Girls In Tech

Christine Kirk can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @LuxuryPRGal.

Talk about “girls in tech” — a new live chat on Twitter hosted and moderated by seven savvy women seems to epitomize the phrase!

Launched just two months ago in June 2010, #luxurychat is a live chat on Twitter discussing the intersection of social media and luxury. The list of all the co-founders of #luxurychat can be found in the image below. The live chat takes place on the third Wednesday of every month. Being a PR and social media consultant for luxury brands, I have been increasingly approached about the void in live Twitter chats addressing the topic of how luxury brands can effectively use, and have effectively used, social media to market their brands.  Having corresponded on Twitter regularly with six other tech and marketing savvy women in similar industries, we banded together and formed #luxurychat.

The response has been overwhelming.

In just it’s very second incarnation, we featured travel industry expert, and social media pioneer Mr. Simon F. Cooper, President of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. We already have plans to feature more high-profile industry experts in the coming months…and believe we have touched just the tip of the iceberg of the scope and reach of #luxurychat.

We hope you join us live for our next #luxurychat on Wednesday, August 18!

Christine Kirk can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @LuxuryPRGal.

I admit that this is a pretty self-indulgent blog post, but so many people ask me about my work experience and the launch of my new company, that I thought I’d dedicate a post to it.

I’m Christine Kirk, but many simply know me by my Twitter handle, @LuxuryPRGal. I definitely respond to both names so feel free to call me whichever you prefer. I started my career in PR at various in-house positions including a law firm, and renewable energy company. I eventually merged into agency life at a tech/consumer lifestyle shop in LA, where in the early 2000s, I was introduced to social media as we know it, with the start of Friendster and developing my blogger relations skills. I was hooked right away, and was then brought on-board at a luxury hospitality agency to introduce many of their high-profile clients to social media. In December 2009, I finally took the leap and launched my own company, Social Muse Communications, a social media marketing consultancy firm for luxury travel, restaurant, tech and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles.

Meet the Muse

PR agencies across the board have gone through hell and back in the past 2 years — due to the economic climate, and the rapid changes in traditional media as we know it – and at the same time. Let me be clear here — traditional media is not dying. It is changing, and in my opinion, for the better. Print and boradcast media outlets are interacting with their readers and viewers in ways they never had the opportunity to before — and it’s making the news much more relevent..and even accountable. For various reasons (including finances, fear, ignorance, etc.) many PR agencies have not quickly adapted to the changes taking place all around us. Some have done a great job, while others are still playing catch-up. Personally, I never want to “catch-up” to anything, and would prefer to be at the forefront of one of the most exciting revolutions in recent history. There are many PR people who have embraced this “new PR” and who are inspirations of mine including, @NicoleJordan, @BrianSolis, @skydiver (Peter Shankman).

Social Muse Communications is employing a whole new type of public relations and Return on Influence (the new ROI) – there is no one way for a brand to reach their target audience. Simply securing a placement in a glossy magazine, or a news segment on television, is not going to cut it anymore. To go from a good, to an excellent communications strategy, a brand must get in front of consumers through many different levels of media – print, broadcast, online, blogs, and social networking sites. This new world of PR gives PR practitioners the opportunity to communicate not only with media, but also with a brand’s customers directly — and that “high-touch” level of communications is what is most effective to enhancing a brand’s bottom-line. Through real relationship building, both online and offline, people (consumers) are more receptive to hearing and acting on PR messages when it comes from a PR person who has taken the time to get to know them. I personally have over 7,500 followers on Twitter and cannot believe the amazing wealth of knowledge, expertise, inspiration, new business leads, media contacts, bloggers contacts, humor, and friends I have made.

Social media is not, and should never be the only tool in a PR pro’s toolbox, but it just might be my favorite.

Christine Kirk is founder and principal at Social Muse Communications, a social media marketing consultancy firm for luxury travel, restaurant, tech and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

On April 22, the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech hosted an incredibly successful PR & Marketing 3.0 panel. The turnout was above and beyond what we expected and we were thrilled to be able to engage so many great minds on such a relevant topic.

