It is only natural in a poor economy, you tend to let things happen to you and your business instead of letting “you” happen to your business world. As clients cut back or new business slows or the media shrinks in the case of PR firms like ours, you tend to play defense instead of offense and just hold onto to what you have instead of building on it and going for more. This stance obvious leads to a murky middle ground that is not…
Read MoreThere was a time when being a journalist was cool. When it was honorable. When you could introduce yourself as one at a gathering and people would think, “Gee, that’s a pretty important job…that guy/gal reports the news and watches our backs.” These days when I see journalists out and about they have this blank stare of resignation and they are met by others with a look usually reserved for people who have lost a loved one. The layoffs and severance packages keep lining up. …
Read MoreEvery once in a while you have to go a little “off-brand” in your blog posts and sprinkle in some of your other passions. For a number of years as some of you know, one of those passions has been the quest to see an economic development project including a ballpark built in Shockoe Bottom. This quest began before my business partner and I purchased a minority stake in a building that would literally stand across the street from the right field line. Our involvement,…
Read MoreSo for those who Tweet, the last day or so has been interesting. For about a day the ability to follow conversations between those you follow and third parties was temporarly removed…you follow? These third-party conversations are sort of integral to the Twitter experience since they can help Twitterers decide who else they want to follow….still following? It wasn’t removed by a glitch or a virus, it was removed by the folks who RUN Twitter. They said, following those third-party conversations, was likely annoying to…
Read MoreFrom time to time I have spoken about some of the great people I have met and learned from on Twitter. Prime examples are John and Chrisanne Sternal, a PR “power couple” from Florida. Living with someone in the business is something with which I have some experience as well, and the Sternals have turned their passion into a business. Their website understandingmarketing.com is full of rich content focusing a great deal on small business marketing, public relations and social marketing. Their latest article includes…
Read MoreSo there I was Thursday night at the first mass Richmond Social Markering Club (#smcrva) meeting “Twittering” away with friends and acquaintances that I had met online thinking that all of this is the wave of the future. In the perfect world, we’d all be cross promoting ourselves, our clients, our likes and dislikes on social marketing platforms and life would be wonderful. Yippee!!! If there is one thing I’ve learned in the six months that I’ve immersed myself (as much I can be immersed)…
Read MoreWow. Sure it was loud, crowded and well…loud. But the SMCRVA event tonight was a great success. It was also long overdue. Richmond needs groups like these with people who can bridge their own specialties through the use of technology and communications to help each other and the community in which they live. Tonight was just the beginning. People who have been conducting virtual conversations for months on Twitter and Facebook met in person for the first time by exchanging hugs. More than one person came…
Read MoreI admit it, I’ve become one of the “gray-hairs.” On my recent trip to Florida one of my cousins (insert Jewish accent here) looked at me and said “Jonathan, you’re getting gray….looks good though.” I’ve been in Richmond now for 17 years and have “practiced” public relations and marketing for 16 of them. In all those years I can’t remember a time where the birth of a local industry group has been met with the excitement and anticipation that the birth of our (Richmond) Social Media…
Read MoreFor those who know me well, they will likely find it hard to believe that there was a time when I actually hated Bruce Springsteen. Worse yet, I lived in New Jersey at the time, going to school at Rutgers, working at the college radio station around the time “The River” was released. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDeqN5W4eV4] I can’t remember why I hated him, probably the old “you can’t understand the words” thing. Looking back, I missed many an opportunity to take part in what was a sport…
Read MoreSo just about everyone who knows I’m on Twitter and that we at THP are helping clients with social network, ask me the same questions….”How does Twitter work?” or “I don’t understand how it can apply to my business?” or “I tried it but all it is, is people telling other people what they ate for breakfast.” So here’s a real world example of how Twitter works. A couple of days ago we posted a social media release about the Virginia Education Wizard, a client…
Read MoreOver the past month or so (even longer than that) it has been occuring to me that the only way PR folks will continue to be successful is to make things as easy as possible for the media from whom they want coverage. Gone are the days where you can expect or anticipate “the usual” number of media to come to events, cover stories, respond in a timely manner. It is not their fault, they just don’t have the time or the manpower available. Moving…
Read MoreSo obviously when I was in Florida with my dad, I was forced to take a break from the intravenous-like connection I’ve had in recent months to all things social marketing. I didn’t blog as much, cut back on my Tweets, I didn’t even immediately respond to emails, voice mails and texts. How could I survive? The horror? The truth is a survived just fine. I even felt slightly better which leads me to believe that after throwing myself into this world full force over…
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