The Tin Shingle Blog

When Palmetto Cheese posted one of their press wins at AAA's Go Magazine to their Press Portfolio here at Tin Shingle, which then ran in Tin Shingle's Twitter feed, I of course wanted to know the scoop - how did they land it?

Palmetto Cheese has been a premium member of Tin Shingle for years, and their first big "get" was in USA Today. They have been soaring ever since, thanks to their digital marketer, Nathan Kirk. So I asked Nathan: "How did you do it this time?" And his response? "They came to us!"

But could that be it? Is Nathan just sitting there in his office, dunking Ritz Cracker after Ritz Cracker into tubs of the Pawleys Island, SC based Palmetto Cheese because he has nothing else to do now that the press reaches out to his client? Nope! Nathan shares with us how this story went down, and credits social media and following hashtags with scoring this major press opportunity.

It turns out, Jayne Cannon, writer of the story in AAA actually called Palmetto Cheese through the phone number on the website. She wanted to include Palmetto Cheese in the article she was writing and interview the company founders, Brian and Sassy Henry. Then Janean Flowe from AAA then contacted Nathan for images because Go Magazine wanted to run a giveaway.

Palmetto Cheese was then contacted by Southern Living Magazine and they wanted samples for a taste test they wanted to do with pimento cheese. And here's where things get even more interesting. Palmetto Cheese had samples sent out and then Nathan saw on Instagram one day that Southern Living posted up pics of the product samples they were using.

Nathan "gave it a heart and followed the editor on Instagram." Nathan contacted the magazine after several weeks to see what the conclusion was, and were told that Palmetto Cheese was going to be in the magazine in September 2015! Palmetto Cheese's press in Taste of the South was a similar situation.

But how did Nathan see that Southern Living posted that picture to Instagram? "I usually do a search for hashtags associated with the brand," says Nathan. "Southern Living used the #pimentocheese hashtag and made it easy to find. It’s a great way to see what the competition is doing and to find what others post about the brand. Would have never seen otherwise."

WHAT NATHAN CREDITS TO RECENT PR SUCCESS
"The complete online presence that we have is obviously enough to get the calls coming in," says Nathan. "I’ve been working Instagram and Twitter more than Facebook lately too. My focus has been more of the big picture for the brand instead of solely stressing about PR. So far it’s working!!"

Nathan has been a Guest Expert on Tin Shingle TuneUps where he reveals some of his strategies on Facebook (which you can listen to now here). But as we can see, his attention has been devoted to Instagram and Twitter lately. I asked him why, and he breaks it down this way:

• Reaching Customers Without a Facebook Account: "Facebook likes have been on the steady increase, so have been working Twitter and Instagram to bring more awareness to the brand and find customers that may not have a Facebook account."
   
• Different Opportunities on Twitter and Instagram Due to the Use of Hashtags. "Facebook has hashtags, but they are more widely used on the other two. This leads to using hashtags to get in front of potential customers or producers that also search for brands using specific hashtags. 
   
• More Posts Per Day. "Twitter and Instagram also allow for more posts than Facebook. You can tweet all day long and it’s not a nuisance because of the limited life a tweet on the feeds. If you did the same thing on Facebook, everyone would unfollow and unlike your brand pretty quickly.
   
• Connecting With Other Brands: "Twitter also creates opportunities for connecting easier with other brands. A few examples: I have tweeted to Firefly Vodka, a fellow South Carolina brand, and they have retweeted to their followers. I tweeted a recipe using Zatarain’s Rice, they favorited the recipe tweet and now follow us. This would have not likely happened on Facebook. I also started to put #YouontheChew for recipes because ABC’s The Chew tells people to post recipes with that tag line. The Chew now follows Palmetto Cheese on Twitter. I think it brings the brand more credibility and also gets other people seeing that we are not just some mom and pop brand."

Thankfully we have front row seats to the growth of Palmetto Cheese, and if you're not following them already, you should now! And of course buy their cheese and serve it at all of your parties because it's a dip to be remembered and requested.

Knowing how to pitch the media is a major step to securing press for your brand. Tin Shingle empowers small businesses, experts and brands to make this happen through our unique membership program. Get instant access to Media Contacts at major magazines, Editorial Calendars, select PR Leads, an all-access free pass to all of our exclusive TuneUp Webinar series. Plus, you'll be a part of a trusted community of other businesses via our Message Boards/Forums Learn more about membership with Tin Shingle.

