12.02.2012 by smatejko

Pinterest: The Newest Social Media Platform

Does anyone need more convincing that social media is necessary for any brand or company? The newest social media platform will convince you differently if you’re still on the fence. This online pin-board has generated more users in its infancy than Facebook did. Users are now reaching over 4 million.

You might be asking yourself, what is Pinterest?

It’s a new social network site where you can upload pictures of things you like to share with your followers. You can see what your followers are posting and “re-pin” the images onto your page. In short, it’s a collage of your interests. You can make different groups or categories. People even use Pinterest to plan their weddings!

Traffic increased overprescribing than 400% between September and December. Brands like Nordstrom and HGTV have more than 6,000 followers on their pinboards. It is also the fifth largest social network site to drive referral traffic.

There are endless possibilities for brands using Pinterest. For instance, you can promote a lifestyle for your brand. Give your company some personality and share it with the world. Illustrate your company’s culture with pictures that represent what you stand for. Employees can post pictures of their favorite hobbies, a beautiful vacation spot, a modern home design. The possibilities are endless! By doing this, you can connect with your consumers. They get to know you and feel the water, before stepping in. Consumers will be more likely to trust you and remember you if they follow your pin-board.

Because there is such a huge audience to reach on Pinterest, you could use it as a platform for a new product launch or company news. It’s the newest place to generate word of mouth for your product or service. You can reach thousands just by posting one picture.

Use it to get to know your consumers. You can treat it like a focus group, to get to know their interests and to create a niche market for your PR campaign. You could also host contests. It will actively engage your consumers as well as spread the word about your company.

Feel free to post information about your company through videos or links. You should also engage your employees and motivate them so they share your company’s culture to their followers.

With more than 11 million visits to the site in December alone, imagine what just a percentage of that could do for your company. But what is the best thing about this newest medium? It’s fun! You’ll find yourself lost in pictures.

 

29.01.2012 by smatejko

Social Media Sins

    Social media is becoming a necessary component of any public relations campaign. Public relations departments need to be prepared and know how to effectively use this networking tool to engage their audiences and not turn them away.     There are a number of social media “sins” that any brand should avoid. These mistakes can be deadly for your brand image regardless of which medium you use.

  1. Avoid constant specials. The more specials you run, the less appealing your brand becomes to a consumer. Think of what would happen if a prestigious brand like Cartier decided to run specials through social media. Their high quality brand would be diluted because the product would no longer be as desirable.
  2. Don’t wait for people to come to you. Engage them in conversation and look for your target audience. If you simply set up your social network and wait for an audience to appear, your brand will fail in gaining awareness.
  3. Don’t run contests and games all the time. This can also dilute your brand, because these types of posts will lose their appeal if overdone.
  4. Allow your site to have negative feedback. Think of our past blog post with the example of Papa John’s and their crisis management via social media. Because they have accepted their mistake and made it known to their network, they received positive recognition for their apology and the way they handled the issue.
  5. Keep things short and interesting. Don’t post a press release through your social media site. If you want to share a story or video clip simply leave a link. Remember, you need to catch consumers in the first few words.
  6. Respond as soon as possible. If you wait a day or more to respond to your consumer it will perceived negatively. The point of social media is to engage in conversation. Make it fluid and timely.
  7. Don’t stop networking once you reach your goal. Social media is a growing part of the public relations world. Therefore, you have to grow along with it. Remember a consumer can always “unlike” or “unfollow” if they are not satisfied.
  8. “Likes” are not the epitome of success. A brand is better off talking WITH a small segment of consumers, rather than talking AT at a large group of consumers. Although numbers may be important, the interaction is what makes people interested in what you’re selling.
  9. Start your social presence NOW! Waiting will only hurt your brand. Social media is here to stay and is not just a “fad.” Grow with your audience before another brand gains their appreciation.
  10. Have a plan. Jumping into social media and posting random “stuff” to fill your page will not generate an audience. Make your posts relevant and targeted to your specific market segment.

    Don’t believe that social media is something you need? This video will convince you otherwise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs&feature=related

 

Sources: http://mashable.com/2012/01/26/common-social-media-mistakes-by-brands/ http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2140729/biggest-mistakes-businesses-social-media-marketing-avoid

22.01.2012 by smatejko

Crisis Management via. Social Media

       Social networking has taken the PR world by storm. But how do you use social networking as a response to a crisis? Take for example the recent crisis tackled by Papa Johns. One customer in NEW YORK ordered a pizza from the Papa Johns restaurant. When she received her receipt, the name written on it was “lady chinky eyes.” This racial slur soon made it onto the Web when Twitter  user, Minhee Cho, posted this image to her follower base (which reached over 1,900 of her followers).

          The tweet went viral. This incident even made news on CNN.  What do you do when it comes to crisis management in a situation like this?

