Want to be more social?

More and more people are using online communication for business networking. Whether communicating through a blog, Facebook page, twitter account, LinkedIn page, Flicker photos, Pinterest, YouTube or the like, social media is key to providing information, education and responding to your viewers, connections, followers, friends or audience.

Posting comments, creating polls, answering questions and writing a blog is fairly easy, but just doing it doesn’t mean what you do will ignite the Internet, be viewed by anyone, much less, passed on and become the next viral sensation.

Engaging readers may seem overwhelming, but it’s easier than you think. Here are a few tips:

·  Ask your friends or family to spark a conversation on your post. In the beginning of building a presence, getting your friends, family and employees involved is a tactic many people use but don’t often talk about. We seek out social networks to communicate, and a user will more typically follow links and posts if they see a number of interesting comments or people they know are following a page or person.

·  Write the headline or link with a catchy phrase or brief description. Attention grabbing headlines and photos draw the reader or viewer in. Most people are drawn in by the headline, photo or lead sentence. People never click on boring blank links. And be sure your links are actually linked to the right content or page! I can’t tell you how often I click on something lately and it goes nowhere.

·  Provide interesting, intriguing and up-to-date content. Just like traditional communications planning, social media should also include some level of planning. If you have a business or marketing plan, the content can often be bits, parts and pieces of what you are doing in traditional media.

·  Target your audience. Ask yourself who will be reading or viewing each social media site. Generally no more than 20% of all readers will click on a link and only 5% will read a full article. These numbers increase only if the “friends” or “followers” are tuned in and interested in your subject matter such as wedding and event photos, DIY videos, self help advice, travel tips and business articles.

·  Expand your reach. On a site such as LinkedIn, expand your networking by participating in the discussions in groups. Join groups that might include your target audience or people with similar interests. Get involved by responding to posts as well as responding to posts and polls, providing expert advice, business leads or helpful tips. Then as you build a presence, you can post your own expert articles with a link to your blog or website for more information.

·  Keep in touch. On a regular basis, add and invite friends and followers to your social media sites. Check your sites on a regular basis and allow enough time to scan the posts or comments and since social media is meant to be two-way communication, be social and respond!

How do you use Social Media...

• Do you measure up?
• Do you know how to measure it?
• Do you know how to use it?

Check out this infographic. If you want to know more about how to make social media be a successful tool in your business...send me a tweet @MonteMartin with your phone number and I'll get right back to you...with a phone call...because the oldies but goodies still work for more indepth communication.

Disaster Preparedness: The connection to football

Pre-season football training is a large phase of any team's plan with the goal of developing optimum strength and power for the season.

Similar to building a winning team before football season, having a well-thought out and practiced disaster preparedness plan helps ensure businesses and local governments have the strength and power to successfully recover in the event of an emergency.

I'm still deployed in Alabama, assisting in the response and recovery following April's storms and 63 tornadoes. Looking forward to September, National Preparedness Month, we are working on a statewide Chamber of Commerce campaign to push out businesses across the state. Is your business or government agency ready if a disaster comes? Have you had a nagging feeling that maybe it isn't?

Off yesterday (finally a Sunday off), I did my weekly shopping and picked up a copy of "O" magazine. This months feature is about intuition. I found the following quote interesting to ponder: Intuition is knowing, without knowing. It's instinctively, knowing something that you don't know how you know.

Have you ever had that feeling you should do something, though at the time it isn't perfectly clear why? A  great example about disaster preparedness happened to one Alabama mayor.

Interviewed this past June, Tuscaloosa Mayor Maddox said he'd thought a lot about what could happen in the event of a disaster. He focused mostly on homeland security as thousands of Alabama fans pouring into Tuscaloosa for football games on select Saturday's during the fall. Never in his dreams did he imagine that listening to and then following through with a gut feeling about getting his city staff trained in Incident Command would become a real-life disaster in the form of the worst tornadoes to ever hit the state of Alabama.

Mayor Walter Maddox and his staff took Incident Command System training at the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) one year before the April 27 tornadoes hit the Alabama city of some 180,000.

The exercise scenario that that city officials were presented with in training was almost identical to the real-life storms that devastated much of the university town. The actual tornado took almost the same path - off by maybe a quarter mile the width of the storm as what was practiced in training. Much of what they envisioned would be destroyed - the Emergency Operations Center, the communication tower, the police department and the fire department.

Though taking the class at EMI is a very valuable experience, but budgetary constraints right now are making off-site training a challenge for governments and businesses due to the economy.

Even if you don't go to EMI, training is available online for free beginning with IS-100.b - Introduction to Incident Command System to more advanced and specialized classes for different types of businesses, organizations and governments.

I have taken these classes, written disaster preparedness plans, been trained to work in for all types of disasters and worked on the ground in crisis management, disaster response and recovery for the private sector as well as for local and federal governments.

To my coastal friends...this is hurricane season! Don't wait until a hurricane is on the way to write a plan. It is too late then.

And remember that regardless of where you live, emergencies of any kind can and will happen. It is a matter of when not if.

Let me know how I can help you and your business get ready today!

InfoGraphic: Coloring a story

If a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe we communication types should consider using less words and more images. And with the growing popularity of communicating through social media there's only so much you can say in 140 words.

HubSpot’s Dan Zarrella conducted research to help determine the science of tweeting and packaged this research into an easy breezy infographic:

Are you using infographics as a public relations tactic? Below is an infographic I recently created for FEMA in the Alabama disaster that was distributed to the media, posted and tweeted. It was picked up and used by several media outlets.

Contact me to help you design a graphic to tell your story!

Social Media: Managing Bears

Listening. Watching. Hungry?

