When you’re looking for a publicity opportunity, don’t just concentrate on your core product, service, cause or  issue.

In many cases, there’s plenty going on inside your organization—or your home—worth sharing.

The most recent issue of the Nonprofit Communications Report includes several clever ideas. (Order a free sample of the report here.)

“The head chef in your cafeteria proudly reports that he can’t make enough of his gluten-free brownies to meet overwhelming staff and visitor demand. Invite a couple of reporters to sample them. Or send the recipe or sample box to a local newspapers with food sections.”

Don’t Forget Bloggers

But don’t  stop there.

Pitch bloggers and editors of print and online newsletters. Also, don’t forget about the local TV stations. The Nonprofit Communications Report also suggests walking away from your desk and looking for inspiration. It offered this idea for a hospital or clinic:

Are volunteers in the courtyard planting geraniums? Is construction in the parking lot inconveniencing patients or clients? Volunteers and flowers make a good photo or brief news video. Informating the media that you are temporarily moving your outpatient entrance or better serve visitors until construciton is complete might be a news nibble, too.

Pitch Your Employees

Here’s another idea I wrote about recently. Do you or one of your employees have an unusual hobby or collection? (See CEOs: Unusual hobbies, collections? Forbes wants you)

Has someone within your organization won an award for something that doesn’t pertain to work?

What ideas have you pitched that go far beyond your core topic and that have resulted in publicity. Share the link here, and explain how you did it.

In this lousy economy, almost any construction project makes the front page of the local newspaper.

But you still need to think creatively when publicizing a building project.

A writer emailed me recently asking how her nonprofit could generate publicity for new construction. Here’s what I suggested:

• Think beyond traditional media.  Waiting for a newspaper reporter or editor to say “yes” is just wasting time.  Think of all ways you can publicize new construction, including using social media.
    
• Explain how you’re using green materials.
    
• What hard decisions did you make to save money on construction costs?  This is a good angle, particularly during this time of “doing without” almost everywhere.
    
• Take photos throughout the construction, preferably from the same location.  Turn them into a slideshow, upload to Flickr and share the link with the media, volunteers and donors.
    
• Shoot a two and a half minute video explaining some aspect of the construction project.  You could interview the construction manager who can explain how the crew is making some aspect of the building studier, safer, or more attractive.  Upload to YouTube and other video-sharing sites.  Share on your Facebook page, and on Twitter.
    
• Tie into the weather.  If you live in a cold-weather or hot-weather climate, call the local TV station and explain how construction crews work around, and in, horrible working conditions like snowstorms, sleet storms, heat waves, etc. This is a perfect addition to the TV station’s weather story.
    
• Don’t forget to pitch local bloggers, or bloggers who cover the nonprofit sector.  They might be interested.

What have I missed? What clever angles have you used to publicize your construction  project? Provide the link so we can see what resulted.

A reader asked me to recommend a company that will help her manage her online reputation.

Here’s my advice, which every Publicity Hound should pay attention to, before the you-know-what hits the fan:

“I don’t remember recommending a specific company.  Many companies do this.

“Of far greater importance, I believe, is being proactive long before something bad happens to harm your reputation.  I suggest you listen to the recording of the teleseminar that Tom Antion, my mentor, conducted a few months ago on Reputation Management: How to Build & Protect a Great Reputation Online (affiliate link).”

Too many companies wait until they’re in the middle of a crisis to create a blog, or monitor what’s said about them in online discussion forums and at social media sites. Tom shows you how to create systems, like a blog, that will help you communicate with the public within seconds. He also shows you how to respond to bad reviews, nasty comments and rumors.

The added bonus to this program is the dozens of high-traffic, authoritative websites where he recommends you have a presence. They’ll help push bad news about you off of the first page of Google’s organic search listings when someone seaches for your name or your company’s name.

When I spoke last week at the Meetup hosted by the Wisconsin Business Owners Network, the audience couldn’t get enough information on blogging.

And tomorrow, when I speak about social media to a CEO Roundtable at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, I hope to convince at least one CEO to start a blog.

But I’ll need success stories.  And that’s where you come in.

I’m curious about the one post you’ve published that makes you glad you started blogging. 

Did you take a strong stand on a controversial topic and start a brawl in the Comments section?  Did you write something that brought you a new consulting client?  Or sold dozens of books?  Or started a relationship with someone who has turned into a trusted business friend? Or got a link from a top-tier blogger in your industry?

If you’re on Facebook, please share a link to the post on my Fan Page.

And then share it in the Comments section here. I’m planning more training on blogging next year, and I’d love to use your own success story as an example.   

This week’s Help This Hound question is from Bonnie Boots of Tampa Bay, Fla.:

“I’m working with a client who offers training for business consultants through a membership site, Consultants Gold.

“The faculty is made up of top-shelf experts who’ve successfully transitioned from business executive to independent business consultant. The ideal member for Consultants Gold is a business executive close to retirement age who wants to transition to a second career as a self-employed consultant.

“I’m finding it a real challenge to locate this target market. Extensive keyword research has turned up very little. Can your readers suggest some ways we can connect with age 50+ executives?”