"Everything you do or say is public relations.”

(Hehe) Social Media Comics

esear — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:59:27 +0000

Obviously this one is not social media related- I just enjoy carrots!

Giving credit where its due- I obtained the comics from the following sources:

http://lyndit.com/2010/04/social-media-laughs/

http://www.uniquescoop.com/2009/11/25-social-media-jokes-and-comics.html

http://www.penn-olson.com/2009/10/24/20-social-media-comic-strips/

PR Links of interest

esear — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:35:56 +0000

***Apologies for not updating in quite a while. I have been busy graduating with my Masters in Communication (YAY!), job hunting, and relocating.

Here are some PR related links that spark my interest- check em’ out!

BP’s Global PR Twitter account http://twitter.com/bpglobalpr

So BP doesn’t feel lonely- here’s a list of other company’s PR disasters: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/06/21/public-relations-disasters-bp-gaffe-joins-long-list-of-corporate-pr-disasters-115875-22347982/

Weber Shandwick Named PR Agency of the Year at American Business Awards http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weber-shandwick-named-pr-agency-of-the-year-at-american-business-awards-97085849.html

Canadians share earthquake accounts via Facebook and Twitter http://business.financialpost.com/2010/06/24/fp-tech-desk-canadians-turn-to-social-media-to-share-earthquake-stories/

“As long as I can conceive something better than myself I cannot be easy unless I am striving to bring it into existence or clearing the way for it.” — George Bernard Shaw

esear — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:09:20 +0000

The above image is the logo for the PH International sponsored conference entitled “Social Media for Social Change” which just took place in Tibilisi, Georgia on April 9th and 10th. This conference focussed on the enhancement of civic engagement, improved transparency in the media, and the fostering of open governance through social media.

This conference is a great example of the potential and opportunities available through social media use. The inception of social media has diminished traditional media power and has given the power back to the people. Bloggers (and other types of social media users) have the ability to express freely through the relative anonymity of the internet. This is important as it can influence freedom of press rankings in countries which do not foster freedom. Social media use promotes transparency, interactivity, accountability, as well as raises technical standards. Social change influenced through the utilization of social media is particularly important to recognize in international PR endeavors, and may be a wonderful opportunity for PR social marketing and health campaigns.

For Immediate Release

esear — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:20:21 +0000

Many believe that the advent of the internet has influenced the death of the press release. I do agree that there is much less need for the traditional press release due to the numerous internet resources that are now available to us. However, we still see some resistance from many of our major companies to incorporate newer social media communication strategies, primarily due to perceived risk. Knowing this, I think there is still use for the ol’ press release. I think press releases are especially relevant in crisis situations as well as international relations. Personally, I think the press release is associated with a certain level of credibility that is not replicated in social media use. It may be particularly appropriate to use a press release if the crisis is associated with the organization’s social media (like activists “blowing up” your Facebook page). Additionally, I believe there is a use for press releases with international publics. Clearly, media outlets are different from country to country, thus I think its important to utilize traditional releases. Also, it will likely be helpful for us to use media similar to how our publics traditionally receive media- this way we are sure to reach them.

What are your thoughts? Is there a future for the press release?!?!

Appealing to small masses…

esear — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:24:32 +0000

So clearly there are MANY benefits to using website analytics, however, lately I’ve really been attune to PR focusing on the aggregate rather than the individual (I think this is a problem) and I think web analytics contribute to this problem. As PR practitioners we are/should be focused on relationships with our stakeholders. Thus, in my opinion, our communication efforts are more likely to be effective if they are individualized (I think this is particularly relevant to our communication with stockholders). It would certainly take more effort on the part of the practitioner to uphold this type of communication/relationship but I think that stakeholder loyalty and trust gained through these efforts would be hugely lucrative for the organization.

So, how does website analytics play into this- you ask? Well, with our data we are looking at how our publics utilize our website/blog/Facebook/Twitter/forum, etc. not how the individual utilizes the site and therefore focusing on collective use. We use web analytics to look for trends in use- what the majority is doing on our site (how long is the avg. visit on our website, what do most people commonly click, what search terms are most often used on our site, etc). Because of this, I think we have great potential to loose relevance to our publics that do not follow these trends. For example, if we are a car manufacturer and see that most people visiting our site are interested in SUVs and then consequently design our site to feature SUVs then the smaller public that maybe interested in station wagons is then neglected, as we are encouraged to modify our focus to fit the larger majority. You may think “well, Eileen what is wrong with that?” We have to realize that even though we are focusing on our stakeholders, our stakeholders are not necessarily representative of the population, and are probably a minority group. Therefore, stakeholder use of our website is not comparable to our competitor’s stakeholder’s use of their website. This is important to consider because we don’t want to be too focused on how individuals use our site that we are then not focusing on gaining new users who may utilize it differently. How would we appeal to new publics if we are so focused on our current stakeholders? New people may perhaps bring new perspectives and promote positive change. So, in summary- try to pay attention to all your stakeholders. Trends are important and they can help us predict need, performance, and future behavior but focusing on the “actions of the herd” isn’t going to foster quality, loyal relationships with individual stakeholders.

