Peter Shankman - Founder HARO on SocialMediopolis Live!

Chicke Fitzgerald and Michael Crosson co-hosts of SocialMediopolis Live! interview Peter Shankman, the founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO). 




PR Week Magazine has described Peter as “redefining the art of networking,” and Investor’s Business Daily has called him “crazy, but effective.” Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you harness the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and make it work to your advantage. An entrepreneur, author, speaker, and worldwide connector, Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about Social Media, PR, marketing, advertising, creativity, and customer service.

Peter is perhaps best known for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) which in under a year has become the de-facto standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources on deadline, offering them more than 100,000 sources around the world looking to be quoted in the media. HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,200 queries from worldwide media each week. HARO’s tagline, “Everyone is an Expert at Something,” proves over and over again to be true, as thousands of new members join at helpareporter.com each week. In addition to HARO, Peter is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. His blog, which he launched as a website in 1995, (www.shankman.com) both comments on and generates news and conversation.

Chicke Fitzgerald - Intro to SocialMediopolis Live!

SocialMediopolis Host and Producer, Chicke Fitzgerald and Tiffany Topcik talk about the launch of SocialMediopolis Live! 

Bill Tancer of HITWISE on SocialMedipolis Live!

 

Click here to listen to the SocialMediopolis broadcast with Bill Tancer 

SocialMediopolis Live! goes Live

SocialMediopolis Live goes Live!

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) February 1, 2010 – SocialMediopolis Live!, the new radio voice of SocialMediopolis.com, launched its inaugural show this past week featuring well-known public relations expert Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out, HARO.com, and author of “Can We Do That?” 

This week the show featured entrepreneur Dan Neely, the CEO of Networked Insights and focused on how to use the social web to help advertisers and marketers make better strategic decisions.  Neely talked about the difference between simply monitoring what is going on in social media, verses "listening" and using discovery based intelligence. 

Hosted by SocialMediopolis.com founder Michael Crosson and SolutionzMedia founder Chicke Fitzgerald, the shows air each week on Monday at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/socialmediopolis and is broadcast live from the Capital of Social Media. Listeners can call in with questions and comments on (917) 889-8137, or participate using live chat. All shows are also available on demand after they air live, and listeners can also subscribe to a dedicated iTunes channel.

“I am delighted at the response we our debut show received,” said Crosson. “Peter Shankman was extremely informative and we definitely had the lively ‘give and take’ and learning experience we are after for this new venue. 

Crosson said the guest lineup for the balance of February features Bill Tancer, General Manager, Global Research at Hitwise; Richard Jalichandra, CEO of Technorati, and Michael Tchong, founder of Ubercool.  March’s guests include Elisa Camahort Page, the founder of BlogHer.com, Geoff Ramsey, CEO of eMarketer, Henry Hartevelt, VP and Principal Analyst, Forrester Research and we will round the month out with a Q&A with Peter Shankman, due to the popularity of our launch program.  

“At SocialMediopolis.com we are always on the lookout for new ways to serve our community of social media marketers,” said Crosson, “and we expect this exciting radio venue to fast become one of their most valued avenues for keeping up with the explosive growth and impact of social media as a business and personal marketing tool.” He added that partnering with co-host and executive producer Chicke Fitzgerald was a natural fit, since Chicke has her own radio show network and has aired more than 150 shows for business and marketing this year.

 “We are delighted to be partnering with SocialMediopolis to provide this new service to Michael’s members, our clients and to anyone else who wants to stay abreast of the latest technological innovations, tools and insights, and interact with some of the top minds in social media.  Peter Shankman was vintage Shankman on our launch show and Dan Neely kicked off February with great insights about how to separate the signal from the noise,” said Fitzgerald. She also encouraged anyone interested in being considered as a future feature guest to contact her as well.

 About SocialMediopolis

SocialMediopolis is a collaborative, private community for social media marketers published by social media innovator Michael Crosson, who also runs the largest social media group on LinkedIn with more than 50,000 members. For more information about SocialMediopolis, please visit www.SocialMediopolis.com, email mcrosson@changetheworld.com or call Michael Crosson at (415) 299-0637.

 About SolutionzMedia

The Solutionz Media Group, a sister company of the Solutionz Group, is a social media think tank and innovator, integrating the traditional marketing disciplines with the new array of social media tools to build brand and reputation. Solutionz Media specializes in the innovative use of social media to increase client and prospect engagement, including private label radio shows, such as SocialMediopolis Live!.  For more information please visit www.solutionzmedia.com, email chicke@solutionz.com, or call Chicke Fitzgerald at (813) 925-0789.

#5in5 Twitter Five in Five™

Today's Word of Mouth Media Five in Five™ list is for Twitter™.

