Next week is an exciting week in the world of the web for Ireland with the inaugural Irish Web Technology Conference 2008 (IWTC 2008) organised by IrishDev.com in association with the Python Ireland, Ruby Ireland, Microsoft Technology, Dublin Java & PHP User Groups and First Port Jobs.

IWTC 2008 is an event by the Irish web community for the Irish web community and will brings nearly 50 experts and internationally renowned speakers together to discuss latest trends and emerging technologies.

There is an extensive agenda as the event takes place over 4 days starting on Tuesday 26 February 2008.

I’ll be speaking on Friday 29 February at 9.15 am on “the New Rules Of Brand Engagement”, discussing how to leverage the potential of the Internet to build our reputation and create communities of loyal fans and brand advocates.

I will share case studies of how smart companies are using “word of mouse” marketing, nurturing relationships online with customers and challenging the old traditions of marketing.

Be sure to take advantage of booking online as you will save €56.00 by pre-registering online (on the day entrance to IWTC is €245.00).

Did you find this article helpful? Then please share it!

In the course of hosting social media workshops to support your corporate brand, your employer brand and your internal brand strategy, I always like to ensure that we finish the session with an action plan for the next 90 days.

Included in the action plan are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Results orientated and Time bound) goals.

This enables the CEO or executive who has decided to implement the social media marketing programme to track the performance and impact.

There are a number of specific objectives you can establish in terms of hard metrics however in the majority of workshops and mentoring programmes in Ireland and the UK at the moment that I am facilitating, the teams are just getting to grips with social media marketing so some alternative qualitative measures are also required.

Jeremiah Owyang recently wrote a really helpful article on the subject of why your social media plan should have success metrics which i recommend that you check out.

Here is my take on what some of the qualitative measures are for one PR company I was working with recently who are building their knowledge of social media for their own practice and also to apply to their client’s PR plans - this is what they will be reviewing their 90 day action plan against:

• We were able to learn something about client X we were not aware of before
• We learnt how to share information about our client’s products or services with others through social media and they shared it with others
• We have determined which clients it may be appropriate to develop a blogger and podcaster outreach programme for
• We were able to explain to our clients how social media PR could support their communications and reputation management programme
• We have identified the online forums and communitites that would be relevant for client X to connect with
• We enabled our clients to connect with a new/existing customers and began a conversation with them through social media
• We guided our clients to learn something from their customers/clients that they were not aware of previously
• We have identified a strategy for how we can integrate social media into the reputation and crisis management plan for our clients
• We have written Y number of social media press releases and have identified the outcome of those social media press releases in relation to being visible in the search engines and the traffic it generated to the client’s website
• We have a plan for how to integrate social media to support the building of the reputation of our company with our ideal clients.

Do you agree that you should have measures for your social media marketing programme even in the early stages? What would you include as measures?

Did you find this article helpful? Then please share it!

So you have your data base of clients and prospects which you nurture and develop over time. But have you as valuable a list of your media contacts?
 
Your media database is a critical part of your business development toolkit and includes contacts in traditional and new media - people who can assist you in extending your reach and with whom you develop relationships over time so that when you have a media release ready about your new product, service or even book, you have a community of people you can connect with.
 
Think of it this way – if you were in public relations, your media database would be the life blood of your business.
 
So what details should you keep in your media database? Here are the 12 data fields you should retain about each of your media contacts:
 
1. Name
 
2. Who they work for – including if they are on staff or are freelance
 
3. Their work address

4. Their business email address

5. Their business or personal blog url
 
6. Their landline and mobile number

7. Their field of interest and expertise

8. Details of any personal projects they are involved in – for example one journalist I know has a private art gallery and really appreciates it when I refer people to him
 
9.  Notes on how they like to receive information
 
10. A record of what you have spoken to them about and details of when you were featured in their article or show
 
11. Who referred you to them or how you connected originally
 
12. Mutual business contacts, hobbies and interests.

Make sure that you retain details of any projects you speak to you media contact about including the dates when you last connected and the outcome of that connection.
 
Your media contacts should include reporters, editors, radio and TV researchers, publicists, and even ‘A list’ bloggers and podcasters as our media connections today can and should cross traditional and social media.
 
You can build you list of media contacts by reviewing newspapers and journals which are read by your target audience, researching radio and TV stations, online publications and using Google news alerts.

Remember that your media database should be a living document, as in today’s fast changing world of the media, many of the key points of contact are often working on a freelance basis and move from one media outlet or project to another.
 
Your relationship with one person in the media can also impact the chances of you working with other contacts. For example, if you demonstrate that you are not a great radio guest on one show, you can be sure that the show host or researcher will let other people in their industry know to give you a wide steer.
 
