How to Get Into the News Media and Pull Big Bloggers Like Guy Kawasaki With 
John Rarrick BullsEye PR: One Seasoned PR Pro Tells You How Twitter is Hurting Your Business - And We Agree
We'd rather see our clients have 400 "real" Twitter followers, who are engaged in regular and meaningful conversation than someone with 20,000 followers who gets three retweets a month
[9:42:58 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Well John, Welcome to the http://Sparkah.com Show!
[9:43:13 AM] John Rarrick: Thanks for having me.
[9:44:00 AM] Bob Wan Kim: So reading your bio... you seem to be reaching the public in the most competitive markets: health, sports, fitness, organics, green... et
[9:44:43 AM] Bob Wan Kim: But does your experience in these sectors cross over for CMOs and Small Business owners in less competitive markets?
[9:47:35 AM] John Rarrick: Well, most of our work is in those sectors you mentioned--particularly the natural food and beverage industry. That's due, in large part, to my past experience. Chuck DeBruyn and I launched BullsEye PR so we could work in the markets that were most exciting to us.
Do you find that many people are are actually doing more harm to their marketing / pr effort than helping?
[9:48:27 AM] John Rarrick: But we often find our selves working in uncharted waters...in areas that are pretty new to us. I find this to be some of the most exciting work, because it exposes you to new people, ideas, and cultures.
[9:50:01 AM] Bob Wan Kim: I can see how with Twitter, Facebook, and the web having us soooooo interconnected... it's easy to crossover into other fields... So for our readers... What challenges do you see most firms and individuals trying to get noticed having today?
[9:54:27 AM] John Rarrick: I see a lot of misuse when it comes to social media. Many newcomers to will use Facebook and Twitter to just sort of randomly spray information out to the masses. That's not what social media is about, and quite frankly, it's bordering on spam. We'd rather see our clients have 400 "real" Twitter followers, who are engaged in regular and meaningful conversation than someone with 20,000 followers who gets three retweets a month. Identify your audience before you start speaking.
Well "work" can often be disguised as "fuddy-duddy", but it still has to be done
[9:55:51 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Ahhh. Interesting... Do you find that many people are are actually doing more harm to their marketing / pr effort than helping?
[10:00:11 AM] John Rarrick: Yes, quite often. It can be very tempting to jump into new technology because we read that Ashton Kutcher is doing it. But once you go down an unproductive path, it's very hard to correct your course. Strictly from a PR perspective, the first thing a we ask prospective clients is "What are your media goals?" Who is reading about your brand? Where are they reading it? And, what message or call to action are you delivering?
[10:01:28 AM] Bob Wan Kim: WOW... you just dropped a sack of gold on us!
[10:01:32 AM] Bob Wan Kim: OK Wait...
[10:02:55 AM] Bob Wan Kim: So, instead of just opening up an account on twitter and broadcasting a trail of "hope for the best" tweets, you recommend preplanning... any tips on how to do that... for someone without a budget and say bigger firms that are strategic and have the resources?
While his following is not huge, his Twitter peers are very active in conversation, and in turn are extremely strong supporters of the show
[10:03:17 AM] Bob Wan Kim: And isn't all this preplanning kinda fuddy-duddy?
[10:08:40 AM] John Rarrick: Well "work" can often be disguised as "fuddy-duddy", but it still has to be done. Social media is a platform...a tool...another way to deliver a message. However, without relevant content and a qualified audience, what's the point? As for content...yes, you should absolutely have a strategy in place before you start tweeting. Lead your audience to something they will find useful and your tweets will get noticed, and probably retweeted. And by "useful", I don't neccessarily mean something about your company. A hospital administrator could tweet a link to an article about stress releif for nurses and probably get as much traction than some meaningliess link to the company's website.
