Posts Tagged ‘writing’

Goin Mobile

1 Comment » Written on May 4th, 2010 by
Categories: Digital Media, PR, Social Media, Strategy
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This month is abuzz with mobile. Both the Triangle AMA and TIMA have speakers on mobile marketing and ads. Mobile Internet traffic is increasing with the proliferation of smartphones and Wi-Fi devices. This post is actually being drafted on an iPhone so I can gauge what a mobile blog post is all about.

For one it’s really intense in terms of keying this in using a keyboard that only uses my thumbs and no mouse. This has made me focus accurately and correctly writing the first draft. Reminds me of the typing class I took in high school. The final result is going to be produced in less than 45 minutes. No links, photos or anything else. Just good old fashioned words strung together to try and keep the reader engaged, informed and educated.

True I could write this on my laptop using Word and its tools like spellchecker. But what is mobile blogging if I don’t actually use the WordPress iPhone plugin to actually draft a post? Editing is a bit tricky but I am curious how viable a Smartphone is as a field reporting unit.

No doubt an iPad would be better suited for the task. And in time I do foresee content being drafted on tablet devices in increasing numbers. I’ve already envisioned my grade school children will be using this type of device in middle school within the next three to five years.

But going full on mobile is rapidly happening all around us. Home phone accounts are giving way to a family of four wireless plan. Our phones have address, contact information, calendar and notes stored in them for easy access. Geo location features and apps allow us to find each other and share locations. Smartphones have become the mobile convergence devices that deliver true computer telephony integration.

But I gave to say that mobile blogging on such a device is difficult. It’s taken me longer to write this post. And many times my large thumbs hit the Shift or Return key by accident! It has taken me longer to write this post and I have had to revisit the copy more than usual but that’s not a bad thing!

What’s your experience blogging on a mobile device? What challenges have you experienced? Or does it not compute for you?

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Posted in Digital Media, PR, Social Media, Strategy

Five Starting Points to Build Your Online Presence

No Comments » Written on February 23rd, 2010 by
Categories: Digital Media, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy
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Last month I spoke to the Triangle Area Freelancers on how to use social media to market yourself.  The group is primarily freelance writers and they had some excellent questions including:

  • Should I get on Twitter?
  • Where do I start with social media?
  • Blogger or WordPress, which is better and should I pay to host my site?

I have to keep reminding myself that there are still many people out there that are new to social media and interactive technology.  With the rapid pace of change it can be scary and hard to get started with confidence that you are heading in the right direction.  Even tough the mainstream media keeps blasting out stats like Facebook is the largest country on Earth, there is still a huge majority of people dipping their toe into the water.

Based on these questions and my presentation I thought it would be a good post to create the five starting points to marketing yourself on the web and creating an online presence.

  1. Create a web presence that you own. Whether you decide to create a blog or just a simple site to direct online traffic to learn more about you and your craft, own your own site.  Many people use Blogger and WordPress free hosting and even though this is a great, low-cost entry into creating a web presence there is a downside.  Google and other free hosting sites legally own your content according to the terms of the agreement.  Therefore find a reliable hosting provider that can host your domain and site.
  2. Create a Twitter account even if you don’t want to post. There is valuable information on Twitter including many people asking for some to provide services that you may offer.  Even if you don’t want to chat on Twitter, create an account so that you own your name or brand name and you have the ability to listen.  Use search to create listening agents and investigate possible opportunities.
  3. Create and manage your LinkedIn profile. Many business users are on LinkedIn and not Twitter.  They don’t use Facebook for business so LinkedIn is the main business social network.  Over the past year LinkedIn has really added interactive features and functionality that allows users to profile their work and cross-reference other sites.  Look for people asking questions that you have expertise in and answer them.  The interaction may lead to a job or lucrative project.
  4. Understand the medium. After being a PR and marketing writer for the past 18 years, I Discovered that blogging is much different form of writing.  When I wrote for trade journals my article length was 1,500-3,000 words.  Blog posts tend to be 500-1,000 words.  Use Google to search for web sites and blogs in your subject matter and begin looking at them.  Find the ones you like and pattern your presence after theirs.  Add your personal flavor and opinion and let your site visitors appreciate what you bring to the conversation.
  5. Define your goals. Determine what you want out of your web and social presence.  Do you want to capture leads? Do you want to increase awareness?  Are you looking for a business partner? Establish baselines and track your metrics from that point forward.  Be realistic and revisit your objectives every few months, revise and keep momentum going forward.

There are many other starting points and advice but I wanted to stick to the key points.  Many times we find ourselves consuming too much information and losing focus of building the foundation properly so that we can add to it later.  Thanks to Kristy Oberlander Stevenson and the Triangle Area Freelancers for inviting me to speak.

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More Blogging Lessons Learned

No Comments » Written on August 9th, 2009 by
Categories: Marketing, Social Media
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Today is Day 25 of my 30 day blogging challenge and I wanted to share some more tips and other wisdom. I have to admit today was a tough motivational day. I still have some topics on my list that I started with at the beginning of the 30 days. But none of them really jumped off the page and inspired me enough to write about the topic.

Staying motivated is a challenge in any process, especially after the “newness” wears off. The first 12 days my energy level really jumped and my brain was buzzing. I was able to have some really clear thoughts on some tough problems because my brain was moving. But after 20 plus days the euphoria can wear off and you are relying on discipline and will to maintain your journey towards the final goal. Of course if I was being paid to write that’s a whole another story. Some of the best motivation has been reading other blogs and meeting a few bloggers both online and in person.