Do not forget the number one rule of networking applies to the media too, not just your business contacts. Be generous in your support to help your media contacts do their job and they will help you too. Make sure that they know you can connect them to your personal network when they have a story that has to go to press quickly or they need a spokes person on a specific subject?
 
Get yourself known as a connector and you can be sure that your media contacts will help you connect to great media opportunities too.
 
© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “How To Be A Media Magnet”.

Did you find this article helpful? Then please share it!

So you are thinking about launching a podcast to connect to prospects and attract more clients. But how do you make sure that you deliver content that will be relevant and seen as of value?

Here are 7 rules of podcasting to generate more leads, more clients and more profits:

1. RESEARCH YOUR MARKET

Review other podcasts in your niche and providing content for your target market. What appeals to you about the structure of the podcast and the content that you know your listeners would find compelling? What ideas does that give you for your podcast so that you will be differentiated from your competition?

2. DETERMINE YOUR REVENUE MODEL

Are you going to offer all of your podcast available at no cost; or perhaps you plan to provide a shorter version for no cost and make the extended version available as an information product that you sell as individual recordings or bundle together in a membership community? Determining your revenue model is an important early step when determining a profitable podcast strategy.

3. KEEP YOUR CALL TO ACTION SIMPLE

If you decide to promote your programmes, products and services in your podcast make sure that you provide compelling and valuable content in your podcast which then will entice your listeners to purchase your information product.

Making the content too much of a sales pitch will make sure that your podcast community will not grow.

4. MAKE YOUR PODCAST EASY TO ACCESS

With the majority of people accessing podcasts through websites and blogs rather than iTunes, make it easy for people to either stream the podcast and listen to it with at their PC or download it to their computer.

5. ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK

Make it easy for your listeners to get engaged with your podcast. This may be by leaving messages on an audio line, posting their feedback at your podcast site, joining your podcast Facebook group or even dropping you an email.

Take time in each show to refer to your listeners messages, answer their questions and thank them for being part of your community.

6. FIND A GREAT TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

If you want to learn the ins and outs of podcasting, then seek out a great programme which will help you get off the ground faster than searching out all the resources yourself.

Alternatively, find a technology partner who will manage the recording, editing and publishing of your podcast so that you only have to focus on the recording schedule and content.

7. PROMOTE YOUR PODCAST

Make sure that you let people know you produce a podcast and what they can look forward to in the content. Use traditional and new media outlets along side word of mouth strategies online and offline to promote your podcast. Then track your subscribers through tools such as Feedburner and enjoy seeing your podcast community grow.

THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH’ ACTION STEPS

Podcasting is a great way to deliver valuable content to your ideal clients, employees and other stakeholders and business partners.

Consider how you can include podcasts in your marketing and communications plan then

Remember that just like article marketing where you can re-purpose your articles into other information products, your podcasts could help generate interest in your products and services, can be re-purposed into a live event, be transcribed to become chapters of your book or repacked into a CD home study programme if you leverage them appropriately.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

If you want to discover how to create your own information product empire from white papers to audio programmes, join me for the “PASSION FOR PRODUCTS” series of teleseminars starting on September 24, 2007.

And why not join me on Kilkenny on the 29 September 2007 at PodCamp Ireland if you want to learn more about podcasting, blogging and new media at Ireland first ever PodCamp?

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s home study programme “Marketing On A Shoestring Budget”.

Did you find this article helpful? Then please share it!

As you position yourself as the expert in your field and grow your business you will get sought out by clients, joint venture partners and the media.

You can be sure that one of the first things they will do is do an online reference check. in other words they will “Google” you to check your reputation and the credibility of your personal brand online.

How confident are you when someone searches your website or reviews your offline marketing materials? Do they fully express your expertise? Are they “on brand”?

How comprehensive and impactful is your online media kit? If journalists or researchers take a look at your website, do your online marketing materials make it easy for them to connect with you and make their job easier so they will want to do business with you time and again?

Developing a professional and comprehensive media kit both online and in the traditional printed offline format is important for anyone who is looking to position themselves as an expert in their field. But where do you begin? And what should you include?

These are some of the questions we will be covering in our next “Biz Growth Live” call with media expert Shannon Cherry of Cherry Communications.

Your media kit is an often an overlooked element of your marketing collateral but one that can help you build your personal brand and stand out from the crowd.

If you would like to ensure that your media kit expresses your expertise and credibility, be sure to join me for the next “Biz Growth Live” teleseminar - remember it’s free to join and takes place at 1pm ET/6pm Dublin and London on Monday 18 June 2007.

All you have to do is register online.

Did you find this article helpful? Then please share it!