I have quickly gathered a list of organizations who are accepting donations to help in the efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake on Tuesday January 12, 2010.
Red Cross Canada
Red Cross US
Salvation Army Canada
World Vision
Ofxam
Yele
Yele Haiti is a movement led by Wyclef Jean that is helping to bring hope back to Haiti. Projects are designed to make a difference in the fields of education, health, environment and community development. Yele Haiti (previously known as the Wyclef Jean Foundation) is a 501 (3) tax exempt charitable organization
Musician Wyclef Jean, who grew up in Haiti is using social media to reach out for support. His plea on Twitter has been broadcast around the world.
wyclef: Help Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501 501 right now
While that number is working in the United States, it is not available in Canada. MuchMusic offered this alternative on Twitter:
MuchMusic: 501501 doesn't work for Canadians, but you can still donate on the Yele website, or $5 to the Salvation Army by texting 'Haiti' to 45678
If I have missed any other legitimate organizations that are collecting financial aid for citizens of Haiti, please leave a comment.
Thanks for your support.
-Darren
I am not a spokesperson nor do I endorse any of the organizations listed above. This is just a small way of lending my support.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
How to get out of a sticky situation
We have become fixated on celebrities in the news; Britney Spears, David Letterman, Tiger Woods. Some have been successful in negotiating their way through a sticky situation - others, have not.
Are you and your employees prepared to defuse a 'situation' or crisis when it occurs in your business or organization?
In November, 2009 all eyes turned to the Tiger Woods story and his refusal to make comment other than a few statements on his website. Instead of stepping forward and using the media to his advantage and taking controlling the situation, Tiger went deeper into hiding while the story exploded around him. Read my blog posting from this event.
You do not want this to happen to you.
John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. He is the author of eight books, including Lead Your Boss, The Subtle Art of Managing Up. And John writes a blog for Harvard Business Review.
Click here to read his blog on how you can recover from bad communications.
When crisis occurs at your business, use the media to your advantage and acknowledge the problem. Hiding from the truth will only delay the agony of the truth.
-Darren
Sign up to receive my FREE email newsletter with creative tips and solutions for working with the media.
Are you and your employees prepared to defuse a 'situation' or crisis when it occurs in your business or organization?
In November, 2009 all eyes turned to the Tiger Woods story and his refusal to make comment other than a few statements on his website. Instead of stepping forward and using the media to his advantage and taking controlling the situation, Tiger went deeper into hiding while the story exploded around him. Read my blog posting from this event.
You do not want this to happen to you.
John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. He is the author of eight books, including Lead Your Boss, The Subtle Art of Managing Up. And John writes a blog for Harvard Business Review.
Click here to read his blog on how you can recover from bad communications.
When crisis occurs at your business, use the media to your advantage and acknowledge the problem. Hiding from the truth will only delay the agony of the truth.
-Darren
Sign up to receive my FREE email newsletter with creative tips and solutions for working with the media.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Hey media, Look over here! Tips to building Media Relations
12,000 fire victims receive warm Christmas dinner.
That grabbed your attention.
A strong headline is necessary to grab the attention of the media and the public, but you first have to grab the attention of the media to help you reach the public.
Building strong Media Relations
1) Who are you
It is very important to first know who you are, the product you offer and who is your target audience. From here, create a media strategy that will enable you to reach your consumer.
2) Know your Media options
Take a look at all the media organizations in your community, or if you are a national company, look at all your global media options. What media operations connect with your target audience? Take your time and do your research on this one. Media trends are rapidly changing and you need to be on top of these changes to effectively engage your audience.
3) Media contacts
In addition to knowing who to contact to place an advertising order with your local media outlets, it is also important to get to know who is in charge of content. News Directors, News Editors, Program Directors; these are all people you should reach out and network with. You can usually find their contact information on their company website or try a simple phone call to the main switchboard. Politely explain who you are and who you are trying to reach.
4) Offer something unique
Armed with your list of media contacts, give them a reason to contact you or become interested in your company and your product. Are you a specialist that could provide useful comment and content for their media operation? This is something that is unique to them and provides you with an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your local media.
5) Leave them wanting more
If your company is launching a brand new product or service during a splashy media blitz, launch with your well planned statements, graphs, pictures and presentations. The key; less is more. Leave the media wanting more. To ensure the media has as much background and information about your launch, it is also wise to present them with printed documentation to support your company, product and/or services. Be sure each 'media kit' also includes a contact name and information along with a web site address.
6) Do not give up
Building a strong relationship with media is just like real life relationship building - it takes time. Be patient. Do not be offended if you have not received a returned phone call or email immediately after you first make contact with your media list. Have you seen the Kevin Costner movie "Field of Dreams"? Remember the famous line; If you build it, they will come. If you have something they (the media) can use, they will contact you.
