Monday 19 December 2011

Twitter Chatter

In the 90's, we had chat rooms. You might have assigned a time, a date, and users would congregate, virtually, to discuss a topic of their choosing. To this end, we still have forums and message boards, the best example demonstrated on Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website.

Now, through Twitter chats, Twitter has taken this desire for finding like-minded people who share a passion or similar interest, and consolidated it onto one platform. And so we have the simplest of concepts, which allows Joe Public to converse with industry experts and opinion leaders, to exchange engaging content, whilst at the same time increasing their professional network and establishing brand expertise.

One of the earliest examples that I can remember of a Twitter chat is the Beauty Bloggers chat, run every Sunday evening at 8pm GMT under the hashtag #bbloggers. The chat was set up by established beauty blogger Fee, who blogs at www.makeupsavvy.co.uk, and brings together other bloggers from both the fashion and beauty worlds to discuss topics they find interesting; often, the topics are subject-specific, such as favourite mascaras or Autumn trends, but occasionally the chats focus on the blogosphere and allows users to exchange tips on making their blog successful or best practice in dealing with PR's who often approach bloggers to review their products.

Each Twitter chat has its own personality and core group of participants, and as you might expect, there are a range of chats that happen daily that would be useful for any practitioner to take heed of. #CommsChat is the home of Europe's most popular communications conversation which takes place twice weekly, and looks at all aspects of communications including PR, marketing, digital and reputation management. The website publishes a brief prior to the chat, outlining the main discussion points, and transcripts of previous broadcasts are available should you need to catch up on any missed content.

For aspiring practitioners, playing voyeur and observing a Twitter chat is a great way of building knowledge on a brand or simply understanding who the big movers and shakers are; but by participating, practitioners are able to create equity and credibility for themselves within their industry, building on their own personal brand (which we all know is vital in the current media landscape). It's useful for making contacts, and whilst the virtual nature of the chat means you can't have post-discussion coffee and biscuits, there's no reason why you can't go on to have a thoughtful, informal discussion with a key journalist now they know who you are (and you've got some credibility).

Twitter chats are just beginning, and soon we will see businesses leveraging the benefits for sales and ROI.

Thursday 8 December 2011

The New Challenges of Segmentation

Understanding your publics is key to any campaign, and through segmentation, a practitioner can further understand who their messages will reach and how they will react.


Geodemographic segmentation assumes that the differences within any group are significantly less than differences between groups; individuals are grouped according to where they live and display characteristics to those within their neighbourhood or locality.

In the UK, there are, in particular, two popular tools used for geodemographic segmentation, ACORN and MOSAIC.

ACORN stands for A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods, and is the leading tool for identifying the UK population's demand for products and services. It categorises postcodes using over 125 demographic statistics.

Mosaic is owned by Experian, the credit report agency, and classifies the UK population into 15 main socio-economic groups; it bases its results on the predication that the world's cities share common patterns of residential segregation.

Through understanding consumer behaviour and segmenting customers accordingly, a practitioner can target and manage profitable relationships, ensuring a successful campaign and ROI. Such segmentation will also allow practitioners to identify and manage risk, an important consideration for any 21st century company. The tools will also identify investment opportunities for strategically responsible investors.

A rise in stakeholder activism and consumer generated content - social media - means a practitioner must also consider another form of segmentation - self-selecting publics. This is based on uses and gratification theory which assumes that people make highly intelligent choices about which messages require their attention and fulfil their needs. When passive consumption through watching TV was the norm, there was no alternative to dealing with PR and marketing; practitioners and marketers were able to execute campaigns relatively unchallenged because the channels didn't exist for individuals to say otherwise. The situation has reversed irrevocably, and as a result, consumers not only contribute to conversations but quite often run them. Today's consumer can choose what to be influenced by and, through online mediums, can have a range of different 'selves'. This provides a challenge for the practitioner, as segments 'cross-over' and the consumer ultimately chooses in which segment they belong. Practitioners must respond by remembering that humans are deeply social beings, and the corporate voice is no longer enough. Building and sustaining relationships is key, and that's where tools such as MOSAIC and ACORN come in handy.

