soulati.com

Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging

Soulati-'TUDE!

RIP Trey Pennington

By

I’m just getting up to speed after a Labor Day weekend fraught with thought, the need for new direction, and some infusion of happy. That’s not going to be the case for awhile. Add in the fact my RIM Blackberry is not sending all my emails to the device and thus my shock at this morning’s news, courtesy of Spin Sucks.

Trey Pennington committed suicide Sunday on his church premises.

For those of you who didn’t know of Trey, he was a leader, mentor, and consummate storyteller. I had the privilege of sitting next to him when we presented to Social Slam in April in Knoxville. He spent his own funds to buy colorful bandanas for the entire conference – some 400 people.

When he told stories, they were always about his kids – five of them and two grandchildren. He absolutely loved his family, and only he and those close to him knew the reasons for a serious and horrific separation from his wife.

I am devastated. Not because I knew Trey as a friend, but because I knew him as a social media leader and influencer. In April, he was on top of the world; within four months, he has left our world.

Social media fuels image, reputation, credibility, influence, friendships, mentorships, opportunity, relationships, and interactions. Behind ALL of this, there are people asking for help or crying out for attention or sending hints of a downward spiral yet to come.

What can we do? Is it a Twitter buddy’s responsibility to ask the poignant questions that cross the line from 140 into personal space? And, then what do we do? I’m at a loss here.

I have a network of close-knit tweeps. When they’re absent for many days, I notice. After many weeks, I wonder. After more than many weeks, I worry, and then I begin to ask questions and pick up the phone. That’s my nature – to nurture.

The only thing I want to tell the Pennington clan is this – your dad was the absolute epitome of professionalism. He always welcomed the little guys and the newbies into his circles, and he did it with warmth that was heartfelt. When he spoke and shared, it always included you – his children, and there were always stories about your escapades to bring laughter to an audience.

I can’t know how you’re feeling today or the questions you have that will go unanswered. I am in shock, in tears, and devastated with this news. I’m sorry. I’m so terribly sorry.

Obama, Boehner and Lessons for Business

By

Today, I was ready to troll for a blog post; I really had nothing brewing, not even an inkling (to reference my good friend Ken Mueller). Then, I read the second headline in this morning’s Wall Street Journal (the paper version, mind you), and the post came rolling in. (I purposely missed last night’s news as I’m trying not to get all discombobulated with the sickness plaguing U.S. leaders).

But, there it was…a slap in the face…the President of the U.S. asked to address Congress on Sept. 7, 2011; the Speaker of the House said no, you ought to do it a day later (in direct conflict with the NFL game).

That’s it. There’s my blog post concept, and the negative emotions came flooding in to wreak havoc on my morning coffee and dry bran muffin I made this weekend.

Because I’ve been letting the world’s state of affairs bug me, and I’ve been ranting a bit (see my Monday Meanderings), I’m going to turn this latest stupidity (the likes that haven’t been seen, I’m told, since Woodrow Wilson was president in the 1910s) into how not to run your business.

Imagine Company X has a president with successors interested in taking over that top-dog position. There are employees across the U.S. and they manufacture widgets. The employees are restless because the leadership of Company X is constantly bickering and doing it publicly as well as behind closed doors (if that can ever happen).

Employees are Facebooking their malcontent, and water-cooler gossip among the white-collar shirts is heated. The president of Company X requests an all-staff meeting, and the management team suggests all staff should not attend; they can watch streaming video of the presentation instead.

Should this difference of timing, medium and attendance be publicized for all the world to see, or should this be discussed and negotiated behind closed doors until everyone can comfortably agree?

You know the answer; I don’t need to tell you how we play in business. But, I do, apparently, need to tell the leaders of the United States, and here’s what I’d like to say:

** We The People in order to form a more perfect union, would like the president of the U.S and his Congress to get the flip along.

