I was recently interviewed by Vancouver-based social media and organizational strategy expert Rob Cottingham. Rob’s Social Signal blog is a rich source of information on social media and public speaking and speechwriting. He’s added a podcast series and you can click through and hear our conversation on the ways speechwriters can take advantage of social media.

I help edit SPEAKER Magazine for the National Speakers Association (NSA). Each month I curate the Relevant Resources column – a list of time-saving tools and technologies.

The January/February edition lists books recommended by NSA members as inspiration for the New Year.

Go Ahead and Laugh: A Serious Guide to Speaking with Humor, by Rich Hopkins

Having trouble finding your funny bone? Go Ahead and Laugh takes a unique approach to understanding how to add humor to any speech and enhance your message. Hopkins provides a step-by-step breakdown of 11 different speeches, along with a few bonuses, to get your audiences laughing. If you want to be funnier, implement techniques to make your speeches more effective, or just see great examples of humor in action, this book is perfect.

The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, by Christopher Booker

People spend a phenomenal amount of time listening to stories, and we respond strongly to well-told stories. This monumental 720-page book reveals the seven basic plots latent in the minds of any audience. Knowing these archetypes and how they operate, allows speakers to craft presentations that spur action.

World Wide Rave, by David Meerman Scott

Jam-packed with brilliant insights and practical ways to propel a brand world-wide. Check out this book if you’re looking for the latest approaches to help clients or audiences powerfully position or expand their branding presence in the marketplace. Scott shows you how to use new media/social media to build a “rave” following by applying his six dynamic “Rules of the Rave.”

The Millionaire Messenger, by Brendon Burchard

Want to uncover the strategies successful people use to position themselves as experts? Burchard’s advice is especially important to professional speakers, as he covers how to package your message, deliver value to your audience, and build a profitable business as an industry expert. His story resonates with new and veteran speakers, and he provides invaluable suggestions to help you get ahead in today’s competitive marketplace.

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, by Dan Roam

Can drawing on a humble napkin be just as powerful as or more powerful than using PowerPoint slides to communicate your ideas? This visual thinking is a great tool for working though complex business ideas and brainstorming to help you think outside the box. In his book, Roam demonstrates that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who swear they can’t draw.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, by Nancy Duarte

Nancy Duarte wrote Slide:ology and became the Queen of PowerPoint. In her latest book, Resonate, she explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint. By leveraging techniques typically reserved for cinema and literature, you’ll learn how to transform an ordinary presentation into an engaging journey. Check out her unique analysis of presentations using ‘Sparklines’ and see how you measure up.

On Apology, by Aaron Lazare

Popes, politicians, powerful executives, professional speakers–we all need to be fluent in the most graceful and profound of all human exchanges; a genuine apology. Lazare analyzes apologies—both effective and ineffective—and explores how a sincere apology can heal and serve “not an end but a new beginning.” On Apology includes insightful stories from people around the world, current events, literature and history.

Get Rich Click! The Ultimate Guide to Making Money on the Internet, by Marc Ostrofsky

This book will change how people think about the role of the Internet in business and how to make a profit online. Ostrofsky introduces readers to the reality of online business and offers tools to succeed. Some action items are easy as double-checking how your website is structured; others involve big-picture strategy. Get Rich Click! covers everything from saving money to making money with your social media efforts, AdWords, SEO, affiliate marketing, mobile apps and Internet video.

You can subscribe to SPEAKER magazine on the NSA website.

20 members of the Northern California Chapter of the National Speakers Association met on Saturday to debrief on the #nsa11 National Convention held July 30 – August 2 in Anaheim and share their key take-aways. We have held these meetings for a number of years, with the understanding that since only 12% of people act on what they learn conferences, the more key take-aways we can capture, the more likely we are to implement what we heard. Here’s my notes on the discussion.

