Spread the Word [Feb. 15, 2012, 12:01 p.m.]
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Leverage Social Media
Set up a Site: You will share your planning process and ideas widely. Create a page for your event. You can use wordpress.com, blogger.com, or tumblr.com to create a free page (free is good).Get Creative: Show the world what you are up to with consistent posts to social media site including: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube/ Vimeo and blogs. Get creative and make your own buzz in these spaces.
Define a Hashtag: Create a hashtag for the event. Throughout the event have participants and your crew tweet and post on social networks.
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Craft a News Release A news release is usually a one-page document describing your event, your organization and anything noteworthy that you might want to communicate. This document should be carefully written as reporters will refer to it when writing their stories. Remember to include clear contact information so that members of the media know who to follow up with. Here's an example:
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Beef Up Your Contacts Send out the news release at least a week before the event. Notify Mozilla as well as mainstream media outlets in your community — newspapers, TV and radio — think about other outlets and organizations that could spread the word about your hackjam. Use talking points to follow up with these contacts.
- Submit your URL and social media links to the wall. Tell 2 peers what you think about their promotional efforts.