As a small business, and one that often promotes relevant technologies, product and services, we are passionate about supporting the SMB community. Small businesses are the crux of our economy – stimulating new ideas, new jobs and new creations every day. So we wanted to remind you that today marks the last day to make a referral on “Make a Referral Week” -  an entrepreneurial approach to stimulating the small business economy one referred business at a time.

“The goal for the week is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the impact of a simple action that could blossom into millions of dollars in new business,” writes John Jantsch, creator of the effort and author of Duct Tape Marketing. We couldn’t agree more, so please, join the cause – show the power of referrals and make one here, today.

Technorati Tags: business, community, John Jantsch, Make a Referral Week, referrals, small businesses, SMB 0

Social Media Lessons from the Big Brands: Intuit Edition
While most big brands are still just experimenting with social media, some have jumped in with both feet and are finding success. This post from Chris Crum explores how tax and financial software giant Inuit has integrated social media strategies into many facets of their business.

18 Use Cases That Show Business How to Finally Put Customers First
In this MPDailyFix guest post, Jeremiah Owyang shares a great set a use cases to help companies “scale to keep up” in the rapid-paced world of social media.

Social Media Marketing: Are You Spread Too Thin?
Its not too difficult to get carried away trying out the latest and greatest social media tools and platforms. Before long, you find yourself swamped trying to keep them all updated. Fast Company Expert Blogger, Rich Brooks, shares advice – hint: keep focused on business goals.

Do You Have a Social Media Disorder?
Noah J. Nelson from YouthRadio.org notifies us of several new (and very humorous) “personality disorders” that have surfaced with the rise of social media in this reprint on the Huffington Post.

The Truth About the Average Twitter User
Mashable co-editor Ben Parr shares the hard facts about Twitter usage from a recent study by Barracuda Networks.

We’ve kicked off 2010 here with a new attitude. You didn’t know? We announced some exciting agency news recently and today I’d like to introduce you to a PerkettPR benefit that is designed to foster the personal gain that can be found by giving back. Ohio State University football coach, “Woody” Hayes said it best when he said, “You can never pay back; but you can always pay forward."

PerkettPR employees receive 40 paid hours of community service time a year, in addition to our regular paid time off. 40 paid hours to get out of the office and use our talents, passion and energy to support an initiative that’s important to us! I love it.

Most of us already spend personal time doing volunteer work but when we have busy jobs, families, professional development commitments, etc., it can be hard to find the extra time to contribute where and when we want to. I’m excited to have this opportunity to supplement the work I’m already doing and I hope you’ll be interested in hearing about what we’re all doing with our #CommunityService time here and on Twitter.

We have found that giving back to our communities makes us better people and provides a sense of accomplishment that is different from what we achieve at the office. How do you strike a balance? Where do you find time to give back? Who supports you?

How I’m Spending My Time

As a two-time Melanoma survivor the work of the Melanoma Foundation of New England is close to my heart. The programs they support, like the monthly support group I attend, are vital to cancer patients in the region. For the last three years I have volunteered my time and energy to help raise money for the foundation and awareness for our cause.

Since January, we have gathered 5,000 signatures from high school students across New England, for the Your Skin Is In program, who have pledged NOT to tan before their prom. I will personally be out speaking at high schools and colleges – sharing my own struggle with Melanoma and encouraging young adults to think about beauty and health as one in the same. Last week I spoke to 50+ female athletes at Wheaton College, my alma mater. As a collegiate lacrosse player, I wanted to convey the life altering events that happen when you go from being an athlete to a patient, facing months of recovering from surgeries where you’ve had tumors and lymph nodes removed. Melanoma is the most common cancer among women aged 25-32. I want these young women to hear my story and see the face of skin cancer – mine and theirs.

People who use tanning beds once a month, before the age of 35, increase their melanoma risk by 75%. This additional 40 hours of paid community service time means that I can speak to more students, educate more young people, and save more lives. I take this advocacy work seriously and I’m proud to say my employer supports me in my mission.

Here is a video the foundation just released – it’s a powerful teaching tool about how indoor tanning causes skin cancer. Won’t you watch it and consider sharing the facts with those you care about?

Tanning Is Out: Your Skin Is In:

A group of us at PerkettPR have been debating this topic for some time now. It seems to us that women in particular face a conundrum when it comes to business greeting situations. For some reason, it’s often awkward because many people tend to hug women instead of shake their hands. With men, the handshake is the protocol. But for women, it seems the protocol is up in the air.

