By Sarah Hall and Leah Gaucher
At a recent Third Tuesday Toronto meetup, Matt Ingram from the Globe made the joke that talking about social networking sometimes makes you sounds like a 5 year old. Words like script kiddie, Tikiwiki and twitter sound like they were created by kids who still can’t pronounce all their letters. So why is it that adults are the ones who are embracing this social media culture far faster than teens or 20 something’s.
Steve Rubel, SVP, at Edelman Digital had a great post recently about social media demographics. According to the latest Consumer Electronics Usage Survey from Accenture, its baby boomers who are adopting social media platforms (such as facebook, twitter and linked in) the fastest – far outpacing their Gen Y counterparts. Click here for a great chart outlining Accenture’s findings.
It makes sense then, that Matt Ingram and his team at the Globe and Mail have taken a whole hearted approach to social media. They know that their audience is interested, even if they don’t understand exactly how it works. Through their recent policy wikis, Cover It Live events and even a live twitter chat on the idea that ‘people like twitter because they are afraid of death’ the Globe is pushing the envelope in how they deliver the news.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Email versus Phone Pitching
Posted by: Leah Gaucher
As a public relations practitioner educated in an email age, I find it easy to get carried away in the dependence on email communication rather than picking up a phone. This could be because I opted to use texting and instant messaging throughout my university career as a cheaper alternative to the traditional phone or it could be that email is a much less intimidating process. Either way, I’ve recently noticed this dependence translating into my work life (especially when pitching media) and have forced myself to recognize that there is a time and place to email versus phone. Here are my thoughts:
Email Pros
-Time saver: you can save time by sending out mass messages, duplicating and reusing information
-Accessible: as long as you have signal, you can communicate without disrupting others
-Complete: in an email, you can include everything you want to say all at once
-The norm: with others so dependent on technology, many prefer to be contacted via email
Phone Pros
-Persuasion: on the phone you have a better opportunity to back up your points
-Immediate: if you reach someone, you get the satisfaction of having an immediate response
-Personal: contact is more personal over the phone and can help to build relationships with clients/media
-Stands out: with such a dominant volume of emails today, a phone call or voicemail is less likely to get lost in the clutter
I do think that both methods of communication are valuable in different circumstances. When pitching media, I tend to email out the original pitch and follow-up via phone in order to spark conversation about the story angle. It is about doing what you are the most comfortable with and trying to meet the preference of your contact/client.
As a public relations practitioner educated in an email age, I find it easy to get carried away in the dependence on email communication rather than picking up a phone. This could be because I opted to use texting and instant messaging throughout my university career as a cheaper alternative to the traditional phone or it could be that email is a much less intimidating process. Either way, I’ve recently noticed this dependence translating into my work life (especially when pitching media) and have forced myself to recognize that there is a time and place to email versus phone. Here are my thoughts:
Email Pros
-Time saver: you can save time by sending out mass messages, duplicating and reusing information
-Accessible: as long as you have signal, you can communicate without disrupting others
-Complete: in an email, you can include everything you want to say all at once
-The norm: with others so dependent on technology, many prefer to be contacted via email
Phone Pros
-Persuasion: on the phone you have a better opportunity to back up your points
-Immediate: if you reach someone, you get the satisfaction of having an immediate response
-Personal: contact is more personal over the phone and can help to build relationships with clients/media
-Stands out: with such a dominant volume of emails today, a phone call or voicemail is less likely to get lost in the clutter
I do think that both methods of communication are valuable in different circumstances. When pitching media, I tend to email out the original pitch and follow-up via phone in order to spark conversation about the story angle. It is about doing what you are the most comfortable with and trying to meet the preference of your contact/client.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Trusting the brand
Posted by Sarah Hall
Edelman’s recently released their results from the 10th annual Trust Barometer Survey. In the US, public trust in business has dropped by twenty percent and in Canada by four percent.
While we may think that Canada is optimistic compared to the US, a four percent drop is still significant. It demonstrates that companies need to be mindful that in this digital age, you can no longer be entirely in control of your brand by simply putting out messages (even if they are truthful) and expect them to be consumed as they are. If you want to be believed and taken seriously, you have to live and breathe the messages you want to convey, and you have to be willing to leave them up to public scrutiny. This isn’t new thinking, but it is becoming more understood as we start to see the effect social media and online dialogue is having on corporate brands.
