Marketing Bombogenesis

Do You Know How To Do A Blog Tour?

Do you even know what a blog tour is? If the answer is no to one or both questions, then you need to meet Steve O'Keefe. Better yet, you need to enroll in Steve's next on-line Internet Public Relations Class sponsored by the International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC).

Steve is Executive Director of Patron Saint PR, a boutique PR firm in New Orleans specializing in author and book publicity. He's also an adjunct professor at Tulane teaching Internet publicity. Steve is amazing. He has been using on-line publicity strategies for more than 15 years, and regularly leads a class teaching others what he knows. I've been in the on-line class for the past six weeks, and am awed by the breadth of Steve's experience, and touched by his generosity in sharing. The class is a combination lecture/Q&A format connected through Skype and Free Conference Call. The group of marketing professionals in the class are are brushing up on skills, and learning completely new ways to do PR--and many of us have been in the game a good, long time

Here is the syllabus we've been following:

Campaign Planning
Document Production & Syndication
Video Production & Syndication
Social Networking PR
Blog PR Web PR
Discussion Group PR
News Releases
Contact Management
Search Engine Optimization
Online Newsrooms

What's more, at Patron Saint PR you will find an incredible overview of campaigns Steve has done in the publishing industry. The specific information provided with each campaign is without par. For instance, there are the expected sample news releases, but there are also sample pitches to bloggers and discussion groups. There are sample giveaway files, and reporting documents for campaign results. That's just the tip of the iceberg. It's a gold mine.

Steve is also the author of the Complete Guide to Internet Publicity. It reads like a thriller. (OK, I admit I'm a PR geek, but I swear it's hard to put down.) There's a new edition in the works, but this book is still timely and relevant.

While this semester is already underway, keep this resource in mind to enroll in a future class. Information can be found at the IAOC blog.

Oh, did I mention that thanks to the IAOC the class is F-R-E-E? Just when you thought it couldn't get any better...

Obama Volunteers Answer Call Through Social Networking

In my last post I discussed how Barack Obama has successfully used email marketing to raise staggering campaign contributions. Today, The Boston Globe ran a story detailing how the Obama campaign continues to transform politics through its use of technology--this time through social networking. The campaign takes the use of the Internet to new levels by allowing masses of volunteers to self-organize, and communicate amongst themselves through my.barack.obama.com. Again, it's the power of conversation and interaction among supporters that is the key to inciting this level of action and support--not top-down messaging.

The Globe article highlights how Obama's social networking site not only appeals to, and works for the demographic we expect--the young, tech-savvy constituents--but has captured supporters of all ages and genders from college students, to grandmothers, to members of the pipefitters local. In fact, one of the first to sign up for an account was a 50-year-old woman from Columbus. The reach of my.barack.obama.com spreads from cities to backwaters. The network produced a rally of 15,000 in Boise, and assembled 500 volunteers in 24 hours in Ohio. There are contests for volunteers willing to work the phones. The top 10 "call makers" will meet the candidate in person. If this isn't a new-marketing-incited phenomenon, I don't know what is.

Throughout the article your read phrases like this from Barack supporters:

"I've never been involved in the political campaign before...with all these tools available to use, it allowed me to get involved."

"We would not exist if it were not for that tool."

"It's real grass roots."

What really comes across, however, is how the social networking opportunity slaked the thirst many supporters had to take part in what they see as meaningful civic engagement. Without my.barack.obama.com, much of this energy and excitement, which has nicely translated into messages of hope and change, would have remained frustrated and invisible. Says one Obama supporter, "With the organizational tools Barack's campaign is giving us, we, the people, can change history." It's sure looking that way.

Here's the link to The Globe article.