Tag Archives: sm

CTMichaels

A Social Media Unity

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Two groom figurines on top of wedding cakeI have been working on this post for almost three weeks.  Every time I think it is complete something else happens which makes me add more to it, as you will understand as you read.

Over the past few years, gay rights have been in the spotlight.  With states legalizing gay marriage, shows like Flipping Out and Queer as Folk debuted, and, stations devoted to the gay demographic such as LOGO surfaced, an acceptance of the gay population had made many strides in most of America. And isn’t it about time?

As we have seen with the acceptance of the gays, the embracing of social media as an important form of spreading awareness. Not only has social media been able to spread the word about issues, but it has made voices of those previously-unheard  heard. Continue reading →

Jeff Esposito

What does PR mean to you?

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Girl using cookie cutterOver the past few weeks I’ve been trying to get a handle on what PR had become to me.  The industry is in a state of flux and evolution. Instead of the old fare cup of coffee industry that we grew up in the current state is robust with flavors that would make Starbucks blush.

With many PR folks taking the helm of social networking (SN) activities, I’ve also wondered if PR was the correct term for the industry as the space blends PR with many other disciplines like customer service, sales and word-of-mouth marketing.

I asked folks in the #PRBC discussion what PR meant to them and really just got back a handful of generic cookie cutter answers that reflected what the industry used to be. Continue reading →

Joseph Vasquez

We Live in the Age of Groupon

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Jackpot winnerSome of you know that one of my favorite pastimes is dining out. It’s obvious when you see the anti-Situation abs that I sport nowadays. [I’ve been doing a lot of GTL lately though minus the T so I’m expecting to get my washboard abs back.] Sorry, I digress. 🙂

In any case, one company that seems to be thriving in this awful economy is Groupon. I don’t have hard facts. My opinion is simply based on word of mouth, social media buzz and earned media coverage that I’ve seen for the company in the past couple of years. Most recent was Groupon’s first national launch with Gap where it likely garnered more in free publicity than the amount of Gap Groupons it sold. The company has transformed the way the average consumer saves by featuring mainly half price deals that change daily. The concept is attractive because it builds anticipation from its users on a daily basis, which I believe is a key factor, in developing any successful social media program. It has also changed the average consumer’s purchasing behavior, but it’s also fueled other companies to follow its business model such as Living Social, Half Off Deals, and many others. Continue reading →

Michael Schechter

The Social Marketing GAP

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Mind the Gap warning on a subway platformI’m guilty; I’ve been making fun on The Gap and their new logo.  It is an ugly, half-assed, badly designed misstep from a brand that hadn’t made a logo change in over 20 years.  In our little world of Social Media, we are having a field day and The Gap is taking a heck of a licking for their latest new design.  As if that were not enough, now I’m taking things one step further and making fun of their mind-numbingly poor decision to leave the design up to the crowd and invite people to suggest better logos via Facebook.  I cannot help but mock their “Fine if you think we screwed up that badly, you do better” mentality.   They are really going to regret ever posting the follow up to what was already a fairly massive branding gaff.

That said, I am done talking about it and I think you should be too.  Here’s why: Continue reading →

Nathan "PRCog" Burgess

You’re doing it wrong….

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Wrong WayWe’ve all seen the horrible horrible examples of things done wrong in the digital world.  You know the things I’m talking about – bad policies, bad designs, just bad bad bad stuff.  Below, you’ll find my own list of the worst of the worst and those of some other contributors crowdsourced from Twitter.  Do chime in with your own net horror stories 🙂

Continue reading →

Michael Schechter

The Social Media Bubble Is Going To Burst

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(CC) N1NJ4

One of the common complaints and fears right now in Social Media is that it is essentially a giant bubble.  As with any bubble, if it gets too big or hovers too long, it is bound to burst.  This can be scary for those of us who have deeply embraced this shift, for many who have created businesses centered around it and for plenty of people who are continually writing about it.  What is concerning to some of us in the social sphere is that more and more it feels as if there are two camps.  Those who drink the kool-aid, who own a Daring Fireball t-shirt and believe in the power of a social web beside others who believe this is either all a passing trend or is simply a nonsensical waste of time.

This lack of a middle ground has its pluses and minuses.  On the upside, the devout talk about the subject with such passion and reverence that they often drag new converts into the bubble.  By connecting, sharing, championing and creating a tremendous amount of content, they help to create new advocates.   Continue reading →

Tory Patrick

Do you know what people are saying about you?

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From Blaugh.com

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

How does this relate to public relations? Well, if you aren’t monitoring and measuring the World Wide Web, does that mean people aren’t talking about you?

Nope.

One of the most difficult parts of PR is that you cannot control what others say about you and your clients. If what they are saying is good, well then by all means, let them sing your praises from the rooftops! If what they are saying is bad, what can you do? And how can you do anything if you don’t even know it’s out there?

­­­­But how exactly can you measure something as vast as the Internet? Continue reading →

Jeff Esposito

Would You Pay for Influencers?

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Last week I received an email from the folks at Klout informing me that Fox wanted to send me a watching kit for its new television series Lone Star.  I am sure that some of you reading this got the same email.

I’m not required to do anything for them but they mailed me a promotional package and I can talk about the show if I want to. Disclosure – I love free stuff, seriously. The popcorn tin and tailgate beer mugs were pretty sweet. Now don’t take this post as an endorsement – I watched the show and was not crazy about it.  I am also not a television critic so my level of expertise on the matter is also questionable, which is what makes me wonder why I was selected as an influencer for this campaign. I am simply using this as a question of influence. Disclosure #2, I do not see myself as an expert or authority in anything; I am just a guy who loves his job, but if you want to send me free stuff go ahead.  😉 There I said it. Continue reading →

Christina Khoury

Twitter University Night Classes

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Senior man sitting on a chair and using a laptop Model Release: Yes Property Release: NAEver notice how Twitter chats are a lot like night classes in college?  Night classes happen once a week and often begin with small talk.  We even show up early to catch each other up on the current events since last week.  Twitter chats are very similar.  We tune in once a week and make introductions detailing where we work, and perhaps a random fact just for fun.  For example, “Hey #chat, I’m Stina from NYC and work as a travel publicist.  Oh, and I’ve kissed Ricky Martin!”  Okay sure I may not use that fact (yes, it is true, take a look at my bio) but you get the point.  It’s meant to be fun.  Chats are meant to be informative and laid back.  But what happens when having fun simply becomes noise?

I’ve noticed in a lot of chats the witty banter, especially in the beginning, “Hey John, haven’t seen you in a while.  How ya been? How are the kids? #chat”.

Please explain to me why the chat hashtag is used?  Does this benefit anyone trying to participate in the chat?  I’m all for making small talk Continue reading →

Josh Sternberg

One Year Gone…

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Abstract circular collageIt started, as these things tend do these days, with an innocuous tweet; the tweet in particular was about Twitter lists. After a torrent of @ replies and emails, it was determined I needed to flesh out a post for a newly formed blog focusing on public relations as, it turns outs, there are some things that cannot be described in only 140 characters. And thus, my entry into the world of competitive blogging organized chaos.

That was a year ago. A complete revolution around the sun has come and gone since I first submitted a guest post to PRBC, a post in which I subtly make fun of both the blog and a little less subtly, the narcissistic nature of social media. As regular readers of this space, or even naturalized citizens of the world wide web, you know that not much has changed. Sure, there are more people coming here to read their daily fix of public relations banter, and sure, there are more people using social media, but what’s changed? Continue reading →