Category Archives: Conversations in Public Relations
Help us make plans for 2013! Your feedback wanted
Hello friends and followers of Fletcher Prince!
Well, it’s a snow day in the Washington, DC area. Or, technically, a snow-sleet-freezing rain day. If you’re like me, you’re staying OFF the roads and inside your toasty warm home!
I’m sure you have lots of fun holiday presents to play with, but if you find you have a moment between today and New Year’s, can you help me out? That would be great. Put on your thinking cap!
You see, this is an intense period of planning for me. My son is with his dad until Friday and I have a lot of time to think about the upcoming year. I really want this blog and all the Fletcher Prince-y things we do in 2013 to be interesting, useful, and fun for you.
So, can you give me some feedback? You can leave a comment below, or email me: Mary@FletcherPrince.com. You can Tweet @FletcherPrince or feel free to call me to chat anytime this week, day or evening (571) 269-7559.
Here’s specifically what I need advice on, but feel free to chime in with whatever interests you!
Looking for Social Media Week DC presentation topics
Our Social Media Week DC proposal is due next week. It’s going to be hard to top our free, standing-room-only event last year, when we presented three social media prsentations and featured guest speakers from the U.S. Army and the World Bank, among others. So what should we do in February this year?
I’ve been batting around a few ideas, but I’m not 100% sold on any of them. One of is to address the problem of centralizing communications — particularly social media communications — in larger companies, government agencies, and organizations. You know, how to manage social media and branding when your organization has 30-40 Facebook Pages and YouTube Channels, across several departments.
I’m also personally interested in how to balance risk identification and mitigation and an open approach to social media, particularly in these larger firms and agencies. It does seem like the larger the organization, the more tricky the execution is. I don’t think anyone has landed on the perfect solution, but in this blog, I’ve tried to explore some of the pitfalls and best practices.
I’ve also thought about getting away from the presentation format, and doing a blog or video clinic or workshop.
Of course, these events are more fun when there are more participants. So if you would like to participate in a Fletcher Prince Social Media Week event in mid-February, or you have ideas for a great social media presentation, workshop or event, let me know!
ISO guests and topic ideas for Conversations in Public Relations
I would love to hear your ideas for interesting topics and guests in the Washington, DC area for our YouTube video interview series, Conversations in Public Relations.
Suggest a topic or expert on any aspect of public relations, marketing, advertising, social media, design, communications — you name it. I need ideas for 6-12 videos for 2013.
If you’re interested in participating as a guest on the show, now is a great time to contact me so we can set it up. It’s free to participate, and it only takes about an hour/hour and a half of your time.
Needed: restaurant suggestions for monthly Network-and-Lunch events
As you may know, in 2012 we organized monthly Network-and-Lunch events all over the DC area. Last year, we met at Clyde’s, RT’s, Silver Diner, Jaleo, Teaism, as well as other places. It’s free to register and you only pay for your own lunch and chip in for the tip.
I’ve planned some of the lunches, but I need help with the rest. Is there a restaurant near where you work that you would like to suggest? And will you join us? I have posted the list of Network-and-Lunch dates on our Eventbrite profile page.
Anybody need a speaker for 2013? I’m available!
I’ve been presenting on social media, email marketing, video, and blogging since I started Fletcher Prince in 2007, from large conferences such as Digital East and the Government Video Expo, to smaller group presentations for WWPR, RHED Pixel, and George Mason University, among others. Please invite me to speak at your company, class, or for your conference or group this year.
Wanted: leads and projects!
You know, if I’m going to do all these fun and free things, I’d better get some work in for 2013! I’d be very grateful to you for any leads on PR/advertising/social media/graphic design/video projects in 2013. David and I subcontract, and work on a fixed fee basis for most of our work. We also provide hourly consulting and training. Let’s work together in 2013!
5 Ways to Use Twitter to Promote YouTube Videos and Podcasts
Curious about how to use Twitter to promote your YouTube videos? Or podcast?
