By Denis Hiller, New Media Publicist

I voted 3rd party (Libertarian) so don't mistake this blog post as a pitch for Obama. Simply an interesting PR-related observation. Here are the landing pages for Barack Obama's website and John McCain's website today (election day '08). Notice a difference?

Please keep your PR Professional hats on in your comments and save your political rants for the dinner table.




Obama is mobilizing his supporters to get out the vote in key states from the comfort of their computer.



McCain is wasting space streaming commercials and not giving supporters any clear action to take.

By Denis Hiller, New Media Publicist

Nicholle, a fellow publicist, contacted me on LinkedIn with the following question:

"I love that you have a well-rounded background in social networking and I would like to improve my skills in this area. Do you have any advice on how to work with the endless number of social networking platforms?

Thank you,
Nicholle"




Great question!  The image above illustrates your point exactly, " the endless number of social networking platforms."

There are 2 legitimate schools of thought on this issue. The first, I'm calling the Dave Cortex school of thought. Dave is a friend of mine and the owner of Sweet Cherry Music, an electronic dance music record label. It is his job to get the word out about new music produced on his record label. The second, I'm calling the Denis Hiller school of thought, after my own approach to social networking. Dave & I actually had this very conversation when he was out here in the Silicon Valley several weeks ago.

The Dave Cortex school of thought:
Social networks are a means to market music. Fans use all sorts of social networks from massive ones such as MySpace and Facebook, to niche networks like YouTube and imeem. My goal is to be everywhere there is a substantial number of fans.

Summary: Dave's approach is to be on as many relevant social networks as possible.

The Denis Hiller school of thought:
Social networks are a means to build community. I can not help build a community of PR Professionals if I'm spending too much time updating and keeping track of numerous social networks. Instead I choose to split my time between 2 social networks: MySpace and LinkedIn.

Summary: Denis's approach is to focus on a manageable number of social networks.

I would like to open this question to others. Which school of thought do you resonate with and why? What is your unique approach to the social networks?

Below is a picture of Lauren, my business partner Viktor, and yours truly.



Lauren is a huge fan of Max Vangeli, one of my clients who is a very talented dance music producer and DJ based in San Francisco. To make a long story short, Lauren and I crossed paths on numerous occasions in the San Francisco party scene and a friendship grew out of that. Now she's working for me.

I'm a strong believer in hiring fun and hardworking people wherever you can find them. Including the San Francisco party circuit. We've worked together for several weeks now...so far so good. Many of Lauren's strengths are my weaknesses which is huge plus in my book.

Welcome Lauren!

....
Ever heard of Robert Scoble? He's a self-proclaimed "Tech Blogger Geek". Scoble is also one of the most influential tech bloggers here in Silicon Valley & across the world. He's currently video blogging for Fast Company.

Scoble recently visited my newest client, Sunkist Naturals, several days ago. The embedded video is a short video Scoble create created with his digital camera. A longer and more professional video should be up next week.

How did I get my client, a non-tech premium juice company, covered by one of Silicon Valley's biggest influencers? Instincts and taking a chance.

Although he doesn't typically blog about non-tech stuff, Scoble is a Silicon Valley native and intrigued with many different aspects of the region. With that in mind, I contacted him to see if he'd be interested in covering a juice start-up in Silicon Valley. To my pleasant surprise he loved the idea.

Have you ever went out on whim like that? What were the results?

I was at a mixer for Silicon Valley professionals recently, and after exchanging business cards, someone told me: "You need a website." To which I replied, "I don't feel I need a website at this point. All of my clients came through referrals. If people really want to learn about me they can check out my MySpace page [ http://myspace.com/silicon_valley_publicist ]."



To which he replied, "You need it [a website] for branding purposes." What does that even mean? Do you have a website? How has your website helped you?

I can't sleep because I did something stupid earlier. Does that ever happen to you? You screw up with your significant other, at work, or in some other aspect of your life, and you can't stop thinking about what an idiot you are?

Dr. Phil moment over. Since I can't sleep, it's time to blog.

BY DENIS HILLER, Silicon Valley Publicist

An enthusiastic reader of this blog recently sent me the following message:

Great question! Be sure to read the comments section below this post as I'm sure that many of this blog's brilliant readers will add their 2 cents about pricing PR services.