The world of communication is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Instead of being more comfortable with the plethora of media and marketing opportunities, clients are telling me they are more confused than ever. One guy told me last week he thinks of marketing today as a big bear.

One of my favorite lines from the Wizard of Oz sums it up nicely, “Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

The old familiars - advertising, promotions, public relations, and other marketing tools are still on the map, but the growth and integration of online marketing, both part and partial, has changed the more familiar marketing trek. It has become more complex, yet a more adventurous expedition which can land us in a more exotic and grander locale.

In some ways, the guy was correct. With the addition of social media to the marketing mix, it can seem to be a bit more of a wild and unwieldy animal. In terms of being social, many businesses to think only of the soft side of marketing, you know, going to tradeshows, placing a pretty ad, cozying up to audiences as if they are a favorite old Teddy Bear. With the integration of sales and marketing tactics, the practice has become more complex. And if the approach is wrong, it can mean coming face-to-face with Ursus arctos horribilis, aka a Grizzly Bear.

The type of bear you cross, depends on the hour, day, or even what else is happening in the world at the moment. One thing is certain, both no matter the marketing tactics, they require patience, planning, monitoring and the ability to track in one direction or another. A successful campaign, especially addressing the large landscape of social is identified with "The Art of the Hunt."

• What is the potential? 
• Where is the largest group?
• How do we ensure capture?

Like the animal-human response mechanism, social media requires attention and interaction or it will die. You must play with it, nurture it, verbally respond and exercise monitoring techniques to measure weight, function, energy and even proliferation. Social media can be unpredictable, but there are proactive techniques, tips and training so you know what to do should the beast go buck wild.

• Do you need basic training?
• Could you use directions?
• Can you make it grow?

From a half day intro session to developing and implementing a campaign, contact me at 407-341-9866 for training and guidance. Wherever you are in regard to the social media zoo – planning a visit soon; strolling along amused and confused; or being gobbled up as prey – together we can tame the darn beast, I mean Teddy Bear.

Disaster Preparedness: Getting Personal

“Compared to other disasters, how does this one compare?”

I have been asked this interview question numerous times. My answer to reporters goes something like this: “Whether there is two inches of water your home or flooding covers a rooftop, disasters affect and impact individuals. The month before I graduated from college, my family's experienced a large house fire. I may work for FEMA, but believe me when I say that when disaster hits, it is personal, individual and comparison doesn't matter.”

No one was at home when our house fire started. A neighbor spotted smoke and called the fire department. My mom, on her way home for lunch, followed the fire trucks to our house already engulfed in flames. We were all in shock. In addition to the damage to the house, the fire ruined or burned many things. My great-great aunt’s antique crystal candlesticks melted. Mom’s wedding crystal and china burst into tiny pieces. Her beautiful handmade draperies burned. Paintings were ruined from water or smoke. My prom dresses were destroyed, my dolls turned brown from the heat, and smoke blackened the covers and pages of our books. My brother lost collectibles and the furniture in his room. Dad’s workshop burned to the ground as it was the first area struck by fire.

Fortunately, everyone, including our dog was safe. Our family had planned and practiced what to do in case of fire or tornadoes. My brother and I knew how to tie sheets together if we needed to climb out a second-story window. We knew which tree to stand under in order to account for everyone's safety. 

My parents had homeowners insurance. The insurance agent was onsite within hours and quickly hired a company to clean up the water and fire damage. The burned structural areas were reframed. Scorched living spaces were reconstructed. Insurance reimbursed my parents when they purchased new décor, furniture, clothes and replaced the molten appliances. Insurance funds covered a rental house during the months our home was being put back together.

In the midst of that situation, I would never have imagined how our house catching on fire might positively impact my future. I now know that fire was a pivital experience that helped prepare me for my work in emergency response and recovery.

I'm not very patient when driving on I-4 because I detest bumper-to-bumper traffic. Yet, as a disaster survivor shares their story, a heavenly amount of patience kicks in and my heart goes out to them. My ears are wide open to listen and between each deep breath, silent pauses and tears, I hear myself saying, "I've been there. I'm so sorry. I hear you. I understand. I'm here for you. People are here to help." I listen, encourage, share how they may recieve federal, state or local assistance, and occasionly we pray together.

Though I or the team aren't handing out money or fixing problems on the spot, once people learn help may soon be on its way negativity and tears become expressions of "Thank you," "You will be blessed you for what you do," and in the South, "God bless yall." I can say, this audible and visual feedback keeps me going the next day, sustains my faith and answers the call of my purpose.

Thanks to my mother, I learned how to plan (she's a big time list maker). I'm also strategic, creative, positive, an obsessed learner, and good at thinking on my feet - all valuable skills in the midst of a crisis. Extensive emergency management training and disaster field work are what I bring to government agencies, nonprofits and private industry when the time comes to plan, set up practice drills or manage crisis issues.

If you need help to create or update your plan, contact me at 407-341-9866 or at mmonte@hotmail.com.

Disaster Preparedness: Are you ready?

Disaster Preparedness Kit
produced for the Kentucky
Department of Emergency Management

Resolve To Be Ready

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) recently kicked off a national campaign to encourage all Americans to resolve to be Ready in 2011.

I work in the world of emergency response and recovery. Each time I return home from a deployment, I feel blessed to have been able to contribute and do my part to help people in need. It would be amazing if humankind could prevent emergencies and crisis issues. Since avoidance is a futile fancy, the best we can do is prepare.