There’s a free presentation and meetup on “Connecting Audio and Video to Twitter” organized by the DC Podcaster Alliance this Saturday. If you are in the DC area, I recommend you attend.
I have used Twitter to promote my own YouTube series and podcasts, such as Conversations in Public Relations and Living Well With Autism. If you can’t make the meeting, here are some tips for using Twitter to promote your YouTube videos or podcast.
1. Create a free Twitter Profile for your Podcast or Video Program.
My Twitter Profile for Conversations in Public Relations
2. Set your show or podcast blog to auto-feed updates to your Twitter profile.
3. Scope out, follow, and list related reporters, bloggers, trade media, groups, and associations on Twitter that might be interested in your content.
4. Locate and follow subject matter experts who might agree to be guests on your program, or provide ideas for future videos and podcasts.
5. Post interesting Twitter updates (“tweets”) to your Twitter profile.
Examples:
- Share quick, helpful tips related to the topic of your podcast or video program.
- Announce upcoming episodes and videos, mentioning participants (if any) by their Twitter handle (e.g., @rhedpixel)
- Ask your Twitter followers for advice for future videos or podcast episodes.
- Post links to current episodes or videos. Remember YouTube video plays right on Twitter — no need for your follower to migrate to another web site to view your video.
- Crow about reviews you get on iTunes and other directories.
- Link to blog posts of bios of guests on your podcast.
- Ask guests to cross-post the video or audio on their Twitter profiles, or to mention that they appeared on the video or podcast.
- Thank guests and helpers, as well as people who promote your show.
- Pose factoids or trivia-style questions related to the video or podcast.
- Using Twitter search, insert keywords related to the topic of your video or podcast. Find links to blog posts or online news articles mentioned on Twitter, and comment on them, and post your podcast or video as a link, when relevant.
- Celebrate a milestone, such as 100th episode, anniversary, or so many views.
- Spark interest with “insider” photos. Share photos of producing your video or podcast on Twitter, with TwitPic. Snap photos of your guests (try to get some of the cameras and lights, mic and lights in the shot), or for an audio podcast, photograph the guest or host with microphone.
- Share interesting statistics about your podcast or videos. Which video gets the most views? From which countries are most of your subscribers? You might be surprised by these findings!
For more ideas, attend the meeting this Saturday.
How have you used your Twitter profile to promote your videos or podcast? Please share your ideas in the comments!
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Fletcher Prince 2010 Annual Report (plus video)
As we bid farewell to 2010, let’s take a look at what Fletcher Prince accomplished this year. For a tiny marketing communications company of two people, we sure do manage to keep busy! Thank you for watching our light-hearted retrospective video, and check out this report on our year’s activities.
We worked hard this year, and our clients saw results. Social media development and video production continued to be strong earning areas for Fletcher Prince.
Here’s what we accomplished in 2010…
By the numbers…
David Hyson adjusting the camera for a video with Susan Rink
YouTube Video. We created 9 new YouTube Channels for clients in 2010, to result in a total of 16 Channels total on YouTube. Our 250 YouTube videos have more than 140,000 views (not counting additional iTunes podcast views and Facebook views). Our most popular video is a Fletcher Prince production on graphic design with more than 20,000 views.
Blogs, and more blogs. We administer 10 blogs and have coached clients on the development of several others. The blogs we write for have more than 35,000 views, not counting Examiner.com articles and Facebook feeds.
Facebook. We have created more than 16 Facebook Pages for clients and ourselves, and have coached others on their Facebook Page development efforts. The Facebook Pages we have created include businesses involved in real estate, restaurants, and professional services, as well as nonprofits.
Twitter. We continue to develop customized Twitter profiles and coach managers on how to use Twitter effectively. There are more than a dozen customized Twitter profiles in our portfolio.
