Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

PRSA Chicago Luncheon Recap: PR Trends for 2012

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

As we venture into 2012, PR continues to evolve as an industry driven by real-time engagement. At PRSA Chicago’s most recent luncheon, the panel of PR and digital experts spoke to this movement and related trends they anticipate this year.

The luncheon panel (pictured above, from left to right) featured Jack Monson (moderator), vice president at Engage121; Anna Rozenich, director of communications at SunCoke Energy; Bill Adee, vice president of digital at Chicago Tribune; Laura Chavoen, senior vice president and director of digital strategy at MSL Chicago; and Jim Motzer, public relations instructor at DePaul University. Here are some key takeaways from the luncheon:

Leverage Inherent Connections to Engagement and Content in PR.

Laura emphasized the significance of PR’s deep connection to content generation and audience engagement. PR practitioners are inherently strategic thinkers and storytellers, developing narratives around a brand’s audiences. PR practitioners understand the conversation and significance of real-time engagement, and this makes them much more equipped to handle brands in this new digitally-driven consumer age over  advertising, digital and media agencies.

Laura encouraged the PR audience to take ownership of this engagement movement in 2012 to help position PR professionals as the leading minds and strategic thinkers closest to content and consumer behavior.

Keep Consumers Top of Mind.

In 2012, consumers expect brands to be engaged in every aspect of a consumer’s life, and to be an active part of their everyday conversations, both online and offline. The days where brands and corporations dictate the conversation, and consumers are to simply follow suit, are long gone. In the age of social and online media, the everyday consumer is now an influencer with a voice, and brands must put consumers first.

Jim spoke to Netflix as the perfect example of a contemporary brand blindly changing its pricing structure and operations without any regard for its very loyal consumer base. Brands not only have to be engaged with its consumers and audiences, but must keep them top of mind before making any business decisions, said Jim.

Make Content Interactive and Strategically Forward Thinking.

Several of the panelists called out new, innovative means of taking a brand story and making it interactive and engaging. Social media and online platforms continue to serve as creative outlets for delivering content in a relevant and intriguing way for consumers. The panelists referenced Google TV, infographics, Google+ brand pages and Pinterest among the latest vehicles for driving brand content in 2012.

However, the panel cautioned PR professionals to not be too eager to jump onto the latest social media bandwagon. For instance, if a brand’s target is a younger male demographic, Larua suggested Tumblr over a Pinterest, despite Pinterests’ recent popularization.

Don’t Forget About Authenticity.

Although authenticity is among the most overused terms in the industry, Anna admitted, she referenced authenticity as still having tremendous relevancy for brands in 2012. The panel expressed that brands should have a personality and should use tailored content to capture its unique spirit. The 80’s corporate model where companies are fixed on an unattainable pedestal is dead, and brands are now expected to be “down in the trenches” with their consumers, engaging in their audiences’ everyday problems and conversations.

Social media can be a brand’s greatest means in connecting on an intimate, personal level with individual consumers, however it can just as easily work against you, uncovering inauthenticity as quick as a flash, said Anna.

Position Data as the Input, not the Output.

As Laura Chaoven spoke to on measurement, “Data as an output is 2010. Data as an input is 2012.”. With the invention of tools like Radian6 and Sysomos, data can be easily extracted and manipulated to paint a picture of a brand’s engagement online and offline that links back to a brand’s objectives.

However, with increased accessibility of these programs and competing free software, this data is no longer as inherently valuable as it was two years ago. Brands don’t need research experts or agencies to deliver the “output” numbers anymore. They can just as easily do it themselves these days, said Laura. Thus, these data analysis experts must not look to the numbers as the “output” or end game, but as the “input” from which insights are derived. It is the expert insights that are the real asset, and what is going to differentiate PR experts from any old data miner.

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Posted in Digital, PR Industry, PR Measurement, Social Media | No Comments »

Connecting with Voters: Social Media in an Election Year

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Four years ago, social media conversations had an unprecedented impact on the presidential race. The GOP certainly took notice and even posted an op-ed in PR Week regarding the opportunities to engage voters online. Now that another presidential election year is upon us, candidates are using social media in new ways to try to break through to voters, share their platforms on key issues and gain an advantage. It’s been fascinating to watch— on both sides of the aisle.

