Ugh, another social media platform? You’re thinking “I barely have time for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube, now I have to do Pinterest? Before you wave this one off lets look at the perks of pinning for your business.

What is it?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where one shares the things they like with friends through photos. Those who “pin” can arrange their favorite things onto themed pinboards  ranging from scenery, home décor, fashion, food, inventions and much more. If you were planning a party you could map the whole shin-dig out on Pinterest.

Why should business owners start pinning?

Pinterest is another great tool to market your product or service in a visual way. Investing in quality photos is key because captions are minimal on this platform. Let’s say you were a wholesaler of party products or even a party planner. You could use Pinterest to showcase your party designs, themes, and ideas in order to entice a broader clientele.

Pinterest recently reached 10 million monthly unique users at a rate that was faster than any independent site in history and daily users have increased by more than 145% since the start of 2012. In fact, Pinterest is so popular the wait to join is becoming longer, so hurry up and wait by requesting an invite here: http://pinterest.com/landing/ and while we wait for Publicity Works to receive an invitation we’ll be peeking at our PR Manager’s pins.

Don’t get pinned by only using Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is the hottest social start up in 2012 – start pinning your way to more business.

It’s obvious that social media has completely changed the marketing business. But is it just a bunch of hoopla or is it worth the time, effort and money for your brand?

You bet your bottomline it is!

Recent social media studies report that when customers are exposed to social media content they are more likely to buy than those who weren’t (Social Media Sales Impact Study, published by Ogilvy & Mather). But that’s not all. When customers are exposed to a marketing/social media mix the likelihood to buy increases even more.

Let me introduce you to what we do here at Publicity Works – Convergence Media. The process of merging several media channels to exist and operate in synergy or better yet, harmony.

We have mastered a media mix of traditional and social platforms. Social media along with TV exposure, advertising and public relations positively impacts sales and brand awareness.  A word of caution, don’t just tweet a few times a day and throw a post on your Facebook page.  You must engage in an on-going conversation with your audience.

Get social with us on twitter @publicity_works and facebook and check out our pr manager and social media pro, Stephanie, aka @SNGsaysWhat in Hometown Life Woman today!

Running a business is hard enough and marketing your brand, product and yourself takes extra time, energy and brainpower. But to be successful and acquire more business you must do more than care for your customers, douse fires, and pay bills.

Publicity Works is here to help! We’ve come up with a few simple tips to market your business that doesn’t cost a fortune and won’t crush your cranium.

Give Thanks! We are huge fans of the personal thank you note. If someone has referred you, helped you, given you a plug via social media, let them know you appreciate it.

Blog. Even if they are brief, show the web that you have something to offer that other companies don’t.

Network like a pro. There are so many ways to connect with people in your industry as well as other vendors and contractors that could send you additional business. Find a way to connect whether it’s coffee talk, a cocktail party, linkedin or facebook.

Holler! If you like what you see let the owner of the intellectual property know you dig it. You never know what kind of products or services they may be in the market for. Introduce yourself via e-mail or social media and give them kudos. After all, everyone loves a shout-out.

Stay Current. Be sure to update your website and social media platforms with your most current work. You’d hate to be overlooked because you seem out-of-touch.

If you like what you see here give us a shout!

Follow us on twitter @publicity_works and like us on facebook.

Facebook stopped being the casual site for college students long ago (at least in the fast-paced world of technology). This means you need to stop using Facebook casually. Unless you’re stuck in a unibomber-like shack, you most likely have Facebook friends who are coworkers, relatives, acquaintances, etc. The point is not everyone who sees your posts is your bosom buddy.  So don’t be an idiot. Don’t post pictures of yourself doing a keg stand at your friend’s Fourth of July party (that one’s obvious), but also don’t bore people with the minutiae of your everyday existence.

Now, that doesn’t mean you have to stop being yourself, it just means you should take just a little more time dashing off your posts, and fight the urge to post about every single thing you do every single day. Posting “You’ve got to check out the black bean burger at the Emory!” is one thing. Posting “Ate a burger for lunch, yum” is another. What’s the difference? People can get value out of the former post – you’ve brought something you love to their attention and they can try it for themselves if they want to. The latter post is just something you did with no redeeming details. Facebook isn’t your personal diary, it’s a social networking site.

The thing to remember is that just because you’re posting online – Facebook really isn’t any different from real, face-to-face human contact (remember that??). People are still people, and they’ll still say “So what?” whether they’re talking to you in person or reading your posts in their news feed. So quit it with the “quiet night at home, zzz” posts. No one cares. But don’t get discouraged. You can make people care by adding just a modicum of thought and changing that post to, “Spending a quiet night at home tonight, but I hope to see you all at the big LCD Soundsystem show tomorrow. Their new album is amazing and tickets are still available!”