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Evaluating your Online Presence

Micro-communications, in the form of social media, present possibly the only true two-way communication source for a PR practitioner. Crucially, social media channels have changed the way individuals communicate, and this means increased transparency for tomorrow's graduates.

According to Facebook, there are more than 800 million active users, and more than 50% of these log in each day. On average, more than 250 million photos are uploaded every day (and considering Facebook are automatically assigned intellectual property rights over these photos, it's scary to think how quickly Facebook alone could build an online profile of any individual...)

Googling yourself may seem voyeuristic or egotistical, but its the first place to start in understanding your online presence, and you can bet any media-savvy employer will also make this their first port of call.


Google Search for my name - show's mostly Twitter and LinkedIn profiles

So, here's a few pointers on evaluating and smartening online presence:

1. Consistency - making your 'online brand' work for you involves maintaining a consistent feel across all channels, much how an organisation has a company house style or corporate logo. Using the same username 'laurenvhockey' on Twitter, LinkedIn and for a Gmail address means I'm easier to search for, you won't get be confused with other Lauren Hockey's (although there aren't that many) and it also looks neat on business cards and a CV. In the same way, using the same profile picture reassures people that they have located the right individual. I've kept my LinkedIn, Twitter and G+ profile photo matching deliberately - as G+ is still an emerging platform, and as Twitter users begin to filter into my circles, seeing my mugshot assures them that they've landed in the right place. I've always kept Facebook that little bit more personal, and so my profile photo may be different - but my privacy settings are tight and I wouldn't accept a friend request from a potential employer (assuming they were a total stranger and not a 'friend'). That doesn't mean I'm careless with Facebook though - which leads on to the next point...

2. Beware Carelessness - I've always viewed Facebook as the more personal channel, where I interact with uni friends on a more informal basis - but that doesn't mean I'm careless. Information posted online is, in effect, available forever, and posting offensive comments or even ones that imply laziness could go against you if a potential employer see's them. Ensure privacy settings are tight, or better still, don't post it in the first place. If you're worried photographic evidence of your weekend antics might incriminate you, change the settings so that you have to review each photo before it appears on your profile. (Or better still...don't get into the situation in the first place..!)

3. Be Concise - keeping your Twitter bio or LinkedIn summary short and punchy will maintain an employer's interest; rather than waffling about your personal qualities, briefly state your experience and interest. Including a comical reference, especially on Twitter, provided it's not offensive, will also show you don't take yourself too seriously.
In the same way, Tweets should be interesting and to the point. I admit, I've used Twitter to vent and occasionally make a mundane observation about mince pies or the weather; interspersing these with knowledgeable, engaging and thought-provoking Tweets, be it links to articles/blogs, or your comment on the day's news stories, will show you can balance life and work perfectly.

4. Follow the right people - if you use Twitter in a professional capacity, or one that's intended to enhance your career prospects, you're better off following industry bodies or associations than keeping up with what Lady Gaga had for lunch. Showing an enthusiasm for the industry means you may even get a follow back - which can make all the difference, meaning your name may come up if someone they know is recruiting.

Performing a Google search of your own name at least once a month - or more frequently if you are actively job hunting - and adhering to these rules will ensure you don't fall into the common trap of TMI (Too Much Information).

Saturday 19 November 2011

Bridging the Divide

My dad doesn't know what a QR code is. In fact, I was at pains to explain to him what Twitter was over a full English breakfast last weekend. As a salesman stuck in the 20th century, I'm still not sure he understands the benefits of using an online channel to communicate with your audience - he's not even late to the digital party, he didn't get an invite.

