What Does "Social Media Management" Mean?

The one constant always heard about real estate is "location, location, location" - which really means that even the best business will have no business if the folks who need that business can't find it.

But how do you let potential clients know where you are?

Not all that long ago, the answer was advertising in your local daily newspaper. It reached a captive audience and was relatively easy on the budget.

Now that newspapers, regional magazines and other print publications are struggling to stay afloat (and they have raised their ad rates accordingly - which is if they still exist in your area at all), and the reach of web-based advertising can help you reach more people faster with less hassle and for less money, today, people are much more likely to use other methods to get their message of an upcoming event or new location. Now more than ever, that will most likely include social media.

Social media (which includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Periscope, Vine and others) is easy to use, inexpensive and effective. That's why knowing how to use it - or knowing how to find someone who could help you use it effectively - is extremely important.

Basically, what Social Media Management entails is coordinating your social media platforms to present the same message, brand (image) or promotion to an interested audience of potential customers in a steady, consistent manner. It's truly modern-day advertising, hanging your "We're open!" sign and waving hello to anyone who happens by all in one.

Truthfully, the "social" part is the bit of the equation that is most important. Think of it as the virtual equivalent to a networking function. Just as you wouldn't stand in the corner munching on celery all by your lonesome an event, you've gotta actually engage to get the ball rolling online, too. Those business cards and brochures will not just hand themselves out.

On social media, that means responding to requests for information (in person, you'd hand out that business card), thanking folks for dropping by (shake some hands), and giving them opportunities to engage (ask them questions about what they do and how they do it). It takes work (you actually have to leave that comfy corner and chat people up) but it's do-able.

What too many do is set up a Facebook page or Twitter account for their venture, and never post from it or visit it more than a few times a month.

Yes, I get that it can take time to think of clever things to post and engage your audience, but that's really what it's all about.

A good way to get started is to follow other businesses or services that do what you do and see how and what they post to their followers. Do they ask questions? Show video of their new product lines? Invite followers to hit them up for more information?

Emulate that and try to do it better. Use platforms they don't use and corner the local or regional market. Offer specials to those who follow you on Twitter or Pinterest only, for example, and see what happens (nothing or something cool?). Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But you have to venture to out of your comfort zone first. Remember, folks won't know you exist unless you let them know. So get ready to shout your location from the social media rafters.

If you need a hand, give us a call. We'd be happy to help.

Fix Up Your Website

What's worse than having a website that you haven't updated in a while?

Having a site that is hard to use, takes forever to load, has links to nowhere or makes finding contact information next to impossible, that's what.

Any of those things can cause folks searching for information on you or that thing you do to close the page and keep it moving.

According to a KISSmetricks Blog survey, the time it takes your website to load can greatly alter the user experience. Forty-seven percent of Internet surfers expect the URL they just clicked on to load in two seconds or less. Forty percent actually abandon a site that takes more than three seconds to load.

Basically, that means you've got a very tiny window to show 'em what you're working with.  If your site takes five seconds to load, a potential set of eyes that may have been interested in what you have to say just went onto something else.

We all love flashy pages that spin and glow when they pop up, right? That "WOW!" factor is a big thing. But the take-away here is that if that wow is causing your page to gurgle and stall, it may be costing you more views than it will ever gain.

But even if your site loads quickly, how does it help keep interest if the person at the end of the mouse can't find what s/he is looking for? If your page has 10 tabs or is very text-heavy, it might actually look like a cluttered mess that users deem too overwhelming or frustrating to use. Seriously - how easy is it to find the address to your location or your email information on your site? (Go check, I'll wait...)

Another thing that may spell trouble for your site is the ease of use of its mobile version. Late last year, Google announced that more than half of its searches are now done from mobile devices. Just imagine all the folks who can't see your beautifully laid-out web page because your site isn't optimized for smartphone or tablet use. Believe it or not happens all the time.

To really evaluate your site, log onto it from a computer other than one you normally use. Study the load time and see how long it takes the graphics, text and banners to become visible. Ask someone who's never been to your site to find a piece of information you consider important (like the links to your social media feeds or your SoundCloud page). Check it from an iPhone, a tablet and an Android device. If anything seems off, convoluted or messy, fix it as soon as you can.

Remember, you only get one shot to make a first impression. Make that shot the best one you can.

A Note to My Artistic Brethren

Dear Creative Person,

I know that to you, the art is the thing and you often feel the creative process is almost sacred, but you really need to know something: If you don't take time to let people know you are an artist who creates music, pastels, novels, short films or poetry, no one but your relatives will ever know you are an artist who creates.

