Spin Sucks - four topics every business owner needs to understand

Karen shared our #wwcbookclub book for April earlier this week and I’m writing about the same book again because there’s just that much to talk about with this book. Plus, we’re so excited for our friend Gini’s book launch! :)

In 2000 I started the Public Relations program at Algonquin College. I was freshly home from Korea, where I’d gone to spend almost a year teaching English after graduating with a BA in Psychology I wasn’t sure what to do with. 

I clearly remember one of the very first things the program coordinator said to us on the day I started this program.

“Public relations is not about being a spin doctor, but that’s what people think it is.”

It’s stuck with me for almost 14 years now because it’s true, people do think that people who work in PR are just “spinning” a story, but that’s really not what well-done PR is about.  Which is why I love reading Gini Dietrich’s blog and her books – she talks about and teaches PR the way it needs to be done so that people can understand it.

 Her lastest book, Spin Sucks, just launched and I was thrilled to get my hands on it early.  Now that I’ve read it (from cover to cover – rare for me!) here are my four reasons I think you should read this book, whether you’re a PR professional or not (though if you ARE a PR professional or student, you should just get it no matter what!)  Ok, they aren’t reasons exactly, they are topics I think all business owners need to understand: 

1)  What’s your media?

Owned, paid, shared, earned, what is the difference and which ones do you need?  Things have changed and you need to understand what kind of content you can have, what you currently do have, and what you want to have.  And while you’re at understanding all of these, what are the right and wrong ways to try to get each kind.

2)   Crisis communications 

I’m a big believer in being prepared and the book helps you know what to do when something bad happens to you or your business, whether it be a big incident or a small one.  No matter how much we’d like to protect ourselves from people saying things about us online we don’t want them to, we unfortunately don’t have the power.  There are some really solid suggestions on how to do deal with that in the book.  I’ll give you a hint on the most important part – don’t try to hide things.

3)   Storytelling 

People love a good story, and your story is the most interesting one of all when it comes to your business.  The book has some really great examples that showcase the importance of storytelling and points you to some of your favourite novels for inspiration.

4)   Google and Search Engine Optimization 

Gini covers the topic in a way that gives you ideas on what to do or not do to help your rankings in search. While I would love to keep writing 300 word posts, I now know that I really should be keeping the posts between 500-800 words or so, and I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to make that happen (and totally nailed it on this post! :).  Understanding how Google ranks your web site is so important and this book really taught me a lot and have brought a lot of things back top of mind for me. 

So there you have it, a bit of a taste for what I think you can learn from this book.  Check it out as soon as possible because if you take advantage before Saturday you get all kinds of awesome extra free stuff - and who doesn’t love free stuff? (answer: not me. *I* love free stuff)

BUY YOUR COPY OF SPIN SUCKS BY APRIL 5TH AND GET AMAZING EXTRAS!

• Enter the contest on the Arment Dietrich Facebook page.
• Email Gini a copy of your receipt to receive some free stuff! Ebooks, webinars, etc. (This one is worth buying the book for alone!)

MEET GINI AND HEAR HOW MUCH SPIN SUCKS LIVE!

One last note, for our Ottawa and Toronto readers: Gini’s coming to town next week (Karen and I will both be there)! She’ll be inToronto (#3tyyz) on Monday, the 7th and she’s coming to Ottawa (#3tyow) on Tuesday, the 8th.

April #WWCBookClub Twitter Chat

Mark your calendars, because April 24th from 9:00-10:00pm, we’re going to have a chat about #SpinSucks and everything you’ve learned! So, be sure to go buy the book now: Amazon.ca Paperback, Kindle (affiliate links).  

Blogging: a story is worth repeating

Lately, everything I write feels stale (sort of like the writer’s block I had in the Fall).  I’ve written so many blog posts on so many topics that I keep having deja vu every time I start writing.  So today I am going to write a post reminding myself of all the things that I tell my clients about why you can write about the same topic repeatedly without it being a problem.

1) Not everyone has seen every blog post you’ve written

Your audience changes, and it grows. On top of all the new readers you probably didn’t have last time you wrote about a subject, not everyone actually sees and reads everything you write, and not everyone remembers everything they’ve read.  In the end, how many people will actually think “she’s written this before!” and even more importantly, mind? The answer is, not many.

