The document provides guidance on effectively engaging with mass media and social media to promote a business. It discusses maintaining positive relationships with press, preparing for interviews, crafting press releases, and pitching stories to media. The document aims to teach business owners and marketers how to leverage different media platforms to generate publicity and buzz for their company.
3. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
Content
About the Author
Mass Media
1. Understanding media and publicity for your business
2. How to maintain a positive relationship with the
media and press?
3. Effective Crisis Management Skills
4. About Press Release and Media Alert
5. Preparing for Radio interview
6. Preparing for TV interview
7. The Art of Pitching
8. Organising a Press Conference
9. A final word on Effective Media management (part 1)
10. A final word on Effective Media management (part 2)
Social Media / New Media
11. Introduction to Social Media or New Media
12. Interesting statistics about Social Media for your
business consideration
13. The ROI of Social Media : Is it measurable?
14. 10 Keys to Social Media success
15. 5 phases of Strategic approach to Social Media
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16. Overview of social media tools & Linkedin
17. Using Facebook for Business
18. Social Media File-sharing tools (Part 1)
19. Social Media File-sharing tools (Part 2)
20. Social Media Publishing Tools
21. Social Media Collaboration Tools
22. Conclusion
Summary of Learning Objectives for Mastering Social
Media Leverage
How to connect with Andrew Chow?
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About the Author
Andrew Chow is a certified
Life Coach, Entrepreneur,
Speaker, Author and Modern
Match Maker. He won the
Spirit of Enterprise Award in
2008 and Successful
Entrepreneur Award in 2010.
Andrew graduated from
Thames Valley University and
had more than 130 interviews
and features about him and his
business since 2005. During the same period, numerous
valuable experiences are drawn from managing the press
and media (Channel News Asia, News 8, 938Live,
Business Times, Zao Bao, Berita Harian, Today, The New
Paper, My Paper, STOMP, FEMALE, HER WORLD,
PEAK, SHAPE, Lifestyle, etc). Andrew is also one of the
choice interview candidates for Singapore lifestyle among
foreign media like Canadian TV, Swiss Radio, German
TV, AFP.
Riding on wave of Social Media, he has successfully
founded 4 social networking portals with more than 12,000
profiles for social and business networking.
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Andrew is able to develop Social Media courses under
WSQ framework by The Workforce Development Agency
(WDA), and a regular speaker at business meeting
organised by SACEOS, SCCCI and regional conferences.
Specialties:
Forging of Strategic Alliance
Sponsorship Management
Creation of new business models
Strategic Marketing & Sponsorship Management
Certified Exhibition Organiser
Certified NLP Practitioner & Life Coach -
Enneagram
Profiling - Hypnotherapy - Timeline Intervention
Public Relation Practitioner Media Management
Training Seminar Organisation & Planning Trade
Show Management
Life Coaching
Personal Branding
Creation of Social Networking Portal
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1. Understanding Media and Publicity for your
business
a. Many small and medium enterprises do not
really understand how to work with the media to
generate buzz and publicity. They often have a
misconception that the media publicity is
exclusive to big companies having huge budget
for public relation specialists providing strategic
counsel.
b. Media relation is both an art and a science.
Knowing your basics and adding some creativity
and flair will produce an effective pitch.
c. Understanding what constitute news and
knowing what the media and press want will give
your company a head start in gaining publicity.
Having good publicity about your product and
branding will always enhance the public
perception on their value.
d. There are basically two types of news. The Hard
News which are primarily basic facts and figure.
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The soft news is news of human interest. The
press usually prefer news that are :
i. Unusual
ii. Current
iii. Local
iv. Abnormal
v. Sensation
vi. Socially impactful
A Public relation practitioner once told me that if
all else fail, there will always be three issues
which are of interest to the media. They are
MONEY, Sex and HEALTH.
e. The press and media are powerful stake holders
of your business. The press usually likes to
develop a story while the media prefer to explore
different angles. For example, there is no story if
you announce to the press that your company is
celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
However, if your company plan to denote 20
million to charity to celebrate its 20th anniversary,
it will be a big story!
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2. How to maintain positive relationship with the media
and press?
o Compile a list of journalists and reporter contacts
and develop friendship with them. Try to remember
their professional interest in their work and seek to
be a resource information centre for other contacts.
