In today’s Guardian.co.uk, there is an article on “BBC to Relaunch Websites with Focus on Social Media.” The new site, which will be launched this March 2010, will focus on social media and conversation among the readers. Readers will have an opportunity to comment on stories and video and be able to interact with each other.

There may also be some third party platforms that integrate Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites. This will enable the reader to link and share the story. They are also talking about having a “follow my interest” on the site which will enable readers to have personalized feeds.

The BBC provides more than 500 stories a day to 10 million users a week. This new site will help make the information more accessible and easy to find.

I applaud the BBC for engaging social media. They are following the footsteps of another innovative company, Skittles who took their web site and discarded it. Skittles linked all of their social networking sites under one roof and created a social media website.

Their home page, which rotates from their Youtube videos to their Twitter page, enables the viewer to comment and chat with others on the Skittles’ Facebook page. It also allows for consumers to post messages on their Twitter page and post photos on their flickr page, as it relates of course to Skittles. Interesting stuff huh?

Changing websites to social media sites makes sense. This is a growing trend that will probably be mainstream within the coming years because companies will have an opportunity to talk in real time to their customers and provide better customer service.

Don’t you think it’s time that you find out what your customers need and want?

You have just a few seconds to capture someone’s attention in the social media world. So make those seconds count.

Although amusing and engaging posts work best, sadly, not enough PR professionals actually strive to entertain their followers when posting. And those folks miss out on opportunities to promote their clients while marketing their own news and capabilities.

Think of postings as if they were highway billboards. Each billboard has barely any time to make an impression on a person. Some billboards we notice. Some we disregard entirely. The same holds true with social networking. Some postings we read, some we don’t even spot.

I’ve spent a lot of time on social networking sites in researching and writing my new book, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media, but Were Afraid to Ask.” And as I poured over which sites best enable people to communicate messages, I also observed some definite social media Dos and Don’ts for public relations professionals.

1. If you haven’t already, DO friend people in the media as well as influencers and industry leaders within your community. How else will they know about the great work that you do?

2. DO keep your postings breezy and upbeat. I take a cue from PR professional Steve Haweeli, whose company, WordHampton, runs Long Island Restaurant Week. “Just signed up Maxwell’s in Islip” his fan site posted recently. Sure, this publicity is good for the event and good for each participating restaurant. But it’s also good for the reader who likes to dine out, and, yes, save a couple of bucks. Readers will stay tuned for more news.

3. DON’T post anything along the lines of: “I spent another busy day adding value to my clients.” This kind of snoozer status update says nothing about how you really added value. Did you get your client new exposure? Help it win an award? If so, congratulate your client in your posting – the rest of us can figure out that you were behind the scenes, making things happen.

4. DON’T post a stuffy, buttoned-up photo of yourself, unless that is your true persona. Remember, you can choose a creative, even playful, photo and still look professional.

Engage your audience, and soon enough, you will take those social media chats into offline conversations that will both boost your own bottom line, and benefit your clients.

———————————

This article was written by me and recently ran in PR News….

When I found out that the Moby concert was in Brooklyn at a small venue in Williamsburg, I was a little skeptical. I typically don’t go to Brooklyn for concerts unless they are being held at Brooklyn Academy of Music. But, since I’ve never seen Moby and really like his music, I decided to venture out to Brooklyn with a group of friends.

At first, there were very few people at the venue, but as time went by, it slowly filled up. The warm up band was Kelli Scarr, a local Brooklyn artist. She was incredible. She reminded me of a real 80’s performance artist with a lot of flare! (BTW, if you go to her web site at www.kelliscarrmusic.com, you can download her album for free.)

About twenty minutes later, Moby came out with his band. They were high energy and a lot of fun! This was probably the best concert I saw this summer. Everyone was dancing and having a great time, including me!

My 2 Cents….

The next time I come across a concert in a small venue, you know I’ll be there….

On Tuesday evening, my staff organized a book launch party for my first book, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media but were afraid to ask…”

More than 85 people attended the intimate event, held at the Carlyle on the Green in the Oak Room. Great people, great networking and lots of book signing going on…. For those who could not be there, below is the script that I prepared for the evening.

————————-

I want to welcome everyone to the book launch party for “everything you ever wanted to know about social media but were afraid to ask…” I am so grateful that I have so many of my friends and clients here. That really means a lot to me.

As many of you know, I first got into social media nearly four years ago when I attended a critical issues forum for the PR council in NYC. The council is made up of very large international and National PR firms and the discussion focused on twitter, blogging podcasts, youtube and social networking sites. I walked out of the session shaking my head.

About a month later, my son as a joke put me on Facebook. About a week later, I had all a bunch of reporters request to be my friend. At that point, I knew I was missing out if I didn’t climb on board.

So I started to research various sites – which one would be best for business development and which ones would be best for my clients – is it plurk, identi.ca, millionheads or Twitter? There were so many social media sites out there….

My staff and I spent the next few years researching these sites with lists and demographics and the next thing I knew, I was sitting there writing a book on what I gathered. The book is primarily for business owners or business development staff who want to get more exposure and visibility on the internet and need to cut thru the clutter… I really hope you get a lot out of this book…

I want to introduce a few of the people who were quoted in this book who are here tonight including: Kathleen Gobos, Erica Garay, Arthur Germain and Howard Silverstein! Thank you for contributing your thoughts!

I want to publicly thank my family for their support. I spent endless hours at night and on the weekends writing and researching and I really appreciate their support…

My writing journey would not have happened without my outstanding staff who helped me research, edit, work with the publisher, design the cover and inside layout and even get the book into bookstores and do the publicity for the book to get it exposure. I want to thank each and every one of them.

And finally, I want to thank you for supporting me and being there for me and being part of a growing community….

Thank you again for coming this evening and I look forward to talking with you all throughout the evening…