Tag Archives: public relations

Photos and video drive the most engagement on social media

7 Sep

By Kristin Piombino

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/12600.aspx

Forty-two percent of all Tumblr posts are photos.

Photos and videos on Pinterest refer more traffic to brand websites than Twitter, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn and Google+.

As these stats from a new M Booth infographic show, visual storytelling is one of the most powerful ways brands can engage customers online.

Not convinced your brand should begin churning out more images than text updates? See how visuals fare on some of the major social networks:

Facebook

  • People share videos 12 times more than links and text posts combined.
  • People “like” photos two times more than text updates.
  • Photos and videos drive the most engagement on Facebook’s top 10 brand pages.

YouTube

  • Users share 700 YouTube videos on Twitter each minute.
  • 100 million users take a social action on videos every week.

Instagram

  • Facebook reach 100 million users in four years, but Instagram is on pace to beat it.

Want more proof of the power of images and video? Take a look at the rest of the graphic:

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20 things brands and PR people can tweet right now

22 Jun

By Mickie Kennedy

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11983.aspx

To make Twitter work for your company, you have to tweet consistently. This task can prove challenging when you aren’t sure what to share. Here are 20 ideas to help solve that conundrum:

An interesting article you just came across. Two things worth pointing out: First, the No. 1 thing to do on Twitter is share content. That’s pretty much why it was created. Second, while there’s a time and a place to focus on yourself—as our list shows—your first priority should be to share things that don’t necessarily come from you, as followers get sick of that pretty quickly.

Share a useful resource. What tools do you use in daily operations? Found a useful iPhone app that makes life a bit easier? If it’s industry-related and you think your customers or peers might find it useful, share it.

A blog entry you just posted on your business blog. Of course, when you put that new post up on your company blog, you want as many people read it as possible. But that doesn’t mean tweet out the link 10 times a day. You also want to tweet links to old blog posts from time to time to keep them fresh.

Inspirational quotes that tie into your industry. The average person loves inspirational quotes. Find one and send it. Just make sure it’s useful and not filler.

Highlight one of your staff members. Talking about your staff is an important part of brand building. If people just see your company as a name and a logo, they aren’t going to connect with you on a personal level. By talking about members of your staff from time to time, you remind your followers that there are real people behind your company.

Breaking news related to your niche. You need to stay on top of what’s going on in your industry. And if people start noticing that you tweet important news as soon as it breaks, they’ll start paying attention.

An upcoming event your company is involved in or attending. This accomplishes a few tasks. It’s a great way to get others to attend fundraisers and other functions. It also takes another step in the human direction we discussed above. And finally, it also gives other event participants free press, which is great for building good will.

Tips that would prove useful to someone who may use your product or service. You want people to see you as an expert in your field. And experts know what tips to give. So putting two and two together … provide useful tips and you’ll quickly become an industry expert.

Real time updates of what you and your staff are working on. As long as you don’t do it too often, followers will love to get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes activities of your company.

Websites of the companies you partner with. This one is along the lines of turning the attention on to others. When you draw attention to your partners, you give them free advertisement. And you can bet they’ll return the favor, which is a great way to get new followers.

Personal stories that make you seem more human. As mentioned above, search for feel-good internal stories. Maybe one of your employees just beat an illness. Or perhaps you just completed the “Couch-2-5K” plan and ran your first race. Maybe you have a classic rags-to-riches story. Anything someone can derive inspiration from that will make you seem more accessible.

Suggest a reputable industry blog. Where else can your followers get good industry-related info? What RSS feed do you subscribe to that you couldn’t live without? Let the world know and the blog owner will thank you.

Ask your followers a relevant question. Social media is all about conversations. So invite your followers to join in by asking them a question. Just make sure you respond when they answer to show that you care. Failing to do so will end any chances of the back and forth you desire.

Announce a contest or discount exclusive to Twitter. Everyone loves to win, get something cheaper, or grab a freebie. By announcing such things via Twitter, your followers will feel as if they have one up on everyone else. Contests are also great for getting people involved.

Thank a follower for something they did. Make sure your followers feel important. By thanking them for sharing content, commenting back, or simply following you, they will get the idea that you understand how important they are to your business.

Share a picture of a staff member or event. Mixing different forms of media into your tweets keeps things fresh and interesting. You could also use videos or pictures customers have sent in using your products.

Answer a question someone has asked. Along the lines of engaging your followers, when someone asks you a question, make sure you answer (and answer well). It’s probable that others had the same question and stand to benefit.

