We enlisted the help of today’s office visitor to boost our Twitter strategies.
Inspiration for Today’s “Tweets”
May 14th, 2012 by Jamie PorterChasing a Definition for a Dynamic Industry
February 28th, 2012 by Tim JohnsonStuart Elliott at The New York Times reported in November that the Public Relations Society of America, one of the trade associations for the PR industry, is starting a project to define: “What is public relations?” PRSA’s current definition reads, “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” Huh?
Given the continuously changing nature of how organizations communicate, the abundance of new communications tools available, and the highly-subjective nature of communications, defining public relations is one of those Sisyphean tasks, that once you think you’ve got it solved, you turn around and the rock is once more at the bottom of the hill.
I would say that there are a few basic descriptors of the public relations profession, but would be hard pressed to understand why, in such a fluid business, there is a need for a concrete definition. We believe that public relations:
- Helps organizations succinctly, creatively and effectively communicate the value proposition of the entity as a whole, as well as its products or services
- Focuses on communicating through primarily unpaid mediums, relying on the implicit endorsement resulting from a decision maker (e.g., an editor or conference manager) choosing to utilize our content
- Promotes dialog between an organization and its customers, as well as the “ecosystem” in which it operates
- Concentrates on demonstrating an organization’s strengths, but does so truthfully and with tactics that are “generally accepted” to borrow a phrase from the accounting profession
On that last point, I think the sniff test is pretty clear. If a PR team, either internally or on the agency-side is considering a tactic they wouldn’t want written about in Stuart Elliott’s column, then they probably shouldn’t execute it. And if an agency team gets caught executing an unethical campaign and claims the client made them do it, shame on them.
Finally, a PR team should strive to fit into the client’s organization and work within the culture of the client’s organization. There’s no higher compliment than when a vice president of marketing makes a statement like, “We consider our PR firm as a part of our team.”
Rooting for a Social Sports Team
January 6th, 2012 by Jamie PorterFor a sports team, Twitter can certainly create hype among fans before a big game. But what happens when the team requires each individual player to join the conversation from their own handle?
Professional lacrosse team, the Philadelphia Wings will soon find out, when they become the first U.S. sports team to create jerseys that swap out players’ last names for their Twitter handles.
With a focus on increasing social media presence, the campaign has noble intentions: The stunt is already calling attention to a team (and league) with a relatively limited following. Ticket sales may increase, but the Wings will not ball-hog monetary benefits. After the jerseys’ February debut, the team will auction them off and donate proceeds to the American Cancer Society.
But is requiring 28 lacrosse players to tweet the best way to connect with fans? We can all recall instances of professional athlete and celebrity social media blunders. According to Forbes, team management is taking preventative measures by requiring Twitter training attendance for all players.
It will be interesting to see how closely the Twitter accounts are screened and monitored. Off the field, each player has individual opinions that may not represent the ideal image of the team’s brand. The Wings may have a discerning eye for what sentiments are Twitter-appropriate, but a major slip-up could have extensive backlash.
Hopefully a crisis communication plan is in place for those, but recent trends suggest fans might find less severe mistakes endearing, even. Trendwatching.com lists “Flawsome” as a top-12 crucial trend: “Brands that are honest about their flaws, that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor and dare we say it, some character and humanity.”
Perhaps this trend’s origins are in social media, as spontaneous and instantaneous messaging is naturally edited less thoroughly. I’m rooting for the @PhillyWings, and other sports teams making this leap into social media.
Is this campaign a good idea, or too much of a risk? What do you think?
Network by Rubbing Elbows (Literally)
December 8th, 2011 by Jamie PorterThanks to an innovative airline, the CEO you’ve always wanted to meet may be just on the other side of the armrest.
According to the Huffington Post, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced a future service allowing passengers to attach social media profiles to their seat assignment. Using “Social Seating”, fellow travelers will be able to search LinkedIn and Facebook profiles for a perfect seatmate at online check-in.
