Today, of course, much of our social media is free or cheap: but many squander its social potential.

photo credit: Kevin Krejci

An iPhone, for example, is widely used by many young men in America. The iPhone can be used to spread critical messages, as well as organize and mobilize thousands of young people to fight social injustice. But today, one of the most popular iPhone apps is the iFart, a tool that makes noises of gastronomic distress.

Now that we have free media, how well are we using it to meet today’s valuable social objectives? If you know someone who’s doing little more than iFarting with their powerful communication tools, let’s take a paragraph from Steal This Book.

In one tiny paragraph, Hoffman outlines how to use the press conference for effective publicity. The paragraph, in its entirety, is in italics below. I broke up the paragraph with free images from Flickr, for your viewing enjoyment. The information is as valid today as it was over thirty-six years ago. Read on:

Everything about a successful press conference must be dramatic, from the announcements and phone calls to the statements themselves. Nothing creates a worse image than four or five men in business suits sitting behind a table and talking in a calm manner at a fashionable hotel. Constantly seek to have every detail of the press conference differ in style as well as content from the conferences of people in power.

photo credit: Andrew Feinberg

Make use of music and visual effects.

photo credit: Tiago Zaniratti

Don’t stiffen up before the press. Make the statement as short and to the point as possible. Don’t read from notes, look directly into the camera.

photo credit: ProgressOhio

The usual television spot is one minute and twenty seconds. The cameras start buzzing on your opening statement and often run out of film before you finish. So make it brief and action packed.

photo credit: Giant Ideas

The question period should be even more dramatic. Use the questioner’s first name when answering a question. This adds an air of informality and networks are more apt to use an answer directed personally to one of their newsmen.

photo credit: Menlo School

Express your emotional feelings. Be funny, get angry, be sad or ecstatic. If you cannot convey that you are deeply excited or troubled or outraged about what you are saying, how do you expect it of others who are watching a little image box in their living room?

photo credit: Lauren Murphy

Remember, you are advertising a new way of life to people. Watch TV commercials. See how they are able to convey everything they need to be effective in such a short time and limited space.

photo credit: Caveman 92223

At the same tune you’re mocking the shit they are pushing, steal their techniques.

photo credit: David Masters

In 2009, you will appreciate learning stealthy ways to get free and cheap stuff in America. And in the age of social media, you can definitely use free tips from an undisputed publicity master.

In what other ways is Hoffman’s Steal This Book relevant and helpful for your social media revolution?

Here’s something you should know about bloggers:

We’re not robots.  We’re real human beings!

Let me share something personal with you:

Sometimes, I step away from the computer. I wander about in nature, unfettered by email, IM, and cell phone.

Take this weekend, for example. A fine example of a March spring in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I went for a long and pleasant walk through an old forest.

Twice.

I went shopping for a birthday present for my dad. I visited with family. Enjoyed some laughs over cocktails.

And a friend and I ventured north of town to Frederick Meijer Gardens, to see the Butterflies are Blooming exhibit. Lovely!

I tell you this to demonstrate the humanity behind the bits and scripts that make up this blog.

Now, let’s contrast my weekend with my Monday morning. This morning, I sip my coffee and open up my blog dashboard for the first time in two days. I scan the comments. I approve some, but am chagrined to see 6 identical comments from a PR firm that represents a very promising software company with an interesting new product.

Now, had I seen the first comment on Saturday afternoon, I might have approved it. But six times in two days — with the same trying-too-hard message? Good thing I stepped away from my blog for a few days! I might have let the first comment slide by out of pity!

I had to tell Askimet that the comments were all spam. And, of course, I won’t review the software.

I suspect that a number of other bloggers received the same shoddy treatment from this PR firm.  Instead of garnering positive publicity by developing a relationship with a blogger, the PR firm chose to comment spam me. This firm did their client a great disservice.

In fact, comment spamming is PR malpractice. It destroys relationships. And it seriously damages the potential for developing powerful third-party testimonials.

Contrast this PR approach with another software firm that approached me last week. Their marketing guy sent me a short email, telling me that he reads my blog and that his software might be of interest to my readers. He tells me (briefly!) what his software does, points me to his firm’s site, and gives me his complete contact information, including email and phone number.

Now, this sounds like a real human being! And he seems to appreciate that I, too, am a human! Because his email is courteous and professional, I visit his site. Intrigued by his product and his pitch, I write to tell him I am interested in reviewing his product. He responds that he will send me the software via FedEx.

As promised, his software arrived via FedEx this Monday morning — just as I was informing Askimet of the other PR firm’s blog spam.  Ah, sweet juxtaposition!

I’m a blogger who likes celebrating butterflies and birthdays. I appreciate conversations.  I nurture my human relationships. I want to see good people with good products succeed.

PR firms – please realize that blogs are more than bits and bots.

Blogs are opportunities for starting the conversations that can build valuable, human relationships.

Please respect my humanity, as I respect yours!