[10:14:20 AM] Bob Wan Kim: OK... so John, sounds to me like you're equating Twitter to any other broadcast medium. THAT makes sense... people spend a ton of time prepping for a press release, news interview, ad, mailer... etc... but just randomly throw things out there on twitter... EVEN THOUGH twitter has international 24/7 reach!
Lets build on this "nurse" concept... What industries do YOU see on twitter and how can THEY create valuable well thought out material? any tips? rules of thumb?
[10:21:59 AM] John Rarrick: Twitter really works well among communities that already share a common experience. Since we're on the subject of nursing, we'll use that as an example. Nurses are a rare breed of people. They see things on a daily basis that would make the rest of us shriek with terror, and yet they don't flinch. Most nurses express themselves best around other nurses. This is their audience...the people that understand them most. We produce an audio podcast called "The Nurses Station", hosted by Jim DeMaria, RN. Jim is quite active on Twitter. While his following is not huge, his Twitter peers are very active in conversation, and in turn are extremely strong supporters of the show. He uses Twitter not just to announce new episodes, but also as a forum for the show. He's only interested in reaching other RNs and hospital administrators. For this, Twitter is very well suited.
Rather than complain about the lack of outlets and pitch opportunities, by creating podcast, or even a company blog, you've created your own outlet
[10:26:42 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Hm. that's a very different perspective on Twitter. Use twitter as a forum space for the podcast!
[10:27:15 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Well... which medium recruits more NEW followers/potential customers?
[10:27:51 AM] Bob Wan Kim: itunes podcasts or twitter? AND AND AND... how do you convert them into customers?
[10:29:53 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Another powerful point here is that you are vaulting each medium higher by tying Itunes podcasts AND twitter together!
[10:31:37 AM] John Rarrick: Podcasts are still uncharted waters for most brands and certainly nothing to build a campaign around in my opinion. However, we've found them really useful in promoting brands that don't lend themselves to conventional PR strategies. For instance, some industries have little or no trade press outlets. If you represent a welding company, there are only so many places to land a story about welding. So...start a podcast about welding, featuring your clients CEO and sponsored by the client.
[10:32:39 AM] John Rarrick: But reagarding your question about which medium recruites more potential customers...currently I'd have to say Twitter. However, in six months or a year I might say something completely different.
[10:33:57 AM] Bob Wan Kim: I like that thinking. THATS a take-away: "some industries have little or no trade press outlets" so depending on whether there's an existing place to be heard or not... effects your strategy.
we've found podcasts really useful in promoting brands that don't lend themselves to conventional PR strategies... some industries have little or no trade press outlets
[10:35:57 AM] John Rarrick: Absolutely. A client doesn't Want to hear the reasons why their brand is difficult to promote...they just Want results. And they deserve them. Rather than complain about the lack of outlets and pitch opportunities, by creating podcast, or even a company blog, you've created your own outlet.
[10:36:27 AM] Bob Wan Kim: John... well... looks like we've opened up a whole can of worms here... Created a whole portfolio of questions but haven't even begun to touch on the answers yet...
1) If one of our readers Bob Wants to bring your team BullsEye Public Relations aboard... how do they reach you...
[10:37:03 AM] Bob Wan Kim: 2) Can we get you on the Sparkah.com Gmail Chat Show Again to Flesh-Out some solutions in the near future?
[10:37:27 AM] John Rarrick: You can reach us at (212) 671-1080 or visit us at http://www.BullsEyePR.com
[10:38:02 AM] John Rarrick: I've had fun and would love to come back anytime.
[10:39:07 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Excellent! I'd love to spotlight some of your powertips on
A) how to get in the news..
B) how to grow your own followers directly via social media instead of the press (sorry news guys!)
[10:39:46 AM] Bob Wan Kim: It was good having you on Sparkah.com Gmail Talk Show and to reach you on twitter? What's the best @?
[10:40:11 AM] John Rarrick: @Gus123
[10:40:32 AM] Bob Wan Kim: Perfect! I'll see you on Twitter. talk soon!
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