Do you hug, do you shake hands, do you air kiss? Maybe in the fashion world the air kiss works but otherwise, it just feels awkward and insincere. What’s wrong with a good old fashioned handshake? I personally like the unspoken challenge when someone grabs your hand and squeezes hard during the handshake. You know it’s a bit of a power test. But the hug? Almost condescending when it comes from a man (let’s be gentle with the ladies?), and often awkward when it comes from a female counterpart (especially an unknown, such as a prospective client). And the air kiss? Depends on the business, but mostly, it feels insincere.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are colleagues and clients that I’ve worked with for years that warrant a hug – and who I’m perfectly comfortable with on that level. But here’s the dilemma to that – you enter a business meeting, hug the colleagues you’ve known for years and then you turn to someone you’ve just met. What do you do? Do you hug them? That feels strange. If you don’t hug them, will they be offended? When they just saw you hug everyone else, they may wonder if you’re going to hug them – then you go to shake their hand while they lean in for a hug. Aw-kward.

Sometimes, when you don’t see a colleague or a client for a while, they’ll hug you instead of shake your hand. But in day-to-day situations you wouldn’t do this, so why do it at all? Of course, there are times when hugs and high fives are warranted all around, perhaps, such as when a great piece of new business is closed, or a team challenge is won.

Do hugs belong in business? Do you hug colleagues or clients? Do you always greet them this way, or just when you haven’t seen them in a while? What’s the protocol – if there is one? We’d love your opinions.

Technorati Tags: women in business, business protocol, best business, business greetings,

Measuring Social Media with Web Analytics, Part 1
You’ve implemented a perfectly planned social media strategy and now that you’re humming along you’ve got an equally well planned way to measure your success right? That’s what I thought. There are many ways to measure, and Nathan Linnell walks readers through using web analytics as one option in this first entry of a multi-part series.

Online News Overtakes Print Media. The Future Has Arrived.
Kristen Nicole shares her take on the recent survey results from the Pew Internet and American Life Project that online news sources have surpassed print as they primary way people get their daily news fix.

CIOs: Stop Ignoring Social Media
In this Forbes.com post, Mike Schaffner provides commentary on IT’s slow adoption of social media, both internally and allowing access to it throughout the rest of the company.

Employees as an Overlooked Resource: 5 Ways to Equip Employees to Help with Marketing
Shel Holtz his thoughts on how some companies are missing the boat when it comes to leveraging employees to assist in marketing efforts and shares several helpful tips for enabling them to do so.

Women dominate mobile social networking scene
While most of us think that today’s kids are the ones who are obsessed about all things in the mobile device scene, BizReport’s Helen Leggatt shares the results from a recent Nielsen Interactive report that found women are the real group who are mobile obsessed.

I had a great meeting today with a business magazine publisher. A few things that he said to me during the meeting fell in line with this blog post that I had been planning for a while. Some of his comments included:

“You’re a great listener.”

“You don’t have that usual PR persona.”

“You are think and care about a lot more angles of business than I expected you to.”

I consider these compliments – and testaments to the way we approach not just business, but new business meetings. I’ve never been the PR person who sits at the conference table trying to out-talk the rest of the room. Some folks have commented that I seem a bit quiet, actually, for a PR executive – and you know why? I’m busy listening. I believe actions speak louder than words, and in order to prove our abilities, we need to listen first to align our actions later.

Listening is important – I’ve written about that plenty of times, especially as it pertains to branding, messaging and social marketing. However, as a PR or social media agency, you must first think about how you listen when approached by a prospective client. I’m always surprised when prospects say, “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that – good question.” So, in my humble opinion, here are twelve questions that any PR executive or agency should be asking a prospective client in order to understand their business and marketing needs, deliver a great proposal and determine if this is a company that you want to work with (remember, like any relationship, it’s a two-way street):

1. Why are you looking for a new PR/social marketing partner?
2. What has your history been in working with a PR/social media firm (or consultant)?
3. What do you want to accomplish?
4. How will you measure our success?
5. What are your benchmark metrics?
6. What other types of marketing do you do now or plan to do in the future?
7. What has been your  most successful marketing effort to-date?
8. Your least?
9. Why did you join this company?
10. If you could read one headline about your company today, what would it say – and where would it be?
11. What are your top three business goals this year? Five years from now?
12. How do you define “PR” (or, alternately, social media)?