** When there are differences so ridiculously inane, like timing of a speech, keep it to yourselves and work it out so We The People don’t need to participate in your bickering.

** Hire a team of therapists to sit with each of  you to curb your hostility for one another so We The People can begin to raise our heads proudly that we’re all working toward one goal — to shore up the foundation this country has worked so hard to attain.

** Put on your mud clothes and hit the streets of Brattleboro, Vermont, where my friends live, and get your hands dirty — TOGETHER — so We The People can begin to see some unity of action on our behalf.

** Read all the blog posts and comments from We The People about how embarrassed and absolutely, positively fed up your constituents are about your behavior. Begin to mend relationships that benefit the jobless, the homeless, those with medical needs, those under water with mortgages, those paying all their taxes, the children without milk, and others who are heading into a downward spiral due to price increases everywhere in this country.

Perhaps, Mr. President and Mr. Boehner, if you heed one item on this list, that would be a start. Maybe if you just read it and noodle on the sentiment at the grassroots level, you’ll know that both of you are heading out the door because We The People are just plain old fed up.

Aren’t we?

7 Tips For Better Guest Posts

By

Image Credit: Clickfire.com

I was recently interviewed by a legal publication on how to be a good guest author and how to invite guest authors to a blog. Turns out, this topic has a lot of breadth to it, and I used my recent guest posts here, here, and here as fodder for this discussion.

And, it got me thinking — what constitutes a good guest author? There are no rules (really?), so I’ve created my own (really 2?). See if you agree, and then please add yours! I’m not in the “frequent guest poster” category at all, so I honestly would like to hear what you’ve got to add.

1. Topicality. Definitely ask the blog owner what topic they want you to address. When that is not defined, then, the sky is the limit and the delay is longer. Take a look at previous blog topics archived so you can conform to some style similarities. Know if the blog is oriented to public relations, small business, or some other vertical orientation. Never submit a topic that has nothing to do with the blog; in fact, a good rule of thumb is to invite the blog owner to approve the topic.

2. Deadline. Do deliver a post by deadline. When the blog owner says, in a month, then set your deadline for a week out and let him or her know you’ve done that. This way you will get that post off your plate, and on to theirs. Now, if that blogger is so swamped with topics and your post is going to sit awhile, then work out an acceptable date in advance of submitting the piece. I worry about relevancy if a blog sits too long in the hopper.

3. Content. Spend double the time on drafting the content, and then put it away a day. Come back to the post fresh to slice and dice and improve. I have a future post in the queue for Firepole Marketing, and Danny Inny wanted a draft, which I rarely if ever do. I sent the draft and then announced several days later I had rewritten the entire post and re-submitted as final. As a rule of thumb, I do spend a lot more time (about a smidge over double) on a guest post than for a post on my own blog, and it shows in the long run.

4. Amenities. I always send a jpg of an image with a credit. That way, the blog owner doesn’t have to search. I send links within the body of the post, as well. This is a must and courtesy for the blog owner. Lastly, I send my bio and a photo (just in case), so the blog owner doesn’t have to do that leg work.

5. Marketing. On the day prior to publication, ask the blog owner what time he/she will go live with your post. Everyone is different — in fact, I had to wait until 1:30 p.m. ET for Spin Sucks’ guest post to go live (ahem, because Ms. Dietrich gets top billing, of course). Over at Ken Mueller’s house, he was prompt at 7:30 a.m. which provided me the opportunity to jump in early to add the first comment.

Once you know when you’re going live, tweet the post, title, and invite peeps to come visit. Throughout the day, schedule tweets with the guest post, add it to Facebook and also Google+. It’s very polite to market the heck out of your guest post for someone else’s blog. In fact, that’s a must do for anyone guest posting — always market  your post at least 10 times throughout the day and the next day on the Interwebz. (Hilarious; I NEVER do that for my own posts. What’s wrong with me?)

