The Most Engaging Part of MatchPoint That You Haven’t Used…Yet

 
Using MatchPoint searches to uncover influencers who are writing stories similar to yours is just part of the power of the MatchPoint application.
  
Many MatchPoint users are finding time efficiencies and increased pitching success by using the ENGAGE button attached to each journalist, writer, or influencer.
  

Engaging in MatchPoint
The Engage Button in MatchPoint

The engage button will open an email pitch note from you to the selected writer. You may also include any previously saved campaign elements embedded into the body of this html email. These elements can include:

  • Links to videos
  • Photos
  • A Press Release
  • Attributable Quotes
  • Bulleted News Facts
  • Boilerplate

 
Journalists have raved about receiving these embedded elements as opposed to attachments which often get filtered, ignored, or deleted.
 
When sending your pitch note through MatchPoint instead of via traditional email, you can also track who has opened your pitch!

.

engage121 Launches Today!

 

 

 
I’ve had a blast over the past few months working on a new application. It’s called engage121 and it launches today!

The application empowers you to:

1. Listen – monitor Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, and many other channels.

2. Speak – engage anyone via social media channels one-to-one.

Think of it as TweetDeck, Ning, HootSuite, your Facebook pages, your LinkedIn profile and about a few dozen more tools rolled into one. Oh, and it’s totally free.

Readers of this blog are invited to be beta testers and use engage121 for free via this link: www.engage121.com.

For more information about engage121, check out The Facebook Fan Page, The engage121 Community Blog, or follow engage on Twitter: @engage121.

Lastly, if you write one or multiple blogs, you can post to them all directly from engage. In fact, I posted this blog entry directly from engage121 this morning…

Social Media Experts or Hammer Gurus? Part 3

 

As discussed previously on this blog, a good carpenter does not call himself a Hammer Guru. Being knowledgeable in your tools of the trade is important, but you should focus on the job, not the tools.

And that’s what social media is: a medium, a channel, or a tool with which you may engage. Saying you’re an expert with the tools is saying nothing.

Too many PR people are riding the wave of corporate ignorance about social media and promoting themselves as Social Media Experts. As of today, here are the numbers of those whose Twitter profiles identify themselves as being the following:
  
Social Media Expert      382

Social Media Guru         218

Social Media Maven      163

Social Media Strategist  460

 
 

Strategist?!? There is no Social Media Strategy! You need a business strategy or a communications strategy and apply tactics – including the use of social media – to it.
 
I won’t go as far as Foursquare and give out Social Media D******** badges, but I’m getting close.
 

 

Another group of self-proclaimed experts, gurus, kings, queens, and mavens is the PR Measurement crowd. About 99% of the discussion at PR conferences, on blogs, and via Twitter is about WHY you should measurement PR activities and results. Rarely do any of these “experts” tell anyone HOW to measure. Maybe that’s the secret sauce that I haven’t paid for. Or the snake oil…

Don’t get me wrong – there are lots of smart PR folks who know measurement. But a PR person saying they are “into” in social media or measurement is like a politician saying he’s against waste. Wait, who is FOR waste? Again you’re not saying anything.  

A better long term reputation-builder is to show your skills in creating the messages and content and starting the conversations that will help your clients achieve their real goals.

So, I ask you – what are the best ways for PR prosfessionals to promote themselves as being great communicators without resorting to telling the world they’re Hammer Gurus?

Top Journalists Covering Olympic Sponsorships

Here’s a list of the top five most influential journalists covering endorsement deals and sponsorships for the 2010 Winter Games: 

Dan Sewell Associated Press
Bruce Constantineau Vancouver Sun
Katie Thomas New York Times
David Holthaus Cincinnati Enquirer
Janet McFarland Globe and Mail

This list was created using MatchPoint. Let the games begin!

Beta Testing engage121!

Checking out engage121. Amazing. More soon…

Tackling PR Spam in the UK

Cheers to RealWire in the UK for putting together this fantastic video outlining the dangers of PR Spam: http://inconvenientprtruth.com/animation/.

My fellow developers and users of MatchPoint agree that the old way of sending out PR Spam via media directory is not only harmful to a PR practitioner’s reputation, but also is an ineffective way to pitch!

.

