In our quest to become a “one-stop shop” marketing and PR firm, we have attracted clients with all kinds of needs, including public relations and media training. As a small-business firm, the clients we attract are not those who require spin or disaster management, but rather are just looking for a little more exposure; a bit of free ink or TV time to boost their visibility.

My own experience in the world of PR has taught me a few things, but it is my experience as a reporter and TV producer that has been especially helpful in teaching me the do’s and dont’s of handling yourself around the media. I don’t profess to have all of the answers, but a few simple tips will help you portray the image you want to put out there, and even help the media choose you when it’s time to put someone in the spotlight.

(”The Press,” by jimfrazier)

And so begins a four part series on how to prepare yourself to deal with the media. In this first installment, an overview of general best practices, with parts two through four touching upon print, radio and television. I’ll keep it light, as these tips are meant for small business owners who just need a few hints to point them in the right direction. If you’re a politician on the campaign trail, and you have a spotted past, you probably need another firm.

Cooperate, and Though Shalt Be Chosen

The first thing that I would remind you of when dealing with the media is that they have a job to do. Each day, or week, or month (depending on their deadlines), they are charged with the task of creating compelling content for their audience. Recognizing this fact before anything else is paramount. You are in just as much position to help them as they are to help you. The secret is in making sure that you are indeed helpful.

For starters, the key word in that last paragraph is compelling. Ask yourself whether your message, press release or cause matters to anyone other than you before you assume that it will put you on the front page. Rather than flooding an editor’s inbox with releases that nobody cares about, contact a specific reporter or producer directly, and ask if there’s any way that you can help them out. It is especially helpful if you have a bit of background on that person first, and you are 100% sure that their beat is relevant to your industry.

Keep in touch, and be ready to provide value to them when they need it. At the 11th hour when they need a quote, a photo or a sound-byte that pertains to your industry, you want them to call you. More often than not, they will appreciate the sentiment. Make sure to call in the morning, as most media deadlines happen in the afternoon, and nobody wants to chit-chat when they are on a deadline. (Radio and TV morning shows are an exception here, of course) If you have a time sensitive item, and a prepared release, that is as good excuse as any to make that first call and start a relationship.

Be Prepared

If and when you get asked to participate in an article or show, have a game plan. Don’t assume that you can be your usual charming self when faced with answering a question into a microphone, or even over the telephone to the sounds of a reporter’s frantic scribbling. Even with all of my experience around microphones, cameras and crowds, I still freeze up a bit when a camera is turned on me. And that, dear friends, is why I’m Jordan the online marketer and not Jordan the famous Sports Broadcaster. Rehearsing your answers, whatever the medium, is not a crime. You were asked to be interviewed because of your expertise, and no one will fault you for being a prepared and polished expert, with answers at the ready.

More to come; the next part in the series will cover print specifically, and then we’ll cover radio and finally television. I know many of my readers are more qualified PR experts than I, so feel free to add your tips in the comments. Where applicable, I will add them to the original articles as updates.

Every once in a while, I rewind to the very basics of how to catch yourself up on everything that’s happening on the web.

My readership has gone up since the last time I did a “What in God’s name is RSS” post, so it was high time I revisited the topic; if nothing else for the expanding network of Facebook contacts who will see this “imported note,” wonder how the hell it got there, and maybe even tune in to learn something new.

Well this time the job of explaining how RSS feeds work has been handled brilliantly by Lee LeFever, travel blogger, podcaster and web guru. Lee’s “live action animation” adds charm to his step by step tutorial. View his original post here.

So get to it, newbies. Watch it twice if you have to; but this is a complex and potentially life-changing concept, boiled down to the very simplest of terms, in what Lee calls:

RSS in Plain English

Click To Play

“There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don’t. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don’t know where to start.”

Well said. Hat tip to James.

Brace yourselves Canucks fans, because Game Seven goes tonight, and the fever will be at its frenzied peak. Let’s hope that the Canucks’ offense will also show signs of life.

In a follow-up to my recent post about the Canucks and their use of social media, I’m happy to report that local podcasters The Crazy Canucks were featured in a segment on CTV:

Get ready to wave those white towels Vancouver. And Dallas? Y’all can get primed for golf season.

Remember this one, Canuck fans? “Na-na-na-na…Na-na-na-na…Hey, hey, hey, Gooodbyyyye.”

Okay, so sue me. I wrote a headline that I knew would grab people’s attention. If you’ve been paying attention, that is a tactic that I recommend fairly regularly.

In actual fact, my clever little headline is a misnomer. Pardon the comparison to illegal street drugs, but if MySpace were cocaine, then Facebook would be crack. Which is to say that it is much more addictive, and has caused a epidemic of dependency. You’ll pardon the hyperbole as well of course, but ask any Facebook user and they’ll tell you; once you start, you’re hooked.

