Don Akchin

If you’re still wondering how powerful social media can be, just turn on the six o’clock news. Occupy Wall Street - no, you don’t have to live in the Middle East anymore to see social media trigger social unrest. A small encampment in one city, cheerfully ignored by media for two weeks, has now sparked (mostly) peaceful protests in dozens of cities, with no end in sight. And the political conversation has changed from national debt to income inequality. Take This Fee and Shove It - Bank of America’s announced $5 monthly fee on debit cards sparked enough outrage, amplified by social media, to force B of A to back down. When did that ever happen before? Herman Cain is My Name - Details of a controversy about charges of sexual harassment emerged faster than Cain could bat them down. Meanwhile Ron Paul, near the bottom of the pack in polls, raised $2.5

James O’Keefe, a conservative provocateur who has already made a reputation for his “gotcha” films of ACORN and Planned Parenthood, releases a video purporting to show an NPR executive accepting sponsorship money from an Islamic advocacy group. Truly not an easy situation to be in, but NPR managed to make it worse through its response, or lack of it. It did not defend itself. It fired the executive. Then it fired the CEO.  Impression to public: Guilty as charged. And then, when it was proven that the video had been  edited to distort the facts, and NPR got around to denouncing the video, it was late in the game. By failing to act swiftly and decisively, NPR had already helped undermine its own reputation. When the sharks circle, silence is not an effective defense.  

When videotape was released showing actors, posing as minors seeking abortions, getting counseling from a Planned Parenthood employee, it was a crisis for the organization. As blogger Nancy Schwartz relates, Planned Parenthood used its Facebook presence to good advantage to announce its actions and reassure its supporters. The American Red Cross had a social media crisis – albeit self-inflicted – when what should have been an employee’s personal tweet about beer was sent out instead from the Red Cross account. Big BIG oops! But with an existing relationship with followers and a lot of finesse, it turned a 

Take it from veteran reporters. Your press release goes directly to the trashcan if the headline includes the words “anniversary,” “award”, “fundraiser,” “benefit,” or “annual,” among others. If you think these types of events are newsworthy, you’re not thinking like a reporter.

Publicity in newspapers and on television is a big boost in getting the public’s attention – but to help the media find your story, you may have to be your own reporter. A D.C. public relations consultant offers useful ideas for combining traditional media relations with “Web 2.0″ tools, such as your website and social media sites.

A media strategy that only focuses on the traditional media is incomplete these days. You need to think about the bloggers. In fact, blogs may be a good way to catch the eye of the mainstream press. Joanne Fritz offers practical ideas for incorporating social media into your publicity plan. You can also compare what other nonprofits are doing. The Hatcher Group (full disclosure: I am a Hatcher Group affiliate) has produced a downloadable white paper on New Media and Social Change: How Nonprofits are Using Web-Based Technologies to Reach Their Goals.

Marketing Sherpa has published its 7th annual Marketing Wisdom report, a compilation of cases and lessons learned from hundreds of (corporate) practitioners. You can download it free. Speaking of free, you can also preview an executive summary of Sherpa’s new guide to best practices in Social Media Marketing and PR (until March 17). (Photo by Brad Immanuel)

The Knight Foundation offers a step-by-step guide to creating a media plan and crafting good press releases, available free as an online workshop.

The Knight Foundation offers a step-by-step guide to creating a media plan and crafting good press releases, available free as an online workshop.

The Knight Foundation offers a step-by-step guide to creating a media plan and crafting good press releases, available free as an online workshop.

Blogger Joanne Fritz offers an overview of five categories of promotion: marketing, branding, online, media relations, and fundraising. She also offers lots of links for more info on each category.

Blogger Joanne Fritz offers an overview of five categories of promotion: marketing, branding, online, media relations, and fundraising. She also offers lots of links for more info on each category.

Blogger Joanne Fritz offers an overview of five categories of promotion: marketing, branding, online, media relations, and fundraising. She also offers lots of links for more info on each category.

An article in PR Week suggests that few advocacy organizations are taking advantage of the new opportunities for publicizing their causes, and a fundamental shift in approach may be due. (Thanks to Phil Hosmer for this nugget.)

An article in PR Week suggests that few advocacy organizations are taking advantage of the new opportunities for publicizing their causes, and a fundamental shift in approach may be due. (Thanks to Phil Hosmer for this nugget.)

An article in PR Week suggests that few advocacy organizations are taking advantage of the new opportunities for publicizing their causes, and a fundamental shift in approach may be due. (Thanks to Phil Hosmer for this nugget.)

A social entrepreneur has launched “Help a Reporter,” a free service to link reporters looking for sources to nonprofits who may have expert sources. If you want to be quoted, sign up!

A social entrepreneur has launched “Help a Reporter,” a free service to link reporters looking for sources to nonprofits who may have expert sources. If you want to be quoted, sign up!

A social entrepreneur has launched “Help a Reporter,” a free service to link reporters looking for sources to nonprofits who may have expert sources. If you want to be quoted, sign up!

A social entrepreneur has launched “Help a Reporter,” a free service to link reporters looking for sources to nonprofits who may have expert sources. If you want to be quoted, sign up!

A social entrepreneur has launched “Help a Reporter,” a free service to link reporters looking for sources to nonprofits who may have expert sources. If you want to be quoted, sign up!