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The shift in focus to paid social media content is redefining, yet again, the role of the PR professional—a topic that Kellis will dive into in his opening Wake-Up Call session at PR News' Big 4 Social Media Summit, which will be held in San Francisco on Aug. 10. In a way, paid social is bringing public relations full circle.
"At least at Clorox, earned media now comes from creating social media ads that people will share," says Kellis, who leads the social media function for all of Clorox’s brands, including Hidden Valley, Clorox-branded products and Glad. "In the past, we’ve done PR around advertising in magazines and other media. That’s what we’ve come to with social. We’re doing PR to get earned media impressions from the sharing of social media ads. The earned part is critical, because we’re no longer measuring organic social campaigns—that’s completely out the window."
In few professions has the emergence of social media been such a double-edged sword as public relations. On one hand, the “citizen journalism,” blogging, and content-sharing platforms for all types of media have fundamentally altered the traditional print-based business model of professional and trade publications. Information scarcity has been replace by information overload.
There are fewer professional reporters and editors, and they inundated with more noise: it’s estimated there are now four PR professionals for every full-time journalist in the US.
On the other, given their skills in relationship-building and content development, PR professionals (should at least) have a natural knack for social media success. And recent changes to Google’s search algorithm which place a premium value on earned links—the kind generated by effective PR and social media engagement—have increased the value PR professionals bring to maximizing overall brand visibility....
Feeling like the Grinch stole your social media reach? Most public relations pros, marketers and brands agree that social media has redefined how we reach and grow audiences.
As we transition into 2015, the good old checklists are starting to make their way into newsfeeds, as we begin the journey of reflecting, refreshing, renewing and resolving for a new year… and for many, a new way of thinking.
My last conference of the year was just last week in Vegas at SMX Social. While I presented at two sessions and attended about 10 other sessions, I found there was an overarching set of themes echoing from the experts. The obvious is behind us, it’s the not so obvious that brands large and small need to master in 2015 to make a difference....
Some aspects of public relations will always stay the same: authenticity, credibility, relationship building, fast acting, thought leadership.
But, the ways in which we achieve some of these elements have changed.
From circulation numbers to embedded URLs, event attendance to social presence, and direct mail to text messages, PR is evolving. Here are five outdated practices that have successfully undergone modern makeovers....
What if you brought together one the best-regarded thought leaders in communications and social media with one of the funniest cartoonists?
You'd get a very thoughtful little book with big ideas about people and relationships online and how PR plays a critical role in bringing the two together. And you’d be smiling while you read it and reflect on public relations in the digital age.
Welcome to “What if PR stood for people & relationships? A manifesto for building relationships in the digital era” written by Brian Solis and wonderfully illustrated by Hugh MacLeod. Sponsored by Vocus, the book captures PR’s dilemma today and where it needs to be tomorrow....
Maybe you still need to convince yourself that bloggers are a pretty epic way to promote your brand?Or, what I hear of often, is that marketers need to convince their bosses to board the blogger outreach train.
Regardless of the why, the who is the bloggers and you don’t want your competitor to scoop up yummy blogger mentions before you can get your brand on board. So print out this post and keep it with you because you’ll never know when you’ll have to make the case for blogger outreach....
How clients interact with a brand has changed significantly. Now the customer experience extends far beyond customer service, and so it should....
If you didn’t know better you could be forgiven for thinking that the line was for an über cool nightclub. World class underground House music is pumping from the speakers and there is a doorman looking after the crowd outside. Unlike a nightclub doorman though, he is offering free gelato taste tests to help ease the decision making process once inside.
Even if you can’t make it to Surry Hills or Darlinghurst on a chilli winters night, the customer experience extends across the globe via their popular Facebook page. Messina’s Facebook audience enjoys (amongst other things) a personalized level of social media customer service that makes them feel like they are part of the brand. I guess you get the idea. Messina is nailing their customer experience.Forrester Research’s study ‘The State Of Customer Experience Management‘ suggests that over 90 percent of companies rate customer experience as a top priority moving ahead.
