Sean Jackson @seanthinks: Analyzing the Experts

Sean’s presentation revolved around statistics of successful Twitter users. According to Sean, users like @Mashable tweet mostly original content and very little @replies and retweets (3% @replies and 1% RTs.) “Content matters,” Sean says. “A steady stream of Twitter content is more important than follower interaction via @ replies.” Sean contends that the quantity of tweets is not critical, as long as it’s not too few. He also debunks the commonly held theory that Twitter follower growth is not correlated to “following” others.

Lisa Buyer @lisabuyer: Tweeting for PR

I spoke about using Twitter for PR and optimizing 140-character press releases. To increase online visibility, here at The Buyer Group we integrate Twitter into our clients’ overall PR content strategy, with a monthly theme, weekly press releases and frequent blog posts. These press releases and blog posts can be broken down into small factoids, and link back to your online newsroom (you do have one, right?) For easy retweeting, the PR tweet should ideally be 120 characters or less. These 120-character tweets should be posted four to five times a day, always driving traffic back to the website by via links. For best results, optimize the tweet with keywords that can be picked up by search engines such as Google and Bing.

As Victoria Harres had mentioned earlier in the session, Twitter is also a great tool to follow, RT and interact with the media. Don’t forget to #FF!

For more online PR info, check out this interview I did at PubCon with Web Pro News.

For more social media and online PR updates from The Buyer Group, “Like” us on Facebook,  Tweet us @thebuyergroup or subscribe to our online pr and social media blog.

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, I would like to share some highlights from each part of the presentation. Here is a recap of Victoria Harres and Sarah Evan’s presentations:

Victoria Harres @victoriaharres: Media Relations in the New (Media) World

Victoria noted that 58% of journalists have Twitter accounts, and they are using them to do research (PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey 2010). Victoria’s advice? To use Twitter as a tool to build relationships with journalists and bloggers who write on topics you are interested in.

Victoria also discussed team tweeting and the importance of a clear Twitter strategy. She advises to “Think of your [company] Twitter account as a publication… someone should be designated publisher [who] makes sure that everyone stays on target and can make critical decisions on handling potentially sensitive situations.”

Victoria also blogged about our social media session together, giving a great recap.

Sarah Evans @prsarahevans: How to identify story opportunities via social media (And what to do with them)

Sarah recounted a personal instance during which being awakened by an earthquake (and tweeting about it) resulted in a New York Times mention. Sarah contends that “thanks to social media, we are all producers…we all have the power to choose what is newsworthy.” The ultimate result of Sarah’s tweeting? 5 viable business inquires in four hours.

To be continued Wednesday!

For more social media updates from The Buyer Group, “Like” us on Facebook, Tweet us @thebuyergroup or subscribe to our online pr and social media blog.

A few Tweets from the session:

rouninmedia: Listening to PR Experts Sarah Evans, Lisa Buyer, Victoria Harres & Sean Jackson discuss “Twitter & Social Media” at #PubCon

MoniquePeltz: Best #PR #Twitter #Socialmedia panel of the year! Thanks – @PRsarahevans @lisabuyer @seanthinks @victoriaharres you ALL rock!!

jennycjiang: Informative session on Twitter & social media in PR thanks to @PRsarahevans, @victoriaharres, @lisabuyer #pubcon

@24k: Lisa Buyer, a publicist, is now up at my session during #PubCon, talking about Social Media from the PR Pros.

24k: #Pubcon Lisa Buyer – Tweeting for PR. Keep tweets to 120 chars for RT’s. Is Twitter the new tool to use for press releases?

TimV57: RT @rouninmedia: Lisa Buyer: http://pitchengine.com is a Social PR Platform which gets word out to journalists & bloggers. #PubCon

Not convinced social media is more than a fad? Take a look at this video, courtesy of @equalman:

The Buyer Group Social Network Days

While you can always catch up with me on Facebook, you can also find me in the next month @ some of these Places and Status Updates.

Just published on ClickZ: Writing Your Way to the Top via Google Instant.
I delve into what Google Instant can mean to online PR campaigns

Follow me @LisaBuyer to #SES Chicago
I’m headed to my hometown Chicago for some Windy City SES! And the second best part is @sarahvanelzen is meeting up with me! I’ll be tweeting throughout the conference, speaking, teaching or moderating:

• Search, PR and the Social Butterfly
• Social Media Clinic
• Bringing SEO In-House
• Ad Copy and Continuity Clinic

If you want to catch up in Chicago October 20-23, DM @lisabuyer

November Calendar
BlueGlass Conference @ Hard Rock November 2-3
CEO, CMO Check in @ The Hard Rock for this online marketing conference featuring the top social media and search marketing industry experts. I’ll be starting the conference conversation with HARO founder Peter Shankman and Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger Media, a serial entrepreneur, and a recovering attorney.

