HAPPO – PR Jobs Event


If you’re in Chicago and are looking to advance your career in Public Relations or Communications, please check out the PRSA Chicago / Help A PR Pro Out event. From the PRSA website:

The PRSA Chicago luncheon on May 15 will focus on employment and hiring opportunities for our industry in 2012 and beyond.

Attendees will participate in a series of roundtables to network and discuss related topics with Chicago’s communications leaders. Topics will include finding jobs in the PR 2.0 world, resume review and the skills necessary for landing your next position. Register here!

Facebook Privacy and Your Personal Brand


Last week I guest-hosted the monthly Tweet Chat of the Young Professionals Network. This is a very smart and active group of young PR pros affiliated with PRSA Chicago. The topic was career advancement in the PR 2.0 world, which naturally lead to some discussion of privacy on Facebook. I suggested we continue the privacy discussion somewhere … so let’s do it here!

I suggested to the YPN crowd that as PR, Communications, and Marketing professionals that their social channels should be public, transparent, and open to communicate with anyone.

To be very clear, I am not suggesting that your profiles and passwords be turned over to your employer. There’s a big difference between posting publicly and letting an employer access your private messages! If an employer asks for your passwords, run fast! You don’t want to work there.

So what do I mean by being transparent on your social channels? Think of yourself as your own brand. Keep your Facebook profile open and tell your story in a way that clients, employers, and business connections would find appealing.

But what about those drunken college photos that you want to post? Get over it. No one cares. If you must share old pictures with your friends, send them via email or text. To whom, as your own personal brand, are you trying to appeal? Potential clients and employers? Or someone you partied with a few years ago? 

Facebook is currently your most valuable way to connect with any business contacts. I’ve heard many young PR pros argue that they don’t want to Friend their boss, a client, or even a journalist / blogger on Facebook. If that’s your bottom line, I would suggest a career outside of Communications.

And, go all the way with transparency. Don’t rely on “friends of friends”-only posts, or trusting Facebook privacy settings, which fail more often than you know.

So let’s hear it! Are you marketing yourself publicly or staying private?

 

FranCamp 2012 Registration Open Now


I’m please to helping my friend Deb Evans organize FranCamp – The Franchise Social Media Camp – once again this year. Last year’s turnout at the Nashville event was so well received that we’re expanding the agenda for our May 4 event in Atlanta. Please check out the FranCamp registration page now and check out the description below from our FranCamp website.

FranCamp 

We realize that social media is a rapidly changing field and many marketing professionals, CEOs, franchise development staff and franchisees lack a clear roadmap for where to start with social media and how to weave together all the relating pieces that make up a successful social media and online content strategy.
 

What FranCamp is Not

If you work in the franchise industry, you know that franchise conferences are often full of vendors making pitches for services and products. Sometimes the information is helpful and it rarely goes into the real ‘recipe’ for using social media.

We want to change that.
 

What FranCamp is About

Everyone who works in franchising is affected by social media and the last thing any of us need is a speaker talking about ‘why you need to be using social media’ or big picture talk about ‘social media strategy.’ What franchise professionals hunger for is simple: real, actionable steps anyone can take that will make a HUGE difference in your marketing.

If you want to educate yourself on the best of current thinking and learn the real recipes that work from the most advanced franchisors, franchisees, consultants and experts in the field of social media, this is a one-day conference you can’t afford to miss.
 

You won’t get sales pitches. You’ll walk away with a very sophisticated level of understanding about ALL of the pieces of a successful social media strategy.

FranCamp follows the wildly successful PodCamp format – a low-cost, one day event fully loaded with a fast paced and aggressive agenda full of super-helpful content. What you will get is a good education in almost all of the relevant topics that marketers must understand to make good decisions. If you want to launch your own campaigns and make sure your marketing department is pointed in the right direction, this is for you. If you have a budget and need a better level of understanding about social media related issues so you can make good hiring and vendor decisions, this is especially for you.

 

Who Should Attend

Anyone who works in franchising: Franchisors – CEOs, COOs, VPs of Marketing and VPs of Franchise Development. Anyone who deals with franchise sales and lead generation, anyone who handles consumer side marketing should attend. If you work in the marketing department of a franchise system, this is for you. If you own a franchise and want to learn more about how you can boost your local marketing, this is for you.

 

Limited Registration

Registration is open and is limited to one hundred attendees. This is a high-power and intimate session. FranSocialCamp is designed to by inexpensive – total cost for flights, hotel and the $149 per person, making it one of the least expensive social media conferences in the country. Less costly doesn’t mean we skimp on content – you’ll have a hard time finding a better and more packed agenda than this one.

