Tag Archives: marketing

Sharisax Is Out There

Handbook to guide your success in social media and more effective Public Relations efforts

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Cabo Arch

As both a PR teacher and professional journalist for many years,

I was blown away when I found the perfect new text:

Making News in the Digital Era

by David E. Henderson

If elections were held today for Social Media Expert, David gets my vote. His 2009  narrative/guidebook is perfect for helping learners on all levels understand — and properly apply — Best Communication Practices in this whole new social media world of ours.

Technology is changing our lifestyles on a daily basis . . .

so many would agree that claiming “Expert” status has to be “qualified,” i.e., conditional based on the newest data.

But let’s consider “qualified” in its other sense as well.

If anyone has built the chops to thoroughly discuss the news business, journalism, public relations, and social media marketing, then David Henderson qualifies:

  • Emmy Award–winning CBS News correspondent and public relations executive for dozens of years, David has been online with his blog www.DavidHenderson.com since 2003.

Some of David’s best advice:

  1. Let go of Old Ways and embrace Change.
  2. Present ideas for developing a company’s reputation with communication approaches that underscore transparency, openness, and credibility.
  3. Messages need to focus on audience benefits, not talking about the greatness of an organization.
  4. Avoid jargon and “gobbledygook” and use clear, direct, easy-to-understand language.
  5. Key communication practices: Listening, engaging, story-telling, and always speaking the truth.
  6. Today’s executives must be involved in online strategies that require inspiration, passion, purpose, and focus.
  7. Forego Mission Statements and carefully create a concise and appropriate Positioning Statement.

“Strategic communications in today’s fiercely competitive world mandates clever positioning, understanding audience needs and knowing how to craft timely and meaningful messages that excite people and create results” [p. 23]

My opinion: This is a book that ought to be used both in university public relations/communications courses as well as in the offices of every public relations organization and department.

Further posts from David E. Henderson’s book will feature tips, best practices, and insights on the following topics:

A)     Media relations

B)      CEO blogging

C)      Online newsrooms and other PR 2.0 strategies

Thanks, David, we need this handbook. Lots of PR and business execs don’t know where to start, and your book will surely help them.

Related stories:

David Henderson’s post on what he learned writing the book

My next post on Media Relations

Squidoo lens Discussing Social Media books

Social Media Biz review

Sharisax Is Out There

Community Managers: Your organization’s guide along Social Media Revolutionary Road

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Center of Community, center of influencers
Center of Community, center of influencers

Hiring or Applying?

You’ll do well to check out chapter 15 in the social media/PR 2.0 book I’ve been reviewing  — Putting the PUBLIC Back in Public Relations by Brian Solis and Dierdre Breakenridge.

Who OWNS the responsibility of managing social media conversations for an organization?

Brian and Dierdre conclude that “every facet of a business is responsible for its channel of social monitoring and interaction,” and strategies and tactics for each department can best be directed by a community manager — or one of several other titles:

  • Community Advocate
  • Brand Ambassador
  • Social Media Specialist
  • Social Media Evangelist
  • VP of Social Media
  • Chief Social Officer
  • Community Relations Manager
  • Community Builder

The socialization of the corporate marketing infrastructure isn’t a matter of IF it should happen, but instead WHEN it will happen.

Marketers in every industry are agreeing with a core social media concept that People Do Business with People, not Entities: “Brands don’t engage with people — people engage with people.”

The dynamic of listening to and engaging in everyday dialogue is often referred to as the conversation.

The conversation is between the the organization representatives and the new influencers which comprise customers, peers, employees, partners, enthusiasts, bloggers, reporters, and analysts.

What is it that you learn by listening?

Whether the online conversations are positive, neutral, or negative, the insight garnered from listening and observing will reveal opportunities not just for engagement, but also for gathering real-world intelligence

— the type of information that is “ear to the street” and that you can feed back into your organization to improve the existing service, product, and management infrastructure.

The authors included a discussion of the Four Tenets of the Community Manager by Forrester social computing analyst Jeremiah Owyang:

  1. Community Advocate: represents the organization.
  2. Brand Evangelist: promotes events and products.
  3. Savvy Communication Skills: shapes editorial and mediates disputes
  4. Gathers Community Input: gathers and shares comments from marketplace conversation

Here’s a definition of the role of the community manager by a community manager — Connie Bensen:

A community manager is the voice of the company externally and the voice of the customers internally. The value lies in the community manager serving as a hub and having the ability to personally connect with the customers and providing feedback to many departments internally.

