtags: 10
* Sites/Tools used to tweet: twitter.com, HootSuite, TweetDeck and Flock
* Recently removed the Twitter app for Facebook due to the sheer volume of tweets overloading my friends' pages
* I have never gone longer then 48 hours without tweeting
* A tweet has gotten me in trouble


FACEBOOK

* A member since January, 2004
* Separate Facebook updates from Twitter
* Average of two status updates a week
* Push about half of my Farmville alerts to my friends
* Upload photos via phone and desktop
* Pick and choose which photos go up on Facebook vs. uploading everything
* Update my profile image every month or so
* Other than my honeymoon, I have never gone longer than 24 hours without checking it


MEDIA


* I document everything
* Sites/Tools Used: TwitPic, TwitVid, and YouTube
* I have a Shutterfly account that contains every photo I have ever taken with my husband (from our first dates to today). Shutterfly sucks. Unfortunately, I've been using it so long, I don't know when I'd have the time to switch to a better showcase website
* I have a WebShots account (don't laugh) that contains college photos pre Mr. Haines that I will neither delete, nor share with anyone
* I have a harddrive full of photos and videos
* I maintain colorful 24-page photo books/scrapbooks of the major activities to keep on a shelf
* Total places one photograph may be cataloged: 5
* I dream of having a video blog, but I'm too shy to go on camera


iPHONE

* 56 apps
* Apps I use multiple times a day: TweetDeck, Foursquare, Facebook, Yelp, Sudoku, The New York Times
* Favorite app: Cor.kz - scan the UPC label of any wine and get immediate ratings, background, and comparative pricing
* Separate status updates/check-ins I send via my phone for one activity: 5
* I have been reprimanded by a waiter for being on my iPhone at the dinner table... little did he know I was about to promote his restaurant on Foursquare and Twitter...


Writing this has made me exhausted, but has given me a lot to think about. Have you taken an inventory of your social media activities lately?

Also seen in...



By Lacey Haines (@laceyhaines), and Adam Vincenzini (@adamvincenzini)

Social media has created incredible opportunities and challenges for public relations professionals. While the challenges have been well documented, the opportunities that have arisen are just as important. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, if used effectively, can help build relationships, identify new trends and help facilitate networking with like-minds throughout the industry. One of the most profound and positive developments has been the breaking down of the walls between PR and the media. In one click you can find the most relevant reporters to the story you’re pitching, obtain a better understanding of what they like and what they’re interested in by reading their feed, get a direct link to their blog or website, and network with them via @reply or DM.

But what does the media think about this transparency? Using social media, we asked our press network in the USA and UK how they felt about being pitching on social media sites. While responses were mixed, we noticed some trends.

1) KEEP YOUR PITCHES SHORT: E-mail pitches are still too long, and several people we heard from preferred a 140-character pitch on Twitter, to a traditional one via e-mail.

2) DIRECT MESSAGES ARE BETTER THAN @REPLY: Reporters can’t “opt-in” to pitches, but they can with Twitter. If there is a mutual following between PR people and a reporter, it usually means they know each other, and may welcome a direct message more than a longer e-mail pitch. A reporter for a major US business daily (who asked not to be quoted) said that he only follows PR people he knows or has worked with in the past, and prefers DM to @reply because he wouldn’t want competitors to know who he’s speaking with.

3) TWITTER PITCHES ARE UNIQUE: A journalist for News of the World (UK) said that reporters get hundreds of e-mails a day, but only one or two direct messages, so pitches made through Twitter stand out more. And even if there isn’t a direct relationship in the beginning, pitching on Twitter has helped reporters and PR people build relationships that continue on e-mail.


USA Examples



UK Examples



One of the more detailed responses was courtesy of Martin Stabe, Editor of Retail Week, one of the UK’s leading trade publications:

“For me, Twitter is a place to share ideas and links with like-minded friends and colleagues in online journalism and increasingly, to monitor sources of news and information.

By all means, join our conversation, but don't "pitch" me anything out of the blue unless we already know each other and you know that it's relevant.

I probably follow you if you've joined the conversations I'm part of before, so DM me with your idea, or look up my email and ping something over.

Some of the best relationships - on email and on the phone - I have with PRs are people who I also know on Twitter.”

But not everyone was for social media pitching. A features writer for Style Magazine and a Businessweek editor both said they preferred e-mail to Twitter pitching. And one Brandweek editor said that a big problem with Twitter DMs is that not everyone checks their direct messages often enough. Another trend was that several preferred all Twitter pitches be followed up with an e-mail.

Start building relationships with reporters online, learn what THEY want to write about (vs. what you want them to write about), and your pitches (social media and traditional) will be much more effective.

What has worked for us? [Lacey] After a reporter covers a client of mine, I’ll tweet it out, with their Twitter handle attached. For time sensitive pitches, I’ll @reply the reporter I need to reach and ask for them to follow me so I can DM. I would never do this if I wasn’t positive that my story was relevant to the reporter. This has been very helpful as not only gaining coverage for clients, but building long-term relationships. [Adam] I like the push-pull element of Twitter and the media. If I spot a journalist I follow tweeting about a subject that has links to my client, I can approach that journalist to provide help / assistance. It makes being collaborative a much easier and beneficial process.