Be truthful about the quality of a story and its
sources. Always give reporters special access to
you by releasing your personal mobile number. Send
them an email once in a while you see their features
published.
o The common mistake newsmakers make in dealing
with reporter is to insist on a perfect story to
advocate your position. The reporters’ job isn’t to
protect your reputation or advance your career. Do
not expect them to ask you questions to help you to
say what you want to say.
o All reporters want to produce a professional story,
accepted by their editor and audience with a specific
angle. Understanding their job will enable you to
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build rapport with them and pave the way for media
pitching.
o Know your rights with the media will be helpful.
Always remember you have the right to be treated
with respect. You can refuse to answer any personal
questions. You have the right to be quoted
accurately. Always repeat your key messages if
there is a need to. You have the right to determine
when and where you will be interviewed.
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3. Effective Crisis Management Skills
o No company will ever be fully prepared for any
crisis to their business. The key is to develop a
standard contingency plan to keep the public
informed through the media on how they handle
the crisis.
o There are Ten Questions a Reporter Will Want to
Know in a Hard News Situation:
- What happened?
- Why did it happen?
- Was anyone injured or affected from it?
- Could this have been prevented?
- Has this ever happened before?
- Currently, what are you doing about it?
- When will the problem be solved?
- How will you prevent this from happening
again?
- Did you know this was going to happen?
- What would you like to say to those affected?
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o Have a designated person in your company to
answer questions from the press. In an extreme
crisis situation, the CEO or the Chairman of the
company should preferably be the main spoke
person in order to project an honest and open
attitude.
o When dealing with reporters from the tabloids,
please ensure you handle tricky questions
carefully. Never release information which you
“off the record”, it will be published. Avoid being
put into a situation which you have to answer a
YES or NO. Be prepared for open ended
questions and prepare a Frequent asked
Question (FAQ) list.
a. Try your best to avoid having negative press
publicity. The negative impact will remain in the
minds of the public for a long time. Always
remember if bad press happen once is an
incident. If it happens twice is a coincidence. If it
happens 3 times, it has a pattern! Having it 4
times, it has become a lifestyle!
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4. Preparing your Press Release / Media Alert
A press release brings information to the attention of the
press and broadcast media, and in turn the public,
generating publicity.
The following guidelines should help you on your way.
Include basic information. The release should
answer the questions: who, what, when, where, why
and how.
Get your story across early. If your first sentence or
paragraph is obscure, complicated or boring,
journalists probably won't bother reading on.
Keep the release concise - one side if possible, and
no more than two.
Avoid jargon, acronyms and abbreviations unless
they are generally well-known by your target
audience.
Include quotes - draft them yourself if need be, but
always get them approved!
Don’t make misleading statements.
Make sure your subject and style suit the target
audience.
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For events, give a precise timetable and location,
including clear information on any opportunities for
photos and interviews in a 'Note to Editors' at the
end of the release.
Give the release a short title. The purpose is to
attract interest so make it clear and self-explanatory.
Put the date on the release.
Always include a contact name and phone number,
an email and web address for further information.
Use double or 1.5 lines spacing to make the release
easier to read.
Check with all those involved for factual accuracy.
Check spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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5. Preparing for Radio Interview
Before the Interview
o Practice both long and short answers
o Submit a list of suggested questions to the
producer or host of the show
o Obtain a volume control for your telephone (Any
Radio store for $20.00)
o Learn how to turn Call Waiting off on your phone
o Arrange for your own callers to participate
The Day of the Interview
o Turn off the ringer on other telephones near you
o Have a glass of water nearby
o Arrange your notes on your desk so that they
can be easily accessed
o Perform mental and physical relaxation
exercises
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During the Interview
o Speak in a normal conversational voice, but
display enthusiasm
o Be creative by providing useful information,
revealing new information, or using memorable
words or phrases
o Limit your answers to less than five sentences.
o Avoid using filler words (Umm, well, like, you
know, really, etc.)
o Concentrate on the interview process to
anticipate the upcoming moments
o Do not speak too much, leave room for the
interviewer to ask questions. It’s his show after
all, not yours.
o Make your "sales pitch" only at the end of the
interview.
o Repeat all numbers, addresses, URLs, etc.
After the Interview
o Send the producer and host a written thank-you
note
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o Follow up on any promises made on-air to
listeners
o Remind the producer of your interest in being a
guest again
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6. Preparing for Television interview
Dress Code
o Do not wear bright white, weather map blue,
or chrome key blue.
o When you are booked for a studio
appearance, find out the colour of the set and
dress so that you don't blend in.
o Do not wear contrasting patterns. Wear bold,
fashionable ties, but not ones that distract.
o Do not wear any shiny fabrics or anything
that glares.
o Do not wear bracelets. Women should wear
pearls instead of shiny necklaces.