Community Managers: Please feel free to add your experiences and tips for organizations looking for individuals to fill this role AND for communications specialists seeking these positions.

Sharisax Is Out There

SFSU Alum John Gumas came back to school and changed our course of study . . . and our lives

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Have a vision and commit to it, says John Gumas

When I invited John Gumas to participate on a panel for my advertising students at San Francisco State back in February, I had no idea that his views and insights were going to change the direction of my life.

That panel discussion and the meeting I had with John and the other panel members opened my eyes to the huge changes in the world of advertising and marketing.

I put aside my textbook and relied on marketing professionals like John, as well as Internet Ebooks, blog posts, webinars, podcasts, and news stories to help me blaze a trail down the Social Media Revolutionary Road.

SFSU Grad JOHN GUMAS Heads Strategic Marketing Firm GEARED to the Future

Right after graduation in 1984 with his College of Business degree in advertising and marketing, John Gumas opened his advertising agency to serve the needs of Challenger Brands — companies that were being out-spent by larger, more established competitors.

“It was clear to me that Challenger Brand companies needed to be marketed differently. How could these organizations compete?”

“They couldn’t out-spend or out-research the Goliaths. We’ve built our business helping these companies grow profits by distinguishing them in ways that set them apart from their competitors.”

“It was all about helping them play to their strong points, especially those that resonated with their target customers.”

Today, Gumas Advertising is an award-winning strategic marketing, advertising and interactive marketing agency with a host of regional, national, and international clients.

“Cultural Relevance”:

Companies must understand the new world of marketing

John acknowledges that things are changing faster than ever before, but not the basic strategy:

“Marketing is all about anticipating change so your programs are ahead of that change. When brands and companies don’t realize that their offering, messaging, or marketing strategies no longer match the needs of the marketplace, they fall behind the pack.”

“It is all about understanding when you have to do things differently.”

Integrated & Targeted Marketing is the future for advertisers

  • You have to provide relevant content, and your message is key.
  • The vehicles to deliver that content are changing all the time.
  • People want to be courted.
  • They want to make decisions on their own.
  • Consumers still want to be sold to, but in a different way.
  • Marketers need to think more deeply to reach their target consumers.
  • You can’t be everything to everyone: You must STAND OUT.
  • You figure out what is working, and what isn’t. Drop the Bad and do more of the Good.

John’s first lesson was his Best Lesson

John loved what he was doing when he first began, and he continues to love it to this day:

“Figure out early on that if you are passionate about what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

John’s advice to students:

1) Know who you are and what you want to do.

2) Don’t get a job for the wrong reasons, like money or prestige. Do a job because you are passionate about it.

3) Find an internship to test the waters. It’s the greatest experience you can have.

His advice to clients:

1) Have a vision.

2) Make a commitment.

3) Commit to make it happen.

NEXT POST: My report on the Great Panel Discussion DOES PR SUCK? with Guy Kowasaki, Louis Gray, Loic Le Meur, Renee Blodgett, and Steve Patrizi

Facebook, Guest Post

Viral Video — Advertising left Madison Avenue for Your Avenue

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Spiraling Beyond Control
Spiraling Beyond Control

Who knew that back in Feb 2005 three former Pay Pal employees would introduce a video-sharing website that would be gobbled up by Google a year-and-a-half later and now seems very likely to herald a powerful new way for people to sell products and services?

What’s viral and how do you do it?

My Public Relations students studied many of the top Social Media platforms this summer and one group focused on “Maximizing the Power of YouTube.” This week’s blog will feature three of their reports.

The Viral Virus

Guest Post by Ashley Hall

A few years ago, the term “viral video” wasn’t in the vocabulary of the average person. In fact, the word viral was always considered a bad thing, insinuating an uncontrollable replication and spread. Currently, that is exactly what has happened as ordinary people’s videos have gone viral, spreading to our email inboxes, being posted on our Facebook feeds, and showing up continually as tweets and retweets to our Twitter accounts.

