More than 111 million people tuned into Fox last year to watch the Super Bowl – making it a record breaking TV event, according to the Nielsen ratings. A massive audience is expected for this year’s big game as well.

No matter who you are rooting for, the Giants or the Patriots, one lesson moving forward for brands is that the famous Super Bowl ads are no longer just about unveiling them during the game. The New York Times just wrote an article about the changing landscape that includes a much bigger dose of public relations.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have changed the rules of the game by allowing Super Bowl ads to be about more than a single event. Brands are embracing social networks to extend their message and interact with customers and clients.

Media outlets are covering the making of the ads, the creativity, the pressure and price behind creating a hit, and after the game the analysis of who had the best ads. It produces excellent opportunities for clients to get in the news. Major media outlets devote coverage to the ad race almost as much as they do the game. (OK, that may be stretch. But they do get a lot of coverage.)Even small businesses with no connection whatsoever to sports can get into the game. There are plenty of people who are not football fans that will be looking for something to do other than watch the game. Social media channels are filled with anti-Super Bowl parties and promotions.

For marketers, the new paradigm is not to wait for Super Bowl Sunday to air your ad or run your promotion. It’s all about going viral and social before kickoff. Social media and PR now play a much bigger role in promoting your brand around the annual game.

We all have to learn to think beyond the coin toss and the final score. What are some of your ideas for promoting a Super Bowl ad or anti-Super Bowl promotion?

The harder question: How can Twitter help you grow your business? Sometimes the only way to know is by giving it a try. But it’s important to keep a few basic principles in mind.

Are your customers, competitors, suppliers and/or vendors who can help your business on Twitter? By following your suppliers, maybe you can find out about opportunities that can save you money. Or by keeping tabs on what your competitors are doing, you gain market intelligence you might not get otherwise. Bottom line: There needs to be a sound, strategic business reason to tweet.

Once you made the decision to use Twitter as a marketing tool, take the time to do it right. And it does take a commitment for it to work. This is not a one-day-and-leave-it-alone project. It could take months to build a substantial following that can impact your business.

Here are some simple guidelines that we have found work for the about 20 Twitter accounts we handle for clients:

* Tweet every day. We suggest at least three times a day. Sometimes it can be done in as little as two minutes. Other times, it’ll take a much longer. Make it part of the daily routine. You have to be consistent; otherwise, it’s a waste of time.

* Build a following that matters to your business. Is following Lady Gaga really going to affect your bottom line? Think of all the people you encounter on a daily basis that impact your business, and find them on Twitter. Many of them will already be there.

* Engage. Don’t just sell, sell, sell. Share relevant, interesting news or information. Think about the value you can provide to those who are following you. Maybe it’s an article, a picture, your market insight, a special promotion just for your Twitter followers.

* Have some fun. Think of this as a prolonged conversation you’re having with business associates. You can tweet about the Dolphin’s game, about the concert you saw last night and about the weather. Just don’t overdo it. Remember, behind those tweets are real people, have real interactions.

 When it comes to making a big purchase or before buying a service, we often depend on referrals from friends or family. Beyond that, today many of us turn to the Internet before we ever visit a store or decide on a service. That’s why it has become essential for businesses, in particular small businesses, to be listed on ratings and reviews sites.

What’s said can be a valuable marketing tool especially if your business relies on local customers, such as a retail store, a food establishment, a hair salon or any tourism-related business.

With a quick Google search, find out if your business is already listed on these review sites. Many of them allow you to add information, and to correct misinformation, such as the wrong address, business hours or phone number.

Since you are using the site for marketing purposes, make a good impression. Add images of your store or restaurant, a picture of your staff, a detailed description of your business, directions to your location and any other information that will appeal to customers.

Consumers are looking for good deals and something special, so make sure you include descriptive menus, coupons or specials you are running.

Monitor your listings regularly, paying special attention to negative reviews. Responding to these can be tricky. You don’t want to seem too defensive, and you don’t want to start an online war with a customer. Keep the responses short and simple: Thank the customer for their opinion and ask how you can remedy the situation.