Here are your top 6 most frequently asked questions about PR boilerplates, along with my lightning fast answers:

Question 1: What’s a press release boilerplate? The boilerplate is a brief paragraph at the end of a press release that describes the company. It usually follows the bold words About Insert-Company-Name-Here.

Question 2: Why is it called a boilerplate? This little paragraph gets stamped onto the end of every press release the company sends without change — just like an old-fashioned, um, boilerplate.

Question 3: Can I search engine optimize my boilerplate? Probably not. Two important factors in search engine optimization are prominence and originality. Since the boilerplate is at the end, it’s not prominent. And since the boilerplate is duplicated on every release, it’s not original content.

Question 4: What should I put in my boilerplate? Just the facts, ma’am. Stick to who you are, what you make, what service you provide, how long you’ve been in business, if you’re public or private, and maybe a unique selling proposition. Keep it under 100 words. Under 50 is even better.
Question 5: What should I avoid in my boilerplate? Jargon. Corporate speak. Gobbledegoo. Laundry lists of products and awards. Puffery. Testimonials. Insufferable, long-winded bragging.

Question 6: Do you have a good boilerplate for writing a boilerplate? Get out of here, you! No boilerplates for boilerplates, but do take a look at examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly boilerplates to get some of your juices flowing. And look at your competitors’ boilerplates — try not to sound exactly like them.

You are trying to highlight your uniqueness, after all!

Here are your top 6 most frequently asked questions about PR boilerplates, along with my lightning fast answers:

Question 1: What’s a press release boilerplate? The boilerplate is a brief paragraph at the end of a press release that describes the company. It usually follows the bold words About Insert-Company-Name-Here.

Question 2: Why is it called a boilerplate? This little paragraph gets stamped onto the end of every press release the company sends without change — just like an old-fashioned, um, boilerplate.

Question 3: Can I search engine optimize my boilerplate? Probably not. Two important factors in search engine optimization are prominence and originality. Since the boilerplate is at the end, it’s not prominent. And since the boilerplate is duplicated on every release, it’s not original content.

Question 4: What should I put in my boilerplate? Just the facts, ma’am. Stick to who you are, what you make, what service you provide, how long you’ve been in business, if you’re public or private, and maybe a unique selling proposition. Keep it under 100 words. Under 50 is even better.
Question 5: What should I avoid in my boilerplate? Jargon. Corporate speak. Gobbledegoo. Laundry lists of products and awards. Puffery. Testimonials. Insufferable, long-winded bragging.

Question 6: Do you have a good boilerplate for writing a boilerplate? Get out of here, you! No boilerplates for boilerplates, but do take a look at examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly boilerplates to get some of your juices flowing. And look at your competitors’ boilerplates — try not to sound exactly like them.

You are trying to highlight your uniqueness, after all!

“Oh — so going viral — that’s a good thing? I thought computer viruses were bad things,” remarked a client.

Good point!

In my industry, we often say “viral marketing” and expect our audiences to understand that “going viral” is a good thing. By “going viral” in a good way, I mean that you are working to make your great ideas spread like viruses.

There must be a better metaphor for rapidly spreading a good idea. Linking good ideas to infections and disease is probably not optimal phrasing!

So tell me — what is a better metaphor than “going viral?”

And what can we do to make our new phrase spread like, um, wildfire? (Darn apocolyptic metaphors!)

How about “Ideas that spread like sweet, satisfying, and nutritious peanut butter?”

Instead of viral marketing, we could tout “peanut butter marketing”.

What do you say? Will peanut butter marketing, um, stick? 

To mark the occasion, he wrote a press release and distributed it on PRWeb for $80.

Throughout December, his company was featured on CNN, CNBC, RedHerring, The Christian Science Monitor, as well as a few other news outlets.

My prospect acknowledged that all the main stream media attention was nice and well worth $80 — but that he would rather get a great post on a few niche security blogs — “or on Slashdot or some other site that understands my customers better.”

My prospective client is absolutely right. CNN gave him visitors: but few buyers.

A few years ago, I had a client sniff with disdain when the Wall Street Journal published excerpts of a press release I wrote for his launch. “Our customers and prospects don’t read the Wall Street Journal,” he said.

He was right, too.

Main stream media traffic and attention does not convert to sales nearly as well as highly targeted traffic.

For many small online businesses, “Small(er) and niched” publicity trumps “Big and General” publicity.

“Big and General” can feed your ego.

But “Small and Niched” can feed your family.

Here are three insights into why “Small” is the new “Big”:

• In yesterday’s post, Seth Godin notes that David stones Goliath, or, er, that Joe Schmo’s blog can wallop BIG Media when it comes to contextual advertising. It is not much of an intuitive leap to recognize that contextual publicity will also draw and retain better prospects than general publicity will.
• In last week’s post, Chris Anderson at the Long Tail blog notes that niched brands are winning customer hearts and minds – far more so than big brands. It is a growing trend: like many, I would rather sport something unique (a vegetarian shoe or a hand-crafted amethyst ring) than something that I associate with sweatshop/slavery (a Nike shoe or a diamond).
• And of course, inbound links (IBLs) from targeted, niched sites with lots of authority and Page Rank are extremely important for getting great positioning at the search engines — for the keyword terms that matter the most to your clients.