Of course, these are just a few of the questions that we run through during initial interviews with prospects, but they are helpful in digging deeper and gauging how well a company knows who they are, where they are, who and where they want to be, and how they plan to get there. And, what they anticipate our role to be in doing so.

How do you determine what a prospect needs and if they are a potential fit for you as a client? Are you willing to share some of your best questions?

As always, thanks for reading!

When Twitter first arrived on the scene a few years ago, it took a long while for businesses to jump on the bandwagon. A few brave souls were early adopters but even today, there’s still a lot of skepticism on whether or not social media is appropriate and valuable for business. I think we’ve made it clear here that we believe it is, but if you’re still wondering, take a look at some of the biggest “web-celebs” (individuals popular on the web and who have successfully used it to build and extend their brand) and their use of social media. Many of them use it solely for the purpose of business – you rarely, if ever, see a personal update from them. So, although one might argue that these folks are focused on “personal branding,” ultimately, they are using their recognition to grow their businesses. A few examples:

Pete Cashmore (he moved over to Google Buzz in lieu of his “personal” Twitter account)

Robert Scoble (a few scattered personal comments but usually around where he is, especially with his current focus to travel the world to study how start-ups are formed)

Guy Kawasaki (“firehose” is putting it lightly)

Michael Arrington (if you don’t count semi-arguments with people trying to get his attention through controversial engagement)

Brian Solis (the most personal current Tweets are around his own book)

On the flip side, there are several examples of some new “web celebs” who often share personal updates, sometimes posting such random things like quotes from their favorite song, or what they had for dinner. Folks like Laura Fitton of oneforty, Penelope Trunk (who is a writer, so perhaps this is part of her persona), Chris Brogan (also a blogger, but now also a marketer) and Peter Shankman (of HARO fame) all share a combination of personal viewpoints and professional insights.

Then there’s a lot of talk about the new “over sharing” of personal information around location-based technologies, such as Foursquare. If you missed the latest hoopla, check out this TIME story on Please Rob Me and the dangers of getting too personal online. A recent PR-specific example of over sharing is the young lady who was hired – and then had her offer rescinded – by People’s Revolution (a fashion PR firm and center of the BravoTV show, Kell On Earth) for tweeting about her job interview.

So what’s my point? It’s really more of a question – are those who keep content more professional-focused and less personal-focused, more successful in business? Have social media networks crossed the chasm from personal fun to serious business tool? If so, why are so many brands still hesitant to make the leap into social marketing? Clearly, these few examples are only a small part of the social media population – but they are also strong examples of those who have successfully grown their personal brand through heavy use of social media and digital content.

What’s your style? Do you have a preference of the type of people that you connect with in social networks? Is it better as a business/executive – especially a marketer – to keep what you share 100% professional? I tend to believe that as a PR executive, social networks give us the opportunity to show that we’re human, more intelligent than often given credit for, and interested and passionate about many of the very products and services we promote. However, I often wonder whether or not I should post anything personal on my social networks. My historical preference has been to strike a balance between professional and personal posts, although with Facebook I really struggle – should I be posting anything personal? If I want to be personal, should I only accept “friends” who are truly friends in real life (you know, those people I’ve actually met and share common interests with)?

What do you think? I’m particularly interested in hearing from those who have built brand awareness online and if such success came from staying on one side of the fence or another. Thanks in advance for “sharing.”

Any Way It’s Sliced, Appeal of Social Media Grows
The integration of social media into marketing strategies continues to march into the mainstream, and this NY Times post provides many examples of big brands that are embracing social media as part of their current campaigns.

9 things I’ll never do again with social media
The Orange County Register’s Jon Lansner asked nine friends to share something that they’ll never do on their social networks any time soon. Some of the responses are entertaining, but they also provide some basic practical advice.

Five easy ways to maximize your social media content
Sometimes the simplest ways to boost the impact of your online social efforts can fall by the wayside. James Gurd from the eConsultancy blog provides five easy things you can (and should) do to help maximize your efforts.

Social Media Makes National Pancake Day Huge for IHOP
Chris Crum from WebProNews shares a look into IHOP’s (International House of Pancakes) use of social media techniques to promote this year’s National Pancake Day.

Digital Marketing Guide: Social Media
David Berkowitz from Advertising Age created this Q&A based social media guide that provides great answers to many common and current questions.