PubCon Internet Marketing Conference Las Vegas November 8-11
Last conference stop for 2010! This one is not the ‘what’ as much as the ‘who’ that matters! Besides being with all my favorite SEO peeps from Florida in Vegas, I’m sharing the stage for the session Using Twitter and Social Media as a PR Tool with the ultra-cool Sarah Evans (who is honored with 2010 Forbes’ 14 Power Women to Follow on Twitter), Sean Jackson and Victoria Harris, all PR pros and social media experts to the core!

The Buyer Group Academy
I’ll be teaching a social media webinar November 19 for ShopToEarth on the latest tips + tricks to socialize in your network. For PR and Ad agencies, tune into my webinar via agencyside.net on how to leverage the new PR: social media.

International Client News
Crossing the borders, we just started a special SEO/PR project for Canadian-based Oxford Seminars! Welcome aboard! Crossing the pond, The Buyer Group is the official U.S.A. PR/Social Media agency for European-based Quintiq, a global B2B software company.

Did you know…

• 89% of reporters and editors surveyed turn to blogs for story research
• Facebook’s Zuckerberg “Friends” Microsoft Bing
• The average person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube
• 71% of business users now say Twitter is a useful tool, up from 59% a year ago.

Join our Social Network on Facebook!

Happy #Follow Friday!

I’ve been waiting for this day for almost three years! The opening of the movie Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. The book was one of my faves so I couldn’t help but tie in my most recent published article. By the way…my fave #FF @zappos, @mashable, @tonyrobbins, @dalailama

Just published: Agencies Eat, Pray, Love for PR

The midlife crisis of public relations and traditional media is a serious one that affects thousands of agencies each day. Everything that used to work doesn’t. Everything you thought you knew is irrelevant. Check out my journey I shared with helping other agency owners go digital for the agencyside.

Share the love with my ClickZ article Share This and Like It: Social Media and PR Savvy Website Tips

@LisaBuyer headed to #SES San Fran Next Week

Summer lovin’ happens so fast! Beachy days are almost over but Search Engine Strategies is heating up in conjunction with Connected Marketing Week.  I’m heading West!

I’ll be tweeting throughout the conference, speaking on the panel and moderating: Search, PR and the Social Butterfly, teaching an Express Clinic on How to Socialize Your Website and moderating the ultra savvy panel The Business Value of Social Media. If you want to catch up in San Fran  August 16-19, DM me @lisabuyer

Next stop: BlueGlass Conference @ Hard Rock and PubCon Vegas

The Buyer Group Academy

A warm welcome to @laurencook who joined The Buyer Group’s social media training program. A good luck farewell to resident blogger @mattinnes who is on his way to University of Florida law school. Go Gators! @navahk wins best social media coordinator of the month! I’ll be teaching a social media webinar August 24 for ShopToEarth on the latest tips + tricks to socialize in your network. Small and Mid size agencies can tune into my webinar in October on how to leverage the new PR: social media.

There’s No Place Like…Celebration

We opened a new office in downtown Celebration, FL and everyday we celebrate with Starbucks. The town is known for its unique architecture and currently under consideration for Google’s next Fiber Community.

Stats

• 24 billion searches are conducted each month on Twitter
• Foursquare received a cool $20 mil investment, users up to almost 2 million, up from 750,000 in March. Check-in for PR
• 70% of moms believe technology can provide great ways for families to spend time together

There’s a reason the PubCon motto is, “We start where other conferences finish.”

Joining over 200 expert speakers in Social Media, Affiliate Programs, Search and SEO/SEM, The Buyer Group CEO Lisa Buyer kicked off PubCon Dallas 2010 moderating the panel Personalized Search + Universal Search = Life Goes On.

SEO and digital marketing heavy-hitters Brian Combs, principal of ionadas local, Amanda Waltington Ph. D., founder of Search for Profit, and Michael Gray, president of Atlas Web Service, joined Buyer on the panel. Together they shared the ins and outs of Google’s personalized search features and what this means for SEO and tracking.

