“Twitter is for the birds.”
So goes the silly refrain–still–from some quarters, including one particularly troll-like alum of my journalism school who I suspect just likes to goad folks into foaming at the mouth.
Having opened a Twitter account four years ago, I have long seen the benefits of the social-media platform, both under my @InsideEdge handle and those of the many clients whose accounts I created and maintained.
Over the past few months, however, I’ve decided to become more engaged with Twitter. And you know what? When it comes to the media relations realm, it really is for the birds — in the sense that the early bird gets the worm (or media coverage).
NATO Summit Sparks Media Inquiry
A prominent case in point: two weeks ago, as I was reviewing my Twitter feed, I noticed that a Daily Herald reporter I had just begun following had posted a few minutes earlier: “Do you know of any suburban business or person involved in the NATO Summit?”
I re-tweeted her request and within minutes, it came to the attention of one of my followers, Mike Collins of J.C. Restoration–a Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based company that Inside Edge PR has worked on behalf.
I connected Mike with the reporter via e-mail. One thing led to another and the company, as you can see by the image to the right, is featured on the cover of the Daily Herald Business Ledger’s May 14th edition.
The key is being on top of it. Much like a bird survives by being on top of worms.
Special thanks to Mana Ionescu of Lightspan Digital. Mana is a Chicago-based social-media expert who tipped me off to Muckrack, a great resource for connecting with the media on Twitter. Within minutes of checking out the site, I began following the Daily Herald reporter and that step led to the Page 1 connection for J.C. Restoration.
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