Do Flyers still Fly?

Back in college, the kiosks that were scattered around campus were never large enough to hold all the flyers; these flyers announced everything from the latest showing of Rocky Horror to a chorus recital. Often, there were either enough flyers pinned up that students could take one, or there were perforated cut-outs at the bottom.

But – are flyers still relevant?

I can’t remember the last time that I took home a flyer – it’s just more paper that I need to recycle. I also can’t remember the last time that I printed out a flyer. Instead, I put the address and the time of where I need to go into my smart phone’s calendar.

If you choose to create a flyer, remember that it should not be your only PR vehicle. Keep in mind:

• Don’t spend too much time on the design. Remember that it’s probably a throw-away.
• Don’t spend too little time on the design. If you will go to the trouble to produce a flyer, it should do its job: catch your audience’s attention. In a good way.
• Don’t involve too many people in the design process. Just like usability studies and website design, everyone will have an opinion – and they may even be contradictory.
• Don’t use small or unreadable type or colors.

A well-designed flyer can add a spirit of fun.

• Do include the important information –the time, the place, and a number or e-mail or website link for more information.
• Do include graphics. If you have branding, make sure it’s visible to show affiliation with your organization.
• Do be creative. Try using a business card format instead of a large paper flyer. It is easy for your audience to take it with them and place into their business card holder.

The last thing you want is for your flyer to be turned into a paper airplane!

Putting the "Public" back in "Public Relations"

I started out this blog by saying, “If we build it, they will come – but only if they know where to find it!”

Not only do you want to make your club stand out – if you hide your PR efforts, how will members and potential members find out about you and what’s new in your club, Area, Division and District?

Case in point: the other day, I saw the hard copy of a club newsletter being passed out to members and guests. While I had provided input into that newsletter, it was never published – at least, not to my knowledge! When I inquired, I was told, “It’s on our website, there’s a “newsletters” link.”

So I checked. On the club’s home page, there was a link to a 2-year-old newsletter. Unfortunately, that sends the wrong message – I know this club to be a very active one, but given the outdated newsletter, potential guests would probably not have that impression. On the side, the standard navigation provided by FreeToastHost for Toastmasters club websites, there was a link for, “Available Downloads” – and bingo, the newsletter was there. After logging on, of course.

Had I not been on the committee and on the lookout for the newsletter, how would I have known that a newsletter had been published? How do I know when to check for a newsletter, especially if it is multiple clicks away?

Do I need to develop ESP?

Public relations is about getting the word out, not hiding it.

If you have published a news item – a newsletter, article, press release, video, you name it, part of public relations is to let everyone know it’s out there.

• Let the members know when a news item comes out. Send out an e-mail – with an attachment, or with a link!
• Having archives of old newsletters that are protected is good for privacy and for club history. Having the current issue on the Home page of the Web is good for PR.
• If you have a social media presence – tell everyone the news item is available! You need to publicize that presence to be able to use it for PR.

PR should never be the best-kept secret of a club’s activities. Make your message easy to find – not the result of a lengthy scavenger hunt!

Here's My Card

Business cards are not just for business anymore.

Individuals now have a multitude of business cards. I currently have two – one is my corporate card, the other is for one of my personal passions: my role as speaker and Public Relations Officer for District 4 Toastmasters.

The idea originated when I saw many other Toastmasters hand out their company business cards – but before handing it out, they crossed out their business contact information and scribbled their Toastmasters e-mail and personal phone number onto the card. In addition to a misuse of company resources, I often have trouble reading the handwriting of the “correct” information!

Printing up a Toastmasters-specific business card is a form of “passive PR” that highlights your affiliation, and may just get that next guest to ask you about the organization.

If you want to print a card for you as a Toastmaster, consider the following:

• Keep it up-to-date. If you change your e-mail address or phone number or start a new blog – print a new card! If you receive a new Toastmasters educational level, such as an Advanced Communicator or become a Distinguished Toastmaster, update your card just as you would if you received a new title in your corporation.
• Add a portrait. If you have ever been to a conference, you will likely have stared at more than one card afterwards, wondering to whom that card belongs. If you include a portrait of yourself, that jogs the recipient’s memory! I recently changed my hairstyle – drastically – and immediately updated my card to reflect the new look!
• Respect the branding. Just as you should not change your corporate logo, do not change the Toastmasters branding. If you choose to use Toastmasters International branding, do not modify the logo. I chose to use the District 4 branding that represents our geographic location by highlighting San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Monterey – and when we rolled out the updated branding, I printed up new cards!
• Do not stretch photos. If you use photos for the back of your business card – such as the 3-photo series of the District 4 branding – the format of the photo does not match the size of a business card, do not stretch just the height or just the width. Instead, add a white border to match the dimensions of the card, but still keep the photo dimensions, or aspect ratio, intact.
• Keep it targeted. Just like a resume, a business card should be targeted. I’ve seen cards that tout the person as a speaker, author, photographer producer, host, coach and trainer. Well, which is it? As a photographer, I would print portfolio photos on the reverse side. As an author, I would highlight my publications. As a host or producer, mention the show(s). The “all things to all people” approach is out of style, for resumes as well as business cards, even in Toastmasters.
• Use business cards to promote your club or event. To promote your club as a whole, consider printing business cards just for your club, not for you individually. The “club card” should include your club name, meeting location, website, and meeting day/time. Distribute them to members, leave a stack of cards at local businesses for promotion, or hand them out to prospective members or guests.