Using Facebook to Reach Fans: Facebook plays a key role in every candidate’s strategy to reach voters. iContact recently published a study of the GOP candidates’ use of social media. The study found that Mitt Romney had the highest number of Facebook fans but experienced the lowest percentage of Facebook fan engagement. On the other hand, Rick Santorum had one of the lowest numbers of Facebook fans among the GOP candidates but actually had the highest engagement level with his fans.

Joining in the Debate Online: Does it feel like there has been about a thousand Republican debates held already? (Technically, there have been 24.) In addition to following the debates on TV, voters can follow the debates online through following hashtags like #CNNDebate. During Florida’s GOP debate last week, #CNNDebate was a trending topic throughout the evening, ranking as high as #1 in the US and worldwide during the broadcast.

Integrating Online and Offline Channels to Reach Voters: It might be hard to believe, but not every voter in America is an active user of Facebook and Twitter. In realizing this, candidates like Newt Gingrich are using platforms like Facebook to recruit volunteers to make phone calls and join in grassroots efforts to engage undecided voters.

Town Halls via Google+, Facebook, and YouTube: Yesterday, President Obama held a video chat session via Google+ to answer questions raised from his State of the Union (SOTU) address last week. The Google+ hangout was another town hall style event taken online, similar to the President’s Facebook and YouTube town halls in early 2011. Most of the session focused on the economy and on job creation. More than a quarter of a million people submitted questions to the president via YouTube for the event, and after the event, the YouTube page had 6,123 “likes”. 

Twitter Chats: The day after the State of the Union address, Vice President Joe Biden held a Twitter chat to talk to individuals about the messages during the SOTU. Participants used the hashtag #WHChat and asked questions ranging from job creation, taxes, energy, and spending cuts. Some of the Tweets included:

“What happened to #health care reform? How will WH work to engage states in understanding need for improved primary care access? #WHChat”

“#WHChat #SOTU question: I didn’t hear much about spending cuts or the deficit: is there a plan to cut and balance the budget?”

This year, we’ll be watching how the candidates and the President will be using social media in new ways to reach voters and amplify their messages. Thanks to these online tools and channels, voters have more ways to connect with candidates and elected officials to pose their questions, better understand key economic, social and foreign policy issues, and become familiar with who they will be voting for public office. Clearly, these channels give voters more opportunities to be informed about their vote, and ultimately, give the candidates and elected officials more opportunities to listen to their constituents.

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Posted in Digital, Government Affairs, Social Media | No Comments »

PRSA International Conference Recap: Discussing Audience Fragmentation

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

Last month, Laura Chavoen, our senior vice president of digital strategy, spoke at the 2011 PRSA International Conference in Orlando. Her topic was “A Tailored Approach to Audience Fragmentation.”

In her session, Laura discussed how social media is causing many marketing companies to adopt a PR planning model to ensure that programs and campaigns are tailored to the right target audience. She also shared her thoughts on using new tools that public relations practitioners can use for monitoring and pinpointing audiences. Below is a video of a segment of her presentation.

Thanks to the PRSA for inviting MSL Chicago to particpate in the 2011 International Conference!

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Posted in Events, PR Industry, PR Measurement, Social Media, Video | No Comments »

Higher Education and Social Influence: Where Does Your School Rank?

Friday, October 28th, 2011

In the face of budget cuts, lower endowments and a fiercely competitive market for talent, colleges and universities are coming to terms with the need to be creative in their efforts to attract the best and brightest in students and faculty. At the same time, they know they’ve got to focus on building stronger relationships with virtually anyone who can positively impact their balance sheet — alumni, philanthropists, government, etc. So what’s the new metric for marketing success that everyone is focused on? “Engagement.”

Many schools (and major brands) are still trying to navigate social engagement and influence online—especially as these communications continue to evolve. At MSL, we’re constantly using new tools and techniques to help our higher education clients listen and analyze the conversation.

The team at MSL Chicago took a quick look at which universities and colleges are doing the best job of engagement online. The metric we used was the institution’s overall online influence, as measured by a Klout score. (Klout uses data from social networks to measure the influence of the institution by looking at how often and how broadly the content created drives action). The results are interesting:

What’s most interesting to us is the mix of schools with top scores — you’ve got top Big Ten universities with huge and passionate alumni bases focused on athletics and there are also prestige academic powers like Harvard mixed in the group. The schools are located in virtually every geographic area and they feature different areas of academic strength— they attract entirely different student bodies.

