Here are the latest 10:

1. “What Marketers Should (And Shouldn’t) Tweet [Research]” by Rachel Sprung from HubSpot (@hubspot on twitter)
2. “33 Tips to Not be a Twit on Twitter!” by Pam Moore (@PamMktgNut)
3. “7 Insanely Useful Ways to Search Twitter for Marketing” by John Jantsch (@ducttape)
4. “How NOT To Get Somebody To Follow You On Twitter” by Shea Bennett (@sheamus)
5. “10 Newbie Twitter Mistakes Made By Businesses” by Mike Johansson (@mikefixs)
6. “How To Filter Your Twitter Stream by Using Twitter Lists” by Dorien Morin-van Dam (@moreinmedia)
7. “Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren’t Self-Indulgent)” by Whitson Gordon (@WhitsonGordon)
8. “30 Things to Tweet About Your Brand” by Sorav Jain (@SoravJain)
9. “Tweet Smarter not Harder – Part One” by Rachel Thompson (@RachelintheOC)
10. “Tweet Smarter not Harder – Part Two” by Rachel Thompson (@RachelintheOC)

For a list of links to Parts 1-66 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources? I certainly don’t list EVERY article about twitter that I see – I might recommend an article that I disagree with, if I think it contributes something useful to the debate, but I won’t recommend an article that I think is badly written.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Once upon a time, marketers spread the word about their products and services by paying for advertising, sending media releases to journalists, blasting out emails, and using their websites to talk AT people. It was all one-way, pushy, disruptive and mostly unwelcome broadcasting.

That doesn’t work anymore.

Now, thanks to technology, the power has shifted from the sellers (companies) and the middlemen (the media) to the buyers (customers). As customers, we read product reviews and complaints by other customers, observe how companies respond (or don’t), ask for advice from fellow shoppers, compare features and prices, watch and share viral videos, gain impressions about a brand, express our opinions…

So if you’re a business owner or marketing person, how do you create and communicate effective, trustworthy marketing messages?

Tell a story

In the past few months, I’ve become fascinated by the concept of “Content Marketing” (it’s also called “Inbound Marketing” and “Brand Storytelling”- do a search for all those terms and you’ll find LOTS of information).

“Content Marketing” means creating and using compelling content (that means truthful, helpful and inspiring stories, in many different formats), with the aim of marketing your company and your products/services, not only externally but also within your organisation. It’s about being of service, having a conversation with people, and humanising your brand; it’s NOT about pushing out lots of information all about you.

Here’s an article that offers a definition: “What is Content Marketing?”, from the website of the Content Marketing Institute.

So what is “content”? It could include: your website, your blog, your mission statement, YouTube videos, white papers, newsletters, brochures, SlideShare and Prezi presentations, your twitter bio and tweets, your Facebook page, case studies, podcasts, webinars, infographics, training workshops, handouts, books, ebooks, print magazines, instruction manuals, lists of useful tips and FAQs, speeches, your elevator pitch, photographs, mobile apps, other people’s content curated by you…

It could also include “user-generated content”, meaning content created by your customers and followers, such as testimonials, tweets, Facebook messages, videos, blog comments, competition entries… (of course you’ll need those people’s permission to use their content for your marketing purposes).

Here’s how to be a content marketer

• Think like a publisher, and become a knowledge-sharing organisation.
• Listen to the stories of your staff, clients, stakeholders…
• Learn how to gather, craft and tell interesting stories that people will want to share with others.
• Empower all your staff, not just the marketing department, to tell stories.
• Make sure your content is relevant, useful, informative, educational and/or entertaining.
• Tell stories not just about your company’s products and services, but also about your people, your customers, your industry, trends, issues…
• Be very clear about WHO each piece of content is targeted at, what the best format or channel is for each piece of content, and what you want people to do with it.
• Write and speak like a real human being, and don’t be afraid to show some personality!
• Invite your customers to share their stories with you and other customers, and make it easy for them to do that on your website and blog, and on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…
• Participate in the conversation.
• Use a very soft-sell approach – talk WITH people, not AT them.