2) Things change

Even if you’ve written about something before, chances are quite high that you’re now coming at it from a different angle as you revisit it.  You have new experience and new knowledge, and whatever prompted you to write about the topic is probably different than it was the last time you wrote about it.  That changes the perspective, the facts, and the overall tone and message of the post.

3) Repeat repeat repeat

Just because people have heard something before doesn’t mean they couldn’t get something valuable out of hearing it again. Repetition is important.  I know that I often need to hear something a few times before I start taking it seriously or take any action.

So what does all of this mean for you and your content?

It means that not only should you be OK with writing about topics you’ve written about before, but that you can actually go through your old posts and your analytics to see what topics were particularly popular and plan to write about them again. Instead of being held back, you’ve now got more to write about!

A nice bonus is that the more you write great content on a subject, the more likely Google is to rank you as a credible source on that topic.  It’s win win.

So on that note, over the coming weeks you can look forward to some old topics coming back again.  If you have any preferences on which topics, leave me a comment and let me know!

Your content needs personality - here's why

I was browsing on Facebook one day when I saw someone post a video of Seth Rogen testifying in the U.S. Senate hearing to advocate for more funding for Alzheimer’s research. You should watch it - it’s 6:37, but worth spending the time:

Two things struck me about this:

1. Seth Rogen is an actor in movies that have…ahem…interesting subject matter. He gets laughs from audiences with sophomoric humour. He’s not someone you’d expect to show up in front of a Senate Committee Hearing.
2. Someone’s testimony before the U.S. Senate advocating for Alzheimer’s research is going viral on social media channels. It’s a C-SPAN video! Has this ever happened before?

Why?

The second is happening because of the first. Seth Rogen is a funny guy. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and he doesn’t take U.S. Senators too seriously either. (He was very respectful - that’s not the same as bowing down to them and treating them as superiors.) They were certainly amused by Seth’s pleas for funding, but I think they must have also been touched by the obvious care and concern Seth has for his mother-in-law. I know I was.

We can all learn a few things from this video and apply it to our own content. Here are a few lessons that occurred to me.

Serious topics aren’t overshadowed by humour

Adding humour to a serious topic can get information across in a more palatable way, inviting more people to be exposed to important news or views. It’s not always appropriate, but if it can be used tastefully, it’s worth trying.

No matter how big your audience, bring your “A” game

Did you catch when the camera turned on the committee? There were just two senators in attendance. Sure, the audience behind Rogen was there and listening, but they sure aren’t the target audience for this content. The Senators are the decision-makers. My guess is many of those people behind Rogen were there for the same reason - to advocate for funding.

Personal anecdotes and experiences are powerful

Many people don’t want to talk about their personal life on social media. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, being personable and bringing some personal insights or experiences into your content can create a more compelling connection with your audience. 

Gimmicks aren’t necessary to make a big impact

This video was from C-SPAN. It was posted to their YouTube account, but it’s not a “produced” video. It’s one of almost 4,000 videos C-SPAN uploads of hearings, testimony and other content relevant to the running of the government of the United States - most of which get hundreds, or maybe thousands of views. It wasn’t scripted and blocked and directed. In one single day, the video has had almost as many views as Matt Damon’s Water.org video from just over a year ago. Given that over 1 million people have heard Seth’s testimony in one day, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them learned quite a bit they didn’t know about Alzheimer’s before. 

Don’t discount the network effect

It can be frustrating if your target audience doesn’t show up to listen to your message. However, when others are listening, it can sometimes lead to a different platform to get your message out. The more people who watch the video, the more people who gain awareness of the need, the more likely that they’ll take some form of action. Some may petition their representative to approve more funding. Others may give to support the work of non-profits that help patients and their families living with Alzheimer’s. 

Viral should never be the goal

The goal of what Seth Rogen was doing was to get more funding for research. If one person watched the video of his testimony, I believe Rogen still would have gone to testify before those two Senators. What came through on the video is that he believes in his cause and wants to make a difference. It’s not about him. It’s about the end result.