Breakfast and Lunch are included on Friday. Tuition comes with a very cool FranCamp T Shirt and copies of all presentations.

  
  
Sponsored by Engage121

The State of Video in the Social Media World

PRSA Video

Think about how Communicators and PR professionals used video ten years ago…Video News Releases…B-Roll provided to broadcasters, Satellite Media Tours…Those tactics were as effective as possible at the time in telling your brand’s or organization’s story but still hit-and-miss in nature and a demanded huge resources.

Now think about the changes in communications in the past ten years. Not only has new technology forced us to change, but also forced a major shift in how people (not targets!) want to see your story.

We’ve moved from audiences to communities, from broadcasting to engaging, and from telling to sharing.

Video is arguably the most powerful way to share, engage, and be a part of any community. How are you using it to tell your story?

PRSA Chicago is hosting a panel discussion on March 20 with 3 pros who will share their experience as well as tips and tactics to help you make videos the most effective tools on your workbench.

Our panelists include:

 Gregory Lipman, Senior Vice President, Digital Content Director, Edelman Digital

Ed Lamoureaux, Senior Vice President, WestGlen Communications

Clifton O’Neal, Senior Director of Communications, TransUnion

 

When: Tuesday, March 20, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Where: Maggiano’s Little Italy, 516 North Clark Street, Chicago

Event Registration: Member, $37.00/NonMember, $45.00/Student, $37.00


Sponsored by MSL Chicago

Franchise Events

After participating in the best IFA Convention ever last week, you may be looking for more franchise events where you can continue the conversations. I have found a terrific source called SPEAK! which has created a free calendar of franchising events. Here’s a sample for March:

 

And, here’s some background on SPEAK! with contact info – check them out…

SPEAK!’s 2012 Franchise Industry Events Calendar

Have you ever wondered where you might find all the major franchise and restaurant industry events in one, easy-to-reference place? Well, our friends at SPEAK! have once again created a must-have document for anyone in the franchise industry.

http://www.franchisespeakers.com/2012-franchise-industry-events-calendar/#

And if you don’t know SPEAK!, you should! They are the only speakers bureau to serve the franchise industry exclusively. If you are looking for speakers or trainers for your next event, SPEAK! should be your first call 720-304-3710 or info@franchisespeakers.com

3 Steps to Increase Facebook Engagement


Facebook Fan Page + Facebook Post + Facebook Ad

Last week’s International Franchise Association Annual Convention included several opportunities to learn about localizing social marketing from new IFA member Facebook and its representative Brian Wheelis, Manager of Agency Management Operations.

Brian shared valuable data including new research on where consumers are spending their time on Facebook. The good news is that they are spending more and more time on Facebook. The bad news is that they may not be spending their time on Facebook with your brand. We can fix that in 3 easy steps…


1. Create Engaging Content on Your Fan Page

Many brands’ Fan Pages consist of a slick picture and a blatant advertisement. Why would anyone return to this page after his or her first visit? Very few brands will garner millions of fans due only to loyalty and without having anything interesting on their page. These include Apple, Starbucks, and … I think that’s all.

 Your page must include something of value to a consumer: coupons, freebies, rewards, virtual gifts, or downloadable digital content.

 Value can also be in the form of assets or tools like informational (or fun!) videos, financial calculators, “ask an expert” type features, polls, quizzes, contests, and games. Remember, it must be valuable for the consumer and potential customer, not just for your brand.

 All of the above must be refreshed frequently with new reasons for the consumer to come back. Each time something new is created on your page, you must do step 2: create a post.

2. Publish a Post About Your Page’s Content

You can build the most engaging, fun, or valuable Fan Page on Facebook, but if no one knows about it, they won’t come. Facebook currently has over 800 Million users, but I’m guessing most of them are not looking at your Fan Page right now! Well-executed posts will drive some of them there.

Users spend 27% of their time on Facebook looking at their News Feed. And, with the proliferation of smart phones, most mobile users are looking at the News Feed exclusively. So on a regular basis, post a status update inviting everyone to come play your game, take your quiz, or get the new coupon. This is the quickest, easiest thing to do in all of social media! Write a little text, add a link to the tab on your Fan Page where the feature lives, and submit.

Your update will be seen by your fans on their News Feed and Ticker. Next, we move beyond your fans with step 3: create an ad.

3. Create a Facebook Sponsored Story About With The Post

The Facebook Ad, or more specifically, the Sponsored Story, is the spark that will ignite the inferno on your page.  Facebook’s Brian Wheelis says that these ads will be seen by 3 to 5 times more Facebook users than the post alone.

Why? Facebook Sponsored Stories appear not only to your fans, but also to their friends.