Social media is now a standard way for people to connect, but rarely has it led to almost instantaneous face-to-face rendezvous, (outside of location-based services such as “FourSquare,” of course). If “Social Seating” sparks a trend it could make dating, job-hunting and forming business partnerships a little easier.
And what could this mean for PR? Sit next to a top marketing exec and your impromptu pitch lasts coast to coast. Sit next to a news editor and land your client a feature by the time you land.
Well, it’s probably not that simple. But, “Social Seating” may at least help establish long-term business relationships. A busy editor could forget which Twitter follower pitched him as soon as the story goes to press, but might correspond regularly with the guy he chatted up on his 2-hour trip home. (Or there’s always the flip-side where he might purposely avoid sitting next to a PR person to avoid a pitch!)
How many people actually welcome in-flight conversation? Some look forward to the few hours of connectivity-free peace. It will be interesting to see if fear of getting stuck next to a chatterbox hinders the optional “Social Seating” use.
If the airplane isn’t the correct venue, perhaps more traditional hang-out spots will use social media in similar ways. (That is, if social media privacy isn’t a concern.)
What do you think? Would you try “Social Seating?”
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=982
Kicking Off December with Dinner Theatre
December 2nd, 2011 by Pam NjissangAll work and no play makes PR people very restless and irritable… which is why it’s important for us at SJC to make it a point to go out and have some fun every so often. Last night we attended the Teatro ZinZanni Dinner show located right off the Embarcadero here in San Francisco for our annual holiday outing and it was a fun time, indeed.
It was a night of great drinks, great food, A LOT of laughs and most importantly, great company. We even had the opportunity to snap a shot with 7 foot (with 10 inch platforms on) Brigita (Manuela Horn), also known as the “Austrian Amazon”, one of the show’s stars.
Thinking about going to Teatro ZinZanni SF? Better act fast because the Pier 29 Spiegeltent will be closing on New Year’s Eve 2011 to make way for the America’s Cup. The company is currently working with the City of San Francisco to find a new home.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and…Black Thursday?
November 23rd, 2011 by Jamie PorterAfter an exhausting day of travel, family and tryptophan overdose, the Black Friday tradition has a long track record of contributing to shopper sleep deprivation. But will this year’s collection of online deals and Thanksgiving Day sales be enough to deter bargain-hunters from a 4-a.m. wake-up this Friday?
It seems that the holiday season begins earlier and earlier each year. (When tinsel makes its annual debut in retail windows, it must be Halloween!) This means holiday deal season must come sooner, too. This year, with retail stores opening as early as 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving, perhaps shoppers will skip the post-turkey nap and shop through the night instead.
Retailers seem to be in a fierce race to capture sales first, maybe because of an expected increase in the number of economy-conscious deal-seekers. Whatever the reason behind the strategy, it is effectively spurring shoppers into action.
With Black Friday and Thursday sale details—leaked or intentionally released—posted online, bargain-hunters gained a useful planning tool this year. Dedicated shoppers can check their lists against promotions, compare prices, and map out their own retail route beforehand.
Downloadable coupons, mobile sites, apps, and social media make it even easier to save. An app, BFAds helps “plan your Black Friday shopping trip weeks in advance,” and @blackfriday Tweets a live stream of promotions from a shopping blog.
But with online purchase promotions advertised as well, will shoppers opt to follow a link to a 24/7 storefront instead? Amazon.com is tracking competitor deals and updating their own meet-or-beat pricing accordingly, proving shoppers may not have to brave the crowds and lines for the lowest price.
In the past, retailers have kept Black Friday deals a surprise, playing to customer curiosity while hiding promotions from competitors. But this new marketing strategy is resulting in more intense promotions, which may be irresistible to deal-driven consumers. As a Los Angeles Times article points out, retailers hope these aggressive marketing tactics don’t just crowd stores with “looky-loos with a tight grip on their wallets.”