1. Look at the Twitter Trending Topics in the right margin on the Twitter page and follow someone that posted something interesting on a topic that intrigues you.
2. Retweet a post from a good friend
3. Search for your own name or company name in http://www.search.twitter.com and see what folks are saying. If no one is talking about you, check back in a week after using Twitter Five in Five™ and see if anything changes.
4. Thank someone that retweeted one of your posts
5. Using @ and the person's name, acknowledge several people that followed you recently

Twitter - Self-expression is liberating

So who doesn't want to be liberated? I know that isn't a word that is used often these days, unless you are in jail in the Ivory Coast (can you tell that I watched Blood Diamond this week?). Or perhaps you are reminiscing the 70's and what it was like for a woman to actually get a full time job and to open doors for men if she felt like it.

But I'm not talking about breaking out of jail or women's lib. I'm talking about letting out the thoughts that are trapped inside your head, or even more, your heart. Taking off your shoes after a healthy rain and going for a walk and then letting the description of that walk make it out of your experience and into the blogosphere.

Well, I didn't go for a walk in the rain, but this week I published my first business book, Bootstrap Business, and I can tell you that getting to express yourself in print, along with the likes of Tom Hopkins (The Art of Selling), John Christensen (Fish!) and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) is heady stuff!

When the UPS man arrived with the 15 cases of books, it was all I could do not to kiss and hug him. I settled for giving him an autographed copy of the book! After that, what was the first thing that I did? Well of course, I published that "walk after the rain" moment. On Twitter.

So why Twitter? How liberating can 140 characters be?

Well, truth be known, it wasn't just Twitter. I use Ping.fm to reach the thousands that follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo and other popular social media platforms. It is all about Word of Mouth after all. And I wanted to shout on the housetops that my book was finally out! And 140 characters was enough.

But now, with a little more time on my hands (and some background work in place), I now move on to the blog behind the Tweet strategy of sharing my excitement about my book and linking to a little more information than just talking about hugging the UPS man to my network.

So the story behind the story is that there was groundwork that needed to be put down before I could take it further than just a simple Tweet. Now I have stepped back and deployed what I have learned in my social media immersion training over the past 6 months and have created a Facebook fan page for the book (which I dutifully shortened to www.tinyurl.com/fbbootstrapbusiness). I of course Tweeted about that. I posted the press release on numerous sites and Tweeted about that. Yesterday we put my book on Amazon (another thrill) and of course, am Tweeting about that. And tomorrow, I will do a couple of videos and will of course, Tweet about that. And then comes the article marketing strategy. You get the picture.

So, is Twitter the power behind the liberation? I vote yes. At least as the first step in my overall book promotion strategy! More on the other components as the week progresses!

Bootstrap Business is ready to ship!

September 3, 2009 SEVIERVILLE, TENNESSEE — In the summer of 2008, Chicke Fitzgerald, consultant, keynote speaker and author, was selected from a nationwide search to be featured in Bootstrap Business; a highly successful book series from Tennessee based Insight Publishing. The book is now available for sale (http://www.solutionz.com/publications.asp).

The book features best-selling authors Tom Hopkins (How to Master the Art of Selling), Jack Canfield (One Minute Manager), and John Christensen (FISH!). Chicke Fitzgerald, Hopkins, Canfield, and Christensen are joined by other well known authors and speakers, each offering time-tested strategies for success in frank and intimate interviews.

As the founder and CEO of Tampa-based Solutionz Group, Chicke Fitzgerald has spent the last 13 years solving business growth challenges for corporations, nurturing early-stage companies and coaching top executives and entrepreneurs around the globe.

With 30+ years in the travel industry, Chicke is a recognized authority on distributions models, whose expert perspective is frequently sought by the investment community and media. Fitzgerald is currently affiliated with the Gerson Lehman Group and has been among the top investment advisors for the internationally renowned GLG Expert Network™.

She is also passionate about helping others master the use of technology and social media to foster growth through her Solutionz Media division. Since January of 2009 she has interviewed more than 150 authors and experts on her Solutionz Live! show on BlogTalkRadio.com and on the Executive Girlfriends' Group (http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com).

When she is not coaching, speaking or consulting, Chicke enjoys spending time with her family in Tampa, Florida. She also dedicates time, energy and resources to a local organization known as Real Estate Lives, mentoring displaced employees hard hit by the mortgage banking crisis and working with the organization’s leadership to build a similar model for other industries and communities to replicate.

To discuss speaking opportunities with Chicke Fitzgerald and to order your copy of Bootstrap Business, contact:

Chicke Fitzgerald | 813-925-0789 | chicke@solutionz.com or visit www.solutionz.com

Introducing the Word of Mouth Media Minute video series

Solutionz Media is proud to announce the Word of Mouth Media Minute video series, which launched today with its first video about, what else, making a You Tube video!

This practical video series, hosted by Chicke Fitzgerald, will provide regular tips on getting on the Social Grid using Word of Mouth Media.

The Relationship Ladder - Rung #5 CONVERSATION

Bravo, you've gotten past thinking that SPAM and NOISE are good ways to get sales referrals or to gain a reputation (a good one that is). You've even gotten some folks to respond to you as you comment on various articles and blogs. RESPONSE is good.

Perhaps you have taken the big step beyond 140 character communication (aka Twitter or any other micro-blogging/status update) and have become a citizen of the blogosphere.

The secret there of course is saying something that people are interested and of course, working to engage them in DIALOGUE. That gets you as far as Rung #4.

