sarah@sarahegeiger.com

Most days I peruse various sites to check out the news and relevant stories. I was shocked to come across this video with Representative Patrick Kennedy, screaming during a House of Representatives meeting into the microphone. He was upset that there were only two members from the press in the meeting and directly attributed their lack of interest to their work in the House. He suggested that the press only cover irrelevant topics and when big decisions are discussed, like money or war, no one is there to relay to the American people.

I understand that we obtain news through a controlled filter. The press control what we are exposed to, good or bad. There are already 78 million viewers who tune into CNN each month to receive hard news.The point is, Americans ARE tuning into various news outlets. What messages are they receiving? Is it consistent among all levels? How much do you trust your news source? We already use tools like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to filter our news and social media profiles for us, it is hard even then to keep up with all the information. The press do a great job of covering relevant stories, yeah some are biased or modified, but what do you expect? This is the way our world works, and to get good press you need to focus on media relations. I do not blame the press for one second for not covering every Senate hearing. Do we really need to know everything?

Representative Kennedy’s outburst had a point, however it seems like he does not understand his audience. The American public should be the audience for all government related issues. As citizens of the United States, it is our right to vote and with that right we should stay tuned with all issues affecting us directly. The war, in theory, affects the entire country, but who is actually affected by it each day? Every issue our government debate is relative to each individual.

I will leave you with this food for thought: As a PR professional, do you think it is harder to pitch the “feel good” stories nowadays? I know we are not accustomed to pitching negative stores, as the saying goes “Not all press is good press”.

Photo Courtesy of: Business Insider

I learned the hard way this week about making your brand consistent. Over the years I have activated several social media tools including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wordpress, Google Profile (the list is endless). Word to the wise, when you update one, update all of them. You never know what information is out there about you. You can only be in control of your own accounts and the image you are projecting. Perception is reality.

I took the time this week to go through each of my accounts to double check the information I was sharing with the public about myself. I am very careful about the personal information I share in general, but still checked it all. Projecting the same image to everyone supports your own personal brand. You share the information you want people to know, that is how it works. My advice is to go through all of your profiles and double check the information, make it all consistent. We are all so wrapped up in social media sometimes that we forget to double check the small details.

Review each social media profile for the following:

1. Double-check for spelling errors, punctuation and other minor errors
2. Clarify the image you are projecting – Ask yourself do you want people to know this about me?
3. Keep it simple, keep it genuine. Be a person.
4. Share truthful information, do not make up any information. It could come back to bite you if caught!

If you couldn’t make it last night, here is a recap of our #AZPRC meeting with the talented Jeff Hecht. During our meeting he made several relevant points, mentioned great case studies and even intertwined his personal love for “The Bachelor”.

Below are some key points Jeff went over personal branding:

• Twitter is a new tool to brand yourself, but you still need old school traditional tools too (phone, coffee dates, lunches)
• Work on your elevator pitch – Realistically, you only have  6 seconds to make the first impression. The goal is to get your foot in the door and get them to learn more about you. Work your way up to 30 seconds.
• A great way to brand yourself/network is to work the registration table at a local event.
• Know your audience, do your research before going to a networking event (with branding in mind)
• People will invite you into their house but not necessarily in their bedroom (Facebook Policy). You can add people onto your Facebook, but certain people should only have access to certain things. Keep what is personal, personal.

Thanks to those of you who came @cliquekaila @magpie247 @amandamarker @RedlinCook @CCPolitico @JennMcPhee@AlixSteinPR @abbygilmore @AshleyOakes @JeffHechtAZ

Today Maggie and I attended Social Media AZ and saw many familiar faces.  The raw materials, organic conversation and slate of industry professionals created quite the impact on our young minds. I am sure you were all affected in some way or another, it might have been the delicious Quiznos cookies or the unlimited Einstein’s coffee, whatever flighted your fancy is all that matters.

If you were unable to make this event today, here are a few tips and tricks we learned. I for one, learned the most from the “Social Media for Small Business” panel featuring @jaybaer @kinchie @joemanna and moderated by @kathysacks. The panelists covered a variety of topics from what social media tools they find most useful to blogging tips. I value their opinions and realize that a lot of their suggestions are meant for each individual to interpret.

• Trial and error –  take into account what someone else says and apply it to your own knowledge. We should take advantage of social media and the endless possibilities. Try things on your own, find out when your messaging is most effective (8am, noon, 2pm, 9pm?). It is not just what you say, but when you say it!
• There are definitely faux paus of social media (i.e. -not tweeting the same thing 40 times), but who says you cannot bounce back? We are all in this together. Try rewording your message, instead of re-tweeting the same thing,
• Simply put, “You need to care about what your audience thinks, and if you don’t then you’re an “ass”  - Jay Baer
• Utilize tools like Seesmic, HootSuite, Tweetdeck - for multiple accounts. And while your at it, check out  phone apps too, they can make your social media presence known from anywhere!

I could rant for hours about my interpretation of that session, but instead I encourage you to check it out yourself!

I unfortunately missed the entire Jay Baer blogger session after this panel. If you are not already following his blog (which I highly suggest you should) check it out! Also, a complimentary post written about the event by @LindaVandaVrede on ValleyPrBlog today! Remember, know your audience (and hopefully they have a sense of humor).

We had another successful meeting this past Tuesday night, January 12th. We met at Hob Nobs Coffee House for a few hours to go over several topics related to the PR industry. Aly Saxe was our guest speaker and she is owner of Ubiquity PR out of San Francisco and Phoenix. She gave interesting insight on her experiences owning a PR firm and participating in the Phoenix community. Aly also highlighted on how her company uses social media, reaffirming that there are more tools than just Twitter and Facebook.

We are looking for more guest speakers for our February meeting, so if you know of anyone please contact me!