How to Slant Yourself as Handy in Media
A friend of mine recently called and said she was about to draft a pitch promoting herself as a food expert to several broadcast outlets. She asked if I would take a look once she was done. Several days later, her email popped up. The subject? “This feels so weird.”
You don’t need to be a PR expert to know that it’s much easier to tout a product than it is to tout yourself. But if you’re just getting your company, business or blog up and running, you likely don’t have the resources to recruit a full-time PR person or agency support. Which leaves the PRing — along with most other things — to you.
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As a PR professional who has happily pitched clients’ products and uncomfortably pitched my own brain, I can tell you: It doesn’t ever stop feeling weird. But it does get easier. If you’re struggling with how to promote yourself, keep these tips in mind.
Be Professional,
Pitching yourself will likely evoke a whole spectrum of emotions, but when it comes to the actual pitch, keep it business-appropriate. Most importantly: Don’t be overly casual (or no one will take you seriously), don’t be too verbose (or no one will read your email), and don’t be rude, arrogant, or obnoxiously self-promotional.
This may sound obvious, but there’s an important differentiation between pitching yourself and pitching a product: When you’re pitching yourself,
the booking producer not only needs to like what you have to say. He also needs to like you.
Back it Up,
If you’re new on the speaking circuit or just looking to book your first interview, you’re going to need to really convince the booking producer or journalist that you’ve got the smarts they’re looking for. So beyond introducing yourself and your expertise, include relevant stats, articles and anecdotes to support your narrative. Explain what differentiates your expertise from other people talking about a similar subject — maybe it’s the research you’ve recently conducted or the access you have to key influencers in the industry — as well as why your expertise is especially relevant to the outlet you’re pitching.
Each pitch differs, but here’s a general framework to consider:
- In 2-3 sentences, introduce who you are, your expertise and what you’re pitching (e.g., to be considered for future food segments on the Today Show).
- Add 2-5 bullet points about why your narrative is relevant, compelling and timely.
- Add 1-2 sentences about why you’re perfectly positioned to be talking about this subject to this specific outlet.
- Add a brief bio with your high-level accomplishments, your availability and ways for people to reach you.
Be Confident,
No matter what your expertise, there are likely topics or themes within that industry that you’re not as well-versed on as others. If you’re a food expert, like my friend, you may not be as knowledgeable about French cuisine as you are about Italian. Maybe your vegetarian recipes are lacking. But here’s the deal: No one needs to know that but you.
When pitching yourself as an expert, you need to convince whomever you’re pitching that you are, actually, an expert. So tell your various and wide-ranging insecurities to shush, and put forward your smartest, most confident self.
But Don’t Oversell,
Remember that confirming an interview is not the end game — successfully promoting your brand is. So while you want to come across as confident and knowledgeable, you don’t want to B.S. your whole pitch. If you do, you’re only going to end up hurting your reputation — and future opportunities — by sounding silly on-air or getting blacklisted by the booking department. Instead, give yourself a bit more time to get up to speed on your industry.
Be Prepared,
Once you send that pitch out, consider yourself on-call — especially when pitching yourself to broadcast outlets. One way to not make friends with the booking department? Pitch yourself as an expert on a story, like the government shutdown, and then not make yourself available for interviews while the government is actually shut down.
Also, make sure you’re 110% comfortable and ready to speak on whatever information you include in your pitch. If there are stats you cite, make sure they’re legitimate. If you’re offering exclusive information to one outlet, don’t talk to any other reporters about it. You want people to be impressed by what you’re offering and then more impressed once they meet you — not less so.
Promoting yourself as an expert is a really effective way to raise your own profile and that of your brand. But there’s no getting around it: It’s tricky, awkward, and, as my friend pointed out, totally weird. But don’t let the icky feelings deter you: You are uniquely positioned to share what you know. As long as you don’t creep people out in the process, we’ll be seeing you on the Today Show (or in the New York Times) soon enough.
Write Your Impressive Profile in Twitter
What does your Twitter bio say about you? Don’t think in terms of cold, hard facts — what does it really reveal about you to others?
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Your bio is searchable within the Twittersphere, meaning you need to think carefully about keywords. It will show up in search engine results for your name, so it has to represent the true you. It’s also how you choose to present yourself to Twitter’s 230 million users, so it’s worth giving it some serious thought.