On July 19, a video of a fun-loving wedding party featured the bridesmaids and groomsmen dancing down the aisle to the Chris Brown song “Forever.” Within one week, the JK Wedding Entrance Dance had accumulated more than a million views and was picked up by both local and national TV shows including “The Today Show.”

Amateur production reveals real life

Shot by amateurs, the video lacked professional sound quality and a high resolution image, but it has now received more than 19 million views, 80,000 comments, and a five-star rating.

How is it that an amateur video that wasn’t intended to be broadcast very far from friends and family has now been seen around the world?

Answer: Because it fits the criteria of a successful viral video perfectly: it wasn’t meant to go viral.

The Wedding Entrance Dance is funny and engaging, but most of all, it is real. These people could have been our college roommates or people in surrounding cubicles.

An interesting side effect of this viral sensation is the impact it has had on Chris Brown, the artist of the song used in the video. Chris Brown has had some very public problems with the law. In February, he was arrested for domestic violence against his girlfriend, singer Rihanna. On July 20, a day after the JK Wedding Entrance Video was posted, Chris issued an apology video on YouTube, which to date has gotten just under three million views. There are so many parody videos of his apology that it actually takes a bit of digging to find the original.

Public has forgotten they disliked Chris Brown

After unsuccessfully trying to repair the damage done to his reputation, Chris’ record label Sony decided to embrace the use of the song in this video. That was the best decision they could have made because just three weeks after the video’s appearance, the public has forgotten they hated Chris Brown.

A year since its release, “Forever” is now back on the iTunes and Amazon Top Ten singles chart and the pop-up ad to buy the song averages twice as many sales as other click-to-buy items.

Good news doesn’t stop there

The Wedding Dance video has increased profits to Google, but also to a new fund set up to dontate money for victims of domestic violence. You simply can’t put a price on this kind of publicity: Without spending any money, Chris has gotten back on the charts with a year old song. When people hear “Chris Brown,” chances are they think about the dancing wedding party, not the images of him pleading guilty to domestic violence in court.

In this case, the viral video was pure luck for Sony and Chris Brown. However, a few companies have successfully released publicity videos that went viral. Blender company Blendtec has released a series of videos showcasing their blenders blending their blenders blending things like glowsticks, and iPhone and Bic lighters.

British mattress company, Bensons for Beds, recently released a video of their attempt to bread the world record number of people playing Mattress Dominoes, which is quickly catching on.

Though Blendtec and Bensons for Beds have successfully created viral videos, the key for success is really luck and timing. You can never predict what will catch on; you just have to be prepared for it when it does.

Have you caught the viral video virus?

Check out these classics: sneezing panda, chocolate rain, laughing baby, and Numa Numa.

So keep uploading your videos onto YouTube. Maybe you will become the next viral sensation.

Next guest post from Synang Chhan: “Helpful Tips for Going Viral on YouTube”

Facebook

Is Facebook better for your business than your social life?

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So, once again, is Facebook a waste of time?

Not many of us live this way -- anymore
Not many of us live this way -- anymore

Last post we tried to address the responses of naysayers — the “non early adopters,” the social media non-initiates.

Common challenges in any evolutionary cycle.
But the fact remains that life does change, and so do we.

And nowhere are these changes more dramatic than with engaged students in our colleges and universities. I’m seeing this “Ah-Ha Awareness” particularly strong among scores of individuals in my Public Relations and Advertising classes at San Francisco State University where many are hearing of this revolution in marketing for the very first time.

After 10+ weeks immersed in All Things Social Media, I asked the students to comment on this experience. Here following are the thoughts of Yoshiko Hill who is currently on a team studying the future of radio advertising:

I had no idea that social media was impacting the advertising, and entire marketing, world in such a significant way. I now realize that social media is being fully utilized by companies as a more cost-effective, targeted method of reaching customers.

Social media creates a dialogue with customers that most traditional media lack. It is especially attractive as an alternative to costly traditional advertisements — especially given the current state of our economy.

Social media is no longer your sibling’s hobby. It is a rapidly evolving revolutionary tool, and if more businesses do not begin to embrace it, they will soon be left behind. — Yoshiko Hill 5-5-09

Hey Businesspeople — small and large:

  • Are you listening?
  • Listening to the marketplace in general?
  • Listening to your customers in particular?

If you aren’t, as Yoshiko warns above, you will be left behind.

Next post: Poetic look at Changing World