Word of mouth is the oldest and most valuable marketing method. I like to say that social media has a really big mouth. Maybe social media will prove to be instrumental in accomplishing the objectives that took Seth Rogen to Washington, D.C. - by amplifying his voice.

Can you replicate this scenario for your business? No one can know or guarantee that kind of result. But I can tell you that I’ll be more interested in what you have to say if your content has personality and draws me in.

What are some other examples of serious topics that have been delivered more effectively by incorporating a healthy dose of personality?

The challenge of consistent content delivery

What’s the challenge?

Not enough businesses plan ahead.

What topic do you want to discuss today? How about tomorrow? Next week? Next month? How do these topics help you achieve your overall business goals? Did you write them down?

Many business owners feel they have to sit down for X amount of time per day and “do” social media. While I think setting a dedicated time to check in is a good thing, it’s not necessarily the best time for you to scramble to put a blog post together, promote it on Facebook, Twitter et al and then try to squeeze in some actual social interactions. 

Instead, why not block off a half day once or twice a month to bulk schedule your foundation content? Does that sound overwhelming? Here are three steps to make it painless.

1) Create and use an editorial calendar.

Your editorial calendar is where you can decide whether you want to have themes to focus on - monthly, weekly, and/or daily. Here’s a sample of our editorial calendar:

See how organized it can make your process? Sign up for our newsletter and I’ll send you the Excel file!By taking an hour to plan out about 6 months of themes, you will create a plan that guides your work.

2) Write the content.

Set aside a fixed time when you can sit and write uninterrupted. Use this time to write blog and other social media posts that fit your themes. Don’t forget to update the editorial calendar as you do the writing. 

3) Schedule the content.

Since you’ve already put everything in your editorial calendar, scheduling it all out is a pretty quick process. I recommend scheduling no more than 1-4 weeks in advance so you can easily make adjustments. Sometimes things happen that can change the focus you want to take. That doesn’t mean that content isn’t still good - it just means that it may be put off for a bit.

Bonus tip: Be present.

Scheduling your content is okay, even though some have differing opinions. However, scheduling content does not mean that you set it and forget it. I’ve met with clients who do this and they’re very unsatisfied with the results of their efforts. Get on social media and be social. You don’t have to tell your life story, but don’t push out content you want people to read without being there to talk to them about that and other things as well.

What other tips do you have for organizing and minimizing the time you spend on social media?

Storytelling and social media: mini movies

How do you make people listen to what you have to say when there are so many things to read and watch?

Turn it into a story!

We talk about storytelling a lot because it is one of the best ways to pull your audience in to what you have to tell them. Today we’re going to share some of examples of how brands are using the mini-movie (longer than a typical ad but generally under 5 minutes) to really pull in their audience.

In some cases, the brand’s personal message is really subtle, in others it is less so. Either way, I had no problem watching the following three examples in their entirety without being tempted to close the window mid way through (this is particularly impressive given my personality.  

Investing as much as 5 minutes on an ad says a lot about how well-executed these were. Interestingly, two of these weren’t made in English. I hope to see more of these produced in North American markets.

Cornetto

Cornetto sells ice cream. This mini movie is a teen love story and there aren’t any real ice cream references that I noticed (though it’s not in English so I may have missed some). That being said, it has been viewed over 26 million times. Just by putting the mini movie together, they are getting a lot of visibility. 

Google search

I don’t know how I’d get through life without Google. In fact, when I was recently on a cruise our group spent a lot of time joking about how we were back in 1993 (“we know the information is out there somewhere and we can’t get to it!! We’re actually going to have to guess and then look it up later!”) because none of us had access to wifi.

This short movie pulled on all kinds of heart strings for me, and shows just how much many of us use Google search regularly.  It’s been viewed 6.5 million times and it was posted less than two weeks ago!

Code.org

The world needs coders.  This mini movie took some fascinating people and had them share their personal stories on why they learned to code. I thought it was a great way of sharing the personal side that people should consider becoming computer programmers.  Not to mention the job perks they get! :)

It’s been viewed over 11 million times.

What do you think?

I want to hear from you. Did those mini movies hold your attention? Have you seen movies like this going around and have you watched them? Leave a comment and let us know what you think: Does it work? Why?

If you’ve seen a good one, Share a link with us!

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