“I live a charmed life … I try to honor it by reaching out to people who don’t live the life I live,” said Kim Bond, president of Mental Health Systems (MHS), at a recent LEAD San Diego IMPACT session dedicated to health and human services. I reflected back on the LEAD session recently when I received an email from a commercial tenant in my condo complex seeking solutions to the “homeless problems” in the building.

While reading the email – which noted the “problem” erodes our enjoyment of our properties and property value – I couldn’t help but feel compassion for those homeless individuals who end up sleeping in our building’s stairwells or commercial parking spaces. I took off my hat of condo owner and dutiful HOA-dues payer, and instead wore one of concerned community member, and thought back to the discussion recently facilitated through LEAD.

The LEAD session centered mainly around “behavioral health,” a term that, according to MHS, includes both mental illnesses and challenges, and substance abuse disorders – things that are common in our community. Some estimates say as many as one out of every four people suffer from some form of mental illness, which – like substance abuse – can happen on a continuum and includes everything from anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder to depression and schizophrenia.

“What does mental health issues look like?,” said James Lepanto, senor vice president, mental health division of MHS. “Hold up a mirror. That’s what it looks like. We often think of it as ‘other’ people, but it’s not. It’s us. It’s our community.”

The LEAD cohort discussed not only how behavioral health issues affect individuals and families, but also the impact to the workforce, economy and quality of life through problems such as homelessness and strains placed on our health care and incarceration systems.

So what do we do?  LEAD attendees were reminded of the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Ways you can help include:

• Get educated. Aspects of behavioral health issues are preventable and treatable.
• Talk about behavioral health with friends, family, colleagues or others.
• Advocate on behalf of programs that provide solutions and address behavioral health issues head on.
• Be empathetic.
• Volunteer your time and talent.

By doing these things, we are playing a role in the solution, and removing the stigma around mental illness. According to MHS, every day in San Diego someone commits suicide. Others who suffer from behavioral health issues sleep in our public spaces and on our streets. We can’t – and shouldn’t – ignore the issue.

Our team has been talking with potential panelists for a few months now, and each conversation gets us more pumped for the diversity and dialogue we’re going to have at the San Diego Social Media Symposium.

We’ve talked to so many inspiring and knowledgeable individuals, that we’re announcing a fourth panel “Best Practices: Social Media Case Studies.” The addition will give attendees even more first-hand stories, experiences and learning moments from the folks with their boots on the ground.

In addition to adding a fourth panel (don’t worry, we’ll still wrap things up by 4:30 p.m.), we’ve secured panelists from companies such as Cisco Systems, FIJI Water, JustFab.com, Social Control and Realtor.com. We’ll be hearing their perspectives in addition to our keynote speaker Jason Falls and lunch speaker Gary Kim.

Checkout the full agenda and panelist line up, and start formulating your questions for our social media specialists.

Register online at www.sandiegosocialmediasymposium.com.

How many times have you heard “We’ve got to tell our story to the public. We need to make them understand our position. If they could only see the ‘big picture’”? The assumption is that if we can just get our target public to understand, they will do what we want them to do.

But there’s a big flaw in that assumption writes Kerry Tucker and Bill Trumpfheller in the recently released second edition of McGraw-Hill’s “The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications,” edited by Clark Caywood of Northwestern University.

For the most part, people don’t care about an organization’s problems. They’ve got enough of their own. And simply communicating information to obtain a desired behavior rarely works. More than 30 years of research across a wide range of disciplines and issues have shown providing information alone on an issue, product or service will not significantly change the behaviors of a given public.

While people naturally resist change; communications strategies and messages (and tactics) can be organized to increase the odds of breaking through the information clutter we all face daily. They can do so by contrasting existing behavior, facilitating discomfort with existing behavior and offering help in adopting a new action.

Nuffer, Smith, Tucker’s proprietary framework to evaluate communications against behavioral principles is organized around four basic questions (internally, we call this “The Model”):

1. What is the need, concern or interest for the target audience?
2. Is the desired behavior clearly packaged as a credible solution to the need, concern or interest?
3. Have you presented the benefits of action and consequences of inaction to create discomfort for the current behavior?
4. Have you helped the target audience mentally rehearse the desired behavior? Have you included a call to action?

Public relations campaigns systematically strategized, packaged and delivered to target publics with specific, supportive behavioral outcomes stand a much better chance of breaking through today’s clutter and moving the proverbial needle, writes Tucker and Trumpfheller.

Order a copy of the book for your bookshelf.

What do Karl Strauss Brewing Company, San Diego Gas & Electric, San Diego Hilton Bayfront and Sony Online Entertainment have in common? Representatives from these companies will be panelists at the upcoming San Diego Social Media Symposium on March 1, 2012 – and that’s not all.  Gary Kim – who was just named #2 in Forbes list of the top 10 power influencers in mobile – will join the line-up with an hour-long discussion on trends in mobile marketing.

We are also announcing this year’s panel topics: Creating Compelling Brand Content; Online Reputation Management; and Online and Offline Word of Mouth: The Perfect Combination.