The amazing panelists (if I do say so myself) were: Rynda Laurel @rynda (AF83, Bearstech & Hackable:Devices), Heather Meeker @heathermeeker (Whrrl), Babette Pepaj @bakespace (Bakespace, TechMUNCH & The Daily Bits), Amanda Coolong @acoolong (Tech Zulu, ThisWeekin.com & Beta PR) and me, Christine Kirk @luxuryprgal (Social Muse Communications). Unfortunately, the equally wonderful Nicole Jordan (Mobile Roadie) and Andrea Scott (Pom Wonderful) had last minute commitments that kept them from being on the panel as originally scheduled.

#GITPR Panelists

One thing for sure is that we were a group of opinionated, passionate, and incredibly intelligent ladies who had a lot to say. Online communications and the digital world is something we are all deeply involved with in our daily personal and work lives, and it couldn’t have been a livelier conversation.

If you couldn’t make it to the event last week, we hope you come out to the next one (we know it’s tough economic times, but price of entry is ten bucks, and you get to schmooze with gorgeous, smart women – what more can you ask for?)

At a high-level, some of the “golden nuggets” (if you will) provided by the panelists were:

• Press releases are NOT dead. They have undergone an evolution with the advent of the social media press release and are still relevant for SEO purposes. They are also a vehicle to disseminate your brand’s messaging the way you want, and in a controlled environment.
• Twitter and Facebook aren’t about the number of followers and friends that you have. Social media is about building brand awareness and making a direct connection with your customers and consumers and having a two-way dialogue with them.
• Twitter Lists are your friend! Use them to create organized groups on different topics, industries, etc. Start with www.wefollow.com for help.
• Social media is but one arrow in the quiver, don’t get caught with tunnel vision on this one channel of communication, and remember to use the many other avenues available to get your brand out there.
• Use geolocation services (FourSquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, etc.) as personal brand builders and “legitimize your work through your lifestyle.” If you represent hospitality brands for example, checking in to restaurants, hotels and spas builds confidence that you practice what you preach.
• How can you avoid Internet stalkers when using geolocation services? Check in when you check out. Only check in when you’re LEAVING a venue, not when you arrive.
• Twitter is great way to create relationships with media you want to pitch stories to. Use Twitter to really learn who a journalist is, what they cover, and how they liked to be pitched. Ask them questions, send them interesting articles and acknowledge them when they post a story they wrote. Build a legitimate relationship and they’ll be more willing to open your e-mail the next time you send one…
• Only small niches of people are actively on Twitter, so your message may not go far. Identify key influencers in other places online and off who can take your message beyond social media.
• Geolocation is here to stay, so you better start learning FourSquare, Gowalla, and Whrrl to stay on top of your game.

Christine Kirk is founder and principal at Social Muse Communications, a social media marketing consultancy firm for luxury travel, restaurant, tech and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

About two weeks ago, I had reached the end of the road with my cable company – Time Warner Cable. For the past four months, my service had been spotty at best, non-existent at worst. And believe me, I wasn’t just upset that American Idol wasn’t being DVR’d…my Internet service, which is also provided by TWC, was experiencing the same spotty service. And being that I run a business out of my home, spotty Internet service is 100% unacceptable.

I had called TWC customer service many times over the months – demanding a pro-rated fee for the service I wasn’t receiving, asking for help, a solution – and the feedback I would always get was, “restart your cable box.” I began restarting my cable box at least once a day – and it never solved the problem I was having. My picture was still pixilated and frozen – my Internet service down.

Over the phone, TWC customer service told me there must be an issue with the signal getting into my house…and, basically, “oh well.”

Oh well? OH WELL??

I did not take this lightly. If I pay for something, in a timely and consistent manner, then I expect to get functional service in a timely and consistent manner. I would have dropped TWC altogether except that they have a monopoly on cable service providers in my area. I was stuck (no thanks to you Fios and Uverse-why haven’t you rescued me yet?).

Until, that is, I decided to take to Twitter and vent my frustrations there. At the very least, I could make myself feel better by telling my 6,300 Twitter followers how frustrated I was.

So, in my frustrated rampage I created the hashtag, #dietimewarnercable and began pummeling out Tweets about my “dislike” for TWC. Harsh? Yes. Did it feel GOOD? Oh yes…

In my rampage, I did a search for Time Warner Cable and could not find any Twitter handles associated with the cable giant. I believe I even wrote a snarky Tweet about corporations who don’t have a social media presence, and how people like me can help contribute to a negative online image.

