MyPRGenie’s Unique Service Gains National Recognition

MyPRGenie, the world’s premiere do-it-yourself PR platform and newswire was recently honored as one of the OnDemand Top 100 winners selected by AlwaysOn.

As part of the OnDemand Top 100, MyPRGenie was recognized by the AlwaysOn judges for its leadership among its peers, and for its game-changing approaches and technologies that were deemed likely to disrupt existing markets and entrenched players.

“This is a tremendous honor, and we humbly accept it,” said Miranda Tan, Chief Executive Officer of MyPRGenie, Inc. “It’s very gratifying for our staff to be recognized for its hard work and innovation. It’s also nice to have an independent third-party evaluation confirm what our clients have already been telling us: that MyPRGenie, by far and away, is the most advanced, effective online do-it-yourself public relations toolkit out there.”

Using MyPRGenie, clients can create an online business profiles, upload their press release in any language and significantly increase their online exposure.

With the MyPRGenie platform, it takes only an instant to connect to thousands of journalists and automatically post on 28 social media sites. MyPRGenie currently has thousands of clients ranging from large and small companies to public relations professionals who are using the MyPRGenie platform to drive their PR business.

The OnDemand 100 winners were selected from among hundreds of other technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists, and industry insiders. The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2010 list.

MyPRGenie: Digital Marketing Building Momentum

For PR professionals, the death of traditional news media will mean that ―big score media placements—the one-time stories on the front page of a national newspaper or a network evening news story— will become rare, and less and less relevant. Eyes, and more importantly, audiences, will be reached in the future through the thousands of new media outlets and direct communication channels.

This year will also prove historic for the public relations industry because of the economy’s effect on its client base. Businesses across all sectors have shuttered, and many more have undergone layoffs. But 2010 will enable those companies who are well-positioned in a volatile economy to take advantage of a weakened competitive field.

More clients will be financially stressed and looking to reduce or shift their public relations budgets. But those PR opportunities that can be seized will provide enormous payoffs.

Traditional media is becoming harder to navigate due to:

• The high rate of news personnel turnover
• Increasing reliance on the Associated Press content
• Fewer news outlets
• Less content created per issue

In short, there will be far fewer opportunities for story placements reaching wide audiences. More and more, marketing budgets are shifting dollars away from traditional advertising to digital advertising and social media.

The SEO market is forecasted to generate $16.6 billion by the end of the year, an increase of more than 14 percent over 2009.

Content created to sell newspapers rather than to inform

Online Advertising Enters a Golden Age

Ultra Light Panel on Online Advertising

Jonathan Hsu, CEO of 24/7 Real Media, indicated that people working within the online advertising industry are definitely in the right field at the right time.

“Online advertising is heading for a Great Golden Age,” said Hsu. “And it will keep building momentum for at least the next 21 months.”

Hsu made up an all-star Ultra Light Startups panel at the NYU Polytechnic Incubator on Thursday night where the topic was online advertising.

Ultra Light Panel:

• Dean Harris, CMO of Kayak and Vonage
• Jonathan Hsu, CEO of 24/7 Real Media
• Brian O’Kelley, CEO of AppNexus
• Anand Subramanian, Founder and Chairman of ContextWeb

Hsu told the assembled group that it’s easier than ever to get into the online advertising business – but it’s harder than ever to create real wealth and score a huge buy out.

One of the major topics of the evening was direct response vs. brand advertising. Dean Harris indicated that direct response about getting people to buy a product as soon as they see the ad, while brand ads are more relevant for building awareness and sales at a later date.

Anand Subramanian agreed saying that brand advertisers are more committed to pushing out a message rather than a specific product. He also referenced the emergence and continued profitability of online video advertising.

Jonathan Hsu says that the conversion away from traditional media advertising won’t happen overnight, because that’s still where ad agencies are making the majority of their money, but the writing is on the wall.

Brian O’Kelley was revered by the panel as being the father of the advertising exchange while CTO at Right Media (acquired by Yahoo in 2007). Hsu remarked that he considered AppNexus, O’Kelley’s startup, as the smartest play in the online advertising space today.

The panel closed the evening by reiterating the incredible opportunities available in the online advertising and how the industry is headed for unprecedented growth.

Anand Subramanian, Brian O’Kelley, Dean Harris, Jonathan Hsu, ULS, Ultra Light Startups

How Social Media Shapes Society, Business

ULS presents: February Entrepreneur's Forum

Keeping in line with Social Media Week, Ultra Light Startups brought in four experts to discuss the rapidly changing world of social media for this month’s entrepreneurs forum.

This month’s panelists included:
Bryan Hamilton with Razorfish
Dan Maccarone with Hard Candy Shell
Alex Rainert with kgweb
Christopher-Ian Reichel with Viacom/MTV Networks

The panel broke down several questions including: What is a social website?
What makes a site social? Why people participate online?

The panel pointed out that eventually, people would be forced to understand that the very concept of privacy is changing because of social media. The concept of privacy is changing daily as the information highway gathers more and more data.

The panel addressed the fact that staging a social media campaign has never been easier because of powerful platforms such a Facebook and Twitter. However, just because the tools are available, doesn’t mean anyone should rush into it. The panel says that there are a variety of things to consider before launching any social media campaign. For instance, if your company sells lawn mower parts, is it really necessary to really have a social media strategy in the first place?