6. Accessibility. Be very in touch with comments; answer each one, thank commenters, and be professional…unless, of course, there’s a full on blog jack occurring, and then have some fun! Ask me what a blog jack is, and I’ll tell you! That would have originated over at Erica Allison’s house when she was on holiday. I guest posted for her, and boy, did we party like it was 1999!

7. Make a goal for comments (optional). Dog gone, I have to admit, I’ve made a game of this whole commenting thing. If you have Lifefyre in comments, it’s really easy to chalk up the comments. My new goal is 150 comments, and then I’m done. So far, I’ve made it happen, and have even been known to spark some inanity just to tally the numbers! Out of the four guest posts and one podcast interview, all but one tallied higher than 158 comments. I’m lucky if I break 100 comments on my own blog! Yes, call me competitive…

So, here’s my seven! How about you?

 

Monday Meanderings

By

I need to get this gobbledy gook out of my gray matter and on to yours for insightful comments. So much to take in in this changing world in which we live (how’s that for four “ins” in one sentence?).

1. Florida recently passed a law that requires mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients. Would that be a liberal or conservative approach to ensuring taxpayer dollars are being put to appropriate use and that people getting aid from states are drug free? Who cares? In this country today (U.S.) everyone is labeled for their stance on one side of the aisle or another offshoot. Can we please begin being logical instead of political?

    2. Prices are skyrocketing for durable goods and consumables. I’ve begun my own cost consciousness in the area of foodstuffs. I’m speaking with moms in the dairy section as I see them buying the store brand of yogurt, for example. When she tells me her kids snarf it up, I put back the more pricey Dannon and Yoplait brands and opt for the Kroger brand. I’ve already made the switch to Kroger bagels — six for $1.89 versus the Thomas or Sara Lee brands — 6 for $3.98. Really? My kid can eat Kroger bagels.

    3. Warren Buffett recently bailed out (if that’s possible) Bank of America with a major cash infusion to the tune of $5 billion. Is he aware of something we’re not? Should investors flock to the big banks that are drowning in mortgage crises, etc., and buy their stock? What does Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway, know as hit sits on top of the world with boatloads of cash?

    4. My kidlet just put $100 cash into her savings account, and then I got the bank statement. She’s collecting .01 percent on that money. It’s not even worth it, but where else should her money be saved? Where should all of our savings be saved? It’s a terrible conundrum; I’ve decided to reduce debt rather than sock money into my portfolio this year. Let the market play with what it already has of mine, and I’ll be saving money by reducing the inexcusable finance charges on credit.

    5. As China’s economy becomes more prosperous and its citizens become more oriented to material goods (and it’s happening), my opinion is that U.S. business will begin to pay more money to produce outsourced goods manufactured in China. When that happens, the economies of scale will not be as profitable. U.S. companies will want to manufacture again at home, but guess what? They can’t! Our manufacturing infrastructure is gone — outsourced and off shored. Can the U.S. ramp up again to be “made in America?”

    6. Remember that blog post I wrote last week about buying a vacuum cleaner? I did a social media search for manufacturers of sweepers and could only find Miele USA, a German manufacturer, on Twitter. In the comments section, I “took heat” from two independent resellers in local markets, and one suggested I buy local and support family-owned businesses. Someone on Facebook also suggested that. So, I went to the local indie reseller in the hopes of buying that Miele brand I’d never heard of. Instead, I was sold a Riccar — a U.S.-manufactured top-of-the-line vacuum no one has ever heard of. There is no advertising, social media, or marketing campaign to push the Riccar brand. It’s strictly sold by independent retailers, and “the money is spent on the product.” The salesman told me he services Dyson the most (every day), and Miele is not as strong in quality as they used to be because they off-shored manufacturing.