Put out a fire. Sometimes we piss people off—it’s bound to happen. Without getting defensive, put your supreme customer service on display and try to make a disgruntled customer happy.

Something ironic in your industry. People like a good laugh or an “AHA!” Pointing out irony is often well received. However, be careful not to do yourself any damage in the process.

Suggest someone to follow. It’s simple. You bring other people new followers, and they take notice and return in kind. Even if they don’t offer you new followers, you’re still doing something good for yours.

Mickie Kennedy is the CEO and founder of eReleases and blogs at PR Fuel, where a version of this article first appeared.

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How to sell on social media (without being a creep)

4 Jun
By Sarah Skerik
 
 
A couple interesting stories made headlines over the last week or so. GM announced that it’s going to cease buying Facebook ads. Shopify (a provider of back-end e-commerce services for e-tailers) released an infographic about increases in sales driven by Pinterest.

By now, we all know that the hard sell doesn’t work in social media. Additionally, audience patience with advertising is also wearing thin. So is it a surprise that Facebook isn’t a great vehicle for selling cars? Probably not.

Facebook is for socializing. The whole point of Facebook is interacting with the people in your network—posting updates, reading links they share, and maybe playing a game. Sure, there’s an element to discovery, backed with personal recommendations from the social graph. But really, people are on Facebook mainly to hang out and catch up with each other.

That is not the case with Pinterest. At its core, Pinterest is for discovery. A large portion of the pins are aspirational: clothes the pinners want to buy, home decorating ideas they want to try, cakes they want to make, places they would like to visit.

In other words, it’s a lead funnel created by the users themselves.

The data released by Shopify is revealing, and one fact in particular stood out to me: Pins that included a price drew 36 percent more “likes” than those without. Pinterest feels like it’s becoming a consumer search engine of sorts. Like search engines, on which advertising is a proven model, Pinterest is used by people who are actively in the process of seeking. They’re not just hanging out. As the Shopify data reveals, Pinterest users are likely to act.

Content marketers and PR pros can learn a lot from these two contrasting situations. The primary lesson seems clear—there’s a time and a place for promotional messages, and there’s a time and a place for attracting audience and fostering attention. Pinterest and search engines are the former. Facebook, blogs, and community sites are the latter.

Audience intention

When thinking about messaging and networks, it’s crucial to consider the audiences’ intentions. Why are those people there? What are they expecting to derive from their time spent on a particular network? Getting a handle on the answer to these questions is the first step in planning a message strategy that will garner results.

Self-identification

Drilling deeper into the question of audience intention, one also needs to consider audience qualification. There’s an enormous difference in the level of interest expressed when you compare a person who became a fan of your brand on Facebook six months ago, and the person who is rapidly accumulating pictures of different beaches and resorts on a pinboard titled “Vacation Planning 2012.” One probably needs more cultivation. The other is probably close to buying. They have self-identified as a hot prospect.

Adjusting the message to the buying cycle

From a message strategy, communicators need to think about not just different types of content, but what sorts of outcomes they need to inspire, and what sort of calls to action they need to include. On Facebook, a beachfront resort operator can spark interest, build visibility, and gain mindshare by sharing a steady stream of interesting vacation and travel related content.

On Pinterest, the data suggest the point of sale is closer, especially since inclusion of a price has been correlated positively with buying behaviors. Posting pictures of beachfront villas with weekly pricing is likely to convert lookers to guests on Pinterest. The same message on Facebook would be obnoxious.

These aren’t fine distinctions. Facebook and Pinterest are dramatically different networks, and the difference is most stark when you consider user intent. Failing to understand and take these differences into account can doom a communications campaign.

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media. She’s the author of the free eBook, “Unlocking Social Media for PR.”

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Should your company hire a PR agency?

30 May

By PR Daily Staff | Posted: May 30, 2012

This year, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban sparked a debate among people in the startup and PR worlds about the value of a public relations firm.

Cuban argued that startups shouldn’t hire PR agencies. Others (including the Public Relations Society of America) disagreed with his assertion.

[READ: 6 PR rules for startups]

PR Daily contributing editor Jackson Wightman also disagrees with Cuban, although he concedes that PR firms aren’t for every business. To that end, Wightman created an infographic for companies to determine whether they need the help of a PR firm.

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Professional Development Series this Wednesday at 9am

12 Mar

Just a reminder, our next Professional Development series networking breakfast and seminar is THIS Wednesday at 9 a.m. at The Eisen Agency. Register at www.TheEisenAgency.com/PDS. This month’s topic: More and Better Publicity for Yourself, Your Business and Your Brand.