Review sites are also a market research tool to learn what your customers like and don’t like. Most sites also have free tracking and analytics tools. Use these to learn where users come from and where they go online after reading a review of your business. Check out these review sites:

We had the pleasure of working with a South Florida Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee in planning an event to draw in new and old guests to the newly renovated restaurant at 11506 Quail Roost Drive in Miami, Fla.  On Saturday, August 6, the restaurant hosted a grand re-opening celebration with Florida Marlins’ Logan Morrison aka @LoMoMarlins and Billy the Marlin.  We created a flier to put on display at the store, sent event listings to all of the local dailies and community newspapers and online calendars and sent multiple tweets from @DDSoFla to let all of our followers know about this upcoming event.

Come event day, the restaurant was packed!  Guests were lined up outside the door waiting for @LoMoMarlins to arrive and autograph their shirts, hats and posters.

While guests were waiting in line to meet one of their favorite Marlins players, I was curious to know how they found out about the event.  As I began asking guests, I kept hearing the same seven letter word – Twitter, Twitter, Twitter. (Ok, a few did say the Miami Herald advertisement but most everyone said Twitter.   )

And that goes to show you the power of Twitter – to engage, to provide relevant information and in the end, continue creating brand awareness.

Oh and don’t forget to thank your guests and tweeps!

It’s all in a Name: Brand Identity – The very first step in creating a Twitter account is generating your username. You must decide what the purpose of your account will be. If you’re creating one to keep in touch with old friends or find out what @KimKardashian likes to eat for lunch, then you might decide to use a personal nickname. If, on the other hand, you’ve decided to create an account to further your brand or business, then the obvious thing to do would be to use that as the username. Again, you must decide what the main purpose of your account will be.

Content: 140 Characters or Less – Next, you need to figure out what it is that you want to tweet about. Do you want to come across as an expert in your field? Are you planning on using your account mainly to advertise new business specials and/or product information? Regardless of what you choose, it is of the utmost importance for you to not be 100% promotional. While it is absolutely recommended to use a Twitter account to promote your brand or business, most people will see right through a strictly promotional account. That is why, in addition to relevant company/brand information, you must also allow some of your personality to shine through. (NOTE: If you’re boring, adopt someone else’s personality ☺). It is also important to engage with others, because if you’re not being social, than you’re missing the entire point of social media. Not only will you not have a successful account, but you’ll also miss out on the opportunity to converse with interesting people that you may otherwise not have had the chance to converse with.

How Do I Get Followers? – I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard that question. Unfortunately, I don’t have a clear-cut answer. However, here are a couple of tips that I believe will get you started:

1) Attend local tweet-ups. They are a great way to network and connect with local tweeps in your community. Check your local newspapers for information on where you can find one in your area.

2) Follow people that would be interested in the information you tweet out. If your account is for a restaurant, then you should start out by following local foodies, newspapers, news stations coupon/deal bloggers if you plan on promoting specials and people who live in the area of your restaurant. Once these people see that you’re following them, they’ll more than likely take a peek at your page and if they like what they see, maybe they’ll follow you back. If your local media outlets have official twitter accounts, links to follow them should be located on the homepages of their official websites.

Quality vs. Quantity – At the end of the day, it is about the quality of your tweets and the quality of your followers, NOT about the quantity. Never tweet if you have nothing interesting to tweet about. Twitter isn’t a complete numbers game. Of course it’d be nice to have thousands of people following you’re account, but if they’re people with very little activity or little to no engagement with others, then in what way would they be beneficial to you? If you cannot learn from them and they show no interest in learning from you, what’s the point?

Happy tweeting

Social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter can be overwhelming for a client because it’s a whole new and fast paced world for them.  It’s important we educate our clients on why investing in social media is key.  It’s also important we as public relations executives continue to stay on top of this helpful technology and embrace it.

It’s great to see the optimism towards social media – here are a few benefits you can offer to your client:

• Improve customer relationships
• Reduce customer service costs
• Influence sales
• Increase media coverage
• Establishes trust with consumers
• Builds the client’s brand

Social media is a great tool to assist public relations executives in the online world.  With more people using Facebook than regular email, it’s our responsibility as PR professionals to guide our clients and help transition them.

Abby Boburka,
Account Executive

Whether it’s launching Dunkin’ Donuts South Florida Twitter account back in November and partnering with the Miami Dolphins on a ticket giveaway for this launch, or it’s “driving” the Truly Nolen Mousecar on Facebook, or it’s sharing links on the Tilson PR Facebook and @TilsonPR Twitter accounts that are mutually beneficial to others, we as a firm have been fortunate to have participated in that original webinar that launched all of this interest for us.