Apple’s Ongoing Brilliance in Driving Demand

 

In anticipation of the next big Apple media event this Wednesday, everyone is guessing that the big announcement is the launch of Apple’s Tablet.

Well, it’s no longer really guessing due to Apple’s well-planned PR “leaks”. Check out the latest on Mashable.  So, surely the Tablets are on the agenda. But I’m hoping for these two announcements:

 

 
1. Ending of exclusivity with AT&T

2. Change of name for the iPhone. Seriously! Is anyone using the phone anymore?!?

My suggested new name is the “iText-iSearch-iUseApps”. No? Yeah, too clunky.  Okay, let’s stick with iPhone.

I’m hoping there is a Verizon or other carrier deal announcement coming soon. Because with AT&T’s coverage in several places I need to go, it’s an iPaperweight.

.

Top Ten Consumer Electronics Writers

 
Here are the top ten of a long list of the most influential writers, reporters, and bloggers covering consumer electronics in December ’09 and (so far) January ’10:
 

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.		  Peter Svensson
 Martyn Williams
 Cecilia Kang
 Andrew Berg
 Don Clark
 John Sutter
 Ryan Kim
 Sumner Lemon
 Mark Milian
 Ariel Schwartz		 Associated Press
Network World
Washington Post
Wireless Week
Wall Street Journal
CNN
San Francisco Chronicle
MacWorld
Los Angeles Times
Fast Company

 

This index was compiled using MatchPoint based on several factors contributing to level of influence.

.

Pitching Tips – MatchPoint Users

 
This is the first of our best practices posts to help MatchPoint users maximize their results and find more journalists and bloggers to engage one-on-one. 
   
 
1. What should I do if my brand / product / client is extremely niche-focused?
 
Some MatchPoint users are working with products or clients about which no reporter has recently written at all. One such MatchPoint client was promoting a very specialized household appliance. The press release draft with which she was searching the “Point” box was very specific to this niche industry. And guess what? Not one of the 200,000 journalists in MatchPoint has written about this product in the past six months. She then searched keywords about similar products and broader industry terms to find journalists who would be interested. These included home repair, home improvement, holiday gifts for dad, etc. The Matching results showed dozens of reporters for whom her news was relevant. Remember, the objective isn’t to find people who have already written about your specific product, but to find those who are likely to write about you now!
 
 
2. Should I include my company boilerplate in the “Point” search?
 
In general, the answer is “no”. But we recommend experimenting both ways and see how your boilerplate affects your results. If your boilerplate contains many generic words and phrases like “excellent customer service with a mission to create synergies…,” our Matching system may produce results that have nothing to do with your main subject matter. However, if your boilerplate contains specific terms for your topic like “ice cream, snack foods, and easy to make meals for busy families” you may want to include the boilerplate to help find even more relevant articles and journalists.
 
 
3. My release includes many high-tech terms – will this hurt my results?
 
The inclusion of technical jargon and specs should not hurt your search results. But be sure that your release includes general terms and phrases relating the subject – MP3 players, laptops, video cameras, monitors, smart phone apps, etc – and MatchPoint will find reporters and bloggers who write about such devices.

Got a good tip for using MatchPoint? Please comment below or email to me for inclusion on the next list at jmonson@enr-corp.com
 
Free a trial of MatchPoint for readers of this blog, click here.

.

PR Farmville

 


PR Pros: Are you playing Farmville? C’mon…admit it!

Farmville has taken over many Facebook users’ Facebook time and has spread throughout my friend list, my firm, and my house.    

I have had a hard time understanding the appeal.  To me, a requirement of a good video game is that I get to annihilate Nazis, aliens, or Brett Favre. But I’m obviously missing out on something as several people who I think are sane and intelligent have gotten neck deep in it. So now I’m fascinated with this phenomenon. 

I would like to ask for feedback about Farmville particularly from PR pros, journalists, bloggers, and any anyone working in or around the media.

Note: this is purely academic and for my own interest. I am not working for Farmville or any competitor. 

  • What do you like about Farmville?
  • What keeps you coming back?

Please comment here or if you prefer to do so privately, please email me your thoughts at jmonson@enr-corp.com or DM me at @jackmonson

Thanks PR Farmers!