Tag : Public relations

  • Complimentary UC Irvine Webinars – Learn About Mirna Bard’s Social Media Online Summer Courses

    Posted May 8th, 2011 By in Social Media With | 2 Comments

    It’s that time again! My UC Irvine social media online classes will be starting at the end of June for the summer quarter. I had such a blast with my students last quarter! I had enrollees from large corporations all over the United States, and even a student all the way from Croatia in Central Europe. Who would’ve thought, right?

    UCI Extension will be holding two complimentary webinars this month so you can get some hot tips from me, learn more about my social media courses as well as other courses in the specialized studies program.

    Here is how you can sign up for the complimentary webinars and the courses:

    Developing a Social Media Strategy

    Complimentary Webinar – May 18, 2011, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Pacific

    To register for the webinar or learn more about other webinars, click here. Recording is now available and will only be up till June 30, so listen to it while you can! http://ht.ly/4Znx2

    9-Week Online Course – June 29 to August 24, 2011 (Wednesdays), 6 to 8 pm Pacific

    To enroll directly into the course, click here. (Update:  As of June 29, 2011, we have 5 seats left; not too late to register!)

    For not-for-profits: “Using Social Media to Make a Difference”

    Complimentary Webinar – May 31, 2011, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm Pacific

    To register for the webinar or learn more about other webinars, click here. Recording is now available and will only be up till June 30, so listen to it while you can! http://ht.ly/57OJp

    4-Week Online Course – June 30 to July 21, 2011 (Thursdays), 6 to 8 pm Pacific

    To enroll directly into the course, click here. (Update:  Registration for this class is no longer available.)

    All sessions will be live through WebEx and will be recorded.

    I hope to have some of you in my classes, and please help spread the word to anyone who you think may benefit from these courses!

     

     

  • Ask Mirna: What criteria do you suggest people use to select a social media expert?

    Posted Oct 17th, 2010 By in Ask Mirna, Business, Social Media With | 5 Comments

    Question: There are so many pseudo social media experts out there, each with his or her “solution,” that it’s become overwhelming to identify the real McCoys. What criteria do you suggest people use? – Jim Taggart, LeadershipWorldConnect

    Answer: Thank you for asking a very important question, and for trusting me to answer it for you. I am asked this same question at least once a week.  Unfortunately, the real social media experts are buried under all the hype of the fake experts because the real ones don’t have time to go calling themselves experts so they can pitch you on why you should have 100K Twitter followers, and why you should hire them to do the job. The true authorities in any industry are not hard-selling 24/7. They are too busy strategizing, sharing, learning, educating, creating, experimenting, executing, testing, growing, and helping others thrive.

    It is difficult for me to answer this question without being too controversial or self-promotional.  However, my intent is to always educate and create awareness. Thus, the answer is not only based on my opinion, but also years of business experience and thousands of hours of research and execution to back it up.

    So, how do you weed out the pundits from the fakes?

    First, let’s define expert.  Here is how Wikipedia defines the word:

    “An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain.”

    Having extensive knowledge about a topic beyond the average person makes you an expert.  Your skills training and credentials make you an expert.  Your years of experience and education make you an expert.  However, given the above definition, the word expert should not be a self-proclaimed title. This title should be earned and given by peers after a person has logged tens of thousands of hours, and the results should speak for themselves.

    Hence, your social media expert is NOT:

    • Someone who shows you how to use the latest feature on Facebook
    • An individual who tells you to just create pages on the major social networks
    • Your web designer or programmer
    • Your previous mortgage broker who has moved on to social media because it is the next hot industry
    • Your virtual assistant
    • Someone who is simply online
    • Someone who has five different types of businesses going at once to see which one makes the fastest buck

    Am I an expert in social media because I live and breathe the Web every day? It’s possible. However, I wouldn’t use that term.  I am a student of my work. I am constantly learning, experimenting, and educating.  My expertise and knowledge are put to the test every time I have a new challenge, a client, or a new project. If I can’t prove that I have some expertise when the situation calls, it doesn’t matter what I call or describe myself. (more…)

  • Ask Mirna: How Can Social Media Be Used in a Business?

    Posted Feb 25th, 2010 By in Ask Mirna, Social Media With | No Comments

    QUESTION:

    “Hi Mirna. I am hoping you can help me. Every networking event I go to people are questionmarktelling me I have to do social media for my business. I realize that social media can be another marketing tool, but can it serve another purpose besides marketing and where do I start with all this? Any insights you have would be very helpful.” — Andrian Pital

    ANSWER:

    Social Media can be used for many things besides marketing and attracting new customers to your business.  To just name a few:

    - Public relations (brand recognition or to respond to a crisis like most recently, the Toyota recall)

    - Creating relationships and building stronger bonds with existing customers

    - Ongoing customer service

    - Listening tool (observing what people are saying about you and your competitors online)

    - Market research before developing a product or service

    - Engaging with journalists/media

    - Collaborating with employees (internal or external communication)

    - Integration with offline networking efforts

    - Finding joint venture partners

    - Recruitment

    As you can see from the above list, social media can play a role in every department of a company. There are a few steps you need to take before deciding if social media is right for your business:

    1. Decide what you want to use social media for (see above list).

    2. Know who your target audience is (age, gender, location, interests, values, etc.).  Of course, if you are a B2B the parameters would be different.