1. Ken Dychtwald began his presentation by peppering us with key questions to draw us in on a personal level. These rapid-fire questions were a brilliant way to open a speech.
2. Dychtwald’s break-out session on the last day shared valuable rules to grow your speaking business:
   1. Use world-class promotional materials.
   2. Know the value of adding products like books, DVDs and seminar systems to your offerings.
   3. Understand the value of good PR and media coverage. Being featured in a magazine is priceless. Testimonials from a high-level person are worth their weight in gold.
3. Dychtwald also shared his fees (he’s not an NSA member so I guess he could do this):
   1. $50k for a talk on the West Coast.
   2. $62K elsewhere in the USA.
   3. $90K out of the country.
   Want to know what you should charge? Talk to bureaus and meeting planners about other speakers in your area with the same level of expertise.
4. The conference gave me a chance to stop comparing myself to people with 25 years experience in the industry. I let myself off the hook and realized I am now beginning to build my career to a point where I can be as spectacular as they are.
5. Terry Sjodin listed the reasons why people buy: time, money, security, fun and ease-of-use. Build your presentation around those and they’ll buy from you.
6. Sjodin explained the importance of having a courtroom style presentation. Start with an opening argument that lists the 10 most persuasive arguments or reasons they should work with you. Then give proof as evidence for that in the form of statistics and stories. Close with a compelling argument that meets the needs of your client. Then use the same arguments to create your brochures and website that are part of your brand.
7. Julie Morgenstern encouraged us to own our niche by researching the books and articles others are writing on your topic, see what’s missing and then address that. Speak to what’s not being said, then develop a unique point of view. Become the expert.
8. Morgenstern recommended we go to physical watering holes to meet CEOs to drum up business.
9. Glenna Salsbury said “No one can get ahead of you, only you can be you. So let go of who you should be, to be who you are.”
10. After 27 years in NSA, this conference made me realize that the world has changed. So I went to the conference to embrace and learn and have a great time, which I did. The best part was seeing all my old friends grandchildren’s pictures on the iPhone! I learned from Glenna that “if someone else can give your presentation, then you are not telling your story.” On the other hand, to be a little contrarian, there are people who tell our stories … and we must sue them!
11. I learned that I need to go deep in my area and own it.
12. This was my first conference and it was a learning and discovery process. I have just realized that people get paid for public speaking, now I realize they also get paid for coaching and consulting. One valuable tip I heard from somebody in the corridor was to ask potential clients “what’s keeping you up at night?”. Listen for things that are in your area of expertise then tell them “I just happen to have the program that can solve those problems.”
13. Concepts from speeches I heard that encouraged me:
    1. Content is overrated.
    2. Give the audience an experience.
    3. What do I have to offer that they can’t get from everybody else?
    4. Think big, start small.
    5. Delivery doesn’t have to be perfect to work.
14. Lessons learned:
    1. Be brief, clear and concise when messaging in today’s market.
    2. Be persuasive, creative and authentic.
    3. Be there to help people navigate the path to successful and healthy longevity.
15. Suggestions I plan to implement:
    1. Use humor in my stories.
    2. Use social media especially YouTube.
16. Kyle Maynard taught me that it’s important to get people to feel and then hone your story so the message is heard on different levels.
17. When I saw the keynote speaker lose her way in the speech on the main stage it reminded me of the importance of being able to just keep talking. This speaker ran into trouble because she memorized the speech and her actions. It was an unfortunate example of somebody who might be able to coach, but she can’t speak. Even professional speakers can benefit from attending Toastmasters regularly which trains against this very thing.
18. Ford Saeks encouraged us to break down what we do into speaking, coaching, products and know what percentage of revenue is generated from each.
19. Ford Saeks: “Common sense is a superpower.”
20. Larry Winget encouraged us to take a stand to establish credibility and show our expertise and share our opinion and frame of reference. It seems that some speakers at NSA are jealous of Larry. Certainly working with a Speakers Bureau was one of the secrets to him moving from $7,500 speeches up to the $30,000 level.
21. The biggest take away was that I should own my position on the web and especially make use of YouTube videos for viral marketing. It’s the second largest search engine that is now owned by Google.
22. This was by far the best NSA meeting I attended. I am encouraged to make my keynote more personal for the audience and use the term “we” more often. This is a shift from me just telling a story to thinking of things from the audience’s point of view. It was reinforced by Larry Winget who said we should give audiences an experience.
23. This was my first NSA conference in 15 years, and people asked me what it changed. Back then during the breaks, instead of reaching for their smart phones, people used to rush for the payphones!
24. Authenticity from the platform was key. This was my first conference and I found people were for the most part authentic and welcoming.
25. Speakers need to be in tune with the younger generation and not live on speeches they’ve been giving for the last 10 years. If you do that, you’re finished. We have to give the younger generation context that shows we know what’s going on.
26. Follow Patricia Fripp on Twitter (@PFripp) for excellent tips. Example: “Public speaking: Your stories will be more memorable when you tell them using more dialogue.”
27. It resonated for me when Kyle spoke about how he experienced hate and that Larry Winget gets death threats. I wonder how many others are afraid of speaking on minds and do what is politically correct out of fear? It’s so easy to be influenced by a lone audience member who takes pride in “being offended”. I don’t think we should let that intimidate us. The conference gave me the strength to be myself.
28. When I saw those excellent speakers on the main stage I thought that “One day I wanna be like them.” Just like young musicians listen to top bands to fuel their dreams, listening to top speakers at the conference fueled my dream.
29. People’s perception of your presentation style, business cards, social media presence and website should all be congruent. Just because a certain perception works for one group doesn’t mean you can adopt it.
30. A million-dollar speakers’ secret: Get into large corporations; leverage yourself; never leave.
31. Jeffrey Gitomer said don’t just lead by example, set the standard. Go an inch wide and a mile deep. Push the envelope and set the standard and you are no longer derivative. That’s where the gold is. It doesn’t happen overnight, but now I’ve got something to shoot for.
32. Jeffrey Gitomer told us to write every day. He said writing is wealth. If you’re not a writer, you’re not a speaker.
33. Brian Tracy said we cannot achieve unless we “resolve to pay the price”. That resonated with me. It takes a lot of work and a lot of practice. So beware of NSA members who glom onto and prey on the new speaker. Anyone who promises to shorten the route to success should be treated with the utmost suspicion. I really would like national to do something to alert us to these people.
34. I enjoyed the fact that Randy Gage who was so controversial in his own keynote a few years ago was the chair of this conference. He put on a confrontational conference and it was the better for it.
35. The chapter leadership session was great with a good depth of knowledge being shared. People should know about http://nsachapterone.org which is a great resource. Likewise if you Google ‘softconference nsa’ you will find a link to the recordings of past conferences.
36. Speaking can be a lonely business and the value for the conference for me was the interesting conversations I held throughout. It’s the people you meet at the bar, in the lobby and at the health club who make these conferences worthwhile.
37. NSA members should not be dismissive of people who are newbies and might not have the initials CSP after their name. You never know who a new person at the conference is and what their background is.
38. The buddy program for VIPs was a real winner. I’ve never been embraced by an organization and the individuals in it to the extent I have at this NSA conference.
39. The humor session with Mark Mayfield helped me understand that adults remember very little of our talks and humor makes them more memorable.
40. Seeing Fripp’s computer die at the Cavett Institute was a valuable lesson in how to handle equipment failure. She’s a real pro and did not let the lack of PowerPoint phase her.
41. My blog was clogged before the conference but now I understand I can be a curator and an interpreter of information.
42. Simon Mainwaring from Australia spoke about social media and storytelling. He had three lessons:
    1. Get the right mindset.
    2. Be a chief celebrant and don’t try to be a celebrity. The former has enthusiasm and engagement around the topic.
    3. Get Fan Action versus fan acquisition.
    4. Always have “How-manship” vs. “Show-manship”. Always show how.
43. I loved the Monday night music jam session in the lobby. Sitting in and playing with strangers was great. Who knew that Max Dixon played such a great keyboard?
44. Karpowitz said “The audience pays you for what you’ve survived, all your experiences in life .”
45. Lisa Sasevich shared valuable information on how to go from a free-speech to monetizing it. She showed us how to sell from the platform without appearing to. Give a free speech but structure it in such a way that they buy into the transformation offered by your system. Give them a whole piece of your program and then reference the rest of it. She is a classic information marketer. Like Ford Saeks who also has a price point for everyone in the audience. She also handled a power outage with her projector very well.
46. Lisa Jimenez said that “boldness gets rewarded.”
47. Les Brown: “courage is the willingness to act in spite of fear”.
48. Lou Heckler: “always ask who is speaking before you.” In fact it’s best practice to arrive a day earlier to conference so that you can listen to presentations preceding yours and do callbacks to them. Meeting planners respect speakers who arrive early.
49. Lois Creamer spoke at the Consultants PEG and recommended setting up committees of people who can review and comment on your blog.
50. Brendan Burchard stimulated me to think differently about social media. I have already written 52 tweets to send out on a weekly basis for the next year.