So what separates customer experience from customer service and what can your business do to improve your customer experience?...
For companies that haven't found a humorous voice on social media, the joke's on them. For those that have, here's how they leverage laughs....
Done well, tweeting can even land you a dream job. Here at Fast Company, our executive editor Noah Robischon even has a framed edict on his office wall: “Stop tweeting boring shit.” But stifling yawn-worthy tweets is one thing, composing a one-line comedic gem for the masses is quite another.
We’ve come to expect it from stand-up comedians such as Megan Amram, the spambot @horse_ebooks that posts bits of context-free hilarity randomly pulled from online texts, and formerly unknown Justin Halpern, who rose to fame tweeting the caustic observations of his father from @shitmydadsays. But brands bringing the funny on Twitter? Not so much.
To wit: @ChipotleTweets took to fake hacking its feed to produce a stream of nonsense notes meant to evoke a chaotic mirth similar to that of @horse_ebooks. Though the tactic earned the burrito chain several thousand new followers, Chipotle quickly resumed its regular (not particularly humorous) promotional voice....
In the old days, children carried canteens with water to quench their thirst. Today kids sip from BPA-free plastic bottles filled with electrolytes and vitamin water for “hydration.” New term, same concept...
...“People also discovered with search engines and social networks that they can ask each other. They trust each other more than they trust vendors. People shifted their attention away from radio, TV, and magazines and the authorities (journalists, editors, etc.) They now prefer the anarchy of home-made video on Youtube and the anything-goes situation at blogs, Facebook FB +1.4% and Twitter. This conjunction of forces — digitization, social, search engines — never existed before.”
Eric Schwartzman, CEO of social media training provider Comply Socially, says content marketing changes the fundamental nature of public relations. “Conventional PR is an interruption tactic,” Schwartzman says. ”PR people are experts at breaking and making news. Content marketers, on the other hand, fulfill existing demand for information by staking out specific keyword queries, and creating content that’s most likely to get found when people search those terms. If you compare the skills it takes to write and pitch a press release versus a search engine optimized product demo, they’re completely different skill sets. Just because you can write up and present impartial information to journalists to try and get them to write a story, doesn’t mean you have the ability to actually write the story yourself...
Many of today’s burgeoning brands are successful on the Web in part because of their ability to produce stellar content, content that emanates from the passion they have for producing quality products and the desire to please their fans and consumers by exceeding expectations.
As people immerse themselves in valuable content on the Web via social media, as well as reputable sites like BuzzFeed, Huffington Post and Gizmodo, brands and marketers are finding ways to bridge the gap between journalism and advertising by becoming publishers.Brand journalists combine brand storytelling with traditional forms of journalism, helping brands connect with their audience in a more personal, transparent way....
The current state of media and marketing is constantly changing. And a forward-thinking approach is necessary. Here are 5 tips to stay ahead: 1. Create More Opportunity You have the ability to make useful things faster and better than any corporation. Relying on publicity to get attention is like bungee jumping off a bridge. The adrenaline is groovy, and Cloud 9 is fun. But…then what? Publicity can bring opportunity. But it shouldn’t be your only path. Why? Fame is fleeting. You want to bubble up from the bottom, not float down from the top....
While many people are critiquing the $1.6 million commercials that ran during the Oscars last night, we thought it'd be fun to take a look at something a bit less expensive and a bit more inventive -- the real-time newsjacking that occurred last night during the broadcast over one of our favorite social networks, Twitter. Newsjacking refers to the practice of capitalizing on the popularity of a news story to amplify your sales and marketing success. The term was popularized in David Meerman Scott's book Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage. No less than ten brands went into high gear developing tweets that riffed on the Oscar broadcast as it happened. Much of this newsjacking was captured by the hashtag #oscarsRTM created by Edelman's David Armano. Follow along as we take a look at how some brands approached newsjacking...