And speaking of putting a modicum of thought into things: Spell things correctly, please. And use punctuation. Those buttons actually do have uses besides making smiley faces.

Just because your company is blogging or posting to Facebook and Twitter doesn’t mean all grammar goes out the window. You should still take care to spell check your content, use AP Style and proofread your posts. The information highway shouldn’t mean you take a detour to sloppy, incomplete sentences or heaven forbid post proofs or product that hasn’t been approved by your clients. To maintain credibility in the marketplace, make sure you take the time to train whoever is doing your social media maintenance in the proper etiquette of business writing. Sure, all posts needn’t be as buttoned up as traditional correspondence — personality and a voice are a way to capture and build a following. But don’t simply cop out and hand the social media responsibilities over to an intern because you might feel uneasy about learning these new, unexplored territories. Take a tutorial and get with the times! And follow, what is being tweeted so you’re not embarrassed down the road.

It might as well be common sense. Public relations and social media go hand-in-hand. They are forms of communication that, when working in tandem, have the ability to present a solid brand and clear message for any business. 2009 taught us that.

Last year we embraced social media with open arms, as so many PR professionals have done. We recognized its power in monitoring a brand and reaching out to clientele in real-time. As Jeremy Pepper noted in his blog Pop PR: “The fact is that social media should not be a separate discipline anymore, nor should it ever have been… Isn’t it just part of the whole P in public relations?”

We think so.

Many of our own clients, a mix of lifestyle, restaurant and financial industry experts, have embraced social media as part of a full-scale public relations and marketing plan. Some chose to devote their entire PR budgets to social media marketing. They saw it as way of dipping their proverbial toes in the water for the first time. And they’ve seen results.

Those results ranged from online twitter discussions about their areas of expertise to garnering interest from writers and bloggers to earning new customers. All the while, we were able to help keep their PR messages consistent, address any concerns that arose immediately and above all, give our clients a new window and perspective into their businesses.

Social Media Strategist Sally Falkow considers social media a worthy PR resolution for 2010, and we agree. “Social Media is no longer a fad, or something to try out,” she wrote. “It will become an integral part of PR programs in 2010. And PR people have to master social media and use it strategically to be effective… It seems we need to up our game.

“A poll of 450 PRSA Counselors Academy members listed mastering social media as one of the most important things for PR practitioners to do in 2010.”

But businesses delving in for the first time should take note – this isn’t a task to hand off to your computer-savvy nephew. Experience using Facebook and Twitter does not suffice for a solid social media strategy.

As Pepper said: “Social media shouldn’t be a special job that is relegated to 25-year-olds as they do not have the gravitas or years of experience to understand the deeper issues.” Years of experience strategic public relations counseling is a boon to any business – online or otherwise.

What do you aim to do differently with social media this year?

Your company’s revamped Web site is up-and-running and your social media networks are in place. Now what?

It’s time to start the conversation. Social marketing is a participation game. It’s about engagement. Successful social marketing campaigns require a fresh, consistent stream of useful online content. Here are three tips to keep in mind:

 Be a Publisher

Remember, your company has more to offer than products and services. You can provide useful information. Treat yourself like a publisher. Talk about your industry. Position yourself as an expert, all by crafting interesting content. Sonia Simone, senior editor of Copyblogger noted “great content gives social media life by giving people something more interesting to talk about than what they’re ordering right now at Starbucks.”

Show Personality

When creating content, take a multi-faceted approach. Post useful information and do so often. Give your Web site and social networks a shot of personality. Rebecca Lieb, vice president of eConsultancy, considers that a proven approach. “Think of the personalities not only of your consumers, but of your organization, your brand and your products,” she wrote in Marketwire.com. “This is not a new concept – we’ve had personalities like the Maytag Man in advertising for decades.”

Get Search Results

Once you’ve solidified a voice and committed to fresh content, you’ll reap the benefits of attracting new visitors. As Lee Odden of Mashable explained: “Websites that frequently add content provide more web pages for search engines to include in search results and attract more links from other websites.” Likewise, Brent Csutoras of Search Engine Land, wrote: “Content is what will convince people to return to your site and sign up for RSS feeds. It will be what inspires another blogger or webmaster to want to link to you… it will be what is likely to help your content and site rank better within search engines.

That’s right, content and search engine optimization go hand-in-hand. Your words – be it a blog entry, Tweet or Web page content – can work for or against your business goals. So get going, craft your next message, connect with a new Facebook fan or comment on a relevant blog. And let us know how it impacts your business.