Geologists have peeled back Earth’s topographic cloak and validated that Mother Nature’s wrath has existed on Earth since the beginning of time. Hurricanes, fires, floods, earthquakes, polar shifts and even giant meteors have scraped, scorched, covered, shifted and altered our planet. In recent years the media has played out numerous tragedies rooted in human calamity, carelessness or intention to harm that cannot be protected by borders on a map.

When disaster strikes, it affects individuals, families, businesses and communities. Though FEMA and the agency’s employees play a huge role in the nation's emergency management team, disasters begin and end on the local level. It is for this reason Americans should step up to get ready because in a disaster-related event, prepared individuals and businesses are a huge asset to critical response and long-term recovery.

You should be confident that your emergency plan is solid, flexible and be sure your emergency kit is fully stocked. Without adequate preparation, a future disaster could mean that you, your family and your business must compete with thousands of vulnerable residents for food, water and critical resources including medical treatment and shelter.

In addition to disaster response and recovery training and hands-on experience under FEMA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, I’ve assisted businesses, municipalities and organizations develop and update crisis plans and train employees should they come face-to-face with a worse-case scenario.

Are you prepared for emergencies? If not, I can help you Get Ready in 2011. Contact me to learn more.

Sponsorships: Affiliation Sells

Partner. Sponsor. Supporter.

No matter the name, partnerships, sponsorships and supporting roles create bigger and better experiences because of the relationship.

Pulling heartstrings.
Loyal customers are a valuable asset. The absence of tangible differences among products or services is an inescapable consequence in today’s marketplace where emotional logic has become the single most important business driver. Without emotional ties, a product or service is just like every other product or service. Affinity or cause marketing events and partnerships mean effective marketing is not tied to ears and eyeballs, but to heartstrings. Through sporting events, entertainment, the arts and nonprofits, smart companies can build brand and customer loyalty by affiliating their company, or its products and services to issues, events and organizations that current and potential customers care about.

Bigger pie.
Sponsored events create media opportunities. Whether through media partners or publicity, event sponsors gain big visibility because events typically generate wide media exposure. For many businesses, the cost of purchasing the same amount of media exposure that a sponsorship may garner through advertising or public relations is not affordable. In a challenging economy, sponsor affiliations can be very a valuable part of the marketing mix, expecially for smaller companies.

Seeing is believing.
Sponsorships can create, change and definitely reinforce the image of a brand. While images and brands can be projected through advertising, paid media can lack authenticity. Sponsorships create direct visual exposure to key audiences and the associated media attention creates credibility. The seeing part is big just from the courtside, trackside and on-the-field event banners and graphics.

Driving traffic.
When companies use the assets of their sponsorships they have many opportunities to create traffic-building promotions to event attendees. Sponsors can typically showcase products at events. Attractions, restaurants or service business may offer discounts. Media outlets can distribute premium items. Take a closer look at the logos printed on t-shirts worn at the gym, grocery store and at school.

Customers speak.
They are willing to reward, or even worse, punish with their wallets. Just think of the recent backlash following the BP oil spill when consumers started a campaign to boycott local gas stations. The spill was not caused by service station and store franchisees, but the oil disaster affected owners all over the U.S. Consumers say “social responsibility” is the number one factor that influences their impression of a company – more than brand quality or business essentials.

Hook ‘em and book ‘em.
Sponsorship are a great hook for driving sales. For example, the sponsorship of a retail product can be used to boost shelf space and increases co-op advertising. Sponsorships can be tied to in-store displays, coupons may be printed on partner bags, and for businesses such as banks new clients come directly from the sponsored teams and venues. This next month watch for the fast food restaurant that will partner with Universal Studios for the added value of luring hungry patrons also seeking discounted Halloween Horror Night event passes.

For more information on sponsorships or if you need help creating the right sponsorship plan for your company, product or service contact me today at 407-341-9866.

Crisis Management: Deepwater Horizon Response Post 1

Post One

What I experienced, learned and accomplished deployed to the Deepwater Horizon Response.

Having just returned from working for Homeland Security in a support role to BP, the U.S. Coast Guard, state and federal partners on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, the experience even more indoctrinated my disdain for those who believe things at face value and then repeat the information without regard to fact. It certainly was a challenge for me at times because I wanted to shout to the world about the people behind the scenes working so hard to make a difference and the positive stories about the differences they were making.

Though I lived and breathed it, I watched in amazement at how the political, media and public conjectured. Was the information transparent? At first it wasn’t. Could the situation have been handled better? In the beginning, you bet. A person once told me that appearances are everything. I added to that wise council, “Yes, your point is well taken, but integrity and responsibility don’t appear as anything else.” From a public affairs standpoint, appearances, plus a lack of transparency is where the response to this disaster went wrong in the beginning. A few wrong decisions at the highest levels really affected the local residents and not enough factual information being distributed meant the media and the public were often left to speculate. And once a crisis issue starts out on the wrong track; it makes it easy for those on the outside to continue focusing on the flaws and the flawed.

Once entrenched in the response, I was humbled by the thousands of fellow Americans tirelessly working 12-14 hour days, seven days a week, and away from home for weeks on end. Working to restore the crisis in the Gulf, staff worked side-by-side representing more than 33 different logos...county, state, federal, military and BP.

The crisis was not created by one and each of us knew that alone, one could not solve it. It was not a political issue; it was a United States of America issue. The effort included so many amazing and talented individuals that I am proud to call friends and would serve with again any day. These people weren’t a big corporation; they were like you and me – professionals with passion, feelings, drive, experience and many were from the Gulf Coast region.

