Crisis Management from a Three-Year-Old

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 21, 2013 Blog crisis management, honest, pr, public relations, truth

This is the second blog in a 3-part series. Didn’t see the first one? Click here…
Check out the second one here….

After taking a class in crisis management, the first thing I learned was the same thing my mother taught me.

Remember when your parents told you not to do something, and you did it anyway? Then, something happened that you were hoping wouldn’t? The first words out of my mother’s mouth after she asked what happened was, “Tell the truth.” After I hesitated, she would then say, “If you tell the truth, you won’t get in trouble. I want to hear the truth about what happened.”

Isn’t it interesting that the same applies in adulthood. Many public relations blunders happen when the truth is not told immediately. Can you say, Bill Clinton and Anthony Weiner?

The second thing I learned happened after I learned to tell the truth. Although in the instance of public relations, you actually do this first, tell it first. If you know that a company accident happened and several people were hurt…YOU be the first to get the information out to the public. YOU take control of the media. Do not let false information leak.

Lastly, make sure you take responsibility and correct the problem. For me, I had to either apologize, pay money or suffer the consequences. In the cases of Clinton and Weiner, they both suffered the consequences of their actions. Would it have been different if they had told the truth first? Probably.

The art of public relations is knowing how to handle the public. As mentioned in the previous blog, you have to know your audience and act accordingly. You audience may be stakeholders, employees, parents, senior citizens…you name it. Each responds differently to the same situation.

Did I learn my lesson about telling the truth? I think so. At least it’s the first thing I said to my children when they did something they weren’t supposed to. “Tell the truth.”

Does Your Social Media End at 5pm?

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 19, 2013 Blog facebook, hootsuite, inbound marketing, linkedin, sharing, social media, twitter

Occasionally I receive emails from my web developer who also assists VMI with our blogging and social media activities. She often reminds me that social media doesn’t stop when I shut down. “Your business is open 24/7 and is seen all over the world…. and in different time zones… so why don’t you tweet after 5pm?,” she asks.

Back on May 3, 2013, she sent the following email out to her clients – Subject: “Does Social Media Stop on the Weekends.”

To my social media clients,

A client recently contacted me to see if I would also do their social media on the weekends. I said sure because social media is ongoing – it’s going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To be honest, why share only during your regular business hours. Your website and business technically is open for business all over the world. Are you missing an opportunity to reach out and touch one of your customers in a different city, state, country? Time Zone matters!

This intrigued my client because I told him that I now have clients in Alaska (4 hours behind me), California (3 hours behind me), Texas (1 hour behind me) and one in London, England which is 5 hours ahead of me. So what about the people in those areas? Are they even seeing what you tweet/share? Probably not if you are doing it only in YOUR time zone.

Donald Trump says, “Your Fired!”… My Client says, “Girl, you are HIRED.” Made me laugh.

As I was reading a few news items and blogs today, I came across a blog from Inbound Marketing Agents entitled, “Social Media 101: Your Perfect Posting Schedule.” There is a great infographic found in the blog stating the best time to post to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. For instance, the best time to post to LinkedIn is from 7am to 9am and 5pm to 6pm but not between 10pm and 6am. It says avoid posting in the evening because traffic fades. I am also assuming that in most places, many people may be asleep.

If you’re working in different time zones, you can always adjust your post times. If you’re using Twitter, there’s HootSuite, an online tool that helps you schedule when your tweets will go out. I’ve talked about HootSuite before in my blogs.

Take a look at their blog. They have useful tips for creating a posting schedule that will meet your posting needs.

Montrie here’s the link to the blog – http://www.inboundmarketingagents.com/inbound-marketing-agents-blog/bid/294669/Social-Media-101-Your-Perfect-Posting-Schedule

Google+: What’s New and Why You Should Use It

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 17, 2013 Blog facebook, google hangout, google+, infographics, linkedin, twitter, yourtube.com

It seems that the mediums for sharing information will never end. There is, and probably always will be, a way for you to connect to anyone, anytime and anywhere.

Are you familiar with Google+?

Google+ has a fresh new look. Looking at it – it reminds me a little bit of Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter all rolled into one. PR Daily wrote an excellent breakdown of some of the changes to the Google+ platform. A few of the items noted that I particularly find interesting include:

#3 – Infographics will display in a nearly useful size at full length in the new layout. The estimated dimensions are 503 × 930 for desktop viewing. An influx of infographic posts is likely. Keep an eye on ensuring readability.

#7 – A Hangout is now any form of group communication. This can include Video Call, Group Chat or Group Calling. This new feature means many messaging and calling products can now merge.

#8 – Google has released a standalone Hangout app that replaces Google Chat and allows for text and video chat across Android, iOS, and Chrome.

#12 – YouTube expands its live-streaming feature to all channels with more than 1,000 subscribers.

