Wendy Hammond Connecting with Online/Social Media

Who is Wendy Hammond? BS Advertising & Public Relations GVSU 1998 (way before Facebook!) 8 years church relations for an international relief & development organization MPA Nonprofit Management Two years ago I founded The Local Cook ( Member of West Michigan Bloggers One year ago I founded Eat Local, West Michigan!( Recently became a volunteer reporter for The Rapidian (

Keys for Connecting with Online Media 1. Make it easy for us to find and promote you. 2. As with regular media, have a “hook.” 3. Have a strategy

Make it easy for us to find & promote you Informative Website Think of it as your online press kit About page (history, facts, photos) Contact information ( , phone, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Any press releases or events should also be posted here—we can’t link to an

Make it easy for us to find & promote you Claim your social location on the main sites Facebook page (yes, PAGE – we don’t want to be your friend!) Foursquare Yelp Gowalla

As with regular media, have a “hook.” Coupons and giveaways are not engaging The fact that you exist is not news Ideas Event Profile of the owner or chef Story about the inn dog Tie in to local events (example: package, free shuttle to and from wine dinner in the area) With blogs, sometimes the line between advertising & PR is fuzzy

Have a strategy Pick a platform and do it well Don’t put effort into advertising that you’re on Twitter or Facebook and then not do anything with it (at the very least, monitor mentions and customer comments) Take the time to make your online media lists and develop relationships Find the free online listings (events, association sites, etc.) Don’t be a spammer Don’t post advertisements on other people’s Facebook pages Make sure your tweets are not all about promoting your business Set specific goals

Final words of wisdom: Be social! For a copy of this presentation check out