The Ragan Communications Social Media Best Practices for Communicators Conference, hosted by Cisco Systems, wrapped up on Friday. The 3-day event promised to share ways to “engage employees, build strong customer relationships and create brand buzz online” using social media. Workshop and presentation topics included:

• How video is reshaping employee communications
• Social media tools for PR
• Social Media Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools
• Crisis communications in the world of social media
• How social feedback can result in product innovation and cost savings
• The case for collaboration: mass adoption in corporations
• Empowering social media intrapreneurs

A hallmark of the event was the very active Twitter stream resulting in over 6,000 tweets during the event, compared to 2,700 at the 2010 Ragan Social Media Conference held at Cisco. If you want the details on what the audience found relevant, and have the patience to wade through the re-tweets, check out tweet-stream. Incidentally, the Cisco team did a great job monitoring the Twitter back-channel – including a visibletweets posting of tweets on screens at the side of the conference room – Cliff Atkinson would have been proud!

Given that the raw data is available to all, rather than trying to summarize the event, I will offer some opinions (full disclosure, I work as an executive communications manager at Cisco on a contract basis).

Be a squeaky wheel

Marilyn Mersereau, an SVP of Corporate Marketing at Cisco, kicked off the event by drawing attention to the “Cisco Sucks” video posted on YouTube by dissatisfied customer Mike Soltis:

She gave a blow-by-blow account of how, as a senior executive in the organization being targeted by the video, she stepped in and contacted the “cute Canadian” who made the video and offered to resolve the issue for him by buying him a replacement Linksys router.

This became a case study on Guy Winch’s Squeaky Wheel blog. Guy wrote the book on the benefits of being a squeaky wheel. Winch compliments Cisco’s response:

And my hat is off to Cisco, whose executives (if not call-center employees) clearly do know how to go about doing service recoveries the right way! Let’s hope they implement the changes necessary to avoid/minimize such situations in the future.

This case study raised some interesting questions, which were addressed later in the conference:

• Will it scale? Marilyn was able to resolve one customers problem by opening her checkbook. But why was the support organization out of the loop when it came to monitoring social media so they, not marketing, were the ones to respond? How can social media engagement extend to every corner of the organization? What are the necessary changes that need to be implemented?
• What kind of social media listening programs and social CRM solutions can large enterprises employ to monitor the huge variety of social media conversations where issues like this might arise?

For consumers, social media clearly empowers the squeaky wheel. Companies are starting to listen. Hint: if you want a freebie, speak up online!

What keeps us up at night

The Ragan audience represented the savvy social media staff of corporate America. They are on the cutting edge of Twitter, Facebook, blogging, video and more. They struggle with questions such as:

• What needs to happen for more investment to be made in social media by my company?
• How can I control which departments engage in social media?
• What’s the long-term maintenance strategy for social media – how can we avoid the “launch it & leave it” mentality?
• How can I get my senior executive to buy-in to social media?
• How can we understand the ways in which users interact with what we post?
• How can we turn negative product reviews around?
• How can we balance social media policy and discipline and avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water?

Hint: If you are a social media consultant, this is low hanging fruit for solutions to go peddle to corporate America.

Democracy meets autocracy

It seemed to me that the core conversation at the event (the elephant in the room?) was about the inevitable conflict between the radically democratizing impact of social media on essentially autocratic corporations. While individuals can easily and quickly embrace social media, corporations are often hamstrung. Why is this?

Despite the “warm fuzzy” veneer of corporate life (dressing down on casual Friday’s; managers matey use of first names) most corporations are essentially autocracies: the CEO and senior staff control the destiny of employees. This both inhibits the open conversations that occur in the social media environment and undermines the norms of social interaction in the hierarchy. In other words: people are running too scared to be fully engaged in social media.

Hardrinder Kang quoted Thomas Malone in The Future of Work who claims corporations evolve in the same way as societies: from hunter-gatherer “bands” to absolute monarchy (command and control) to democracy.

So how do yesterday’s organizational structures deal with the democratizing forces of tomorrow’s social media?

Answer: not well.

The genii is out of the bottle and the leveling forces of social media mean that you can no longer judge a person’s influence by their grade level. Yet, in the historical transition to democracy, how many monarchs willingly relinquish their crown? How many administrators whose tweets are followed by industry analysts (we heard of one at the conference) are given the financial reward their influence warrants?

I predict that the companies who still ban social media for employees; who think Twitter is a waste of time; who ignore consumer complaint videos on YouTube (or fail to monitor them in real time) – these companies will be superseded by more nimble, social media savvy, organizations. That’s how the Darwinian world works.

So is implementing social media in many corporations like teaching elephants to dance? What do you think? Let me know.

Conference Attendees Speak Out

This was a well organized and worthwhile conference. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s some impressions of the event from conference attendees:

At the end of the second day of the Ragan Social Media Conference I met Susan Gluss who is the Media Relations Director and spokeswoman for the UC Berkeley School of Law.

She is investigating the use of social media, specifically blogging, as as way of promoting both the activities of the Law School and her own OpEd’s in the San Francisco Chronicle.

If you have any suggestions for the ways Susan can specifically tailor social media to meet her needs, email her or send a tweet to @BerkeleyLawNews.

