20November2011
November 20, 2011 : Posted by admin in Marketing; Public Relations.
At my seminars and workshops, many business owners ask me why they should be using Twitter, have a Facebook page, or connect with people by LinkedIn. In short, the answer is: to be found on the Internet. There’s so much more to why and how a business or organization can benefit from having a presence (including managing one’s reputation, putting a face or personality on a company, attracting prospects, informing customers…..the list goes on), however at its most basic level, participating in social media sites can greatly increase your ranking on search engines. Case in point: have you Googled yourself or your company name lately? In many cases, your social media profile will be among the top 3 search results. Think about how many people use Google to find products, services and people – perhaps at a local or statewide level. For example, “financial planners in Providence” or “Rhode Island restaurants.” Google is a worldwide site that helps to connect people at a very local level. Let’s not fail to mention the 200+ million conversations happening daily on social media sites. Once you master the basics of the social media platform of choice for your business – be it Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn which seem to be the most popular – you can begin to harness the ability to establish yourself as an expert, position your company in the marketplace, differentiate your business, engage prospects, customers and influencers, monitor trends and conversations related to your business category, and see what the competition is up to! Best of all, you don’t have to pay to use social media (unless you want to) and millions of people are logged in daily. What business can’t afford NOT to be using this tool of marketing?
23August2011
August 23, 2011 : Posted by admin in Marketing; Public Relations.
Public relations involves two-way communication. There must be a “sender” of a message and a “receiver” of a message in order for communication to take place – but then you must factor in “understanding” of the message received. Just think about all of the times you were half-listening to a news announcer speak and never really paying attention to what they were saying! Or think about being in a foreign country and hearing someone talk in another language you cannot understand. No communication is taking place – but a lot of talking is going on!
In the news media world, we have been reliant on the written word as well as the spoken word. With the advent of computer technology, the way we consume news has completely changed. Newspapers are not the main communications vehicle any longer now that the Internet and improvements in broadband/fiber optics have allowed for greater bandwidth access for consumers.
It’s no longer all about reading to obtain news and information, either. In February 2011, there were 139.2 million unique online video viewers in the U.S. who spent an average of nearly 4 and a half hours watching video on computers at work and at home. Not surprisingly, YouTube was the leading online brand for video.*
Why is video so hot right now? Why don’t people want to read their news and information? Why hasn’t radio trumped video as a news medium of choice?
Personally, I believe with all the technology out there, we’re missing the ‘personal’ connection with humans — and video is filling that void. Nothing is more personal and more human as video. As the saying goes, “seeing is believing.”
Video has become an integral part of the Internet experience for users. Gone are the days when even the shortest clip would take forever to load; streaming video can now be accessed and watched almost instantaneously. According to Don Reisinger at The Digital Network, 83.5 % of U.S. Internet users – over 171 million people – watched video in January 2011 alone.* Think about the financial and marketing implications of these numbers for online advertisers who embed their ads into videos (although some people see such ads as an annoyance)!
People who post videos on a YouTube channel actually have a name. They are called “vloggers” instead of “bloggers” – and they use video as their communications medium instead of the written word. Radio and TV stations are using vlogging to interact with their listeners and viewers.
So why has online video become so popular with Internet users? A picture may speak a thousand words, but a video is worth at least a thousand pictures. Video is uniquely placed to give the most accurate reflection of events. Sights, sounds and action can all be shared in an easily accessible fashion. With smartphones and mobile devices so now ubiquitous, video can be used to document users’ lives, from everyday experiences to once in a lifetime events. The natural next step is to upload these videos online and share them with friends, family, and the world.**
Another reason video is so hot right now is because it’s so quick, easy and convenient. People are already sitting at their computers or using their smartphones and iPads. The ability to catch up with TV episodes at one’s leisure or interact socially using the Internet or social media to post about or read during a TV show or afterwards is also part of the experience and the allure. ***
You can step up digital communications for your business using a YouTube page to “mirror” the branded look of your website homepages or other online communications channels. This consistency can make it easier for visitors to get more information online from you. A good example of this is the Mayo Clinic’s YouTube page which hosts more than 1,200 videos and gets nearly 4 million video views. Visitors can click through to learn more about medical services, connect with other social channels and even schedule appointments.
