Weekend read: My weekly share on Twitter

Took a lot of risks this week? Not sure you're going to sweep the stakes? I've got a sure bet for you: The weekend is almost here. That means it's time to share my best finds and reads from Twitter, where I always feel just like I won the lottery when it comes to getting new facts and ideas. Here's the best of my finds this week:

• The long shot comes in: FINALLY, Facebook will let you schedule posts for your FB page, and you can have different levels of permission for different roles in managing your FB page: Manager, Content Creator, Moderator, Advertiser and Insight Analyst.
• Too fast out of the gate: Facebook also now requires those social-sharing news and video apps to take a 10-second delay before they publish your shares.
• Before you put the neon sign over your casino: Nonprofits about to undergo a branding process will find this discussion at the Communications Network website of interest--and you're encouraged to add your experiences.
• Stacking the (Tweet)deck? Can Twitter affect the citation rate for scientific research published in journals? Here's one study that examines the impact. I'd like to see more such studies, with a focus on the top journals, but it's a start.
• Not by a nose: If you've been hearing a lot about video-sharing site Viddy, you may have missed this: In the race to be the Instagram of video, Socialcam is blowing Viddy away. Good data here.
• Stacking the deck, in the wrong way: "The media contact women scientists less often than men scientists," says this study. Communicators who do media relations can make a difference here, and with this issue: Men outnumber women in submitting op-eds, 9 to 1. Get going with your women spokesfolks.
• My kind of town: Google+ Local has launched, and it neatly integrates local search, reviews from your Google+ friends,  and even Zagat restaurant reviews. It also replaces Google Places. You'll find a "Local" tab on your Google+ profile on the left side. Plus, don't miss BIA Kelsey's take on the mobile aspects of the new Google+ Local.
• A good bet: John Jantsch clues you in on why Facebook is letting you promote to your fans and why he thinks you should, using the new "promoted posts" feature. Listen up, people--this is smart stuff.
• One in a million: A research communicator shares how she uses Twitter in Social media for the science PIO.

The early registration discount is over, but you can still register for my June 19 workshop, Be an Expert on Working with Experts--until June 10, or when all the seats are filled. The odds of getting a seat are getting tougher, though, so don't gamble on this opportunity.

Thanks so much for reading this week. I'm glad you're willing to bet on finding things here.

How can I encourage camera-shy experts to break out of their shells? 4 tactics

You're a communicator wielding a camera, wanting to get your expert to practice. She's doing an elaborate version of "talk to the hand," perhaps by saying she needs to leave the training early to go to an essential meeting (uh-huh) or using delay tactics like asking lots of questions about less important matters. That sudden fascination with meetings and minutia likely means just one thing: Camera-shy.

"How can I encourage camera-shy experts to break out of their shells?" was the question of one registrant in my June 19 workshop for communicators on how to 'Be an Expert on Working with Experts.'  Here are three of the tactics we'll be discussing related to using cameras to prep your experts for media interviews, speeches or public presentations:

1. Cameras are the great equalizer: Nobody likes them. More precisely, no one likes how they look or sound on camera, from the best broadcasters to the never-been-seen newbie. Make sure your expert knows that the discomfort is normal, and something they have in common with people they admire.
2. Why are you using a camera, anyway? Please explain. I don't use cameras in practice to help my trainees create picture-perfect broadcast-quality productions. I use them for two reasons trainees can appreciate more readily: To help them see themselves in action--something they can't get any other way--and to help catch things we can correct and improve upon. Establish the goals and don't assume your expert knows why the camera is there.
3. Don't confuse shy with introverted, and vice versa. Susan Cain, author of the recent book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, offers some clues in Are you shy, introverted, both or neither? The skinny: "Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, and introversion is a preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments." You'll do better if you warn an introverted expert ahead of time to expect camera practice in a safe environment, and in some cases, if you train her alone. For the shy trainee, use tactics like letting them be the first person to give feedback on their own video--they'll be much more honest and negative than you ever could be, which lets you come back in and correct misimpressions.
4. Help them embrace the playback. I've seen trainees watch their videos while wincing, covering their eyes with their hands, or sliding down under the table. To allay their discomfort, make the process constructive, rather than destructive, by giving them guidance on what to look for and how to learn from it. I give all my trainees Instead of wincing, 10 things to look for on that video of your speech, and walk through it with them.

We'll be dishing tips like these and more at the workshop--and there are still seats available. Go here to register, find out what other kinds of questions and challenges the participants want to discuss, and learn about the great network of communicators who are already participating. Registration goes through Sunday, June 10, or until the seats are filled.

