Posts Tagged ‘social media’
Social media behavior of top digital influencers
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012Tags: 2012 social media marketing, digital influence, smm trends, social media
Posted in Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, social media | No Comments »
Podcasts as a PR tactic
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011The boxing match between traditional radio and podcasting took center stage a few years ago, although there really is no winner. Radio gets millions of listeners and the sense of urgency is far more prevalent than during a podcast, which you can listen to whenever you like.
However, podcasts have found an excellent niche. Depending on the theme, tone, audio level and quality, podcasts are growing in popularity, and are earning respect from listeners across the globe. Aiming to those who are relatively savvy on social media, podcasts are popping up everywhere.
The best thing about podcasts from a PR perspective is that they are viral. You can easily share snipits from a podcast, or create alerts on Twitter and Facebook to generate awareness and interest quickly. Podcasts are saved easily and you can go back to them online, comment and share the content over and over again. It’s an overall effective tactic to share your client’s message with the right audience. The key is to find the right podcast for your client, where s/he is comfortable speaking to the host.
Tags: itunes, Media Relations, podcast vs. radio, podcasting, pr tactics, social media, social media PR
Posted in Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, social media | No Comments »
Measuring PR in the social media era
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010Colleagues and I have been talking about this topic a lot in the past couple of years. With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn to keep alive, along with maintaining relationships with bloggers and tracking the online news environment, how do we measure PR in terms of value in this era?
Like most elements of the integrated marketing communications process, PR should have a strategy that’s initially agreed upon. While PR is a continues process that must allow for changes, tweaks and much flexibility, the ultimate goal should remain in tact. For example, if a PR campaign is employed to handle a crisis on Facebook and Twitter, the goal could be to successfully contain the viral posts with the purpose of diffusing the situation in such a way where brand reputation is restored as quickly as possible.
We used to measure PR in column inches back in the glory days of print. While print is still quite valuable, the online world has opened too many doors for PR pros to ignore as potential opportunities. Aside from calculating online impressions and advertising value, social media PR should also be measured accordingly. Post quality, frequency, and participation also matters. With social media, however, it’s about quality of fans and followers, and not so much the quantity. Again, that depends on your client’s goals and what you decide is the best strategy.
Another key measurement that many colleagues overlook is the wish list. If you and the client come up with a specific list of potential placements, or specific goals achieved on social media, then that should be the ultimate reward for a successful campaign. Or, if you’re handling a crisis, perhaps how quickly your strategy turns things around can be the measurement.
In the end, it’s how you and the client communicate on what PR will mean and how it will be defined in the short and long term. Good measurement and effective results come only after a solid strategy has been put in place along with the proper time to be executed. And in my opinion, equivalent advertising value is not a fair measurement tool for a well placed article that offers third party endorsement of the outlet its featured in!
Tags: client PR strategy, how to measure pr results, imc, measuring pr, public relations measurement, social media
Posted in Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, social media | 3 Comments »
Is there real PR value in TripAdvisor?
Friday, June 5th, 2009Ever popular,TripAdvisor reviews or on a PR persons checklist every couple of days. With reviews posted several times a day, TripAdvisor is so valued by hotel guests, and future guests shopping for a good hotel.
Seeking real advice and feedback from those who have already experienced a property, travelers put a lot of stock on what they read on the site. But, how can TripAdvisor be leveraged as a true PR tool?
The most common question asked… are the reviews accurate? That is one factor that impacts the credibility of an anonymous review. What if it is the competitor down the street writing a nasty review? What if it is your extended family writing glowing reviews about a hotel they haven’t actually stayed in?
While TripAdvisor does all it can to scan reviews and seperate the fake ones from the real ones, it’s nearly impossible to always tell the difference. From a PR standpoint, the value and perception of the hotel increases when the property is in the top five of the area. Conversely, a bad review needs to be addressed with the proper management response, which is a good communications tool that TripAdvisor allows to be fair.
As well, the annual awards which TripAdvisor announces is a great recognition for hotels and destinations that is certainly worth a lot of PR value. Placing updated photos and posting current information should also be part of your checklist.
