Three reasons to visit Alltop.com

I started following Guy Kawasaki on Twitter months ago, after I had visited his website Alltop, a website that aggregates blogs based on their topics. They call it an online magazine rack. Interested in scrapbooking? Visit scrapbooking.alltop.com. How about personal finance? (personal-finance.alltop.com). Maybe you're a huge Carolina fan? Unc-chapel-hill.alltop.com is the site for you.

Three reasons to visit the site:

1. There are so many topics, with new ones created all the time. They are updated 24/7 so there's always something interesting to read. I have found personal and professional inspiration here.

2. You can create your own personal Alltop. Find the blogs on the topics you're interested in and create your own personal mix of news, chat and comments. Plus it's really easy to share links and more with your social network. Mine is alltop.com/stephskordas.

3. Inkslinger is now on pr.alltop.com!

I'm sure there are many more reasons you'd visit Alltop. How are you using it to find the best conversations and topics?

Mary Janes Longing, the Happy Ending

We interrupt this important social media and public relations commentary with breaking shoe news.

Some of you may remember my longing for a certain pair of Mary Janes last summer. No? Let me refresh your memory.

Caught up? Okay. So, even before the economy crashed and my position was eliminated, no way was I paying $189-$229 for that pair of Mary Jane espadrilles. I kept my eye on them, looked for sales at the end of the season. Nothing.

But look what I found today! At Payless!

Don't you just love a style inspiration? And don't you especially love that these cost $14.99 instead of $229? Yeah, I thought so. Just save me a pair in 8 1/2, okay?

And some big linky love for Bargainist, which told me about Payless' big summer sale, which led me to the espadrille section and the objects of my affection.

Measuring Social Media

When I worked for a public relations firm, measuring the ROI of social media was critical, but difficult. These communications tools were new, measurement guidelines seemed to contradict each other and new advice popped up daily. But we still had to explain to our clients why we thought creating a Facebook group, a blog, a Twitter profile or a YouTube channel would help reach their business objectives. So we measured what we could.

We measured how many followers signed up for their Twitter feed, how many comments posted to a blog entry or how web traffic ebbed or flowed when we had blog posts, tweets and status updates linking to a particular page. Good numbers, right? But while the numbers can represent one kind of success, the real measure of social media is engagement and relationships.

As I explain to executives, university students, nonprofits (whoever asks me to talk about one of my favorite subjects), social media is about sharing, connecting, conversation, a dialogue. So does measuring the number of Twitter followers show engagement? How about when you take the auto-follow bots out? Of course not. It's time for real social media measurement.

That's why I'm so exciting a social media measurement guru is coming to the PRSA Tar Heel chapter's monthly meeting next Tuesday. KD Paine has been measuring PR and communications for two decades. I started following her on Twitter a little while ago, reading her blog and catching some of her presentations from other communications conventions. Here are the explanations I've been looking for. Let me link you to two:

• Measuring the ROI of Relationships (presented at SOBcon last weekend, found via Twitter)
• PR Measurement Interview with Katie Paine (Online Marketing Blog)

On Tuesday, Paine's talk at the Greensboro-High Point Airport Marriott is called "Yes You CAN Measure Social Media". For a nominal fee, which also buys your lunch and allows you to network with other communications professionals, you can soak up all the smart measurement advice Paine can dish out. Register here.

There's a Chinese saying: "May you live in interesting times." It can be both a blessing and a curse. But as public relations professionals we are living through VERY interesting times. Not only is the economy doing its rollercoaster ride, but we are watching print and broadcast journalism change before our eyes, bad pitches held up to public ridicule, and the whirlwind 24/7 news cycle spin even faster through social media's instantaneous updates and live feeds.

Social media is a new communications tool with a big impact on our profession. Know how and when to use it, and how to measure it when we do, can help us. And we CAN measure it. Look for me at the Marriott on Tuesday!

It's such an honor to be nominated ...

You hear celebrities say that all the time in the mad rush up to the Gold Globes/SAG/BAFTA/Academy Awards ceremonies, and you wonder if they really mean it. Well, I may never walk the red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre, but I can tell you it's an honor for your work to be nominated for an award.

Two weeks ago, my agency downsized and I held one of the positions that was eliminated. The week after that, I learned the campaign I led was a finalist for the PRSA Silver Anvil awards. Even though I won't be going to the ceremony and may never get to actually touch the award, I can tell you the honor feels like an Oscar already on my mantle.

And just this morning, the same campaign was named one of five finalists for the Silver SABRE award. I'm really overwhelmed. There are judges in New York who are impressed with my work.

I won't turn this post into a Sally Field moment:




but I'm awfully pleased and excited. It'll be hard to wait for May 12 and June 4 to find out what happens at the awards ceremonies. But I don't think it will be as hard as finding a new job in one of the four states with the highest unemployment due to the economy.

But they say those big movie awards usually open doors for those who win and sometimes for those who are just nominated. I wonder what this will do for me in these uncertain times?

Social media for nonprofits

Here's a presentation I gave in Raleigh a month ago about how to sell social media to your board and staff. We had a great group -- about 100 nonprofits from across North Carolina.

Raleigh Workshop: Selling Social Media 2 15 09

View more presentations from Council Pr firms.

How to get great customer service

As a rule, I generally get good customer service. It's not perfect all the time, but more often than not, I get the help I need. My friends have always asked how I do it, so I thought I'd share the information that has helped me. Here are my top 5 ways to get great customer service.

1. Be polite. Along the lines of "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar", being polite to the person taking your order, helping you with a return or explaining that it will take six tries to fix your home PC (this really happened to me!) will get you further. You may be caught in a frustrating situation, but raising your voice or cursing will only alienate the person who has the power to help you.

2. Ask for what you want. Do you want store credit or cash for that return? Do you think your PC should replaced under your extended warranty? Did your favorite restaurant change the menu, removing your favorite lunch dish? Ask them to help you out. Try these magic words "It would really help me if you could ..." or "What I'd really like to see is ...".

3. Know the rules. Sometimes you may think you're getting a bad deal because you don't know the terms of service. Even though the sign on the shelf says the razor blades are on sale, the circular actually says you need to buy two packages to get that deal. So berating the cashier won't help you here. Knowing the rules also will help you when you do have the right information, and the cashier or representative does not. Asking for a manager here can also help you out.

4. Take good notes. Especially if you are dealing with something over the phone. Write down the name of the person you are talking with, the date you talked (even the time!), and summarize the situation in a note. Write down any case numbers or incident numbers. If you have to call again, you can reference that call and the representative may be able to find that conversation in their computer system. Be prepared to recount your understanding of the call, and be sure to politely but firmly correct any misunderstandings on the other end. Their notes might be different than yours. If you reach an impasse, ask for a supervisor.

5. Turn your adversary into an ally. If you start a confrontation, you'll just reach the stone wall of "I can not help you with that at this time." (Which may have you wondering -- then at WHAT time can you help me???!! -- but don't say that out loud.) Take the position that you're both in this together and you both have the same goal: reaching an amicable solution to the problem, especially one that's in your favor. Use some humor. Listen when they explain the situation. Repeat back to them:

So you're saying that my extended warranty allows you to try to fix my PC three times? But I have had six visits from a technician.

Oh, I see -- you count the number of parts shipped to me and not tech visits. So if this last one doesn't work?

Oh, so what you're saying is that if this last part does not fix my problem, you will send me a replacement PC at no cost to me? I understand your system now.


Good luck. Do you have any tried and true customer service tips? Let's share them in the comments.