Keynote speaker, Jason Falls, author of “No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing”, will help answer the burning question: what about ROI?

The detailed line up and additional panelists will be announced soon, but meanwhile, don’t forget to purchase your tickets before the early bird registration date closes one week from today – January 27, 2012. Visit the website to learn more about the event.

How much is too much sharing when it comes to social media? We all have “friends” on our feeds that post incessantly throughout the day, divulging intimate details of their lives that no one truly wants to know. These over-sharers have been around a long time, and they’re probably not going to stop sharing personal information any time soon. Recently, the No. 1 search engine took personalization and online searches to a new level when Google launched Google Search, plus Your World.

The new functionality incorporates the content of Google+ users into the search results of anyone connected to that user. This means, if I run a Google search looking for good wine bars in the Gaslamp area, it’s quite possible that photos posted by my friends who attended San Diego Wine Wednesday at Proper Gastro Pub would populate in my results, along with the standard search results for that particular term. This new search system has some benefits, but also has some people longing to return to how things used to be.

There are two levels on which people seem to be upset about Google Search, plus Your World: concern over privacy, and annoyance at irrelevant results cluttering up searches for breaking news. Those concerned with not finding pertinent results should consider hiding Google+ results or switching to a new search engine altogether. By giving preference to Google+ content, Google Search, plus Your World pushes more informative results, like company websites, Wikipedia pages or news sites, to the bottom of the page. For those worried about privacy, this change serves as yet another reminder that anything made public on a social media profile is out there for the world to see.

This change provides both an opportunity and a challenge for brands. We already know developing content for a Google+ profile is important for a brand because Google admitted having a brand page on their social network would yield higher results in Google searches. Now we know that a brand’s Google+ content is even more likely to be seen by people who have placed the brand in their circles. However, it also means your company’s actual website and other non-Google+ content will be harder to find when a customer searches your name.

It’s important to note the added exposure to your brand’s social media content is limited to Google+ pages. Don’t expect your company’s Facebook page or Twitter account to be getting equal real estate any time soon. This change in search results is clearly pointed at giving exposure to Google’s burgeoning social network, not all social networks in general, and it’s made at least one other social network unhappy.

As more than 62 million Google+ users navigate the murky waters of their new search results, we wonder if Google will acknowledge the public’s dissatisfaction with its recent move. What’s your opinion on these changes? Have they given you a reason to favor Google over other search engines or look for a replacement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The transformative power of art has long been known to people whose lives have been touched by it, but the ability of arts and culture to transform not only individuals, but communities at large hasn’t been given nearly as much attention.  This was the focus of a recent LEAD San Diego IMPACT session, and Councilman Todd Gloria beautifully captured the theme of the day.

“Art is not elective … it’s essential to a vibrant city,” said Gloria.

Gloria — along with other speakers, many from Balboa Park’s museums and other institutions — spoke about our city’s arts and culture offerings, and about the upcoming 2015 Balboa Park centennial celebration.

With a mission to “Celebrate a ‘year of creativity’ that brings together innovative experiences with art, culture, nature, technology and science,” the celebration is aimed at reinvigorating and elevating the park for San Diegans and visitors alike.  While specifics are under development, enthusiasm for the event is palatable, and you can’t help but feel the celebration will be something big; something defining not only for the park, but also for us as San Diegans.

“2015 is going to be the coming out party for San Diego’s creative class,” said developer David Malmuth, whose vision for arts and culture stems well beyond park boundaries.

In addition to discussing the park, Malmuth spoke to the cohort about his vision of merging art, culture, commerce and place with the I.D.E.A. district, a mixed-use district driven by a Design jobs cluster, nourished by Education, enriched by the Arts and focused on Innovation. In addition to creating “more ideas per square foot,” Malmuth says the district will not only inspire creativity, but spur economic development.

Whether talking about the upcoming Balboa Park centennial, the I.D.E.A. district or a particular museum exhibition, IMPACT attendees couldn’t helped but be moved. After all, being a San Diegan is about more than where we live and work. It’s about where we play and enjoy our lives. It’s about where our interests lie and where our sense of curiosity and wonder can be sparked, and arts and culture make San Diego what it is today.

With this perspective in mind, the message to current and future leaders is clear: advocating for arts and culture shouldn’t be something left to the “arts community” alone, but rather something we all support. And, with 2015 just around the corner, I can’t help but ask, will you join the party?

What are you doing March 1, 2012? Joining the NST team at the San Diego Hall of Champions for the 2012 San Diego Social Media Symposium, of course!

After a sell-out event in 2011, we are excited to be again hosting the San Diego Social Media Symposium, a one-day event designed to bring together leaders in public relations, academia and the business community to talk about social media and how it is impacting our respective industries. Now in its third year, the San Diego Social Media Symposium is about more than social media tactics – it’s about social media strategy.  Check out the event website and be sure to get your tickets now to secure the early bird discount: http://sdsocialmediasymposium.com/

What is Google+?