To hear her questions on the topic of social media, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:11 — 2.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

For the rest of this week I’ll be attending the Ragan Communications Conference Social Media Best Practices for Communicators hosted by Cisco Systems.

The event kicks off on Wednesday when I plan to attend the Pre-Conference Workshop on Corporate Video given by Deanna Govoni and Alex Romano. This workshop will discuss how to think differently about marketing content and sharing information. We’ll learn:

• How video is transforming communications
• How to reach a wider audience through the power of social media and video
• Web cams are a low-cost medium to train remote employees
• How the Flip camera encourages employee creativity and engagement
• How to effectively share and promote your video online
• How to gather necessary production equipment on both limited and large budgets

The content was obviously planned well in advance of Cisco’s decision to end-of-life Flip cameras … Sic transit gloria mundi.

In the afternoon, Shel Holtz, who I’ve interviewed on this blog at previous Ragan events, will talk on The Smartphone Revolution, discussing:

• The depth and breadth of the shift away from computers to mobile devices
• The challenges of building and deploying an effective app
• The questions you should ask yourself before starting down the mobile path
• What the B2B early adopters are already doing
• The advantages of going mobile

The following two days of the conference are an impressive list of Social Media experts from around Silicon Valley. The good news is that the conference already has the Twitter hashtag #ragancisco and I am sure live tweeting will be the order of the day.

I enjoyed presenting this morning to the breakfast meeting of the Tri-Valley Consultants Forum. There was a sold-out audience of 30 East Bay consultants in the room.

My talk was titled BLOGGING TO SUCCESS: How blogs, podcasts, video,and twitter can promote your professional reputation.

I discussed how new multimedia web-based technologies add exciting options to a consultant’s toolkit. From researching professional interests to developing content for clients, tools such as blogs, YouTube, podcasts, and Twitter can make you more effective—if you know how to use them. Consultants can now leverage multimedia to greatly improve the value of their services in the planning, preparation and delivery of their services.

I focused my talk on:

1. How to choose which tools to engage with and how much time and effort will be involved for an effective return on investment.
2. How to use advanced technologies to grow your professional reputation and connect with leading professionals in your field.
3. How to generate referral business, repeat business and third-party testimonials by using web technologies more effectively for better marketing, client engagement, and effective follow up.
4. How I became the #1 Silicon Valley speechwriter on Google as a result of using new technologies!

Around half the room already had a blog and many more indicated they used blogs, podcasts on iTunes and YouTube as a source for researching clients and their area of specialization.

Here’s a copy of my slides.

At the recent PRSA Conference in Washington DC there were over 30 sessions on Social Media.

I was intrigued to hear what the PR professionals at the conference thought of the impact of social media on public relations, so I asked a random collection of people I met in the halls what the thought.

Take a listen to what they told me by clicking on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:19 — 1.5MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

At the resent PRSA Conference in Washington DC I attended a presentation by James Walker on Diversity and Social Media. He’s a Gen-Y Communications professional interested in Public Relations, Diversity, Marketing and Social Media. In 2010, James combined two major interests to launch Socially Diverse , a six month online journey seeking out diverse conversations, discussion leaders and ways to connect through social media channels.

Socially Diverse: Engaging With Diverse Communities Online

Embark on a journey through social media — both the blogosphere and social networks. Explore the findings of the presenter’s six-month journey through social media, during which he engaged with active members from several online communities. Gain understanding of how to identify, analyze and engage with active participants of diverse communities and social interactions, and also learn how to create a social media home base from which all online activities can operate. Find out how to create a sustained online presence, and continue to develop relationships. The knowledge and insight gained from this session will prove invaluable as you move through the process of brainstorming, pitching and execution.

Following the talk I asked James to share some insights on diversity in social media. To hear what he told me, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:19 — 1.5MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The annual Public Relations Society of America International Conference was held October 16 – 19, 2010 at the Washington DC Hilton.

3,129 PR professionals met for the four days and attended a series of main stage keynotes, break out sessions and informal workshops.

Over 1,000 attendees generated over 6,000 tweets under the hashtag #prsa_ic. (An additional 134 mobile phone users, frustrated with the difficulties in using a hashtag with an underscore, created 300+ tweets under the hashtag #prsa10. Read some of the debate this caused below.)

Twitter is ephemeral. It only maintains 10-14 days of content, so this information will soon disappear. However, here’s a useful permanent archive all of the tweets. It’s with deep gratitude to all the attendees who posted their messages that this content has been made available worldwide on Twitter. Thanks!

Building on an idea of listing of “top tweets” I’ve experimented with at other conferences, I’ve curated a list of 227 tweets I found most content-rich and interesting; adding links where appropriate for easy reference; consolidating others; editorializing as indicated by [ … ]. Removing the re-tweets (RT’s) alone reduced the number of total tweets by 33%. The list below is in alphabetical order – no judgment is implied by being #1, #10 or #110.

I feel that this summary listing demonstrates the power of social media to magnify elements of an event that would otherwise have been lost.

Please share your own experiences of the event in the blog comments (or on Twitter!). I apologize in advance if I omitted your favorite tweet – feel free to search the archive and add it to the comments below.

Enjoy!