Gestures and Body Movement
o Use gestures economically to make points.
o Too much body movement is distracting.
o Every movement is body language and some
of it is not good.
o Leave your body open and quiet. Both men
and women should cross their legs when
seated.
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Posture
o Be in a "state of readiness." Don't slump
shoulders or lean back. Keep your torso
erect.
o Request pillows to help you sit erect if
necessary.
o Men should unbutton their jackets when
seated and remove their tie clip and pens
from their shirt pocket.
Eye Contact
o Don't wear glasses if you can help it. If you
have to wear glasses, get non-glare lens or
learn how to hold your head when you wear
your glasses.
o Energy comes from your eyes, so be careful
with eye movement. It's usually best not to
move your eyes. You will need long stretches
of eye contact. Only look at the person who
is interviewing you. Hold your eye contact
there after you finish a statement.
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Tone of Voice
o Use the right volume to make points and
create variety.
o Avoid an accent in most cases.
o Listen to yourself before you go on.
o Slow your speaking rate and enunciate
carefully.
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7. The Art of Pitching
Who
It is always more effective directing your pitch to the
editors as they decide on what is newsworthy
information.
The journalists are usually assigned different stories
though they can recommend your story if they are
approached.
The equivalent in the media will be the producers of
radio shows and TV programmes.
When
The best time to approach a journalist isn’t just
before he is due to submit his stories.
It is advisable that you send your pitch through email
and follow up by a call. It may take a few more days
before the journalist get back to you if your story isn’t
about a event.
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What
Ensure you have a press release with all the
supporting information. Key personnel’s contact
preferably with their Linkedin profiles.
Photo, drawings and other visual information should
be linked from a social media file sharing site. This is
to enable the journalist to conduct further
background research to your story.
If your story is an upcoming event, ensure you have
briefed the different participants on the possibility of
being interviewed during the event.
How
a. Pictures. If a picture worth a thousand words, a
great picture is worth a million.
b. Inclusive vs. Exclusive. Some members of the
press will only cover your story if they are promised
an exclusive coverage. If you feel that the readership
base of the particular press is your target audience,
offering exclusivity may be a good idea.
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c. Tell the insider’s story. If your pitch is about an
event, inviting the journalist to participate may
produce a story based on insider’s feedback and
evaluation. The advantage of this approach is you
can offer this to various members of the press.
d. Be Creatively or Controversial. Always be
creatively in your story. Journalists receive hundreds
of press release daily. Most of them end up in the
trash if there is nothing unique about the pitch.
e. Homework – Survey/Trend/Insights. The easiest
way to produce a hard news is to conduct a survey
and present your new findings. This is effective in
positioning your company as the leader of your
industry. (350)
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8. Organising a press conference
Choosing a date
Try to obtain as much information as possible
about internal deadlines of the media you are
targeting, and schedule your press conference
accordingly
Try to avoid a date parallel to other events that
are likely to attract considerable public interest
Choosing and preparing a location:
o Make sure the location can be reached
easily, and with little effort for journalists
o Make your organisation visible (e.g. with a
banner, roll-up, poster)
o Provide good signage so that journalists
arriving late can still join in
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Invitations
o Build a good list of contacts in advance, and
try to use existing media directories
o Send out invitations by fax or email, about
one week in advance
o Keep it short and simple (maximum one
page), highlighting the date, time, duration
(45 to 60 minutes) and location
o Include contact data at the end, and ask for
feedback on planned attendance and
accessibility requirements
o Follow up by telephone a few days before the
press conference
The press conference itself
o Have a moderator/facilitator to host the press
conference
o Each speaker should prepare a short
presentation or statement
o Align the whole programme around one key
message, e.g. think of the headline that you
would like to see the next day in the
newspaper
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o Do not assume that journalists necessarily
understand technical terminology
o Prepare written or printed information on the
topic; you can add information on the
speakers and organisation(s) involved (cf. a
media kit)
o Invite journalists to ask questions
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9. Final Words on Media Management : Part 1
Do’s
Be sure all information you use is accurate.
State - but do not interpret - company policy.
Always tell the truth to the media. If you can't tell the
truth, don't talk and don't get caught "not talking" or
saying "no comment."