That’s the key! Too many brands focus only on the number of fans they have accumulated. That number is important, but the goldmine is in those Fans’ Friends.

Our team at Engage121 has recently launched Engage121 Version 2.1, which now includes the ability to instantly create a Facebook Ad out of your status update. More importantly, you can also instantly create multiple localized ads for each of your franchisees’ or outlets’ local pages.

A marketing misstep is spending too many resources on converting customers to fans. If that sounds backwards, it’s because it is! Yet we see it everyday: print displays or customer service messages asking current customers to become a Fan. I supposed that has had value, as you do want your customers to be a part of the community. But don’t stop there; the people seeing those “please Like us” messages are already in your store, visiting your website, or receiving your invoice! Don’t market Social Media to them; market your business to new people using Social Media. Using the above 3 steps will refocus your attention to converting Fans (and their Friends!) to customers!
  

 

Fan Pages:                       Seen by your Fans


Posts:                                 Seen by your Fans in   their newsfeed


Sponsored Stories:    Seen by your Fans and their Friends

Franchise King – Become a Franchise Owner!

Joel Libava

 

If you’re in Franchising and are heading to the IFA Convention, here’s a last minute tip for your trip: go download Joel Libava‘s new book Become a Franchise Owner! for the flight to Orlando. 

The Franchise King!


While I’m sure Joel, “The Franchise King”, wrote the book for entrepreneurs and future business owners, I am recommending this work for everyone working the franchise space including marketers, operations, sales, and especially suppliers. While most of these folks will never buy a franchise themselves, Joel lays out fantastic inside information on how this industry works and answers questions that they may have not known to ask.

I myself have been working with franchise system brands, CEOs, and CMOs for a decade or so and found myself thinking, “oh, that’s how that works,” or “ah, that’s why they do it that way…”

And, it’s a fun, honest read by a guy who is not afraid to hold back! 

 

Google Cookies That Are Hard To Swallow

Here’s a guest post from my friend Jack Campisi – Thanks JC!

Riding home from New York on the train yesterday I noticed something interesting. The signs on the train always catch my eye for the first few minutes. They range from scotch ads to airlines and investment firms. But this time it was different. It was four different ads for Google. Google has been hitting the airwaves on TV a lot lately, so I figured this would be along those lines. You know, look at all you can do with the Google suite of sites and platforms. 

But when I took a closer look, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was basically a description of cookies… what they are, why they are used and best of all, how to delete them. The gist was that cookies help a site remember you so you don’t have to start all over each time you visit.

I have to admit, I felt a little weird standing up, walking over and snapping a picture of the sign, but I did not care. I had to do it. And it’s not THAT uncommon these days, I guess.

I had to get a picture because of all the times I have had to explain cookies to people and then how to delete them. Not only did I want to steal some of their wording, but I thought it was a fascinating commentary on the current internet climate.

If you are on YouTube or Google you probably have seen the overt messages about the upcoming privacy policy changes. Or maybe you’ve read one of the countless articles retweeted on Twitter recently that explain and comment on it. If you have not, you should read up. There are going to be a lot more eyes on your information, particularly your Gmail, that you will want to be aware of.

Whether the new Google changes are good or bad, I am not here to comment on. I just thought that it was an amazing case of education, proactive damage control and PR to help deal with the potential backlash that will come when this all goes live.

Cookies are one of those things that many people don’t fully understand and instantly instill an aura of distrust. It’s funny that a word like “cookie”, that had always been such a happy term, has morphed into the poster child of the Big Brother Era.

  

Happy 2112 Day

Today is 2/1/12. I recommend celebrating by listening to some classic Rush tonight…

2012 PR Predictions

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I’m honored to be moderating a panel of Chicago’s top media, digital, and PR thought leaders making predictions for 2012. Be sure to join us February 21 at PRSA Chicago!

 

 

PRSA Chicago Third Annual “Predictions” Panel

What’s Ahead in 2012 for our industry? What can we learn from last year’s events, issues and PR moments? 2012 is an exciting year filled with new and unique PR and communications opportunities. What can we learn from our panel of diverse experts? Please join us on February 21st as industry leaders convene to talk about the year ahead for communicators around the world. Our leaders will dialogue and take your questions. Don’t miss this special, annual event!

 

Panelists include:

•       Bill Adee, Vice President/Digital Stuff, Chicago Tribune Media Group

•       Laura Chavoen, Senior VP and Director of Digital Strategy, MSL Chicago

•       Anna Rozenich, Director, Communications, SunCoke Energy

•       Jim Motzer with DePaul University

•       Moderated by Jack Monson, Vice President, Engage121 and Board Member, PRSA Chicago.

 

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