Will earlier sales and customer adaptation ever send Black Friday into extinction? The Black Friday brand is a strong one, with plenty of brand equity, a distinct image, and loyal followers. Just as families have deep-rooted Thanksgiving traditions, they have those around Black Friday. Can retailers change those traditions?
Get With It. Get Social.
November 18th, 2011 by Pam Njissang(Originally posted on www.girlsintech.net)
It’s hard to believe that less than a decade ago “twitter” was just a word used to describe the sound from a bird. “Thefacebook” was a website project spurred on by a Harvard sophomore. We all know what happened next. Twitter, now with more than 200 million global users and Facebook, a social media giant with more than 800 million global addicts… er… users is at the heart of the social commerce boom.
What exactly is social commerce? Social commerce is the fusion of two of the decade’s biggest digital trends – “social media” and “e-commerce”. According to Moontoast, a Boston-based distributor of social commerce solutions, today’s brands have a lot to gain with this new way of purchasing and selling products and services. In its e-book, “The Social Commerce Opportunity: How Brands Can Take Advantage of the Next Evolution Commerce”, brands who supplement their social media strategy with social commerce will not only “increase revenue, but also increase community growth”.
If you’re a business, off the bat you should ensure you have an online presence. Furthermore, if you’re looking to rapidly increase brand recognition, best believe that social media must be a component of your marketing arsenal. Moontoast’s e-book touts some very compelling stats by Nielsen and Gartner illustrating how much time Americans spend on the Web and how much companies are expected to generate in revenue from the Web via social presence and mobile applications, respectively.
“The Social Commerce Opportunity” e-book outlines the following opportunities unique to social:
- Brands can reach engaged audiences than ever before.
- Brands can present offers better than ever before through a digital “word of mouth” phenomenon presented by social.
- Social drives adoption through confidence via repetition, user experience and trusted payment methods.
Building on this, it’s also important to note that today’s savvy, digital consumers also use the Web as a resource for savings. In its Times & Trends Special Report, “The Downturn Shopper: Buckled in for a Wild and Crazy Ride”, market research firm, SymphonyIRI, reported that the Web is rapidly becoming an integral component of what it calls the downturn shopper’s money saving strategies, pointing to a steady rise in shoppers using the Internet to research products and gather coupons.
The lesson here is this: social media is here and it’s here to stay. People are spending lots of time on Web and even more on social media. Many are already relying on social media to learn about products and deals, and it won’t be long before social media becomes the driving force for a majority of online purchases. The folks at Moontoast say it best, “Social Commerce will not only help brands monetize social media efforts, but it will fit in seamlessly with social media strategies and offer new ways to reward people through exciting offers and a better user experience.” Get with it. Get social.
Tighter Wallets = Need for More Effective Marketing This Holiday Season
November 4th, 2011 by Christina Yang
The holiday season is just around the corner, which means retailers are ready to sell and shoppers are ready to buy!
With the current recession, however, consumers and shoppers are not only looking for ways to simplify their shopping needs, but they are also on the lookout for the best deals and promotions. With the convenience of hassle-free shopping and endless opportunities to find the best deals, many shoppers this year will look to the Internet to find the best deals at the lowest prices.
In fact, our client, SymphonyIRI’s Survey, “Holiday Shopping 101” revealed some startling information. Looking into consumer shopping attitudes heading into the holidays, the survey found that 71 percent of consumers earning less than $100,000 per year plan to trim their holiday shopping expenses. This is an indication that many consumers this year will make sure to do their homework in order to find the best value for their money. Shoppers will likely also comparison shop before they actually purchase online or head to an actual store.
What does this mean for marketers this holiday season? More discerning shoppers mean that marketers will need to appeal to the value based decision making processes that will be in full effect this holiday season. Here are some tips that SymphonyIRI’s Thom Blischok shared in his blog post on this topic:
Bundle Meal Options, Dessert and Snacking: For CPG marketers, time and convenience are two key factors for everyone during the holiday season. Experimenting with shoppers to delight them is just as important as selling them the product.