One of the most common questions asked of us in the PR and earned media world is, “I need a quick hit. Can you get me a quick hit?”, implying that a company needs very fast, very short term audience generation. Unless you’ve got something absolutely groundbreaking, mind-blowingly awesome, the chances are that no agency, even us, will get you what you want – the world beating a path to your door instantly at relatively low cost due to favorable media coverage. Why? The quick hit is largely a myth.... When was the last time you found a situation in which you trusted someone instantly that turned out to be legitimate? Chances are it was long ago, and highly unusual. Trust takes time; the idea of creating mass amounts of trust instantly is simply a fanciful fiction....
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So, how is it possible that so many businesses (especially small or online-based businesses) are failing to utilize social media for PR? After all, it can only be vastly improved by the use of direct engagement with both customers and the press -- and social media is perfect for both.
Here are a few tips to get you started.
In other words: change becomes more manageable when you understand what's going on, how long it will last and whether you are on course to conquer it change becomes more manageable when you understand what's going on, how long it will last and whether you are on course to conquer it. Within companies, "change management" is generally a focused effort; but within industries, there is less support and less understanding of these changes without centralized leadership to navigate.
As an industry undergoing massive changes — with journalists fleeing to brands and budgets shifting to data-driven metrics — PR stands at a fork in the road, which requires both a new way of thinking and new, diverse skill sets.
No, we're not talking about Apple or Amazon or Big Data or the Marketing Cloud or Programmatic Buying.
Chevy’s Rikk Wilde “looked down at his notes often, spoke haltingly and explained to the pitcher that he'd like the Colorado” —Marketing Daily’s Karl Greenberg has the skinny today on its new “inner truck guy” conventional campaign — “because it has ‘class-winning and leading, you know, technology and stuff,’” James R. Healey reports in USA Today.
“The nervous Wilde was assured this morning he still has a job,” Greg Gardner and Alisa Priddle reported in the Detroit Free Press last evening. “And in fact he appears to have garnered millions in free publicity for the Chevrolet brand, which has received at least $2.4 million in media exposure from the unconventional presentation, according to Front Row Analytics. Bloomberg reports that is six times more than the $392,000 it would have brought in with a more polished performance.
”It did not take long for #technologyandstuff to pop up on Twitter with GM president North America Mark Reuss (@GMdudeinNA posting, “It's what I've been saying for years.....#technologyandstuff,” Gardner and Priddle report....
Some things in the world of public relations will always stay the same: Be authentic. Strive for credibility. Build relationships. Create storylines. Act fast. Achieve thought leadership.
But, the ways in which we achieve some of these still-critical elements have changed greatly over the years.
From circulation numbers to embedded URLs, from event attendance to social presence, and from direct mail to SMS, the PR world is evolving. Here are five outdated practices that have undergone a modern makeover with successful results:
A new study from the University of Houston does sort of throw a wrench into that line of thinking, though: it found that readers are more likely to remember things like, say, your client’s name and the products they sell when this information appears in print.
Here’s the key finding: after reading for 20 minutes and being asked to recall as many articles as possible: - Print-only readers recalled 4.24 stories on average
- Online readers recalled an average of 3.35 stories
Interestingly, the gap grew even wider when it concerned the topics discussed in those stories and the main points made. Vox turned it all into a graph if you want to check out a visual representation....
For the first time ever, our clients have the ability to generate content in multiple forms--they are content publishers.Historically, the PR industry has revolved around media relations. Over the years, many firms have talked a big game about providing other services, but almost all buttered their bread by generating a mound of media clips for their clients.
Are media relations still important? Absolutely. Do we still provide media relations services at Peppercomm for most of our clients? You bet.
But, unlike the past, it’s not the focal point; instead, it’s one of many channels that we use to reach and engage with our client’s most important audiences. For the first time ever, our clients have the ability to generate content in multiple forms and distribute via a number of channels, and audience members might even feel compelled to circulate themselves. It’s no longer enough for a consumer products manufacturer to run 30-second TV spots touting their products. Now, they need to understand consumers’ lifestyles and engage in a meaningful, fully transparent way that brings real value to their lives.