1. @chriskemper “Being out of control” is similar to the old PR fundamental: honesty and openness are powerful persuaders – @CharleneLi
2. @NikL1212 “By a show of hands, how many of you visit porn sites?” – @BillTancer Ha! Not a single hand raised.
3. @LJohnsonPR “Prepare for failure.” Know how to be comfortable not controlling the message to build social media relationships – @CharleneLi
4. @BUPRSSA “$5 a month can feed a kid everyday on the WFP.” For the price of a cappuccino, we can feed a child for one month.
5. @HeyRatty @Newseum might be the best museum I’ve ever been to. Did 2.5 hours; could have done another 2 if camera didn’t die/feet didn’t hurt.
6. @ericschwartzman @sallyfalkow & @lieblink SEO is PR podcast
7. @NeekBarnes 19 products drive 80% of total revenue, 60% of businesses sell to other businesses…we deleted the consumer.
8. @derekdevries 2 B effective in new world, orgs need to make social media part of reg org structure/process – not treat as novelty – @CharleneLi
9. @davispr 3 changes in media per Jim VandeHei, Politico: exponentially more diffuse, age of niche and people are exceedingly fickle.
10. @ElizHoltan 8 seconds (average attention span) to hook, 110 seconds (average elevator ride) to sell: the new elevator pitch is 118 sec – @JeffreyHayzlett
11. @bobdittmer 80% of major sports teams house social media in marketing.
12. @BLassiter 93% of journalists get their next story idea from Google or Twitter searches, not e-mail.
13. @Carriejs A lot of info gathering w/college aged is happening on social networks. Communication is many to many instead of 1 to 1 (ie. email).
14. @JustinSHubbard A lot of measurement tools/companies on exhibit that don’t seem to get. To be useful, be more than just a news aggregator.
15. @stephskordas A lot of people who are influential aren’t digital, especially in DC, says @cheeky_geeky
16. @mattkellypr A reminder for myself and PR friends who scoff at the credibility of advertising — from IPR.
17. @jonathan_rhudy AARP’s audience is the fastest growing group on Facebook.
18. @epope According to compete.com, Facebook now drives more web traffic than Google.
19. @derekdevries Agree w/ @charleneli – we need to worry less about what could go wrong w/ social media & focus on what can go RIGHT.
20. @HeyRatty Agreed. They should be listed in printed Program! RT @dfriez @prsa can we get Twitter handles for speakers at #prsa_ic?
21. @prsa_ic Annual Grunig Lecture: Remembering the Relationships in PR
22. @lieblink Answers to the 7 top social media PR questions I was asked at #PRSA_IC – @lieblink
23. @PRSA Are you following Conference news? We have the latest!
24. @RileyComm Article is a funny word when you hear it a lot.
25. @LYLEHALVORSON Be an informer, not a meformer – @annwylie
26. @BonnieRiechert Be forthright, authentic, transparent in your dialogue – @CharleneLi
27. @rdonley Be in control, control the message – @CharleneLi
28. @prsanews Be yourself online: don’t need multiple profiles – don’t say anything to upset your grandma – @geoffliving
29. @Ashley_Walters Behind the Scenes: Talking Politics with POLITICO in D.C.
30. @derekdevries Being effective org w/ SM requires 1) discipline 2) culture of sharing 3) asking right Q’s re: value 4) prep 4 failure – @CharleneLi
31. @derekdevries Best Buy handing control to employees via Twitter has produced & 12 examples of failure & thousands of successes – @CharleneLi
32. @sandrafathi Best question ever asked by speaker at a conference – @CGraves: “How many of you have ever had sex, or shot heroin?”
33. @MikeMcDoug Best-ever Kodak spot. Simply incredible.
34. @cheshirelad Beyond just providing twitter handle, how about a Social Media Homepage for each presentation?
35. @PRSAtactics @BillTancer demonstrating the data he loves. This slide: Prom Dress Obssession.
36. @bonnieupright Build strategies not around technology, but around relationships – @CharleneLi
37. @bonnieupright C-level needs to know this RT @DavidSpinks: Just because something is important doesn’t make it newsworthy-@michaelsmartpr
38. @richardbagnall ‘Campaigns come to an end, movements live on forever’. How can you inspire a movement with social media?
39. @derekdevries Can the nation’s largest healthcare insurer have a grassroots campaign that isn’t astroturf? [Will anything to do with American healthcare ever make sense?]
40. @ElizHoltan Can’t predict elections from Internet searches; crossover traffic comes from researching opposite viewpoint, says @BillTancer
41. @40deuce Case study @shonali is using now shows a company dropped it’s ad spend from $500k to $50k, but using SM brought revenue up 30%.
42. @epope Case study on recall search terms: pet food searched 10x more than recall info on children/infants – @BillTancer [Our values on display]
43. @dcaplick CEOs understanding what is really newsworthy could save PRPs a LOT of headaches. – @bonnieupright [Is that their job?]
44. @derekdevries Charlene Li cites @twelpforce as ex of empowering employees to take ownership of communicating for company via tech support.
45. @jaclyngrossfiel Charlene Li on social med measurement: organizations will not find value in social media unless they value relationships.
46. @derekdevries Charlene Li’s slides fr #prsa_ic lecture avail @ slides@altimetergroup.com, blog: charleneli.com/blog, email: charlene@altimetergroup.com
47. @CSUFPRSSA Check out @BillTancer blog
48. @colbcox Check out this SlideShare presentation : PRSA 2010 – Branded Content
49. @PRSA Check what bloggers & reporters are writing about #prsa_ic.
50. @JessLeeds Cognitive Dissonance is often a problem in research-people answer based on what they perceive the researcher wants to hear – @BillTancer
51. @adscriptskathy College students and 55+ demographic relying less on e-mail, more on social media to gather info
52. @NSyzdek Coming to PRSA conf. is like going to church. You’ve heard the sermon 1 mil x, but you prob need to hear it again. [And everyone bows their head, praying to the iPod Gods]
53. @PRSAtactics Conference Recap: @billtancer on listening to the conversation
54. @prsa_ic Conference Recap: @JeffreyHayzlett on the Mirrror Test.
55. @prsa_ic Coombs & Holladay Discuss the Kindle Crisis
56. @ghidotti Create sandbox covenants – balance between being open and closed in your leadership – @CharleneLi
57. @crwilcox Creative people should never have to compromise to carry out their vision – @JeffreyHayzlett
