Tag Archives: twitter

Ghostwriting for Social Media – Why You Need an Agency

ghost + writing = yeah, that was too easy.

ghost + writing = yeah, that was too easy.

If you have ever used a public relations agency, you probably got press releases and a press kit out of the experience.  Based on what the agency learned about your company, the staff was able to draft documents that reflected your mission and your vision.  The agency knew enough about you to write on your behalf using your “voice.”

That brings us to social media.  A complaint we hear so often from prospects and our own clients is, “I just don’t have interest or time to write blog posts or update Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest etc. etc.” – the list goes on.

Bingo.  The same smart ghostwriting that went into your corporate press materials is available to keep your brand in front of the million of eyeballs on the web.  Once an agency knows your  philosophy, which is the first step in getting to know a client, they will easily be able to translate those corporate messages into more humanized posts and interactions for social media. We represent a brand by telling its story in pithy educational blog posts, 140 character tweets and photos and videos on Facebook that make followers want to come back for more.

Our goal is to spend about six months setting up channels while learning about your audience and its habits. We’ll develop strategies, identify your ambassadors and influencers and set your team up for success. At that point it is often smart for a client to hire someone in house to keep the momentum going. We’ll prepare them for the ever-changing road map of social media so they can drive results home.

-Susan, TGPR

Cheat Sheet – Social Media Image Sizes

Thank you LunaMetrics for the ultimate, complete, final cheat sheet for social media image sizes. See below…but is it “final?” Certainly don’t want to jinx that, but it will probably be hours before FB modifies their layout and image specs. :) -Dan, TGPRsocial-media-sizing-cheat-sheet

Learn How to Apologize (@celebboutique)

Be careful what you tweet for. Twitter is beautiful because it gives you the opportunity to actually think before you speak. Unfortunately, not everyone takes advantage. See @celebboutique for example, who jumped right into the social media spotlight today, pulling an amateur move by trying to capitalize on a trending topic. Too bad for them #Aurora was discussing this morning’s shooting tragedy in Aurora, Colorado (not their silly, overpriced Kim Kardashian inspired bag). Not only did CB pull a Kenneth Cole, they placed blame on an overseas PR agency who was “UNAWARE” of the tragedy.

I was just talking about the topic of social media mistakes with a business trade reporter (and of course will share the story when it publishes). When will businesses (no matter the size) using social media learn to publicly accept you did something wrong or made a mistake, take the blame, apologize and move on? Take a cue from TV networks — if you end up saying something stupid (Brian Ross) take the blame, apologize and move on.

No one needs to be fired. No one needs administrative leave. It’s twitter, and although every tweet is stored in the Library of Congress, it’s not the end of the world. But by making excuses and continuing to address it, you are adding fuel to the fire and people will be asking for your head in no time:

-Dan, TGPR

Non-PR Skills for PR Pros

What other, less apparent skills do PR people need to survive and thrive in the “real world”?

This question and many others will be answered by our own Ms. Susan Tellem in today’s Profnet #ConnectChat from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. PDT.

It’s easy to join the conversation on Twitter:

Feel free to ask questions or add comments at any time! For more information about Profnet’s ConnectChat, visit: http://www.profnetconnect.com/gracelavigne/blog/2012/04/19/upcoming_connectchat:_non-pr_skills_every_pr_professional_needs

-Dan, TGPR

April Fools’ Day Pranks by Brands

Who doesn’t love April Fools’ Day?

  • …your younger brother stealing all your shoes
  • …dad telling you it’s snowing outside on a sunny Southern California morning
  • …your best friend telling you he’s joining a monastery in Budapest
  • …your girlfriend breaking up with you. OK that one isn’t so funny but all the rest are!

But were you expecting to be pranked by your local business or conglomerate, multinational corporations? Boy have things changed! Maybe its the social media revolution, or the internet revolution, or just the YouTube “Gotcha!” generation but here come the brands. Just watch your Twitter feed April 1st (It’s a Sunday this year which should make things interesting) for prank after prank after prank. We wanted to highlight a few of our favorites over the years. Dan is paranoid about brand April Fool’s Day pranks so we’ll see if they get him this year!

STARBUCKS

We absolutely LOVED what Starbucks did! How about a “Plenta” or “Micra” size to kick off your day? The accompanying photo was hilarious as well! Some days it feels like we need a “Plenta” size to get us through the day.

EXPEDIA

As self-proclaimed Space nuts we were actually pretty excited when we logged onto Expedia on April 1st and saw them offering Mars Vacations! It was like all the Ray Bradbury we had read in our youth came true — we could go to Mars!

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Leave it to the Brits to be so ahead of the times! Back in April 2009, the UK Guardian newspaper declared that print was dead and they were moving to Twitter! What a brilliant use of connecting your brand to something new and hip with the use of an April fools joke. Little did they know how much journalism is centered around Twitter these days.

There you have it! Just a sampling of some of the great pranks over the years. Is your company going to get in on the April Fools mix this year? If so, let us know! But make sure to comment before next week, when we turn this blog into a Turnip cultivation website.

Just kidding…April Fools!

-Andy, TGPR