The Buyer Group PR + SEO News

Demonstrating the explosive growth of social media sites, USA Today may have become the world’s first major news outlet to write a story entirely from interviews on Twitter, the Web’s newest hotspot.

According to a social media webinar presented by SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization), more than 14% of CEOs are now actively tweeting.  USA Today Money Section’s Del Jones completed his story exclusively with CEO sources reachable through Twitter.

This statistic highlights SEMPO’s assertion that the future, if not the present, of all media is social.  Even more important to the world of online public relations is the intersection between social media sites and online search results. SEMPO stressed the point that search engines are increasingly displaying social media as top results.

The instant response platforms of social media sites have allowed for more to be said about brands than ever, placing new pressure on companies to monitor and engage in dialogue with consumers.  For information on how your business can use social media to its advantage contact The Buyer Group at lbuyer@thebuyergoup.com.

The Buyer Group’s CEO, Lisa Buyer, along with social media intern, Matt Innes, stepped up to bat yesterday with former Florida Marlin’s All Star Jeff Conine filming video testimonials for the Shop To Earn/Shop To Earth network. Five videos were produced detailing ‘Mr. Marlin’s’ personal and business experiences with ShopToEarn.

The clips were filmed in Conine’s personal memorabilia room and will be used as part of Shop To Earn’s social media PR strategy. They will be released on Shop To Earn’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter channels.

Conine calls Shop to Earn his “third career” after winning two World Series with the Marlins as a player and now serving as a Special Assistant to the President in the team’s front office.

Stay tuned for the full details about Jeff Conine joining ShopToEarn and check out the YouTube video interview here.

Matt Innes is the newest member of The Buyer Group team, working as a social media intern for the summer of 2009.  A senior at the University of Florida, Matt is majoring in Public Relations with minors in Sports Management, Entrepreneurship and Education. He is a member of UF’s PRSSA chapter and his previous journalism experience includes writing for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel’s Next Generation program.

Matt’s role at The Buyer Group ranges from helping update client’s social media channels, writing and editing content for press releases and blogs and assisting in meetings with clients.

“I know that interactive public relations and social media are the future of the communications industry,” said Innes.  “I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with The Buyer Group this summer. My goal is to learn about public relations, branding and social media as it relates to the professional realm.”

Below is a photo of Matt Innes and Jeff Conine, a former Florida Marlins player.  This was taken during one of Innes’ first assignments, filming testimonial videos for The Buyer Group client, ShopToEarn.

Lisa Buyer returns from Los Angeles where she was a featured speaker at the Shop to Earn Six Steps to Success conference.  Her presentation focuses on the growing popularity, power and influence of social media.

Lisa demonstrates how Shop to Earn representatives can get started on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn as a way to maximize their business networks.  The live presentation was taped and will be a part of the Shop to Earn training videos for all members.

If your business in interested in applying public relations or social media strategies contact Lisa Buyer at lbuyer@thebuyergroup.com.

Lisa Buyer has been invited back to speak at Search Engine Strategies San Jose from August 10-14, 2009.  This time, Buyer will be speaking on search and find.  Literally.  The Buyer Group has been working on the Tiffany Sessions Project, a social media campaign to find a clients daughter who went missing 20 years ago.  Buyer will discuss the social media and SEO tactics used to find leads in the Tiffany Sessions case.  Read on for more information about the SES session.

Search & Community Track
SEO for the Greater Good: Using Search to Find Missing Persons

Most people searching for missing adults, children and runaways have limited funds and limited knowledge of search and the available strategies. In this ground-breaking session you will hear from Bob Rahn, a private investigator, who is working on the cold case of a missing adult – pro bono. His private investigation firm approached traditional media as a resource to help spread the word, since he did not know the various avenues available in search or how to implement them. The use of search has been limited due to a lack of funds and not understanding the available search strategies. Missing persons and runaway children cases are some of the most difficult cases to solve and in each case, time is of the essence.

According to Rahn, “Unfortunately with traditional media, we get limited exposure to the case. If we are lucky we get one article or news film clip and that’s it. We believe that by using the unlimited resources of the Internet we would be able to keep the case out in the public eye for an unlimited amount of time.”

Rahn will be joined by Kathleen Fealy, SEO Strategist, who is working with Rahn to optimize web pages and various digital assets in the cold case of missing person Vernon Kent Jones and by Lisa Buyer, PR/SEO, who for many years has been helping Patrick Sessions with a social media campaign to generate leads in the missing persons case of his daughter, Tiffany Sessions.

Current Missing Persons Search Engine Statistics:

• In Google a search for press release + missing persons returns 5,430,000 results. 16,100,000 results for families + missing persons
• Twitter has various alert systems such as http://twitter.com/missingchildren
• Facebook has over 500 fan pages, most posted by families, law enforcement, cities and countries.

Speakers:

• Kathleen Fealy, President, KF Multimedia & Web, Inc.
• Lisa Buyer, President & CEO, The Buyer Group
• Lt. Robert H. Rahn, (Retired), CEO & Director of Investigations, Mgmt Resources Ltd of NY

The Buyer Group’s Lisa Buyer with Sarah Van Elzen take the lead of a social media webinar designed exclusively for the Shop To Earn Network.  This Social Media Boot Camp gives interactive training on how to get started on social media sites, with a special focus on Twitter.  Shop To Earn’s President and CEO Dan Swiniarski fully embraces Twitter, now communicating meaningful updates twice a day to the 80,000+ Shop To Earn Network.  Follow him today @danswiniarski.
For information on how you can bring online public relations and social media to your business contact Lisa Buyer on Twitter @lisabuyer.