Brett Banter

Kyle Parker will play another season of Clemson Tiger football -- ending months of speculation as to whether the talented signal caller would be back at Death Valley or trying to make his way through the minor-league valleys of the Colorado Rockies.

How did we hear about it? Through friends on Facebook posting how happy they were. No links. No news trucks. Just word of mouth as it spread like wildfire amongst Clemson fans. Welcome to the ever-changing world of breaking news coverage. The old days of waiting for a newspaper to drop a story off on the porch step are gone, but not quite obsolete. Newspapers, magazines, television stations and radio still serve an amazing purpose in the world of news gathering. But social media has found a platform...delivering news fast and quickly. Not always accurately, but always quickly. This changes how we see and seek media. As a media relations firm, Brett is constantly finding ways to fine tune the media message.

It's the fast world of euphoria now.

With budgets and the economy tighter than ever, many if not most non-profits will freely and openly tell you they have virtually no PR budget. If they don't have a public relations person on staff or haven't already eliminated a similar position due to the economy, odds are a non-profit has little money for outside public relations help.


So what is the best way for a very deserving not-for-profit organization to get free publicity and public relations help, especially around a particular campaign or event? We've compiled a few tips that we hope will be helpful.


1. Ask a local PR agency (or two, or three if necessary) if they do pro bono work. Even if they say no now, they may say yes later. Build those relationships early.


2. Get to know your local media and keep their contact information on file. Send them a letter introducing yourself and ask for time to meet one-on-one to talk to them about what your organization does. Plant the seed of knowledge in their heads. The more personally you get to know them, the more likely they are to turn to you when it's time to do a story related to your cause.

3. Approach a college communications or public relations department to request help or inquire about interns.


4. Write and post online articles and press releases to some of the thousands of online article sites to get your organization's name and purpose more in the public eye. Here are some of the top article sites, and here is a link of 500+ online article sites. Don't forget to add a link back to your own website.


5. Host a Media Tour or Media Day for your organization. An especially good time to host this event is around a fundraising campaign or event that either takes place once or on an annual basis.


6. Invest time - an hour or two a day - in social media. Create a Twitter profile and interact with other local organizations and entities. Create a Facebook fan page and invite others to join. Establishing a social media presence is key for non-profits, and it's free PR at your fingertips. Click here for some great slides on getting started.

7. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call the TV newsroom (ask to speak to a producer) or radio station (ask to speak to a program director). Tell them about your non-profit and your event and ask if there is opportunity to talk about it on-air. The worst they can do is say no, and let's face it, people feel bad when they have to turn a non-profit down.

Check out the Main Street Non-profit PR blog for many more informational tips.

The Sword and the Script blog's Frank Strong wrote an enlightening post back in June that underscores strategies for dealing with negative bloggers. While traditional PR is all too familiar with negative feedback through traditional means such as editorial pages, product reviews and telephone comment lines, the digital and internet age has stirred a whole new pot of feedback opportunity. Between social media, blogs and other contemporary forms of communication that allow people to produce user-generated content, the world is more alive than ever with criticism, evaluation and assessment opportunities.

Bloggers can self-promote as experts on just about anything they wish, and depending on their readership, their work can have an impact on your PR efforts. Strong offers some great tips for intervening with a negative blogger.

Read them here.

Inasmuch as we have talked about the importance of Twitter and other forms of social media when it comes to public relations and networking, an interesting post from Lindsay Olson's recruiting and public relations blog (of which we are subscribers) landed in our email inbox this morning.

The author, Jonathan Rick of Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and technology consulting firm, actually points out the benefits of not joining the party on the social media train... that is, at least when it comes to your own personal social media pages and "self-branding". In Rick's perspective, professionals who spend less time working to build their OWN social media notoriety are actually putting those extra hours and efforts into producing for their clients. Read more about his theory here.

We witnessed an interesting conversation on Twitter yesterday, as a well-known local television anchor pondered whether or not he should follow politicians on Twitter. He said, "Have resisted following politicians thinking I have to follow all or none, but I have several following me now and feel rude. Opinions?"

