posing after graduation

Hello Everyone

I have been away for a while from the blog to celebrate my graduation from North Carolina State University with a Masters in Communication. This photograph was clicked right after the ceremony at the University Bell Tower, was special. Meanwhile I have also moved across the country and set up home in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has been warm and welcoming. While staying busy looking for the right job I am meeting lots of wonderful people through IABC-LA, where I am volunteering to organize regional events in Pasadena/ Burbank/ Glendale, I am looking forward to this exciting opportunity.

Recently I attended a PRSA-LA digital marketing workshop (as a member of the chapter), hosted in Edelman\’s conference room overlooking the mountains. The session chaired by Siobhan O\’Neil, Sr. Account Supervisor at Edelman and Heather McConnell, Digital Account Supervisor at Hill & Knowlton threw light on some newer things about digital marketing and PR.

While a lot of curiosity still lies around which social media tools to select and which to avoid for the client, it is evident that there cannot be standard list for the tools best suited for the business, client, strategy and publics. I want to share the following take away points from the hour-long session:

1. Digital Marketing is often expensive and it is wise to inform the client upfront so that expectations are stated accordingly.

2. Garnering a million fans on Facebook requires some paid advertising to complement good social media PR practices.

3. ‘Catch them were they are’,  is the wisdom and the mantra. Facebook is where your publics are already available so connect with them there. The Facebook page needs to be built rich with resources and updated. Link it to your website but your audience may not care to click that extra link.

4. Search engine optimization,  paid marketing, keyword categorization are areas to pursue if you are keen on digital marketing.  Value Click Brands could be a resource to look at for understanding the Search Engine Marketing business.

Do share your feedback and suggestions as always. Will look forward to reading your comment.

Thanks

Paromita

The video provides SAP\’s perspective on initiating their social media program and how they have been engaging bloggers from 2006 onwards.  There are certain differences in how PR professionals must maintain relations with traditional journalists vs. with bloggers.

As traditional media houses keep shrinking in size and numbers (Waters, 2009 lecture) it is more important to maintain good media relations with the publications and television channels. At the same time the growing influence of blogging and bloggers necessitates that PR gets involved actively with blogging communities that deal with their organization’s industry.

While several rules and good practices are valuable for both media and blogger relations, such as personalizing information, suggesting insightful story ideas, reaching out within the deadlines they work within, absolutely never mass mailing or sending irrelevant information and so on there are certain specifics required for good blogger relations.

1. Participate and become a part of the blogging community. Engage by contributing comments to blogs that seem relevant or that may be already writing about your organization.

2.  Do not start off by sharing your company news release with bloggers. Prior engagement is compulsory. Share your ideas, volunteer constructive criticism and praise. Once you have established a rapport with the blogger you can offer direct company updates.

3. Be discerning in analyzing the content and tone of the blog, some bloggers maintain a distinctly sarcastic tone. Consider how comfortable  your organization will be in engaging with the blog in the long-term. If you decide to go ahead then provide materials written in a style and tone that matches the blog style.

4. Be discreet in sharing your organizational materials. Bloggers may not always abide by embargo requests unlike journalists.

5. Keep up with your engagement in the blogging community through comments. However you would want to reach out through other media such as email for sharing ideas and expressing gratitude for covering your organizational news.

Those of you who are already engaged in blogger relations what suggestions would you make. Would you share different material with journalists and other information with traditional journalists? Let us here you.

Thanks

SMNR template by Shift Communications

The Social Media News Release (SMNR) template launched in 2006 by Tod S. Defren of Shift Communications has without doubt revolutionized the way news releases can be shared by public relations professionals.

Some of the key features that distinguish the SMNR are:

1. It’s dynamic format which contextualizes the news through relevant links connecting with other related issues, stories.

2. Ability to embrace an open two-way relationship through with bringing together a range of multimedia content at one place.

3. Genuinely helps journalists and bloggers to conduct their research within their hard pressed schedules. A wide range of resources packed in the SMNR clearly aids research.

I am curious to know if organizations are actually sharing the SMNR and if the template by Shift Communications has displaced the traditional release.

Here is an example from IBM\’s press room, while their press releases include useful links and encourages RSS feeds it has not been created in the ideal SMNR format. A look at the websites of several other technology industry leaders like Red Hat, Apple, Oracle and Microsoft exhibit how the traditional press release style is still alive and kicking.

Looking at some of the automobile giants’ newsrooms similar results are reflected. Toyota, Ford Motor Company and General Motors for example, are actually incorporating less multimedia tools in their news release than the technology companies.

This post looks at only two industries, would you expect certain other industries to have embraced the SMNR more completely? Or is it that while archiving the releases on their website a preference is given to the traditional press release format? I would not think so.