I have made three updates to my Toastmasters business card this past year, using moo.com, to update my portrait and – admittedly, since I took the photos – the District 4 branding. I even keep my corporate and Toastmasters business cards in two separate business card holders to help keep me organized.

Above all, when it comes to using business cards as a PR tool – don’t pass up any opportunities to pass them out!

Do You “Like” Me?

“Being social” used to mean going out to socialize, to meet with friends for activities ranging from coffee to dinner to parties to trips.

Social media takes the conversation online.

Social PR means using social media beyond e-mails, to seek a two-way dialog and to encourage collaboration between individuals. Social media does not replace existing PR, or even existing websites. It complements the more traditional one-way web and e-mail mechanisms, and provides an outlet for continuous dialog.

Where to Meet?

There are many different places, or platforms, where you can meet with other like-minded individuals. Wikipedia’s list of social networking sites contains information about many of these platforms, but new ones are emerging every day. Some have a specific stated focus – LinkedIn positions itself as a business networking site, although it has begun to allow the posting of a personal status. For other sites, you need to be “in the know” – for example, where Facebook and MySpace were once rivals, Facebook has emerged as the “winner” by the numbers when it comes to “friendship” networks, while MySpace now focuses primarily on entertainment content, which is good news if you are in a band.

Especially if you are just starting out, choose 1-2 platforms, no more than three. To choose the appropriate channels, consider:

• Where is your audience already playing online? It is unlikely that a member will join yet another social media platform just for you. Make it easy for them to find you.
• What is the purpose of your social media effort? Is it to connect members and engage in conversation (consider Facebook), is it to post videos and photographs (consider YouTube, Vimeo, Blip, Picasa, Flickr), is it to ask each other questions and generate discussions (consider LinkedIn and blogs with comment posts).

What to Say?

Social media is a quick way to get information to people in your network – and you can include links to your website, photos, quick reminders and member accomplishments.

If you are starting out on more than one channel, if you are simply duplicating content on all of them, then there is little point to encouraging members to join all channels. In District 4 Toastmasters, we have chosen the following:

• Facebook for announcements of events and accomplishments and sharing of personal photos
• LinkedIn to show membership to the organization in the profile, and within the group to provide advice to members, from how to best run speech contests to an informal “speaker exchange,” for example as test speakers for contests
• Video and photos from “official” District 4 channels are provided for download are shared on YouTube, Blip (for longer videos), and Picasa

Becoming Popular

As an organization, you will need to kick-start the conversation when you are just starting out in social media. It is unrealistic to think that you can create a social media channel four weeks prior to a large event, and then use that channel to promote that event. You first need to build a critical mass of followers and fans.

It takes a while for word to get out about your social media presence. Publicize it by embedding links to your social media channels on your website, include links in your e-mail signatures, and highlight quick links in each and every newsletter and communication.

Make sure that you are also soliciting responses. Compare the social media conversation with a normal, one-on-one conversation. If you post a one-liner, you may get a smile (or even a “like” on Facebook), but it’s not a conversation. Ask open-ended questions – and, to stack the bar, solicit a few friends to comment on that question online.

Above all, don’t give up. Even Facebook did not build a following overnight – it still took 6 years to reach 500 million users!

Get a Hook - Then Real Them In!

Read me!

If those two words were your entire subject line, many recipients would probably delete it, thinking it is spam. But how else do you motivate someone to read your entire e-mail?

Think about the newspaper style – the first short paragraph should answer all the relevant questions about an event: who, what, when, where, why and how. If the reader is interested in more detail, he or she will read on. Alternatively, when you consider books and articles, it is likely that the first line, or paragraph, will rouse interest, but will raise questions instead of answering them, leaving you wanting more.

For a PR message, the answer is right in between – provide some context, but leave them wanting more.