About 20-30 minutes went by of me Tweeting, my followers responding, asking questions about what had set me off, etc. And then it happened. TWC reached out to me via DM. I quickly learned that Time Warner Cable actually has several active Twitter accounts including their PR person, tech support, a social media expert, among others…all of whom personally reached out to me:

@TWCablePhil @twcablebrienh @twcablehelp @alextwc

They apologized, asked what my service issues were, and how they could help. I don’t say this often, but I was wrong.

I. Was. Wrong.

Not only does Time Warner Cable have a social media and Twitter presence, but they monitor it late at night, and actually responded – in a timely, caring way to my disgruntled Tweets. They scheduled a service call for technician to come to my home and solve my service issues. The technician showed up a day later, fixed the problems, and sure enough, everything has been working perfectly since his visit.

What could not be accomplished on the phone with customer service was quickly and effectively taken care of via social media. To me, this is a wonderful example of how an age-old practice – customer service call centers – can take major notes from a new-age practice, social media.

What the call center could not solve, social media did. And that is precisely why it’s here to STAY.

Christine Kirk is founder and principal at Social Muse Communications, a PR and social media marketing consultancy firm for food/beverage, travel, luxury, technology, and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

I’m thrilled to announce that earlier this month I launched Social Muse Communications, a social media marketing consultancy firm for food/beverage, travel, luxury, technology, and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles. While bringing my social media expertise to traditional PR agencies over the years was incredibly fulfilling, it was time to branch out on my own. I’ve already been successful in building up my client list and am consulting brands seeking ways to integrate social media within their overall marketing programs and providing guidance, expert advice and strategic direction for participation across various social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, FourSquare, MySpace and LinkedIn.

Social media “experts” are popping up left and right and many business owners ask how they can know they are hiring the real deal instead of someone who’s here today and gone tomorrow. First of all, anyone who says they’re an expert is kidding themselves. This industry is too new, and changing too fast for anyone to truly be an expert. Those of us who have experience with social media are all learning together, and frankly, the reason why I’m so passionate about social media, is that we each have the ability to contribute to the direction this new medium takes – and that gets me excited. PR, marketing, advertising – those industries have been there and done that and are established. While that’s great, what gets me going is helping to create the parameters and guidelines that most make sense for my clients – instead of being told “this is how it’s been done for 30 years.”

Below are three things you should do (at the bare minimum) before hiring the social media consultant for your brand.

1. Check the person or agency’s online presence. If I had a dollar for every time a PR agency said they have a social media “expert” or new media department, and then went online and found their Twitter profile hasn’t been updated in the past 6 weeks, well, I’d be very rich. Look online – check their Facebook and Twitter profiles – how often are they updating, what’s the QUALITY of the content they’re populating their profiles with? Do they have a blog? Is the blog updated at least once a month? Does it offer value? If a person or agency can’t maintain their own profiles and blog posts on a consistent basis, what makes you think they’ll be able to do it for you?

2. Case Studies: While social media isn’t a 30+ year-old industry, there are many of us who have been involved with it since its inception – we have experience, stories, and case studies about what works and what doesn’t work online. Always ask for that information.

3. Client Profiles: Always ask to see the online profiles that the person or agency is currently updating for existing clients – right now. Sure, they might have had a fun online campaign idea from three years ago but what are they doing for clients today – how often are the client’s profiles being updated? What kind of content are they being updated with? Take a critical look at all these things.

Christine Kirk is founder and principal at Social Muse Communications, a social media marketing consultancy firm for food/beverage, travel, luxury, technology, and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

Clients ask me almost every day what they should be doing to respond to negative feedback that appears about them online – in blogs, social networks, and online forums and communities.  Some want to know what they can do to “control” the negative commentary out there. To that I say, it’s impossible. You cannot control what people say about you online – they’re real human beings populating the online airwaves with their opinions and they’re entitled. However, what a brand can control is how they respond to the negative feedback.

In fact, the best way to “control” social media is for a brand to be present, engage in the conversation, and reach out, on an individual basis to those people who might be misinformed about a product or service or had a bad experience. Yes, this is time consuming, but there are many seasoned social media experts that can handle this on behalf of a company, or advise an internal person at a brand on messaging and response strategy.