Admit you don't know the answer to a question if that's
the case, and arrange to get the media the required
information, or refer them to someone who can answer
the question.
Be a content provider and not a “marketer” in your
media relations.
Realize that you have almost no control over the
content, format, timing, or size/time of key messages.
Prepare and keep current lists of all media people with
whom you deal.
Direct all material to the proper media person and send
in on time to meet their deadlines.
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Always return reporters' telephone calls promptly, make
sure that they can reach you, and make sure they are
on your press list.
Show no favouritism in the distribution of "hard news"
releases.
Keep your word when you give story exclusivity to a
reporter.
When a feature is turned down, try to place it elsewhere,
but don't peddle it.
When a feature is used, rework it with a new angle and
try to place it with another publicity source.
Invest in good photography or visuals to enhance the
possibility of a story being run.
If you are misquoted, don't hesitate to let the media
know and suggest they run a retraction.
When preparing for television, think with your eyes and
ears.
Keep your sound bites under 30 seconds.
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10. Final Words on Media Management (Part 2)
Don’ts
- Do not comment on political or economic issues except
within the bounds of stated company positions.
- Do not disclose private company information without
approval from the top.
- Do not presume, comment on, or explain any position of
the company relative to laws, regulations, economic
issues, or government policy.
- Do not disclose any matters of internal operations.
- Do not comment on pending or threatened litigation or
other legal proceedings involving your company without
clearance from the top and the company's legal counsel.
- Do not say anything to the media "off-the-record."
- Do not suggest an "exclusive" to a second reporter
before it is definitely refused by the first.
- Do not be a pest by repeatedly calling the media to see
if your story has been accepted.
- Do not invent reasons to call a reporter.
- Do not pressure a reporter by mentioning that your
company "pays to advertise" in that medium.
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- Do not insist on name identification in a story.
- Do not ask reporters if they will use a story. It is their
editor's decision. Ask the editor only once.
- Do not ask to read a story before it is used.
- Do not send out a news release that is not newsworthy
or a picture or graphic that is not of high technical
quality.
- Do not schedule press conferences in any but the most
unusual circumstances and make sure they are "worth
it" to the press.
- Do not telephone a reporter or editor when they are on
deadline unless it is an important news development.
Use the fax or e-mail instead.
- Do not use acronyms or jargon in news releases.
- Do not send out news releases or issue statements with
spelling or grammatical errors.
- Do not put out any statements that are questionable,
unconventional, or controversial without it being
attributed to a quoted source.
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11. Social Media for Business (Introduction)
a. It is online social conversation from any content
generated by people using different tools or
media.
b. They are not one to one or one to many
conversation but many to many. It is a
fundamental shift in the way we communicate.
c. The stake holders involved in such conversation
can be your customers, your donors, your
volunteers, your employees, your investors,
your critics, your fans, your competition or
anyone who has internet access and has an
opinion
d. The conversation isn’t organized or controlled
but organic and complex, speaking in a human
voice
e. Social media is not a strategy or a tactic – it’s
simply a channel.
f. Social media has great influence in buying
decisions of consumers. According to a research
by Digital Influence Group, 87% trust a friend’s
recommendation over critic’s review
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g. Social media sites are the fastest-growing
category on the web, doubling their traffic over
the last year
h. Social media can help you in all stages of
marketing, self-promotion, public relations,
and customer service:
i. In conclusion, Social media is practical in the
following ways:
i. Learn what people are saying about
you
ii. Create buzz for events & campaigns
iii. Increase brand exposure
iv. Identify and recruit influencers to spread
your message
v. Find new opportunities and customers
vi. Support your products and services
vii. Improve your search engine visibility
viii. Gain competitive intelligence
ix. Get your message out fast
x. Retain clients by establishing a personal
relationship
xi. Be an industry leader – not a follower
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12. Interesting statistics of Social Media today.
a. 2.5 million on Facebook in Singapore
b. 500 years to finish watching all video on Youtube
today
c. 1 out of 8 couples married in American met on
social media
d. There are 5 billion pictures on Flickr, half than
half of the world’s population
e. 96% of Gen Y have joined a social media
f. Facebook have overtaken Google for weekly
traffic
g. Social media has overtaken pornography as the
1st activity on web
h. It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users,
TV took 13 years and internet took 4 years, and
IPOD took only 3 years.
i. If Facebook is a country today, its membership
would have been the 3rd largest country today
behind China and India, America is 4th.
j. Businesses do not really have to choice whether
they should be on social media, the question is
How Well they should be doing it?