Confession time: Revealing my music selections is very intimidating for me. Actually going into record/CD stores when they existed was really nerve-wracking for some reason. I was never one to make mix-tapes and envied others who did. And I loved listening to their compilations when mix tapes and then CD were burned. As for actually making a mix tape - never happened. Hence, me, a co-founder of Tin Shingle, never (ok once, but I think I buried it in the blog and maybe “forgot” to categorize it) submitted a Motivation Mix to this series.

Until today, when Sabina gave me permission to submit my favorite albums that keep me motivated to take on the world and my fears! It was listening to one such album that I realized something about myself - I listen to albums on repeat. I really like hearing a continuous sound and beat throughout the hours of working until I’m finished with what I am doing. Helps to keep me focused. I usually work with words - typing emails, articles, to do lists, that sort of thing. So I can’t listen to podcasts and heavily worded songs that get me distracted (I’ve recently diagnosed myself with Podcast-Envy because my other realization was that I don’t listen to podcasts because I don’t have a commute where I am sitting still for long periods of time, and I don’t listen to anything while walking the dog because one time I was accosted so I keep my wits about me, and the rest of the time I am talking or listening to my kids).

 

So here is my first contribution to this series! My very special albums that I listen to when I am working on different things:

 

 

Avicii

Wake Me Up

Sounds That Move Me: A constant, hard beat. A techno-vibe that normally is not my style.

 

Ok, nobody told me that the “Wake Me Up” song was on an album that is essentially a mix-tape of awesome from Tom Bergling, aka Avicii, the DJ/producer! Initially I sought out the Wake Me Up song from Aloe Blacc because I only hear it in the car on the radio, and I practically fly out of my seat when I’m listening (it helps that our Audi station wagon has a turbo engine, because picking up speed in the car quickly is really fun). When I went to buy the album that the song was on, I learned of this multi-artist setup. So because Avicii is a Swedish DJ, there is an…I’d call it a techno-vibe, but I am not sure what the real musical terminology is for it. Normally this sound does not appeal to me, but I totally embraced the album after I learned that “Wake Me Up” was not well received at first because it was too folksy for that crowd. I was so blown away by the DJ to put out an album like this, that I listen to this album to get me out of myself and into a powerful place.

 

Meghan Trainer

Title

Sounds That Move Me: High pouncing sounds on the piano, the upbeat bop, and Meghan’s own accent that is very tough. I had no idea she was white and blonde.

 

Oh man, I had to overcome a fear of cold-calling businesses to sell ads. In addition to co-running Tin Shingle, I run a local blog called A Little Beacon Blog. While my Tin Shingle world is email and tweet based, the local world is very in-person based. They may have a sign on the door that says “no solicitations”, but they actually respond well to people who walk in to introduce themselves. I was only emailing businesses at first, and now I dial them up. Plus, I put on my fancy shoes and walk into their stores to say hi. I need Meghan Trainor’s beats to keep my confidence up and to keep me grounded in my light-hearted side. Her songs are so funny, and so truthful. They make me feel young, and that what I am making is AWESOME. I listen to the Title album while I am jogging to help my fly down the road, and then on the day that I need to make sales calls.

 

Alabama Shakes

Boys & Girls

Sounds That Move Me: The base guitar behind Brittany Howard’s voice.

 

This album is just good for slowly kicking ass. If I want to do an amazing job without getting too emotional or freaked out to take me off-course, I can listen to Alabama Shakes to keep my ideas crisp and fresh.

 

Steve Martin & Edie Brickell

Love Has Come For You

Sounds That Move Me: Steve Martin’s banjo, Edie Brickell’s voice, and Edie’s uncanny ability to write songs that I swear Steve Martin penned, because of their odd wit and rhyme. 

 

The twang of the banjo is so soothing to me when I am over stimulated with things to do. When I know that I have a lot on my plate, and don’t know what to focus on first to actually get done, I put on this album. From the first pluck of the banjo by Steve Martin, I am instantly soothed and can start.