What you need is a “hook,” a memorable, attention-grabbing phrase or sentence, one that is relevant to the reader. The purpose of a hook is to entice the reader to read your entire message. With all the social media messages that bombard us daily, readers have a shorter attention span, so they need to be immediately enticed by your subject or first line – they need to be hooked!

There are a few examples of hooks that have worked for me in the past.

• Help Wanted for the Fall Conference - Get Paid in Leadership Experience!
  This e-mail, sent in August for a November conference, was followed by this first paragraph: “While this request may sound a bit like "Christmas in July," the planning for the District 4 conference - to be held November 20-21 - is starting now. And we need you!” This e-mail resulted in over 70 volunteers to help organize the conference.
• New Year's Resolution #1: Register for the TLI in Santa Clara
  The e-mail resulted in an attendance of over 130 members at the TLI, or Toastmasters Leadership Institute - more than double the attendance of the TLI before it.
• You’ve always wanted to be on TV, right?
  This catchy subject line helped bring in the talent (the speakers) for our monthly District’s cable access show, Bay to Bay.
• Wasn’t under the tree? Get it now from the Apple Store.
  Ok, I can’t take credit for the last one, other than that I found it in my Inbox, and thought it was a great way to get the post-Christmas shoppers out. Of course, the cult status of the latest Apple products certainly helps!

In terms of a formula to create a hook – there is no formula. If one existed, everyone would already be using it. The trick is to find that combination of creativity, relevance to your audience, and just enough information that leaves them wanting more.

Event Promotion - Beyond the (Email) Inbox

So you’ve sent a few e-mails, and you’re done with the marketing of your event.

Think again!

If my own Inbox is any indication, everyone is using e-mails – so you need to do something more to stand out!

• Go personal! Nothing is better than having a personal conversation and inviting someone to your event. You can immediately be encouraging and answer questions. Then, you can still forward the e-mail invite – just make sure you personalize it to reference your conversation.
• Go traditional! Depending on your target audience, you may issue a press release or post flyers to attract attention to your event. But like those kiosks in college, it is unlikely that the majority of your audience will be attracted by these means.
• Go media! Many local television and radio stations are looking for stories! The trick is that local shows that promote events need lots of lead time. An alternative is to obtain coverage of your current event, then reference it to promote the next one.
• Go social (media)! If you already have an established group or presence on a site (be it Facebook, Twitter, even a Meetup group), you can let members know about your event. But if you don’t already have this presence, it is unlikely that you can build enough followers or memberships quickly enough for a soon-to-occur event.
• Go viral! If you have a video – of a media appearance, an announcement, or better yet, a skit – and you have the rights to do so – upload it, for example to YouTube or iTunes and link to it from absolutely everywhere! The same is true for cool photos or quirky e-mail stories. The key to going viral is to make it fun to watch for its own sake. A good example is the T-Mobile dance – the product is only highlighted at the end when witnesses share the event through their mobile phones!

To promote any event most effectively, it should be part of a larger plan. Unless you are marketing a one-time event, you are marketing an organization or a product – start by building that community early, so that you can leverage it when your next event comes around.

And in turn, use that event as a public relations opportunity to build your community!

Event (E-Mail) Publicity – Plan, don’t Spam!

By the fourth reminder in the same week to register for an event, I was ready to cancel my registration.

Why? I was annoyed.

If I’m already registered, why am I being reminded to register? And if I am registered, and have placed the event in my calendar, one reminder with the dial-in is convenient. Three reminders – just more stuff I need to delete out of my Inbox.

So when should you send that e-mail?

If you are planning an event, such as a conference, there should be a publicity plan in place that strikes a balance between regular reminders and an overwhelming amount of e-mail (read: spam) for attendees and prospects.

An example of required e-mails includes:

• Save the date – includes high-level information, but does not require details. Takes away the “if I had only known” factor for individuals’ schedules.
• Invitations – have the agenda and the registration details available.
• Reminders to register – encourages anyone not yet registered to do so. Is especially effective just prior to the expiration of an “early bird” discount.
• Reminders to attend – sent out to registered attendees. If there will be drop-offs, they will typically let you know.
• Thank you’s – after the event, includes a note of appreciation, and any follow-ups such as soft copies of the presentations and attendee lists.

Depending on your system (manual Excel sheets, vs. online marketing campaigns, vs. full-fledged customer relationship management), it may or may not be feasible to separate registered and non-registered people on your target list. This makes it more important to include the, “if you have already registered, thank you” clause!

Keep in mind other e-mails that may be going out to the same target audience! If the conference reminder is stuck between a dues renewal notification and reminders about other events, it may not be read. The publicity for a particular event should be coordinated with all other e-mails going out from the same organization.

As Julia Ormond said in the 1995 film, Sabrina, “More is not always better…sometimes it’s just more.”