It is summer and hopefully PR professionals are hitting up the beaches and enjoying some travel. I am sure that the cell phone is not far and the laptop is in tow but hey it’s an effort to relax and unplug.
Social media has changed the way that people are traveling and documenting their summer vacations. No longer are tourists spotted only by the cameras hanging around their necks and the maps in hand. They are now using their iPhone for a camera and documenting their entire trip through live tweeting or Facebook check-ins. Facebook recently released a list of the Most Social Landmarks based on this trend. Continue reading →
Mobile marketing will be a mainstream commercial powerhouse. Local search will be a key battlefield. Social media will continue to be part of everything. That’s the future of marketing and PR according to Google’s Head of Social and Mobile Solutions, Tim Reis.
Sure social is already hot and we have been hearing “mobile will be a game changer” for the last few years but Reis recently lifted the covers at the Think Small Achieve Big conference hosted by Vocus and gave a peek of where the next five years will take us and how we can position for success. Continue reading →
For years, public relations professionals have known of the power of brand advocacy. But in the digital age brand advocacy is evolving into the realm and responsibility of nearly every type of digital marketer. Whether you’re working on a search marketing campaign or overseeing a client’s display strategy, every marketer needs to understand and believe in brand advocacy. Continue reading →
Ever since Howdy Doody showed up in the 1950’s, PR and marketing folks have wanted to know how many people are watching a particular TV show. This sets advertising rates, actor salaries, and a million other things. Most of this is based on the Nielsen ratings, which is possibly the most laughable measurement tool in the history of everything. Nielsen selects a certain amount of people to wire a box to their TV that sends data OVER A PHONE LINE or to keep a journal about what they’ve been watching. Seriously. Starting to understand why CBS cleans up in the ratings? They target older demographics since older demographics are the ones most likely to use a systems like Nielsen. Enter Viggle. Continue reading →
Content creation in the form of curating content, your own and that of others, is the hot new trend in the digital world. Notable platforms have emerged which cater specifically to this form – YouTube playlists, Tumblr blogs, and, of course, Pinterest.
Tuning the content you’ve created is a bit of a different beast than doing the same thing to content you’re curating. When actually creating new content there’s a built in system to avoid creating too much irrelevant content (at least for good writers and self-editors). You’ll know if you’ve done something before, and if so from what perspective and tone. Continue reading →
I’m old enough to remember the days of bringing a Walkman into my bed at night to try and listen to baseball. On the clearest of nights, I could hear the radio home of the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals, and sometimes, the Boston Red Sox from my New Jersey bedroom. However, most times, I’d have to deal with plenty of static and interference.In our social media world today, we have the same issues. While we can “hear” some of the most influential PR/social media/marketing folks, we still need to get through the “static” to actually listen. Why? Our Facebook and Twitter streams are clouded with too much noise and clutter that affects what we take in.
So, how can we better listen and engage our followers? Here are five tips to fine tune your focus on social networks. Continue reading →
Earlier this month, Ragu spaghetti sauce launched a video Facebook campaign called “Ragu Asks” aimed at uncovering the mystery of how parents motivate their finicky kids to eat. The short, 30 second video content that followed was created based on responses from their community and the result was a string of hilarious videos depicting parents going to bizarre lengths to get their kids to eat, which as most parents know can often times be a monumental struggle. Although the content was extremely exaggerated and a bit absurd it seemed to strike a chord with parents through its deft blend of comedy and desperation to speak at what can often be a daily struggle that parents fight to keep kids nourished and healthy. Continue reading →
This year is off to a roaring start for independent communications/public relations firms, according to a new study by Worldcom Public Relations Group. The partner agencies of Worldcom forecast the hiring of new staff and are experiencing an increase in business and budgets.Worldcom Public Relations Group surveyed CEO’s from national and international partner agencies servicing clients ranging from small to mid-sized businesses to Fortune 50 companies. The survey indicates a high percentage of new business growth in the technology, consumer, healthcare, professional and financial service sectors. Continue reading →
You know that scene in Beauty and the Beast where the village people break down the castle door? No? Here’s a refresher, it starts at 1:59.
That scene represents marketing of yester-year. Think of the giant tree stump as your brand message and the poor wooden door as the senses of the unsuspecting marketplace. For years marketers mercilessly participated in a full-on assault on all of our senses. It was effective, we think. But, dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the death of marketing, well at least as we know it and in its place, a new atmosphere that is in desperate need of some T-P-R-L-C (Tender Public Relations Love & Care). Continue reading →
Much has been made of Google’s unified privacy policy that went into effect last week. In my Twitter feed, I saw the usual suspects; threats of dumping all Google products, enraged people shouting about how Google is out to take over the world, you know, a whole lot of this. Perhaps these people are unaware of how commerce on the Internet works. This is always a good reminder for us as PR pros, and for our clients. The number of companies that collect your data for their own marketing purposes or for their partners is astronomical. However, let’s rundown a few of the major names to put this in perspective: Continue reading →
Content creation in the form of curating content, your own and that of others, is the hot new trend in the digital world. Notable platforms have emerged which cater specifically to this form – YouTube playlists, Tumblr blogs, and, of course, Pinterest.