The next time you think about writing a press release, ask yourself- “Will anyone really care?”  Chances are, besides your mom, the people in your company, and maybe your clients, no one will give a damn about the fact that you just signed a new client (unless it’s Google) or that you won an award for best decorated Christmas tree in your town of 5,000.

Am I saying that those things don’t matter and that you shouldn’t talk about them at all?  No.  They are very important parts of a comprehensive PR strategy, but they are not what a good release makes.  You should talk about the “smaller victories”–on your blog, on your Facebook page, in an email newsletter.

A press release should really make a journalists job easy.  They have to write A LOT and are always on deadline.  Don’t swamp them with mundane information that they will not want to write about or incomplete information that makes them have to spend their precious time digging for more.

If you’re going to take the time to write a press release,

• make sure it’s something more than you care about
• if it seems that it might be too mundane, think about a different pitch
• paint a picture and then sell your story
• include factual information (and never, EVER lie)
• include necessary links and information that the writer can quickly access to add under a tight deadline
• be readily accessible to the journalist for any additional questions that may arise

Press people- what do you think?  What makes a good press release?  What really peeves you?

Lolly Rush Lux, our Associate Director of Member Services and Project Manager extraordinaire, along with her husband, Tyler, are soon leaving for London.  A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as Tyler has been transferred across the pond for a 2-year assignment.

She has been an extraordinary part of our team, one that we can all count on, seeing to the most minute of details for our clients and members alike.  She put a new definition on multi-tasking, handling everything with grace and aplomb.

How does one say goodbye to a co-worker, a friend, a trusted employee?  With tears, best wishes, and a very large martini!  You will be missed, dear Lolly!

Our very best wishes on this grand adventure.

The Curbed Network, which boasts 1.2 million unique visitors for its regionally-focused real estate blogs, launched a new blog today called Curbed National that will concentrate on home design and décor. Per the first post, the site features “Malibu dream houses to Wyoming ranches to Maine cabins, and all residences in between.”

Introducing Curbed National

With the number of unique visitors that Curbed already has, who are interested in a similar industry, this blog is sure to be a significant player in the design industry blogosphere and will be one to watch for online PR opportunities.

Visit Curbed National.

I am fairly transparent…with my social media profiles.  I don’t mind that people I know professionally see the more personal side of me.  Most people know I love martinis and Boise State football.  I tweet things that are not work-related and may sometimes border on unprofessional but I think it actually helps sculpt a fuller picture of who I am.  People want to do business with people, and not with logos.  May I turn a few people off by a few things that I say?  Maybe/probably.  However, I hope to endear more people by being more personable, by showing a sense of humor, and by being a real person–flaws and all (I know, you’re probably asking “what flaws?” and if so, you’ve been talking to my grandparents too much).

I do not limit who can see my tweets and our blog is completely open.  I only limit my LinkedIn account to people that I know, especially from school or professionally, because I think that a LinkedIn connection is somewhat an endorsement in and of itself.  However, on LinkedIn, I’m on my best behavior because that’s what people do on LinkedIn; they sit in their virtual suits with their virtual resumes and they virtually shake hands.  They don’t fist pump, take tequila shots, and wear jorts (jean shorts).

Facebook is another story.  When Facebook started showing business potential, we quickly jumped on the bandwagon with groups and then later with business pages.  However, I always kept my Facebook personal profile for me.  While it will not surprise any readers, there are probably pictures on there that I don’t want broadcasted to everyone and their mother, literally, and I have friends that post things on my wall that I might not want our banker to read.  That’s okay- I use privacy settings for anyone who is not a friend.  As Facebook has become more and more prevalent amongst professionals, I have started receiving many friend requests from people that I know purely in a professional capacity.  I used to never accept these; I made a conscious rule that my Facebook profile was for me and I could share it with whomever I wanted (that would also like to be my friend in return, of course).  A couple of months ago, when privacy settings became more robust, I started accepting purely professional contacts and put them on limited profile.  I broke my own rules.

Is your personal Facebook page under lock and key?

I immediately felt weird about it, but I felt worse denying someone that I do like “friendship.” As a result of breaking my own rules, I paid the price.  It was a minor incident and, for all intents and purposes, a miscommunication.  However, it was my fault and I knew better than to break my rules and boundaries.  I knew what I was comfortable with and I should not have wavered.

Since then, I “defriended” everyone that I previously had on limited profile.  If you are one of those people, I apologize.  It has absolutely nothing to do with how much I like you or a change in the “status” of our relationship.  I feel the same about you before the defriending that I feel about you now.

Is it not enough to connect with someone on LinkedIn and to follow them on Twitter?  Can’t they like our Facebook business page? My Facebook profile is for me, and if it means that my friends get to know me better and end up referring business to us because they like me, then that is tremendous.  Am I still friends with some people on Facebook that I first knew, and may primarily know, professionally?  Yes.  However, I feel comfortable with those people seeing more of my life.  I won’t give you reasons and I don’t have to give reasons.  It is my prerogative.  It usually has to do with how cute your profile picture is.  Of course I’m kidding but if I want that to be my friend guideline, then that is my guideline.  It is not our company rule–it is my rule.

The bottom line that I’m making here is that even the most transparent of us social media people might want to have a sacred online place too.  Don’t be offended if someone that you know does not choose to connect with you on a certain platform.  Everyone has different rules and guidelines and we don’t all need to be hyper-connected.