Your Profile as an impressive Art Form,
Whether or not you agree with the The New York Times’ rather grandiose statement that the Twitter bio is a postmodern art form, it’s certainly a skill to distill the essence of your complex, multifaceted personality (or so we’d all like to think) into 160 characters.
Embrace the space available. Don’t think of the allowance as a limitation; think of it as an opportunity to be concise. When you write your bio, actually compose in the window Twitter allows. This will help with structure.
Are you creative or commercially minded? If you fall into the commercial camp, it may help to think of your Twitter bio as a a copywriting exercise. The product is you and you have 160 characters not just to summarize it, but sell it to an indifferent, anonymous audience.
If you’re more creative, you might enjoy approaching a bio as you would a poem. Every word you use must justify its place on your limited canvas, add meaning, appear in the correct order and work as a whole.
Your Profile as a Motto,
“Coffee expert. Twitterholic. Internet advocate. Music aficionado. Wannabe entrepreneur.” This might read as a totally believable Twitter bio, but it is in fact gobbledegook: made-up, buzzword nonsense from the “Twitter Bio Generator”.
Developed by Josh Schultz, the generator was designed to poke fun at the list-based bio format so beloved of key-word-minded Twitter users.
“I created that site a few years back just for fun, when I noticed a lot of similarities among Twitter bios,” Schultz explains. “Folks using short, punchy phrases to describe themselves, including an inordinate number of ‘social media experts’ and all manner of ‘mavens.’ It was actually a bit of a joke: I included bits that could describe practically anyone on the Twitters, and threw in a few silly things, for flavor.”
Could your bio be easily interchangeable with A. N. Other’s Twitter bio? Could something you’ve written in your bio appear in the Twitter Bio Generator’s database? Then you need to think of ways to make yourself stand out.
Profile Basics,
This should be obvious, but from the amount of typo-ridden bios out there, it bears repeating. Your bio must have perfect spelling and grammar. There are no excuses for mistakes. Run your text through a spellcheck tool or get a buddy to check it for you, but be sure what you’ve written is error-free.
Secondly, be consistent. If you are going for the list-based format, decided whether you’re separating words with commas, periods or vertical bars, and stick to that. Capitalize consistently by choosing to write the entire thing in either sentence case or title case. The same goes for if you’re mentioning usernames or using hashtags (e.g., @JohnSmith or @johnsmith, or #Football or #football) — keep to the same format for every example.
Learn From Profile Innovators,
Don’t create your bio in a vacuum. Do some research, study the different styles of bios out there and read what other Twitter users have written — especially ones with large followings.
When you’ve followed someone on the strength of his or her Twitter bio alone, consider what it was that prompted you to hit the “Follow” button.
Sarah Milstein, the 21st user of Twitter and co-author of The Twitter Book, has the following straightforward advice: “Look at a bunch of Twitter bios, notice which ones you like best, write a bio that imitates those.”
Find Your Onliest Sell,
From a professional perspective, make it clear exactly what it is that you do. This helps differentiate you from others with similar bios. Don’t just state you’re in a sales role, mention the industry in which you work. If you’re a recruiter, what kind of candidates are your speciality? Do you work in marketing? Which industry sector?
“Your Twitter bio should position you as an expert in your field who serves a specific audience,” states Dan Schawbel, author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0.
“The objective is to position your personal brand so you’re using the right keywords and clearly showing what your focus is so people read it and know exactly what you do and whom you serve.”
As well as widening your appeal for potential followers, Schawbel suggests this tactic may help your future job prospects.
“I did a study with American Express and we found that 65% of managers are looking to hire and promote subject matter experts. The problem is that most people position themselves as generalists or ‘Jacks-of-all-trades,’ and that won’t work in this economy,” he says.
Consider Your Profile for SEO,
The words you use in your bio don’t just add up to create a picture of you, they carry some serious SEO juice. Tools such as Followerwonk can search Twitter bios on a keyword basis. Carefully consider what topics you’d like to be discoverable under, as you never know who might be searching for just those subjects.
“Followerwonk helps users find people through bio search, which is incredibly powerful for niche audiences and building brands,” says Erica McGillivray, social community manager for Moz, the company that created Followerwonk.