58. @stephskordas Crowdsourcing is MOST difficult job we do in PR. When you overmanage crowd, you kill it. Example: Digg.
59. @dskaletsky Currently 1mm traditional journalists in world, but 35mm online influencers (per Kevin McFall from Cision).
60. @ElizHoltan Data is truly the basis for good PR practices; without listening, it’s impossible to understand an audience.
61. @dianeschwartz Did you know 75% of tweets are ignored? Are you gonna ignore this one or re-tweet? [It was not ignored…]
62. @derekdevries Did you know Hilton Washington where #prsa_ic is called the Hinckley Hilton b/c it’s where John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Reagan?
63. @TedNguyen Do PR pros get Twitter engagement? Official hastags of #prsa_ic and #pr_leaders with underscores underscore confusion.
64. @kathybarbour Does your org have something like the US Air Force Blog Comment Policy? You need one.
65. @CubanaLAF Dominate news coverage for your specific audience – focus is more influential than ever.
66. @derekdevries Don’t concentrate on measuring influence, unique visits – measure outcomes. Outcomes = Income$.
67. @ghidotti Don’t feed the trolls in online communities. Tell them they aren’t welcome – @CharleneLi
68. @Carriejs Editing video is a bitch. Focus on short & sweet videos & shoot so you don’t have to edit. Reshoot until you get it right.
69. @40deuce Even if you’re writing a blog for a client the client still needs to provide you w/ content or else it’s not authentic.
70. @BUPRSSA Facebook is more popular than porn – @BillTancer, Experian Hitwise.
71. @NanClarke Facebook rewards writing at a 5th grade level & Twitter at 6.5 via@annwylie
72. @prsanews Financially, social media is not the way to make $; needs to be integrated into other programs: @geoffliving
73. @jakprpro Forget viral. Social media goal is to build community over time.
74. @davidjolson Found out the highest circulation magazine in the U.S. is – drum roll, please – AARP The Magazine, by far.
75. @Fancy_Lad Free Twitter analysis tools recommended by @BillTancer, Hitwise: Tweetcloud.com and search.twitter.com
76. @kdpaine Funny how a simple underscore in a hashtage #prsa_ic can be so hard to find on a phone keypad. Good lesson to learn.
77. @iBridgeforth Goal of Many Marketing Campaigns Should be to Gain Hearts and Minds of Target Audiences.
78. @HeyRatty Google is your brand’s homepage & Wikipedia is your brand’s About Us page – @ednaruano
79. @sarahsmbrown Got love a keynote that starts with kiss that shit goodbye. This’ll be good!
80. @amandamogul Got my @charleneli interview up!
81. @jddavenport Great new online presentation tool #prsa_ic may make you kick ppt to the curb.
82. @ElizHoltan Great public speakers must be at least 50% comedian, I think.
83. @CSUFPRSSA Grossman: the first week of January breeds the most at internet searches for diet. Volume cuts in half by Jan. 5
84. @Fancy_Lad Harder to hate on Farmville now. RT @40deuce: World Food Programme raised $1.5M through Farmville in 5 days for Haiti #PRSA_IC
85. @Hill_KnowltonUS Here is our interview with Don Wright
86. @rdonley Hmm, hate it when presenters use slides you can’t actually read. i got an idea – enlarge the important part. Size matters.
87. @sarahsmbrown How much time do you spend setting conditions of satisfaction with clients? Up front planning saves time at the back end.
88. @pujasheth http://Love146.org has a heartwrenching story behind how they found their brand name. They’re trying to stop sex slavery and explotation.
89. @sbwalt78 I believe sardines may have more room in their can than we do in conf rooms.
90. @toryk I find it hilarious to look around a huge ballroom full of people, a prime time for networking, to find everyone on their phone.
91. @YoTodd I mostly tweet & share just so I can find the info again later RT @prsanews Influencers: Arent we just talking to ourselves online #prsa_ic
92. @rdonley If filled up 20 gallon gas tank at $4 / gallon with printer ink, would cost $462,000!, says @JeffreyHayzlett. Slams HP.
93. @aribadler If we can put a man on the moon, we can find a way to bring WiFi into a hotel.
94. @mvallbona If you don’t value relationships you won’t value social media – @CharleneLi
95. @Carriejs If you’re a solo practitioner & only do 3 things @bgindra says to start a blog, get on Twitter & develop a blog commenting strategy.
96. @pujasheth Influence can be made. Passion can’t.
97. @sallyfalkow Influence comes from providing real value to your community.
98. @prweb Influence is a lot about listening–It’s also about educating: @geoffliving
99. @toryk Influence is about being a daily servant to community: @geoffliving
100. @derekdevries Interesting diversity of opinion on whether/not ppl read more/varied news due to serendipity enabled by sharing thru social media.
101. @francishopkins Interesting recurring themes at #PRSA_IC: monitor social media for ROI, PR is driving marketing more & PR must be integrated with web.
102. @rdonley Internet has become pervasive, e-trail we leave is rich, listen to conversation, we are what we click – @BillTancer
103. @derekdevries Jim VanDehei discusses journo/mass medua/ad landscape: barely scratches surface of web 2.0 potential – still relies on old biz model.
104. @40deuce Just in case you didn’t know; Twitter is the best place to promote a blog.
105. @visionspr Just learned about free online polling tool for a small group by using texts.
106. @dskaletsky just saw someone using a Palm Pilot at #prsa_ic. Seriously. I did. With the stylus and everything…why do I feel nervous for him?
107. @40deuce Know the difference in Terms of Use between personal use and advertising use in social media.
108. @BLassiter Know which of your company’s top 100 website referrers are media outlets.
109. @rdonley Kodak is not in the film business, but in emotional technology business – @JeffreyHayzlett
110. @JessLeeds Kodak’s waterproof camera was difficult to name-a popular Twitter contest made that happen – @JeffreyHayzlett
111. @swissnexSF Lady Gaga has more twitter followers than some publications total subscribers.
112. @CSUFPRSSA Least busy day for adult entertainment is Friday. Traffic increases when weather is colder.
113. @jwmorganjr Lee Odden says to be sure to monitor wired journalists and muck rack.
114. @prsa Life and Work: Cheryl Procter-Rogers Talks Balance With @ontherecord