Hope to see you there!!

 

 

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Webinar alert: Protect your brand from a crisis

7 Mar

By PR Daily Staff | Posted: March 6, 2012

Tick, tick tick…

That’s the sound of a potential crisis.

Are you prepared to map out a plan to repair any damage done to your brand?

Intel’s Issue and Crisis Manager Rick Reed joins us for a new webinar:

How to contain and defuse a crisis with social media
TOMORROW, Thursday, March 8th

2:00 – 3:15 p.m. Central

Reed manages issues and potential crises for a brand that is worth $35 billion, and he’ll show you how to:

• Prevent employee-generated issues with solid social media guidelines;
• Monitor the social Web for issues that could damage your brand;
• Respond effectively once an issue is discovered;
• Use lessons learned from recent Intel case studies;
• Create an issue response template.
Don’t miss this 75-minute virtual training session.

Register using this link to secure your promotional rate.

 

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17 Pinterest stats to show your boss or client

23 Feb

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10905.aspx

By Arik Hanson | Posted: February 22, 2012

In December, I wrote a post that asked 15 “power users” of Pinterest their thoughts about the emerging platform. At the time, Pinterest was still a niche social network.

In just two months, Pinterest has blown up and will likely be the “it” social network of 2012. Communications consultant Shel Holtz recently confirmed there are now more than 50 million blog posts referencing or featuring Pinterest. Amazing.

Pinterest is also driving serious traffic for some major brands. It is now driving more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace combined.

All of this attention usually brings questions—from your peers, from your boss, from your boss’ boss. So, it helps to have some Pinterest stats ready to share at the drop of a hat. When your boss comes calling—and if Pinterest continues to grow at this rate, someone will ask soon— you can share these 18 stats:

1. Pinterest is retaining and engaging users as much as two to three times as efficiently as Twitter was at a similar time in history. (via RJMetrics)

2. Etsy is the top site in terms of “source domains.” (Source domains are the sites that content on Pinterest links to externally.) Google is second, followed by Flickr, Tumblr, and WeHeartit.com (via RJMetrics)

3. Pinterest accounts for 3.6 percent of referral traffic, while Twitter just barely edged ahead of the newcomer, accounting for 3.61 percent of referral traffic. In July 2011, Pinterest accounted for just 0.17 percent of referral traffic, proving the site’s blockbuster growth. (via PR Daily)

4. Pinterest has 10.4 million registered users (and growing). (via AppData)

5. According to AppData and Facebook, 97 percent of Pinterest users are women.

6. American users of the social network spend an average of one hour and 17 minutes on the site, well ahead of Twitter (36 minutes), LinkedIn (17 minutes), and Google+ (six minutes). (via AllTwitter)

7. Top corporate Pinterest boards: Real Simple (34,517 followers), HGTV (17,824 followers), Nordstrom (9,886 followers), West Elm (11,547 followers), ModCloth (11,813 followers), Whole Foods (14,217 followers), Better Homes and Gardens (15,127 followers), Kate Spade (16,371 followers), Etsy (53,784 followers).

8. Estimated unique visitors to Pinterest.com increased by 429 percent from September to December 2011. (via Monetate)

9. According to comScore (via TechCrunch), the average Pinterest user spends 98 minutes per month on the site, compared to 2.5 hours on Tumblr, and seven hours on Facebook.

10. Daily Pinterest users have increased by more than 145 percent since the beginning of 2012. (via Mashable)

11. More than one-fifth of Facebook-connected users are on Pinterest daily (which represents more than 2,000,000 members). (via Mashable)

12. Top areas of the country for Pinterest users: East South Central (Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee) and West North Central (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota).

13. The biggest demographic for Pinterest: Women ages 25 to 34. (via Ignite)

14. Only 25 percent of Pinterest users have earned a bachelors or higher degree and the majority live off a household income of $25,000 to $75,000. (via Ignite)

15. In the U.K., the majority of Pinterest users are male (56 percent male vs. 44 percent female). (via Ragan.com)

16. Top interests on Pinterest in the U.S.: crafts, gifts, hobbies/leisure, interior design, fashion designers/collections. (via Ragan.com)

17. Top interests on Pinterest in the U.K.: venture capital, blogging resources, crafts, Web stats/analytics, SEO/marketing. (via Ragan.com)

Arik Hanson is principal of ACH Communications. A version of this post originally appeared on Communications Conversations.