    7. In this week’s BusinessWeek (I know, it’s Bloomberg BusinessWeek), there is a graph “Graphing the Recession’s Impact” suggesting the “latest recession resulted in more lost jobs and output than any recession in the last 50 years…no other post-war recession has been as severe.” I’m not an economist, but can we please stop comparing the 2010 decade to 50 years ago, or even 10 years ago? We’re now in a global economy; no one has seen this type of teeter-tauter on the world stage ever — so, can we please start graphing this bunk based on today instead of yesterday?

    8. Also in BusinessWeek this week, a frightening headline, “The Slow Disappearance of the American Working Man.” Apparently, only 81 percent of men ages 25-54-years-old held jobs in July 2011. Ouch. Could part of this slide be affected by #5 here?

    9. And, lastly, we’ve seen the end of an era. I commend, applaud, admire, and wish peace upon Steve Jobs — the man who brought Apple into the limelight among the world’s consumers. Congratulations, Mr. Jobs; you are a revered and respected innovator. Thank you.

      Whew…what musings are clogging up your brain cells? Please share and comment to any of the above!

      (Image: MistyWisp.com)

      Christine O’Donnell — Say NO More

      By

      For the first time in my 27 years in public relations and media relations, I watched right here as a guest walked off a national prime-time, LIVE broadcast based on the recommendation of her “handlers” – those PR peeps who sit on the sidelines and direct traffic for their spokesperson while nodding heads or coaching silently. (I know, I’ve been one of those frequently.)

      Christine O’Donnell, you may recall, is a Tea Party candidate who tried to run for U.S. senate in Delaware, and her book, “Trouble Maker,” details many of the issues she either believes or doesn’t believe in.

      When Piers Morgan queried her about gay marriage and masturbation, she began to unravel.  You can watch the interview with link above and form your own conclusions. It’s a good lesson for everyone including public relations/media relations as well as those figureheads who deem themselves prepared for prime time television.

      There are so many other links you can go find, and many are attempts by Christine to massage her weakened brand and accuse “the producer” (she calls Piers the producer albeit he’s the host) of sexual harassment during the CNN interview.

      The point is, PR, that if your spokesperson, client, company executive is NOT ready for live, national, primetime and potentially raucous interview tactics (do you remember Sarah Palin and Katie Couric?), then by all means KEEP THEM OFF TV!

      Here are some media relations thoughts for everyone’s digestion:

      ** In media relations, it’s your job to comb previous interviews with that particular host to understand the style and potential for the segment to go downhill fast. Always expect negativity!

      ** Negativity sells, and there’s absolutely no way a former politician (especially in the Tea Party movement) can be safe. I say “especially in the Tea Party movement” because their policies and beliefs are strong, and when you get the “liberal” media going 1:1 with a candidate, there’s going to be bashing and addressing the issues.

      ** At the first sign of discomfort by an interviewee, the host is going in for the kill. Obviously, Christine was not prepared for a negative interview and did not expect to be thrown off course – book promotion, not running for office, I don’t want to speak about this issue today, “you’re being rude.”

      ** I fault Christine O’Donnell’s media relations people for this debacle. Either they didn’t prepare well enough or thoroughly enough to identify all the possible land mines any host would attempt to uncover, or they were not seasoned enough to manage this situation.  With issues as contentious as gay marriage, abortion (I don’t know if she addressed that topic in her book), masturbation, and the like in a book she wrote and is promoting, it’s open season!

      ** Preparation for an interview of international importance like this should be oriented to diving into all the Q&A with possible discomfort zones. Role playing and watching tapes of previous interviews would be part of the prep; in addition, dog earing book pages with highlighted text should have also been part of the prep.

      ** Piers Morgan is an investigative journalist; it’s his business to uncover scuttle butt on everyone who sits across from him. He wants ratings, and boy was he enjoying himself – trying not to laugh at Christine’s obvious discomfort.

      ** Finally, when has a PR person EVER stepped in front of the camera on national live TV? Are you kidding me? Terminate.

      What thoughts can you offer based on your own experience, your experience being interviewed, and the prep that needs to happen in this contentious media age?

      (Image: CNN)