To receive more tips and consultation on how to use the media more effectively, please contact me directly.
-Darren
That grabbed your attention.
A strong headline is necessary to grab the attention of the media and the public, but you first have to grab the attention of the media to help you reach the public.
Building strong Media Relations
1) Who are you
It is very important to first know who you are, the product you offer and who is your target audience. From here, create a media strategy that will enable you to reach your consumer.
2) Know your Media options
Take a look at all the media organizations in your community, or if you are a national company, look at all your global media options. What media operations connect with your target audience? Take your time and do your research on this one. Media trends are rapidly changing and you need to be on top of these changes to effectively engage your audience.
3) Media contacts
In addition to knowing who to contact to place an advertising order with your local media outlets, it is also important to get to know who is in charge of content. News Directors, News Editors, Program Directors; these are all people you should reach out and network with. You can usually find their contact information on their company website or try a simple phone call to the main switchboard. Politely explain who you are and who you are trying to reach.
4) Offer something unique
Armed with your list of media contacts, give them a reason to contact you or become interested in your company and your product. Are you a specialist that could provide useful comment and content for their media operation? This is something that is unique to them and provides you with an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your local media.
5) Leave them wanting more
If your company is launching a brand new product or service during a splashy media blitz, launch with your well planned statements, graphs, pictures and presentations. The key; less is more. Leave the media wanting more. To ensure the media has as much background and information about your launch, it is also wise to present them with printed documentation to support your company, product and/or services. Be sure each 'media kit' also includes a contact name and information along with a web site address.
6) Do not give up
Building a strong relationship with media is just like real life relationship building - it takes time. Be patient. Do not be offended if you have not received a returned phone call or email immediately after you first make contact with your media list. Have you seen the Kevin Costner movie "Field of Dreams"? Remember the famous line; If you build it, they will come. If you have something they (the media) can use, they will contact you.
To receive more tips and consultation on how to use the media more effectively, please contact me directly.
-Darren
Saturday, January 9, 2010
What you say can and will come back to haunt you
Yesterday I cautioned against publishing everything - the good, the bad and the ugly on social media sites. Everything you broadcast (publish) is viewed and shared with the world. It is also a reflection of your character and in some cases, can reflect your employer.
Thanks to a few readers, they have pointed me to similar updates and examples from a few other sources.
Lamebook is a site which gathers and publishes Facebook status updates that are, well, distasteful. Thanks to Lamebook for the picture you see above.
I also found Guyism which published a list of the 7 things you should never say through social media.
Face it, we all like to go out and have a good time, meet new friends and chat about our lives. Now with social media, there are a lot more people watching, reading, responding and reacting to your every word.
Thanks to Jon and Radana for their input.
-Darren
Friday, January 8, 2010
Social Media - The Effect on your Employer
It is a simple rule to remember; what you broadcast on your social media sites is a reflection of your employer.
What? How can that be? Surely you are free to broadcast whatever you want on your personal social media sites without permission from your boss. Right? Yes and No.
With the global reach of the Internet, the content you broadcast, the pictures you upload and the tone of what you broadcast becomes a reflection of your boss and the company you are employed.
Still not convinced? Here are two fictitious scenarios:
1) John is an employee of a National Automobile company and is well known for his Sales records over the last 6 months. However, one night John got into an on-line discussion and released private information about the company that he is working for and mentioned in his conversation "do not buy a vehicle from us".
2) Jennifer is employed at a community coffee shop where she knows all of the local patrons by their first name. Jennifer likes to go out with her friends, have a few too many drinks and post pictures of herself and her friends in various states of intoxication.
If you were John or Jennifer's boss, what would you do when one of your best customers brought this to your attention and showed you the on-line postings?
In John's case, he would most likely be looking for a new line of work or would be removed from his current role as top sales person to janitor.
Jennifer, on the other hand, would most likely be in a better position to keep her job.
Just as this blog is a representation of my Company, what I broadcast 'after hours' is a reflection of who I am and my company.
Are your employees aware of this? Perhaps they should be reminded.
At the present, there is no legal precedent for social media and employee privacy in Canada. However many companies are adopting a social media code of conduct and require all employees to adhere to these guidelines.
Have a great day.
-Darren
Looking for more tips for effective communication with the media? Click here to sign up for my FREE email.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Where has all the good news gone?
Surely there must be something good to talk about in the world today, or have we become trained by the media to read and hear only bad news?
When I say bad news, I am referring to stories about people losing their jobs, soldiers being killed, people dying in natural disasters, and even celebrity mishaps.
Sadly, the truth is; bad news is very effective for media. Bad news grabs the attention of readers, listeners and viewers to every media stream and it that creates revenue and ratings.
Where does that leave the good news? Media is looking for these stories - they just need a little help finding this content. That is where you come in.