But I think this little gadget, from JC Penny in the US, might just begin to bridge the digital divide that separates the likes of my dad and digital natives. Both novel and gimmicky, the QR code that allows you to record your own voice message to accompany your gift will also mean those with relatives in far-flung corners of the globe can add a personal element to their present. As Clay Shirky proclaimed "technology increases the fluidity of all media," and this example demonstrates just that. First we had Friends Reunited, and now the use of Facebook for keeping in touch with loved ones is common practice. Gadgets that play to people's emotions, especially during annual holidays (and launching it during the most commercial of them all wasn't a bad tactic) can make the difference between those that will adopt the technology and those that will be alienated by it. What remains to be seen is whether JC Penny and the like can successfully market the product outside of annual holidays. My guess is if they generate enough interest and 'buzz' this time around, then this idea is likely to run and run.



Thursday 10 November 2011

Platforms, channels & Internet Agency

The radical change in the digital landscape brings a new approach to PR - where once organisations "had the impression that they had control of what was said and believed about their activities" (Phillips, D. and Young, P. 2009, p7) the very advent of the World Wide Web means information can not only be taken out of context, but can, and will, be interpreted in new ways. Hours of carefully crafted statements and slogans are being turned on their heads as they appear alongside the very item the statement was trying to deflect attention from. In this sense, the Internet can be considered as an 'agent' - the idea that it facilitates the changing of information as it it passed from one person to another. The role becomes two-fold, as we can also consider that Internet agency allows us to find things out - your dream employer's email address, for example. Before, it would have taken more than a person's lifetime to make a pencil from scratch, but with Internet agency, you can share knowledge instantly, and so that pencil becomes a more viable option.

If the Internet is an agent, then there must be platforms and channels to enable its existence. A platform can be defined as the device on which we employ Internet agency; in the late 90's, the only platform available would have been your vintage box-looking computer, but fast forward to today and the list is endless - internet-enabled mobile phones, laptops, tablets, games consoles, sat navs, digitally-empowered TVs and MP3 players. Almost half of the UK population own a smartphone, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech (2011). Platforms are important for the simple reason that people use them to communicate. The idea of going to a library to research something becomes obselete when you have the power of Google in your pocket.
If the platforms are the hardware, then the channels become the software; the websites you visit, the blogs you visit, the emails you send and the social networks you use. If we consider just one channel alone, social networking, we can already note how PR has had to adapt to the rise in this becoming, for many, the preferred form of communication. And it's changing still - mobile phones that vibrate is a recent adaptation of vibration for communication, Kinect uses movement as language and avatars collect information and play it back to us. As David Phillips point outs, the only thing that holds PR back is "the need to understand these things, see the opportunity and adopt this different way of using PR creativity."

To explore internet agency further, we can consider the four elements that drive online public relations: transparency, porosity, richness and reach.

Internet Agency alone has a direct impact on transparency; if the possibility exists to interpret messages in a variety of different ways, then there is added pressure for organisations to be transparent (for more on transparency, see my previous post). 'Digital natives', or those who have grown up with and are most familiar with the online world, have become accustomed to a new level of transparency, and operate "under the assumption that everything they do will eventually be known online." (Brogan, C. and Smith, J. 2010).

Transparency itself comes about because of porosity - that is to say, that organisations are giving away information that they wouldn't have given away in the past. For example, we tell competitors the benefits of our products (though it is worth noting the exact recipe of Coca-Cola is still a highly-guarded secret). This information is spread about and made available to all, and 'leaks' out of organisations at a rapid rate, in the same way that 'gossip', be it emails, Instant Messaging and other online transactions, find their way into the public sphere. Porosity has seen the emergence of codes of conduct that dictate what is acceptable for those using these internal channels, and are a vital part of an organisation's PR toolkit.

Richness is the idea of adding value to your product or service, and making it niche; it is a PR practitioner's role to create rich content through words, pictures, videos, diagrams, voice and music. Through Internet agency, and utilising its main characteristic, its reach, organisation's can add richness through online communities. This may be in the form of blogs, wikis and forums. In addition, SEO will make such content transparently available, and can also increase reach in the same way that hyperlinks and offline advertising can.