Responders surrounded me from all ranks and backgrounds. I can’t even begin to explain their dedication to responsibility, the highest regard to integrity and what a wealth of knowledge. From GIS to HAZMAT, writers to pilots, security to meterologists. On the flip side, I also ran into a couple of bad apples in the operation; yep, there were a few people with rotten attitudes and horrible management skills. Thanks mom for reminding me those types are in every organization, whether public or private, and though they are always a challenge and disappointment, patience, positivity and faith are the keys to working with them. On the up side, bad apples do eventually get discovered and the bad parts are discarded. Karma is sweet.

Though the tasks required long days and we were navigating a course without a proven critical path, it was truly a blessing to serve our country during the oil spill response and to work with the more than 1,200 BP employees, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, state and federal personnel in the Mobile Incident Command Post.

What I experienced in this response was proof that no matter the task at hand, Americans (and a few British folk) from all walks of life can come together to effectively manage a crisis when everyone lays down their ego to develop and work a plan…and to keep trudging along...even on days when we wanted to be wasted away in Margaretville and covered in a different kind of oil.

Crisis Management: Training And Drills

Plan. Prepare. Practice.

The fact that training and drills needs to happen is not a debate, but for governments, costs in an uncertain economy are an issue. As well, for many companies and government agencies, exercises are scripted plays of cut and past scenarios that are practiced over and over again.

Check out this April 2, 2010 article in The Washington Post, "National disaster exercises, called too costly and scripted, may be scaled back."

As a child, I learned to tuck and cover in tornado drills, how to stand in a door frame during an earthquake, and even way back then, we had a family plan of how to escape our two-story house and a specific location for our family to meet if we had a house fire. We practiced, and yes, we experienced them all for real, even a major house fire.

The measures our family put in place to plan, prepare and practice were small in comparison to larger state or national drills and training, but they saved us when it counted most! Whether a single family or a large agency, it is crucial to have drills and training. Scenarios should be as real as possible because they can save lives. Scenarios also should be goal oriented, measurable and practiced in a way that promotes communication, coordination and collaboration.

Having been involved in local, state and federal drills, some were for fluff, to receive a pat on the back for a “job well done” and only because they were mandatory. In one drill, I observed face-to-face communication and decision makers not being able to agree on next steps. I have been involved in training scenarios where if the situation were real, citizens may have been severely affected because people could not make decisions or made bad decisions.

During one particular training drill, upper management was not pleased with unsolicited feedback from those of us responsible for the ESF#15 function (comprised of county-wide communication folks) as we stood together (four of us at the desk during the exercise) to explain the potential ramifications of their directions and decisions. Fortunately, it was only a drill. After that particular drill, management decided to involve ESF#15 more closely in strategic planning, execution of drill exercises and asked for help in reviewing the entire operation for ways to tighten up. None of us should be afraid to make mistakes, and from our mistakes, learn from them the first time. After all, moms and coaches always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Speaking as a communications professional, whether in public relations or public affairs, looking at all angles of a situation is ingrained in our thought process. As well, we are used to accountability when planning through objectives, strategy, goals, tactics and measurement. I believe it is our responsibility to encourage and work with management or government leaders to explain the rationale for implementing the same processes employed every day doing business should be used for crisis training and management. Most business and government people understand SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Those four things can be used to measure performance in training exercises or drills. We can only find the error of our ways, discover weaknesses and adjust when necessary if training exercises and drills are executed with thought, built-in realism and include a mechanism to capture and measure performance. If we don’t insist upon it, then as communication professionals, we are the ones left to clean up the mess!

Stepping back to be sure processes and procedures are in place is sometimes necessary to ensure effective crisis planning, preparedness or practice is in place for a family as well as at the federal government level. No matter the actual hard cost or methods used to practice and train (live or simulated), successfully having implemented those three steps are priceless in a real disaster because people’s lives are at stake.

Does your company or organization have a current crisis plan in place? Do you know if your crisis plan is workable? Have you practiced your plan? Confused about crisis planning and management? Contact me to learn more.

News Release Images Impact

From the approach at your front door to the first thing a reporter sees when opening a news release, images count!

Continuing the post, Spruced Up Releases Spring Media To Action, PRWeb has research to back up the fact that images have impact. They took a closer look at how multimedia impacts news consumption by studying the habits of their news consumers. The research combined quantitative analysis of usage patterns drawn from Web statistics with a survey and sent out to a segment of their email opt-in subscribers.

Here are top-line takeaways from that research:

1. People spend more time on releases that contain multimedia – Images really do have an impact on how much time people spend consuming news releases.

• Releases with no images had an average time-on-page of 2:18; and 
• Releases that contained images had an average time-on-page of 2:47.

Since journalists receive hundreds of releases each day, every second of every eyeball spent on a page can be a huge advantage to getting a story noticed and picked up in the news.

2. Bloggers and journalists actually use multimedia – Not only does multimedia positively enhance the experience of news releases, evidenced by indicators such as increased time-on-page, but news producers (journalists and bloggers) actually use multimedia they find on news releases to help construct their ensuing stories.

• 48% of journalists and bloggers who subscribed to receive PRWeb news releases used an image or video in a news story or blog post.

3. Bloggers and journalists favor some forms of media over others – When it comes to various types of multimedia, content producers clearly favor images.

• 88% of producers agree or strongly agree that images enhance their experience of a news release;
• Half agree or strongly agree that video enhances their experience of a news release; and
• Only 28% agreed that audio enhances a news release.

Spruced Up Releases Spring Media To Action

About two years ago, I began adding custom graphic headers and including photos and logos in Satellite Media Advisories. Several producers offered unsolicited feedback about how the image/graphic grabbed their attention when they were booking the SMT.

A picture is worth a thousand words." So it made sense I should use images to support the words in news releases as well. Below is a recent news release as an example. With media kits, high-res photos are included on a disc or thumbdrive.