Has the traditional press release actually been replaced by the SMNR or…?

Will be eagerly awaiting your thoughts.

Thanks

Image Credit: Google Images

In recent months tools to analyze the impact of social media applications have grown widely with increasing use of this media by organizations. The management wants to know the return on investment for the social media applications since it demands time, dedicated workforce, and other resources. As I had mentioned in my last post more than forty tools

(free and paid) are available that can help you evaluate the impact of your footprint on Web 2.0.

But with so many tools available such as Google Analytics, 4Q, Woopra, Crazyegg, Clicktale, Collecta and the list can go on, it can be actually confusing to decide which analytical tools will be appropriate for your organization. One approach could be to involve tools that provide quantitative measurements, those hard numbers which are good to convey the ROI impact to a management audience. Another approach might be to use tools that provide insights about the relations being built and maintained with stakeholders through descriptive data. Tools that provide live tracking services, for example, may provide interesting information about what individuals are saying/thinking about your organization. However, if you choose to react to those information in real time you will run the risk of appearing sneaky and probably negatively impact your relationships with stakeholders.

In general the following questions should be posed before selecting your social media analysis tools.

1. What information do we want to find out about the organization’s social media footprint?

2. Are there particular issues, concerns about the organization’s social media use?

3. What do we hope to do with the data that the analysis would provide?

4. Who will be our audience for presenting the results?

5. What are the costs involved in using the tool, are there other better options available?

I would like to hear your ideas on criteria, questions that you would add to this list for selecting the appropriate Web 2.0 analysis tool.

Thanks

Today, with over three dozen of social media evaluating tools available, as listed in this blog, social media experts can make use of these services to evaluate their campaigns and programs.

However, interpreting those numbers that the metric tools turn up will actually provide insights that organizations can employ to build their future plans. It is important to realize that these metrics are only going to provide raw data which will require expert communication analysts to decipher the knowledge from it. Social media impact will most certainly be necessary to be evaluated, not only to build the business case for promoting social media use, but also for the PR/communication experts to develop an understanding of these tools and applicability to different contexts and situations.

Do not hesitate to share your opinion about using social media metrics to measure its impact on organizational value, ROI.

Thanks

While the job market for new college graduates remains tough, there are signs that the job market is improving, according to results of monthly polls conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The Job Web website is a useful tool for information on job search and the job market.

Building your personal brand needs effort but it can be fun too. Social media provides wide opportunities for building the personal brand. Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs and a social media expert has created a 100 item list providing insights on using the social media for building the personal brand.

Your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, LinkedIn etc. naturally represent who you are as a person. To build your brand you will need to play it a little more strategic, telling your story to distinguish yourself from the crowd is important.  I think the process needs to start with some introspection when you carefully analyze your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges (SWOT). Based on the results of your SWOT analysis you can decide your personal brand. Web 2.0 is rich with resources for you to apply and promote yourself as a brand. Social networking, for example, especially on LikedIn is absolutely necessary today for ‘you’ the brand. Companies will definitely Google your name and search you on LinkedIn.

Career success has always depended on how people can promote their self brand, in the Web 2.0 era there are lots of tools to do that. Let’s talk about what social media applications you deem necessary for creating a strong personal brand.

Thanks

Over the past few days the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund initiative has received a lot of attention on social media for not the right reasons. The above YouTube video has already recorded 518,524 views, additionally similar videos on the same channel are garnering attention. The video captures George Bush wiping his hand on Clinton’s shirt after greeting Haitians! While it is (if true) a matter of embarrassment and shame, it also captures a moment that has all the ingredients to make the video go viral.

In 2008, another political handshake had caught the imagination of both traditional and social media. When Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari met Sarah Palin in United States his excitement was palpable and caused a furore in Pakistan. The above YouTube video says it all. Zardari even faced a fatwa in his country for his ‘flirtatious’ behavior.

Communication experts and public relations counsels engaged by political figures surely need to advice their clients for on camera appropriateness. Social media with its power to cross global boundaries within minutes poses additional challenges for public relations experts. Communication experts consulting public figures, especially politicians, who are constantly scrutinized for their behaviors need to train their clients on appropriate on-camera actions. Both the videos posted here may suggest that these cases exhibit lack of common sense on the part of the actors. However, it is perhaps true that common sense is not so common!

What are your thoughts, ideas for preventing such embarrassing situations? These stories, events, videos over social media can spread like wild fire tarnishing the image and reputation of public figures, situations where the public relations consultant would do all to stop the video from going viral. Do share your suggestions.

Thanks

THAT's NOT ME

Hey Everyone,

Hope you had a good week. I did not have any posts last week since it was Spring Break! But I wasn’t lazing around but taking my comprehensive exam, which I must pass to get my M.S. in Communication degree. Yesss, it was exam time folks.