One of the most famous cartoon dynamics could pretty much sum up the difference between successful social marketing and unsuccessful social marketing: The Peanuts. I’m sure you recall that when the grown ups are talking at the children, all the children hear are muffled, annoying sounds. But when the children are talking with each other, they are interactive, listening and clear with one another.

A lot of what we spend our time talking with clients and prospects about in meetings these days is social media. Obviously, it’s the hot new buzzword, especially in marketing and PR, and many companies are still trying to figure it all out: “Is it necessary for us, how will it help us, who should manage it, are we doing okay with our current presence?”

Most of the time, the companies we speak with have some sort of presence started in social networks – usually, with one of the more popular and well-known networks such as Facebook or Linkedin. Maybe they’ve posted a few photos on Flickr and some videos on YouTube.  They’ve taken steps to establish accounts and make a few updates, or they  might even be quite active on Twitter. But most of the time – if they’re asking for help – they lack the “Three I’s” – a strategy for integration, interaction and intriguing content.

Here’s a simple way to get started on a strategy that involves the three I’s – and ensures that your messages don’t come across like a Peanuts parent:

• Social media is about community
• Community is about relationships
• Relationships involve hard work, consistent communication, trust, and emotion

If you keep these elements in mind, you’ll begin to see the subtle – yet important – differences between talking at your audiences and talking with your audiences. People tend to listen more – and remember more – when they’re involved in the conversation and you show that you care about them – either by asking their opinion, mentioning something relevant to them or connecting in a unique (intriguing) way. You can’t build a relationship – or a community – if you do all the talking (you know, like those Twitter accounts that are just links to a company’s news releases, or a Facebook fan page that never actually involves the fans.)

How are you integrating social media into your marketing plan to talk with your constituents and not just at them? Are you asking questions? Responding to answers? Listening to opinions? Have you integrated your content across networks to ensure an ongoing and compelling brand story? Are you putting the right resources behind your social media efforts to build a community and relationships? Step back and take a look – making some minor changes in your approach can make a huge difference in your success.

Why Google Buzz is brilliant and deadly to social media 1.0
As fanfare over the iPad announcement dies off, Google amped up the online world with a new feature announcement. In this post, Christopher S. Penn shares his views of the positive and negative implications of the all new Google Buzz feature in GMail.

The Value of the ReTweet
Donna Maria from the Indie Business Blog explains the value of “re-tweets” through the result of a month long Twitter experiment she conducted with her fellow colleagues.

Toyota: Way too little, way too late & what they should have done
While the whirlwind of bad press haunting Toyota is far from over, B.L. Ochman recaps the events that started it all, how Toyota reacted and what they should have done to ease the harsh reactions.

Why Social Media Is the New Agency-Client Relationship Builder
Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni focuses on the need for companies to consolidate their agency relationships down to one that can provide multiple services (like we do!).

Examples of social media policies
The topic of a Social Media Policy comes up within almost every company when they first begin to engage in the space. This post by Drew McLellan provides a list of many existing examples to help you get started on your own policy.

In a recent new business meeting, the prospect asked us if we’ve ever ended a relationship with a client by our own choice. While this may be a bit of a taboo subject – why in the world would an agency fire a client – the fact of the matter is that good agencies recognize when a relationship isn’t right on their end as well, and take steps to correct it. When those steps don’t work, sometimes breaking up is the only thing to do. So what are the reasons one might choose to end a client relationship and give up potential revenue? I’ve listed a few below. Remember – especially if you’re the boss – protecting your reputation, your staff and your ethics are priceless.