When your expert ignores all media but the big guys: 4 tactics

"Can you explain to him that he ought to talk to reporters or bloggers even if they don't work for the New York Times?" That's almost a routine request when I'm asked to do a media training for an expert or scientist.

Here's the rub: The researchers aren't wrong about the power of the biggest media outlets: Consider this 1991 New England Journal of Medicine study showing that "Journal articles publicized by the Times received 72.8 percent more scientific citations than control articles." But every good communications director knows there's value in reaching out to a wide variety of journalists, from freelancers to small outlets and trade press, in addition to major media outlets. That's not even counting the fact that the majors can't cover every topic, nor that what your expert has to say may not pass muster in prominent media. What can a communicator do to move experts beyond the majors and into interviews with the rest of the field?

We'll be talking about this issue at my June 19 workshop, Be an Expert on Working with Experts, since the expert who balks at media interactions is a common issue for communicators. Here are some considerations you need to explore as a communicator if you want an expert to move beyond the majors:

1. Is this an avoidance tactic? Sounding all exclusive or setting unrealistic targets might be an effort to mask overall discomfort, lack of experience or bad experience with reporters. It's worth probing why he's choosing to narrow the field to find out.
2. Is this a training deficiency? Just because he's expert in his subject doesn't mean he gets media relations. If you haven't taken the time to explain why you--and your company or organization--wants coverage from other-than-big-guys, do that before you attempt to set up the interviews.
3. What's in it for her? Helping experts find motivation is an oft-ignored part of the communicator's work. Is she seeking funding, a tech transfer, research subjects, support from a legislature? Does his public funding call for reporting out findings to a wider public audience? Establishing a motivation for the interview can help you and your expert later on.
4. Is this a time management issue? One of my favorite experts finally confided that 10 percent of his calls were from reporters, who were taking up 80 percent of his time. That's an easy fix: We started arranging more conference call briefings (think Google+ Hangouts, too) and other approaches that helped make better use of his time.

Those are just a few of the considerations behind this issue--and we'll be discussing more at my experts workshop on June 19. Join us to develop more tactics for varying your experts' media outreach. 

(Hat tip to Ivan Oransky for the pointer to the NEJM study.)

Weekend read: My weekly share on Twitter, jobs and a workshop discount

I feel like a kid in the candy store this week, with lots of finds, reads and insights from the candy store known as Twitter. And I'm even willing to share. Here's the best candy I found after sifting through my Twitterstream this week:

• Watching the transition to "social TV:" All that coverage of American Idol's TV ratings dip missed the point. Idol broke many social network records this season, with 5.9 million online comments during the season, and 1.2 million during this week's 2-hour season finale alone. We're watching a transition-in-progress here.
• Signal for everybody: If you're trying to get wi-fi right at your next or press room--something we can all get behind--Twitter user @mistersugar recommends @SignalShare.
• Like to like you, baby: Facebook's rolling out an option that would let users like your page directly from a post, without leaving their news feeds.
• Rights for video. No, not that kind: YouTube has launched a human rights channel.
• Healthy regard for social media: The Centers for Disease Control's social media efforts are cataloged in this page full of its best practices and guidelines.
• Upwardly mobile: SUNY Oswego's Tim Nekritz looks at social coverage of commencement this year, and notes that "22 percent of our commencement viewers did so on mobile devices." Find out how they geared up for that, and more.
• Devices and desires: Nielsen's multi-screen media report is loaded with data on users and their devices. SlideShare's got the skinny.
• The move to mobile: Time actually spent on Facebook has been flat for a year--not because users aren't on FB, per se. They're just using it on mobile devices, says comscore data.
• This is kid stuff: Everything you need to know about content strategy you learned from children's books. You can't hire Corduroy, but you can steal his wisdom.

And a job: The University of Minnesota's looking for a student outreach and communications specialist.

If you're interested in attending my June 19 workshop, Be an Expert on Working with Experts, today's the deadline for the early registration discount. There are still seats left, but if you register today, you'll pay just $300 for this daylong workshop. After today, registration is $350. I'll close registration June 10 or when the seats are filled, whichever comes first. Join us for a dynamic and unusual professional development opportunity designed just for communicators who work with scientists and other subject-matter experts.

Is your Twitter handle your calling card?

Don't be surprised if I change my company name to @dontgetcaught. Twitter handles, to my mind, are becoming what URLs used to be as corporate branding...and I happen to like mine.