Put A Spring In Your “Door”Step with a Personalized Doormat

-A custom doormat is this year's fabulous front door accessory!

ORLANDO, Fla. (April 20, 2010) – A beautifully customized doormat from The Personalized Doormats Company is the perfect way to welcome warm weather while also putting a spring in your “door”step. Keeping more than 50 percent of the dirt outside, doormats are functional, but a personalized doormat is a customized design accessory that is sure to perk up any front door.

"When it comes to a house, what’s out front actually can say a lot about what is on the inside,” said Interior Designer and TV Host Josh Johnson. “For example, how your front door area appears when approaching up close is similar to a home's curb appeal at street level. Does it feel warm, inviting and welcoming? Or does it give off an impression that is drab, unappealing and even a bit shabby? An entryway, whether large or small, sets the tone for your home’s interior and also portrays the personality of the individual or family living there.

At first thought, a doormat might not seem that exciting. But these doormats will fashionably perk up any porch, patio and the grandest of porticos with panache while also fulfilling the ultimate function of keeping the floors clean. The Personalized Doormats Company offers doormats that are stylish, affordably priced and selections in a variety of materials, sizes and colors. By offering personalization, what was once a simple mat at a door, changes the whole meaning of ‘doormat’. Doormats are an integral part of a home’s décor and speak volumes about the owner or renter as well.

“An online company, they have something for every style and budget. Selections range from classic to chic and from simple to just plain stunning. Materials include eco-friendly recycled plastic to beautifully hand-woven coconut fiber and I really love the sparkle of the cast aluminum. A doormat is something every home needs and The Personalized Doormats Company has certainly stepped up the doormat to make it a fabulous front door accessory,” said Johnson.

In addition to a variety of materials, the mats come in sizes and shapes to fit single and double doorways, both narrow and wide. Doormats are made of different materials and depending on the location, some styles are better suited for covered entryways, others are excellent when exposed to harsh weather such water or direct sun and select doormats are very reliable under heavy or muddy foot traffic.

Pura Vida (Live the Good Life)! Stop 50 percent of the dirt from coming in your front door with the stepped-up style of a personalized doormat. Order a mat from www.PersonalizedDoormats.com for a sunny forecast this spring on your stoop, steps, covered porch or drive-up portico.

For more information or to order a doormat from The Personalized Doormats Company, call them toll free at 1-800-899-0620 from 9 a.m. –6 p.m. EST, email CustomerService@PersonalizedDoormats.com or shop online anytime at www.PersonalizedDoormats.com.

The Personalized Doormats Company, www.PersonalizedCoormats.com, is an online retail store based in Longwood, Fla. Founded in 2002 as a small online company, Jill and Alan Mecca purchased the company in 2008. Now offering upwards of 15 different product lines, their personalized doormats are shipped to customers throughout the United States and Canada. The Personalized Doormats Company offers more top-quality personalized doormat styles for homes and businesses than any other U.S. retailer.

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Contact: For more information, to set up an interview or to request high resolution photos, contact Ms. Monte Martin, WOW! Marketing, Public Relations & Events at 407-341-9866 or by email at MMonte@hotmail.com.

Media Interview: A Dark Secret Lurks At Disney

At Walt Disney World, every day is happy...

...Or so you think!

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, several reporters will get the chance to interview Disney Author Ridley Pearson about Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow. Set in Disney’s famous theme parks, this third book in his series of thrillers transports readers into a Disney World never seen by the average guest - after closing time and the last employee leaves - a world where evil characters rule the parks after dark.

BEHIND THE SCENES
New York Times Bestselling Author Ridley Pearson offers a glimpse into the world of the Kingdom Keepers and evil Overtakers such as Maleficent, the dark fairy from Sleeping Beauty who gives off a chill wherever she goes, shape shifts at will and has the ability to teleport herself and send bolts of lightning at enemies. Filled with action and brimming with the same meticulous detail as Kingdom Keepers: Disney after Dark and Disney at Dawn, Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow (Disney-Hyperion Books) is the third book in Pearson’s thriller series for young readers.

SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS NOW!
Reporters or bloggers wishing to set up an interview time should contact Ms. Monte Martin at 407-341-9866 or mmonte@hotmail.com.

THE BOOK

When five teenagers audition for jobs at Walt Disney World, they are hired as park guides. Using new technology, holographic projections of the teenagers lead guests through Disney's parks. The teens soon discover their job as a Disney Host Interactive (DHI), also known as a Daylight Holographic Image (DHI), isn’t exactly what it seems. Disney Imagineers (imagination + engineering) had no idea the technology might backfire. But backfire it did: some nights when the kids go to sleep, they wake up in one of the Disney parks as a hologram. The Kingdom Keepers discover their Imagineer friend has gone missing. Then the stakes grow higher when what starts out as a puzzle puts them on a quest for a sword, and the parks are in danger of being destroyed by a renegade group of Disney characters. They find themselves in a fight for their lives in order to save the parks - and the world.

THE GAME

In a groundbreaking and interactive Transmedia campaign, Kingdom Keepers III: Disney in Shadow includes bonus pages of clues as well as augmented 3D reality on the last page of the book. The online game, http://www.thekingdomkeepers.com/, enhances the reading experience. The book helps gamers unlock the game's interactive map and clues to online help Kingdom Keepers defeat Disney’s evil characters. Players must work together to defeat the villains who have escaped the parks and are now wreaking havoc on the Internet.