Google+ is Google’s foray into social networking, but it’s more than that.  It’s Google’s attempt to figure out sharing and why people go to different sites. And, oh yeah, it’s also indexed by the No. 1 search engine in the world.  Google+ is already integrated with YouTube, Blogger, Gmail, Picasa Web, Reader, and Google Music, so it’s worth paying attention to.

Who’s On It?

Google+ already has more than 62 million people signed up and an estimated 625,000 people are added each day.  If Google+ continues to grow at this rate, the social media platform will have 100 million users by the end of February.  While not nearly that many people are active users yet, there’s a collective feeling that users are “waiting for the party to start.”  If you want to see who’s on the social network, search for individuals on FindPeopleOnPlus.com.  Some brands already using Google+ include Diet Coke, Volkswagen and Intel.

Where Do Brands Fit In?

Because public posts go quickly to Google search results and more people are joining everyday, it’s worth considering setting up a Google+ page for your business.  If you do, don’t forget to add a Google+ button to your website too because not only will the content posted your page end up in Google’s search results, Google also adds up all the “+1” clicks your brand receives on Google+, on your company website and in search results to determine your brand’s relevancy.

Therefore, Google+ could be beneficial to increasing a brand’s visibility and providing an audience that is likely to share the content.  For example, it could be a good place to direct people to watch video content (since it’s shareable) or you can use your account to search for people asking questions related to your business.  You can even conduct a Hangout (video chat) with up to 10 people for meetings.

How Will People Find Your Brand’s Page?

Google has released Google Plus Direct Connect that allows Google users who add a “+” after the name of a company to be sent directly to the business’ page for Google+. Your company will be added to the directory once you create the Google+ button for your brand page and company website.  Be aware, however, that, just like Facebook brand pages, Google+ won’t allow you to add people – your fans must find you first.  A brand cannot add a person to its page’s circles unless the person has added the brand to his or her circles first.

Of course you’ll want to make sure Google+ (and social media in general) is an appropriate tactic to support your marketing, communications and branding strategies, and you’ll want to ensure you have the resources to properly build and manage the page.  For example, did you know Google+ doesn’t currently allow contests and promotions on Google+ pages?  The platform is brand new so it’s important to stay current on the latest information.  See what others are doing, stay up-to date on social media changes and trends by reading the NST Blog and sites like Mashable, and then begin brainstorming ways you could use Google+ to build your business.

How Do You Use It?

Once you determine you have the resources to manage a page, it’s time to determine who will be a part of that team.  As of Monday morning, Google announced you can now delegate up to 50 managers as administrators for your page, but you’ll want to make sure those able to access your page can communicate within your company’s guidelines.  Also, a new notification flow will ensure that these managers stay in the loop on all the activity that takes place on a page, giving managers the ability to stay involved in page conversations.  Google+ will also show an aggregated count of users that have engaged with your brand page, either by +1’ing it or by adding it to a Circle.  This way, both you and your brand page’s visitors can get an at-a-glance summary of who is interacting with your page. For more details, check out the Google blog.

Google has launched a pilot program that has granted a few companies early access to third-party apps like HootSuite, Involved and Buddy Media to manage their Google+ brand pages, but until these apps are rolled out to all companies and personal users, you’ll have to regularly spend time within the program (which we’d recommend doing anyway).

If you have questions about Google+, would like help drafting your company’s social media guidelines, or want to determine if Google+ should be a part of your marketing plan, please let us know and we’d be happy to help.

It is hard to believe 2011 has almost come to a close and we are about to ring in a brand new year. Take a look at some of the many things the NST team did this year (hint: for some of us it involved Disney, jumping out of a plane or “tying the knot”).

How NST Spent 2011 from NSTPR on Vimeo.

In December, many publications, analysts, reporters and columnists rush to put together their “top 10,” “best of” or “worst of” lists recapping events in the past year and making predictions for the next. We’re all about lists (Come on, we’re PR people. We can’t help but love concise delivery of a message.), but instead of creating our own, we thought we’d share some of the lists that resonated with us, as well as some views on what to expect in 2012:

The Top 10 Best and Worst Communicators of 2011

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/44113.aspx

Social Networking Lessons of 2011
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222413

Top 10 Viral Videos of 2011

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/09/the-top-10-viral-videos-of-2011/

Top 7 PR Disasters of 2011

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Top_7_PR_disasters_of_2011_44046.aspx

Marketing’s Biggest Social Media Blunders of 2011
http://adage.com/article/special-report-book-of-tens-2011/marketing-s-biggest-social-media-blunders-2011/231503/

#PRin2012: 12 Trends That Will Change Public Relations

http://prsay.prsa.org/index.php/2011/12/19/12-trends-for-public-relations-in-2012/

8 Social Media Trends for 2012
http://spinsucks.com/social-media/eight-social-media-trends-for-2012/

5 Things PR Pros can expect in 2012

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10255.aspx

We’d love to hear your comments/additions to this list.