So, what's the link? The Internet changes an organisation, forcing it to be more transparent and porous, and acts as an agent of change. This allows for rich content that will reach many, who will access these messages using channels on their platforms.

Saturday 5 November 2011

I've found my blogging mojo


Imagine my surprise when, in a break from writing a 2500 word essay on Clay Shirky's The Cognitive Surplus (read: procrastination), I stumbled across Behind the Spin's top 10 ranking of Social Students, to find yours truly at joint 8th position.

http://www.behindthespin.com/news/introducing-our-socialstudent-leaders

Having had the pleasure of Behind the Spin's editor Richard Bailey lecturing us during our second year of university, I was familiar with his magazine-style site, which caters for PR students and those starting out in the industry. I'd even seen his tweet the day before requesting BTS's readers to put forward their Klout and Peerindex scores in order that he could compile the Social Student rankings. I didn't give it a second thought - my fellow peers tweet, blog, write, debate, broadcast, argue, Facebook and G+ til the cows come home. Since I'd lost my blogging mojo and abandoned The Details in the Fabric, my fashion and beauty blog, in my placement year, and given that I've never been brave enough to publically put forward my arbitrary views on public relations on the Internet, I was sure I wouldn't stand a chance against the PR heavyweights that are the Leeds Met students, who seem to have made blogging a national past time.

I don't doubt for a minute that my 500+ Twitter followers isn't unrelated to the fact that I worked for the world's biggest car manufacturer on my placement year, or that at least a quarter of my followers are spam-sending companies vying for my attention. And I'm sure a further 150 of my followers are part of the fast-evolving cult that is beauty blogging, itself a small community of like-minded individuals who blog about their passions and are single-handedly changing the face of fashion and beauty PR as we know it.

However, my appearance amongst a list of pure PR talent has given me the confidence to believe that I do have a voice; that the range of channels available to us in which to express our thoughts on academia, on celebrity gossip, on last night's dinner and on Made in Chelsea is so rich and exciting that to ignore those 500 followers would be a bad move. Building relationships is fundamental in public relations, and engaging those who take the time to listen to you is even more crucial. My ideas might not be correct, nor agreeable to everybody that reads them, but becoming part of the conversation presents an unparalleled opportunity to develop these further whilst cementing relationships with potential future employers, even future employees.

"I don't need an introduction to you through someone else, and you no longer need one to me. We are all a click (or a pixel) away from one another. This means that building relationships and turning those relationships into an online community is more powerful and more important than ever before." (Mitch Joel, 2009)

Being the only student in the rankings without an active blog made me sit up and think - here's an opportunity - why aren't I seizing it? I think I may have my blogging mojo back. Watch this space.

Monday 24 October 2011

The Growing Significance of Transparency

Richard Edelman declared that "continuous, transparent - and even passionate - communications is central to success." (Edelman, R. 2007)

If we consider that transparency, according to David Phillips and Philip Young, can be defined as "openness, communication and accountability," (Phillips, D. and Young, P. 2009) then it leads that the radical change in the digital landscape means there are infinite channels with which to deliver the advantages of transparency. Indeed, Don Tapscott talks about the idea of 'corporate nakedness', with the advent of the Internet making it harder for companies to keep secrets from its consumers and its 'shareholder web'. The benefits of being a company with integrity is becoming unquestionable; treat employees well, and costs of transactions will drop; better trust environments bring better collaboration, more loyalty and less office politics.
And it's happening externally too - companies are showing integrity and transparency not because they believe it is ethical, but because it pays off - we as consumers want to engage with a company that has our best interests at heart, and is candid about its efforts and its competitors.

We have moved from a one-size-fits-all medium of broadcast and traditional print, to a one-to-many medium available at your disposal, forcing companies to become 'naked' in the process.