Here’s a quick look at what was said and shared on Day 1 through Twitter from @lisabuyer:

It’s the simple things in life. SEO tip from #pubcon: SEO is alot of small things done well per @amandaw

SEOs need proficiency in pushing multiple types of content for ultimate successful personalized/universal search says @amandaw at #pubcon

Site speed matters for ultimate search results says @amandaw #pubcon speaker

Optimizing for Google Maps is less competitive than traditional and draws attention says @brianpcombs #pubcon

Heads up! Google will soon be announcing a real estate search engine says @brianPCombs #pubCon

You can rewrite SERPS with Google Local, yes, it’s possible! Says @brianpcombs #pubcon, just do some optimzation #pubcon

@Graywolf talks about are we screwed with personalized and univeral search? #pubcon Answer: No, it can work for you

Personalized search tip: Googe makes connection via what’s on your Google Profile, go optimize Google profile per @graywolf #pubcon

Personalized search tip from #pubcon: Use social media as tool to get people sharing your stuff = better search results. per @graywolf

And I’m surrounded by them at #pubcon! RT @julito77: RT @mashable Twitter Has 105 Million Registered Users http://bit.ly/d1bCuT

Local Search Dallas @chiropractic talking about mobile apps and how to Stay on the Map! Show up in SEO!

Content, site performance and good SEO are the keys to successful universal and personalized search @amandaW #pubcon

PubCon Local SEO Tip: Staying committed to adding new content, 2 articles a week = 104 pages a year per Maria Harrison @iclarity

Check back  for an update on PubCon Dallas. You can follow the action live on Twitter through @lisabuyer or #PubCon.

The Buyer Group is more than interactive when it comes to industry conferences and dedicated to leading the pack with social media, online public relations and search engine marketing trends. During the past year, the communications industry witnessed unprecedented growth in social media, with social networking sites accounting for more than 11 percent of total time spent online.

Lisa Buyer, president and CEO of The Buyer Group, helps clients and public relations professionals stay ahead of the social media curve.

“One of our goals at The Buyer Group is to define the current digital marketing and PR landscape,” Buyer said. “Speaking at a variety of conferences, workshops and seminars affords our agency the opportunity to share cutting-edge social media and public relations practices with clients, CEOs and communications professionals.”

Below is a list of 2010 social media, PR and SEO events The Buyer Group is scheduled to participate in.

ShopToEarth’s The Next Step

The Buyer Group is the official online PR and social media agency for ShopToEarth, an online shopping portal. The Buyer Group launched the eco-friendly e-commerce business venture’s new social media channels and unveiled ShopToEarth’s 2010 Mission Video in January.

ShopToEarth Monthly Social Media for Business Training

Designing monthly social media training webinars focused on using networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, The Buyer Group’s Lisa Buyer hosts the network’s monthly social media training webinar on the second Thursday of each month.

Search Engine Strategies: New York

Lisa Buyer will join approximately 5,000 marketers and search engine optimization professionals attending SES New York each year to network and learn about topics such as PPC management, keyword research, SEO, social media, local, mobile, link building, duplicate content, multiple site issues, video optimization, site optimization, usability and more.

SES New York will be packed with 70+ sessions, multiple keynotes, 100+ exhibitors, networking events and parties.

News Search Optimization + Search, PR and the Social Butterfly

Moderating two panels in two days is just the beginning of The Buyer Group’s 2010 conference schedule. Join Lisa Buyer as she shares how to take social media to the boardroom and use press releases to tap into the power of news search.

Event Details: Wednesday, March 24^th – 2:15 p.m. and Thursday, March 25^th – 4 p.m. at the Hilton New York. Full agenda and registration information here.

PubCon Dallas: Social Media, PR + Search

Starting where other conferences leave off, The Buyer Group will be presenting on the intersection on public relations and search through social media at PubCon Dallas 2010.

Event Details: April 13 – 15, 2010 Dallas Texas Full agenda and registration information here.

Also on The Buyer Group’s conference list for 2010:

SES San Francisco – August 16-20, 2010 The Moscone Center

PubCon Las Vegas – November 8 – 11, 2010 Las Vegas Convention Center

SES Chicago – Fall 2010, dates to be scheduled.

The Buyer Group is available for custom client webinars or live presentations designed to teach your in-house team how to be social media savvy and maximize the direct and indirect benefits of social media.

Employees ring cowbells and blow horns to greet guests, conference rooms are extravagantly themed, and Hsieh, one of the youngest and most successful CEOs out there, works from a cubicle that looks like it came straight out of a frat house. Sounds fun doesn’t it?

Check out my Behind the Scenes Zappos Album on Facebook

But the beauty of this zany atmosphere is there is so much more to this strategic culture than fun. It works. Period. See for yourself how Zappos turns happiness into powerful results.

Hsieh has proven that allowing employees to express themselves and in turn, truly connect with customers, fosters the perfect environment for relationships to develop.

As a public relations CEO for The Buyer Group, I look for ways to initiate and advance relationships on a day-to-day basis, and there is certainly a lesson to be learned from the way Zappos does business. Zappos and Hsieh proved to be my inspiration for 2010. I hope these pictures help bring a little fun to your New Year as well.

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