  • DO be prepared. You should have strategies for messages that are planned and unplanned.
  • DO communicate with your audience. Social media was created as a communication tool, so communicate.
  • DO turn negative comments into positive ones.
  • DO be honest. This is your greatest aid to recovery.
  • DON’T forget about social media. It’s here to stay and ignoring it will turn off your audience.
  • DON’T talk “at” your audience. Make sure you listen and respond instead of issuing indirect messages.
  • DON’T post something without your employees knowing. There will be an even bigger crisis if your employees don’t know what is going on.
  • DON’T post from the wrong account. This is common sense, but a simple mistake like this can be costly and embarrassing.

What did Papa Johns do? They tweeted back their followers the news of the employee’s termination and a formal apology was sent to Minhee Cho. They did not stop there. Papa Johns also issued an apology through their Facebook. The response to this crisis management initiative was huge. Their apology post currently has 1,071 likes, 992 comments, and 63 shares, as of Jan. 20.

Will you be ready to manage a crisis through social media if this happens to your business? Prepare now, and apologize later.

Sources:  http://www.huliq.com/3257/lady-chinky-eyes-receipt-earns-papa-johns-employee-firing-company-black-eye
http://www.prnewsonline.com/free/The-Dos-and-Donts-of-Using-Social-Media-in-Crisis-Communications_15890.html

29.08.2011 by nhi

What does social media tell us about our lives?

The increase in use of social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace has prompted a lot of questions about people and their relationships. Are these sites isolating people and making them less social? Are there benefits to being connected with people through a computer?

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducted a survey to explore people’s overall social networks and how the use of these technologies is related to their social behaviors.

Here are their findings:

The number of those using social networking sites has nearly doubled since 2008 and the population of SNS users has gotten older.

Well, this makes sense. My parents have recently signed up for Facebook after hearing about its social benefits, and I’m sure my nana is next on the list. Facebook is quickly shifting into a way for adults to find each other and keep in touch. They can share photos with family members, connect to businesses and keep an eye on their children and/or grandchildren.

Facebook users have more close relationships and get more social support than other people.

A user that goes on Facebook several times a day usually scored higher in total support, emotional support and companionship. Perhaps Facebook users find it easier to reach out to their friends? Or maybe personal status updates make it easier for friends to help each other out? Either way, the survey saw a noticeable increase in total support for these users.

Facebook users are much more politically engaged than most people.

A Facebook user who uses the site multiple times a day was two and half times more likely to attend a political rally or meeting, 57% more likely to persuade someone on their vote, and an additional 43% more likely to have said they would vote.

I have two theories for this one. The first is that Facebook started off as a college social networking site. Because of this, most users are more educated, and educated people are more politically involved. The other theory is that Facebook has become a huge asset for politicians. They can create fan pages, spread information about their platforms, and educate the people that support them.

Facebook revives dormant relationships.

Only 7% of people’s Facebook friends were people they had never met before. Which means that people are using Facebook to stay connected to people they know.

I don’t know about you, but I add a crazy amount of people I know on Facebook. I am friends with someone I met in fifth grade. I am also friends with my high school anatomy teacher. If I ever need a recommendation or have a question about school, I can reconnect with my teacher. And let’s say my acquaintance from the fifth grade turns out to be the owner of a successful home landscaping company. If I ever need my house landscaped, I’ll know who to call.

These findings are certainly interesting, but they’re useful, too. For example, if you were creating a Facebook plan for your company and knew that your target audience was older and primarily female, how would that affect your approach?

Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project website has a more in-depth look at social media sites and everything you might want to know about the people using them from demographics to uses. Check it out here.

26.05.2011 by Terry

Does your business have a social media strategy? Take a look at Facebook’s new ‘best practices’ guide to help you get started

Facebook has just published a new handbook “Best Practice Guide Marketing on Facebook.” If your organization isn’t on Facebook yet, take a look at this handbook. Even if you are on Facebook now, you can pick up some pointers about how to engage your key audiences. The five main points are:

  1. Build a strategy that is social by design. Integrate social media into your overall marketing plan and make social media part of how you reach your business objectives.
  2. Create an authentic brand voice. Show the personality of your brand through your Facebook posts. Be conversational and straight-forward.
  3. Make it interactive. Create content that people want to share and respond to. Engage your audience in a two-way conversation.
  4. Nurture your relationships. Reward your audience with deals, promotions and entertaining content. It takes time to build a relationship — just like in the real world.
  5. Keep learning. Stay in touch with your fans and learn what they like, what products they find interesting. Get feedback and pay attention to it.

23.03.2011 by Terry

Florida Public Relations Association members meet at PRO iNK to discuss how to save money when hiring a PR firm

Local public relations professionals shared money-saving ideas today at PRO iNK’s Cafe Think, a lunch and learn for local communications leaders.