Promotion is not a dirty word. If you do what you do to share it with folks, promotion will help those folks know about you.

Think about it: the most amazing novel, the most poignant of sculptures, the most ethereal of music can't be enjoyed if they sit in boxes in your garage or in the corner of your studio. Art is meant to be shared. Isn't that kind of the point?

Why is garnering attention from what you do on a creative level a bad thing? Even if it is a hobby and not your livelihood (and you never hope it to be), how is having people know about that creative thing you do necessarily a bad thing?

If you want to remain obscure and known for your work only when your estate publishes your manuscripts or gets your canvases curated after your death, then by all means, don't ever update your website, use social media to self-promote or follow other artists who do. Just keep complaining about how putting together a bio for an electronic press kit or tweeting a photo of you creating just takes too much daggone time.

But haven't you done that already? And how's that working for ya?

The definition of insanity, according to Albert Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. And he was a pretty astute guy.

Making art and letting the masses know about that art are not mutually exclusive. You can do both and still have time to create, have a life, sleep and do all the things "regular" people do.

If you owned a business selling widgets, wouldn't you advertise to let people in need of widgets know you're making he best daggone widgets around?

Why should your creative venture be any different?

Sincerely,
A Lover of All Things Creative

If you remember nothing else...

Please - for the love of all that is good - do me one tiny favor:

Do not forget to put the address of where ever your event is happening in your press release!

You have no idea how many press releases editor me encountered on a regular that were missing that one simple, but oh-so-important bit of information.

And no, the name of the location - The Ritz Theater, The Bardavon, The Bronx Zoo, the Taj Mahal - is not enough.

Especially since there isn't any media outlet that targets only one town (the last newspaper I worked the copy desk for covered parts of at least five counties), there isn't an editor, reporter, producer or newscaster who knows the physical street address to every venue in their circulation/viewing/listening area off the top of their head.

Forcing whomever is reading your release (in an effort to get it into the calendar,  the entertainment section's event listing or the three-inch hole on page 8) to stop, jump online and search for the physical address of any venue could cause them to skip right over your release to get to the one behind it - y'know, the one with complete information.

It's not that the reader of the info is trying to be mean; You just may be trying to cost them time. And nobody has time to spare in a newsroom.

Seriously - how hard is it to type in a street address and city/town? Readers interested in checking out whatever you have going on want to be able to type that address into their GPS and call it a day. Your job is to get people through the door. But they won't ever cross your threshold if you can't be bothered to tell them where you'll be.

Each time you sit down to do a press release, think like the person you are trying to get to read and publicize this event. They want to know:

• Who is doing this thing? 
• What is it they are doing? 
• Where is it happening? 
• When is it going to be held? 
• Why is this important? 
• How is this thing taking place (live? live-stream? one-night-only reception?)? 

All this information is vital to get across to those you want to come - but you have to get it to (and through) the info gate keeper first.

Want to get folks to your grand opening/listening party/concert/poetry reading/meeting or other event? Begin by telling them what they need to know to get there - and start by telling them where that "there" is.

You can do it - I know you can...

Got Social Media? USE IT!

I follow a few celebrities via Instagram and Twitter. I enjoy the behind-the-scenes stuff - you know the "This is me getting to the studio" and the "Here's the hair and makeup person making me look presentable for this photo shoot" tid-bits that give a little glimpse into the day-to-day regularity of my favorite artists, actors and performers. And I'm not gonna lie - I've unfollowed folks who only jump onto their social media accounts to remind us to buy tickets to their next concert or tune in for their 30-second appearance on an obscure award show.

See, it's not supposed to work like that.

Seriously, with social media - especially Twitter, Face Book and Instagram - consistency is key. Even if you are a huge mega-star, some of your million followers will most certainly lose interest if your only goal in using your Instagram account is to tell them when your next tour kicks off and when your new movie is available on Blue ray. Yawn...

As a publicist, I tell my clients the exact same thing: don't neglect your social media. Ever. Yes, I know you're busy, but - especially when there are so many great (and free!) programs that allow one post to hit all your accounts at once and even the convenience of scheduling posts hours, days or weeks in advance - there's really no excuse. Heck ya got me and Hootsuite, baby!

Your posts could be as relevant to the thing you do as you wish - or not at all. Your minute-long grocery store video may have nothing to do with your most recent project, but it does show you are human and relatable. Blending that on social media with "the artist at work" type of stuff can be a great mix for a fan base excited to learn more about you and your creative process. That's not to say they want to see you flossing your teeth or folding your laundry, however. There's balance to be found, for sure - but you won't find it if you post a countdown to your book tour kick-off and nothing else until the tour is almost over.

