Journalist Are Human Too
By Cheval John
Here in Houston, a top ten media market, a journalist have to know how to do live shots, write their own scripts and put together an article for the respective news station’s website at the same time.
They will have to start their journalism careers in a smaller television market to earn work experience before they can apply for larger television stations in the major media markets.
To add on to the workload, they now have to be on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to keep track of breaking stories happening in their respective cities and the world.
Since a lot of journalists are being laid off across the nation at their respective media outlets, it puts a heavy workload on the rest of the staff who managed to keep their jobs.
So these same journalist are looking for news stories everyday.
What does this have to do with an entrepreneur of a small business or a larger company?
Plenty.
If you are looking for media coverage for your business, you will have to provide a story which will generate enough interest for the journalist to cover.
That means having a blog which chat about certain business or social media trends happening in the industry and having stats to back up your story.
If you can provide value to your audience on a weekly basis with your blog, podcast, live video, etc., I honestly believe you will get the media attention you are searching for.
Now I mentioned “if” because most businesses still believe they can use social media to sell their products or services to a potential customers.
They are still sending media outlets press releases of how their business is so revolutionary that it deserves the coverage.
They believe if they can hire a public relations firm to help them get national attention, it will change their business forever.
The ship of press releases has sailed because of social media.
Remember what I said about journalist being on social media looking for news stories?
Social media is where businesses need to be because it is the new “media outlet.”
If you want to earn media coverage from organizations for your business, here are three steps to follow:
1. BE A GIVER
Do not go out and spam journalists with your products or services the minute they connect with you. Look for ways to provide value to them.
2. SHARE THEIR ARTICLES WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
When you share a journalist’s story with your audience, they will know they are doing something right in their reporting.
3. CHAT WITH THEM
You can actually have a conversation with a journalist on a daily basis via social media especially Twitter.
Most are consistently interacting with their fans to let them know they are paying attention
One journalist here in Houston is constantly sharing live video about stories she is working on for the local affiliate station of a major media company.
She also shares her love for the Houston Astros which I respect though I told her at one point I am a Chicago Cubs fan.
Hopefully, this article will inspire you to take action, build credibility on social media and in the long run become a reliable source for journalist around the world.
If you have any other advice to building trust with journalist, you can leave your comments below
English Soccer Met Texans Cheerleaders
By Cheval John
Houston sports fans had the opportunity to witness one of the most historic rivalries in the English Premier League.
As part of their tour for the International Champions Cup, Manchester United and Manchester City faced off at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, to a sell out crowd on Thursday night.
Manchester United treated the pre-season match as a regular season game in which they won 2-0.
As a result, they have bragging rights until they face off again in the 2017-18 season.
Apart of the promotion were visits from the Texans’ football players with some of the players from Manchester City.
And the coverage of the Texans Cheerleaders on their respective clubs’ media outlet.
Like this tweet here from united
It just wouldn't be a proper match day in the States without cheerleaders – thanks for your support, @TexansCheer! pic.twitter.com/4Xjq0WF3y6
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 20, 2017
And this report from Kelly O’Donnell of Manchester City
It really not a surprise to see Texans Cheer get this media coverage from both Manchester United and Manchester City.
There is a strong possibility both clubs saw the reputation of the texans cheerleaders due to coverage of their recent #htcpicnic from major media outlets from around the world.
You are thinking, “They represent a National Football League (NFL) franchise, so whatever they put out will automatically get mention in the news.”
It goes a bit deeper than that.
The texans cheerleaders did not expect to get a lot of media attention from their #htcpicnic.
One of the members from texans cheer mentioned they were showing their fans a glimpse of having a good time at their picnic on their social media channels and were not seeking media attention. #paraphrased.
I totally believe them because the texans cheer are very active on all of their social media channels.
People have seen the texans cheerleaders twitter stream buzzing because each of the members interact with their fans on a daily basis.
In addition, they share a behind the scenes of their events on snapchat.
That is why the texans cheerleaders have earned the attention from major media outlets and the soccer clubs of Manchester United and Manchester City.
The lesson businesses can learn from the Texans Cheerleaders is focus on providing value to your customers and not look for a transaction.
Even if you don’t see immediate returns on your labor, you must have a mindset of serving your audience because over time, the revenue will come to you.
Plus, abundance of business will flow because you will continue to get referrals from people who trust your brand.
Just like the continuous media attention the texans cheer are receiving.
Cinnabon Shocked The World With A Simple Response
By Cheval John
Recently, I saw a post on Twitter which captured my attention.
This post mentioned about a major brand, Cinnabon, responding to someone who had mentioned them on Twitter.
