The Buyer Group PR + SEO News

By: Matt Innes

Tiger Woods didn’t turn himself into the first athlete to earn $1 billion without proving he was capable of dramatic comebacks and improbable victories.

As news continues to swirl in the aftermath of Woods’ public apology, fans and sponsors keep dropping like the PGA Tour’s television ratings, causing many to question Tiger’s strategy for mending his reputation and repairing his image.

I have speculated Tiger’s current spokesman and communications advisor, former head of public relations at the oft media maligned Augusta National Golf Course Glenn Greenspan, has contributed to his head in the sand communications approach. (Stay tuned for more on Glenn “No Comment” Greenspan next week) (more…)

As millions worldwide watched a stoic, unfamiliar Tiger Woods admit wrongdoing and attempt to repair an image shattered by secrecy and sex, reactions on Twitter were as diverse and polarizing as Tiger’s mistresses. Much has been made about Tiger’s public relations response, or lack thereof, since the golf icon’s single car crash in November and stories of infidelity flooded the news.

Today, The Buyer Group was monitoring the public’s reaction online and has compiled a collection of Tweets. Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments section, or join the conversation online with @thebuyergroup or @mattinnes (more…)

By: Lisa Buyer

Did you know 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media, according to our favorite site www.mashable.com. Talk about chemistry!

As an interactive PR agency, The Buyer Group says people need a reason to interact with you on social media. It’s kind of like building a little chemistry for that first kiss. If you can’t relate by being engaging, entertaining or humorous, not only will you get the awkward “turn-of-the-cheek move” on your date’s doorstep, but your efforts on Facebook and Twitter could be all for not.

This notion was backed by my recent trip to PubCon Las Vegas. I met Jennifer Laycock, editor of SearchEngineGuide.com: A small business guide to search marketing. As a PubCon panelist Laylock summed up how to successfully relate online.

Seven Tips to Build Relationships on Social Media

1.    Listen. Find out what makes customers happy, what they are saying and what changes you can make. Get personal insights on media or bloggers, and find a common point for interaction.

2.    Be romantic. Relationships require work and effort. Use Yelp or Google Reviews to identify loyal and passionate customers. Encourage and invite these customers to take part in your business through special offers.

3.    No sex on the first date. Long-term customer relationships don’t develop over night. Invest the time, and be confident that the “score” will come.

4.    Don’t pretend to be someone else. Be yourself. Insincerity is easy to recognize online.

5.    Make yourself available. You need to put yourself out there and find a way to interact with customers. Wallflowers won’t make the cut in social media. Interaction and conversations are key.

6.    Seek out the right match. The right connections may not be available through every social media channel.  Find out which sites your key publics frequent and engage with them there.  It is easier to connect with customers on their terms than trying to attract them to a new forum.

7.    Value the long-term relationship. Accomplish this by delivering value time and time again. It is far cheaper to keep a customer than to get a new customer, so give them reasons to come back.

So forget the cheesy pick-up lines and go for quality in social media interaction. The best relationships are those developed slow and steady.

Things will never be the same…

It may sound like a break up line, but in business, it’s true. Social media and search are changing how we do business – including everything from customer service to online branding to marketing.

Looking for me this week?  Follow me on Twitter.com/lisabuyer for status tweets. (And if you’re wondering what Twitter is, then ummmm, we should talk.)

I’m a speaker at PubCon Las Vegas, a national search marketing and social media conference. You can find me on the panel “PR Experts and Twitter,” but better yet – I’m attending the coolest sessions, hand picked for today’s PR strategies.

How valuable is all this?

P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S – especially in this economy – forget about the way things used to be done, it’s a whole new ball game. Question is: Are you on the field or in the stands?

Check out my agenda for the next few days:

• Behind the scenes headquarter tour of e-commerce powerhouse Zappos
• Reputation Monitoring and Management
• Online Brand Management Strategies
• Using PR Campaigns to Grow Traffic
• Domain Names and Trademark Legal Issues
• Hot Trending Topics with Twitter
• Capitalizing on Twitter and Microblogging
• Killer Twitter Apps and how to apply them to PR
• Intersection of Search and Social Media
• Tracking Results

Interested in getting together to see how you can apply strategies to your biz? Let me know.

Send me a direct message on Twitter @lisabuyer or email me at lbuyer@thebuyergroup.com.

See you online,

Lisa

Put a face to your name and reveal who is behind your messages.  Whether it is the company’s CEO, social media coordinator or Frank from Accounting, allowing your audience to connect a real face and name with your content will help to foster a relationship and encourage interaction.

The CEO of Virgin, Richard Branson, is the face of his company’s social media presence.