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k. 80% of the companies have used social media
for recruitment
l. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-
65 years old FEMALE
m. While you are listening to Positive Business
Minute, another 25 hours of videos would have
been uploaded to Youtube
n. Wikipedia has over 15 million articles, 78% of
these are not even in English.
o. There are 200 million blogs in the world right
now.34% of them post their opinion on products
and services. So what are they saying about
your brand?
p. Even traditional mass media are on Facebook
and Twitter engaging their fans through feedback
and discussions.
q. In summary, in social media, we do not need to
look for products and services; they will come
and find us.
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13. The Return on Investment (ROI) of Social Media:Is it
measurable?
a. The ROI of Social Media must be measured from
your online presence.
b. Firstly, in order to measure ROI in Social media,
your brand needs to create its own fan base.
c. Next, your company website must act as a portal
where customers give feedback and obtain latest
information.
d. Thirdly, you must leverage on other social media
platform like Facebook using Open ID sign up or
Facebook Connect.
e. Offer latest information dissemination through
Ready Simple Syndication, or RSS feed.
f. Lastly, with the rise of Mobile devices like I
Phone and Blackberry, users will require your
web to be mobile-enabled; to have a simplified
version.
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g. Using Google analytics you are able to track the
following:
i. Reach
1. Website visits / views
2. volume of reviews and comments
3. Incoming links
ii. Action & Insight
1. Sales inquiries
2. New business
3. Customer satisfaction and loyalty
4. Marketing efficiency
iii. Engagement & Influence
1. Sentiment of reviews and
comments
2. Brand affinity
3. Commenter authority/influence
4. Time spent
5. Favourites / Friends / Fans
6. Viral forwards
7. Number of downloads
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14. 10 Keys to Social Media Success
a. Experiment different platform.
i. Experiment different platform personally
before doing it professionally
ii. Try a variety of social media tools
iii. Be yourself, make some friends, and
share your content
b. Device a strategic approach to social Media
(more on this in the next segment)
c. Research and Listen.
i. Find where your audience is participating
and indentify the influencers
ii. Read industry blogs (including
comments)
iii. Google your company name & your
competition
iv. Find tools that can help you listen
d. Be open, transparent and honest.
i. Avoid puffery. (people will ignore it)
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ii. Avoid evasion and lying (people won’t
ignore it)
iii. Companies have watched their biggest
screw-up's rise to the top 10 of a
Google search
iv. Admit your mistakes right away
e. Share your content freely
i. Don’t be afraid to share. Corporations,
like people, need to share information to
get the value out of social media
ii. Make your content easy to share
iii. Incorporate tools that promote sharing:
Share This, RSS feeds, Email a friend
f. Be personal and act like a person:
i. Don't shout. Don't broadcast. Don’t
brag.
ii. Speak like yourself – not a corporate
marketing script or press secretary
iii. Personify your brand – give people
something they can relate to.
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g. Contribute in a meaningful way
i. Think like a contributor, not a marketer
ii. Consider what is relevant to the
community before contributing
iii. Don’t promote your product on every post
iv. Win friends by promoting other people’s
content if it interests you
h. See every crisis and criticism as an
opportunity to communicate your brand
i. Don’t try to delete or remove criticism (it
will just make it worse)
ii. Listen to your detractors
iii. Admit your shortcomings
iv. Work openly towards an explanation
and legitimate solution
i. Be pro active
i. Don’t wait until you have a campaign
to launch - start planning and listening
now
ii. Build relationships so they’re ready
when you need them
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j. Realise that you cannot do everything
yourself
i. You need buy in from everyone in the
organization
ii. Convince your CEO that social media is
relevant to your organization
iii. Get your communications team together,
discuss the options, then divide and
conquer
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15. 5 Phases of Strategic Approach to Social Media
According to Social Computing Journal, a strategic
approach has 5 phases:
Phase 1 - Discovery
In this phase, we explore three variables:
1. People: Who are your prospects and customers,
and how do they feel about your brand, service
and products online?
2. Competition: What are your competitors doing
online? Where can we overtake them? What is
their online reputation?
3. Spiders: How easy is it for you to be found by an
average searcher who may be searching for your
products online?
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Phase 2 - Strategy
In this phase, we explore the opportunities and establish
the objectives of a social media plan - based on the
lessons we've learned in the Discovery phase.