115. @dcaplick Look 4 reg. daily events 2 test crisis comms cntr setups now, b4 U-know-what hits the fan; also develop crisis equip kit & practice.
116. @PRSAtactics Looking at trending search terms is part of listening to the conversation – @BillTancer
117. @jennalanger Love that ppl are talking @Livefyre at #PRSA_IC. Want in to the private beta? Sign up at http://livefyre.com & we’ll send you an invite!
118. @LaraK Loved @prblog’s take on #prsa_ic’s hashtag identity blues
119. @PRSAtactics Luescher says Western world is lucky; don’t know ;bleach in the stomach feeling of real hunger that 7 mill ppl that UN helps face.
120. @NikL1212 Luescher: We’re giving girls extra cooking oil. It’s enough for their families 2 allow them 2 attend school.
121. @davispr Luescher: What you miss in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, you can never make up.
122. @CubanaLAF Making news free was journalists biggest downfall. (Information is always worth something).
123. @Infoition Many consumers hit 25+ news sources daily. Absolute necessity to truly understand which sources matter – Jim VandeHei
124. @AnnWylie Measure on shoestring: Google alerts, Twitter results, Survey Monkey, LinkedIn polls, Twitpolls – @shonali
125. @prsa_ic Mining Search Trends San Antonio: Byline Blog – @BillTancer
126. @Lainie_Bradshaw Monitoring of SM should be: 1. Timely 2. Credible. 3. Relevant. 4. Trustworthy.
127. @PRVille Most needed skills for PR pros according to new PRSA Survey? Social Media and Crisis Comm. Media Relations #7th- @McClennan
128. @saidlikefarrah My 1st conf session ever to discuss menstruation & sanitary napkins. P&G’s cause to keep girls in school in 3rd wrld countries.
129. @derekdevries New (more accurate) news readership data Pulling the curtain back on 100 years of overcharging for advertising – @hatchjt
130. @40deuce New business can contact you through social media easier than by phone or email sometimes.
131. @NSyzdek Newer pros spend more time in social and media rel. Senior pros focus on global comms and issues mgt. Interesting.
132. @derekdevries News organizations need to get over it; stop worrying about Google and start worrying about yourself – @hatchjt
133. @derekdevries News orgs need journos more than vice versa. Everyone now has ability 2 publish; news has brand…for now – @hatchjt
134. @Kentarawil No Free Wifi at PRSA International Conference – Here’s Why [Borderless Networks? Not quite there yet]
135. @40deuce Not every company needs it’s own twitter handle. If your employees have one, just create a company hashtag and have them use it.
136. @pvolmar Now listening to @cheshirelad [That’s me!] present about Speechwriting in the Age of Social Media Slideshare PPT.
137. @pujasheth Odden: Add links that matter to your site. Relinking is the electricity of the web and Google.
138. @richardbagnall On going theme of this conference is the speed of change + the need to embrace it.
139. @stickycat Once again, session is not what I thought. Public Affairs is NOT about the Chilean Miner w/wife & mistress. Booooo.
140. @kkimberl Paid Search teams are working more closely w/ PR to know the conersation about their brand.
141. @bonnieupright People answer surveys how they think you want them to answer – @BillTancer
142. @BUPRSSA PR has the best uses for internet search data, helps you listen to what’s out there.
143. @NatashaSeitz PR has to be constantly evolving-what we did three months ago doesn’t work and what we do now won’t work in three months – Jim VandeHei
144. @ashleytravels PR has to be constantly evolving-what we did three months ago doesn’t work and what we do now won’t work in three months.
145. @jania99 PR people are analytical but creativity is what gives us an edge.Yay PR!
146. @krisTK PR pros must be able to work w all media. Trad media will be around for next 10-20 yrs. After that, we’ll see, per @politico
147. @kkimberl Press releases aren’t dead if you use SEO and SM. Its about the whole strategy, not the tools.
148. @JustinSHubbard PR’s value has more than one metric. Stop looking at just sales – @kdpaine
149. @PRNewsonline PRSA Conf: Ian Griffin, speechwriter for Cisco–writing tip: Use LinkedIn Groups and Polls for target audience research.
150. @prsa_ic PRSA Conference After Hours.
151. @prsanews PRSA Conference: a few observations via crisisblogger
152. @podcasteve PRSA_IC needs to give training in how to use/not use Powerpoint. Reading huge text slides to me is a big fail.
153. @prsa_ic PRSSA Inaugural Ball Awards Ceremony.
154. @dcaplick Pub Info Officers are the counselors to the CEO Tony Haywards of this world to try to prevent sound bites like his.
155. @EAHolzhauer Public Relations is NOT a TACTIC…Public Relations is a Strategic Communication Counseling Tool…Exactly!
156. @derekdevries Re: Save PR – look @ trust poll #s trad news has little cred to confer on blogs. New model: 1-to-1 trust bldg thru soc networks.
157. @Carriejs Re: pr agency websites: As an industry we aren’t walking the walk. Stop with stock photography & tons of copy. Show your work.
158. @derekdevries Reaching audiences, esp young ppl means demonstrating direct relevence to their daily lives; teaching reverence 4 news won’t stick.
159. @toryk Realize that alone is nothing, together it’s what we do. Community.
160. @Ashley_Walters Relevance + sharability = buzz.
161. @daveyarmon Reporter on @NasdaqOMX panel admits to threading Lady Gaga into story on utility stocks to boost SEO rankings.
162. @prsa_ic Save the PR Industry: Support Traditional Media.
163. @jonathan_rhudy See how your website stacks us with competitors via http://www.compete.com
164. @kdpaine Seems like EVERYONE (or at least every exhibitor) is now in the social media monitoring business at #PRSA_IC.
165. @MaurenKunz Show it, don’t tell it says @CGraves re: storytelling.
166. @sallyfalkow SM adoption now over 80%. Future will be savvy ppl in cos rather than agencies.
167. @kristoferkarol Small companies can now thrive because they can adapt to change easier – Jim VandeHei
168. @prsanews Social media brings PR back to the days before media relations & client emphasis on getting into the WSJ – @geoffliving
169. @sacevero Social media is enhancing & supplementing traditional media-trad. media isn’t dead-@kyestrance on the convergence of PR/marketing
170. @kellichristman Social media is more effective when it has a solid website to back it up. Yeah for the new http://Cerner.com!