Some of these can prove very useful when communicating with business colleagues, family and friends. No need to set up multiple accounts with different service providers – you have one-stop shopping right inside Google+.

To view the entire lis , go here (http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/19_things_you_need_to_know_about_the_NewGooglePlus_14559.aspx. You may find you have more favorites that I did!

Use These Clever Tools to get Likes, Followers and Shares

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 12, 2013 Blog content lockers, facebook, lead generation, sharing, twitter

When you make the decision to use social media, you are making a decision to share what you know. You’re being “social.” You want people to read what you have to say. If they don’t, the outcome is like standing at the podium before an empty auditorium.

There are a few clever little tools out there to get your web visitors to share your content and to generate leads. My website is built on the WordPress platform. I’ll share a few WP tools, but there are other non-Wordpress tools you can research that work the same way.

Pay with a Tweet – This allows your visitors to download files after publishing a tweet on his/her twitter account. For example, you have a free eBook you’d like to give away. Once the visitor clicks the download button, a Tweet screen will appear for them to Tweet your message. Once the Tweet is sent, they are returned to your website where they can then download your eBook.

Content Lockers – There are several branded content lockers available to lock down content. You place a small code in between content and when a visitor comes to your website – they must either “follow” you on Twitter or “like” you on Facebook. A few free content lockers are:

Easy WordPress Content Locker – Easy WordPress Content Locker allows easy implementation of content lock gateway widget code to monetize your content. It works with code from CPALead, Leadbolt, BlamAds, Adscendmedia, Adgatemedia, MGCash, Dollarade and many other CPA Networks.
Facebook Like – Content Locker – With this powerful Content Locker you can lock your entire blog for a user, until he hits the Facebook “like” button.
Twitter Content Locker – The plugin allows the user to lock part of a post or page. The user must share it on Twitter to view the content.

If you aren’t a WordPress user, you can use Google to search for these keywords to find codes that will be suitable for your website. You may find that there is an increase in “likes” and “followers” by using one of these tools.

National Small Business Week –You Should Go!

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 10, 2013 Blog awards, national small business week, sba

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our country. Using the SBA’s definition of a small business – any company that could range up to 1500 employees with receipts up to $21 million – we can see how restaurants, specialty shops, construction companies and wholesalers are helping our economy thrive.

For the first time, National Small Business Week events will be held in multiple cities starting June 17, 2013. The cities below will feature one day of events during National Small Business Week. The week will culminate with the NSBW awards ceremony in Washington, DC. Speaker and schedule information for the events will be updated on a regular basis on these pages – http://www.sba.gov/nsbw/.

The cities are Seattle (June 17), Dallas (June18), St. Louis (June19), Pittsburgh (June 20), and Washington, DC (June21). As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.

Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

Speakers this year include: Karen Mills, SBA Administrator; David Steward, Founder and Chairman, World Wide Technology; and Angie Hicks, Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Angie’s List.

The event is free, however registration is mandatory. If you live in or near one of these fine cities, you should try to attend.

For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov/nsbw/

Lessons from Being an Apprentice

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 7, 2013 Blog apprentice, donald trump, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, forbes, pr, public relations, the enstitute

MontrieandDeB — Dr. DeBorah Thigpen and Montrie Rucker Adams

When I had “officially” made up my mind to start Visibility Marketing Inc., it was after being down-sized from a sales engineer career. I knew if I didn’t switch gears now, I may be forever beholden to the automotive industry.

I met my mentor, DeBorah Thigpen at a Toastmasters meeting. In her introductory speech, she mentioned she’d just moved to the area and was opening a public relations office. The light bulb immediately went off. We talked after the meeting and I started working for D. Thigpen & Adsociates a few weeks later.

That was my foray into the world of apprenticeships. This was the early ‘90s so the Internet was just starting, there was no Google, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. I learned at lot about the public relations industry by doing. It was all new territory for me.

Thanks to Donald Trump, there’s a new face to working as an apprentice. I read this blog on Forbes entitled, “The Apprentices: Learn-By-Doing Entrepreneurship At Enstitute” – http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2013/04/17/the-apprentices-learn-by-doing-entrepreneurship-at-enstitute-2.

Although it is long, it’s an interesting story about The Enstitute, “where 11 wannabe entrepreneurs, aged 18 to 25, are packed in a Lower Manhattan loft.”

If that opportunity was available to me years ago, I may have jumped at the chance to at least apply. As I mentioned before, you can watch someone swim, but you can’t do it unless you jump in.

I am forever grateful to Ms. Thigpen for opening her doors to a “wanna be” public relations professional. She wasn’t the first in the industry I’d approached. There were other public relations firms. However, she was the only one willing to assist me in my goals…while at the same time getting the help she needed.

