On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend the Business Development Institute’s B2B Social Communications conference. As an inexperienced conference-goer, I admit that I was a little wary of a full morning of presentations and discussions but was pleasantly surprised by the content and atmosphere at the conference. My excitement around this event has resulted in this blog post, and my new title as “one of BDI’s biggest fans” by my colleague Katie (@ksafrey on Twitter).

The morning began with presentations and case studies on how a diverse range of companies have applied social media to their businesses. These presentations were informative and interesting, touching on a variety of social media platforms and how they are being used by businesses to supplement traditional PR and marketing efforts.

A few presentations have stuck in my mind as being especially memorable. Among these was IBM’s Tim Washer’s presentation on the mainframe video that he and his team created, HubSpot’s presentation on the Louis Page fencing company’s blog and Pitney Bowes’ online user forum. All three companies had interesting and creative ways of using social media to raise awareness around their business, and for Pitney Bowes, to increase efficiency and save money as well.

After the presentations, I had the opportunity to learn and exchange ideas with my fellow social media professionals at two separate roundtable discussions.

Below are some pearls of wisdom I took away from the day:

•    When making online videos rely on nonsense, humor and absurdity, it works!
•    Marketing is PR; the two sides need to work together
•    Traditional marketing is like banging people over the head with a message, social media has allowed this hammer to become a magnet that pulls people in on their own will
•    Be strategic, passionate and organized when writing a blog for your business; find a voice that connects with people and post on a regular schedule
•    When incorporating social media into your everyday business model start by setting small goals, i.e. one retweet a day

–Danielle Modzelewski

Congratulations, Conor!

If you’ve been following Tech Affect, you may have read the recent guest blog by our fantastic intern Conor. Not only does he assist on many of our marketing and PR projects, he brings great ideas to the table and is an overall excellent contributor to the entire Affect Strategies team.

Since Conor began interning with us last summer, he’s really taken an interest in developing Google AdWords campaigns for our clients. In particular, Conor has played a key role in creating great new campaigns that have translated into high conversions for one of our clients, BabyRide. A few months ago, Conor showed me the Google Advertising Professional program and asked if he could get certified. The certification process takes around 15 hours and consists of online tutorials and quizzes. To complete the certification, Conor would have to take a timed test that he would need to pass with a score of 75% or higher to become a Google Advertising Professional.

Well, Conor took the test last Monday — and of course he passed! Somehow he managed to concentrate amidst the chaos of the office (he does owe partial credit to the classical music station he created on Pandora –- he says that Bach helps him focus).

The Affect team (especially me!) would like to congratulate Conor on completing this program! His hard work paid off –- but he’s always been a “professional” to us.

-Katie Safrey

I’ve been volunteering with Special Olympic Swimming for 5 years now. After a hiatus because of college and work, I returned this past weekend to Penn State to help coach at the yearly Pennsylvania State Games. On the bus to State College, my friend and fellow volunteer muse about our situation. Most volunteers participate for a year or two in high school and then move on. Yet here we were, seasoned veterans, trekking across the rural nothingness that is central Pennsylvania.

State Games is a four day marathon of competition, ceremonies and events designed to foster community and friendship. With more than 2100 athletes and 800 coaches and volunteers, the campus bubbles with frenzied activity. The swimming competition is 3 days. Our days consist of military-like schedules: Rise at 6 am. Breakfast. Pool for morning session. Lunch. Pool for afternoon session. Dinner. Dorms to change. Nightly event (ranging from games night to BBQ cookouts). Back to dorm. Team meeting. Athletes curfew. Coaches meeting. And then finally…I crash.

All of my athletes did incredibly well over the weekend. I’d say 75% of them set personal records in the pool. Win or lose, out of the pool they come with grins to put Julia Roberts to shame. The medal ceremony after each event is a favorite among my swimmers. They don’t even try to hide their pride as the judge laces the medals around their neck. In every sense of the word, it’s awesome.

