Why @StacyCowley at @CNNMoney is #FollowFriday Worthy
July 15, 2011 by Liz
Filed under #FollowFriday
“A Relapsed Tech Journalist (I’m CNNMoney’s tech editor), Itinerant Personal-finance Blogger, General Literary Roustabout”
Our #FollowFriday-worthy recommendation this week is Stacy Cowley, tech editor and writer for CNNMoney, where she also oversees the site’s daily coverage of the industry’s top companies, personalities and events.
You will love this dynamo’s posts on CNN. Stacy not only covers the tech and biz world. When she’s not posting a thought-provoking article on CNNMoney pages, you will find her sharing her IMs on CNNMoney’s Tech Tumbler (one of the most entertaining and interesting pages within the CNN website).
And once in a while, you will also find one of Stacy’s foodie ramblings on CNN’s Eatocracy page.
This versatile writer began covering the tech world during the dot-com days for Silicon Alley Reporter, and served as a New York-based correspondent for IDG News and CRN Magazine. Stacy’s writing have appeared at publications including the Village Voice, Baltimore Sun, Bookslut and Edible Brooklyn.
Today, in addition to her work as editor at CNNMoney, Stacy also posts personal blogs at various websites.
Read more
PR in Your Pajamas Close Out Sale!
July 14, 2011 by Elena
Filed under What Is PR and How Do You Get It
I’ve been thinking about my business a lot lately. So far, I’m really happy with the way things have been going. Business is growing faster than I can sometimes handle — and that’s a good thing.
However, it’s clear I need to prune some areas of my biz in order to let the other areas grow even more.
And so, I have decided to retire two of my products: How to Do Your Own PR: A Guide for Small Businesses and Social Media for Beginners: Generating Online Buzz.
Before I take them off the shelves, I’d like to give you the opportunity to buy them — at a huge discount.
From today until Friday, July 15, 2011, you can purchase How to Do Your Own PR and Social Media for Beginners for only $47 each.
That’s $150 off the regular price!
If you’re interested, grab these today, because after July 15, they will no longer be available — at any price.
Click here to check out this massive sale.
Or click on the ecovers below:
Remember, these products will disappear after midnight this Friday, July 15. So don’t wait!
How to avoid being a #hashtagfail
July 13, 2011 by admin
Filed under Social Media
The internet was abuzz last week over the latest hashtag fail: Entenmann’s, an American baked goods company, committed a Twitter faux pas when it decided to use the right hashtag at the wrong time:
As #notguilty was a trending hashtag being used in direct relation to the Casey Anthony trial, Entenmann’s landed itself in a PR firestorm after this tweet. The company has since apologized and claimed the hashtag use was unintentional; however, many accused Entenmann’s of taking advantage of a serious situation to advertise its products. Only time will tell how badly this tweet will affect Entenmann’s. Read more
Why @amyleefloats of @HuffingtonPost is #FollowFriday Worthy
July 1, 2011 by Liz
Filed under Entrepreneurs
Out-of-the-Box Blogger of Technology Ins and Outs
Our #FollowFriday-worthy recommendation this week is Amy Lee who blogs for The Huffington Post. Her one-line bio at the publication says, “Amy Lee writes for the Huffington Post about tech, and other things.” Yes, she does write about tech and other things — MANY other things!
Since December of 2010, Amy has been writing about technology from many angles. She blogs about new products that are noteworthy and occasionally shares technology user studies.
One thing I love about Amy is that she blogs about the how’s and why’s of technology companies and their actions in the market and towards their own products and unique technologies. It’s an enlightening perspective, which allows you to think deeper into the way business is handled in the technology and electronic world.
Amy also keeps tabs on the industry executives’ shifts and moves. She often writes about their new posts and explains their new take on companies they have joined or moved from.
Earlier this year the Huffington Post’s Tech Section also began a segment called “Socialized,” which features new social startups, from apps to services to websites – every day. Here Amy contributes almost on a daily basis where she discusses the app or product in the easiest format to digest, with headings like “What it is,” “How it works,” “Why you’d use it,” and “How to get it.” It’s always fun to wait and see what will be her next feature.
Read more
The Art of Enchanting Your Professional Crush
June 21, 2011 by Elena
Filed under What Is PR and How Do You Get It
Yes, we all have them.
A professional crush is someone who is brilliant and you admire a lot (sometimes from afar). You want to follow in their footsteps. You’d love to pick their brains all day. You will do anything to work on a project with them.
For years now, one of my professional crushes has been Guy Kawasaki, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Apple evangelist and marketing guru. I first met and wrote about Guy in 2007 when he was speaking about his book The Art of the Start – a start-up bootstrapper’s bible that I still refer my clients to.
Like real-life crushes, throughout the years, my path would cross with Guy’s – close, but not quite close enough:
- My friend Ria Sharon hosted a “virtual pajama party” as a fundraiser and I was on the same “virtual stage” as Guy and Lewis Howes.