Therefore, beginning today, I am excited to announce that our great President Tracy Tilson has entrusted me in a new position. My title – Manager of Social Media!

Why does this excite me? Because I feel it adds a new dimension to what we do here. We already engage in Social Media, and now we’re going to begin focusing on offering current and prospective clients ways to also become engaged in the practice. Through speaking engagements, on-site tutorials and actual social media services, we as a firm will strive to do the best job we can in communicating on behalf of our client and showing prospective clients what we can do for them.

One of my favorite singers, Tom Petty, once said, “The future was wide open…The sky was the limit.” I couldn’t agree more, and as we move onward and upward into this new chapter for our firm, we’ll continue to aim high.

Toby Srebnik, Manager of Social Media (@TilsonPR)

What I found encouraging about the presentation was that several chamber members approached each of us at the conclusion to ask us follow-up questions. Several even told us how they were planning to go back to their office and explain to their boss WHY they need to be on Facebook and Twitter NOW.

As someone who is very passionate when it comes to Social Media, I’ve always felt if you can explain to a business owner in clear terms why they need to be involved, they will be motivated to do so.

One example of a business that was allowing the conversation to go on without their participation was our friends at Lion County Safari (who is not nor have they ever been a client of ours). Back in June 2009 during a presentation to the Palm Beach County Attractions Association, I was able to visually show LCS what they were missing.

I went to search.twitter.com and typed in Lion County Safari. At the time, there were over 150 tweets about the attraction, and 95 percent of them were positive. LCS’ Director of Marketing and Public Relations Jennifer Berthume, upon seeing this, pulled me aside at the end of my presentation and used my computer to sign up for Twitter that day. Seven months, 559 followers, and 489 tweets later, @LionCountry has become a Twitter fixture and understands the value of connecting with the general public on a daily basis through this medium.

Therefore, my advice would be this: before you get involved, see what others are already saying about you and/or your business. Once you see how the conversation goes on without you, it just made be what you need to motivate you to take on the challenge of a new horizon!

Toby Srebnik,
Senior Account Executive (@TilsonPR)

Companies that use Twitter and Facebook to enhance (not replace) their customer service efforts have the right idea. And when companies don’t treat customers well in person, on the phone, or via written/electronic communication, it often doesn’t bode well for their social media presence. Case in point: I just checked in on my favorite airline’s Facebook page, and saw comments from a customer alleging that her e-mails to the company have gone unreturned for months.

The old rules are still intact for us, too: it’s easy for a PR professional to conduct virtually all business by e-mail, whether it’s pitching media, negotiating with a vendor or conducting day-to-day dialogue with a client. But picking up the phone provides warmth, engagement and other intangibles that e-mail can’t always express.

At Tilson, we have a stack of notecards – the kind you use for a handwritten letter – and we are encouraged to use them frequently. I’m always impressed when I receive a written note by mail. In fact, receiving a written thank you note from a recent intern candidate assisted in my decision to hire him.

As Tracy wrote on this blog a few days ago, the days of stamping and mailing press releases is long over. But old-fashioned communication isn’t gone here, and it’s the delicate balancing act of new and old that makes communication – from both PR firms and companies – effective.

Amy Bagner, Senior Account Executive

Some of the ways companies can use social media to their advantage include:

• Developing relationships with their customers in a non-intimidating fashion
• Posting photos of and “reporting” from a live event as it occurs
• Listing upcoming events that can be shared with a wide audience
• Quick distribution of press releases
• Using customers as a sounding board to help develop company ideas

The number one reason people don’t get involved in social media is because “I just don’t have the time.”  As someone who has been serving on the Social Media Club South Florida Steering Committee since April and who now also serves as the Publicist for Social Media Club Palm Beach County, I’m here to tell you time is on your side!  People can start developing SM relationships in as little as 15-30 minutes a day.  Just remember, like a chamber of commerce membership, you will get out of it whatever you’re willing to invest in terms of time.

The possibilities are endless.  The question is whether you are willing to take the social media plunge.

Toby Srebnik, Senior Account Executive (@TilsonPR)