So how do you get to Rung #5, CONVERSATION?

What is the real difference between online dialogue and conversation? I would distill it down to one word - ENGAGEMENT.

You can see that I've added the word engagement to sit across from the word relationship. True relationship is built over time and quite often involves "knowing" the person, either personally by meeting face to face or by talking over the phone (or Skype). Engagement can occur with people that you don't "know" in any sense other than dialogue over the Internet.

You don't normally use the term dialogue with people that you know intimately (e.g. "I had a great dialogue with my husband Michael yesterday"). No, that is a conversation.

What we are talking about here is the degree of engagement, the degree of relationship.

Stay tuned to hear about the next rung, which requires you to also add in a large dose of trust into the equation.


Chicke Fitzgerald | founder | Solutionz Media 813-925-0789

The Relationship Ladder - Rung #4 DIALOGUE

You've invested a lot of time in trying to elicit a response. Perhaps the reason that you haven't been successful (yet!) is that you are spread too thin.

This week I made a major decision which was predicated by coming to the realization that I was indeed spread too thin, in a lot of areas of my life, including social media.

For those that know me well, you'll understand that it takes a lot to get me to that point, as multi-tasking is my middle name.

Getting people engaged in dialogue online is getting more and more difficult. Case in point is Groups on Facebook and Linked In. Lots of people join them, perhaps to have that "badge" on their profile so people know what they are interested in, but very few people get engaged to the point where they are actually eliciting dialogue.

Dialogue is first and foremost a function of LISTENING. You can't have a meaningful dialogue if you are the only one talking. That is called monologue for a reason. So the difference between Rung #3 of trying to elicit a response and #4, DIALOGUE is how much listening you are doing versus talking.

Is your response one that is just intended to turn the attention back to you? Or do you really care about the other person's views and their needs?

One of the characteristics of true online dialogue is when it has more than a single cycle (e.g. a comment that may have a response, but no more interaction) or when someone else chimes in, having found value in your contribution.

To get to multiple cycles, well, that is Rung #5 - Conversation. Stay tuned!

Chicke Fitzgerald | co-founder | Word of Mouth Media

The Relationship Ladder - Rung #3 RESPONSE

You fully understand that rung #1 of the ladder is spamming and you've gotten past rung #2, noise.

You get it -- that in order to really make a dent in the social grid, you have to get folks engaged. You need to get a response -- to get noticed.

Quite often, the first step is following the big boys, the leaders of the social media pack.

You read their blogs, you comment, you try to get noticed for your clever observations. You join Digg, Disqus, Reddit, Newsvine and others and post your comments and even check that you want to "follow the dialogue". But the transom is silent.

You "retweet" their posts on Twitter. You shift your strategy to retweeting the posts of people that you know and follow.

You comment on their YouTube videos and even venture out into doing video comments.

Perhaps you are bold enough to launch your own blog or post articles on eZine.com. You even add a Google FriendFeed to your blog to give the hordes a way to signal their response.

While you are pursuing relationship and engagement, which is better than noise,
at this juncture, what you are still doing says loud and clear, "Listen to me! I matter!". It simply isn't enough to just talk or to hope that you can elicit a response.

Getting past the response stage takes time and energy. Getting to dialogue isn't easy, but the good news is that it is possible.

Stay tuned. We're going there next.

Chicke Fitzgerald | co-founder | Word of Mouth Media

The Relationship Ladder - Rung #1 SPAM

Today's post is thanks to Travel Social Media's blog by Chicke Fitzgerald

Of all of the things that I've learned in my 6 month immersion into social media, this one is the most important. It is so important, that I'm going to break it into a series of posts, each one addressing the various rungs of the relationship ladder.

RUNG #1 - SPAM
Without any training or strategy, most everyone that wants to get across a point, get people to an event, or to somehow get them into your sales funnel, begin online at the bottom rung of the Word of Mouth media™ relationship ladder.

SPAM is not just a brand of canned mystery meat, it is what happens when you attempt to have some sort of dialogue or conversation (or what you think might appear to someone as such) without any form of current relationship.

I say current, because most of us have been building our email list (aka address book) for more than a decade. We have everyone from friends and family, to business colleagues, clients, former clients, all the way down to the guy you sat next to on an airplane in 2002, but can't even remember why you thought he was important enough to add to your address book.

We've all done it. You are in a hurry, so you send out a notice of a product launch, an event, a company announcement or even a particularly funny joke, but what you forget to do is to ensure that the person on the other end will actually (a) remember you; (b) care about what you want them to care about.

It goes without saying that this is not only not a good idea, but it is actually counterproductive on a number of fronts.

1. You stand to alienate people that you actually care about a great deal (either personally or professionally).
2. You don't give them a graceful way to tell you that they don't care or more likely, don't have the time for whatever you want them to care about
3. You don't sway them to your way of thinking (they hit delete or navigate away from your post, or worse, unfriend you electronically) before they figure out what it is you really want
   

So, if you are on this rung, STOP | THINK | DON'T SPAM. Stay tuned for Rung #2.