Happy clients. In 2010, we earned 7 more LinkedIn testimonials, bringing the total number of LinkedIn testimonials for our work to 26. Here’s just one of them…
“Mary has provided our company with valuable tools to promote our business and reach our client base. Technology is so fast paced and can be overwhelming to a small business. It is essential to be connected to people online and Mary has equipped us with the skills we need. We will continue to reach out to Mary for her consultation and I recommend her to any individuals or small businesses who wish to grow their online presence.” — Laura Fall, Fall Properties
Fletcher Prince Client Work in 2010
David Hyson and Heathere Evans-Keenan at WWPR's Washington PR Woman of the Year Award
In 2010, we worked on a variety of exciting marketing projects with our beloved existing clients Rink Strategic Communications, Dominion Mechanical, and Fall Properties. Projects included everything from media relations to email newsletters, from website design to YouTube video production, and more.
We were also delighted to work with new clients Cosmopolitan Photography, Keenan PR, The Hannon Group, ASQ Communications, and PRofessional Solutions.
David and I were especially gratified to be brought on as partners on amazing projects on a subcontracted basis, including work for Timberline Bank, Howard University, NeighborWorks America, and Deloitte Touche. We would like to thank our colleagues for their faith in us, and welcome more opportunities like this in 2011.
Fletcher Prince Pro Bono Work in 2010
At Fletcher Prince, we continue to complete pro bono projects on behalf of communications organizations.
DC Ad Club. We joined the ADDYs planning committee and provided public relations consultation for that effort in 2010, including
- Developing a public relations and social media content development plan.
- Writing and pitching a media release announcing the call for entries.
- Creating a new DC Ad Club blog.
- Producing nine YouTube videos.
Conversations in Public Relations Blog and YouTube Videos. As a service to the Washington, DC area professional communications community, Fletcher Prince continues to produce videos for the YouTube series “Conversations in Public Relations,” featuring interviews with local communicators and association leaders. We produced 20 additional videos in 2010, bringing the total to more than 100 videos.
Washington Women in Public Relations. Fletcher Prince donated a video makeup kit to the benefit raffle for the Washington PR Woman of the Year event. In addition, the lucky winner won complimentary YouTube consultation and video recording services. Marilynn Deane Mendell won the prize, and we set up a Channel and new videos for her company, WinSpinCIC.
Fletcher Prince Self-Promotional Efforts in 2010
We continue to be grateful to our supporters. Our Facebook Fans topped 76 this year, and our Twitter followers climbed to 900.
This year, we produced 18 YouTube videos for Fletcher Prince. While we continued to produce informative videos highlighting our subject matter expertise (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube tips), we also experimented with fun promotional videos and event reports.
We also created three brochures for our business, and exhibited at the Virginia Film Office State of the Industry event.
In other Fletcher Prince news this year…
-
Mary Fletcher Jones recording a video for Howard University
Mary served as one of the judges for a public relations competition for a national trade association.
- We organized a mini-golf tournament for area communicators.
- As a special thank you, we offered our clients complimentary holiday greeting videos, one of which was featured in the Capitol Communicator.
- Mary group-trained five communicators on the basics of social media.
- Mary presented a talk at a TIVA-DC meeting on using social media.
- Mary presented a workshop on blogging at the Government Video Expo.
Thanks for reading. We look forward to working with you in 2011. Happy New Year!
12 Days of Marketing Communications. Day 12: Pro Bono Work
Well, we have talked a lot the past eleven days about the marketing communications work that Fletcher Prince does for clients. Since this is the season of giving, I thought I would dedicate the 12th post in this series to talk about importance of volunteer and pro bono work.
My mother instilled the values of giving back at a young age. By the time I was 12, I was volunteering for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, tutoring Vietnamese children how to read and speak English, and participating in community theater productions.
Fletcher Prince is still a young company, but each year we have been in business, we have volunteered and donated pro bono services to local communications organizations. Our first year, we donated graphic design services to WWPR for their Washington PR Woman of the Year award, and I volunteered as co-chair for the event. The second year, we helped PRSA-NCC launch their social media outreach efforts and developed their blog, and I served as co-chair for the chapter’s marketing committee.
DC Ad Club
This year’s public relations project for the DC Ad Club has been just as rewarding as our first two projects. In 2010, we
- Participated in all ADDY Committee planning meetings.