And here’s why

With good content marketing, you’ll:

• be seen as a trusted expert
• develop a memorable, share-worthy brand
• circumvent the middlemen (the media) and communicate directly with your customers
• build a loyal tribe of people who become fierce advocates for you
• be found more quickly and easily online
• attract more traffic to your website and more followers to your social media pages
• attract and retain better customers, staff, supporters, volunteers…
• educate customers about how and why to use your products/services
• be better at training and inspiring your staff
• build a strong case about the value of your products/services
• make better use of the money that you might otherwise have spent on advertising
• sell more of your products/services

But beware! Good content alone isn’t a magic fix-it pill if your products and services don’t work as promised, or if your systems don’t make it easy for people to do business with you. Thanks to social media, people will very quickly spread the word about bad products, services and experiences.

The lesson: Customers these days don’t like pushy marketing messages that are irrelevant to them and their lives. Content marketing is about telling true stories that people will want to share. So like the song says, “give ’em something to talk about”!

Action steps: Start learning about content marketing, and start gathering and sharing good stories. Contact me if you need help.

Also, check out the people I follow in my Content Marketing list on twitter - in particular, I highly recommend that you follow Joe Pulizzi (@juntajoe), Gregg Morris (@greggvm), Michael Margolis (@getstoried), Ruth Zive (@rzive) and Raf Stevens (@rafstevens).

Do you have any content marketing tips or stories to share? Please post a comment.

Image: iCLIPART

[Oh, and a P.S. on March 30: I also recommend that you follow Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs) and C.C. Chapman (@cc_chapman), co-authors of the book "Content Rules".]

Here are the latest 10:

1. “The Big List of 77 Twitter Mistakes: Which Do You Make?” by Dave Larson (@TweetSmarter on twitter)
2. “Advanced Twitter Tip: How to Join a Twitter Hashtag Chat” by Lauren Dugan (@lauren_dugan)
3. “How To Lose Friends And Alienate Twitter Followers: 5 Stupid Social Media Mistakes” by Amber Mac (@ambermac)
4. “60 Dos & Don’ts Essential for Twitter Newbies” by Belinda Weaver (@copywritemattrs)
5. A video about how a company used twitter well: “KLM: Surprise - Royal Dutch Airline KLM made an exciting campaign to connect with their customers called KLM Surprise at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.” (@KLM)
6. “Tweetchat Wiki with List of Tweetchats” compiled by Gnosis Arts (@GnosisArts)
7. “Who not to follow on Twitter! - A guide for public sector employees.” by Alain Lemay (@alain_lemay69)
8. “To Follow or Not To Follow: Should Small Businesses Follow Everyone Back on Twitter?” by Christine Erickson (@christerickson)
9. “The Critical Twitter Tweak that Most Businesses Completely Overlook” by Ruth Zive (@rzive)
10. “Top 10 Ways To Get Re-Tweeted On Twitter” by Scott Williams (@ScottWilliams)

For a list of links to Parts 1-65 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources? I certainly don’t list EVERY article about twitter that I see – I might recommend an article that I disagree with, if I think it contributes something useful to the debate, but I won’t recommend an article that I think is badly written.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Each part in the series lists 10 (or sometimes more) articles, videos etc. by various people. For a list of links to Parts 1-16, see the Media Relations category on this blog.