“On Twitter, it’s all about first impressions, while finding the right audience, whether you’re reaching out professionally or just looking for new friends. By optimizing your bio to give the perfect details — your interests, location, job, company, love of cupcakes — you’re telling the world why they should follow you. Why you’re important,” she says.
It’s not just Twitter search you have to consider, but wider searches from third-party engines. “Write a bio that will motivate others to follow you on specific topics, those you most often tweet. Use keywords and be direct,” says Michael Dobbs, group director of SEO at digital marketing agency 360i.
With news that Google Search has recently made moves to include hashtag searches, Dobbs also suggests: “Consider adding hashtags on keyword topics you’d like to be discovered against.”
Be Incredible,
“The idea behind your bio is that you want to provoke enough interest so that somebody will follow you back,” Mark Schaefer, author of The Tao of Twitter, says. “Be honest and give at least a hint of what you do in the real world. Then, add something unusual or funny to stand out. For example, I identify myself as a consultant, author and social media bouncer. That often starts a conversation!”
On an online platform of over 200 million users, it can be hard to stand out, so don’t be afraid to let your quirks show and don’t hesitate to use humor in your bio. If you have an unusual hobby or a niche passion, include it, especially if it’s something you’re likely to tweet about.
“Your bio should reflect who you are, your values and what you have to offer others,” states Louise Mowbray speaker, coach and branding consultant.
Most importantly, use your bio to let people know what you’re going to bring to their Twitter streams — how following you is going to enrich their Twitter experience. After all, as Mowbray says, “Twitter is all about giving something of value to others for free.”
Enable Emergency Twitter for One Who Tweets
Did you know that you can opt in to receive special emergency “Twitter Alerts” from select organizations?
Designed to complement, rather than replace, other emergency notification systems, you can sign up to see special tweets from law enforcement and public safety organizations, emergency management agencies, governments, and other state and federal agencies.
The tweets, which publish during a crisis or emergency, “contain up-to-date information relevant to an unfolding event, such as public safety warnings and evacuation instructions,” according to the Twitter Help Center.
It takes only a few moments to get these alerts set up on your Twitter account, but they could make a big difference in the safety and well-being of you and your loved ones during an emergency situation.
Take a look through our brief instructions on how to activate these alerts now, and see below for a partial list of, and further links to, participating organizations.
How to Set Up and Start Receiving Twitter Alerts,
Once you’re signed into Twitter, you simply need to head to the Alerts setup page for the specific organizations you’d like to hear from in an emergency.
You can find this page by adding “/alerts” to the organization’s Twitter URL. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Alerts page is https://twitter.com/fema/alerts, while the American Red Cross’ Alerts page can be found at https://twitter.com/redcross/alerts.
Click on the blue box that says, “Activate Alerts from @AccountName.” If you haven’t linked a mobile phone number to your Twitter account, you’ll be prompted to do so here.
Adding a phone number and activating Twitter text messaging means that you will be able to receive alerts via SMS.
In addition, alerts will appear highlighted in your Home timeline. If you use the official Twitter for iPhone or Twitter for Android apps, you’ll also get alerts as push notifications.
Participating U.S. National Organizations,
Follow the links below to head directly to the Alerts setup pages for the following national organizations.
- American Red Cross
- Bureau of Land Management
- Bureau of Land Management: National Interagency Fire Center
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Park Service: Fire and Aviation
- Ready.gov: Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Travel.gov: U.S. Department of State
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Geological Survey
- U.S. Department of the Interior
Regional, International and Global Organizations
To see a full list of U.S., regional, international and global organizations that participate in the Twitter Alerts program, visit the official Twitter list.
Schedule your Tweets with these Twitter Tools
Twitter announced Monday that advertisers now have the ability to schedule tweets. If you’re not a Twitter business user but this kind of functionality appeals to you, we can help.
While some social media management tools, such as Hootsuite or SocialFlow, provide similar features, we’re taking a look at three super easy, standalone services that will let “ordinary” Twitter users schedule tweets to go live in the future.
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Twuffer,
Twuffer lets you compose a list of future tweets and schedule their release via a simple calendar-based interface. Once you’ve signed into and authorized the service, you can pre-write your words of wisdom and view a list of scheduled and sent tweets.