Ensure Discoverability of Deals and Promotions is Simple and On Target: Since many shoppers will be aggressively searching online for deals and promotions, it’s critical to ensure that whatever promotions are offered as a manufacturer are fully linked at the retailer level, such as through certain websites and the consumer shopping level (i.e. Groupon, etc.).
Satisfy Shopper Needs and Expectations: Shoppers will be sure to take advantage of planning ahead of time. SymphonyIRI’s Holiday Survey found that 32 percent of shoppers will rely more heavily on premade lists. 79 percent of consumers said they plan to make their grocery purchase decisions before entering the actual store. With this in mind, it is essential that all shoppers are able to buy products when they want to buy it.
Earthquake Reactions Help Measure Twitter’s Magnitude
October 25th, 2011 by Jamie PorterJust how powerful is Twitter? If only it could be measured on the Richter Scale. But, if hashtag trends from recent earthquakes are any indication, I’d say it measures pretty high. A good ground-shaking is guaranteed to produce ground-breaking news on Twitter, leaving the most prestigious traditional sources in a straggler shakeout.
New to the San Francisco Bay Area, I experienced my first earthquake last week, but didn’t even know it at first. The 4.0 Berkeley quake rumbled through our office space and rocked our fifth-floor “crib.” It interrupted a meeting in our sound-proof conference room, but I still needed confirmation. Almost instinctively, I tapped the Twitter icon on my iPhone. Sure enough, @earthquakesSF had the report. And while logged in, it only made sense to update my East-Coast friends and family with a #BerkeleyEarthquake Tweet.
My earthquake encounter was put in perspective a few days later. After learning about Turkey’s devastating 7.2 quake, (yes, via Twitter), I was thankful our previous quake here in SF was nothing more than a little tremble.
Although immediate Tweets have no place in high-magnitude earthquake quake survival, Twitter still aided victims in Turkey and helped loved ones not in the vicinity keep up to date. A local journalist, Erhan Çelik, used his 22,000-follower network and a trended hashtag (#ÊvimEvindirVan—my home is your home, Van) to find 17,000 families offering temporary housing for those left without, according to the Guardian.
Catching the attention of the Istanbul governor’s office, mobile phone companies, airlines, and international relief, Twitter has proven its ability to move thousands into action. Twitter obviously isn’t a quick-fix for such a shattering event, but hopefully Çelik’s efforts have provided a small dose of comfort to victims.
Perhaps social media’s all-in-one approach is what makes it such a powerful news tool. Where else can you receive instantaneous news and at the same time broadcast your own opinion to the masses, while vouching for your safety in the event of a natural disaster? When a natural disaster hits, where do you go to first to officially confirm its occurrence?
Don’t Let This Happen to You
September 28th, 2011 by Tim JohnsonIt’s been interesting to watch and read about Ketchum’s Conagra campaign gone wrong. Ketchum approached its Conagra client with an idea to promote its Marie Callender and other prepared foods. Ketchum invited food bloggers to an event that was to feature a meal prepared by cleebrity chef George Duran. Several of the bloggers bit, so to speak, only to learn after the meal that in fact they were eating consisted of prepared foods. The bloggers were not amused and quickly let their displeasure be known.
Responses in the PR community have ranged from the obvious commentary on Ketchum’s bad judgment, to chiding the bloggers for not asking more questions about what they were eating.
I have to side with those who believe Ketchum made a monumental blunder. Deceiving media of any kind is never a good idea, and misleading bloggers, by definition especially passionate about their subject matter, is foolhardy. Putting people in potential danger (what if one of the bloggers were allergic to monosodium glutamate, widely used in prepared foods, but rarely used in gourmet cooking) is even worse.
There are many ways to be creative with your message, but if there’s a reasonable chance media will be offended with your new campaign, think up another campaign.