- When I started my blog two years ago with just four posts and a Twitter following of maybe a hundred, Guy tweeted about me and one of his followers contacted me to work for his company. Talk about social media power.
- And more recently, Guy was interviewed by Maruxa Murphy and she mentioned to him that she first heard about him from me.
Like real-life crushes, I’m sure Guy still didn’t know me from the 365,000 followers he currently has on Twitter.
When I found out he was coming to Vancouver for an event, I thought about buying a ticket, but that wouldn’t differentiate me from the hundreds of people there. I wanted to stand out.
So I set out to enchant my professional crush from what I’ve learned from his books and speeches. Here’s what Guy says about Enchantment and how I, in turn, implemented it:
Read more
10 Elements of A Social Media Policy for Your Company
June 15, 2011 by Elena
Filed under Social Media
Your business needs a social media policy.
Let me illustrate why:
Many of our clients at Cross Border PR embrace social media wholeheartedly. One in particular, is a service provider with $20M in revenue.
One day, the CEO attended a conference call with one of their clients, where it was announced that their client company’s president was retiring. Because there were several hundred people on that call, my client’s CEO felt it was ok to tweet about it. And he did. To all 200 of his followers.
Lo and behold, the CEO was shocked and embarrassed when he got a call from his client. Apparently, what he tweeted was not public knowledge. His innocent little tweet had set off a chain reaction, which turned into a PR situation for his client. As a result, this CEO got his hand slapped for leaking something confidential.
Was the CEO at fault?
What should he have done?
What could his client have done to avoid the leak in the first place?
The answers lie in a social media policy.
Read more
#FollowFriday @Jacob_Gordon of @Treehugger
June 3, 2011 by Elena
Filed under #FollowFriday
A Green Force in Social Media
Our #FollowFriday recommendation this week is Jacob Gordon, social media expert, green-tech writer and blogger, and host of TreeHugger Radio.
Jacob interviews thought leaders, opinion influencers, and pioneers in the world of green technology, environment conservation and other areas of eco-consciousness. Listen to his radio series to discover people who are making provocative contributions in green advocacy. An example is Isabella Rosellini, who’s been making “Green Porno,” a series of short films about the sex life of bugs and other animals.
He also edits Treehugger.com’s series of guides on “How to Green Your Life,” bringing the conversation down to the level of lay people. The series covers greening all aspects of daily life, such as cars and transportation, eating, beauty and fashion, home design, school, travel, gift giving and celebrations.
The 7 G’s That Maximize Your Presence At Live Events
In the two and a half years since I’ve been active on social networks, I’ve met a ton of really interesting and influential people. I love online networking and it works really well for me as an entrepreneur running a virtual business.
However, I’ve been attending more live events and conferences recently and networking in person because I really love meeting new people.
Even if you’re not the host, a speaker or an exhibitor at the event, here are simple ways you can have fun, make an impact and maximize your presence -– and therefore the business opportunities coming your way.
Why @StartUpPro of @Forbes is #FollowFriday Worthy
May 20, 2011 by Liz
Filed under #FollowFriday
Every Start-up Entrepreneur’s Angel and Mentor
Our #FollowFriday recommendation this week is Martin Zwilling, aka @StartUpPro on Twitter.
Martin is a contributor to Forbes.com’s “Startup Professionals Musings” blog, where Martin discusses the many topics that cover the business of startups and entrepreneurship.
When I began following him late last year, he had been sharing valuable business advice to a large online audience of over 220,000 Twitter followers. Today, that following has grown to over 300,000.
I first discovered Martin within the Forbes.com business pages, but later learned Martin also writes a daily blog from his own site. To boot, his posts are published at respectable business sites such as the Harvard Business Review, Business Insider and the Huffington Post!
Martin is definitely a prolific writer who’s passionate about topics related to building businesses, management, and funding various endeavors.
109 Ways to Make Your Business Irresistible to the Media
May 17, 2011 by Elena
Filed under What Is PR and How Do You Get It
This post was first published in Copyblogger.com. My friend Patrick Garmoe, a former reporter, wrote this piece and received permission for us to reprint it here. Enjoy!
Ever wonder why some businesses get press and some don’t? Getting a mainstream media outlet to pay attention to your business seems like an impossible-to-solve mystery.
You might see your competitors spouting a diatribe that you know for a fact is wrong, or that you could explain better.
“Why did they interview that guy instead of me?” you wonder.
Actually, it’s not you. 99 times out of 100, it’s not your qualifications, your knowledge, or your ability.
It’s your approach.
After 10 years as a journalist, I’ve seen just about every bad pitch you can imagine. And I’ve also come up with 109 foolproof ways to entice the media in your city to highlight your business — approaches that make the mainstream media unable to resist you.
(And lots of them work just as well with bloggers and social media influencers.)
And more 