Here are the latest 10 resources:

1. “Dear PR Professional Type Person: Write Better Emails Love, Bloggers” by Daniel Ruyter (@WPBloggerTech on twitter)
2. “Your PR Efforts May Be Hurting You” by Alex Goldfayn (@alexgoldfayn)
3. “Rethinking the press release: A content marketing & SEO view of a proven tool” by Deb McAlister-Holland (@debmcalister)
4. “5 Real-Life Examples of Awful PR Pitches” by Rachel Sprung (@RSprung)
5. “The 11 things journalists consider newsworthy” by Brad Phillips (@MrMediaTraining)
6. “Top 10 Myths about Public Relations” by Guy Bergstrom (sorry, I don’t know what his twitter handle is)
7. “50 Reasons to Contact the Media or Send a Press Release” by Stephanie Chandler (@bizauthor)
8. “Writing Press Releases That Work: Creating A Summary That POPS Off The Page” by Tara Geissinger (@TaraGeissinger)
9. “How NOT to do public relations: An interview with Peter Shankman” by Jennifer Leggio on Forbes.com (@Forbes)
10. “How Not To Pitch A Blogger About Writing Guest Posts” by me, Kay Ross (@kayross)

Would you like to recommend any other good resources on this topic? Please post a comment or send me an email. I won’t list EVERY article I see; I’ll only recommend articles that I think are well written and that add something useful to the debate.

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

Here are the latest 10:

1. “9 Twitter Etiquette Tips for Businesses Starting Out on Twitter” by Neal Schaffer (@NealSchaffer on twitter)
2. “The Essential Twitter Dictionary” by Lauren Dugan (@lauren_dugan)
3. “5 Free Tools to Monitor Your Brand on Twitter” by Tracy Sestili (@tracysestili)
4. “6 Tips for Handling Breaking Crises on Twitter” by Dallas Lawrence (@dallaslawrence)
5. “Nine Things You Didn’t Know About Twitter” by Paul Boutin in The New York Times (@nytimes)
6. “Where Can I Find Great Content To Tweet?” by Lauren Dugan (@lauren_dugan)
7. “Be Better at Twitter: The Definitive, Data-Driven Guide” by Meagan Garber in The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic)
8. “Why You Should Stop Tweeting Right Now” by Steven Lewis (@Rule17)
9. “Advanced Twitter for Business – 19 Links to 480 Twitter Tips, Lessons, and Apps” by Mike Brown (@Brainzooming)
10. “How not to use Twitter: lessons from Qantas and Westpac” by Axel Bruns (@snurb_dot_info)

For a list of links to Parts 1-64 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources? I certainly don’t list EVERY article about twitter that I see – I might recommend an article that I disagree with, if I think it contributes something useful to the debate, but I won’t recommend an article that I think is badly written.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

“Hi,

My name is [name] and I work for [link to company website] and [link to company website]. I’m trying to grow it by reaching out to other bloggers. I’ve been reading your site some time and I’m a big fan.

I’m interested in writing a guest post for you — something you’ve never posted on — and I have some ideas that I think your readers would love:
[List of four topics to do with Facebook, blogging, twitter and social media]

I know you’re busy, so I can write everything up and send it to you in one document, which you can drop right into WordPress. I’ll handle all editing, bylines, etc (feel free to edit) so this is super-easy for you. Plus, I promise the guest posts will get your readers thinking and talking to each other.

All I want is li’l credit in terms of two backlinks(Do Follow) in author’s bio and no link would be embedded anywhere in the content.

Let me know what you think of the same.

Thanks,
[name]
Blogger & Writer
e-mail – [address inserted]
Twitter – [link inserted]
Facebook – [link inserted]”

Oh dear, here’s why that pitch is just wrong on so many levels

Firstly, she didn’t even have the courtesy to start her message with “Hello Kay” or “Hello Ms Ross”. An impersonal “Hi” just doesn’t cut it in a business letter.

Also, as far as I can recall:

• I’ve never met this person in real life or connected with her online in any way.
• She is not following me on twitter and has never RTd any of my tweets.
• She has never commented on any of my blog posts, so I find it hard to believe that she’s been reading my site “some time” and that she’s “a big fan”.

