How Google saved my life

I have never actually used Google in a situation of life or death. However, Google has definitely made my life easier, saved me plenty of time and embarrassment, and empowered me to learn thousands of new things in mere seconds. The phrase “Google it” has become so common-place in my lexicon that I can’t even remember what I did when I needed a quick answer and Google didn’t exist.

One specific application that comes to mind is staying on top of trends in Social Media and technology. Sometimes just keeping up with everything that’s new can be a full-time job. Clearly, social media is no longer a fad, nor is it just used to stay connected to friends. It is a powerful branding tool and an engaging way to connect with and listen to your customers.

Because no one wants to lag behind or admit that you just “don’t get it,” Google is a great way to get quick answers and learn new skills. I taught myself several new tricks for social media all by typing the exact question I had into the Google search bar. In less than a second, I would have a whole list of answers to choose from.

Questions like “What is a hash tag used for in Twitter?” or “What is an RSS feed?” produce hundreds of articles, comments and discussions about that topic.  Sure, you have to be selective and pay attention to the source of the information, but having the power of quick information at your fingertips is liberating. So, next time you are afraid to admit that you’re out of the loop, just tell Google, it will keep your secrets safe.

Humbly submitted,

Jenna Kashou, @jkashou

Congrats to Comet

Business Journal photo

Congratulations to PRSA members and Comet Branding partners Al Krueger and Sara Meaney, who were recently named to The Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee’s 40 under 40.

Here’s en excerpt from the article:

Comet Branding has built its business on social media, Krueger and Meaney said. At first, they used Twitter and other social networking sites as a way to market themselves at low cost. Now, their reputation as social media experts helps them land clients.

House of Harley-Davidson, Milwaukee, has hired Comet as a consultant as it creates a social media marketing plan. Owner John Schaller heard a presentation from Meaney and knew he wanted to hire her, said Sarah Maio, marketing manager.

“For us, social media is really slippery,” she said. “We know we need it, we know it’s important, but it’s changing so quickly that we also recognize we could use expert opinions and guidance.”

Meaney and Krueger and the whole Comet team are also recently coming off the success of organizing the PR + Social Media Summit held at Marquette University. The event included more than 350 attendees who heard a full day of presentations, including IBM Vice President of Marketing and Communications Timothy Blair and BlendTec Vice President of Marketing George Wright.

Congrats again to Al and Sara!

Posted by Tim Cigelske, Marquette University Communication Specialist

Milwaukee journalists discuss social media

PR professionals listen up! It’s a new era and utilizing social media tools, especially Twitter, is one of the best ways to get to know journalists and pitch them. The panel consisted of journalists across all mediums including: Bobby Tanzilo, Managing Editor of OnMilwaukee.com; Mark Kass, Editor of the Business Journal; Susan Kim, Anchor on WTMJ 4; and Alysha Schertz of Biz Times.

Find them, follow them and get to know them. Susan Kim admits that she loves getting immediate feedback from her viewers on Twitter and will often reveal personal information that would give PR professionals a clue as to the best way to pitch her. Alysha Schertz even challenged the audience to create a 140-character pitch on Twitter – that would definitely catch her attention. They do recognize the challenges with social media and the rise of citizen journalism; however, they maintain that people will still rely on credible news organizations such as theirs to get the whole story in context.

Overall their message was the same as its always been, the best way to help journalists do their job and gain coverage for your client– keep it short and keep it relevant.

The four panelists had other insightful comments captured on video that you can view here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cljIVklq0Yo]

Breaking: Local journalist likes carrot cake

That’s one of the things we learned from OnMilwaukee.com Managing Editor Bobby Tanzilo at today’s PRSA luncheon.

Tanzilo sat on a panel of Milwaukee journalists including BizTimes reporter Alysha Schertz, The Business Journal Editor Mark Kass and WTMJ-TV Channel 4 anchor Susan Kim. After the event, Tanzilo tweeted about the cake served at the ballroom.

Of course, there were several other professional takeaways from how the journalists use social media — and interact with PR pros — as part of their daily work life. But the carrot cake tweet illustrated the group’s common theme that journalists are becoming more and more accessible because of social media.

Susan Kim said she likes tweeting while on the air because she can hear direct feedback from her viewers in real time and have a two-way conversation. Underscoring that point, Kim even tweeted and responded to people in the audience while on the panel.

In fact, the panelists agreed that they like getting story pitches in 140 characters because it forces the pitch to be direct and to the point — which is often preferable to getting stacks of long-winded press releases. But they emphasized building relationships before pitching, which is how they said PR professionals can find and cultivate opportunities using social media.

Schertz likened social media to a conversation at a party where business gets done, but not before getting to know one another first. Kim said she loves golf and made a connection with a PGA golfer by joking on Twitter about their shared last name. Kass said he is passionate about sports and talks about that on his account.

And that matters because it’s human nature to bond over shared interests — even over carrot cake.

-By Tim Cigelske, Marquette University Communication Specialist. You can follow Marquette on Twitter and be a fan on Facebook.

How Milwaukee journalists use social media

.. And what they need from PR pros

BizTimes Reporter

BizTimes Reporter Alysha J. Schertz

Join us Thursday, March 25, to hear from journalists actively using social media and digital tools to enhance their reporting. Our panel includes:

Susan Kim, anchor and reporter, WTMJ-TV Channel 4
Alysha Schertz, business reporter, Milwaukee BizTimes
Bobby Tanzilo, managing editor, OnMilwaukee.com
Mark Kass, editor, The Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee

It’s a new age for PR pros, journalists and editors. Social media enables us to communicate more quickly, relevantly than ever before, and those mediums offer new opportunities for us to become trusted sources.

