Many of you have invited me to become part of your network at Linkedin.com, an online social networking site for professionals.
I used to decline, politely, simply because I haven’t quite figured out how it works. Nor have I taken the time to learn. When I told a colleague this last week, he told me, politely, that he thinks I’m nuts.
“I’m amazed when I see all the different types of influential people who other people in my circle know,” he said. “You can add information about your newsletter to your profile and it could really increase the number of readers.”
I Googled Linkedin and found a great review about it at PCmag.com.
So I went back to all the invitations I’ve gotten over the months and simply agreed to join everyone’s Linkedin circle. But The Publicity Hound, of course, is after all the publicity she and her Hounds can get.
Is it possible to use this online network to generate publicity, I wondered. Are journalists ever listed on Linkedin lists? If so, have Hounds ever used Linkedin to contact them and pitch them? Have you ever used Linkedin any other way in your PR or publicity campaign?
What about MySpace.com? I always thought that site was best known as a place for Internet predators to troll, hoping to prey upon the teen-age girls whose sleazy photos appear with their profiles. Recently, however, I’ve seen well-respected business people grab their own space at MySpace.
During a teleseminar I hosted a few weeks ago with Bob Baker, a musician and former music magazine editor, Bob mentioned that many bands have discovered that posting a profile on MySpace.com has led to bigger audiences at their gigs.
As for Craigslist, I’m hooked on the wildly popular global bulletin board. I even hosted a teleseminar several weeks ago called “How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool” and I post my own events there regularly.
I want to write a special report about how Publicity Hounds use these three websites, and any other networking sites, in their PR campaigns. If you respond and email me, and I use your comments or ideas in the report, I’ll send you a complimentary copy.
Stay tuned.
In the meantime, don’t miss all the excitement at Craigslist, where you can target more than 100 specific cities and more than 40 countries with your message, whether you’re promoting a church bake sale, hiring employees, introducing a new product or expanding your line of services. Read more about what you’ll learn from the CD or electronic transcript “How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool” at http://tinyurl.com/geog2