Your Media Moment & Beyond! Expert Tips for DIY Publicity

On-Camera Presence

                                                                 

Want to avoid that "deer in the headlights" moment?  The secret is PRACTICE.

Whether you're facing the camera in a television studio, with a news crew on location or in front of your own web cam or flip camera, you want to be your best self.  Some people are natural performers, but anyone can learn on-camera skills.  The more chances you get to go on-camera, the more noticeably your preparation will show in your increasing polish and presence. 

That's why media coaches do role-playing exercises and videotape their clients again and again.  You can practice by yourself with your own video camera or have a friend tape a mock interview with you.  Be serious, goofy, try out different hand and body movements and facial expressions. Play around. Get comfortable.

Then watch the playback with a critical eye.  Use this technique - watch your recording once through with full sound and video. Watch it a second time with the sound turned off. Play it a third time with your eyes shut to focus only on the audio.  Find out what works for you and against you as an effective communicator.

Some performance points to notice:

• Are you blinking normally or staring at the lens?  
• Is your expression interested and animated with a slight smile throughout? 
• Do you fidget, slouch or use distracting mannerisms like too many head nods, biting your lip, playing with your hair or clearing your throat?
• Does your voice sound tense or breathy?
• Do you appear relaxed, comfortable and confident?
• Does your speech include lots of filler sounds or repetitive patterns? Examples are excessive use of "um" or "ah," "you know" or "basically" or starting every answer with "Well,..."

Once you get on TV, review your show clips carefully.  Aim to continually improve your on-camera presentation ...whether it's what you wear, how you speak, what you say or how you move.

The goal is to be natural and deliver your message in a conversational way.  That helps viewers like you and want more from you. Ideally, those viewers, maybe a few, maybe several thousand, will want to buy your book or product, sign up for your services or somehow find a way to do business with you.

Plus TV people like working with expert guests with media skills. Show them you are reliable, personable and can deliver with confidence and sincerity and you could be asked back regularly.  Other media people who see you on-air may also contact you.

The time you spend practicing to be poised in the spotlight, not caught in the headlights, can pay off.

Photo credit: Flickr/rynert12

test post from typepad account

Trying with another test post aimed at my fan page

Once again my Facebook fan page isn't picking up my typepad blog post so I'll be sending out a few more test posts. Fan Page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bucks-County-PA/Your-Media-Moment-Cafe/119303814181?v=wall

Social Media Blur

A longtime friend and mentor who's a marketing consultant recently told me he is opting out of the Social Media whirl.   He said he made the choice for both personal and professional reasons which he didn't want to go into.  His decision got me thinking. 

Miley Cyrus quit Twitter last fall to, "get a personal life."  Country singer Blake Shelton recently told a radio interviewer he'd tried to quit Twitter but couldn't!  I understand he's tweeting to build his fan base and promote his music, effective uses of the platform.  But he was quoted as saying it was the first thing he thought about when he woke up each morning.  Wow.  To me, Twitter is way too small a thing to be the center of your LIFE.

An interesting article in the March Vanity Fair Ringside at the Web Fight talks about finding the Internet's "Next Big Thing."   As we've seen before, online platforms that seem essential to some people today will likely be gone or vastly changed tomorrow.  Yet we'll all have this information we volunteered in profiles, musings, videos, wall writings, etc. digitally floating around somewhere. 

I wonder how many of us, at some future point, will consciously and deliberately drop off the social media radar?  Why?  And how will what we've chosen to make public affect us down the road? 

What are your thoughts and ideas about the value, uses and abuses of social media? Please leave a comment.

Social Media Momentum

This You Tube video Social Media Revolution about the rapid rise of social media is very persuasive. 

Whether social media is just a fad or a game-changer in the way we communicate is often questioned.  I expect individual services may come and go, but this kind of global digital connectivity is here to stay.

The statistics about how long it took radio and TV to take hold compared to the growth of social media were especially interesting to me.  Since the video was posted last July, the figures are probably even more impressive now. 

How can you harness this new communications tool and create a social media strategy to promote your business, your brand and yourself?  I'm learning more to help you and hope to post an interview with an expert soon.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on how you're using social media for publicity and where you think social media networking and marketing are headed.

Write a Letter and Get on TV?

                                                                     

Want to get on the air?   Try writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper!

Why?   When I was a local radio and TV reporter, one of the newsrooms’s daily must-do’s was reading the Letters to the Editor section of the area’s papers.  It’s a good place to find potential news sources, identify little-known local experts and get ideas for different story angles about the news of the day.

We liked to check letters because it's clear the authors care about a topic when they take the time to write about it.  You can also gauge a little about their personality from how they express themselves and their ideas.

Perhaps they’re an expert who disagrees with the expert quoted in a recent article or someone who has had a different experience from the one featured in a news report.   Here they are going on the record with a particular opinion, a compliment or a diss, offering new information or a new perspective.  Best of all, they’ve put their name on it.  You often even see an email address after their name where you can contact them.  How easy is that? (Before the Internet, I'd have to telephone every “John Brown” in the phone book looking for a particular letter writer.)

Will the editor print the letter you write?  No guarantees, but here are some tips:  Read the letters section often to get a feel for what the editor publishes. Notice the structure, length and style of the letters and use that as a guide when you write. 

Make your letter short, direct and catchy. Reference the article you agree or disagree with and briefly explain why.  Show why you’re "in the know" about this subject by including your background or experience with a simple sentence like "In my 20 years delivering the mail," or "When I was a high school teacher in the 80’s."  Add a missing fact, an unanswered question or give a quick anecdote that supports your point of view.

The editorial section is one of the most widely read and respected parts of a newspaper. You’ll be surprised how many people will tell you they saw your letter. The newspaper may call you for their next story on the topic.  A local radio or TV station may want to do a story with you or add your name to their contact list as an expert for a future story.

Am I sure local radio or TV reporters will call, if your letter gets printed?   No. Serious publicity-seekers would never make writing letters their only PR strategy.  Still, getting your name in the local paper could open doors in unexpected ways.

If you care about something in the news, want to add to the community’s understanding of an issue and/or want to do a little light-handed self-promotion by weighing in with your own ideas in your own words, write a letter to the editor.   Let me know what happens. 

As always, your comments, ideas and opinions about this blog post or any other are welcome and appreciated.

Photo credit: stock.xchng/svilen001

Make an Impression with Birthday Wishes

Boomer Biz Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter sent me a link to this YouTube video to wish me a Happy Birthday on Facebook yesterday.  Great social media marketing idea for keeping in touch.  Find a video of an iconic band or singer, for any generation, especially if they're performing a birthday song, and send the link.   Thoughtful, fun and and easy to do.

Edgy Brownies Needed Buzz

On Feb. 28, CBS Sunday Morning's Bill Geist featured three entrepreneurs who came up with unique ideas.

Watch the story here Big Ideas for Entrepreneurs

All three tales are inspiring, but my favorite is the third one about Matt Griffin and his brownie pan.  He was passionate about his product and worked hard to create it but NOBODY CARED about his clever pan.

What turned the tide? He got PUBLICITY and sales took off.  His website www.BakersEdge.com lists dozens and dozens of media mentions under "buzz."  No doubt he's learned how to get noticed, maximize his moment and profit from free publicity.

What about you?

Last Day for the Anniversary Sale at Main Street Media Savvy. Find out more here http://ping.fm/2QopZ