But how do you appropriately forge a relationship via social media? What about pitches? Is a well-written alert or news release still necessary? Should you add video, photography, links with the story? Do they actively seek sources via social media that they don’t in other forums? Which social media outlets do they use?

Register for this session here.

Special Note: Two lucky meeting attendees will win a pair of round-trip tickets on AirTran Airways courtesy of AirTran.

PRSA President Mary Scheibel on the future of PR

Interview by Jenna Kashou

Welcome to the new blog for PRSA Southeastern Wisconsin, which will focus on news from the chapter, social media and the future of public relations.

For our first blog we interviewed Southeastern Wisconsin PRSA President Mary Scheibel, who provides her perspective from 30 years of PR experience. She started her career with The Sara Lee Corporation in Chicago, and in 1991 she founded Scheibel Halaska.

In this interview, Mary discusses how she uses social media for business and personal, what changes the game, and what will never change.

Q: How have you seen social media change public relations practices?

A: The ability for people to generate content and participate directly in the news process really changes the game. Social media is the wave of the future and people need to embrace it. It’s important to learn how to take advantage of social media as a critical component in an integrated strategy.

Q: How has PRSA responded to and implemented social media?

A: We have been able to bring together a very dynamic social media committee that is sending tweets from our Twitter account ahead of and at meetings and uploading videos of presenters. We are also using social media as a primary communications tool to share information about the industry and chapter events.

From an educational standpoint, several of our programs have been focused on teaching our members how to best utilize social media and how to integrate social media into best practices for web, SEO and more. We also encourage members to follow reporters online and help them with story leads.

The March 25th meeting will focus on how reporters are using social media and how PR practitioners can use it for their clients and their agencies. There will be practical advice that everyone can take away and apply to their business practices.

Q: What social media tools do you use the most for business and which are the most effective?

A: Scheibel Halaska is primarily a B2B firm, so using social media is a bit different than on the consumer side. We are, however, building social media into our clients’ programs and leading by example. SH has a twitter account, a blog, a Facebook fan page and a LinkedIn group.

Our goal is to tweet a minimum of three times a week, but more actively when we have relevant information to share. Last week we attended a conference for international PR practitioners so we tweeted much more frequently. We strive to maintain a consistent presence, although our biggest focus is on relevant content. We do lots of linking, re-tweeting and driving content to our blog.

We follow reporters for all our clients, looking for story opportunities and ways we can help the media generate news.

Q: Do you use social media for personal use?

A: I have a Facebook page and like to share pictures of my granddaughter with friends and family. My son got married in La Paz, Mexico (his wife’s hometown) last fall, so Facebook was an important communications tool.

My husband John, who is the CEO of Scheibel Halaska, is one of the most tuned in people around. He never just watches TV anymore. John will follow different news feeds online while things happen.

As a board member of IPREX, an international association of PR practitioners, he’s constantly getting perspectives from people online around the world. He is able to bring European soccer fans into our living room! It adds a whole other dimension.

Q: What do you feel are some of the most common misconceptions about social media?

A: I think there are two primary misperceptions – one that social media is just a fad and conversely that social media is “everything.” It’s also a misconception that you can’t generate a return on the B2B side. The smart companies are learning how to use it effectively.

I also think that as Facebook becomes a more important business tool as well as a social tool, people will start to be more discriminatory on who they have as friends and take better care of their reputations.

Q: With all the changes brought by social media what sorts of things do you think will stay the same?

A: Social media will not replace face to face communications. Advertising will continue to have its place.

Trust and credibility will always be paramount and hopefully we will never get away from ethics. As it shifts more and more to user generated content, trust and integrity of the author will come into play more.

People that I’ve talked to believe that the market will correct itself. If someone is being dishonest online, his or her fan base will diminish. Because of the speed of the medium, people will spread the word about him/her quickly.

People are always hungry for good credible sources. That will always remain.

Q: What do you think the PRSA chapter will look like in five years? How will social media change the landscape?

A: We are building a very robust chapter and have a strong group of dedicated volunteers. Our goal is to have a robust PR community that has a positive impact:

  1. On our members and their careers
  2. Through our members, on the companies/organizations they work for
  3. In the community-at-large

I am seeing that happen in a lot of different ways. Social media will help us better understand and stay on top of what members need and want. It can enhance our value to members by allowing us to better connect members and share best practices.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice given to you about social media?

A: Be thoughtful. Understand what your goals and objectives are as an individual and for your business. Incorporate social medial and be strategic about how you use it.

Don’t be afraid to get involved. A lot of people are entering social media slowly. It’s OK to step into and move forward at pace that works for you.

Q: Anything else to add?

A: As PR practitioners, our greatest value to clients is in providing good, strategic counsel. Good ideas, good writing, good strategy – those are the things that require focus and concentrated thinking. My greatest concern is that we don’t become so tactical that we diminish our real value.

We have to careful with our time and how much of it is spent on social media. We can’t just replace research and analytical thinking with copying and pasting Google alerts.

How do we make sure we are still taking time to think and focus? Maintaining that balance is ever so challenging yet ever so important.