ABOUT PEARSON

• Best-selling adult crime novelist with more than 25 titles translated into 22 languages in 70 countries;
• Friend and co-writer of books with Dave Barry, humorist, columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner for – Peter and the Starcatchers series;
• Guitar player and founding member of The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of best-selling authors including Dave Barry, Stephen King, Amy Tan, Scott Turow and Mitch Albom; and
• Calls St. Louis home with wife, Marcelle, and their daughters Paige and Storie. (That's right, a page and a story.)

MORE

For more about Pearson and Kingdom Keepers: Disney in Shadow check out www.RidleyPearson.com or www.ridleypearson.com/blog_kids.html.

Social Media: Twittering About Twitter?

Termed, micro blogging, Twitter is a great resource for expressing a personal brand, thought leadership and corporate brand.

Nielsen recently released staggering statistics about Twitter:

• It is the fastest growing community site increasing 1382% in visits in February 2009 versus February 2008;
• The majority of the user base (42%) is between the ages of 35-49;

Here are helpful tips for tweeters:

• Check out and consider using a hash tag when appropriate as it is a way for people to search for tweets that have a common topic. #(insert topic)
• Change your bio often to reflect a description of a project, not just about you or the reason for your twitter page;
• Include a photo or logo to connect you or your brand to your tweeple for page personalization;
• Monitor your followers. Just because you have lots of them doesn't mean they are desirable followers. Check a few followers and see who they are and what they do ; - ) Let me know what you learn! (you can change your settings to accept or reject new followers); and
• Share the "love"birdies. Retweet! Copy and paste the original tweet, then put RT @ (insert originator’s username) at the beginning of the tweet and share the best links, tweets and gems with your followers. 

Still twittering about Twitter? Not sure how to use it for your business? Contact me today to turn up your Tweet volume and tune into Twitter.

Planning: Spiffing Up For Spring

Are your sales and marketing plans as bright, fresh and appealing as these Daffodils? Or more like a dried up bouquet of flowers that you haven't been able to throw out because they remind you of...something you can't seem to remember?

Or do you even have a plan?

My new online retail client Personalized Doormats, orginally contacted me to write two news releases per month as well as web and email blast content.

During our first meeting, I asked them how they currently integrated public relations (news releases, social media and media coverage) with other sales and marketing functions such as trade shows, email blasts, social media, promotions, special events, community relations, AdWords, etc. Their answer, "We don't. But we probably should. Can you help us with that?"

With their budget and goals in mind, I suggested they hire me to help them develop a sales and marketing plan the first month instead of writing news releases. So, we "worked together" the first month where I got their input and feedback. We had two, four-hour meetings; one, two-hour conference call; and four, one-hour weekly calls where I took them through a series of questions about their business, (past, present and future), competion, sales goals, personal business goals, products, customer service, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and more.

The end result, allowed me to take the information gathered to develop a six month sales and marketing plan, including a month-to-month timeline with activities and tactics. As well:

• They'd never thought about joining two key professional associations.
• Now, they are new members and have picked up new business from their memberships. 
• They have a blog, but rarely posted anything to it. 
• From new customer comments, product photos, special offers, tips, videos and news releases will soon begin being posted and in the next six months, as they build their business, they plan to hire me to "ghost write" blog postings on a regular basis.
• Their twitter and Facebook account was set up, but they had no idea how to use social media. As well, the sites were not set up or being monitored correctly for their type of business model. 
• Last week, we had a three-hour social media training session where I taught them how to brand their pages and how to use the various sites - twitter, Linkedin, Diggit, Flickr, YouTube and Facebook - the differences in the sites; kinds of communication messages to post (not overly sales-y, not hard news, but with the intent of it being interactive, educational and informative), how to integrate the various social media sites, fun tips and tools to manage them and how to post, paste, link and tweet from from a technical standpoint.

I am now writing news releases and also formulating a new sales program to reach a market segment they'd never thought about. Not only will it build my client's sales, but this program will allow this new BtoB market donate to their charity of choice while selling my client's product to their customers.

So plan your plan. Write your plan. And work your plan. With a plan, you will see where you are today, where you are going and next year, look back over a successful year and see what made the difference. Contact me today to spiff up your sales and marketing plan this Spring! And...while you are at it... Order a new doormat today and "Put a Spring In Your 'Door'step!"

SMT: An email teaser awaits

An evil plot is about to be unleashed upon Walt Disney World. The stakes grow higher every day, so stay posted. More clues to come.

What is this? It is a TEASER a.k.a. HOLD THE DATE

It is meant to:

• Entice the reader of the email;
• Arouse their interest;
• Peak some curiosity about what's next;
• Anticipate being pitched a story;
• Know something is happening on April 7: and
• To make them want to be a part before having all the details.

This teaser was just emailed to television media contacts and outlets in the top 20 markets. It is being sent in advance of emailing the Satellite Media Alert and then verbally pitching a Satellite Media Tour (SMT) with Author Ridley Pearson. The SMT will be on April 7.

There is more to come...And if you want a great teaser for your next campaign, contact me at mmonte@hotmail.com or 407-341-9866.

Marketing: Affinity Is A Kinship Connection

New Family Members Can Mean A New Affinity

The growth and success of online retail stores is a recent phenomenon. Shoppers have begun to trust online purchases and brick and mortar companies are selling the same offerings online sold in stores. Today shoppers can browse the web easier than walking through a shopping mall. With affinity programs, people can shop at stores such as Macy's, Target, and even Expedia while contributing to a nonprofit without spending any more money than shopping on that same company's regular .com site.

About 10 years ago, a marketing phenomenon errupted known as affinity marketing. I learned about it firsthand when I was hired by a faith-based credit card company to write news releases and copy for their new Web site. A percentage of each purchase made by credit card holders went to a school, charity or mission each month that had been selected by the card holder.