FutureTweets,
Getting started with the FutureTweets service is similarly simple. Sign in, set your timezone, write your tweet, set the time and date you want it to hit the Twitters and click “Schedule.” If you’re looking for novelty, add emoticons and “flip” your tweet, so the text appears upside down.
LaterBro,
With LaterBro, send tweets and create Facebook status updates for, like, later bro. All you need do is sign in with oAuth, choose your timezone, pen your tweet, decide when you want it to go live and tap the “Schedule” icon. You can then see your list of scheduled posts as they queue to be sent.
In the comments below, let us know if you’ll be pre-writing future tweets, and why.
Ways You Should Never Follow While Describing Yourself
Do you–whether on your website, or more likely on social media accounts–describe yourself differently than you do in person?
Do you use hacky clichés and overblown superlatives and breathless adjectives?
Do you write things about yourself you would never have the nerve to actually say?
If so, it’s time for a change.
Here are some words that are great when used by other people to describe you, but you should never use to describe yourself:
Motivated,
Check out Chris Rock’s response (not safe for work or the politically correct) to people who say they take care of their kids. Then substitute the word “motivated.” Never take credit for things you are supposed to do–or be.
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Authority,
If you have to say you’re an authority, you aren’t. Show your expertise instead. “Presenter at SXSW” or “Delivered TED Talk at Long Beach 2010” indicates a level of authority. Unless you can prove it, “social media marketing authority” just means you spend a ton of time on Twitter.
Global provider,
The vast majority of businesses can sell goods or services worldwide; the ones that can’t–like restaurants–are obvious. (See?) Only use “global provider” if that capability is not assumed or obvious; otherwise you just sound like a really small company trying to appear really big.
Innovative,
Most companies claim to be innovative. Most people claim to be innovative. Most are not. (I’m not.) That’s okay, because innovation isn’t a requirement for success.
If you are innovative, don’t say it. Prove it. Describe the products you’ve developed. Describe the processes you’ve modified. Give us something real so your innovation is unspoken but evident… which is always the best kind of evident to be.
Creative,
See particular words often enough and they no longer make an impact. “Creative” is one of them. (Go to LinkedIn and check out some profiles; “creative” will appear in the majority.)
“Creative” is just one example. Others include extensive, effective, proven, dynamic, influential, team player, collaborative… some of those terms truly may describe you, but since they’re also being used to describe everyone else they’ve lost their impact.
Steward,
Museums have curators. Libraries have curators. Tweeting links to stuff you find interesting doesn’t make you a curator… or an authority or a guru.
Passionate,
Say you’re incredibly passionate about incorporating an elegant design aesthetic in everyday objects and–to me at least–you sound a little scary. Same if you’re passionate about developing long-term customer solutions. Try focus, concentration, or specialization instead. Save the passion for your loved one.
Unique,
Fingerprints are unique. Snowflakes are unique. You are unique–but your business probably isn’t. Don’t pretend to be, because customers don’t care about unique; they care about “better.” Show how you’re better than the competition and in the minds of customers you will be unique.
Guru,
People who try to be clever for the sake of being clever are anything but. Don’t be a self-proclaimed ninja, sage, connoisseur, guerilla, wonk, egghead… it’s awesome when your customers affectionately describe you in that way, but when you do it it’s apparent you’re trying way too hard.
Incredibly,
Check out some random bios and you’ll find plenty of further-modified descriptors: “Incredibly passionate,” “profoundly insightful,” “extremely captivating…” isn’t it enough to be insightful or captivating? Do you have to be incredibly passionate?
If you must use over-the-top adjectives to describe yourself, at least spare us the further modification. Trust us; we already get it.
Most of the Americans Use Facebook at Work Every Day
How focused are you during the workday? Be honest.
Almost one-third of Americans — 29%, to be exact — visit Facebook each day while they’re at work. Gmail, Yahoo Mail and YouTube are also popular destinations during the workday.
Statista‘s chart, below, is based on its own workplace survey that shows the percentage of American workers who visit different websites on a daily basis while on the job.
However, the chart does not convey how many workers use these sites for work-related purposes.
Are you on Facebook during work every day? Let us know in the comments below.
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