Utilizing #Hashtags to #Engage

As I continue to grow as a communicator I enjoy trying new and innovative ways to engage in the social space. My employer, Busam Automotive, has been great about giving me some freedom to experiment with new tactics.

A few weeks back we had a pet adoption day at our Subaru store, Love a Pet at Busam Subaru. We invited 4 local animal rescues to attend and bring their adoptable cats and dogs. I also reserved a pet name tag engraving to have at the event.

To promote the event I used traditional strategies like pitching to local media and bloggers, making a Facebook event, and so on. ~ But I wanted to do something a little more innovative ~ In comes the hashtag.

The first thing I did was claim a hashtag, #LoveaPet. Claiming a hashtag is fairly simple and doesn't take a lot of time. To claim a hashtag check out What's the Hashtag ~ You can also claim it on What's the Trend. Claiming a hashtag is beneficial on several levels.

• Gives you an opportunity to give a quick "elevator pitch" about the event
• Allows you to add other links and relevant pages ~ i.e. press release, Facebook event page, relevant blog posts, etc...
  
• SEO (link building)

After the hashtag is set up you have to get the word out and encourage involvement. To engage followers I tweeted saying I would make anyone a pet name tag if they tweeted back their pet's name, a picture of their pet and used #loveapet.



After the responses I selected one and made a short video ~



In addition to the short video, I made tags for followers who interacted. I took a picture of each tag and tweeted the pictures at them with #loveapet. I also incorporated the hashtag on the actual tag ~ (I later mailed the tags)



I was glad to provide the tags, but didn't expect much beyond a RT or a thank you ~ I was wrong!

The video was made for Kelly Rodamer ~ It turns out she has a dog blog and did a post on the event!

After I mailed Dino's tag to Amy Storer-Scalia she took a picture of it and tweeted it using #loveapet.

There is one problem with using a hashtag for an event ~ How do you use the hashtag when the event is over? I have a few suggestions ~

• The Love a Pet Event was the kickoff the Pet Adoption Month at the dealership. We are donating $100 for each Subaru sold in the month of November. I use the #loveapet when tweeting about our donation totals. It's a great way to showcase social good using the hashtag.
• Before the event I visited each animal rescue and featured the organization in a blog post. I use #loveapet when tweeting about those posts.
  
• I follow local and national animal agencies. I RT and interact with them and add #loveapet whenever relevant.
  

Incorporating #loveapet into our overall PR strategy proved to be a valuable tool. Have you used hashtags for an event or cause? Would like to hear what else you have to add!

Until next time, whether it's B2B or B2C it's all Business to Person

Brand U

I was recently given the opportunity to give my first presentation as a communications professional. I spoke to an Electronic PR class at Northern Kentucky University (my alma mater) on the importance of self-branding.

As social media plays an ever-increasing role in the importance of PR, students HAVE to learn to use these tools effectively. I wanted to share a few easy to remember points about Twitter and LinkedIn. These are 2 social networking sites where every PR professional should have an active presence.

Twitter (I'm @Andrew_ShipPR)

• Make sure your profile explains exactly why you're on Twitter ~ "A PR student in _________ looking to develop relationships with PR pros that will help me learn and develop as a communicator"
• Put your LinkedIn web address or personal blog into the "web" section of the profile
• DO NOT protect your tweets ~ That doesn't exactly scream transparency...
• Interact with industry leader's ~ Check out one of my previous posts that goes more in-depth: "Building Relationships with PR Pros through Twitter"
  

LinkedIn

• Pick a vanity URL ~ Ex. http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewshipPR
  
• Have a professional picture
  
• When inviting people to connect, personalize the message ~ It takes less than a minute, it will set you apart, and it will open up communication
• Make sure you fill your profile out to 100% completion ~ Remember the more robust your profile the higher likelihood your profile will come up in search results.

Feel free to check out all the presentation slides ~

The most important thing to remember, above all else, is to be yourself. Nothing can replace The Human Factor.

Do you have any additional suggestions? I would love to hear them ~

Until next time, whether its B2B or B2C, it's all Business to Person

~Andrew

#JournChat --- My Cure for the Common Monday

I never "dread" Mondays, but sometimes they can get the best of me. Now that I have graduated, and am "in the real world", I have gotten into a Monday routine. No matter how bad Monday was, I have found a great way to turn everything around: #JOURNCHAT!