I’ve already touched upon why this is, but as the weeks and now months have rolled by since I joined (at Lindsey’s rather insistent request) I have realized that Facebook deserves the spotlight yet again. Because even though I have expressed surprise over the number of people that I have reconnected with through Facebook, my surprise has evolved to all-out awe; I simply can’t believe the people I’ve stumbled across.

I’ve said it before and I will repeat it now: The true measure of an online social network is in its users. MySpace had its time in the sun (before the spammers polluted it. Side note: MySpacer’s are still getting hacked all the time, too. Here’s how to prevent it, courtesy of Rob) but even then, when I got a friend request (from someone I actually knew) on MySpace, I half-expected to receive it.

On Facebook, all bets are off.

In the interest of protecting identities (as Facebook does from non-members) I will be vague, but since joining I have “connected” with: 7 cousins, five clients, 15 or so fellow bloggers, 14 high school mates, two fellow members of a teen youth group, nine friends from middle school, a handful I’ve known since kindergarten, two siblings, one former next-door neighbor and my Mom. And that’s just to name a few.

Perhaps the best part about Facebook (right this minute) is that so far it is still just a private party where all the cool kids have shown up. The “marketers without permission” have yet to storm the gates en masse and fill our inboxes with stuff we don’t care about. And for now, it’s a whole lot of fun.

So heavily-used is Facebook that I now write my headlines (and indeed my posts) with special attention paid to the fact that they will be imported into my Facebook newsfeed. Ironically, most won’t ever make the connection that this little blurb was published elsewhere on the web, but somehow just knowing that I have an even closer bond (I know many of them personally) with my readership, makes writing this all that much more fun.

So if you haven’t tried Facebook, maybe you should give it a go. I’m sure there’s a network or a group of like-minded folks just waiting to add you, tag you and let you join in on all of the fun.

What do you love or hate about Facebook? What would like to see changed? Are there other networks we should hear about? Ning? Virb? Speak your mind in the comments.

Nothing would make me happier.

One of the greatest brands in my neighborhood to embrace the social media concept is that of our beloved Vancouver Canucks.

Although I do follow the team throughout the year, I don’t post about them very much. I had the pleasure of attending three games this year, including Game One of the Western Conference Quarter Final against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. For those who don’t already know, the game was a franchise-record 138 minutes long, and resulted in a 5-4 Canucks win. Big thanks to my darling wife for getting us the invite to Rod’s executive suite for the most exciting game I’ve ever watched.

Which, on its own is enough to want to write a blog post about. But the reason I’ve waited all this time to write about the Canucks is not merely because they could use the moral support as they continue after taking Game 3 in Dallas, (ahead 2-1 in the series) but because the Canucks have truly embraced social media, and it’s bringing the community of their fans closer together.

Case in point: The Fan Generated Content Challenge, which includes several categories with prize packs associated with each. View the “Round One” winners at that link, or just click one of the YouTube vids below.

In other “engaging social media” news, the Canucks almost treat podcasters like the media that they are; giving access to practices and interviews (and of course sidebar widgets) to the likes of the Crazy Canucks, who collectively host a Canucks podcast and blog, and several other fan sites and podcasts as well. Hey, Canucks front office! Give these cats some tickets to sit amongst the fans, and bask in the glory of the customer evangelism that results.

(Canucks Ultimate Fan Search sidebar widget)

Between periods and during TV timeouts, the massive screens above the ice at GM Place display some of the videos photos that have been submitted by fans.

Or take the much-debated but undeniably community-minded slogan of the Canucks this year: “We are all Canucks.” They have certainly re-embraced the fans, in the wake of an assault lawsuit and an epic lockout.

And so it is with a warm heart and a healthy dose of Canucks nostalgia that I present you with the four winners of “Round One” of the Canucks’ Fan Generated Content Challenge, followed by my own submission, at the very bottom:

The Ultimate Canucks Sacrifice

Two-Year-Old Ultimate Canuck Fan

“Trapper’s Delight,” The Canuck’s Rap

Canucks Chase Flames

And The Crowd Goes Wild!

(Shot by Alex Lee Behan at Game One of the Western Conference Quarter Finals)

We are all Canucks, etc.

It has been a good long while since I offered any updates on client work that we have done; namely because we’ve been so busy with it all. Blog post frequency has suffered as well; a sin I intend to atone for.

A few weeks ago, we launched a new Wordpress site with a Paypal shopping cart for Barbara M. Siemens, author of The Piano Workbook, a 10-part series of handbooks that helps piano teachers and students with the study of their instrument.

Rob Masefield designed the site, which seamlessly incorporates the blog, a tool that Barbara is getting great use out of. We’ve already received a ton of great feedback on the site, including a glowing testimonial from Barbara. Here’s a quick excerpt:

To say that we are merely proud of feedback like that would be an understatement. It was a tremendous pleasure to work with Barbara as well, and to see her embrace blogging like she has is also very satisfying.