Here’s a recap of ideas for saving money when working with a design firm. Remember that time is money. The key is helping your agency be more efficient with their time and thus more cost-effective for you. A few tips:

  • Have copy approved and carefully edited before you submit for design.
  • Carefully outline key objectives, audiences and communicate clearly.
  • Be sure key decisions makers are involved early on so you have their input before having to make huge changes.
  • Update your team about deadlines and rush charges. You can sometimes talk a CEO out of costly changes by saying, “we can certainly change that, but it will cost $$$.”
  • Organize and label materials carefully.
  • Give written instructions with each project, including clear deadlines, message points and key contacts.
  • Designate one person in your organization as the contact with the agency.

When entering into a business relationship, consider the following business strategies that can save money.

Consider a retainer relationship with clearly defined tasks and projects. This kind of arrangement generally gives you 24-hour “guidance” from your firm. They are thinking of you all the time and will generally wind up working more for you than on a by-project basis.

Have a regular firm or two that you work with so if you need to ask for a budget favor, they are more inclined to give you one.

Know if budget or quality is more important and communicate that upfront. For instance, “I have $3000 to do this project. What can we do for that budget?” or “This is what we want to do – this is the quality we want, just tell us what it will cost to replicate this idea.”

Understand general costs for printing materials. Consider digital versus offset. Know the real cost of printing materials in your office (cost of toners and maintenance). Know what quantities you will need so you can plan whether to print digitally or offset or just run a few copies on your office printer. Use PDFs when appropriate, rather than printed materials, but understand that some customers may not print out those PDFs and could miss your message entirely. Ask your printer for help in consolidating a number of pieces on one press run or one press sheet.

Ask for options when pricing a project. At PRO iNK, we generally give clients a low, medium and higher priced option, with clearly defined items in each option.

Consider spreading work over a set period of time, to spread out your budget. For instance, itemize all the projects you need completed and then plan to complete them over six months, a year or two. Then pay for them on a monthly basis, so you will know an exact amount to pay per month.

Thanks for sharing your ideas and energy today and helping us eat up that TooJay’s food: Janeen Piotrowski, FloridaWorks; Morgan Dunn, Exactech; Steve Shepherd, Alta Systems; Devon Chestnut, Cox Communications and Lindsay Brennan, Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Check out our Facebook page for a budget-cutting exercise.

 

 

18.03.2011 by Terry

A walk down memory lane: celebrating women’s history month at GRU

Martha Kern (left) and Betsy Whitaker (right) listen as Terry tells about starting PRO iNK in 1979 with a dream and a bank loan for $40,000.

Our friends at GRU invited me to participate in a panel discussion this week to celebrate Women’s History month. One of my first clients, Betsy Whitaker, former owner and founder of Trend Realty, was on the panel, as well as Martha Kern, a young financial planner I have long admired.

It was fun to reminisce about the “good old days” when we were paid less than the men we supervised and when Betsy couldn’t get into a private club in Tampa to give a presentation to her clients because they didn’t allow women.

As Gainesville’s first woman public relations entrepreneur, I’ve seen a lot of changes in my 40+ years in the business — not only in the way women were treated, but also in the way we do business. When I was a college student, the Gainesville Sun was set in hot type. My first job was at the UF College of Engineering where we set type on an IBM selectric typewriter. I started PRO iNK (then called Production Ink) with a $40,000 loan from a local bank to buy photocomposition typesetting equipment.

Today, it all sounds so old-school. But the crazy thing is trying to imagine the changes that will be coming in the next few years. It’s moving so fast, I sure can’t figure it out. Thanks to GRU and their diversity committee for the invitation to chat about how the work place has changed for women. Nowadays, if my husband was required to be at my job interview, someone would think that was crazy. Back then, we did it and just accepted it!

17.03.2011 by Tracy

What’s all the .commotion over Web sites and e-mail?

PRO iNK's 2000 newsletterIf you aren’t following us on Facebook, you might not know that we have been posting some great projects from back in the day. It happens every Thursday, and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s even garnered emails from former employees who remember when.

Our most recent Throwback Thursday highlighted a newsletter PI put out back in the fall of 2000. I got a big kick out of the article “What’s all the .com motion?” that quotes Terry as saying, “At PRO iNK we have been involved with the Internet for the past two years.” Notice her use of the capitalized “Internet.”

Just for the record, AP style is as follows: internet, email, website. And for goodness sake, you don’t need to say “World Wide Web.” Internet works just fine (lower case, that is).

And while I’m on the subject, my new favorite Twitter feed is @APStylebook. (I bet none of us could have conceived of a Twitter feed back in 2000. We were too busy building Web sites in frames!)

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