We may not be there yet, but people like me are already using their Twitter handles as a handy--and short--nametag replacement for their company or title. And Twitter handles abound on everything from bumper stickers to business cards.

The more creative uses of Twitter handles as brands that I've seen come from sports--which makes sense when you consider how much time cameras are trained on athletes, making this a built-in broadcasting tool. Washington Nationals closer @DrewStoren put his Twitter handle on his glove (stitched in, thank you) and you can see Twitter handles instead of names on the backs of the Philadelphia Wings' jerseys. Athletes' Twitter handles let fans know how to reach them and encourage them to reach out. So do yours, on your business card or nametag.

There's another bonus to using a Twitter handle as your primary brand: It's yours. You have carved out your own Twitter identity, right? Mashable brought the standards up-to-date with Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Social Media Identities? -- and most of the discussion is around Twitter handles:

...if you intended to be a public spokesman for a company in 2006, then it made sense to put your company’s moniker in your social profiles. However, in 2012, the standard practice is to be yourself and build a social media following, and then act as a hired gun for the companies you represent....Also there are two fields of identification on Twitter: Your name and your handle; you can change both to whatever you would like (as long as it’s not already taken). Consider the case of Ben Smith, the former Politico editor, who joined BuzzFeed in January. When Smith left Politico, he changed his Twitter handle from @BenPolitico to @BuzzFeedBen, yet his name still appears as “Ben Smith.” He has kept his handle intertwined with his company, but remains his own personal brand on Twitter — as a result, the switch from one publication to another is seamless.

The takeaway: Make sure we know you as a person, not just a broadcaster for your company. I'm guessing we'll be taking our Twitter handles with us for a while, if we play our cards right.

How are you using your Twitter handle, outside of Twitter? Share your creative uses, or the ones you've seen.

7 reasons why putting numbers in your blog post headline isn't all markety

Saw this tweet in my Twitterstream this week from a  writer I like very much:

I resisted for so long, but once I went all markety & added numerals to my blog post titles, I started getting some visits to my blog. :)
— Anton Zuiker (@mistersugar) May 21, 2012

That gave me a chuckle. Numbers in the headlines of blog posts are widely known to help drive traffic--you know, those "8 ways to remove rust from your car" and "27 ways to increase blog traffic" posts. But while that formula's new to bloggers, perhaps, it's an old standby in magazine publishing. Back in the day, and even today, a good cover line on a magazine more often than not reduces the content to a number, even if that number never shows up in the article or sidebar, because it works to help readers grab the issue off the newsstand. These days, it helps them click on the link or article.

Markety or not, why does that happen? The reason numbered headlines work (and the formats they trumpet, for that matter) is worth a think, if only so you know why you're doing it. Here's my take on the real reasons you should use numbered headlines and posts for your blog, based on writing and editing a lot of magazine articles and even more blog posts:

1. They're concrete: Readers know what to expect from a numbered post. The headline implies something practical, solid, knowable...and that makes it sticky, and memorable, to use a markety word.
2. They favor the reader in a rush: Reading anything all the way through is almost unthinkable for busy folks, but you'll prompt more of them to take a detour with your post if it's defined in size, small bites they can swallow while they keep moving. 5 tips for improving your life sounds a lot better than "read this entire book of inspiration," on many days.
3. They disclose a treasure trove: On the opposite end of the spectrum, the high-numbered item--27 reasons you should attend the SuchandSo conference, or 45 blogs to follow today--suggests information galore. And all it took was two numbers to make that happen in the reader's mind. But high numbers aren't the only way to signal treasure. Think of numbered posts that revive history, share secrets or suggest a find. Check out the New York Times's list of 10 Olympic events of yore they wish could be revived as one example.
4. We like lists: There's even a post that's titled (what else?) the top five reasons why people like to share top ten lists. Lists provoke curiosity: Your list won't be just like mine, or will it? I'd like to find out. Lists can start arguments, bets or long comments disagreeing with the author. Just ask Rolling Stone after it puts out those top 100 guitarists lists.
5. They provide structure: We also like lists for their order and organization. The reader can expect something crisp, useful, and short. Best of all, they know there's an end to it, coming soon.
6. They offer options: Knowing that readers won't all agree with your list is one thing. But they know they have options, too; perhaps 3 of your list of 5 items will work for them, and that suggests possibility.
7. They suggest there's more to know: If I only had 4 ideas about how to save money and you have 27, I'm intrigued. You're pushing my envelope, in a good way.

Numbered posts don't work all the time--but when they do, they're priceless. What's your take on numbers in posts and headlines?