 

Mumford & Sons

Sigh No More

Sounds That Move Me: The ghostly voice of Marcus Mumford, and the constant drumbeat of their deeply worded songs and blend of folk instruments including the banjo and mandolin.

So I put this album on when I need to crank out our Tin Shingle newsletter, #SmallBizGoodness, and my fingers need to fly. You can find me at a coffee shop in an intense work session listening to Sigh No More as I tighten up teaser copy, edit an article, email edits back and forth, or put together an image if needed. While pausing between thoughts, I have been known to almost conduct the music, I love it so much. I also listen to this album while running inside on a treadmill (normally I run outside weather permitting). During the winter treadmill runs, Mumford & Sons was my album of choice to run farther than planned on a treadmill. And yes, I did move my hands when running, oddly, as it’s a time for ideas to come into my brain, and the music helps me open up and hear those ideas.

 

Beach House

Teen Dream

Sounds That Move Me: The repetitive guitar strumming that move through a song and windy voices. 

I usually reserve this album for the weekend and not for work. My husband and I started listening to it when we would drive up a mountain to visit our friends in Cold Spring, NY. So I associate it with relaxing in the car with my husband through the woods. But, if I need a slow album to carry me through a mode, such as writing an emotional article, then I could listen to this album to keep me in a deep place until the article was written or a graphic design done.

 

Got a playlist you want to share that helps you rock your business or your job? Submit it to editorial@tinshingle.com. Include your list of songs or albums, why you like them and information about your business.

Do you know who makes the best products? The person suffering from the problem they are trying to solve with the product. Mark Goodson suffered from severe razor burn from the first day he put the blade to his face, and thought that it was a skin condition he would have to live with despite trying every shaving cream on the market.

Committed to having a clear face after a comfortable shave, Mark used his background in technology and research to mix his own shaving lotion remedy. What he discovered will shock you, and some ingredients in his solution came straight from his kitchen cupboard. In fact, women mainly use it to moisturize their hair and skin. Mark's breakout product, Zipp Mist, is a spray-based product that can be used with or without water, and actually helps your skin while in use, rather than damage the hair and skin to ultimately get a closer shave. Mark reveals how he developed the product in our interview with him.

TS: What inspired you to get started?
Developing Zipp Mist was a necessity for me. Because I have very sensitive skin, shaving was a real chore, and I always ended up with a severe case of razor burn. I didn’t want to grow a beard, so my only option was to find a way to shave without making a mess of my face. About five years ago, I started shaving with baby oil, which didn’t work all that well because it was too oily. I read everything I could find about shaving and realized that the high pH factor in shaving cream was one reason shaving irritated my face. And, because shaving cream is thick, it requires a lot of pressure to remove. The harder I pressed, the more damage I was doing to my face. I tried an array of skin-care products – anything that was supposed to be good for your skin. Still frustrated, I tried mixing various products. Finally, last year I discovered the right combination.

TS: What was your background? Was it in what you are doing now?
My background was in industry and technology. I attended Northern Illinois University, where I learned how to do the research that eventually helped me find the right ingredients for Zipp Mist. In the industry and technology program, we learned all facets of production. We learned about welding, electronics, hydraulics, and machine metals. Then I went to California and study for a year for Bell saturation diving. All of my education helped me to solve problems and showed me how to develop and manufacture just about anything as well as how to research and find out information. After five years of research and interaction with chemical engineers from China and the United States, I finally developed my final product.

TS: What type of research did you learn to do that helped you discover the winning combination of ingredients?
I used the Internet for my research, Googling everything I could about shaving. The first thing I looked into was how shaving works and the key components of shaving. Because of my delicate skin condition, I came to the conclusion early on that I wanted to eliminate the pH from my shaving product. I started by using baby oil, but I realized that too much oil doesn’t give you a clean cut. I experimented with every kind of ingredient I could find that might be able to help provide a clean, close shave, eliminate razor burn altogether and moisturize my face in the process. Finally, after five years, I have come up with a combination of ingredients that works.