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Save the Date!

30 Jan

Next Wednesday is the February installment of the Professional Development Series: Everything you need to know about using video in your marketing. 

WHEN:        Wed, Feb 8 at 9 a.m.

WHERE:     515 Monmouth St. Suite 302
                        Newport, KY 41071

Register at www.TheEisenAgency.com/PDS.

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Save the Date 1-11-12

6 Jan

A reminder that our first Professional Development Series event is coming up NEXT Wednesday. Kick starting 2012 and Making this Your Best Year Ever! For more information and registration, go to www.TheEisenAgency.com/PDS. 9 a.m. Wed, Jan 11 at The Eisen Agency in Newport.

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Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners

3 Jan

http://mashable.com/2011/12/23/small-business-new-years-resolutions/

by Nellie Akalp 16

As humans, we’re continually looking to improve and advance. Whether it’s trying to eat better, to quit smoking once and for all, to spend less money, or to spend more time with family and friends, we formally or informally create our own goals — optimistic that we’ll stick to them this year.

In this light, I’ve assembled my top 10 New Year’s resolutions for the small business owner.

1. Go small. You want customers to support the concept of small business, right? This means you should adopt a small business mindset at your own business too. Analyze your current vendors and service providers for opportunities to “downsize.” If you find any opportunities to support a small business instead, whether virtual or brick and mortar, aim to switch at least one vendor or supplier.

2. Go mobile. By 2015, more U.S. Internet users will access the web through mobile devices than through PCs. On average, 15% of all searches on Google today are from a mobile device. How well are you catering to this mobile population? Make 2012 the year you optimize your search marketing, email marketing and website to focus on this growing mobile community.

3. Go local. These mobile users are constantly interacting with things and places that physically surround them. Microsoft reported that 53% of mobile searches on Bing have a local intent. The online world has become an essential place for businesses to connect with their local community. Make sure your business has a local listing on key search engines: Google Places, Bing maps, and Yahoo maps.

4. Learn how to delegate and do more of it. When you’re just starting out and times are tough, it’s natural to tighten the purse strings. However, consider what you could gain by handing over certain tasks to contractors, virtual assistants or full-time employees. By relinquishing control of administrative tasks or company blog updates, you’ll free up time for what’s ultimately going to keep you in business: bringing in revenue.

5. Invest in one new customer touch point. Whether it’s blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, mobile coupons or QR codes, new ways to connect with customers seem to pop up daily. As a small business owner, you don’t have to excel in every new technology or network that comes along, but you should try to be wherever your customers are. Ask your current customers where/how they’d like to connect with you, then spend some time in 2012 to make it happen.

6. Refresh your website. In the race to master new social media tools, don’t overlook your own website. After all, social media efforts like Twitter campaigns end up driving traffic somewhere, right? It doesn’t make any sense to build a beautiful and savvy Facebook presence that funnels people to a boring, inaccurate, and out-of-date website. Keep it current and engaging!

7. Protect your assets with an LLC or corporation. While legal fine print may not be the most glamorous part of your business, forming an LLC or corporation can be critical to your business and personal financial health. These business structures protect your personal assets from any company liabilities. That is, if your business is sued or has bad debt, your personal property may be shielded from legal repercussions. Keep in mind that creditor judgments can last a total of 22 years, so you’re protecting not just what you own today, but whatever assets you’ll gain in the future.

8. Get your books ready for tax time early. Are you notorious for waiting until the last minute to organize and file your taxes? Do you find yourself wading through emails, or scrounging through your car to find stray business receipts? Don’t wait until April to start on your 2011 tax forms. Start fresh in 2012 by organizing your books from day one (even if that means outsourcing your accounting).

9. Social network in the real world. Whether the plumber recommends a carpenter or the web designer recommends a copywriter, business is driven by referrals and connections. In 2012, put some effort into networking by signing up for an industry conference or seeking out a local meetup group. These are invaluable ways to develop relationships and share advice with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.

10. Put time for you on the calendar. As an entrepreneur, remember that you’re solely responsible for your own motivation, productivity and well-being. There’s no boss to pat you on the back or give you a raise. It’s up to you to keep yourself motivated and inspired. In 2012 be sure to reward yourself for specific milestones like a big client win, meeting a tough deadline, or working “overtime” for multiple nights on end.

Sticking to 10 resolutions is a lofty goal for anyone. Follow the tips that ring true for your situation, and adjust as needed. Do you have other resolutions for your business in 2012?

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