There are main 3 factors to consider when pricing your services:

1) Overhead
- what are your/your firm's expenses? Do you rent an office? Do you pay an accountant? Do you spend money on marketing your services, etc. Be sure to work those expenses in your pricing.

2) Market Value
- How much are people in the industry(s) you serve to able and willing to pay for your services?

3) Scope of the Project
-Is the project long-term or short-term? How much time is the client expecting from you on a weekly basis?

After taking those 3 factors in to consideration, I created with a very simply way to price my services earlier this year. I charge each client $5,000/month typically signing a 3-6 month contract to begin with. The reason for the 3-6 month contract is because I do not believe it is possible to fully measure a PR person's effectiveness and impact in less than 90 days. I charge a monthly fee because the work load changes from week to week. When there's a big press announcement (or the need for damage control), I will work 20+ hours per client. When it's a quieter week, I may scale back to 5 or 10 hours for that same client.

How do others price their PR services? Feel free to post in the comments section how much you charge for your PR services and why.

BY DENIS HILLER, PR Specialist

The ad below was run by Absolut Vodka in Mexico. Not surprisingly, US media found out about it and people are really pissed. No I mean really pissed.



Judging by there non-appology appology, Absolut doesn’t seem to realize how serious of a mistake they’ve made and how much this could hurt their bottom line.

The LA Times conducted on online poll about how readers feel about this ad with 38,000+ responses, 62.5% indicated that they are insulted and plan to Boycott Absolut Vodka. Ouch!


Marketing to Mexicans in a way that offends Americans doesn’t make sense economically. America has significantly more purchasing power and this leaves a really bad taste in people’s mouths. (Worse than vodka’s after taste).

Here’s what I’d do if I were in charge of damage control for Absolut:

The first thing I would do is secure funds to give very significant (and public) donations to several charities:

1) The American History Museum
-To show that Absolut values American history and its current borders.

2) The American Marketing Association
-I would commision a research study in to ethical marketing using Absolut’s recent disaster as a case study

3) Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Clinics
-A charity that rehabilites disabled veterans.

Next, I would have Absolut’s CEO fly to the US as fast as humanly possible. First stop: A press conference at the National Press Club where the CEO would give a sincere apology. Second stop, the American History Museum. Third stop: a meeting with representatives from various angry groups. With media heavly present at each of these stops.

What would you do if you were in charge of damage control for Absolut?

BY DENIS HILLER, PR Specialist

I recieved a MySpace message from one of the founders of RateMyCop.com. For your benifit, I’m trying to setup an audio interview.



From a publicity perspective, I fell in love with the website the second I layed my eyes on it. RateMyCop has been featured all over the place including Wired magazine, NPR, and Slashdot. The site’s theme is controversial, and more importantly, it will always have controversial content (ratings of local cops).

Also, the website is a great springboard into important issues: free speech, privacy rights, patriotism, etc. Genius!

BY DENIS HILLER, Public Relations Specialist



A recent blog post of mine was featured as one of the most popular on MySpace. Getting featured can mean more visiblity here on MySpace as well as making some great new connections. Many of you messaged me asking, "how can I get my blog post(s) featured on MySpace?

So without further ado here are 5 ways to get a blog post featured on MySpace:

1) Create controversy
-Give people something to talk about. Take a stand on an issue that your friends/readers care about. My featured blog post, for example, took a strong stand against incompetent fellow PR people, it definitely lead to some great debate in the comments section (as well as being featured on MySpace).

2) Post edgy pictures/movies
-This blog post was featured simply because it includes pics of nearly nude women in their undergarments

3) Make 30,000+ MySpace friends
-A simple blog post titled "I’m Back!!" by American Idol sweetheart Danny Noriega was featured simply because he has lots of friends on MySpace. Many friends means lots of readers, which means a featured post on MySpace.

4) Post about a holiday
-By wishing her readers a Happy Easter, this MySpace user generated lots of reads and comments, as well as getting featured.

5) Blog about getting featured on MySpace
-The jury is still out on 5, but hey, let’s see if this blog post does get featured as one of the most popular on MySpace.