Friday 14 October 2011

Why no news is not always good news

Image: via Blackberry phone

It's a journalists' dream headline: Apple and Blackberry Crumble (for another hilarious take on this marketing gimmick, see The Two Ronnie's sketch)

So in a week that has been a PR headache for the brains behind Blackberry, Research In Motion (RIM), it appears rivals Apple have become a victim of their own success after news of the iOS 5 update lead to it trending on Twitter, causing the company's servers to crash as millions rushed to download the service. Ironic considering the spawn of the smartphone has been attributed to the surge in social networking in the past two years.

More irony elsewhere as Blackberry, the epitome of communication in this highly connected age, fails to communicate with its customers, or rather not quickly enough. The fiasco has been compared to the slow response by Toyota's CEO during its 2010 recall of 8 million cars. It's easy with the benefit of hindsight to speculate what RIM should have done - taken a leaf out of Microsoft's book, who, after its cloud services crashed following a lightening strike earlier this year, stuck to the Golden Rule: communicate, communicate and communicate some more, preferably via Twitter.

"It's a haughtiness born of the age when internet companies often no longer even have phone numbers - it's not an attitude the public seem minded to forgive" (Rob Waugh, 2011)

No news is not always good news, as Blackberry users soon realised as hours of disruption turned into days without so much as a peep from RIM. And as three million iPhone 4S are expected to sell this weekend alone, this PR blunder couldn't have come at a worse time for the communications giant. No irony there.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Monitoring & Measuring the Social Landscape


"To ignore blogs, videos and social network contributions is not sensible for any organisation and not a few individuals." (Phillips and Young, 2009)

We've come to acknowledge that PR needs to be measured - indeed, the crude debate of AVE, where advertising value is used as a measure for print media, is a recent example of measurement in practice, as despite its controversy it is a technique used by many organisations worldwide.

Levine at el told us in The Cluetrain Manifesto that markets are conversations, and in an increasingly connected age, organisations have the ability to hear what is being said about them, no matter what platform it appears on. It is this dialogue that needs to be monitored and measured, and there are a number of tools, both free and paid-for, that can help an organisation understand the value of its online presence.

Ideally, such resources should give the time and date of publication, the type of website, its reach, content, analysis, and value to the organisation.

There is a vast array of resources available (shown in the World diagram above, though this is by no means exhaustive) but here's a quick low down of the most popular tools.

Klout
Klout's mission, according to their website, is to identify those who influence on the Web, on what topics and how much influence they have. This is done by tracking the activity of over 80 million users across popular social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, YouTube, Blogger, Tumblr, Flickr, Instagram and Last.fm. They use a number of parameters to award you a Klout score, between 1 and 100, which is a measure of your brands influence. Klout's USP is perhaps its Klout Perks scheme, where top influencers get perks including tickets, Amazon goodies and laptops.

Peer Index - 'understand your social capital'
Similar to Klout in that it uses a scoring system based on a number of factors - authority, activity and audience. It determines a score when the content you share is retweeted or commented on, by someone else that is an authority on the subject. It uses data from Twitter, Facebook and your blog.

Alexa
Owned by Amazon, Alexa uses a toolbar to collect data on browsing behaviour. It provides lots of stats, most notably on traffic and traffic sources, however, a common complaint is that it takes lots of clicking to get to the end product.

WooRank
WooRank gives the user a comprehensive check-sheet style list and, like Klout and Peer Index, gives a rank out of 100. Using a report-style format, it highlights the areas you could improve on and finishes giving a score.

Google Analytics
Free and easy to setup, Google Analytics is a highly popular resource that measures traffic, traffic sources, visitors and content evaluation using cross channel and multimedia tracking. Aesthetically pleasing interface makes it popular and Google's presence as a household name helps.

Of course, whilst all these tools are useful in revealing trends and understanding the reach of your site, we must consider that an online audience is almost impossible to measure - those that view and consume but do not comment cannot always be accounted for as well as those who land on the page by accident. But these tools are a good place to start, and organisations ignore them at their peril.