A client recently asked me to share a little more about affinity marketing. She wanted to know more about how affinity marketing could be a win for their company, nonprofits and online shoppers.

Affinity Marketing...

• Promotes a brand’s products or services to a niche audience;
• Leverages other companies and individuals to promote or build awareness;
• Partners a company, buyers and an organization with a common “affinity”;
• Is as simple as an endorsement from one firm for another firm’s products or services in exchange for compensation or value;
• Means purchases result in revenue for a company and a cause;
• Means companies are cheerful givers to the community; and
• Everyone wins!

The Challenges...

• Finding the right audience;
• Thoroughly exploring affinity group unique dynamics;
• Time to develop, test, monitor, and measure messages, offers and pricing;
• Impressing buyers to shift purchasing behavior;
• Working with the benefactor to spread the word through their communication channels; and
• Database tracking of purchases through different partners for causes.

The Benefits...

• Target audiences have a stronger inclination to purchase;
• Buyers are interested in receiving benefits;
• Results are measureable;
• Messages can continually be massaged;
• Partners get paid through small percentages;
• Feedback and information flows in from participants and buyers;
• Buyers feel good about purchases that make a difference;
• Can be a low cost way to improve customer retention; and
• Customers may receive perk discounts or offers to use for another purchase. 

The Opportunities...

• Naming the program to strengthen the brand;
• Focusing on unique ideas and concepts that may not fit mass marketing;
• In a slow economy, consumers spend more easily when a purchase helps something they care about;
• Beneficiaries receive revenue without asking for donations or hosting fundraisers;
• Sales commissions are “pay as you go” rather than upfront advertising or salaries; and
• Creating interest by giving back to the community.

Examples of programs...

• Credit card companies offer custom credit cards and a percentage of each purchase is donated to a particular organization. The organization and the credit card company may promote the credit card opportunity through advertising, Web sites, brochures, signage and direct mail.
• A grocery store chain donates a percentage of purchases to a registered charity. Customers registered with the store present an identification card or phone number at the time of their purchase and a contribution is made to the charity. The grocery store may promote the donation opportunity through store signage, news releases and advertising. The charity could spread the word at meetings, through news releases, newsletters, flyers and online.
• A restaurant holds a promotion and portion of an evening's proceeds goes to a supporter. The customer knows to identify themselves with the supporter when ordering. The supporter promotes the restaurant to their members in newsletters, meetings, flyers, through public relations and on their Web site.
• A service company offers a discount and cash donation to an association when someone in the association uses their service. In return, the association promotes the service to their members though various marketing channels such as newsletters, direct mail, and on their Web site.
• A retailer offers to donate a percent of online purchases to the benefactor of a fundraising event (bike race, run, walk fundraiser). The participants hear the offer when registering, receive a coupon or flyer in their goody bag and see the offer on event signage.

Steps to set up an affinity marketing program...
1. Establish rules of engagement;
2. Determine the mutual win for everyone involved;
3. Determine the management process and proceedure;
4. Establish non-compete agreements;
5. Ensure all partners are on the team;
6. Brand the program;
7. Spread the word; and
8. Watch it work!

Done right, affinity marketing can be a very powerful marketing tool to amplify a brand's awareness by attracting new customers, enhancing the company's community relations and boosting sales. Want to set up a success affinity marketing plan? I'll help you build sales through kinship connections, so call me at 407-341-9866 or send me an email at mmonte@hotmail.com.

Fundraising Event: Welcome To My Place

A Lakeside Fundraiser

One key to having a successful fundraising event is creating the right win-win for sponsors, donors and attendees. The win for each sponsor or donor is typically different, whether that is to receive program recognition, exposing their company to attendees through signage, receiving an event tickets, goody bag inclusion, or to use as a tax write off. It is important they get something in return for giving money or donating their time and resources to the cause as well as being sure all attendees, volunteers, hosts, donors, sponsors and media leave saying WOW! that was an awesome event.

In November, I was hired by a well-known businessman to create an event raising funds for a family, and friend of his, that had fallen on hard times. Since people love to attend events hosted at the homes of the "rich and famous" or at least someone with a local celebrity status, I convinced him and his wife (God bless her!) to host an evening house/backyard VIP party at their lake home. The casual Sunday evening event featured live musicians, food stations, open bar, silent auction, live auction and there was a "$30 donation" at the door. The evening event was combined with a golf event held earlier in the day and hosted by Bay Hill Country Club (the golf fee included an evening event ticket).

For part of the silent auction, a contracted company set up signed celebrity and collectible items where they received a small percentage of what was bought. In addition, for the silent and live auction, a volunteer team and I contacted companies to secure unique items such as: a gourmet dog basket; spa packages; a kitten and a puppy with vet exam and all shots; attraction tickets with behind-the-scene tours; hotel packages to New York (including charter flight), Tampa, Tahoe, Las Vegas and Hawaii; golf rounds with dinner; bathroom vanity; exterior home lighting; packaged restaurant gift certificates; custom jewelry; candle/spa baskets; health packages; a gently used ski boat; Diva Shopping Tour; car wash/waxes; and more items that people want for themselves.

Since there really wasn't a budget, so to speak, vendors, friends and family volunteered and/or donated their services including: security (Eddie and Dee Love); check-in; live auctioneer; bartenders (Lindsey Mackail); food stations (Winter Garden Pizza, The Crepe Cart Company, Timpano's, Gator's Dockside); valet parkers (John Chipps); dance floor, a huge glowing bar and high tops (Dennis Clegg); beer and wine (Florida Beer Company and Lakeridge Winery); fire pits; black Frisbees covered with magnolia leaves for floating candles in the pool (Sherry Martin); live auctioneer (Lori Chipps); borrowed coolers and trashcans (neighbors); money collection (John Kelly); photography (Keith Lambert); videography (Nathan Weatherford); and way more people helped out than I can list.