If you have any additional suggestions for getting a blog post featured on MySpace, by all means include them in the comments section!

BY DENIS HILLER, Public Relations Specialist

Recently, a potential client inquired about my PR services. After exchanging a few e-mails it became apparent that he was looking for a specific type of experience that I don’t currently have.

Rather than beating around the bush, I told him that if that specific type of experience is crucial to his company’s selection of a PR consultant, they should probably go with someone else. While I certainly sold myself and my abilities in our e-mail exchanges, I felt it was important set realistic expectations. 

I’d rather risk losing a client by being honest than disappoint them later by being dishonest.

BY DENIS HILLER, PR Specialist

A recent post about incompetent PR people (unforutnately, some do exist) was featured in MySpace’s daily "Most Popular Blog Posts" list.

Here’s a screen shot:



I’m very pleased that there was a lot of intelligent discussion and debate in the comments section of the blog post. The way that new ideas emerge is through discussion and debate.

Thanks for your readership, participation, and support!

BY DENIS HILLER, PR Specialist

By now, we’ve all heard about New York Governor Eliot Spitzer hiring an elite prostitute at a rate of $1000/hr. Public pressure forced him to step down as Governor.


Disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer

What most people aren’t discussing is that the Governor’s call girl is an aspiring singer named Ashley Alexandra Dupré. Although the media attention she’s getting maybe embarassing, it is a HUGE benifit to her career.

Think about it, how many other aspiring entertainers do you know who have made both the New York Times and the Drudge Report:


Screen Shot: Ashley Alexandra Dupré makes the cover of the Drudge Report

The comments in her MySpace page & blog further illustrate my point that this is a huge career boost of Ashley Alexandra Dupre. Here are a few example comments:

1) "God bless you and may he grant you the strength and courage to ride out this storm in your life. I applaud and admire your honesty!"

2) "you have a lot of wisdom for a 22 year old.... with the ny times article that broke out today, you will need every ounce of it in the days and weeks ahead, darling, so keep your head up"

Please understand that this is a public relations blog and I am not here to make judgement calls about prostitution. Further more, I have 100 times more sympathy for a young girl trying to make it in NYC than for some sleaze-bag Governor.

It will be interesting to see if Ashley Alexandra Dupré’s 15 minutes of publicity turn in to a record deal + years of fame.

BY DENIS HILLER, Public Relations Specialist



Until recently, I assumed that every PR professional is at least somewhat competent. Now I'm not so sure.

Why? Because a journalist friend of mine, who writes for a UK-based tech publication, went through hell writing a story thanks to some really stupid PR people. In short, she was writing news article about Google censoring search results and needed commentary, so the journalist contacted Google, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and several thought leaders. Across the board, people said they were either "too busy" to provide commentary or they didn't respond at all. The journalist was forced to write the story without any commentary at all!

This is appaling, the whole purpose of public relations is to generate news coverage. A PR person should squirm with delight when news coverage is handed to them on a silver platter. Instead, our colleauges snubbed a respectable journalist.

Don't these incompetent PR people realize that they're putting our profession to shame?

By Denis Hiller, Silicon Valley Publicist



According to Valleywag, Facebook just recruited Sheryl Sandberg, the person currently heading Google's adwords program, to run and expand Facebook's advertising platform. In short, Facebook's largely unknown online advertising program is going to become a big deal in the next few years.

As many of you use Google ads to promote your business or clients, I thought it would be good to introduce you to Facebook ads and why I have found them to be more effective.

Similarities:

1) Both services offer advertisers online cost per click ads

2) Each service uses a bidding system where advertisers compete over keywords

3) Both services have a low barrier to entry for advertisers, in terms of time and money
-In other words, you can test these services without having to do any graphic design work or investing a lot of money.

Facebook Advantages:

1) Better targeting
-While Google ads can only target based on the search term and zip code, Facebook has a lot more information to work with including: age range, location, school or work place, political views, etc.

2) Different mindset
-People searching Google for information are in a very different mindset from when they use Facebook.

3) Imaging
-Google does not allow image advertising on Google.com, Facebook allows and encourages advertisers to use images in their ads.