Mixing Facebook with Business

posted in Blog, Marketing, New Media, Public Releations

What was once exclusive to college students a few years back, Facebook has become a way for the 35+ crowd to connect with friends and acquaintances from their past and link up with people they have just met or will soon meet.  But is that good for you and your business?
For me, Facebook is a sanctuary where I can and want to be able to be myself with a few hundred of my closest friends.  If I have a great day, I want to tell people about it.  If my kids excel at something, I want to brag a bit.  If I’m having a bad day, I want to lament in the hopes that one of my friends will say something brilliant to help turn my frown upside down.  But in doing so, I can put my own personal and business reputation at risk by being vulnerable and transparent.

Like everyone else, my “friends list” consists of former classmates, colleagues, family, neighbors, fellow church members, etc…   Recently I’ve become more lax about who I accept as friends.  I friended a talented young lady I met at a singing audition in Chicago.  We shared an interest/experience and seemed to click.  We converse every once in awhile and probably follow each others’ lives.  I just became friends with someone I sat next to at an Indianapolis Colts game.  I know nothing about her except for a brief glance at her profile and a few of her status updates.  And I’ve become “friends” with people who were recommended to me by people I trust because they believe it’s a good connection for me to make for my business or interests.  So far, that’s not been a problem.  And I have about 50 “friend requests” that I still haven’t accepted and probably won’t.

The problem comes when I let my guard down and post a comment about something personal.  I’m human.  I get angry, frustrated, and hurt.  I have religious views.  I take moral stances.  I have strong political opinions.  I am a sports fanatic.  I am a very outgoing, outspoken and social person.   I speak my mind and welcome debate.  That’s who I am.  That seems to rub some people the wrong way.

Lately I find myself censoring my comments.  What’s worse is that others are now censoring my comments.  For instance, I made a general comment the other day that “some actors are pigs” referring to my involvement in acting and the fact that actors are not the tidiest of people.  A “friend” took that comment out of context and took it as a personal attack on him and his group of actors.  He let me know that he didn’t appreciate the comment.  It wasn’t intentional, but I do see how he could have taken it personally.

Another “friend” was sending multiple comments to Facebook through Twitter.  I received about 50 status updates from him in a matter of a couple of hours.  I jokingly commented that “someone needs to give their thumbs a rest”.  Another “friend” thought I was referring to her and told me to block her if I didn’t like it.  It wasn’t her that I was talking about.  Again, my comment was taken out of context.

I belong to various groups, organizations and causes.  I make “general” comments about my frustration with certain behaviors, character flaws or situations.  I air my pet peeves.  And every single time I do, I get emails or private messages from “friends” who think I’ve targeted them or the organization they belong to.  They are paranoid.  Facebook seems to bring out the best in people and the worst in people.  Trust me, if I have a problem with someone, they’ll know it long before it becomes a comment on Facebook.

For this reason, I have shied away from accepting clients and prospects as friends – at least until I get to know them on a more personal level.  On the other hand, there are “friends” on Facebook that have become clients or referred me to others because they’ve gotten to know me and like me.  They trust me.

I see little Facebook skirmishes pop up all of the time, especially between a certain group of ladies that I went to school with. They get into these personal and public squabbles that lead to hurt feelings – the same thing that happened 30 years ago.

My advice? Only mix business with Facebook fun when you think it’s appropriate.  Set up a Facebook fan page or group for your business or organization and only use it for business purposes.  Use your personal profile for being you and don’t worry about what others think.  If they don’t agree with you and give you grief, that’s their problem.   Facebook has a built-in “unfriend” feature.  With the tap of a finger, you can banish someone from your Facebook kingdom forever.

For me, Facebook has been a great way to socialize, rekindle past relationships and build new ones.  Not to mention it helps me blow off a little steam when needed.   It has also helped my business grow.  So, I’m putting my Facebook Friends on notice… I plan to keep on being me.

Preparing for Media Interviews

posted in Public Releations

Being interviewed by the media can be very intimidating for some people. It’s even more daunting if there’s a chance the reporter might ask you something that could put you or your business on the “hot seat”. You don’t want to answer in a way that exacerbates the problem or reflects negatively on you or your business. But you don’t want to avoid questions by saying “No comment”, either. You need to be prepared.

Recently, I was working with a client that was preparing to open a new business location. This particular organization had gone through some tough times recently. The initial problem was brought on by a former leader of that organization. Unfortunately, it was perceived by some people in the community that the members of the organization responded publicly and inappropriately bringing additional woes upon the group.