Questions include:
What do you want your prospects and customers
to think of you, and how do you want them to
experience you, once you've begun your
dialogue?
This Phase is usually highly collaborative; and involves
key players from around an organization, not just the
marketing folks.
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Phase 3 - Skills
Once we have developed a Strategy, we’ll review an
organization's internal resources to identify gaps. Whose
skills need building? How might we best train
participants?
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Phase 4 - Execution
As we prepare to implement our strategy, we determine
which tools to use, how they interface with your existing
infrastructure, and ensure the processes and platforms
are properly tied together. We explore the following:
Are your systems all operating together as
desired?
Are your company policies updated for blogging,
texting and IM and other social media tools?
Will your CRM system interface with your social
media tools? How will you move people into your
sales process?
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Phase 5 - Maintenance
After the launch, Maintenance becomes the kit is in this
phase, that a company’s commitment to social media
approach becomes evident.
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16. Social Media Tools
Social media tools can be broadly classified into these
categories.
a. Social media networking tools
b. Social media sharing tools
c. Social media publishing tools
d. Social media collaboration tools
Social Media networking tools
i. People and organizations connect and
interact with friends, colleagues and
fans.
ii. Popular social networks include
Facebook and MySpace, Linkedin,
bebo, and Ning.
iii. There are niche social networks for just
about everything:
1. create online profiles
2. share photos, video, and audio,
links
3. send private message and
instant message
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4. learn more about people and
organizations
5. Follow brands, celebrities, and
gain your own fans
Let’s talk about Linkedin, the most popular social
networking tools for Professionals, Managers,
Executives and Technical specialists.
Linkedin
Latest LinkedIn Facts
LinkedIn has over 65 million members in over
200 countries.
A new member joins LinkedIn approximately
every second, and about half of our members
are outside the U.S.
Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are
LinkedIn members.
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Relationships Matter
Your professional network of trusted contacts gives you
an advantage in your career, and is one of your most
valuable assets. LinkedIn exists to help you make better
use of your professional network and help the people
you trust in return. Linkedin connects the world’s
professionals to make them more productive and
successful. In a global connected economy, your
success as a professional and your competitiveness as
a company depend upon faster access to insight and
resources you can trust.
On LinkedIn your can Post a profile and resume,
Connect with colleagues, Share professional
recommendations, Find jobs, participate in Forums to
demonstrate expertise and find answers
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17. Using Facebook for Business.
a. Fastest growing social network in the world
with more than 400 million members
b. It is a Powerful tools to engage and understand
your audience:
i. Brand pages
ii. Custom applications
iii. Targeted advertising
iv. Audience insights/metrics
v. Opinion polls
c. Facebook Fan Page
i. Your brand’s homepage on Facebook.
ii. Allow you to post photos, videos, events
and other messages.
iii. Users interact with you by:
1. Becoming fans
2. Commenting on your posts
3. Participating in discussions
4. Post photos to your page
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d. Facebook Advertising
i. Facebook ads give you the ability to
advertise directly to specific
demographic groups
ii. This is unlike paid search, the most
popular form of online advertising, which
only lets you to bid on keywords the
user is searching for right now
e. Facebook Applications:
i. are entertainment and productivity tools
that run within facebook
ii. They Give users a unique ways to
interact with your brand by developing
your own applications, or add existing
applications, to your page
iii. When fans use your applications social
stories are created that appear in their
friends news feed and link back to your
page
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There are some pointers to note while using social media
networking tools:
Always Never
o establish a presence o create a page and
on the social networks fail to maintain it
your customers use o try a hard sell
o create a page to approach
promote your brand o censor comments
o point your fans to your o spam your
company blog or fans/friends with
contest frequent private
o encourage a messages – you’ll
discussion and drive them away
participate frequently o post false
o explore targeted information
advertising
opportunities
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18. Social Media File-Sharing Tools
There are 3 main types information which you can share
under Social Media File-Sharing tools. They are videos,
pictures and podcast. The other types of information will
include presentation slides, spreadsheet, ebook, etc
which can be found in many specialised sites.
Let’s discuss video sharing site today.
Video sharing sites:
o Video sharing sites let you upload videos and
share them with people.
o They’re a perfect repository for video blogs, taped
seminars, witty Power Points, commercials, how-
to’s and a behind-the-scene look at your
organization
o helps you gain exposure and direct traffic back to
your website
o sparks interest without a hard-sell
o Videos can be low-resolution and cheap to
produce - immediacy and content is more important
than quality.