This is obviously my opinion considering I started about 80% of the sentences in this post with “I” but “I” would be curious to know what you all think.  Do you keep anything sacred or do you let it all hang out there?

A salon in our hometown of Charlottesville is doing a great job with promoting its business on Facebook.  They have tremendous fan interaction and loyalty, and you can really see the personality of the salon, without even stepping foot in the door.  In fact, I was so impressed with their company after being a fan on Facebook for the past few months I even considered scheduling my next hair cut there…until today.

I am a fan of their page on Facebook.  A week ago, they posted on their wall that if they got to 1,000 fans (now “likes”) by the end of May, one of their fans would receive a giveaway.  This is clearly against the Facebook Terms of Service agreement which now prohibits contests being held on a Facebook business page unless offered through a third party vendor or approved by Facebook directly.

I felt a bit like a little kid saying “my mom says that you’re not supposed to do that”, but I wanted to make sure that this salon did not get in trouble and have their hard work on Facebook be for naught.  I commented on the giveaway post by the salon and diplomatically told them to be careful about offering contests on their page.  I also said that I was not sure how actively Facebook was enforcing these guidelines, but I wanted to be sure that they knew.

What did the salon do???  They deleted my comment.  They have then proceeded to post more on their wall about this giveaway, even weekly contests to their “likes” group.  (more…)

We are very excited to be working with Ondine Karady, former set decorator for Sex and the City, finalist in Bravo TV’s Top Design, and acclaimed interior designer.  Ondine was just recently named one of 20 Young Designers by Traditional Home.

We will be working with Ondine on spreading her great design and personality even further through the beauties of social media and online PR.

As part of the 20 Young Designers feature from Traditional Home, the magazine is holding a Reader’s Choice contest.  Please support Ondine and support us by voting for her!

Note:  Make sure that you click on the “Vote!” button and not just the “Like” button to vote!

Also, by voting you are automatically entered to win a complete room design and $5,000 in fabric to outfit the room so there’s some extra incentive…besides your undying love for us.

Kelly Wearstler's Modern Glamour book cover

Whether you are a fan of Kelly Wearstler’s design or not, one cannot help but admit that her branding is top notch.  Kelly knows, as any good branding goddess should, that branding is not about your logo, your letterhead, or the colors that you use but is rather about the emotion that you invoke in every way that you “touch” your clients, your potential clients, and even your broader community.

In the interior design community, many of us are guilty of wanting our brand to be safe—to appeal to everyone.  That means that we hide our personalities, we do not let our company culture shine through, and, ultimately, we do not attract the best clients for us.

Wearstler evokes a life of glamour.

Her brand says: If I design your space, you too will live the fabulous lifestyle that I live.

You too will unload the dishwasher in a beautiful gown that coordinates with your kitchen.  (Oh, this old thing?!)

Designed by Kelly Wearstler, from O at Home magazine, via BlackWhiteBliss blog

Upon sitting down to my desk this morning I received an interesting tweet from a USA Today Leadership reporter for the Money section who was conducting a grand experiment.  Del Jones, the Money section reporter, conducted these interviews for a cover story with CEOs entirely via Twitter.  What that meant is that all of our requested responses had to be 140 characters or less, although you could send multiple tweets.  This was quite a task considering the question of the evolution of our economy’s philosophy.  I was hoping for a good warm-up question like favorite color for a spring cardigan.  However, I suppose that does not make front page news.  Below is the conversation thread showing his request to me, followed by my responses and and his follow up questions.

Many people have asked me the $64 million question about the ROI of Twitter and other social media tools.  Twitter and Facebook have provided excellent opportunities to connect with the media in more of a pull-fashion.  Previously, when contacting the media with a pitch, you might worry about calling at the wrong time or being off topic.  With social media, you are able to start or join a conversation.  In the last six months, I have been interviewed for books and magazines by editors and authors whose ears might have been deaf to my otherwise plaintive cries (considering the meek and quiet wallflower that I am).  Twitter provides a much more comfortable forum for offering yourself as a resource and not feeling overly sales-y in the process.

Here are some key takeaways for working with Twitter to connect with traditional media folks:

1.  Follow them.  Read what they tweet and start to gain insight into what they are working on.

2.  If they ask a question to the greater following, respond with something helpful.  Do not pitch them immediately.  If they like what you have to say, they will keep the conversation going.  If they don’t respond right away, don’t give up; continue to try to help and be on topic for what they request.

3.  Reporters and media people need resources.  Be that resource; direct them towards a blog post that might help, even if it is not your blog post.  In fact, it’s even better if it’s not your blog post.  You then appear to be an even greater resource and show that you have their best interests at heart.

4.  Ensure that your Twitter profile is robust.  You only have a few seconds and 160 characters to show who you are and what you do.

5.  Join a Twibe at www.twibes.com.  This is a website for Twitter groups; you may choose to join the interior designer group or the furnishings group, for example.

6.  Add yourself to the WeFollow Twitter directory at http://wefollow.com.  Use three words to describe yourself or what you are interested in.  For example, I have myself listed under #ceo, #interiordesign, and #entrepreneur.  The hashtag is added by WeFollow for help with searching.

The most important things to remember when interacting with traditional media folks is true through regular pitching or through social media interactions–be on topic and be a valuable resource.  If you are genuine and authentic, you won’t go wrong.  At least if you do, they will be much more likely to forgive you.