We have also put the finishing touches on www.champlainheights.com, an area-specific niche real estate website for James Hampton; the top performing Realtor in the area, and mentor to my brother Wes. When you search for Champlain Heights, you find James. Cruise through the Champlain Heights tour, or see the slideshows for any one of the 22 building developments in the neighborhood. That’s right; floorplans, images and stats for all 22 of them. Smart guy!

James’ site is built with Ubertor, a real estate CMS software application that makes managing sites incredibly easy. With a number of Realtors (and one brother who’s an agent) on our client list already, partnering up with Ubertor to help even more Realtors just made good sense. Stephen Jagger, who blogs daily on the subject of real estate marketing, (see his Real Estate Channel interview here) is Co-Founder of the company, and has introduced us to such terrific clients as Mike Andruff of Team Andruff, and Ian Watt of the Ian Watt Real Estate Team.

For Team Andruff, we created one of our trademark SEO campaigns, which included a keyword-rich re-write of much of their site, and of course a number of social networking sites to help them connect on a personal level with a bigger audience using the tools of the web. Mike is an avid blogger, and has devoured every last bit of advice and strategy we’ve presented him with. Mike and the Team can now be found on their blog, on Squidoo and on Technorati. They also have their own YouTube channel for video home tours, we created a very cool photo-tagging project on Panaramio to show some of their sold properties, and Mike even has a Facebook profile he updates regularly (no link, Facebook is private folks). Lastly, we also created a stand-alone social networking site for Team Andruff using Ning, a very user friendly site that deserves a blog post of its own. We have it set up with a forum, a slideshow of images and their YouTube videos. The whole thing took just minutes to set up, and has more functions than most other social media sites out there. Watch out for this one.

That’s all for now (or all that we are allowed to talk about without being restricted by NDAs) but there will certainly be plenty more news to come, plus a newsletter very soon as well.

Via the Ubertor real estate marketing blog by Stephen Jagger, I discovered this “Keyword Density Checker” tool that shows you the frequency of keyword use at any given domain, displayed as a very cool tag cloud.

If you’re not familiar with tag clouds, they display the most frequently used tags or terms for a site, using the size of the displayed term to represent its frequency. If this doesn’t make sense, just check the wikipedia definition, or better yet, enter your url into the box below and see for yourself:

If you’re expecting to come up in a Google search for a term that you can’t seem to find in your tag cloud, then you have some work to do. When you’re done checking your own domain, have a look at your competitors’ domains. All of them.

It pays to know what you are up against.

It’s been months since a copy of the Tell Ten Friends newsletter has gone out, and I should be tried and convicted for my delinquency with the video podcast as well.

I’ll return after the long weekend with a flurry of posts including client updates and Tell Ten Friends news; and a copy of the newsletter and maybe even some new video shouldn’t be far behind.

Happy Easter, all.

Facebookers, MySpacers, YouTubers, and bloggers of all kinds, hear this!

If you put something on the internet, people will read it. And I mean everyone; not just your friends and online contacts, but your employer, your pastor, your ex-boyfriend and maybe even your mom. Mine certainly does .

I don’t mean to instill fear, or dissuade anyone from sharing information online. I am obviously a major proponent of all things online networking-related, and there is little about me that you can’t read about online. And then there are the photos. But it’s important to remember that if you put it out there, it will be seen.

This topic comes up at just about every blogging-related conference I’ve been to (yes, several thank you very much) and those in the know tend to agree; there is “no security by obscurity,” to paraphrase Roland Tanglao (I think it was). Meaning, you can’t assume that the internet is such a massive space that the photos from your drunken exploits on that Thursday that you called in sick won’t be found by the boss you lied to, eventually.

My generation is the last that will have to experience a paradigm shift here; us “grown folks” have had to decide whether we’re comfortable with “putting ourselves out there.” The young ‘uns seem to have a reckless “devil may care” attitude with a lot of what they publish online, and my message to them is simply this: tread carefully.

Recently, over lunch with Six Apart’s Anil Dash, this very topic came up, and he said that they screen the MySpace pages, YouTube channels and blogs of every job applicant they get at the company, and anytime he talks to school groups, etc. he’ll bring up this fact, just to watch their reactions. “Shock and awe” pretty much sums up his description of the ensuing discussion and question period.

Of course, sometimes maintaining a public profile puts you at risk as well, as evidenced by certain goings-on in the blogoshpere of late (no link until the dust has truly settled). Just as in the “real world,” there are always a few bad eggs out there who seem intent to ruin the fun for the rest of us. But we shall overcome, and all that. It’s a lot of fun here on the ‘internets,’ and I want nothing more than to see everyone join the party, and be themselves, without fear.

Just remember that you are in public, and you should act accordingly.

(image credit: “New Issues of Privacy” from the New Yorker by NYCMotherPie)