Tags: accurate hotel reviews, hotel awards, hotel reviews, social media, tripadvisor, tripadvisor awards, value of pr, viral messaging
Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, Top Accommodations, social media | 1 Comment »
How working in PR will change in less than five years
Monday, May 25th, 2009Great, great article in this week’s TIME magazine about the Future of Work! Deep insights about how jobs, green jobs, and the culture of work will shift to more freelance, more flexible, and less structured workloads that no longer include “processing words or numbers.” This type of article is exactly what I have been waiting for to write about the future of working in public relations.
It’s already changed. PR is no longer about placing cool articles and taking the time to befriend editors who may or may not get laid off tomorrow. Too much of a waste of time. Instead, we’re Tweeting, trying to organize Facebook fans, blogging, monitoring comments, doing online research and we keep writing. Maybe we’ll do some traditional media stuff to feel normal for a while. And when we think we’re done with writing, then we write some more.
But, I am noticing that freelance PR professionals are increasing. And most are women! Smart women who, if left to work the way they want, can be very productive and successful without battling a passe 9-5 structured schedule and wasting their time commuting. The flexibility, PR specialty and the lower cost of freelance labor will make a huge difference as larger companies continue to cut out their own real estate costs, benefits, trim their in-house staff and outsource the rest. Both Generation X and Y have a very different work mindset that does not include company loyalty, and rather flexibility, quality and productivity are at the forefront of their success.
This shift has been fueled by the downturn, and in the next five years PR jobs will continue to evolve and each one of us will have to be ahead of our game not just to stand out, but also to learn and produce good work. Soon, if not already, companies won’t want to pay someone to commute and show up to hang out at their offices.
Wake up and smell the coffee– we’re nearing the end of cubicle life. I keep repeating how important it to use this time to learn and hone new skills that will be evergreen in PR and marketing communications in less time than we think.
Tags: future of work, green jobs, marketing communications, PR freelancers, social media, TIME, women at work generation X and Y
Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, Integrated Marketing Communications, Media Relations, PR, Top Accommodations, social media | 3 Comments »
H1N1 Virus: Had Enough Yet?
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Still unsure what the media should call the virus in order to get the most hits and rankings, I’ll avoid the term “swine flu” for now.
Sounds like the press is reaching a peak on this story and rather quickly. Just yesterday, we were bombarded with news updates on reported cases of the virus in the U.S. Then, the WHO Director General raised the level of awareness to 5, activating pandemic preparedness plans on a global level, which was concerning, but, thankfully, did not cause general panic.
But doesn’t it seem like the public is fed up with so much coverage on the topic already? I know I am getting there. Some say the story is overblown, and I tend to agree with Jack Cafferty here: http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/30/has-swine-flu-story-been-overblown/ Some agree with the previous post I wrote on the cycle of news. Others say that the public should be aware of the issue and the more facts surrounding the topic the better. Others are more concerned about the President’s first 100 days.
The point is, as much as the H1N1 virus is a hot headline right now, it may have reached the climax surprisingly early in just a week. Perhaps because of the fact that we receive news from so many outlets and resources today versus just a few years ago, might be adding to this frustration of “too much news, too fast.” Bombardment on any topic naturally desensitizes the public so that news gets old very quickly.
It will be interesting to see how the media will continue to keep this story alive enough to be on the front page… and for how long? Will it be through exaggerated headlines, good and accurate reporting, or by feeding fire to the story via social media?
Tags: crisis communications swine flu, h1n1 virus PR, Media Relations, news cycle, social media, social networking, swine flu
Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, PR, Top Accommodations | No Comments »
PR Twinterns!
Saturday, April 25th, 2009It’s fascinating how Twitter is taking form each week. As I continue to monitor the people and businesses I follow, and somehow my own followers are slowly growing (and I have no idea how they find me), I’m gaining a better perspective of this social monster’s capabilities.
Apparently, so are businesses. As my colleagues and I anticipated, Twitter seems to be working much better for businesses rather than individuals chatting about what flavor toothpaste they used that morning.
Jobs are indeed being created as a result of social media, and are being tested through student internships. Before long, Twinterns will become the next entry-level PR people in the market by honing a specific skill set: feeding the social media monsters and understanding how they work.
Case in point from an article in PRWeek: http://www.prweekus.com/Pizza-Hut-Twintern-to-advance-PR-in-digital-strategy/article/131124/
Tags: Facebook, Hotels and Twitter, Jobs in Social Media, pr twitter, social media, Twinterns, Twitter
Posted in European Destinations, Hospitality, PR, Top Accommodations | 1 Comment »