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o videos can be a place to showcase your
leadership in a field, and spread customer
testimonials
o Youtube is the most popular video sharing site in the
world and has become the 2nd most popular search
engine in the world.
There are pointers to note when using video sharing
sites:
Always Never
o be informative, o just upload
useful, or infomercials
entertaining o Be afraid to
o create a summary experiment until
and detailed you find a formula
description that works.
o post video replies o pull down other
to others people’s videos
o allow showcasing your
commenting and product for
participate in the copyright
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conversation infringement
o save bandwidth o make your video
costs on your longer than it
website by needs to be – keep
hosting videos it concise and
on YouTube entertaining
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19. Social Media Photo and Podcast Sharing sites
Part 1 : Social Media Photo sharing sites:
Social Media Photo sharing sites give you a place to
upload and organize your photos
You can invite friends to check out your photos and
people can find your photos by searching for the
keywords (tags) you apply to your photos.
Use it promote special events, charitable
campaigns, and awards ceremonies
The most popular photo sharing site in the world is
Flickr, owned by Yahoo.
Here are some pointers for you when using photo
sharing sites:
Always Never
o tag your photos o stuff linked
with relevant keywords into
keywords your photo
o use your web site descriptions or
address or brand comments
name as your o plaster your
Flickr screen URL all over the
name photos you
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57. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
o upload quality upload
photos of your o discourage
products/service people from
s, and things using your
related to your photos
business
o link prominently
from your web site
to your Flickr
photostream
Part 2 : Social Media Podcast (Personal On-Demand
Broadcast) sites :
o A podcast is a series of audio or video files which
is distributed by downloading for use on an MP3
player or computer.
o Podcasts can be simple recordings of
conversations, presentations, or interviews
o They’re a chance to provide build an audience
around your brand or message.
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o Here are some pointers for you when using
PODCAST sharing sites:
Always Never
o come up with a o worry about
format (form, length
topic, and o invest in a lot of
duration) equipment –
o prepare don’t simple tools and
script (or you’ll software are all
sound stiff) you need to get
o use a good going
microphone for o leave too much
recording time between
o promote your podcasts – it
podcast on your could prevent
website and you from
podcast directories building an
audience
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20. Social media Publishing Tools
Social Media Publishing tools generally encompass
blogging and micro-blogging (more commonly known as
Twitter)
a. Blogs :
i. A blog is a website with regular entries
of commentary or news
ii. Blogs serve to establish your company as
transparent, relevant, active, and
expert
iii. It engages in dialogue with your
customers to improve your search
engine visibility
iv. It can promote product launches,
events and gain expert status by
providing useful tips
v. Here are some pointers to note when you
start blogging
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60. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
Always Never
o post on a regular o write press releases
schedule – be real about why
o encourage something is
conversation by asking exciting
questions o let complaints go
o respond to people unanswered
that comment on your o make users register
posts to comment
o use a few bloggers anything they won’t
from your company for bother
more viewpoints o delete fair but
critical comments
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b. Micro-blogging or Twitter :
1. Micro blogs are blogs limited to a sentence or
two (about 140 characters)
2. People use micro blogging to promote
themselves, share content and follow
friends, celebrities and brands
3. Companies use it for marketing, public
relations and customer service by giving
their brand a voice within the community
4. Here are some pointers for you when you
use twitter:
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62. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
Always Never
o find and share o sound like a press
useful content release – you’re
o pose questions and in a social space
reply to others o spam with
o keep it fun - put a constant links to
friendly face on your your company
brand website, either in
o promote sales, tweets or private
deals, news, messages
updates, and build o Post useless
buzz for big releases information – do
or events people really care
o know what people what you had for
are saying about lunch?
your brand
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21. Social Media Collaboration tools : Wikis & RSS
(really simple syndication)
Wiki
a. A wiki is a website that allows visitors to
easily add, remove, and edit content – this
makes them great collaboration tools
b. Wikipedia, for example, is an encyclopedia is
written collaboratively by volunteers from all
around the world; anyone can edit it
c. Here are some pointers when using
Collaboration tools
Always Never
o find references to o rely on social
your organization reference
and have websites to be
inaccuracies accurate
updated o spam or overtly
o read the terms of advertising – it
use to ensure you could get you
are allowed to edit banned
an entry about you o use it for Search
o research Engine
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competition Optimization
o use wikis to (Wikipedia
collaborate with prevents search
your team engines from
following links)
o Don’t sabotage
competitor’s
entries about
competitors (You
could get caught
doing that)
Really Simple Syndication (RSS).