As a marketer, my big takeaway is that there isn’t a “winning” formula that helps spark engagement. It goes back to defining your brand — finding the differentiators and making that brand come to life for all those you want to reach.

What do you see in the results?

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Posted in Digital, Higher Education, Influencer Marketing, PR Industry, PR Measurement, Reputation, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Global Going Local: Google Acquisitions

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

I frequently visit daily deal websites and online recommendation sites on a regular basis. Between Yelp, OpenTable and Groupon, I see a lot of value in connecting with local businesses online and discovering new restaurants. Clearly, Google has been seeing the value too.

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google purchased DailyDeal, a website based in Germany similar to the likes of Living Social and Groupon—which complements its Google Offers website. Google Offers launched in June and is currently only available in select cities, but the DailyDeal acquisition is just the latest in a series of moves focusing on local commerce websites.

Earlier this month, Google announced the acquisition of Zagat. At first, this move seemed surprising, but in reading more about the announcement, it’s clear that more brands and companies are seeing the value in marketing and branding on a local level. Hyper-local marketing is influencing the way companies engage consumers—not just for small to mid sized businesses, but for global organizations as well. Zagat has specialized in local reviews and recommendations for years, and it’s an approach for Google to tap into a regional consumer base and connect with local businesses.

In recent months, a few daily deal sites have reshuffled. Facebook cancelled the Facebook Deals product, while Yelp has downsized its daily coupon offering. Still, local commerce sites continue to grow as a source of recommendations and community buzz. Last week, I caught an infographic from Yelp, showing its exponential growth over the last five years. The ‎site experienced 54 percent traffic growth in the past year— this explosion of online activity and memberships signal how more consumers are looking for recommendations from people like them in the local community.

There has been a lot of speculation around how Google will leverage local commerce acquisitions like DailyDeal and Zagat to tap into the cities around the world. Aggregating recommendations, daily couponing, reservations, and sharing the information with your extended network on Google+ could all be rolled into a powerful Android application. And of course, any Google searches for dining destinations will find Zagat recommendations at the top of the list.

In any case, it’s pretty exciting to see how the local commerce sites and even global companies are evolving their business models to reach a consumer audience craving reviews, recommendations and deals. Clearly, this audience is hungry for information on a local level, and it was only a matter of time before Google jumped into the local commerce playing field.

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Posted in Digital, PR Industry, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media | No Comments »

Social Media: Bridging Exclusive Experiences and the Everyday Consumer

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Through the years, the Internet has allowed us to stay connected to special events and media coverage during the workday. We live in an age where we can watch sporting event from our desks and followed the Casey Anthony trial in between meetings. It is only natural that companies recognize the power of engaging their audience online, and are now making exclusive events easily attainable to anyone with an Internet connection.

Fashion Week is one of those experiences many of us will never experience, and for some, scoring a coveted seat at a runway presentation seems like a far-fetched dream. However, as Mercedes-Benz Spring 2012 Fashion Week proved, fashion houses have reshaped the experience from being completely restricted to fans being able to partake in the event from their homes and cubicles (not that I partook in this, of course).

Oscar de la Renta is a prime example of a fashion designer that has mastered the art of creating brand buzz via social media. Erika Bearman, director of communications for the brand (and also known as @OscarPRGirl on Twitter), consistently engages fans by posting behind-the-scenes photos, quotes from Mr. de la Renta himself and musings from around the office. While various other designers have adopted a social media presence, the mixture of brand representation and personality from Ms. Bearman make Oscar de la Renta a shining case study.

As the media landscape has changed, gone are the days of waiting to pull up photos on Style.com post-event. Now, magazine editors upload commentary and photos in real-time. With the help of the PR team, OdlR leveraged Twitter and Tumblr to encourage followers to use the hash tag #odlrlive. Instead of catching photos from the show or a video recap, viewers could stream the event live from simply logging on to Tumblr. More than 2,000 tweets popped up as a result, and Tumblr produced hundreds of posts utilizing the event-specific hash tag.

This trend seems to only be gaining momentum, as other major fashion houses try to get a piece of the action. Burberry announced their Spring/Summer 2012 collection would premiere on Twitter, even before the runway presentation at London Fashion Week. 