“The direct unfiltered brutally honest nature of much online discussion is black gold… Texas tea to companies that want to spot trends or find out what customers really think.” – The Economist 2006

esear — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 04:33:08 +0000

No excuses, here is a list of free social media measurement services for weblogs, Twitter, Facebook, Forums, and Websites(click on the names to go directly to the website):

Google Analytics
Google Blogsearch
Google Feedburner
Technorati
Alexa
Twitter search
Effyis Boardreader
Twazzup
Icerocket
Backtype Connect
Boardtracker
Social Mention
Trendrr
Moniterr
TweetBeep
Twitter Grader
Collecta
SocialSeek
TweetFeel
YackTrack
Addictomatic
CoTweet
twit(url)y
Trendisitic
Rivva
OneRiot
HowSociable
The Search Monitor
Twittter Analyzer
Tinker
Steprep
uberVU
BuzzSteam
Twitalyzer
iMooty
Blogpulse
Klout
TipTop
StatsMix
Topsy
Tribe Monitor

Social Media- a big player in your job search

esear — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 02:54:17 +0000

If you’ve read/seen any of my previous blog/vlog posts you know that this weblog focuses on the incorporation of social media in PR practice. To further drive home the importance of this a recent article published on the CNN Living website pointed out that employers are seeking employees with social media know-how!
“Market your social media savvy. As social media rapidly gains popularity among consumers and businesses, employers are taking notice and plan to add jobs and responsibilities related to Web 2.0. Nearly one-in-ten employers plan to hire a new employee in the second quarter to focus on social media. An additional 13 percent plan to add social media management to a current employee’s responsibilities.”

Not only do employers need you to know the ins and outs of social media (which you already will if you study/work in PR ) but they will also be expecting you to utilize social media in your job search (as seen in the chart below). These numbers are huge and thus indicate that social media use should be a major component in your job search. What does this mean? It means spruce up your Linkdin profile, search for jobs on weblogs, and Twitter, and make sure that you have a professional online presence- just to name a few!

Now, a few questions I pose for you:
What do you think about using social media in the job search?
What do you think are some benefits as well as drawbacks to social media use in the job search?
Do you think this is a more interactive (2-way symmetric approach) to job searching?
Do you think social media usage in the job search process fosters transparency?

As always, thanks for the feedback!

5 reasons why you should monitor your social media…

esear — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:21:48 +0000

Before your organization jumps onto the social media bandwagon know that your efforts are not complete until you start monitoring your social media presence. It’s not enough to simply provide an outlet for people to interact with your organization. It is beneficial to the organization to analyze exactly how people are utilizing your social media and what they are saying! Moreover, there are several services that allow you to track what is being said about your organization such as: Technorati for blogs, and Monittor for Twitter. The following is a list highlighting why social media monitoring is important:

1)ROI- Clearly, ROI is important to your organization. Monitoring helps you understand how the organization is being viewed by the public. If after monitoring you see that your organization is not being perceived the way you want then you can change your messages or other campaigns and programming strategy to address the needs of your publics.
2)Crisis prevention The monitoring of discussion on social media can really help prevent crisis. For example, if one see’s that a lot of negativity is present on weblogs than its important to understand and address that negativity so that it doesn’t escalate and potentially cause further problems.
3)Competition Monitoring allows you to evaluate what is being said about your competition. You can use this feedback to improve your organization and give yourself a “leg- up” on your competition!
4)Compliments It’s very important to analyze compliments. Organizations that have a positive online impression are much more likely to be successful. For example, we see this with positive online ratings.
5)Complaints- Complaints are also important- you don’t want negative comments said without you addressing them. Typically, if someone is publicly saying something negative then they want their comments/ concerns to be addressed by your organization. You want to address these too so that more negative comments are not said and a potential crisis is averted.

One can see from this list that monitoring helps an organization further interact in two-way symmetric communication with its publics.

“Never underestimate the power of design to differentiate.” – David Reyes-Guerra (Xerox)

esear — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 04:49:15 +0000

Sometimes its easy to feel like your a small fish in a big pond. You may ask yourself: “How can I distinguish myself from the rest?” The answer is- create a personal brand!

A personal brand is the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular individual in order to lead an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable

Here are some tips to help you stand out of the crowd:

1) Ask yourself what makes you unique from others and allign that with your goals.

2) Represent yourself in a consistent manner: For example, use the same default picture in all your social media applications (same FB, Twitter, blog, MySpace, website, etc. photos). Do you use the same “voice”, or disclose similar types of information? Consistentcy is important if you cross-utilize your social media (i.e you have clients looking at your website, FB, and Tweets).

3) Develop a brief personal statement that describes your brand (an “elevator” statement you can rattle off when you have the chance to talk to a potential employer, client, or upper management).

4) Control your digital footprint and make sure that when a potential employer Google’s you (Yes, they check you out) those results are reflective of the personal brand you’ve created.

Job hunting season!!!

esear — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:18:46 +0000

So, its official- I’m looking for a job. I’m graduating in May and moving to DC. I’ve accepted that this is going to be challenging due to the economy as well as the fact that I’m looking for a job in a city that I don’t live in. I think this makes it even more important for me to network!
So far, my two favorite job seeking sources have both been types of social media. One is a blog and the other is a twitter feed. I recently learned about online portfolios. I do not yet have one but I think this would be especially helpful for people that study PR.
Here is a link to visual CV (an online resume website)

I think that an online CV is a great way to represent yourself. It seems to be a really great opportunity to establish your personal brand in an innovative way!
There are many things, as a PR practioner, that we can illustrate by using this visual medium like…
Press kits
Press releases
Campaign materials (brochures, newsletters, posters, etc.)
Examples of Press that we’ve received
Photographs of events
Links to social media that we’ve used (podcasts, youtube, weblogs, websites,etc.)
Sample PR, Crisis, and Social media plans
Reviews/Ratings

What do you think about online portfolios? Do you think this will be the accepted norm in a few years?