o RSS is a way for content publishers to make
blog entries, news headlines, events,
podcasts and other content available to
subscribers.
o an effective way to distribute your content
and lead users back to your website
o Here are some pointers when using RSS:
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65. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
Always Never
o offer RSS feeds for o spam your
your website’s subscribers by
blog, news, including
events, and excessive
podcasts advertising in
o subscribe to RSS your RSS feed
feeds relevant to o go overboard –
your industry or limit RSS feeds
interests to content
o include a title and frequently
description only updated
so subscribers o freak out when
need to visit your a blogger
site for the full story hijacks your
o track your content – this
subscribers could actually
help your
search engine
rank
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22. Conclusion : Publicity 2.0 for Business 2.0
Publicity 2.0 is a hybrid strategy of engaging both
the mass and new media to communicate your
company’s brand.
While mass media may have the authority in
objective reporting, it is the social media that
provides the authenticity of your brand.
A brand manager must embrace both to in order to
engage the two biggest stake holders of the
business – the media and the public.
It is often said that social media has make public
relations truly public.
The three 3Cs of Social Media are :
a. Contents
b. Conversation
c. Communities
Your contents in your social media will enjoy more
conversation if they are featured reports from the
press.
Bear in mind that most journalists now belong to the
Gen Y, they get most of their stories from Google
and social media.
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So the more others are talking about you, the easier
your pitch will be. This is due to the fact that they
probably heard of you even before you approach
them.
Social Media is a less effective tool when it comes to
crisis management. Working with the mass media to
keep the public updated is direct way to show
honesty and steadfastness.
Lastly, always remember not to use the word
“publicity” when you are pitching or being
interviewed. This may give the public perception that
your story is subjectively reported or just an info-
commercial.
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Summary of Learning Objectives of Mastering Social
Media Leverage for your Business
Corporate Communications
o Developing a social media (blogging,
podcasting, wikis, etc.) strategy to drive
performance-based communications
o Integrating social media tools into your
internal and external communications
practices
o Communicating more effectively and
efficiently through the use of social media
(blogs, podcasts, Real Simple Syndication
(RSS) feeds, video podcasts, and much more)
o Measuring the effectiveness of your social
media strategy and determining its value
within your organization
o Gaining inside knowledge of social media and
why it is a crucial addition to your
communication arsenal
Public Education/Market Research
o Monitoring social media for your
organization, whether you are participating or
not
o Assimilating cutting-edge communication
techniques and tools presented by your peers
who are already using social media
o Using social media tools, such as, blogging,
podcasting and RSS
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69. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
o Demonstrating the Return on Investment
(ROI) of your social media program
o Maximizing awareness of your agency’s
mission to the public
Customer Service
o Understanding how social media can be vital
during an emergency or crisis management
o Utilizing social networking tools as sources
of information that the public can use and
trust
o Learning how to easily communicate to the
public through external blogs, podcasts and
video podcasting
Human Resource
o Building senior management support for your
social media programs
o Creating Web 2.0 policies and guidelines
o Engaging your employees and the public by
connecting them to your organization's goals
and strategic plan for the future
o Operating social media tools within the
boundaries of government restrictions and
firewalls
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70. Romancing the Media for Your Business 2011
How to connect with Andrew Chow?
1. Social Networking
a. Facebook Profile -
http://www.facebook.com/AndrewChowKokWah
b. Facebook Page -
2. Business Networking
a. Linkedin - http://sg.linkedin.com/in/ideasandrew
b. Plaxo http://ideasandrew.myplaxo.com/
c. Ning - https://www.xing.com/profile/Andrew_Chow
d. Skype - ideasandrew
3. Social Media Sharing
a. Flickr Collection -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideasandrew/
b. Youtube Channel -
http://www.youtube.com/user/ideasandrew
c. Slideshare - http://www.slideshare.net/ideasandrew
d. Podomatic - http://ideasandrew.podomatic.com
4. Social Blogging / Micro-blogging
a. Twitter - http://twitter.com/AndrewKWChow
b. Wordpress blog – www.andrewchow.sg
5. Bookmarking
a. Delicious - http://delicious.com/Ideasandrew
b. Bit.ly - http://bit.ly/u/ideasandrew
6. Collaboration
a. Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ideasandrew
b. Meet up - http://www.meetup.com/members/11966314/
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