The best thing to do is to have messaging prepared in advance of launching a social media presence or campaign. This messaging should address the various negative comments you anticipate receiving – and should be approved by all internal parties, including the brand’s legal department, in advance. This way, when issues arise, you can respond swiftly and in real-time. Many brands ask me if they have to “give free stuff away” to disgruntled online consumers and my answer is no, not always. Oftentimes, most people who vent negativity about an experience they had simply want to feel as if they’ve been heard…and that the problem is brought to the attention of an authority within the company who can prevent it from happening again. Knowing that their voice has been heard is often enough.

For negative feedback that you can’t anticipate – and pops up unexpectedly, the key is to respond as quickly as possible – always be monitoring and searching the various online channels for what’s being said about your brand – social networks, blogs, forums, etc. Another good idea (particularly for bigger corporate brands) is to put an online crisis communications plan into place – this way you have a plan of attack in place. Being prepared is the best thing that a brand can do – and the opportunity to engage with your consumers, fans, and brand advocates in real-time is the uniqueness that social media affords.

Two large corporate brands that are currently using Twitter effectively as a customer service tool and to respond to negative feedback are:

@RichardatDell: Dell doesn’t have just one channel on Twitter; it has more than 20 – all catering to different audiences, including international ones. Perhaps the best-known of all their Twitter handles is called “Richard at Dell”- an employee who is a member of Dell’s digital media team. Dell is also one of the first major brands with Twitter channels in Chinese, Japanese, German, and Spanish.

@JetBlue: JetBlue has always been a word-of-mouth brand. The corporate communications manager alerts Twitter followers of weather delays, finds alternate flights for stranded travelers who tweet their frustrations, and fields questions about almost anything including, why JetBlue is now charging $7 for pillows and blankets.

Christine Kirk is a social media marketing consultant for luxury and lifestyle brands in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

Years ago I’d see “roach coaches” rolling by construction sites and feel my stomach turn – not any more. Recently, LA has experienced an explosion in gourmet food trucks serving every type of food, including mexican, korean, bbq, contemporary american, desserts, ice cream, and various fusion cuisines. With the advent of Twitter, the roach coaches have morphed into gourmet food trucks as high-end fare has gone mobile. Twitter has aided in this explosion by allowing the trucks to Tweet their exact location to hungry eaters in real time. The “mobile restaurant” phenomena has taken off so much that a web site dedicated to the tracking of food trucks on Twitter also recently launched – Find LA Food Trucks – http://www.findlafoodtrucks.com/.

These mobile, kitchens-in-transit use Twitter as a real-time GPS tracking system – just without the GPS. At any time of day or night you know exactly where to find them. This level of accessibility has made these roving vehicles social-networking juggernauts, sometimes drawing upwards of 300 to 800 people (and a bevy of Twitter followers) each time it parks (often several times in a day).

Here is a list of my top 5 favorite to follow – and of course, to eat!

The Kogi BBQ Truck - Yumo-o!

Calbi BBQ (@CalbiBBQ): Followers – 2,190

Calbi is deliciously fresh, high quality Korean BBQ marinated beef, chicken and shrimp served in the traditional style of Mexican tacos and burritos.

Border Grill (@BorderGrill) Followers – 3,011

Border Grill is a Mexican restaurant concept in LA serving gourmet tacos, quesadillas, ceviches, and more from “Too Hot Tamales” chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. It also offers their Twitter followers special deals by using the secret code – like “sweet tooth” for a free brownie.

Kogi BBQ (@kogibbq): Followers: 46,006

Kogi is the Korean BBQ taco truck that has spawned it’s own burgeoning cyber-hippie movement affectionately referred to as “Kogi kulture.”

Sprinkles Cupcakes (@sprinklesmobile): Followers: 7,251

The Sprinkles trucks dolls out delectable cupcakes made famous by their flagship store in Beverly Hills delighting celebrities and hardcore epicureans alike.

Nom Nom Truck (@nomnomtruck): Followers: 3,950

Nom Nom truck is a mobile food truck that serves “Banh Mi”, or Vietnamese Sandwiches, and other Vietnamese-inspired dishes.

Also, The Grilled Cheese Truck has yet to officially start rolling around town but when it does, you can expect to find me there for sure!