    3. Identify your objectives.  These should be very specific and measurable.

    4. Learn what social media means as a whole. Many people think it is about social networking only because this is all they are hearing about.  I designed the 15 categories of social media diagram to help businesses understand the entire social media landscape.  You will need to take the time to learn about each of the categories and the tools involved.  The tools and categories you choose should be based on your target audience and objectives.

    5. Use social media as a listening tool first and observe what types of conversations people are having online.  Are they already talking about you, your company, your products or services?  Are they talking about your competitors?  Are they talking about your industry?  Are the conversations positive, negative, or neutral?

    I recommend spending as much time as possible on steps 4 and 5.   It is really wise to learn as much as you can about social media before you jump on.  If everyone is jumping on Twitter and Facebook, you do not need to follow the hype if it doesn’t make sense for your business.

    If you would like to get your questions answered by Mirna, please visit the Ask Mirna page.

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  • 10 Ways to Use Social Media for Public Relations

    Posted Jan 14th, 2010 By in Social Media, Social Networking With | 6 Comments

    Traditionally, public relations was very expensive and not interactive in the slightest. More recently, companies are finding that promoting their business through social media is one of the best public relations techniques they can use. In fact, it is rapidly becoming the preferred method of interacting with potential clients and the media.

    Here are a few ways you can start incorporating social media into your PR campaigns:

    1. @replies or direct messages to media. Most big names are on Twitter these days, so direct a message at the media person you are interested in. Chances are far more likely that they will respond to a short 140 character message than an email.

    2. Make valuable connections. It’s not always about making pitches. Really befriending people and getting to know them on a personal level can be a great way to make some great contacts for the future.

    3. Create customer surveys. Whether you post the link to a longer survey or just ask questions one at a time via Twitter or another network, this can be a great way to gather information.

    4. Get reviews. Ask for testimonials or get creative. Some businesses have great success getting people to submit videos of themselves using a product. Videos rapidly become viral, spreading your message everywhere.

    5. Let people know what you’re up to. Social media can be a powerful way to build a buzz around a new product or service, particularly if you have others in your network who will promote it for you (your influencers).

    6. Give something away. Freebies almost always go viral. Everyone wants to promote them, so if you are giving something away, you can be sure that people will spread the message around the net.

    7. Arrange for interviews. Social media gives you access to a number of journalists and if you play your cards right, you can interest them in interviews for added publicity. Often, requests will go out on sites like Twitter when someone needs help with a news story and if your company fits, you could get extra exposure.

    8. Offer videos. While text messages are great and articles can be an effective way to get your point across, there is a definite interest in video these days. A huge number of Internet users prefer video to any other medium, so reach out to them.

    9. Respond to concerns and compliments. When someone says something about your business on social media, you should know and be able to respond to them. If they are having a problem with your product, solve it. They’ll be impressed with your customer service.

    10. Arrange offline meetings. Social media is great, but sometimes you need to meet up with others in the business or even clients in real life, as well. You can use the sites to invite your networks to join you at a restaurant for an evening of talking or a more formal event.

    Whether you choose to use one or two of these methods, or all ten, you’ll find that your PR campaigns have much better success when you use a little interactivity. People love companies that are accessible and making it easier to contact you is the best thing you can do to increase respect and interest.

    What ways are you using social media for public relations?

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  • Social Media: Get More Publicity in Less Time

    Posted Sep 3rd, 2009 By in Social Networking With | 3 Comments


    While social media has been around long enough to really be catching on, the main issue that many people have with it is time. If you ask the average person about Twitter, they will most likely say it’s great, but it takes up too much time. The same goes for other social media applications, such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

    It’s easy to get sucked into conversations and quizzes, particularly if you tend toward procrastination anyway. Social media is the ideal place for people who put things off to hang out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it for the good of your business! In fact, all you need is a little time management.

    Have a plan. It’s important to know exactly what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them. For example, your goal might be to get 100 visitors this month from Twitter. You can decide how you’re going to gain those visitors and then put the plan into action. This will help you cut the amount of time spent on social media.

    Be professional. That’s not to say you should never be friendly while using social media, but remember that you are representing a business, so comments on how hung over you are might not be the best idea if you want people to respect you. You’re building a brand and it’s important to remember this when you are talking to people online.

    Set limits for yourself. This could be a time limit or a number limit. For example, you might decide to respond to or connect with five people per day on LinkedIn or to spend 10 minutes a day on Twitter. You can use a stopwatch if necessary to remind yourself not to go over the time allotted for social media.

    Get help. Why spend your day making connections and creating social media campaigns when you could just outsource? Often, a publicity professional will be far more efficient at turning your accounts into valuable resources by connecting with others in your field and keeping up a constant presence online. Remember, being authentic still does apply here. It is a good idea to have an assistant do the research and post content for you; however, it may be best to take the time to respond to comments and questions, so you can build those relationships the right way.

    Social media can be a tremendous aid in boosting your business, but it’s maybe not a good idea to spend the whole day on it. With the right techniques or by outsourcing this part of your business, you can see amazing results without wasting too much of your time.

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