1. Unrealistic expectations. You’ve heard this time and time again. Yes, clients have every right to be demanding and to push for the best possible results. But when the CEO insists that not only should he be on the cover of Fortune Magazine, but his wife (who works in a completely separate company) should be with him as well (profile of a “super couple”), let the red flags fly. One might even think this CEO is joking but alas, when he is not – and six months later when he berates your team for “not knowing the right people,” (even though you’ve secured coverage for his company in USA Today, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal and more), because he is still not profiled on the cover of Fortune with his lovely wife, it’s time to consider that pleasing this client may never happen. Sometimes you have to know when to stand up from the game and walk away.
2. Abuse of your staff. This may sound dramatic, but it’s not uncommon. When a client contact treats your staff in a way that you would never tolerate internally, you have to address the situation and demand respect for your people. No one should ever have to tolerate verbal abuse, sexual harassment or demeaning situations – and it’s up to you as a leader to ensure their safety and comfort. If a client consistently crosses the line, it’s time for you to cut the cord. Like a parent, encourage your staff to open up and tell you whenever an uncomfortable situation arises. They need to know when it’s okay to push back – and that you would never expect them to tolerate inappropriate behavior.
3. Sudden change in metrics – without the accompanying change in resources. Any good PR agency is flexible and smart enough to alter strategies when a client’s company goals change. But when a client insists on adding five new programs and increasing metrics two-fold, with no additional resources (read: budget) provided, you have to reassess the situation. Often, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, and sometimes clients take that approach in requsting additional work under the same budget. While to some degree this can be tolerated, when significant changes are made and the expectations for your team to crank out results are not given the proper support, you have to assess whether or not the relationship is still returning value to your agency. Sometimes accounts simply become non-profitable. No one can run a successful business giving away free work. Talk to your client and explain that additional resources are required, or changes to the existing program need to be made in order to meet their new metrics. Most times, clients will understand and you can find a mutually-beneficial resolution. But if you can’t, be prepared to walk away and allocate that team to a more profitable prospect.
4. Consistently late payments – or lack thereof. Every now and then a client has a reason that a payment arrives late – and the respectful ones will tell you about this glitch before you have to ask. But if you have a client who continually forgets to pay their invoices, or worse, hasn’t paid in over 30 days, you need to change course. Times are tough for every business, but just because you’re in client service doesn’t mean that you have to tolerate non-payment. If a client can’t keep their commitments to you, you should evaluate if this is a “healthy” relationship for your agency – and the future of your business.

Ultimately, although we are in the client service business, it’s important to remember that it’s a client relationship. And the best relationships must involve mutual respect and admiration. It’s up to you to ensure those elements exist on both sides of the coin – so don’t be afraid to speak up when something’s not working, and to walk away if it seems beyond repair.

Have you ever fired a client? Why or why not?

Four ways social media can save you time and money
Larry Weintraub walks readers through four areas of business that can benefit from social media and provides practical tips on how to be proficient with each.

Hackers turn to social media to attack companies
This SFGate article provides food for thought for companies who have employees engaging in the social media space, and the vulnerabilities that come with the territory, as hackers find new ways to exploit internet users.

How the enterprise is going social
This CNET.com post by Dave Rosenberg recaps Gartner’s recent predictions of both success and failure for the social side of enterprise.

Social media: Listen less and sell more
Spring Creek Group principal, Clay McDaniel, suggests that 2010 is the year to leverage social communities to produce real sales – and provides some useful tips on how to move in that direction.

Tips for Promoting New Blogs
Enterprise companies and small business alike are starting blogs as part of their social strategies, and all of them run up against the same challenges. Thomas McMahon from the TopRank Online Marketing Blog shares 12 tips for getting your new blog noticed.

I’m excited to share some good news from our agency – news focused on growth, hard work and expansion, thanks to the dedication of the amazing staff at PerkettPR. We’ve kicked off 2010 with a new attitude – shaking off the cobwebs of 2009 and jumping right into the New Year with a “Best Tech PR” finalist nod from the tech community in January’s Crunchies (co-hosted by GigaOm, VentureBeat and TechCrunch), as well as the recent addition of several new clients across healthcare, technology and higher education. We also expanded our footprint into the Research Triangle region near Raleigh, NC.

Client details are below. More fun facts – including what we’re doing and where we’ll be in 2010 – are in the accompanying video or the full press release.

Some of our new clients include:

HealthLeap – (New York, New York) – Bridging the communication gap between doctors and patients to improve care, compliance and practice profitability through free, web-based appointment software.

Northeastern University College of Business Administration– (Boston, Mass.) – Established in 1922, the College of Business Administration provides its students – undergraduate, graduate, and executive – with the education, tools, and experience necessary to launch and accelerate successful business careers.

Norwell Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice – (Norwell, Mass.) – Founded in 1920 and the only independent nonprofit home health care agency serving Boston’s South Shore.

Proliphix – (Westford, Mass.) – The leading provider of Internet-managed energy control systems.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital – (St. Louis, Mo.) – Founded in 1879, St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one of the premier children’s hospitals in the United States serving children around the world.

VersionOne– (Atlanta, Ga.) – VersionOne is recognized by Agile practitioners as the leader in Agile project management tools.  By simplifying the process of planning and tracking Agile software projects, they help development teams consistently deliver software faster.

