Websites, blogs, texting and social media are serving as a viral PR and marketing platform for the recent Haiti disaster relief efforts.
The Red Cross texting campaign went viral through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and donations for Haiti alone have already doubled the $4 million that was donated to all charities by mobile texts in all of 2009.
Think about how you can use your own website, blog or social media network to spread the word and make it easy for people to access ways to donate. If you haven’t already done so, think of these possibilities for your business to help Haiti.
Add Tweets to your Twitter broadcasts linking to an organization such as the Red Cross
Post info on your Facebook
Add a link to your email signature
Donate some time to helping locally
For example help a local Red Cross chapter. My sister’s restaurant La Gondola donated food to the Chicago Red Cross on Friday via @PrSarahEvans Tweet media push. Evans spent the day on location with the Red Cross Tweeting and pitching in to help spread the social good. You can too.
The Buyer Group will continue to donate time and a portion of sales to the Clinton Bush Haiti Relief Fund as well as ShopToEarth’s partner Charity Water.
What can you do? Get creative! Below is a list of some ways the media and social media are spreading the word:
1. The Huffington Post has an ongoing list of relief efforts and how you can get involved that it is going to continue updating. Check it out here.
2. CNN has compiled a list of organizations that will be providing support to the estimated 3 million people that have been affected by the earthquake.
3. Many people are engaging the Twitter community to raise awareness, as well as funds. Search “Haiti” and see what the latest updates are.
Unprecedented damage and destruction on the island nation of Haiti has been met by an extraordinary fund raising effort through the Internet and social media.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Aid workers began updating followers on Facebook and Twitter within minutes of the 7.0 earthquake striking Port-au-Prince on January 12.
The Red Cross alone has raised over $8 million through their “Text Haiti” campaign that allows cell phone users to donate $10 via text message.
The Buyer Group has compiled a list of ways social media is contributing to the relief efforts in Haiti.
@RedCrosshas been providing updates and requests for assistance through Twitter. They announced yesterday that more than $35 million has already been donated in support of the people in Haiti.
@wyclef Wyclef Jean tweeted a message to his almost 1.4 million followers: “Please text ‘Yéle’ to 501501 to donate $5 to Yéle Haiti. Your money will help with relief efforts. They need our help.” His followers have responded by donating nearly $1 million since Tuesday.
@decappealis the Disasters Emergency Committee, a group that coordinates efforts by United Kingdom charities. The DEC has seen its followers double in Twitter following the quake and is expecting “astronomically higher” donations because of their increased Web presence.
@whitehouseEven President Obama is using social media as a fundraising source. The White House issued a video update Thursday afternoon and has designed a graphic for bloggers and Web sites to post on their pages.
@cbhaitifundAt the request of the White House, President Clinton and President Bush are also partnering in the efforts to help the Haitian people reclaim their country and rebuild their lives through the creation of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
Deerfield Beach, FL –October 15,2009– Wondering what your Tweets are worth? With Twitter’s new estimated value at $1 billion, there must be a very positive PR Tweetfactor. Lisa Buyer, president and CEO of The Buyer Group, joins Internet marketing experts in Las Vegas, November 10-13, at WebmasterWorld’s PubCon Internet Marketing Conference, highlighting the impact of social media on public relations.
Opening the conference as keynote speaker is Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who has made his mark as an early CEO adapter of Twitter as a PR tool. Zappos has become famous for its fanatical devotion to customer service, and Hsieh has proven the power of Twitter as a relationship-building tool.
“Tony has put Zappos at the forefront of the Twitter revolution within the CEO world,” Buyer said, “He’s been the CEO darling of Twitter and provides a perfect launching pad for the conference, which will be something to Tweet home about for sure.”
Incorporating social media tactics into everyday PR is The Buyer Group’s specialty. At PubCon, Buyer will delve into “the Twitter factor” and describe its power in a corporate public relations strategy. Buyer uses her own case studies as well interview results from other Twitter professionals who dish out the Tweets for PR and media purposes.
With over 15 years of business management and communications experience, Buyer understands the importance of engaging with customers in an online social sphere that encourages them to speak openly about brands.