As the organization had made some positive changes and was “re-launching”, we knew that what had transpired between the organization and local government would be among the interview questions.

I assumed the role of the interviewer and wrote down a number of questions that I would ask. I thought of easy questions, tough questions and tricky questions that could trip up the interviewee. I then prepared a response to each question along with notes about how to respond if pressed further.

I forwarded that list of questions to the people I knew would be interviewed. Because I have all interview inquiries directed through me, I can refer the media to the people suited to address certain topics. I was able to ask each reporter what their slant was and then determine who to direct them to. In most instances, reporters don’t have a problem with this approach because it helps be more efficient and productive.

And what do you know? …the reporters asked nearly every question I had outlined. I heard back from the interviewees after the interviews that they answered the questions just as I had scripted and they felt comfortable doing so. When I read the stories in the media, I was delighted to see that we were actually able to control the interview rather than the media.

If you are preparing to be interviewed for a story and you have some time, here are a few tips that I suggest…

1. Ask yourself the hard questions, be as outrageous as possible

2. Write out answers/responses to each of these questions

3. Practice the interview with a friend or colleague and play both the interviewer and interviewee roles to get both perspectives

4. If the interview is by phone, use your notes. If it’s in person, memorize your responses

5. Take time to answer tough questions rather than offer a knee-jerk response

6. Remain calm. If you get angry or flustered, ask for a moment to gather your thoughts

7. You may need to have your attorney present if this is a legal issue

8. Never say, “No comment”.  Simply respond, “I don’t have that information available right now. But I’ll get back to you when I do.”

Remember, the better prepared you are…the easier the interview.

The Power of Press Releases

posted in Marketing, Public Releations

If press releases aren’t part of your marketing mix, you’re probably waisting money on ineffective advertising.

“Why do I need a press release?”  We are all bombarded with tens of thousands of advertising messages each day.  We learn to tune out the commercials, billboards, print ads and pop ups.  This is especially the case when we are in our own environment.

For example, when I was very young my grandmother lived less than 30 yards away from a railroad track.  The train would barrel through or neighborhood at least four times each day and a couple of times in the middle of the night.  The house would begin to shake as the train got closer. Dishes would rattle, wood floors would creak, windows would shake, and the lights would even flicker a bit.  And to make things worse, there were two railroad crossings nearby which added noise of the crossing bell and the train whistle blowing non-stop for about five minutes.

For someone just visiting, it was pretty disruptive and annoying.  And it could make sleeping through the night nearly impossible.  But for those of us who stayed in the house, we became oblivious to the noise. We tuned out the train as it became a part of our everyday routine.  It was like it didn’t even exist.

The same is true for advertisements.  We become conditioned to ignore them.  Unless you have a well-placed, eye-catching advertisement in a newspaper or magazine or an attention grabbing radio or television spot, you’ll probably be very disappointed in the results.  Even well-placed ads aren’t affective if they don’t have visual appeal, a solid headline, informative copy, a call-to-action and contact information.  The majority of ads I see and hear from small businesses are simply terrible – not to mention that it can be very expensive to advertise and nearly impossible to track results.  But, that’s fodder for another blog post.

A well-written press release, on the other hand, can be very effective …and affordable.  Press releases tell a story about you and your business or organization.  The media relies on press releases to find news and stories that will appeal to their audience.  An entertainment editor is looking for information on a local theatrical production.  The business editor wants to know about a company that developed a new product or is hiring 25 new employees.  Financial publications need to provide news about changes that will affect a company’s stock price.  There are hundreds of reasons for a company to generate and distribute press releases on a regular basis.

When your press release gets picked up for publication or broadcast, you’ve increased your chances of being seen or heard.  Why? People pay attention to stories.  We read the newspaper and, for the most part, skip the ads.  We watch news and information programs and tune out during the commercials.   And we visit websites that have content to offer on the topics we are seeking.

I’m not saying that all advertising is ineffective.  There are some excellent and affordable opportunities and bargains out there, especially in the emerging mobile advertising arena.  But if you are on a tight marketing budget, press releases can be a very affordable way to get word out about your company, products and services.  A quarter-page advertisement in a newspaper can cost a few thousand dollars each time it is run.  Television and radio commercials are also expensive to run as well as produce.  Remember, advertising is about reach and frequency. You need to reach your target audience as many at seven to ten times before they even think about doing business with you.  And that’s only if they are in the market for your product or service.