Thanks for all of your continued support. (PS We’re actively recruiting – especially in Mass. and Calif.)

6 marketing opportunities on Foursquare
Many are predicting that 2010 will be the year of mobile marketing. If thats the case, then iPhone and Blackberry app Foursquare is on its way to being a leading platform in that space. Tony Felice from iMediaConnection shares 6 ways marketers can take advantage of this increasingly popular mobile app.

Facebook Marketing Tips: Make the Most of Your Fan Page
Online Marketing Blog Copywriter, Michelle Bowles shares a few great tips on making the most of your Facebook Fan Page and provides examples of real pages that are inline with her advice.

Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl Ad Plans Include Social Media
Stuart Elliot from the WSJ’s Media Decoder blog provides a run-down of Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl campaign that includes a combination of traditional tv ads and online focused social media efforts

50% of Marketers Shifting Funds From Traditional to Online; Social “Top Priority”
Marketing Pilgrim’s Andy Beal shares the results from a recent report from the Society of Digital Agencies that indicates marketers are continuing to put more time and effort in the online social space.

Social Media As Customer Service
Lauren Fischer from SimplyZesty explores the trend of businesses adding social media platforms to their customer service workflows. A link to a Forrester presentation is also provided.

Small Business Leaders Prefer ‘Passive’ Social Media, For Now
This MediaPost.com article by Ben Hanna shares the results of a recent Business.com study that revealed small business owners are still slow to engage in more “active” social media resources.

Why All Media Soon Must Be Social
Kirk Cheyfitz, CEO and Chief Editorial Officer of Story Worldwide, suggests that “social media” is not to far away from being plain “media,” and he provides a few excellent stories to strengthen the idea.

Social Media Development — Three Case Studies, Part 1 of 4
Conrad Hall kicks off a four part blog post series that chronicles three bloggers who have been very successful using social media to build their businesses while having their blogs at the center of their strategies.

Reporters and editors increasingly use social media to source, research stories
Freelance writer Helen Leggatt shares some impressive statistics from a recent Cision/George Washington University survey that shows how journalists are migrating to social media at an incredible rate.

Can Domino’s Turn Around Their Cardboard Reputation?
Rohit Bhargava highlights Domino’s recent campaign that spans both traditional and social media spaces, where they have invited (and publically shared) customer criticism – both good and bad.

Earlier today, Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations released results of a national survey on how journalists rely on and use both social media and public relations resources for story research. While the headline, which reads “Majority of Journalists Now Depend on Social Media for Story Research” may have “social media experts” jumping to all sorts of conclusions and claims, reading further offers more validation that hiring a social-media savvy PR firm (or internal manager) is the best bet for your business.

Why? The study says that journalists “still turn to public relations professionals for assistance in their primary research” and that “most journalists turn to public relations professionals for assistance in their primary research.”

The bottom line is that PR experts who understand effective messaging and savvy story telling to the right audience will continue to be important – but more effective if they know how to reach key audiences where they already are – “fishing where the fish are,” as Coca Cola recently stated (slide 6). And for now, it looks like at least one of those audiences – source-seeking reporters - are on social media networks and using them strategically.

That leaves one question for you: Is your PR firm?

You can read the full news release and download the study’s results, here.

I’ve had that well-known Nike slogan running through my mind lately, “Just Do It.” It’s a catchy slogan that’s easy to remember, and reminds me a lot of our vision for 2010 at PerkettPR – don’t just talk about it, do it. This year, we’re focused on action and moving forward (after 2009, who isn’t?!) – how about you?

There are a lot of advantages to big business but one thing that stands out for me when meeting with a lot of larger companies is how many layers of talking there are to get to action. I enjoy working with both large and small companies, but one reason start ups and small businesses (SMBs) are so intriguing to me is that they are so very action-oriented. A lot of times big businesses add too many layers and before they realize it, the layers are covering so many non-doers that not much gets done. (Say that 10 times fast). People get caught up in theory and planning, hide behind layers of hierarchy and have a difficult time turning board room planning into real world action.

How do you ensure that your staff goes from planning and talking to action and doing? Do you allow new ideas to be tried and tested or do you stay on path with only tried and true methodologies? In 2010, as we move beyond one of the toughest years in business, encourage your team to “just do it” by opening up your mind to new possibilities. Here are a few ideas.