“It is so incredibly important for companies to stay on top of the conversations surrounding their brands,” Buyer said. “Social media is opening the door for more people to broadcast their opinions than ever before in history. This change only adds to the responsibility of companies to actively engage with consumers and drive discussions that are mutually beneficial to both the public and their brands.”
Las Vegas PubCon 2009 will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, November 10 – 13, 2009. The event will include sessions on search, Web 2.0, net marketing, SEO/SEM, affiliates, domainers, video, and multimedia and is sponsored by bing.com and Raven Internet Marketing Tools.
For more information, join the conversation on Twitter by following @lisabuyer and @pubcon.
About Lisa Buyer
When it comes to relationships, Lisa Buyer believes the chemistry between search, social media and public relations is exponential. As the founder of three media companies and current CEO of The Buyer Group, Lisa is ambitious about the influence public relations has on Social Media, SEO/SEM and continues to share her innovative approach with clients, peers and associates. The Buyer Group is an interactive public relations and branding agency in South Florida that also offers consulting services for agencies transitioning from old school media to today’s best search engine strategies. The Buyer Group’s PR/SEO clients consist of public and private companies in the technology, real estate and health/beauty industries.
Lisa is a Certified Google Adword Professional, member of SEMPO, SFMIA and past Agency Management Roundtable. She also publishes a PR/SEO news blog in addition to her social media involvement and expertise. When it comes to interactive PR and corporate communication – Lisa believes Social Media, SEO/SEM should be part of the boardroom marketing mix.
About PubCon
PubCon is an educational conference and industry trade show produced by Webmaster World Inc. Specifically designed for internet professionals, the conference focuses on topics related to search engine marketing and optimization as well as website publishing and management.
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 Lisa Buyer at lbuyer@thebuyergoup.com.
It’s what every CEO should know, SES San Jose keynote speaker Charlene Li maps future of search and social media at SES San Jose 2009.
CEO’s, decision makers, marketers, and business owners need to break out of the bubble and explore social media. An authentic relationship with clients and prospects via social media can create essential benefits for any business.
Charlene Li, the Founder of Altimeter Group and co-author of Groundswell, gave her keynote speech at SES San Jose 2009 on the future of search. Charlene described the “pyramid,” outlining your target market, in particular, those who are sharing the content you provide. Charlene also said that companies need to start at the bottom and reach out to those who are consuming and absorbing your content. The first step is interacting with those consumers, which in turn builds a stronger foundation to market your product.
The video below shows portions of Li’s speech about CitySearch partnering with Facebook and also commentary from The Buyer Group’s Lisa Buyer and Pattie Simone, from Womenentrepreneur.com. Pattie suggests that companies are still silent about giving up control in the social media space when they should encouraging the use of this medium. Charlene confirms this saying that companies must create relationships in social media space in order to foster trust and authenticity. Lisa Buyer adds a client case study about how The Buyer Group has created relationships of value for their client using social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
The Buyer Group highly recommends the book Groundswell to all clients and prospects to get Li’s perspective and valuable insight on the impact social media and social networks for all businesses.
More than just a press release, online PR and branding agency programs offer investor relations, social media, search engine strategies, journalism, and digital media talent
Delray Beach, FL - July 31, 2009 – What assets should a business look for when hiring an online PR agency? Talent, credentials, resources and results, says Lisa Buyer, PR agency owner, blogger and SES speaker. The Buyer Group announces the addition of a diverse team of industry experts for clients looking for more than just a press release.
In addition to its in-house PR and social media talent, The Buyer Group pools together a virtual team of business consultants as part of the agency business model including: investment relations specialist Kelly McCarthy, SEO/SEM expert Joe Laratro, senior journalist and new media expert Jennifer LeClaire, award-winning brand guru Carah Von Funk, and search-savvy web agency owner Stephen Rosen.
“These additions to our team underline additional depth, breadth, and value of the online PR services from The Buyer Group,” said Lisa Buyer. “The future of the online public relations agency system is fluid, virtual, adaptable, and diverse,” said Buyer. “Our ability to tap into the diversity of industry expert minds when building a PR campaigns is priceless to clients.”
Industry Experts Joining The Buyer Group Team
Kelly McCarthy @kelly_mccarthy, president and CEO of Infusion Capital, an investor relations agency.