Also, when I look at her twitter profile, I see that:

• She has tweeted only 11 tweets (and most of them are quotes by other people, not her own content), and she has only three followers, so she hasn’t shown me that she has any credibility when it comes to writing about twitter strategy or social media generally.
• She says that her location is “United Stated”, which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in her writing abilities.
• She says that writing is her passion, yet she doesn’t list her own website/blog URL. So I’ve never seen any of her blog posts, which means I don’t know whether she’s a good writer (but based on her email, I have to conclude that she’s not).
• Most of her tweets are quotes by other people, yet she doesn’t have the courtesy to credit them. As a writer, I’m appalled by that.

In conclusion:

• She hasn’t done anything to establish and nurture a relationship with me.
• She hasn’t demonstrated that she’s a good writer.
• She hasn’t demonstrated any expertise in the topics she says she wants to blog about.
• She hasn’t motivated me in the slightest to want to help her promote herself and the companies she works for.

I’m sorry, but that’s not the right way to pitch someone about writing guest posts on their blog! It’s obvious that this person has simply copied and pasted a badly written fill-in-the-blanks template for pitching a blogger about doing guest blog posts. (I mean excuse me, she says that all she wants is “li’l credit”?!)

Here’s what to do instead

If you want to pitch a blogger about writing guest posts on his/her blog, here’s what to do instead:

• Establish and nurture a relationship with the blogger first (for example, by following him/her on twitter, RTing some of his/her tweets and commenting on some of his/her blog posts).
• Offer proof of your expertise and credibility as a writer, particularly in the topics you say you want to blog about. (After all, if I publish your guest posts on my blog, that reflects on my reputation as much as on yours.)
• Write a good pitch - use the recipient’s name, check your spelling and grammar, and don’t copy and paste a cringe-worthy fill-in-the-blanks template.

Bloggers, have you ever received pitches as bad as that (or even worse than that)? Do you have any other tips to offer? I welcome your comments.

Kay Ross
@kayross

Image credit: iCLIPART

Several events in Social Media Week Hong Kong (February 13-17, 2012) aim to answer that question. (Follow @SMWHK on twitter and use the hashtag #SMWHK.)

Social Media Marketing with Celebrity Endorsements
Tuesday February 14, 10.30am-12noon
Pure SOHO, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Soho
Hashtag: #SMWHKceleb

Verified celebrity accounts have served as the primary growth drivers for platforms like Twitter and Weibo. Likewise they are now proving to be effective channels for brands and agencies to communicate with consumers. A panel of speakers will investigate how celebrity social media is being effectively used both overseas and in local marketing.

Social Media for Brand Managers sponsored by Ogilvy
SOLD OUT
Tuesday February 14, 2.30pm-4pm
Ogilvy office, 23/F, The Centre, 99 Queen’s Road Central
Hashtag: #SMWHKbrand

Social media campaigns too often generate sound and fury without business purpose. One million likes are not worth a dollar if they don’t help increase sales. This event will focus on how to leverage social media for profit, not just buzz.

Using Social Media Platforms for Branding and Revenues in the Premium Cosmetics and Fine Food Industries
Tuesday February 14, 4pm-6pm
Bisous, 9/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central
Hashtag: #SMWHKFaB

Exploring how new models Glamabox and Gourmei incorporate the best of social media, and how they are used by beauty brands and restaurants to increase exposure and branding to targeted customers, ultimately resulting in revenues and profits.

Social Commerce for Brands and SMEs: Make Friends, Make Money
SOLD OUT
Wednesday February 15, 9.30am-11.30am
Sakesan, G/F, 18 Shelley Street, Central
Hashtag: #SMWHKSocCom

Most companies now understand that Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Sina Weibo and the other social media platforms are important ways to engage customers – but engagement isn’t the same as making a sale! That’s the golden metric for most marketers and now increasingly consumers are open to transacting; social media is no longer only about joining conversations.

Learn about the trends and opportunities to use social media to drive sales from leading experts from media, business and e-commerce. The panel will share do’s and don’ts, insights and real-life examples. S-Commerce and M-Commerce are hot topics, and our panelists will share the practical opportunities right now for companies in Asia to benefit from developments in social media and mobile.