This is why agencies like Peppercomm are starting to look more like publishers and less like traditional public relations firms. Companies need content that engages audiences and builds their brand’s value among stakeholders. And, if they know the best channels – digital and otherwise – in which to reach their audiences, they need agency partners that can develop content in multiple forms and distribute it effectively....
Companies rely on PR firms for a variety of services and consulting ranging from strategy and message development to media relations and social media outreach to monitoring and reporting. Product launches, press conferences, event management and promotion, reputation and crisis management, media training, investor relations and of course content creation are all services provided by different PR agencies.
Press releases are most often at the top of the list of public relations content along with reports, white papers, newsletters, case studies, corporate website pages, newsrooms, blog posts, short form social media content and media from images to audio to video. To suggest that overly optimized press releases and other content will bring down the PR industry is simply a sensational headline.
It’s true, there are a lot of changes happening in the PR world right now and one area in particular that’s worth exploring risks and rewards involves the shift to native ads or as Google calls it, “commerce journalism”. I talked with Cara Posey about this recently and will likely post more about it here. But back to this business of optimized press releases killing PR agencies. Really?...
...World Pulse's recent Girls Transform the World campaign invited girls and women to identify, share and reflect on barriers to girls' education and to propose solutions. World Pulse received hundreds of responses from some 60 countries, including from repressive societies where girls’ stories often go untold.
The community shared stories about the effects of education policies, child marriage and pregnancy, security and school facilities. In addition to creating an active discussion inside the community, World Pulse aggregated and organized 350 stories and gave them to delegates of the G(irls)20 Summit, who then delivered the communiqué to the G20 summit.IJNet recently spoke with World Pulse Digital Action Campaign Manager Leana Mayzlina and Content Coordinator Kim Crane, and came away with these tips for engaging a community...
With the recent emphasis on measurement and content marketing, traditional media relations is getting a bum rap. But it is measurable, and we have proof....Today I am here to argue the case for media relations.Amid the ever-present search for better measurement tools, and recent emphasis on the importance of content marketing in PR, I feel this old friend has started to get a bum rap.While it’s true traditional media can be an excellent tool for increasing awareness, my stance is it can also be a valuable, measurable way to increase leads and sales....
...The post defines it as the belief that “word-of-mouth and trust for brands is most important.” I would add that for many of us who work in PR, the essence of PR thinking is about generating and using influence. It’s explicit or implied third-party endorsement, – what most of us learned during our first week on the job. But beyond the survey, there are many, even more compelling reasons why “PR thinking” will continue to dominate marketing communications. One is Google, which rewards content and social sharing and metrics like follows, comments, and views over black-hat SEO tricks. Another is the obvious struggle of the traditional ad industry to redefine itself and to move towards word-of-mouth marketing and even brand journalism. But here’s my list of the key ingredients....
...the shrinking newsroom doesn’t mean doom for the PR profession. According to Pew, there are many other new players producing content that “could advance citizens’ knowledge about public issues”—such as Kaiser Health News, Insidescience and the Food and Environment Reporting Network. And whatever sector you’re targeting (for-profit or nonprofit), there is a trove of Web sites that can serve as a conduit to your audiences and constituents. Social media is also filling the void. In an admixture of the old and the new, using social channels to spread the word plays into how people have gravitated toward news and information since we crawled out of the ocean: learning from our friends and family. Social networking, the report added, is now a part of this process: 15% of U.S. adults get most of their news from friends and family this way, and the vast majority of them (77%) follow links to full news stories....
After doing this awhile, you get to see the signs of the self-promoter and the quick name-for-themselves artists. You also – with more rarity – get to meet the real deal. So, I was very pleased when he agreed to sit down and chat on topics ranging from the new directions for marketing, listening and relationships, and why “lurking” in social is a good thing....
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Earned media impacts PR's role once again.