- Hand over the Reins. Often, less-senior staff get frustrated in business when they feel they don’t have a seat at the table. Senior management often doesn’t give them a seat at the table becaues they dont have the time to “deal with it.” During your next team meeting, hand over the reins to a junior staffer – let them set the agenda and run the meeting and see what new ideas abound. You’ll be surprised how people step up to the plate when given the chance.

- Speaking of stepping up, Try Letting Go. One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen managers face is letting go and delegating. A good manager keeps a team coordinated and on task. A great manager also  delegates and gives staff members the benefit of the doubt.

- Don’t forget to Empower Your Staff. Delegation without direction can be like falling overboard with no swimming lessons. You have to teach, too. Often it takes more time and effort than just doing the task yourself, and that’s why so many managers fail at delegation and empowerment. Do the work it takes to give your staff what they need to be successful.

- Track Results. Don’t forget to go back over those meeting notes and track movement. Check up on both the silent types and the big talkers – they are often the ones hiding behind a lot of tasks and To Do lists. The value is in looking back to see not only what planning was turned into action, but what action yielded results.

- Try Something New. If the finance industry was any indication over the last couple of years, following the pack isn’t always the best idea. Take one or two really innovative ideas and test them this year. You’ll be surprised how, even if they don’t work, they inspire your staff to keep thinking beyond the usual and help make your company a true leader.

What ideas do you have to share to encourage others to Just Do It in 2010?

Coke drops campaign sites in favor of social media
Will Cooper from NewMediaAge explains Coca-Cola’s shift away from creating campaign-based micro-sites to utilizing social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube, in an effort to place their brand where people are – rather than trying to drive people back to their own sites.

Social Media Success Means Learning to Let Go
Sean Donahue from MarketingSherpa reminds traditional marketers that when engaging in the social media space, “You have to be comfortable with the idea that you’re no longer in control of the conversation.”

The Killer Pitch? – When PR Agencies Can Do This – Look Out . . .
This post from SiliconValleyWatcher’s Tom Foremski suggests one way PR agencies might be able to craft the perfect pitch – and mentions our Founder, Christine Perkett. What do you think?

Helping Social Media Mature in 2010
HighTalk blogger George F. Snell III provides three reasons why businesses still aren’t engaging on the social web, along with three ways to change their ways of thinking.

IT must integrate social media tools into business architecture
ComputerWorldUK’s Anh Nguyen advises enterprise organizations to work more closely with IT Management in order to enter the social media space more smoothly.

What Is Engagement And How Do We Measure It?
Jason Falls helps readers maximize their social media success by understanding the importance of defining “engagement” before applying it to their social strategies.

Women Warm Up to Brands on Social Sites
EMarketer.com highlights some very interesting statistics from the recent SheSpeaks “Annual Social Media Study” – showing a large increase in brand activity among females across online social networks.

SEO tips for smarter social media
Geary Interactive CEO, Andreas Roell, explains how social media efforts and SEO go hand-in-hand, while providing some tips to make sure you are maximizing your efforts.

Is 2010 Your Year for a Mobile App?
Interactive Media Strategist, Tessa Wegert, shares statistics and examples of why 2010 just might usher in a trend of mobile-focused marketing campaigns.

Seven Tools to Better Manage Your Social Networks
CIO Staff Writer, Kristin Burnham, shares this list of seven tools to help you streamline your social media interactions. This post gets my vote for introducing me to five new tools I wasn’t aware of yet!

Thank you for all of your support, conversation, engagement and interest in PerkettPR in the past year. As we close out a truly memorable year, we’re very excited to kick off 2010 with a bang … but we need your help!

Some of the PerkettPR crew at December’s holiday party

Because of you, our amazing community, we’ve been voted a finalist in the list for “Best Tech PR” from TechCrunch’s “The Crunchie’s Awards.” Thank you for voting us to the finalist list! Now, our friends, family, clients, prospects and partners can vote once per day until January 6 to help us win this prestigious award. Think of it as the tech industry’s own Oscars! Winners are announced during the Crunchies award ceremony in San Francisco on the 8th of January 2010. For more information, visit the Crunchies homepage.

If you’ve seen or experienced our work and been impressed, we would love your vote/s. Please click here to vote for us for “Best Tech PR” - you can click next to our name, no registration required, and be done in less than a minute. You’ll see lot of other exciting categories to vote on as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read our blog, vote for us and for being such a fantastic community. We wouldn’t be here without you! Happy New Year!