TS: What led you to use broccoli oil and coconut oil both in the same product?
To explain why we use these oils, I must first explain a little bit about how people shave. Most shaving creams on the market today have a pH factor of about 8.5, which is necessary to temporarily damage hair follicles, which allows moisture in and makes hairs easier to cut. A hair follicle has the same tensile strength as a copper wire of the same diameter, so it is important to moisturize the hair follicles to get a clean cut. The reason we chose broccoli oil and coconut oil is that they have a lower molecular structure and are able to penetrate the hair follicles and allow moisture to get in – without the high pH factor.

TS: What challenge have you had to face that led to a big growth for your company?
My biggest challenge has been educating people about a new way to shave. Zipp Mist is different from what people are used to, and many are apprehensive about trying it. Once people give it a shot, they realize that it’s a better way to remove hair from your face.

TS: You say that educating people has been one of the most essential parts of your growth. How have you found that works best?  Video? In person demos? Testimonials?  How have you been working to educate the public and how have they best responded?
We are using several avenues to educate people about our product. Right now we have two videos on YouTube, and, since our sales numbers are increasing, we feel they are helping market our product. The videos provide an excellent idea of how Zipp Mist works. We've also been setting up booths at flea markets to interact with people and see how they feel about our product.

We’ve found that shaving has a bad stigma right now. Many men are trying to find an alternative to shaving cream, and many women are using hair conditioner to shave their legs and under their arms. A number of women who were using conditioner and switched to Zipp Mist and got better results. We're working hard to get our product on local TV and national TV so that we can educate more people about our innovative product.

TS: What do you have going on in your business right now that you are excited about?
We are about to add Zipp Mist for women. The ingredients are similar to those of the original Zipp Mist –skin-care products and special oils. The women's version leaves a very slight oil residue. We designed it this way is because women usually add some sort of skin-care product or oil after they're done shaving. They’ll get a comfortable shave that will leave their skin shiny and hydrated from the oil residue. Or, if they prefer, they can work the oil into their skin or simply remove it.

TS: Where would you love to see your business in 5 years?
I would love to see everybody change the way they shave in the next five years. I see a very bright future for my company, especially if a large number of people see the light, give up traditional shaving cream, do their face a favor and switch to Zipp Mist.

Connect with Spray & Shave online by clicking the links below!

It's happening! Tin Shingle is getting a makeover and it's a Big. Deal.

Not only are we changing the look of a few things, but we are streamlining the way a few of your favorite tools work on Tin Shingle. From easier navigation of articles to one-click-streaming of TuneUps. #Gasp.

I know! Here are a few screenshots to show you a few things...

NEW HOME PAGE!

You're going to get a great big new home page that is easy to scroll and show you the most important information first - the buzz-building information you need to know now about getting the word out about your business.

Members of Tin Shingle are also going to get an easier way to get to their 24/7 PR Center at the top of their screen, which makes getting to Media Contacts, Editorial Calendars and PR Leads even easier.

People in the media and regular people like you ane me who love discovering new businesses also have an easier time of it in the tippy top navigation with the new "SmallBizDiscoveries" tap that showcases Shopping Guides, Members in the Press, the Business Directory, and Tin Shingle's exclusive #SmallBizDiary member-produced blog series.

ENHANCED MEDIA CONTACTS SEARCH!

Members of Tin Shingle have always been able to search and find media contacts by magazine and now by TV, but they did so by searching by the name of the outlet or by a category of specialty. Now we have separate lists, where you can search by TV, Magazines, Blogs and Websites, and On-Air Experts. Oh yeah that's right - because it's those experts who can often carry your product onto the big morning shows you want to get on!

REDESIGNED SHOPPING GUIDES!

Businesses who are members of Tin Shingle have always been able to add their products directly to our Shopping Guides for anyone to discover. We also pull from these in our popular #SmallBizStyle, #SmallBizSnack and #SmallBizSips series. It's been a long time coming, but now with the demand of bigger pictures everywhere, the Shopping Guides got a total makeover with larger pictures to pin and share.

PS: Want some of these lovely candles? Sure you do! They are eco-friendly and made with love from Honest Earth Candles.

MOBILE!

We are coming to the mobile party! Hello to your tiny iPhone! The Tin Shingle website will be responsive and look and feel like an app. Navigating will be easier, pictures and words will be bigger. All is well in the world.

Be sure you are signed up for our newsletter, #SmallBizGoodness, for free buzz-building tips and announcements like this one on when the switch is flipped to the new website!