Brett is on Facebook! We don't currently have a web link to a page with a "username", as Facebook is right now only giving these to original Facebookers. But if you type "Brett" in the search box and look under "Pages" (rather than people or groups), you should see us in the top five or ten results. Look for the Brett logo. We invite you to become a fan of Brett on Facebook and encourage your Facebook friends to do the same! Thanks for your support.

Piggybacking on our most recent blog post about hiring professionals to handle your Web 2.0, we'd be remiss if we didn't take the opportunity to remark on Congressman Joe Wilson's recent decision to hire a professional Tweeter.

That's right, Representative Wilson, following his now-infamous "You Lie!" heckler's shout during President Obama's healthcare speech last week, has suddenly been thrust into the national spotlight. Pre "You Lie!", Wilson was a somewhat under the radar Congressman; a lesser-known Republican who was for the most part seen as congenial and easy-going. But with those two words uttered amongst the sanctity of a televised Presidential address, he suddenly catapulted himself to a whole new level of notoriety.

The chosen Wilson pro Tweeter is David All, a new media strategist whose Web 2.0 firm caters to conservative clientele. All's role ala Joe Wilson is to maintain a constant stream of Twitter updates on behalf of Congressman Wilson as well as to promote him across the political and news blogosphere. Before All stepped in to tidy up Wilson's reputation, the Congressman's Twitter account hadn't been updated since early August. Wilson is now on a roll, spewing out upwards of ten or more tweets a day.

Our point comes down to the mere fact that as amusing as Wilson's professional Tweeter hire may be, it is part of a broader strategy for the Congressman. By hiring All, Wilson is attempting to deflect some of the controversy through professionally-managed social media outreach. Meanwhile, many grassroots supporters and even many fellow Republicans have come out to back Wilson and his anti-Obamacare platform. Wilson seems to be even now using the whole episode as part of a larger tidal wave to keep his name in the media, and on the Web, and to promote his upcoming Congressional race (and raise money at the same time!).

Joe Wilson has certainly made a name for himself in South Carolina and across the country, and with his constant social media presence seems to be launching a PR campaign of his own. Check out his most recent in a string of YouTube videos, "I Will Not be Muzzled".

We have written about this before, but we read some powerful information today that shows just how effective social media really is when it comes to building your business. McKinsey Quarterly released results from a survey on companies who have incorporated Web 2.0 (social media) technologies and ideas, with the results overwhelmingly reporting that businesses have seen an increase in "measurable business benefits, including more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business, and higher revenues."

Whether you're in business, politics, public relations, media or any other field, chances are (more than quite high!) by now you have heard the term "social media", or social interaction via technology. We won't go into a complex explanation of this networking phenomenon, as there exists quite a plethora on the web of valuable information and social media resources.

This past Monday, however, we were fortunate to be able to attend the Social Fresh social media conference in Charlotte - essentially a powerhouse gathering of some of the most reputable, knowledgable social media pros from around the country. From what they had to say, it seems like social media will eventually become the norm; its use just as prevalent and widespread in society as email is today. The dynamism and potential that "SM" holds seems to be unlimited, whether you want to use for political purposes, PR or marketing for your business or event, or just to connect to others.

Take a look at the links below to some great social media information from some of the best out there. Nearly all of the information can be adapted to a variety of professional fields.

Social Business Design - includes other great info and feedback from keynote speaker David Armano

Basics of Social Media ROI - Greenville, S.C. Marketing pro Olivier Blanchard's slideshow

Videos of Social Fresh Speakers - on Charlotte Observer columnist Jeff Elder's blog (search for "social fresh")

• A PR Guy's Musings on business, PR, social media and politics
• Pop! PR Jots' Jeremy Pepper out of San Francisco
• Off K Street offers great info and analysis on national, state, regional politics and issues
• Fits News - always good for a SC political laugh
• Lindsay Olson offers great advice and insights in the job market, PR and technology realm
• Sure, he's in Charlotte, but we love Charlotte Observer columnist Jeff Elder's social media blog. He spent a year in Silicon Valley studying social networking at Stanford University, and visiting Twitter and Facebook headquarters and company leaders.