- Created a public relations and social media plan for the 2011 ADDYs.
- Remodeled the DC Ad Club blog, and connected it to their Facebook Page.
- Recorded nine YouTube videos and optimized their YouTube Channel with relevant and search engine friendly text, tags, descriptions, and playlists. We organized and tweaked the Channel design a bit, too, to more closely reflect the DC Ad Club brand.
- Sent a press release about the call for entries, which was picked up by Capitol Communicator.
- Wrote about the ADDYs in our blog, the DC Ad Club blog, and Examiner.com.
We have enjoyed every moment of our association with the DC Ad Club and look forward to our continued work with the ADDYs committee in early 2011.
Conversations in Public Relations
Our work on the YouTube video series Conversations in Public Relations continues to be important to us. In 2010, we recorded several more videos with communications professionals in the Washington, DC area. As you know, we produce the series at our own expense and no one pays to participate. It’s our contribution to furthering knowledge, insights, and best practices related to our profession.
My words to you today, on this special day, is to look for ways you can give back to your industry or to worthy projects in 2011. I know you will find, as I have done, that the rewards far exceed the effort.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Fletcher Prince’s latest project, Conversations in Public Relations
Mary Fletcher Jones
As a service to the public relations and communications community, the Washington, DC area communications firm Fletcher Prince has invested thousands of dollars and countless hours of time into a labor of love, a new video podcast series called Conversations in Public Relations.
Conversations in Public Relations features online video interviews with DC-area public relations, advertising, and communications professionals. The series is hosted by Mary Fletcher Jones, the owner of Fletcher Prince and assistant organizer of the DC Podcaster Alliance. The videos may be viewed on on iTunes, YouTube, the Conversations in Public Relations blog, and other sites.
Goals associated with this series include
- Provide useful and relevant, career-enriching content to the local PR and communications community.
- Familiarize the PR and advertising community with the contributions and insights of local thought leaders.
- Promote the profession in a positive, entertaining, and accessible way.
The series is produced by Fletcher Prince, which underwrites the production and promotion expenses of the series as a public service to the local communications community. Guests do not pay to appear on the program and are not compensated for their appearance. The videos are distributed free of charge.
Target Audience: Public relations, marketing communications, and advertising professionals in the Washington, DC area. However, the podcast is downloaded all over the world and the series has a global group of Facebook fans.
Content: 5-10 minute video profiles of
- Professionals who specialize in a niche area/provide subject matter expertise (e.g., Arnold Worldwide’s Karen Riordan and Susan Rink)
- Washington PR Woman of the Year Award winners (e.g., APCO Worldwide’s Margery Kraus and Porter Novelli’s Carolyn Tieger)
- Representatives from professional membership organizations (PRSA, Ad Club, Social Media Club, IABC, STC WDC, WWPR, etc.)
- Representatives from businesses that cater to the PR/communications community (e.g., Marketwire, BurrellesLuce)
- PR Authors, bloggers, news media (e.g., Robert Deigh, Kate Perrin)
- Communications students and young professionals (e.g., Kristen Powers)
- Volunteer and pro bono work projects
- Representatives for special events, awards, and conferences relevant to public relations and advertising
Distribution: YouTube, Blip.TV, Facebook, iTunes, and other free online video distribution channels. Conversations in Public Relations Blog. The Washington Marketing and PR Examiner.com column.
Promotion: Twitter posts, Facebook Fan page, monthly give-away for Facebook fans, targeted Facebook paid ads, postcard mailings to public relations and advertising agencies, press releases to local news media/bloggers.
Reach Statistics: Between its launch in January 2009 and May 15, 2009, the video podcast has downloaded 1,000 times through iTunes, the 31 videos on YouTube have been viewed 1,320 times, and videos have also been viewed through Facebook Video, Blip.TV, AOL Video, and Daily Motion. The show’s blog has been viewed more than 1,100 times. The show’s Facebook Page has 80 fans from all over the world, and the show’s Twitter account has 80 followers.