Start small if you must - posting a quick song lyric or photo of your computer keyboard or even a screen shot of the music you listen to while you sculpt once a week or so - but start and remain as consistent as you can.

Don't let weeks or months go by between posts. Yeah, stop that already.

Check Your Calendar, Please...

It may seem logical to think it important to really, really, REALLY check your dates when planning an event or activity that requires publicity and coordination, right?

But life happens. As a result, busy people can - and often do - double book.

When working to get the various pieces in place to make sure the event goes smoothly, your public relations team usually plans from the scheduled event date backwards. In other words, targets for media release "send by" dates and the amount of notice needed for booking a facility or caterer are picked based on when your shindig is happening. Moving the date in either direction can cause a domino effect of chaos for your event planner and major difficulties for guests, viewers and anyone else who also has a schedule to keep.

Publicity requires a lot of ball juggling and includes anything and everything from sending guest invites to coordinating a social media campaign. If you didn't notice that your niece's bat mitzvah is on the same day as the launch for your new product because you forgot to check your calendar, changing the date could mean that guest speakers won't make it or the hall you wanted is unavailable - tantamount to an absolute disaster. If your PR specialist has even one other client (and most do), you've just wasted a great deal of his/her time by making him or her have to go back and re-do much of the tasks already checked off of the "to-do" list.

Time is such a precious commodity. Assuming your PR specialist has more of it to burn than you do is not good. Thinking that way will lead to frustration and is a definite way to make him or her vow never to work with you again.

When you and your PR specialist sit down for your initial planing meeting, the first thing s/he will probably discuss with you is the date you had in mind. Be as specific as you can - then come up with a few tentative dates to work with. Pencil them ALL in, then check with everyone you need to (co-workers, spouses, bandmates, babysitters, et. al) to make sure those dates are actually free before you decide definitively on the event specifics. And if you sign off on a date and find out later that it absolutely will not work, let your PR team know as soon as humanly possible. Be sure to add lots and lots of apologies as well. There still may be quite a bit of freaking out, but a total salvage is much, much easier when more time to make adjustments is given.

But the best way to avoid the panic and scramble is to plan accordingly and check your calendar. An ounce of prevention most definitely beats a pound of cure in PR land.

Why You Need a Press Kit

As a journalist who has worked in the newspaper business for almost 30 years, I can share this secret with you:

Journalists are busy.

It's not that we don't want to spend hours upon hours researching and writing - it's just that we can't. Especially in today's economic climate - when newspapers seem to be cutting staff every day and expecting the remaining staff to do more with less - your friendly neighborhood reporter has a lot to do during the workday. Because of that, s/he will not have the luxury of time - to pick information out of you or keep calling you back for more materials or details about your event, opening, new release or show. So trust me when I tell you that it's in your best interest to give them what they need to tell the world about you before they ask for it - because phoning to ask you for photos or emailing to find out when your band first got together can eat up time that many journalists just don't have.

And that's exactly why a press kit can be a creative person's very best friend.

Back in the days before electronic communication, press kits were often these big, bulky and somewhat expensive to produce glossy folder-using things that had to be mailed out. The more stuff you put in them, the more it cost to get it to that newspaper or television/radio station. And once you got it there, you couldn't be sure it was even going to be seen by the person you needed to reach.

The WWW and the advent of email and other forms of electronic communication changed all that. Now, press kits can be parked on a website and accessed with a simple mouse click, saving the marketer a whole lot of time and expense.

So what should the new version of your press kit - your Electronic Press Kit (or EPK) - contain?

Although it can include almost anything, there are a few things it should most definitely have:

A photo of a website-based EPK

1.  A Bio - whatever information about you and your art you want the world to know about.
2. High-res (300 DPI or better) Photos - of not only you/your band but of your most recent project (like photos of your paintings, a cover of your new CD or book cover).
3. Links to your website and your work - musicians might include links to a Soundcloud page, where a writer might include links to her blog or sites where work is archived. 
4. Videos - If a picture is worth 1,000 words, the power of a good video is worth 10 times more. Don't be afraid to visually illustrate what you do.
5. Your contact information - it's important to let folks who might have a question, find out where you are next appearing or want to schedule an interview know how to reach you via email and phone.

Many contain more info - like fact sheets, past press coverage or even a press release, but all contain the above.

There are a number of websites that can help you set up (via template) or host your EPK, but it shouldn't cost you and arm and a leg to get yours done. If you are a strong writer (or know one who could help you out), it shouldn't cost you anything to get your EPK up and running. If you need assistance, drop us a line :-)