Content is king and finding an interesting topic for you and your readers is tough. I have written posts on topics that I did not have on my initial list which is great as it gave me fresh content such as attending a trade show and speaking at Ignite Raleigh. I think the more active you are the better, and this has been a more active time for me over the past two weeks.

Maintaining a consistent subject matter can be difficult. When I started this blog I wanted to document my work experiences and create an online portfolio. Now I realize that I have been writing about past experiences, current events and topics and where marketing is going. Keeping a marketing and communication focus is important but not required. Tagging also helps keep your blog concise, if you are creating new tags frequently then look at your tags to see if they are relevant to your subject matter.

Blogging is different than writing in many ways. The length of typical blog posts tends to be shorter than newspaper or magazine articles. From a writing perspective I am more used to a longer format to explain the details and influencing factors to the story. Blogging to me seems to be shorter creative burst of ideas without delving too deep into the analysis. Blogs allow us to get a quick gist of the topic and tend to link or relate to another source even within the blog itself.

Well five days left and then I have met my goal. I like that I will be ending on a Friday so I can relax next weekend!

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Change Management at Core of Effective Communication

No Comments » Written on August 1st, 2009 by
Categories: Events, Marketing, PR
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One of the speakers I was able to see last week at the ACCE convention was Michael Herman whom I’ve know for over 20 years. Michael was my first PR professor at NC State way back in 1987. Since then I’ve seen Michael from time to time while he was head of Communication Sciences International and Epley Associates. If you know Michael you know that he is one of the more respected and honored PR professionals in the United States so I was glad to see him again and hear his presentation.

Michael was speaking on communications planning for the chamber executives at the workshop. His presentation reminded me of some of the core principles he taught me back in school that are very relevant today but can tend to get overlooked with the massive amount of information in today’s business environment. With the internet becoming our primary news source and social media increasing the amount of information we are evaluating how relevant and truthful the content is.

Organizations face change in a stubborn and combative manner and require communication to efficiently and effectively manage the change. Since change can have ripple effects in our organizations the proper use of our communication channels and message becomes even more important. The basic questions of who, what, where, why, when and how must be answered otherwise incorrect information can assume its place.

One of the points Michael made that I thought really hit home with me was that you should always communicate change first to your employees and staff. They are the primary audience being affected by the change and also must manage the change as they go forward when dealing with customers and other stakeholders. If they are not getting accurate communication from the organization they will turn to peers and others for information, assuming it’s true as there is nothing to refute it from corporate leadership.

Another great core value Michael mentioned was that you must plan for the unexpected. He mentioned that his mantra is, “life is always about how you handle plan B.” It only becomes your fault when you fail to plan then react poorly or inappropriately. It is important that when change happens you as the communications professional are the person chosen to manage it!
Do you have a crisis communication plan for your organization? What is your Plan B?

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Five Blogging Lessons Learned

No Comments » Written on July 25th, 2009 by
Categories: Marketing, Social Media
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Today is day 10 of my 30 Day Blogger Challenge and so I decided to write about five lessons learned so far:
  1. Blogging every single day is a challenge to find the time and creative drive to publish a complete article. Also daily frequency may be too much for any single person to sustain without writing ahead of time or working with other writers to some degree. Also I did not think about weekends but decided to post 30 continuous days versus 30 business days.
  2. I wrote a list of 20 topics that I was interested in writing about before I started. This has been a lifesaver on hectic days or when I just don’t have a driving idea to write about.
  3. I need an editor or better edit my work. Some days I wanted to get the post out and the writing should have been revised.
  4. Getting comments is challenging and I have started to ask questions at the end of each post to engage reader more. Also I’m interested in what others think.
  5. Keeping a focus on marketing or any specific subject matter can be difficult. At times I have been challenge to ask myself, “is this post of interest to marketing professionals or am I just writing about what interest me outside of work?”
Writing everyday does spark your creativity to some degree. I have discovered that some ideas that have been hard to find a good creative message are popping up more frequently. Of course I have the terrible habit of getting the creative idea when I’m driving or doing something that makes documenting it difficult at the time.
I am glad that I did this challenge in that it has given me the opportunity to really learn what blogging is all about. No better way to learn than to just do it!
What blogging and writing challenges do you have and what lessons have you learned?*
*See there’s that comment probing question I mentioned!

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Wordsmithing is NOT a Word!

4 comments Written on July 20th, 2009 by
Categories: PR
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Last week I was working on a press release and came across reviewer comment using the term wordsmithing. For some reason this word falls into my list of annoying terms. I don’t know why, I guess it’s because I feel like I have to put on a worker’s uniform and get our my anvil so I can smash that document into a shape and form.

The term wordsmithing is not a word. It’s a perfect example of how we like to take words and us them for our own purpose. The fact that it is incorrect gets lost and we as readers tend to absorb that word usage. Ideally we should say this needs to be rewritten or edited, not “needs some wordsmithing.”

The term wordsmith is an actual English language word that was created in late 1800s to describe a person who works with words and is especially a skillful writer. The only variation on wordsmith is wordsmithery; both of these words are nouns, not verbs.

What words are used in your profession that you don’t like? How are words being misused in your work?

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