The bus ride back. My friend and I slip in and out of consciousness as we journey home. We’re dead tired and completely drained, but looking back – it’s been a great experience. I’ve known a lot of the athletes I coach for more than 5 years now. Most of them are older than me and have been doing the Special Olympics since they were 10. I suddenly realize why I’m still on this bus. Special Olympics is so much bigger than me and my experience. It’s a collective good that touches thousands of lives. It allows those less fortunate to get away from home, be independent and gain a sense of confidence. This is more important to them than most will ever know. And thus I too know it’s something important to be a part of, even if mine’s only a small part. So I glance out the window and smile. One year from now, I’ll be in exactly the same seat.

Interested in becoming a Special Olympics volunteer? Contact your local Special Olympics chapter. Thanks again, Conor!

PR Newswire hosted a fascinating seminar in midtown Manhattan this afternoon which I was fortunate to attend. The focus was to give a behind-the-scenes look at Fox Business Network and hear from the people who decide what goes on the air. Moderated by Andrew Meranus, Director of Agency Vertical at PR Newswire, the panel consisted of Andrew Hoffman, Executive Producer at Fox Business; Ray Hennessey, Director of Business News; Cheryl Casone, Business Correspondent and Pippa Bark, Business Producer (Money for Breakfast). The room was filled to capacity and the conversation was lively and informative.

Fox Business went on the air October 15, 2007 after months of anticipation and fanfare. Reaching more than 30 million subscribers, the channel has strived to, as Ray Hennessey noted, “Be the business news channel you watch with the sound on!” The aim was to create a channel that brought Wall Street to Main Street and make the message engaging and understandable for the average listener. The channel has aggressively staked its mark on the media landscape by taking the best talent away from other networks, going after offbeat and non-traditional financial stories and being more open to ideas from outside.

Much of the session covered helpful tips and advice on how to pitch the channel. Key points were:

• Know who you are pitching to. If you are sending an email blast, make sure that you have read what you are sending and it is relevant to that reporter. Useless, generic emails that appear to be part of a blast pitch will not only get deleted, but will cause you to be automatically deleted by the reporter whenever your email appears.

• Pitch stories that can help people make, spend or save money. These are the types of stories that they want and will get the most attention.

• Personalize the story. The producers/bookers/reporters will not consider anyone for an on-camera segment unless they can see or hear the person beforehand. They want to see how the person looks and performs on-camera. Television is a visual medium. If they are an “expert” then they must have appeared somewhere before.

• Make the pitch short and sweet. Two or three sentences that tell the story and the person being pitched, with video or background links are best. Anything longer will get deleted.

• Pitching the website is the same as pitching the channel. There is no difference. An on-camera segment can make the website, and a good web story can lead to an on-camera segment.

• Pitch Fox Business through their bookers and associate producers. This is the most effective way to establish initial relationships within the channel.

• Familiarize yourself with the channel, the shows and style before pitching. Nothing is more annoying than people who pitch to the wrong show and are not familiar with the subjects covered.

Other tidbits given were:

• Read the on-air talents’ blogs. Most of the on-air talent host blogs and they give insight on what is top-of-mind. Referencing a particular post can be a good way to get a dialogue started. Ray says that unlike their competitors, they consider blogs to be news sources and are a source of breaking news. He feels blogs can provide a more honest and un-sanitized viewpoint and they have covered them on the channel.

• Be honest about where your interview guest is appearing. Nothing is worse than booking a guest on Fox Business and then the same person appears on multiple outlets that same day without their knowledge. If your spokesperson will appear on other shows or channels, full disclosure is in order. More often than not, the segment will go on as scheduled. If there is no disclosure, the segment can be cancelled and the guest as well as the PR agency can be permanently blacklisted.

• Statistics and studies are welcome. They are always interested in any studies and statistics that come out. If they can be presented in a visual way then there is a better chance of the story being covered.

Finally, no story is too small or quirky that they wouldn’t be interested in hearing about it. If a company has an innovative solution but is considered a “penny stock” on the stock exchange, they will cover them if they find the story compelling enough. They are about building and maintaining relationships that will help them maintain their competitive edge as well as provide them with a resource pool that is reliable and available when they need it. It is this kind of thinking that not only benefits the PR practitioner but also illustrates a clear understanding and appreciation of the symbiotic relationship between PR and the media.

–Walter Ocner