BuzzTart

These are the tools I use every day – I included them in my last newsletter, but here they are again so you don’t need to search your email:

1.  Amplify – this is a new service that lets you share with all your social networks from one interface (incidentally, NewsMaker only shares manually as we want to make sure the right messages are delivered to the right place on your behalf).
2. Compete – measure your performance in terms of hits and popularity, against your rivals.
3. Addictomatic– introduced to me by the media-savvy Gerry McCusker, this is a tool that reveals what’s been said about your brand, all in one screen, in virtual real time.
4. Social Mention – one of my favourites, allows you track any brand or name and have measurement of its “strength, sentiment, passion and reach” – as the name implies, it includes mentions in social media.
5. Alexa – this is not a new tool but it certainly is one of the fastest and more reliable ways to measure your ranking against websites in your region and across the whole world wide web. It also shows you the top keywords people used to find your pages.

PS: NewsMaker will launch its new platform in 2011. We’ll be using Swayve® software (Sway for Influence and VE for visibility engine). As well as PR productivity tools for publishing and distribution, Swayve lets you track and report on the coverage from your media campaigns in both social and traditional media. Register at Swayve to find out more about our release date.

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The Australian Festive Season is traditionally the time when all business goes quiet – only to wake up again on Australia Day. This period between Christmas and the end of January is a fertile time for PR professionals to be thinking about their clients’ media communications calendar for the whole year. It’s also a time when radio stations and metro dailies are crying out for topical stories.

Radio stations employ stand-in presenters during this period while newspapers and magazines often work with skeleton staff. They need ideas that are going to entertain, excite and inform.

Here are some surefire ways to increase awareness and attract media coverage from Christmas through to Australia Day.

1. Random acts of kindness
Many people are faced with personal and financial challenges at this time of year. Tell people about your charity or volunteer work and the difference you make*.

2. Trends and opinions
Tell media about your event and especially any anecdotes or strong opinions that were shared – or any trends you’ve noticed in holiday conversations. Include pics if you have them.

3. New Year sales and promotions
In January, everyone is looking for a bargain. Now’s the time to announce your special offers, deals and sales.

4. Run a competition or survey
While you have some thinking time, plan a competition with a prize suited to your customers. Surveys also work well in media – the larger the survey group the better but even small surveys work.

5. Good news week…
Are you looking forward to a prosperous New Year? Tell people about it – we all want to hear inspiring stories about business growth.

6. Take pictures and record video
Make 2011 the year when you capture everything you can as an image or video. The combination of text and video is the most powerful trend in media. Back it up by announcing your video’s existence in a news release so it will be shared widely.

7. Be bold or crazy
Do something mad, fun and not too dangerous…. Or play it safe and make bold predictions about the year ahead. As with point 6, record them on video as well as text to increase their pulling power.

* Join Donortec for great discounts on software and hardware for nonprofits.

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