As public relations professionals are planning VIP events, this is a great practice to keep in mind. For invitees who are unable to attend, leveraging a social media campaign in conjunction with the event can still allow them to feel as though they are a part of the unique experience.

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Posted in Brand Recognition, Digital, Events, Experiential Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Video | No Comments »

Search Advice: “Awesome Finds Awesome”

Monday, July 11th, 2011

As you may recall from our search blog post back in April, Google has introduced a new social search platform: Google +1. With the recent public launch of Google +1, it undoubtedly became a topic of great discussion driving  Social Media Club Chicago’s latest event on search and SEO. One comment from the night that really struck a chord with me was, “Start thinking less like a marketer, and more like a search engine”. As a marketer, I am perhaps a little overprotective of my craft; however, I firmly believe that that statement could not be farther from the truth.



As readers are shifting from consuming information through print outlets to online sources, search results and online readership has become arguably more important to media publications than even their print readership. PR practioners and marketers are now readily accounting for search as a daily responsibility, hiring staff with search and digital expertise; and regularly analyzing keywords and search results for their clients. Many agencies are now using this data on a daily basis to tailor press releases and messaging; and are producing digital press releases embedded with links and multimedia to help propel their clients to the top of the search results in their given categories.

The next big question then, is how social media will factor into this search evolution. With the incorporation of social media and Google +1 into search results, it seems like a natural progression that a user’s social media connections will have a hand in search algorithms. My personal belief is that a user’s network will soon directly affect a how a user’s search results are configured, delivering a set of search results specific only to that user.

For instance, if a consumer is searching online in a particular category – let’s say, mattresses – and his/her connections have recommended specific mattress brands over others; the user’s search results will then be rearranged to account for this information, rather than maintain a fixed sequence of search results with perhaps some Google +1 annotations, as search functions now. If this is indeed the case, companies will no longer be simply encouraged, but forced to engage in two-way conversations online, and take accountability for their brands. Otherwise, they will fall into the dreaded page two of Google’s search results (or worse).

To my earlier point, marketers and search engines are not separate, competing entities, but mutually beneficial, working to connect consumers with compatible results and brands.  As described by panelist and BARBRI director, Sean McGinnis, “Be awesome; awesome finds awesome”; and brands need to recognize this (if they do not already) to remain relevant and engaged with consumers. Consumers expect brands to be genuine and connected with them, and search engines are taking notice.

So brands, “be awesome”, and awesome will find you.

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Posted in Brand Recognition, Digital, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Grassroots Marketing: Changing Perceptions, One Person at a Time

Monday, June 20th, 2011

How do you convince a consumer who doesn’t have your brand on their shopping list to take a second look? When the brand shifts from irrelevance to consideration, or even better, purchase, you know you’re making a difference. That is how our team feels as a result of the “Our Town, Our Heroes” grassroots campaign we launched with General Motors.

The program encourages the community to nominate someone who inspires them, the public votes, and the local hero with the most votes, and the nominator, receive a small prize package, including a one-week loan of an all-new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle. The team goes out of our way to make it about the hero, his or her story, and the success depends on the details.

At MSLGROUP, we talk about real-time engagement and the always-on conversation. We really harness that powerful energy here to remain vigilant, flexible and relevant. We connect with personal stories and even provide the finalists with an online toolkit to help them get the word out. They go on to generate their own online voting movement from status updates to creating Facebook events and blog posts. Media is interested too and helps spread the word. Once we have a winner, we make his or her first in-person experience with the vehicle extra special, often involving many of the key people who voted. Stories, photos and video are collected and shared, and more often then not, one positive experience leads to another.

One of our winning heroes, Estrella Rosenberg, recently published a post on her blog titled, “Our Town, Our Heroes: What Authentic CSR Feels Like.” She said the Heroes program works because there is strong brand alignment, it’s personal and it isn’t a heavy PR campaign. The finalists’ stories, the email feedback and the comments online demonstrate consumers are engaging with GM in ways they never have before. The survey results prove we’re moving the needle when it comes to opinion and consideration, and the requests for vehicle discount codes show we’re influencing purchase decisions.