Press releases, however, can generate news stories that don’t cost you anything – unless it’s an “advertorial” publication where you pay to get your “story” published.  A story on your company, product, service, employees, etc…, will be read and are proven to have greater recall by the reader. And as an added bonus, online content is often picked up through RSS feeds and manage to become viral, making their way through cyberspace and landing in other similar blogs, online newsletters, social networking sites, new media and search engine databases.

So, if you are looking ways to better manage your marketing budget while still generating top-of-mind awareness for your business, consider adding press releases to your marketing mix.

Are You Prepared for a Crisis?

posted in Public Releations

Fact: Approximately 40% of all businesses that experience a crisis or disaster never re-open.  Almost 30% of those that do re-open, close within 2 years.

I bet it’s safe to say that none of you wishes you were Tiger Woods right now.  He’s grabbed all of the major headlines recently for the wrong reasons.  And here in Indianapolis, there have been several businesses and business owners that suddenly became household names and grabbed a few of those national headlines themselves – again for the wrong reasons.  Marcus Schrenker was a local business man who allegedly scammed several clients out of millions of dollars. When he was about to get caught, he allegedly devised a plan to fake his own death by ditch his personal airplane. He parachuted out, his plane crashed, and he was eventually caught.   It didn’t work out so well.  Like many others, Woods and Schrenker each experienced a crisis of their own doing.

But what happens when YOU suddenly find yourself and/or YOUR business in a crisis?  Maybe you’ve had a few “transgressions” and you’re about to be outed.  Maybe you didn’t handle a customer service issue correctly.  An employee might have done something to cause the public to take an unfavorable view of your company.  Or a product you sell may have caused injury or illness to others.  No matter how minor or major the crisis, if handled the wrong way, it can become financially and personally devastating. 

Personally, I’ve been there.  I owned a local, high-profile business several years ago that failed because  I took a financial risk… and lost.  I had to close that business suddenly for financial reasons.  Customers were upset, employees were angry, investors were disappointed and even a few of my family members were put in the awkward position of fielding questions they couldn’t answer.  I felt horrible.

But what minimized the damage was the fact that I had a crisis communication plan in place.  It was something I learned early on in my career working for other businesses that experienced a crisis.  I documented various scenarios just in case something happened.  So when I knew that I had to close my business over a weekend, I put my plan into place.  I personally called the people that needed to know including employees, investors and my attorney; those weren’t easy calls to make.  Then I called a reporter that I had gotten to know at the local newspaper and told her that I was emailing her a press release that contained the only public comment that I would make.  The next morning, the story about my business closing made the front page and was broadcast on television and radio (they used the newspaper as their source).  And the carefully-crafted statement I issued in the press release ran without edits. 

Instead of the media making up stories about what might have happened and sensationalizing the issue, people got an honest and succinct statement from me. End of story. What could have been a major, burning story simply fizzled out within a day or two. 

Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in other situations where I’ve helped manage the flow of information, issued statements to the media and coached others on how to respond to a list of likely questions.  The coaching is key because I can’t always be in the room or around when a reporter ambushes my client.

I encourage any business owner to have a crisis communication plan in place.  You should have the following documentation ready at all times:

1. Contact List for your crisis management team
Your team should include the CEO, key executives, public relations & marketing leaders, legal department/attorney and security.  Have their personal, home, and cell phone numbers as well as email address and social networking info.

2. Spokesperson
Depending on the crisis, assign an “official” spokesperson and let them do their job. This person should be able to remain calm under pressure and understand the situation so they can provide information as needed.

3. Company Information
Have facts sheets available for your company including history, executives (including biographies), photos, company logos, and scanned signatures of your CEO.

4. Pre-written Scripts and Answers
 Have everyone read the answers and have them available. NEVER say, “No comment”.  If you don’t know, can’t answer, or shouldn’t answer, simply say… “I (we) don’t have that information available at this time.  As soon as it becomes available I (we) will let you know.”

5. Media and Other Contacts
This list is important.  It should include people in the media, your industry, your geographic area, business complex, and government (local, state & national) that you trust.  Notify those people who are on a “need –to-know” basis before they learn from the media or as soon as humanly possible.

Important Tip

As a business owner, it’s not wise for you to become involved in a crisis communication plan as a spokesperson.  Most likely, you are emotionally invested.  In an emotionally charged situation, you may not be able to separate yourself from the situation and could bring more harm to your and your company’s reputation.  It’s okay to be involved, but let your public relations, marketing and legal teams do their jobs.