By now a third of businesses recognize social media as a useful tool in promoting products, services and solidifying a brand identity. According to the results of a Deloitte 2009 Ethics and Workplace Survey taken last month, 30 percent of executives noted that social networking was indeed a part of their business strategy. But, as noted in the e-Marketer article, The Problem with Social Media in the Office, 55 percent did not have any sort of official policy for using the networks.

It makes us wonder – are these executives wielding the power of social networking carefully? Are they devoting the proper time and attention to the networks they have chosen – primarily Facebook and Twitter? Are they engaging other users?

Leveraging social media in the workplace is not always top-of-mind. Not all businesses that stand to benefit from this type of exposure can require their employees to sit in front of a computer screen. For those professionals, it is truly important to seek out a dedicated, experienced PR professional who can support these efforts.

Ask yourself:

A. Do I have a social networking strategy?

B. Are my social media efforts linked directly to my marketing plan?

C. Is the time spent on social networking supporting all of our efforts – event planning, specialized pricing, promoting new products and services?

D. Or is it just an afterthought?

If you answered D, it’s time to seek support to guide your efforts. Social networking requires an investment of time. When executives cannot afford to spend time using these tools correctly, the business itself stands to suffer. The message becomes fragmented.

In business, perception IS reality. So tell us, how is your company perceived? An outside perspective and social media strategy can give any company a serious edge moving forward.

Social Media has changed the way we do business. There is no doubt about that. At the same time, it has changed the playing field for job-seekers and employers. We all have more information at our disposal – which can be useful or detrimental to a job search.

We’ve compiled the following strategies to help you to connect with those companies that are hiring. Here’s how to get going and get noticed:

Research - Start with the company’s own Web site and blog. 
A company’s online presence offers a window into the business itself. Beyond the obvious services, this is how the company presents itself to prospective clients and the public. Read the blog. Become familiar with its writers and the topics discussed there. Consider commenting only if you could add something useful to the conversation. You can get a feel for the work environment long before you set foot in the office or get an interview.

Keep Going - Don’t stop there.
Research anything else you can find online – articles mentioning the company, it’s managers or employees. Find out if the business has earned awards for its work, if it is engaged with the community. You can learn a lot with a little digging.

Go Social - Use social networks to your advantage.
Seek out company pages on Facebook, profiles on LinkedIn. Search for personnel on Twitter and connect to them. By following daily updates you can get a feel for the flow of work and the personalities you’d be working for or with at the prospective business.

Get Networking – It’s time to engage.
Once you’ve established those connections you have a great opportunity to ask questions and get to know the employees. This is an ideal chance to find out if the company in question is the right fit. See what sort of education and background other staff members have, and show a genuine interest in the business.

Apply Yourself - From there, you’ve earned an edge above the competition.
Get your perfectly polished online resume complete with a concise, personalized cover letter over to the right person and express your interest formally. Ask for an interview. From here, the traditional job-hunting standards hold true.

The Flipside - Just remember prospective employers are also social media savvy.
They have these same tools at their disposal when seeking serious candidates. Monitor the information you’re putting out into the Blogosphere. Remember that public profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and elsewhere can and likely will be viewed by potential employers. If they contain something you wouldn’t want on your resume, keep those posts and profiles private.

Do you have tips for job-seekers? Have you found a job thanks to social networking? We want to hear about it.

Once you decide to take that first step to Twitter or develop a profile on LinkedIn or Facebook, consider all the potential it holds for your marketing strategy.

While the tried and true methods of publicity – from a mention in a magazine to a perfectly promoted event – still have significant value, the results can multiply through the use of social networking.

Here are some ideas to consider:

* Brevity reigns supreme – When it come to sending tweets, 140-character messages through Twitter or newsfeed updates on Facebook, make the information pop. Be quick and witty. Be mindful of key search words and references that users might be seeking out and soon enough, customers will find and connect with you.
* Lead them where you want them – Whether it’s your company’s Web site for more information or to a Tweet Up at your restaurant or a sale at your store, give them the basics and link a URL toward more details.
* Think visually – Add photos to draw attention to your LinkedIn or Facebook page or show off your surroundings or new products on Twitter.
* DIY or don’t – Sure social networking can be done at no cost, but if you truly aim for results, consider assigning this task to a marketing professional who will analyze and even create content for your blog. Publicity Works offers special packages that can offer as little or as much assistance as you prefer.
* Never fear – Some businesses might be more tied to the traditional routes of getting the word out about their business. But there is no need to limit your business’ potential during this time of change and opportunity.

Now get online and start seeking out those already-available, invaluable connections!