Are you capitalizing on the power of grassroots? Here are some things to keep in mind:
• Have a good content strategy
• Give your community the tools to evangelize your brand
• Encourage rich member interaction
• Let the community drive their own course
• Give the community reasons to talk

What other pointers do you have to add to this list?

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Posted in Brand Recognition, CSR & Cause, Experiential Marketing, Influencer Marketing, PR Industry, Reputation, Social Media | 1 Comment »

In Social Media, Nice Guys Don't Always Finish Last

Friday, June 17th, 2011

At Social Media Club Chicago’s most recent event, I had the opportunity to meet New York Times best-selling author and former Yahoo! executive, Tim Sanders. As Sanders described to the crowd (see Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence), rich is the belief that “you have enough to go around, enough to share. And when we share, we are worth something”.

In this Information Age of social media and the web, we not only have access to a wealth of information; but we also have a multitude of channels to share this information. Although Sanders comically admitted that “snarky people” get the most online traffic (to the amusement of the social media-savvy audience); in the long-term, he said it is only through genuine confidence and living positively that you can attain ultimate success in business and life.

Use your existing long-term friends, colleagues and supporters, and open up your work and knowledge to others. Overtime, you will be seen as a person of valuable insight and a rich source of information, (see Love is the Killer App). In the process, you will attain new knowledge from others and develop your network of personal (not to be confused with superficial) relationships: a philosophy that has equipped Sanders to rise above both personal and financial losses throughout his life.

I think social media can indeed be a powerful tool, but, “with great power comes great responsibility”. It is important to not lose sight of your technological wealth, harness your confidence, live life positively and share your knowledge; because, nice guys don’t always finish last.

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Posted in Digital, Social Media, Uncategorized | No Comments »

New Facebook Update Potentially Replaces Need for Multiple Pages for a Single Brand

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

First reported last week by Brian Honigman of Mashable, Facebook now features functionality for Page admins to better target posts for specific subsets of fans.

… in other words, only certain fans will see particular updates on the Page’s wall or on their own news feed.

… in other-other words, no longer will a brand need to have separate Pages for each campaign or geographic region (at least in theory).

Many brands have an international audience, some with language other than English, and accordingly, brands will split up their total audience to avoid peppering their fans with unusable or irrelevant information.

After all, one of the main rules of Fight Club… err, marketing (sometimes I get the two confused, true story) is relevant content to the right audience, and this has never been more true in the age of Like/+1s.

VS.

Fan Pages by language or location meet that a particular audience’s needs makes audiences very happy – though it requires an immense amount of coordination and time (which equals money no matter what industry you are in) to execute– and execute well.

With the enhanced post-targeting allowing Page admins to post geo- specifically to countries, states, provinces and cities, the need for multiple Pages could reduce so that a smaller amount of community managers can efficiently manage the same volume of updating.

Just off the cuff, the aggregate audience for posts regarding contests, competitions, sweepstakes and promotions – even couponing and grassroots initiatives and local events can now be housed under a single brand page instead of across multiple networks, cutting down on repeat work and increasing the ability to draw more data from fans.

… in theory.

On paper this makes sense on the brand side – the Social Habit 2011 report by Edison Research and Arbitron estimates social Media now reaches the majority of Americans 12+ , with Facebook profiles accounting for over half (51 percent) the total profiles- but how does this impact the agencies who manage a piece, but not all of a brand’s social media presence?

Central piece to the puzzle may be less about the agency’s willingness to manage the social media presence and more about the brand – do they see value in the decreased duplication of efforts managing multiple Pages when the net-net is that multiple agencies or organizations have to play nice in the same sandbox?

The nerd POV (we prefer “data-driven,” thank you very much) offers a secondary concern – what does this mean for the data that comes through these pages? Most of Facebook’s user data is not available to the multitude of third-party tools the way Twitter does, so will Facebook Insights keep up to speed in their ability to dissect an individual’s impact on traffic, engagement, etc.?

Facebook already allows individual pieces to splinter off based on the old-Tab-new-sidebar, so hopes are that the geographic-specific pieces can be housed here, thus be measured individually AND ladder up to the whole of the platform… but these big questions don’t matter unless functionality and buy-in meet up along the way.

… I believe an academic would call such an advance a function of innovation due to demand, so here’s hoping someone along the way calls for it, assuming Facebook hasn’t already thought of this prior to rolling it out.

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