CNN is nice. Getting on Oprah is terrific.

But if you own a growing businesses, focus your publicity efforts on the smaller, niched sites that acutely target the interests of your best prospects and clients.

Each press release was a formatting nightmare.

I cannot ignore the coincidence of three bad press release formats in a week!

So it must be time for a quick refesher course in
“How to format a winning press release.”

The press release format is a simple template. Warning: do not mess with the standard press release template! This is no place to get creative!

Instead, apply your creativity to your press release content, but do not mess with the layout!

Getting goofy with your press release template is not only unprofessional, it does not make a good impression with the people you want to read your release (yourcustomers, as well as reporters and editors). If you want them to take you seriously, write your content using a professional format.

Here are the basic press release template items:

• Company logo
• Contact name
• Contact phone / email / fax / cell
• Date of release (usually ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE’)
• Main headline
• Sub head
• Date and Dateline
• Body of press release
• At least one relevant quote
• Company boilerplate statement
• ###
• Call to action

That’s about it! You can get creative with your headlines, subheads, body, quote, and boilerplate. But stay within the template, and you will have a much better chance of getting positive results.

For the past few months, she has brought up “how to get on Oprah” as if it were the cornerstone tactic in her overall publicity strategy.

However, merely “getting on Oprah” is a terrible goal.

And as far as dreams go, it is extremely limited.

Dream bigger. There’s a much bigger, better dream than sitting on Oprah’s sofa. 

How about this for a bigger, better dream: build a fantastic product, service, method, story, and brand. Make your story and product so unique and compelling that you feel excited about what you offer. Build a diverse marketing plan. Identify your niche audiences. Get into fascinating, public conversations with your clients, who become raving fans of your products and help you spread your story….

…so that when Oprah calls to ask if you would like to be on her show, you can deliberate whether her mass audience of stay-at-home and working moms who make under $20,000 per year is really the right niche for you and your carefully crafted message.

“Getting on Oprah” is a very small dream, indeed.

Dream bigger.

Oprah would want you to.

Remember, reputation is key to corporate valuation. How is social media affecting your corporate reputation….and ultimately, your brand value?

Sadly, most corporations do not pay attention to social media until it negatively impacts them. But it is 2007, and Gartner predicts that blogging and community contributors will peak during the first half of this year. (In December, I predicted the same. Time will tell…)

If you DO NOT have a Social Media policy in place, how do you intend to ethically and effectively engage with the co-creators of your brand? After all, your company does NOT own your brand.

Not completely.

So who defines your brand?

In 2007, your customers and your prospects actively participate in your brand. They help define it. And they use a variety of social media: YouTube, SlideShare, MySpace, Friendster, FaceBook, Digg, Blogs, etc… to collaborate on your brand, reputation, and image. What do these sites look like? What are their demographics? And how does social media impact your brand?

Given the popularity of social media, your brand’s co-creators are amplifying their input into your reputation. How do you intend to ethically engage your brand fans….and handle brand detractors?

How well do you foster online conversations with your brand co-creators? Do you create a forum for customers to co-innovate and share feedback? Or does your company use an iron fist to try to control the conversation?

If there is an amplified negative comment, how well do you embrace criticism in social media outlets? Will you learn how to effectively answer online objections…or will you be defensive and belittling to your potential customers? In 2006, we often saw that corporate responses to negative comments were perceived as more negative than what was actually said in the first place!

Are you keeping an eye on what people are saying about your company? You should know that online conversations are taking place about your organization. And they’re getting louder every day. Be aware of what bloggers are saying about you. After all, main stream media reporters read blogs, you know. Wouldn’t it be better to address a molehill before it becomes a mountain? (And even if main stream media did not read blogs….know that the bloggers themselves wield enormous power.)

It’s 2007. Form a social media policy, pronto…before it’s too late!

• Understand the potential impact of social media on your brand.
• Address how you are going to ethically and effectively engage fans and detractors.
• Learn from last year’s mistakes: avoid common corporate pitfalls.

(If you need help, give me a jingle…I take the “coach approach” to forming corporate policy.)

Yesterday, I posted my 8-slide “2007 PowerPoint Predictions” presentation at Slideshare.net. In it, I predict the top 6 Web 2.0-inspired design trends that you will see in corporate PowerPoint presentations this year.

Today, this little presentation made the front page “Popular” column at Slideshare.

So just for the moment, my presentation is a wee bit trendy!

You can view the presentation at Slideshare. (Post your own PowerPoint presentation, too. It took me about 3 -5 minutes to upload the one you see. Easy. And free.)

And you can post your comments and rebuttals to the show at my PowerPoint blog.

So let me ask you this: how is RSS, tagging, Web 2.0, and social media going to affect the way you share ideas and win attention this year?