Joe Laratro @jlaratro, president and CEO of Tandem Interactive, an online marketing agency that specializes in search engine marketing and SEO strategies, education and training
Jennifer LeClaire @jleclaire, a new media entrepreneur offering expert journalism content and reporting.
Stephen Rosen @sitemind, owner of Sitemind, a search-savvy web site design and development studio.
The Buyer Group is an interactive public relations and branding agency that leverages 20 years of award-winning PR services and social media experience. Always dynamic and cutting-edge, The Buyer Group bolsters its personalized and boutique approach to public relations, offering skills and knowledge that larger PR agencies are not positioned to supply without sending clients to multiple sources.
About The Buyer Group @thebuyergroup
The Buyer Group is a member of the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association and is recognized as a Google Advertising Professional Company. Lisa Buyer is a regular speaker at Internet Marketing conferences including PubCon and Search Engine Strategies talking on the topics of online PR, News search SEO and the influences of social media. For more information about The Buyer Group and its interactive public relations, social media and online branding services visit http://www.thebuyergroup.com or follow Lisa Buyer on Twitter @lisabuyer.
With rumors spreading that Google will soon offer real-time search capabilities, allowing for the indexing of Tweets and other up-to-the-minute data, it is becoming essential that users optimize their Twitter profiles and content to rank highly in search results.
The following list is a breakdown of the Top 10 Twitter SEO Tips from Mashable.com. As an online public relations agency, The Buyer Group uses each of these strategies to manage and optimize clients’ social media channels, providing quality exposure and promotion for their businesses.
According to Mashable, “By following these 10 Twitter tips, you, your company or your brand can build up more prominent links in high places on the engines.”
1 -Choose a good handle - Usernames need to be memorable, relevant and add value to your brand. Your username will also become part of your customized Twitter URL, making it important to be consistent among social media channels.
2- Select an account name wisely - Your account name appears next to your username. The Buyer Group uses this field as an additional opportunity to incorporate relevant key words into a profile.
3- Make your bio count - Twitter allows users 140 characters to describe themselves. Use them. Your bio needs to include relevant key words and phrases that boost the value of your brand and rank highly in search.
4- Spread the word – Placing your Twitter URL on other social media sites as well as on many of the pages of your own Web site will help drive up its link value in search engines.
5- Remember your URL – Including a link to your brand’s site or even another social media profile is one of the easiest things you can do to promote your business.
6 -Select the initial characters of each tweet carefully - The first characters of each tweet determine the message’s title tag as a search result and may end up having the most impact on its future SEO value.
7 – Write keyword-rich tweets if possible - There needs to be a balance between keywords and content. Starting tweets with relevant keywords is a great way to theme your messages and capitalize on timely “buzz words.”
8- Mind your re-tweetability – Keeping your messages around 120 characters will allow for maximum re-tweetability.
9 – Provide some link love- Twitter has become a very useful tool for promotion of messages and driving traffic to specific content. Using a URL shortener such as Bit.ly will not only make it easy to fit links into your 140 characters, but also allow tracking click-throughs.
10 – As always, give ‘em what they want -Your followers on Twitter want timely and informative content. Making sure your tweets and links provide something of interest to your followers is the number one goal on Twitter.
As the media landscape evolves by the day, social media has emerged as the newest mountain to climb for public relations and marketing agencies.
Recognizing what worked in the past may not work today, The Buyer Group has embraced the opportunity of allowing social media to generate leads and profits for large and small businesses, nationally and locally.
SFIMA’s workshop taught the tools and tactics sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube offer to attract customers and coverage for any brand.
The expert, star-studded panel included:
Melissa Goodis of Crispin Porter Bogusky
Jay Berkowitz of TenGoldenRules.com – @JayBerkowitz
Catherine Schenquerman and Stephanie Leavit of Carnival Cruise Lines
J.B. Glossinger of MorningCoach.com – @MorningCoach
Mande White of FreeSocialMediaHelp.com – @MandeWhite
John Lawson of colderICE -@colderICE
Detailed analysis and information from all the speakers can be found on Twitter by searching the trending topic #SFIMA.