Christine Kirk is a PR representative and social media explorer for luxury brands including travel, real estate and food/beverage, at Murphy O’Brien Public Relations in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at ckirk@murphyobrien.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.

Momologie, a national e-newsletter launched this past week, spearheaded by two gals who practically define “girls in tech.”

Michele Adams and Gia Russo, former editors at Martha Stewart Living, contributors to Fit Pregnancy, and founders of the successful MiGi brand, launched Momologie.com, a free e-newsletter and website where women who subscribe receive a daily message in their e-mail inbox featuring information for busy moms. Topics include home, style, organization, food, celebrations and travel. Momologie was founded on the principal to be a trusted online resource and community for tech savvy moms interested in making the quality of their family life a priority.

The mom-blog craze has captured the attention of even mainstream media and Momologie is a one-stop online mommy mecca. In addition to their web site and newsletter, they can also be found on Facebook and Twitter (@momologie).

Christine Kirk is the Online Communications Director at Murphy O’Brien Public Relations in Los Angeles executing social media campaigns for luxury brands including travel, real estate and food/beverage clients. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached at ckirk@murphyobrien.com or @luxuryprgal.

Back in June I wrote a blog post about the top 5 luxury hotel brands on Twitter and wanted to follow it up with a post about the top 5 food brands using Twitter today. Our food & beverage/lifestyle clients at Murphy O’Brien ask us on a daily basis if and how they should get involved in social media. There are several food brands using Twitter wisely and effectively. They have found a transparent brand voice and engaged their followers all while staying true to their brand essence. Here are my top 5 picks of who’s using this social media tool well and why:

LemonadeLA (@LemonadeLA): Followers – 384

A great new restaurant concept in LA now with two locations – one in West Hollywood and one in Venice, Lemonade offers over 35 varieties of freshly prepared salads, veggies, pastas, proteins, sandwiches and stock-pots all at a reasonable price. Their Tweets are fun, upbeat, full of energy and clever – they created the “Lemonade Girl,” an attractive brunette who bikes around town with a “Tweet This” sign on her back – if you snap a pic of her and TwitPic it, you win a free glass of fresh lemonade. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Fiji Water (@FIJIWATER): Followers – 2,102

Fiji Water company is designer water that some say only snobs would drink but there’s nothing snobby about the brand’s presence on Twitter. Fiji does something right with their Tweets and that is, the @reply. There is nothing worse than a brand who doesn’t write back to their followers. Fiji communicates with their followers, responding, engaging, asking questions and answering them.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese (@LoveMyPhilly): Followers – 7,966

Philly Cream Cheese does a great job of representing their brand on Twitter – the background of their page perfectly represents the brand and also directs followers to their presence on other social networks including – Flickr, YouTube and Facebook. The company Tweets recipes and also engages with their followers with a steady stream of @replies.

Kogi BBQ (@kogibbq): Followers: 41,239

Kogi is the Korean BBQ taco truck that exploded on the Twitter scene sending out real-time Tweets about the location of their mobile food truck for hungry fans to easily find them during lunch hour. The company uses Twitter as a real-time GPS tracking system – just without the GPS. At any time of day or night you know exactly where to find Kogi’s “roach coach.” This level of accesibiltiy has made the roving vehicle a social-networking juggernaut, drawing 300 to 800 people (and a bevy of Twitter followers) each time it parks (often several times in an evening) and spawning a burgeoning cyber-hippie movement affectionately referred to as “Kogi kulture.”

Border Grill (@BorderGrill) Followers – 1,995

Border Grill is a Mexican restaurant concept in LA serving gourmet tacos, quesadillas, ceviches, and more from “Too Hot Tamales” chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. The Twitter feed models Kogi’s real-time tracking of the Border Grill food truck around LA but also offers their Twitter followers special deals by using the secret code – like “sweet tooth” for a free brownie. Delish!

Christine Kirk is a PR representative and social media explorer for luxury brands including travel, real estate and food/beverage, at Murphy O’Brien Public Relations in Los Angeles. She also holds the position of PR Manager for the Los Angeles chapter of Girls in Tech. She can be reached via e-mail at ckirk@murphyobrien.com or on Twitter @luxuryprgal.