Cheryl Snapp Conner has just been featured on this week’s MSPMentor Podcast discussing some of the key PR issues that channel focused companies, and MSPs in particular, should be aware of when engaging Web 2.0. She provides insight in effectively using social networking, corporate blogging, and the best tactics for issuing news.


Take a listen:

I have literally hundreds of business cards in my desk that I’ve accumulated throughout the years from trade shows, new business meetings, etc.

They range from editors to CEOs and contain nearly every bit of contact information that you can imagine: address, phone, fax, e-mail. Nearly ever way to contact someone; some even include Skype info for editors.

While all that information is valuable to the recipient, for a CEO it can be detrimental. That’s why we recommend a CEO have a stash of business cards that don’t include their cell or direct phone numbers that they can give to the press. Whyzat?

A few years ago on a press tour, a VP walked into a meeting with an editor to talk about his company’s channel strategy. Unbeknownst to the VP, however, his CEO had met with the same editor a year earlier to discuss the same thing. The editor wanted to follow up on a statement the CEO had made previously, but the VP’s message had changed.

After the VP left, the editor called the CEO on his cell phone, which he had obtained previously from the CEO’s business card he had saved. The editor couldn’t reach the CEO and ran a less than positive story accusing the vendor of changing its channel strategy and concluding with the statement, “Calls to the CEO were not returned.”

Here’s the problem: The CEO was on a plane when the editor called and didn’t get the message until after the story was published. Should the editor have called the PR agency? Yes. But many situations like this can be circumvented by ensuring that you give the reporter your PR agency’s number, or at least an alternate card.

Most typically, PR consultants operate in the background, heard but not necessarily seen. Today, however, we can't resist putting the following photo of our Senior Consultant Clay Blackham in lights. Notice the stunning mustache? Until the hour before his mother's wedding, Clay declared his intention to wear this manly addition to his persona all the way to the end. At the final minute, however, he relented and shaved the offending bristles once full shock value had been achieved.


In honor of the occasion, however, our partner in podcast Brad Baldwin has immortalized Clay's macho appearance in film. With all due respect and apologies to the original source files, today we share the true and typically hidden personality of Clay. Enjoy.

On March 26, Footnote.com released an interactive version of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial. As a way to drive more interest for the story, Footnote choose to make the announcement on a day that already held important significance – March 26 was groundbreaking date of the actual Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.

Interestingly enough, “…the day of the launch was also the 26th anniversary of the groundbreaking for construction of the memorial, more commonly known as "the Wall.'" — ComputerWorld

Making the announcement on that date didn't guarantee coverage or publicity; however, it provided a news angle that was easily relatable and could be used as launch point for other stories. It also provided an excellent platform for a unique pitch.

While it's not always appropriate, using dates and anniversaries is a great way to make your pitch or story more relatable to a specific audience.

The goal of any PR campaign is to secure interviews with media, analysts and bloggers; then follow up by seeing articles come to fruition. Aside from the pre- and live-event interviews, a quintessential component to securing coverage are post-event interviews.


Maintaining an open and immediate line of contact with your PR team can streamlining these interviews–especially since media requests can come without warning.


Every company executive/spokesperson should have their PR team cell phone and office numbers. Programming these numbers into a cell phone/PDA helps to know instantly who is calling.


The media work on very tight deadlines and need to get information as quickly as possible. There are strong and valid reasons a spokesperson should avoid allowing a reporter to call through to their cell line directly. However, there should never be a time, especially during the launch of a new product/service that a company spokesperson didn't answer a call because they didn't recognize their PR person's phone number.

A lot of details go into launching a new product/service, or even making the “big" announcement. On the PR side those can include (but not limited to) briefing analysts, reviewing messaging, developing collateral and even drafting a press release.

However with all the preparation that takes place beforehand, you cannot neglect having key executive spokespersons available for media when the calls start coming in.

A perfect example of everything working like clockwork is Cemaphore's MailShadowG launch, which took place yesterday. This is an announcement that broke in the NY Times, in a Scobleizer blog by Robert Scoble, and subsequently by more than 31 additional editors and publications in the space of the announcement's first 24 hours.

All prep work was done well in advance, and after the press release went out the phones started ringing. Having discussed availability prior to the launch made it easy for the Snapp Conner PR team to reach key executives immediately and secure interviews.

Congratulations Cemaphore for a successful launch of MailShadowG. We'll be sharing much more about this PR launch within the next several days.

We are proud to announce that our Managing Partner, Cheryl Snapp Conner, was named to the 2008 vSpring Capital list of Top 100 Venture Entrepreneurs today, for the outstanding job she has done in building the brand of Snapp Conner PR.

As Snapp Conner PR approaches its one year anniversary in April, we are very proud to add this acknowledgment to our agency's growing list of achievements.

We are also proud to note that nine of our clients were named to the v|100 list this morning as well:

• Kirt Bailey, Celio Corp.

• Brian Buetler, Alianza

• Brent Bishop, ContentWatch

• Greg Butterfield, Symantec

• Brent Nixon, Cymphonix

• Michael Proper, DirectPointe

• Kevin Santiago, Cymphonix

• Jack Sunderlage ContentWatch

We would also like to acknowledge our great working partners Brad Baldwin, Rocky Mountain Voices, and our great friends and collaborative partners at Sprout Marketing today.

At Snapp Conner PR, we feel extremely lucky for the role we play in Utah's technology industries, and we are excited to be associated with such a unique and extraordinary clientele. We would like to extend our congratulations to all of those made this year's list. We recognize that it is their accomplishments and the work of many others that has helped to make Utah's technology industries grow.

I had the opportunity to attend CES, Las Vegas this year for the first time. As a relative newcomer to Snapp Conner PR, it was an unforgettable experience. Teamed with an excellent PR firm, representing a client with a hot product, my job was pretty easy.

Before CES, we sparked a successful viral marketing campaign that created just enough “buzz" to keep interested journalists knocking down our doors.

The most memorable part of the trip was PepCom, and pitching REDFLY Mobile Companion to journalists. Until that moment, I had never met these individuals except via e-mail. Following PepCom, I reflected on how professional yet personable each journalist was. I realize now if you give journalists a good story, they are very responsive.

It's all about giving them newsworthy stories about your clients and products.

PR successes are a consequence of presenting the right message to the right media at the right time.

Josh Heath

PR Associate

Paul Gillin, a social media journalist, recently posted an article about “Courting Online Influencers.” In it he mentions the differences between a reporter and an influencer. Though it is quite possible for an influencer to be reporter, the opposite doesn’t always have to be true.

Without giving away the punch line of his article, he discusses some key points of interest in understanding an influencer, and therefore striking the “excitement” chord with the perfect pitch.

Click here to read Paul Gillin’s article: Courting Online Influencers

A common question we get from our clients is, “Why should I podcast?"

The thought is, “I all ready send out press releases, post white papers, and even make time for interviews. Do I really need a podcast?" The short answer to that is, yes!

In the fast-paced society we live in, we need to gather and assimilate information quickly. While the above mentioned collateral is integral to your media communication, podcasts will only enhance your visibility and search-ability online.

On a personal note: When we started Snapp Conner PR, most people found us online via the podcast. We didn't even have a working Web site yet!

Let's face it. Video is a very powerful medium out there.

Don Osmond

Senior PR Associate