How to Build a Social Network From Scratch
Wednesday February 15, 3pm-4.30pm
Bisous, 9/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central
Hashtag: #SMWHKscratch

Listen to first-hand experiences of social network founders who have conceptualised, built, deployed, marketed and maintained growth of social networks in Hong Kong and China.

Web Wednesday
Wednesday February 15, 7pm-9pm
Bisous, 9/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central
Hashtag: #webwednesday

Mix with the movers and groovers in the digital media and Internet industries in Hong Kong (and across Asia). Hosted by Napoleon Biggs.

Social media for social good? Non-profits shouldn’t spend on social media (a motion for debate)
Friday February 17, 8am-9.30am
Pure SOHO, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Soho
Hashtag: #SMWHKsm4sg

While buzz around the value of social media continues to grow, non-profit organizations find themselves trying to find the resources to harness these tools to bring value to their causes. However, with the ever-debatable ROI of engaging with consumers online, is it actually worthwhile for non-profits to be spending on social media?

The debaters are: Ali Bullock (Global Digital Manager, Cathay Pacific), Doug Woodring (Founder, Ocean Recovery Alliance), Chung To (Founder and Chairman, the Chi Heng Foundation) and Douglas White (Founder of PRDA, a social media agency). Moderator: Jocelyn Sandstrom (founder, Moonlight Foundation of Nepal).

And just for fun, I’m volunteering at the following events:

Twitterfeeding
Monday February 13, 7.30pm-10pm
Note: This event is by invitation only. If you’re interested in attending, please send an email.
Hashtag: #SMWHKfeed

Eating, tweeting and a meeting of minds. Find out more here about this global phenomenon and virtual conversation.

Hong Kong’s Beckoning of Lovely
Tuesday February 14, 6pm-7.30pm. FREE.
LKF Amphitheatre, end of Wo On Lane, Central
Hashtag: #SMWHKlovely

In collaboration with the Beckoning of Lovely movement in the USA, Hong Kong will attempt to connect random people together via social media with the intention to create some “lovely” positive social change. This event will be part spontaneous arts project and part social media.

Come prepared to create, collect and connect. This event will be a beautiful testament to the power of community, co-operation and hope amongst strangers in the name of all things lovely. EVERYONE is invited! Hosted by the lovely @BonzaPie of Bonza Pie Coaching & Performance Consultancy.

So which SMWHK events are YOU attending?

Kay Ross
@kayross

Each part in the series lists 10 (or sometimes more) articles, videos etc. by various people. For a list of links to Parts 1-15, see the Media Relations category on this blog.

Here are the latest 10 resources:

1. “The Essential Word List for Lazy PR Writers” by Tom Gable (@authenticpr on twitter)
2. “The Worst Blogger Pitch Ever” by Jay Dolan (@JayDolan)
3. “Press release fail” from “The Media Blog” (@themediatweets)
4. “Pitching to bloggers - the do’s and don’ts of blogger pitching” by Kirsty Shaw (@kirstyashaw)
5. “How to PR Like a Pro: A Guide to Getting Media Attention” by Mark Hayes (@allsop8184)
6. “Video: How to pitch to the media” (2m 30s) featuring Bill Walker, GM of Fleishman-Hillard (@billwalkerpr)
7. “Journalist shares 7 common PR sins to avoid” by Amanda Marsh (twitter handle unknown)
8. “What’d You Say? How To Write Killer Quotes For Your Online Press Release” by Tara Geissinger (@TaraGeissinger)
9. “Hey PR, bloggers are not tools to be used” by David Spark (@dspark)
10. “How to Newsjack Your Way to Tons of Media Exposure” by Robert Bruce – 24m 41s audio recording of an interview with David Meerman Scott (@dmscott)

Would you like to recommend any other good resources on this topic? Please post a comment or send me an email. I won’t list EVERY article I see; I’ll only recommend articles that I think are well written and that add something useful to the debate.