Traditional media operations around the Globe are running with fewer and fewer staff members which means fewer people who are able to spend time sorting through all of the potential news stories of the day. As a result, some of the good news stories end up as trash because they either did not meet the criteria of that media operator or they simply ran out of time and resources.
In the online world, there are limitless opportunities to broadcast these good news stories. On your website, blog, video blog, email, and all the social media sites.
While I am not suggesting to turn your back on traditional media and create your own on-line media empire (which some are already predicting this outcome), use the tools available to you to broadcast your good news stories and share with the traditional media outlets. Engaging content no matter the source is always going to be engaging content. Create a reason for others to take notice and we will get to enjoy a little good news today.
Enjoy.
-Darren
Sign up to receive my free email newsletter with many helpful media tips.
When I say bad news, I am referring to stories about people losing their jobs, soldiers being killed, people dying in natural disasters, and even celebrity mishaps.
Sadly, the truth is; bad news is very effective for media. Bad news grabs the attention of readers, listeners and viewers to every media stream and it that creates revenue and ratings.
Where does that leave the good news? Media is looking for these stories - they just need a little help finding this content. That is where you come in.
Traditional media operations around the Globe are running with fewer and fewer staff members which means fewer people who are able to spend time sorting through all of the potential news stories of the day. As a result, some of the good news stories end up as trash because they either did not meet the criteria of that media operator or they simply ran out of time and resources.
In the online world, there are limitless opportunities to broadcast these good news stories. On your website, blog, video blog, email, and all the social media sites.
While I am not suggesting to turn your back on traditional media and create your own on-line media empire (which some are already predicting this outcome), use the tools available to you to broadcast your good news stories and share with the traditional media outlets. Engaging content no matter the source is always going to be engaging content. Create a reason for others to take notice and we will get to enjoy a little good news today.
Enjoy.
-Darren
Sign up to receive my free email newsletter with many helpful media tips.
Monday, January 4, 2010
January Promotion: FREE Consultation
To celebrate the start of a new year, I am excited to announce an exciting promotion for the month of January 2010.
Speak Media Consulting is growing. To assist you and your business develop stronger and more effective communication with your clients through the media, I am excited to announce a very special offer:
6 Hour FREE Media Consultation
Speak Media Consulting offers a variety of coaching and consultation services all to help you develop measurable engagement with your target audience. Do you want to learn how to use social media more effectively? Do you want to learn how to use the traditional media (Radio, Television, Newspaper) more effectively? Do you know how to manage the media in a crisis? Do you want to become a more effective public speaker and media personality? I will work with you and your staff and provide a FREE 6 hour coaching and consultation package, AND provide one month of email or telephone support.
This offer is available to you as a valuable recipient of my email newsletters. This offer is also available to all new email sign-ups in the month of January. On February 1, 2010, I will randomly select one name from my email database and award this coaching and consultation package. Approximate value: $2000.
Click here to sign up to be eligible for this special promotional offer.
Forward to a Friend BONUS:
At the risk of sounding like a Television infomercial, this January FREE offer gets even better! Forward this to a friend and you could also receive a free bonus.
On February 1, 2010 when I select one lucky winner for this January FREE offer, I will ask who referred them to sign up to this free promotion. If you were the person who referred the winner, you will receive a complimentary 1-hour FREE Media Consultation designed to meet the challenges faced by your current media messaging.
Sign up now to receive my email newsletter and take advantage of this January FREE offer.
Good luck, and thanks for reading.
-Darren
Speak Media Consulting is growing. To assist you and your business develop stronger and more effective communication with your clients through the media, I am excited to announce a very special offer:
6 Hour FREE Media Consultation
Speak Media Consulting offers a variety of coaching and consultation services all to help you develop measurable engagement with your target audience. Do you want to learn how to use social media more effectively? Do you want to learn how to use the traditional media (Radio, Television, Newspaper) more effectively? Do you know how to manage the media in a crisis? Do you want to become a more effective public speaker and media personality? I will work with you and your staff and provide a FREE 6 hour coaching and consultation package, AND provide one month of email or telephone support.
This offer is available to you as a valuable recipient of my email newsletters. This offer is also available to all new email sign-ups in the month of January. On February 1, 2010, I will randomly select one name from my email database and award this coaching and consultation package. Approximate value: $2000.
Click here to sign up to be eligible for this special promotional offer.
Forward to a Friend BONUS:
At the risk of sounding like a Television infomercial, this January FREE offer gets even better! Forward this to a friend and you could also receive a free bonus.
On February 1, 2010 when I select one lucky winner for this January FREE offer, I will ask who referred them to sign up to this free promotion. If you were the person who referred the winner, you will receive a complimentary 1-hour FREE Media Consultation designed to meet the challenges faced by your current media messaging.
Sign up now to receive my email newsletter and take advantage of this January FREE offer.
Good luck, and thanks for reading.
-Darren
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