Bryan Hamilton with Razorfish says it’s important to set goals before undertaking any social media campaign. Map out the people, businesses or community where you want to direct your efforts. Once priorities have been set, then decide how you want to reach them.

Once your social media network is up and running, Alex Rainert with kgweb says business owners must find ways to get their users to interact with them. He says that customer/user feedback is critical to keep any site moving forward. Rainert says the feedback should be used to shape and mold the most effective message possible.

Dan Maccarone with Hard Candy Shell singled out Twitter and Foursquare as particularly worthwhile because with those platforms, one gets to choose who they interact with. Bryan Hamilton added that one should be very wary of their first 10,000 users, because they are the people who will shape and define each site.

Dan Maccarone advised new businesses to you use Facebook, because it’s already established and you are more likely to find people the people you are trying to reach.

Later, during the question and answer session, someone asked if there was room for a new social media network, besides Facebook or Twitter?

There was some disagreement, but the consensus was that someone might come up with a better site than Facebook. However, overtaking a site like Facebook wouldn’t happen overnight, because the site is already linked in (no pun intended) with a wide variety of partners and social media sites.

Toyota Praying for a PR Miracle

Toyota issues a public apology, but is it too late?

The embattled Toyota Motor Corporation is pulling out all the stops on a massive public relations campaign to stop the bleeding from weeks of negative press.

The once stellar Toyota image may have been permanently tarnished by widespread recalls amid reports that multiple models of cars and trucks have accelerators that stick.

Jim Lentz, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales was on the Today Show this morning trying to talk his way out of this Public Relations nightmare and Toyota ran full page ads in several national newspapers this weekend trying to undue the national breakdown in trust.

This PR blitz comes on the heels of a federal investigation into the Indiana manufacturer that sold the “reportedly” faulty accelerators to Toyota and other automakers.

It’s too early to tell if this PR campaign will be successful. Lentz insists that from here on out, Toyota is going to take great care of its customers. However, even if that happens, Toyota has a long road to travel before any true customer confidence is restored.

Serial Entrepreneur Outlines Social Media Strategies for Business

Michael Lazerow, entrepreneur and founder of Buddy Media, recently spoke about the power of social media sites at the Web 2.0 Conference in New York City. He addressed the implications of Facebook, Google and other social technologies where he says millions of people are having conversations everyday. Lazerow says businesses now have a simple decision, Socialize or Die.

Lazerow’s Law:  As social networks get larger, the speed at which content flows gets faster

Lazerow states that it only took social networks 4 years to penetrate 50% of the households in the United States. He says that’s astronomically faster than any other communications medium in history.

The potential to reach massive audiences has never been greater with more than 300 million people sending out 45 million updates per day.

If Facebook were a country, Lazerow says it would be the third largest country in the world. Another reason it’s critical for people to socialize their sites by opening up audience conversations on their Facebook or Twitter site pages. This can be accomplished by ensuring that users are treated to very easy and user-friendly tools.

Lazerow says another important tool is to establish an “Ecosystem of Sharing.” If the user has to hunt or search for how to interact with your site, you’ve already lost them. He also stressed the importance of creating engaging experiences, by using a combination of social data and personal experiences.

USING FACEBOOK TO SET YOUR BUSINESS ON FIRE

• Set your presence and update your content at least three times a week. Post these things on your wall.
• Facebook publishing offers the potential for geometric/exponential growth.
• Develop strategies to draw people to your Facebook Fan Page – get them into the conversation.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Let Passion Drive Your Success

New Jersey’s Wine Wildman and Social Media Magnate, Gary Vaynerchuk hosts a Video Wine Series on the Internet that snags more than 80,000 viewers per day. His new book “Crush It! – Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion” is gathering momentum across the country.

He hosted a book signing in New York City Wednesday night at the Columbus Circle Borders Book Store.

The 33-year-old entrepreneur blew up the family business (in a good way) helping it skyrocket from $4 million to $60 million in just the last five years.

As the title might suggest, Vaynerchuk says there has never been a better time than right now to cash in on your passion.

All wine aside, Vaynerchuk says his true passion is the New York Jets and his ultimate goal is to someday buy the team. It comes as no surprise that he’s even found a way to integrate his passion for the Jets and wine during his video wine broadcasts. After he samples each wine, he spits the remainder of the wine into his special Jets trashcan.

Vaynerchuk says there has never been a better time in history to reach out to consumers using the Internet.

“If you are willing to work your face off while chasing down your passion – you can win,” Vaynerchuk told the audience. “If you have no plans to retire in the next five years, you better make damn sure you pay attention to my book.”

Vaynerchuk says that at the end of the day, he wants to be heard. He says his message is the right one and he’s desperate to push it out there.

“The most money you can make is by following your passion, I believe that.”

Vaynerchuk also has a fascinating answer for people who ask him where his energy comes from, “You don’t need Red Bull — Do what you love and you are tireless!”

The Wine Wizard closed things out by offering his critical key to success. Find the thought leaders in your industry. Surround yourself with them, work for them and learn everything you possibly can.