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross

With thanks to Mr Shakespeare, my reply to Mirek is: “In your marketing, to thine own self be true.”

I believe you need to say the things you really want to say and that you believe people need to hear (with the genuine intention of helping them to be more successful). That might mean some people choose not to do business with you, and that’s OK. After all, would you really want to do business with them?!

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” series of books, says: “Be true to yourself. Make no apologies for who you are and what you stand for.”

Someone else I admire, Isabel Parlett, “The Soundbite Shaman”, advises: “Write for yourself first… before we can respond eloquently to someone else’s wants and needs, we first have to own what we have to offer, without apology, whitewashing, or sugar-coating.”

And check out this article: “Great Marketing is Not About You … Hogwash!” by Mark Aaron Murnahan. He writes: “…talk about yourself enough so we can know who you are and what you stand for. If you don’t, all that your would-be customers have to base their buying decisions on is facts and figures.”

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying you should ignore your audience and talk all about you you you. You absolutely must understand and consider their wants, needs, interests, pain points and psychological triggers; you need to communicate in ways that work for them, and you need to show them how your product or service will give them what they want. But the content and personality of your message must be an authentic expression of you and your values.

Why? Because people prefer to do business with people they like, trust and respect, and they want to connect with the youness of you.

I believe it is possible to find the middle ground between what you want to say and what your prospective clients want to hear. Instead of either/or, look for both/and: find the overlap between what you want to talk about (your expertise) and what your prospective clients want to hear about (the solutions to their problems). Then, challenge them gently to discover what they didn’t even know they wanted, and inspire them about the possible results that they don’t yet even believe are possible for them.

So are you courageous enough to be YOU, even if some people don’t like that?

The Lesson: The people who like your message will be magnetically drawn to you (and then of course you have to have a system for turning their interest into sales).

Action Steps: Get clear about the essence of your message, then be fearless in expressing it.

What do YOU think?

Which is more important when communicating with your audience: say things you really want to say, or say things that people want to hear? Please leave a comment below.

—————————————

If you’d like to subscribe to my enewsletter about marketing (no cost), please go to the Home page of my website and fill in the opt-in box near the top right-hand corner.

Mirek’s company is Outsmarter (an Internet start-up). He explained: “Outsmarter is a computer app that helps you limit the amount of time you waste online. If you feel you’re spending too much of your life on Facebook, Gmail, Twitter etc., you can use Outsmarter to set time limits for chosen websites or completely block them.”

Image: iCLIPART

Here are the latest 10:

1. “CEO’s Repeat After Me: “We are Not Afraid to Tweet” + 21 Success Tips” from the ZoomFactor blog (@ZoomFactor_ on twitter)
2. “What Can Twitter Do For Your Small Business?” by Melinda Emerson (@SmallBizLady)
3. “23 Twitter Tools To Help You Tweet Like A Pro” by Bianca Bosker (@bbosker)
4. “13 Reasons Why You Didn’t Get Followed Back” by Lauren Dugan (@lauren_dugan)
5. “The 8 R’s of Twitter for Newbies” by Elena Verlee (@ElenaVerlee)
6. “10 Tips on Using Twitter Wisely” by Joe Brockmeier (@jzb)
7. “How to Use Twitter the Right Way” by Craighton Miller (@Craighton)
8. “A Starter’s Guide to Increasing Brand Visibility on Twitter” by Leo Widrich (@leowid)
9. “5 Twitter Changes and How to Make the Most of Them” by Leo Widrich (@leowid)
10. “When NOT to Outsource Your Twitter Account” by Hollis Thomases (@hollisthomases)

For a list of links to Parts 1-63 in this series (which was born on May 19, 2009), see the Twitter category on this blog.

Would you like to recommend any other good twitter resources? I certainly don’t list EVERY article about twitter that I see – I might recommend an article that I disagree with, if I think it contributes something useful to the debate, but I won’t recommend an article that I think is badly written.

Happy tweeting!

Kay Ross
http://twitter.com/kayross