This week am back with two new posts.

Thanks

Source: Dr. Richard Waters

Some statistics to begin with: Facebook enjoys 300 million users with 70% located outside United States, MySpace 265 million users, LinkedIn 43 million users, and in 2008 one out of every 11 minutes spent online was on a social networking site (Waters, 2009). And these are not static numbers but only heading north, and social networking is one of the social media tools that has appealed to a wider age group and not a fancy of the youth. As I mentioned in my post on blogging that my friends and family (especially those in the age group of 30-65)  in India have been rather reticent at starting their blogs or podcasts or twitter accounts though social networking mostly on Facebook or Orkut has come more naturally to them.

Here is a list of the top 25 social networking sites from Compete.com. And yes, micro-blogging (Twitter) is number 3 on the list but Twitter does have a different appeal due to its 140 character limit and really limited networking tools that it offers as compared to other social networks.

Organizations have definitely tapped into the social networking phenomenon and created their profiles to connect with different stakeholders on a one-on-one level. So far Facebook seems to be the favorite for organizations to create their official profiles. Orkut does have organizational profiles/communities from different industries ranging from auto, technology, construction/real estate, finance, entertainment and non-profit. Quite evidently these have not been created by the organizations but regular users on Orkut exchanging both positive and negative views about the organization which makes it more authentic.  Vorvoreanu (2008) with her research on college students found that students actually resent larger corporations invading what was earlier a more private networking environment on sites like facebook.

Below are a few suggestions for organizations when joining social networking sites:

1. Create an account for the organization and add sufficient details in terms of logo, images, facts to present the organizational identity. Link the profile to the official website of the organization.

2. Start with inviting friends who are already associated with the organization such as employees, vendor contacts etc.

3. Reach out to other stakeholders but abstain from being too persuasive.

4. Respond quick to all who are reaching out and communicating with you, whether making positive or negative comments.

5. Update your account from time to time whenever you have something meaningful to share. Do not update because its ‘cool’ to do so!

6. Use the account as a platform to introduce organizational initiatives and draw participants from the different stakeholder groups.

7. Upload photographs that build the organizational identity and also provide a human face to it.

9. Encourage employees to contribute to the profile only after well thought out social media guidelines have been conveyed to the employees.

What suggestions would you add for organizations who create their accounts on social networking sites? I did not want to create a perfect 10 list and left it one short of that number as this is not a comprehensive list and definitely needs your suggestions.

Thanks

Image Credit: Google Images

Cell phones and text messaging have been popular even prior to the Web 2.o tools, in the U.S. cellphone users were around 34 million which grew to touch 203 million within a decade (post-gazette.com). Businesses have used text messaging, so have universities, non-profit organizations and politicians for their campaigns. U.S. President Obama’s text messaging campaign was extremely successful and much talked about. Recent earthquake in Haiti has witnessed  fund raising efforts through text-messaging.

Text-messaging has been even more popular in Asia, according to NASDAQ cell phone users in India at the end of 2009 were at 492 million and the number is expected to reach a whopping 900 million by 2012. Text-messaging has therefore been highly explored in India. A public diplomacy blog informs how text-messaging has been employed for activism in the country.  Bharti Airtel the largest mobile service provider in India with its aggressive text messaging campaigns has often been in the news for customer complaints over unsolicited text messages to customers.

Still text-messaging has been very popular and profitable in India. People have been extremely innovative with their cell phones devising ways to communicate even with a missed call(“Will give you a missed call when I reach home” is a familiar example)!

My first encounter with text messaging in public relations happened when I started working in a small PR agency in Delhi in 2004. My boss would hand me her mobile phone and a long list of journalists’ phone numbers to whom I would mechanically forward drafted messages promoting story ideas or a new fashion line by a designer(client) on show at a gallery! I started personalizing those messages mostly to help me feel a little less of the technician!

Extremely low on creativity as it may seem, the SMSs did work, it required very little time, money and effort yet journalists did respond. However, in the months and years to come as I moved to Sampark PR and then to Hanmer MS&L (two of the top PR agencies in India) I realised that people (journalists) respond to your efforts well when you already have built a rapport with them. Text-messaging for public relations can be explored in a number of other ways with different stakeholders.

Journalists in India often choose to send quick texts to check if the PR professional can provide them suitable material for a story that they are working on. Another simple and practical use of text messages with media can be during company events and press conferences. On a busy day when several companies have media events lined up journalists (if the oganizations are relevant to their beats) have to run from one event to the other, in such cases text messaging often comes handy in reminding the journalists about the conference and ensure their attendance.

What are some of your experiences with text messaging in building relations with stake holders?