What was more interesting is the post about Cinnabon responding to a person came from a well known journalist who covers one of the major professional sports in North America.
I would expect someone to have that reaction when a celebrity or an influencer answer them in a tweet.
For a well-known media personality in sports to be in shock when a major brand answers them is surprising.
It should not be a surprise because it shows even well known major media personalities are human too.
If a celebrity or media personality is shocked by a major brand answering them, it shows most major companies as a whole are not great on social media.
It is disheartening to see how major brands are treating social media like another broadcasting platform.
The only time you will see them on social media is when they have something to sell or a major event they want to promote.
They fail to understand people (mostly the millennial generation) are much more savvy than ever.
They can sniff out a person or a brand who are trying to sell to them.
Here are some stats to back up this point:
Only 22% of brands are trusted-Search Engine Watch via (Havas Media)
43% of millennials rank authenticity over content when consuming news-Search Engine Watch via (Forbes)
32% of millennials find today’s brand communications helpful-News Cred
So if you want to be successful on social media and have a strong impact on reaching this generation, you have to meet them where they are at.
And follow the examples of companies who are communicating with this generation on a daily basis via blogs, podcasts, live streaming, Twitter chats, etc.
You might gain some creative ideas of building a loyal fan base and save a boat load of money on your marketing budget.
As a bonus, here is a list of twitter chats hosted by these brands who connects with the millennial generation and are building a loyal audience in the process.
#ContentWritingChat
Hosted by Express Writers on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. eastern time
#SweetTalk
Hosted by Cinnabon on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. eastern time
#SEMRUSHChat
Hosted by SEMRush on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. eastern time
#BufferChat
Hosted by Buffer on Wednesdays at noon eastern time
#SproutChat
Hosted by Sprout Social on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. eastern time
#HootChat
Hosted by Hootsuite on Thursdays at 3 p.m. eastern time
#StartupChats
Hosted by Startup Canada on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon eastern time
July Newsletter: Canada Day
By Cheval John
Social media has reminded us of how connected we are in the world.
We are more aware of what is happening due to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Since today is July 1st, I want to wish my friends a happy canada day as they are celebrating 150 years as a nation.
I also want to start this newsletter with the news of being named a Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer for the second consecutive year.
It was through hard work and consistently providing value to my audience that allowed me to join fellow social media colleagues in the fourth largest city in the United States on this list.
Another milestone was having the opportunity to speak yesterday at Social Media Day Houston about why business owners should embrace live streaming.
The event occurred simultaneously with other events surrounding Social Media Day which started in 2010 by Mashable.
Thank you all for your support and here are the articles for this month’s newsletter starting off with the Houston Top 25 Social Media Power Influencer’s List
Houston’s Top 25 Social Media Power Influencers-Madalyn Sklar
Jill Castilla: Social media is an opportunity to humanize big banks-Staff from Tearsheet
How to Travel & Make Money?-Codie Sanchez, Speaker and Investor
B2B Social Media Influencers: A Conversation with Tamara McCleary-Carter Hostelley of LeadTail
3 Steps to Get Your Sales Team Onboard with Social Selling-Miri Rodriguez, Senior Social Media and Communities Lead for Microsoft
Building Online Presence One Step At A Time
By Cheval John
The old days of having a career at one company is over.
This holds true for journalists too.
The sequence for every journalist back in the day were:
Spend a couple of years in a smaller media market in order to gain work experience before moving on to a top ten media market like New York City, Houston and Chicago.
Move on from the major media market and work for national media like ESPN, NBC, CBS or ABC.
In this environment where technology is changing the way how we consume content, major media and news stations are cutting back on staff to save money.
Sometimes though, people who work in journalism, decides to leave the profession because the work is demanding.
They might end up leaving for positions in media relations for a large company, a professional sports franchise or even the athletic department at a university.
They believe the transition to a media relations role is easy.
They get a rude awakening of how challenging being in media relations is.
Erica Holloway depicted the transition from journalism to public relations with her article here.
Though journalists stayed at one place their entire careers in the past, some still made a change in careers because they were led to.
Sabrina Cadini spent a couple of years as a television announcer in her native Italy before moving to the United States
She transitioned to event planning and is now the owner of La Dolce Idea Wedding and Soiree, a wedding planning company.
She explained to me how she made the transition to wedding planning
One thing to note.
Sabrina knew how important live streaming is for her business and is using Periscope on a weekly basis to share tips with her audience about social media.
Smart people like Sabrina understand the dynamic of live streaming, podcasting and blogging because it saves them a whole lot of money on their marketing budget.
People who are looking to make transitions in their careers should be building their online presence one step at a time because they never know when their department will shut down.
Are you building your online presence now through social media? Leave your comment below
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