What College Didn’t Teach Me about Being an Entrepreneur

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 5, 2013 Blog college, college experience, entrepreneur.com, entrepreneurship, learning

My college was a rite of passage. Not only was I able to cultivate life-long relationships, but coming from a homogenous environment, it thrust me into a new demographic dimension.

I majored in business with the thought of one day being an entrepreneur. In those days, there weren’t specific classes about owning a business, you took the courses that were geared to Corporate America and if you were lucky enough to know or work for an entrepreneur, you learned the ropes from there.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs. However, just watching someone swim wont’ cut it. You only learn by getting in the water.

College grads today who have a passion for entrepreneurship have many choices. They don’t necessarily have to “work somewhere else” before venturing out, they can just jump right in.

I was reading the Young Entrepreneur area of Entrepreneur.com today and came across a thought provoking blog entitled, “10 Entrepreneurship Lessons College Didn’t Teach New Grads by Adam Toren. In his blog he noted several things about the college experience that just won’t cut in the world of an entrepreneur.

One thing he mentioned, there’s no skipping class. Being an entrepreneur means that you have to go to work every day – whether it’s an office or your dining room table. Where ever you work, that’s where you need to be each and every day – come rain or shine…. even at night, and even on occasional weekends.

Check out Adam’s blog in its entirety here to see some of the other things “college didn’t prepare you for”… you may even find that you have a few more things to add to the list.

After you check it out, let me know what you think…

Know Your Audiences

By Montrie Rucker AdamsJune 3, 2013 Blog audience, clients, communication, contacts, media, media professional, pr, public relations

This is the second blog in a 3-part series. Didn’t see the first one? Click here…

If you are contemplating a public relations career, there is a lot to think about. Most people believe public relations is just networking and building relationships. They may believe it’s taking someone to lunch, hitting the golf course or tennis courts, or eating at trendy restaurants and bars. That’s not it. There is much more to it.

For public relations to work, you have to pay attention and know in whose hands you need to get that vital piece of client information. You have to know and understand the client’s audiences.

Reading both magazines and newspaper in print and online, subscribing to blogs, watching television, and other sources of media, etc. – you need to find out who the key players are that report on a particular business industry.

If we represent an author, we would not send out a press release or contact a reporter/writer in the technology field. If we represent a music artist, we wouldn’t contact a writer who writes for corporate entities. Most of us have clients in various industries so we need to have an arsenal of contacts in all fields.

It can take several emails or telephone calls before we can even get to the contact person. However, using key words in an email or voicemail to get their attention might speed up the process. By merely mentioning an article they’ve written or an award they’ve received – that could be the ticket to getting your foot in the door.

However, if time goes by and we haven’t connected – we may have to be a little more persistent. Send a follow up email asking if they received the first one, or drop them a note inviting them to lunch – we all have to eat. Be subtle – you don’t want to look like bothersome pest.

What happens when you finally get that meeting? How will you take advantage of the time you spend with them? Know that media professionals are always looking for new stories and subject matter. Good stories and subject matter. Be creative. Add a special twist to the new product launch. What is new and innovative about it? How can it help the reader? What will it do to make the reader’s life better? This is the information they need to have. Their audience is the reader. That’s the appeal.

If you have more than one client in their field of interest – kill two birds with one stone, talk about all of your clients. Be prepared – develop a brief overview of each of the clients. Have electronic information ready to share that includes your client’s expertise, products and/or services, website and any other information that will help them make a decision. If a client has products – it might be a good idea to have a few giveaways handy.

A public relations professional has to know audiences. You must know your audience: media professional, client… and you must know their audience, the end-user.

Learn How Your Small Business Can Sell To the Government

By Montrie Rucker AdamsMay 31, 2013 Blog government contracting, naics, sba, selling to the government, size standard tool

I’ve written a few blogs on becoming an 8(a) certified small business so we can compete in the government’s marketplace. Just recently the Small Business Administration (SBA) shared a video on how small business owners can learn how to sell their products or services to the federal government.

The SBA has a Size Standards Tool (http://sba.gov/size-standard-tool)you can use to determine if you qualify as a small business. Before you use the tool, you may want to find the NAICS codes that apply to your area of expertise and business profession. NAICS means, North American Industry Classification System, which is the standard used by Federal statistics agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing and publishing statistical data related to the US business economy. http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/index.html

A couple of other links mentioned in the video to assist small businesses are:

http://sam.gov (System for Award Management)

http://sba.gov/contracting

http://sba.gov/gcclassroom

However, one of the major themes that run through our experiences is networking. Just as any organization, the federal government is a group of people. As the saying goes, “People do business with people,” not with a business. So, make the calls, forge the relationships and work them.

You don’t have to be a large company to sell your products and services to the federal government. You just need to learn how and get to know the right people.