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Sources:
*The PR Pro’s Guide to YouTube
http://mashable.com/author/jamie-carracher/
** http://blog.musikpitch.com/March 9, 2011
***http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008361 April 27, 2011
5May2011
May 5, 2011 : Posted by admin in Marketing; Public Relations.
From remarks at the SB240 Conference:
Smart phone “apps” (applications), other phone gadgetry (texting, taking photos or videos, email, Web surfing, etc.) and tablets such as iPad or the new PlayBook have really come into their own particularly in the past six months since our last SB240 Conference. Early adopters of this technology have long enjoyed leading the user pack. Today, so many people are using apps and smart phones and iPads that, in the modern PR and marketing world, you can’t ignore the power of this technology. The more you can create ways for customers to interact with your product or service using these tools, the better your chance of developing a loyal customer base who will then share your product or service with their friends.
Never before has interactivity played such an important role in connecting with customers, prospects — and even the media. I see this interactivity as a growing trend that will not fade away like a fad. In studying and observing human behavior from a marketing and PR perspective, it’s my professional opinion that it’s become a badge of honor when someone has accomplished or discovered something they can do with their smart phone or tablet – and they are very eager to share it. Perhaps you have experienced a colleague, friend or family member showing you their favorite phone sports or dieting app or proudly announcing what level they have reached playing “Angry Birds.” I recall meeting with a new business prospect – a serious corporate CEO – who proudly showed me his new iPad app which was a cartoon cat that could ‘see’ me via built-in camera and mimic my every sound and move! This had nothing to do with business, yet is an example of how sharing technology brings people together.
Smart technology has become an extension of our brain, mouth, arms and hands – it’s something we simply cannot be without. If you see a human’s hands in a meeting, a smart phone cannot be far away. You’ll see people texting and checking their emails (look around the room – I’ll bet 90% of the attendees are doing it right now!). Or, their Blackberry or iPad is strategically placed next to the agenda on the table top so they can check the time or to instantly see if they received a new text or email. This obsession with technology is not just for the younger generation – I’ve witnessed people in their 70s texting as equally fervently as people in their 20s.
It’s the combination of enjoyment of the interactive nature of the technology, combined with an affinity for bragging about and sharing the totally cool things one can do with smart phones, that has such an impact on a brand from a marketing and PR perspective. People want and expect easy-to-use ways to interact with your product, service, brand and company.
Here’s a few examples of how interactivity and connectivity via technology has dramatically changed the way we think and act and behave:
No longer picking a meeting place and time – Those days are over. Today, people expect to connect via phone. I walked into my nephew’s graduation at the Convention Center last weekend and received a text to be informed where our family was saving a seat for me.
No longer planning out a trip using a hard copy printed map – My husband used his phone as a GPS to drive to South Carolina until it was time to navigate around the tornadoes and the cell phone service was spotty.
No longer reading hard copy books on a plane or using laptops/DVD players – It’s all done via iPads and Tablets and Blackberrys and Droids.
No longer just riding down the highway – Now we’re taking pix of QR Codes (“QR” stands for “Quick Response” – it’s essentially a two-dimensional barcode) off of billboards using our smart phones to link directly to websites, webpages and video to learn more about a product or service. QR Codes are also being printed on T-shirts and not solely on print ads, collateral materials and products.
No longer are we just dining at a restaurant, we’re using Groupon to take advantage of the best deal, then checking in with FourSquare to tell the world where we are at the moment, then uploading a review onto OpenTable in real time.
No longer is it a mystery to connect electronically with news media staffers such as reporters, bloggers and TV anchors – their email addresses are prominently displayed at the beginning or end of the printed story, or right up on the TV screen. Just check PBN, the Providence Journal or ABC-6 for local examples of this. The media is welcoming e-communication from their audiences. This is a dramatic shift from the days long ago of PR persons such as myself having sole access to news contacts, although many journalists still remain ‘hidden’ to the general public.
Why is this relevant to small business owners? Find and use “gadget-like” technological ways NOW to develop interactivity with your customers, prospects and key audiences. Don’t be left behind the technological curve. Let your product/service be shared so your ‘publics’ can do your marketing and PR for you.