**Thank you to Matt Honan (Freelance writer, and WIRED magazine contributing editor), Maggie Shiels (Silicon Valley Correspondent, BBC), Scott McGrew (tech reporter for NBC Bay Area; host of Press:Here, and producer of TechNow), Christina Warren (tech blogger for Mashable), Harry Wallop (Consumer Editor of The Daily Telegraph), Vikki Chowney (Editor of Reputation Online), Leila Makki (Telecom.TV), Chris Milton (veteran independent journalist), Martin Stabe (Editor, Retail Week), Dan Martin (Editor of BusinessZone.co.uk) for agreeing to be quoted for this article.


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Lacey Haines is a PR professional in San Francisco, CA. At K/F Communications, manages the day-to-day activities of her account teams, as well as the long-term PR and social media plans for her clients, which have included Digg, TwitVid, Flock, and RowNine. She met Adam on Twitter. Follow Lacey on Twitter here: @laceyhaines
Adam Vincenzini is the lead social media consultant at Paratus Communications in London where he advises the agency's clients on how to shape communications activity around the end-user / participant. Adam was previously responsible for digital communications at Cricket Australia which included managing the 150,000-strong official fan community of the Australia Cricket Team. Adam blogs regularly at the COMMS corner and can be found on Twitter here: @AdamVincenzini

Whether you're a PR or social media pro managing the virtual presence of multiple clients at a time, or just trying to navigate the social web, the following free services can help you along the way. [Disclosure: several are clients of mine, but I love them anyway]

I can't live without:

BIT.LY: Their analysis feature is key to learning which tweets your audience finds the most interesting.

GOWALLA: Location-based service #1 on my iPhone. I love sharing images on Facebook of the cool, new places I’m visiting. Also a great way to promote your clients by adding their business to the Gowalla directory.

FOURSQUARE: Location-based service #2 on my iPhone. I use FourSquare to lay claim to the places I frequent the most. The chance to become mayor of my favorite place is intoxicating!

FARMVILLE: The most addicting game on Facebook. It has nothing to do with PR, but it helps me unwind. It isn't weird that I love to grow crops online… it’s weird if you don’t.

FLOCK: Integrate, navigate, and manage your Twitter and Facebook profiles directly within your browser.

TWEETDECK: Manage multiple Twitter accounts, groups, and search terms from both your iPhone and desktop.

GOOGLE ALERTS: Manage your, and your clients', reputations online with saved search terms and phrases via Google Alerts.

NUTSHELL MAIL: I definitely don’t have time to sift through every Twitter notification e-mail (especially when I get them for multiple Twitter accounts!) Nutshell Mail aggregates all that information (as well as who un-follows you) into one comprehensive e-mail.

TWITVID: Whether you use their iPhone app (or their integration with TweetDeck) this is the fastest way to upload mobile via to Twitter.

TWEETLATER/SOCIALOOMPH: I am not a fan or major supporter of auto-tweets or DMs, but sometimes you need to plan your tweets in advance, especially if you're a PR person tasked with social media community management duties (like me). Socialoomph allows me the freedom to schedule tweets in advance, which comes in really handy with time-sensitive client news.


TWITPIC: Integrated into a number of Twitter apps (like TweetDeck) or as a standalone iPhone app, this is the fastest and most widely used way to upload mobile images to Twitter. And the ability to upload pictures without adding them to Twitter help me plan my client's tweets in advance.

Joining the Twitter community was one of the best moves I could have made (both personally and professionally). I can’t imagine my life without it, and have been successful at convincing clients and co-workers of its infinite value. That is, until my best friend came for a visit. She believes that “social media is only valuable to those in the Silicon Valley.” I was determined to transform her from a cynical New Yorker, to an active social media maven… but after I dragged her to the Silicon Valley Tweetup this past Wednesday, I realized that convincing a company to do social media is completely different from a friend. See below for my top 5 reasons to get “normal people” to use Twitter:

1) To Network: How do you interact with someone in your field that you admire, but have no real connection to? You can’t necessarily e-mail or call them, but you can tweet @ them. There is a wealth of knowledge to be harnessed online, and easy to find once you involve yourself socially online.

2) To Support Charitable Causes: Whether it’s the #BlameDrewsCancer movement, or raising money for the American Red Cross, social media is the preferred method of raising awareness for important causes online. In November, 2009, the New York Times explored ways that charities were using Facebook and Twitter to raise money.

3) Customer Service: Have a question about your new PS3? Or want to see if your train is going to be on time? Twitter has proven to be the fastest way to transparently communicate with reps of your favorite companies, brands, products, etc.

4) Get News First: With a global network of people reporting in, social media has become the ideal method of consuming news first. Whether it be an earthquake, product announcement or celebrity gossip, Twitter has proven to be the fastest way to discover and consume breaking news. On the mainstream side, MSNBC recently purchased BreakingNews.com to feed into their Twitter account, @BreakingNews.

5) It Doesn’t Take A Lot Of Time: My best friend says she doesn’t have time to tweet. The assumption that Twitter or social media has to take a lot of time is wrong. Mobile applications like Tweetdeck, Ubertwitter and Twidroid can reduce your Twitter time to 10 minutes a day. Most applications will even save your tweets as drafts so you can type on the subway when there isn’t cell phone service. You can also use services like TweetLater (now SocialOomph) to type and save your tweets for a specific date and time in the future.

I hope I was able to sway her (if even just a little bit). Only time will tell – in the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on @RebeccaIsquith for activity. Have you ever had to convince a friend to join Twitter? What course of action did you take, and did it work?

UPDATE: @RebeccaIsquith has been tweeting regularly since I posted this blog post.