#Journchat is a weekly (Mondays from 8-10 ET) discussion of Public Relations, Journalism, and Communication professionals. The chat usually consists of 10-12 questions about current trends in the 3 fields. As a young pro, this is a great way to learn from veteran professionals. Sometimes I comment, but other times it’s nice to sit back, listen, and learn. During the most recent #journchat on March 8th, the moderator Sarah Evans, posed this question:

“If there was one piece of advice you could offer to new comm/journ/PR grad, what would it be?”

BINGO! I was excited to hear the answers! Here is a compilation of my favorites. Last night’s #journchat really got me excited about PR, if you are a PR pro that didn’t get to participate here is what you missed…

CasterComm
Relationships and your reputation will follow you forever. Protect and nurture both of them.

Hilary_Louise
Take advantage of all opportunities given to you, and create you own

JDEbberly
Learn as much as you can from established professionals

Dpolitis
1)For journo students: Take an intro PR class. Better yet, take 2 classes
2)For PR students: Yep, you guess it, take a journo class. Better yet, write for the school paper

LisaRedShoesPR
Know how to communicate no matter which platform you use, FB, Twitter, News Release, SM News Release, phone calls.

Liz Pope
Do what you say you're going to do. If you volunteer to do a task, follow through with it on deadline and use it as a chance to set yourself apart.

JPeters1221
Never stop learning. Grow. Adapt.


JGoldsborough (My Favorite)
Make a point to meet someone new each week. More people you know, more you learn, more you develop

This is just a small sampling of some other great comments and insights from other industry leaders. With that being said --- What did I leave out, I'm always in need of some great advice, and I would love to hear yours!

Information is Addicting

Addiction is a word that commonly drums up a negative connotation. It is commonly associated with such words as: alcohol, gambling, drugs and other generally unhealthy behavior. However, in this “Web 2.0” age there is a new addiction: The Addiction to Information. Companies that combine their PR and social media efforts to feed this addiction will create large dividends.

Most companies are beginning to realize how to utilize social media; in that they now understand it’s about being PART of the conversation, not CONTROLLING the conversation. Unfortunately, companies are putting the wrong personnel at the forefront of these highly important touchpoints. It is true younger PR professionals have more experience with social media, but they can also get into a lot more trouble. Matt Singley explains this really well in his blog post “6 Things You Need to Know about Running a Social Media Program: The Channels”.

“Twitter is often the most immediate and intimate touch point with your current and future customers; make sure you put your best and brightest people behind this channel…and pay them well! They can make or break your reputation in just a few key strokes.” ---Matt Singley

How true (not to mention scary) is that. Where companies can begin to capitalize on social media is combining veteran PR professionals with younger Gen Y professionals. Companies need to be willing to commit more personnel hours and talent to their social media efforts. One person can no longer handle one company’s social media efforts. There is simply too much information, and people still want more.

Due to this addiction of information, companies have to be ready and willing to get as much information out there as possible. Do not misunderstand me to mean a company can get by with flooding the market with tons of information. A company has to get high quality content to their publics.

Companies need to use that content and traditional PR efforts to get articles published, segments on radio, and TV spots; but to get the most bang for their buck social media teams need to push traditional media efforts through social media touchpoints.

As we become a culture more and more addicted to information, companies are going to have to understand the importance of producing high quality content. Always remember content is (and always will be) KING!

What is Public Media

Public Media is the combination of two vital resources all companies have to utilize to be competitive in their market: Public Relations and Social Media. Traditional PR has been a staple of any successful company for years, but social media is the relative "new kid on the block". These two working in unison is the best way to reach publics.

Oxford, the word experts, deemed "unfriend" the word of the year in 2009. If this isn’t a sign of the extreme rise of social media, then I don’t know what is. It is an amazing tool to build relationships with people all over the world. Building relationships is at the core of any PR professional's skill set. However, some practitioners don’t fully understand how to use social media effectively to build relationships.

Almost every PR pro has a Facebook profile, Twitter handle, and LinkedIn profile. These are all great, but simply having them does not ensure you will reach, and more importantly, affect people. Social media is all about involvement, so you have to get involved.

This means taking steps to connect to people, not profiles. Sending direct messages via Facebook or Twitter is a great way to connect a profile with a person. Whenever you "friend" someone on any of these social media sites, send a personalized message and introduce yourself. This further reinforces the personal touches that are essential to relationship building.

Unfortunately, all of these social networking devices have given people the ability to interact on a surface level. It doesn’t illicit real human interaction. Public Relations professionals have to add the human element. This is now the best way to reach publics in the personalized manner they want.