We could not get everything donated, so there were a few hard costs that were taken out of event profits, most of which were negotiable. Those included: my event management fee (deeply discounted because it was a cause I supported in a big way); rented glassware $150; ice delivery $150; professional musicians $500 (discounted being a Sunday night); 25 rented pieces of white leather furniture $1,800 (at cost because Cort Furniture Rental was a sponsor otherwise would have been $7,500); clear plastic plates, napkins, utensils $100; rented 10-4'x8' tables and linens $250; 20 tiki torches and oil $100 (the host bought and kept for future parties); fire pit wood $75; and 2 teenage boys were each paid $50 for 10 hours work to set up and take down.

The wife of the family, benefitting from the event, made a last minute decision to attend and unexpectedly asked to speak just before the live auction. As she took the microphone, her voice began to shake. We had never met before that night, but I knew their story and felt like she needed someone to stand beside her. So, I casually moved on the stage and put my right arm around her. My intention was to be there for moral support, but the longer she talked, she began to physically lean on me to hold her up. Her words brought tears to everyone as she humbly spoke amazing words of gratitude.

In theory, we tend to think people only donate to causes they champion, but a well-organized, themed event set in a unique location is a huge draw for attendees. Donors or sponsors just want to meet desired marketing or sales goals for future payback (in this case, their win was direct exposure to attendees). Combined with the golf outing, $60,000 was raised in one day for one family.

Invited guests came early, enjoyed food, sipped cocktails, danced, shopped and stayed way later than we ever expected on a Sunday night. It was hard work on my and the host's part, but we agreed it was very fulfilling. Everyone went home with a little less in their wallet, but with a bigger heart blessed by giving to a family in need.

If you want to be sure your event has WOW! contact me to discuss your needs at mmonte@hotmail.com or 407-341-9866.

(A special thanks to my mom, Sherry Martin, queen of Southern hospitality, an award-winning brownie chef, vendor coordinator and the best ever details activator as well as my friend and sidekick, Rhonda Murphy, the queen of fun, my timeline orchestrator and an awesome onsite coordinator. I could not have made this event successful without them!)

Twitter: Tweets Of Wisdom Part 1

Hello. Tweet tweet.

Twitter Communicates

Twitter has a very simplistic concept and this gives people a misconception that it doesn't take much time or dedication. But, like other tactics used to reach your customer base, including e-newsletters, brochures, news stories and for that matter even web content, it is a communication tool that has to have enough effort behind it, and using the right words for measurable success.

When I first set up my twitter account, I had no idea about hash tags, retweets, if I should manage who followed me…or not, how to get people to follow me, or many of the other functions surrounding twitter.
In addition to posting 140 words or less, there was the tracking, analyzing, evaluating and reporting if I wanted to monitor the ever so much sought return on investment. Especially, since I quickly learned that twitter could take up a lot of time.

Twitter Engages

Without a social media plan specifically tailored to achieve business goals, I can’t tell you how often or what to twitter. But, I can promise that effectively tweets can build your business if done right.

Three ads don’t make a successful advertising campaign. One news release without follow up pitches to media doesn’t usually result in many stories, and a tweet or two here or there doesn’t build your business.

Twitter can’t be done in five minutes a day with five “seemingly engaging” tweets. The key word here is engaging. This social media tool isn’t just about pretty pictures, bragging on how awesome your company or product is, and unless you are a celebrity, no one cares what you eat for lunch, when you get your nails done or your golf score. Twitter messages must be meaningful to your followers in a way that engages them to retweet your message, click on a link to learn more, become educated, or purchase your product or service.

Twitter Connects

Just like media relations, customer service and business networking, think of it like a connection. Done right, it is a tool that gives you direct communication and allows for interactive feedback with current and potential customers. As well, there are tools to measure metrics and return on investment to show how it works.

Social media can be a powerful and effective tool if you commit to it and use it correctly. Twitter is not for every business, but with a plan of tactics, twitter can play a part in achieving business goals. With a little time and patience, it is very effective and by using time-saving tools efficiently, “we” don’t have to be connected 24/7.

Twitter Works

If you want to know more about how to use twitter to build your business and tweet to your tweeple, contact me @ mmonte@hotmail.com or 407-341-9866!

Web SEO: Count your chicks, er...clicks before they hatch

Survey says...
...Put your SEO program into perspective!

A recent article by Rob Garner from iCrossing says his company just released a study on SERP (search engine results pages) click rates, indicating the sites surveyed received more than 95% of all their non-branded natural search traffic from page-one across all three major engines. The data included 8.9 million queries sampled over nine months, representing 10 enterprise-level Web sites in different diverse verticals.

According to the survey, when looking at all three search engines, SERP click rates were within a razor-thin margin from engine to engine. Google provided the highest average; with 95.8% coming from page one, compared to Yahoo at 95.2%, and Bing at an average of 95% (total average of 95.3%).

It also found that most travel sites had the highest percentage of non-branded page-one traffic at more than 97% and businesses that focused primarily on health and insurance had the lowest percentage of first-page traffic at 93%.

Out of the almost nine million searches surveyed, queries break out across three major engines as follows:

• More than 8.5 million non-branded natural clicks came from page one across all three engines
• 232,000 clicks came from page two
• 180,000 came from page three

When thinking of people searching for a site on the Internet, there is one key thing that puts your search engine optimization program into perspective: For first impressions and ultimate clicks, count your SEO chickens on the first page.