171. @OnTheRecord Social Media is not new tools, it’s a new environment we need to learn to use – @jack_holt
172. @Lainie_Bradshaw Social media means anything w/a comment box, even an Amazon book review.
173. @stephskordas Social media puts us back in the role of ombudsmen so our clients can better navigate, connect with customers – @goeffliving
174. @toryk Social media returns us to old PR, puts us in touch with influencers.
175. @derekdevries Social Media will flip organizational leadership in favor of those who know how to use the tools & be authentic – @charleneli
176. @kplemon Social tech offers opp to build new relationships-the one constant among changing landscape – @CharleneLi
177. @kkimberl Social technologies will come and go, but the one constant is the relatioships you build – @charleneli
178. @jaywalk1 Socially Diverse Interview with @PapiBlogger
179. @BLassiter Start viewing your press release as a web page (embed links, videos, etc.) & have the consumer in mind as part of your audience.
180. @prsa_ic Staying On-Brand With Social Communication.
181. @davefletcher Staying On-Brand With Social Communication.
182. @jonathan_rhudy Strong communications should create a movie in the listener’s (or reader’s) mind – Oglivy CEO @Cgraves
183. @stephskordas Successful communities have more voices than one. Inspire, create, don’t infuse with brand messaging – @geoffliving
184. @prsa_ic Talking ROI at the PRSA Conference via @prnewser
185. @derekdevries Telling reality: Murdoch hasn’t pulled the trigger on de-listing from Google (all hat and no cattle).
186. @derekdevries Telling sign: American Society of Newspaper Editors has changed name to American Society of NEWS Editors
187. @JustinSHubbard The bottom line is not sales. It’s profit. Prove you can lower cost. Again, it’s business value – @kdpaine
188. @derekdevries The Internet has been great for journalism; it hasn’t been great for the journalism *industry* – @hatchjt
189. @40deuce The real measurement of social media comes from if your followers actually take some sort of action.
190. @ghidotti The same campaigns keep getting highlighted in these #prsa_ic sessions. Maybe #prsa should better screen presentations.
191. @CubanaLAF Thumbs up to PRSA for supporting the Barcelona Principles.
192. @stephskordas Time management tips: use filters in hootsuite to bring in good info from people – @dbreakenridge
193. @PRVille To journalists, 3 examples translates to a trend – @DavidSpinks
194. @statenewswire Top Newspaper Facebook Fan Pages
195. @kevin_sangsland Top skill desired by employers hiring PR candidates: writing. Relection of the value or writers or the scarcity?
196. @statenewswire Top U.S. Newspapers by Website Traffic.
197. @derekdevries Trad news industry / PR should worry more about audience apathy more than challenges to market share from blogs.
198. @cubanalaf Traditionally – Branding is associated with an object, not a person. Reputation is what personal branding is.
199. @40deuce Treat your blog like your own client and you’ll see it work a lot better.
200. @JohnFriedman True value of PR not measured in column inches or minutes of air time (or even tweets) but in changes in attitude/behavior.
201. @kdpaine Twitalyzer, Tweetdeck, Hubspot, Blog Grader to determine what people are talking about and who’s doing the talking – @sandrafathi
202. @Gabb_b Twitter was strategically used as a logistic aid tool, not just awareness, in the Haiti disaster.
203. @Carriejs Unfortunate that while speakers have been great, nearly all of the presentations at #prsa_ic use boring PowerPoint. And too much copy.
204. @40deuce Use Facebook to express your companies creativity and personality because people on FB are less interested in business there.
205. @AnnaRoseRotondi Use the 4 E’s to Get Social: Engage, Educate, Excite & Evangelize to build brand ambassadors – @JeffreyHayzlett
206. @jillpreston Use the language your customers are using in your communications. Know your key words or your communication is irrelevant.
207. @40deuce Use your company blog to show your company is a thought leader.
208. @alexpriest VandeHei: Even in 2006 people didn’t see the rapid changes in media coming.
209. @prsa_ic Video: Bettina Luescher, chief spokesperson for the United Nations World Food Programme interview.
210. @BonnieRiechert We are what we search and we are what we click. – @BillTancer
211. @davispr We should all be so good that our abilities outweigh our foibles – Ferne Bonomi, APR, Fellow PRSA, 2010 Patrick Jackson Award
212. @Cecy_M_Padilla We tend to overvalue the things we can measure, and undervalue the things we cannot – @CharleneLi
213. @amandamogul What Does It Mean to Be a Social Media Influencer?
214. @stephnewton What is the impact on society if we can so specifically choose the news we want that we are not exposed to new ideas?
215. @prsa_ic What Was the Best Lesson You Learned from Your Professor?
216. @jody_donohue When communications aren’t integrated it’s because of ego or a turf war-both of which are stupid.
217. @tammyRhoman When looking at data, open your eyes. Don’t let your notions overshadow the actual data – @BillTancer
218. @AshleyTravels When responding to negative criticism online 1) accept blame 2) show response & solution 3) take the discussion someplace else.
219. @derekdevries Why do conferences have speakers to announce the speakers who are announcing the *real* speaker? That’s 5 mins of Q&A were missing.
220. @heatherread Wishing all the speakers from #prsa_ic would publish a combined list of all the books and twitter feeds that they’ve recommended.[Like this?]
221. @sandraburrowes With 200 million mobile phones worldwide, PR pros need to ask How does my site look?; and How can it be found by mobile devices?
222. @prsa_ic Words That Get People to Do Things.
223. @Ashley_Walters World Food Programe used Twitter for internal operations during Hati relief, updating each other w/ road closings, food drops, etc
224. @Matt_Hopkins Write up on lecture by Dr Rawlins.
225. @NikL1212 You must embrace emotion – @CGraves on effective storytelling.
226. @jwmorganjr Young public relations professionals who work in ad agencies are lucky to make $35,000 a year.
227. @SarahBondKSU Younger audiences learned effectiveness of communicating many-to-many (status updates) vs. 1-1 comms (email)- @CharleneLi