Another interesting point to note; when asked about trustworthy news sources, Canadians ranked the following as most trustworthy: industry analyst reports (52%), articles in business magazines (50%), conversations with friends and peers (42%) and conversations with company employees (41%). Corporate communications initiatives fared much worse with press releases, company websites, product advertising and social networking sites ranking the lowest on the list.
I find the last point about social networks surprising, because when I am conversing on Facebook, Twitter or Linked in, these conversations are with trusted friends – how does that differ from the 42% of people who trust conversations with friends and peers?
Edelman’s recently released their results from the 10th annual Trust Barometer Survey. In the US, public trust in business has dropped by twenty percent and in Canada by four percent.
While we may think that Canada is optimistic compared to the US, a four percent drop is still significant. It demonstrates that companies need to be mindful that in this digital age, you can no longer be entirely in control of your brand by simply putting out messages (even if they are truthful) and expect them to be consumed as they are. If you want to be believed and taken seriously, you have to live and breathe the messages you want to convey, and you have to be willing to leave them up to public scrutiny. This isn’t new thinking, but it is becoming more understood as we start to see the effect social media and online dialogue is having on corporate brands.
Another interesting point to note; when asked about trustworthy news sources, Canadians ranked the following as most trustworthy: industry analyst reports (52%), articles in business magazines (50%), conversations with friends and peers (42%) and conversations with company employees (41%). Corporate communications initiatives fared much worse with press releases, company websites, product advertising and social networking sites ranking the lowest on the list.
I find the last point about social networks surprising, because when I am conversing on Facebook, Twitter or Linked in, these conversations are with trusted friends – how does that differ from the 42% of people who trust conversations with friends and peers?
Obama: I Screwed Up
Posted by Cathy-Anne O’Brien
Wasn’t it refreshing to hear Obama say, “I screwed up” earlier this week? “I’ve got to own up to my mistake...,” he continued, addressing the breakdown in the vetting process for administration nominees.
While having grasped the attention of the listener with this admission, he then skilfully stayed on message: “...ultimately my job is to get this thing back on track because what we need to focus on is a deteriorating economy and getting people back to work.”
Obama is certainly leading, what he himself has coined, “this new era of responsibility.” Can you picture Prime Minister Harper saying he made a mistake? Or Pope Benedict, who recently revoked the excommunications of a bishop who denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers? Obama is defining the qualities of the new leader – defined by honesty and integrity while showing a human face. This is, after all, what we want from our leaders.
As a PR professional, how do we embrace this new era of honesty? How do we guide our clients and company leaders to speak with this level of candour? It takes a leader with lots of self-confidence and a sincere belief that truthfulness and openness will be rewarded. It requires a faith in the public. This mindset is what we are currently observing on the Internet – forced upon by the rise of social media - whether we like it or not. (It is no coincidence, then, that Twitter and Facebook have been incorporated into Obama’s world, or that he gets to keep his Blackberry while in office, albeit with limited use.)
For resisting business leaders who refuse to have these frank conversations with the media, their employees and their customers -- preferring instead to stay on the corporate message track -- they will miss out. A new bar has been raised by Obama, and the public will be less and less likely to respond to a leader who lacks that authenticity. And it will be up to us, PR professionals, to give this level of counsel to our clients, spokespeople and company leaders.
Wasn’t it refreshing to hear Obama say, “I screwed up” earlier this week? “I’ve got to own up to my mistake...,” he continued, addressing the breakdown in the vetting process for administration nominees.
While having grasped the attention of the listener with this admission, he then skilfully stayed on message: “...ultimately my job is to get this thing back on track because what we need to focus on is a deteriorating economy and getting people back to work.”
Obama is certainly leading, what he himself has coined, “this new era of responsibility.” Can you picture Prime Minister Harper saying he made a mistake? Or Pope Benedict, who recently revoked the excommunications of a bishop who denied the existence of the Nazi gas chambers? Obama is defining the qualities of the new leader – defined by honesty and integrity while showing a human face. This is, after all, what we want from our leaders.
As a PR professional, how do we embrace this new era of honesty? How do we guide our clients and company leaders to speak with this level of candour? It takes a leader with lots of self-confidence and a sincere belief that truthfulness and openness will be rewarded. It requires a faith in the public. This mindset is what we are currently observing on the Internet – forced upon by the rise of social media - whether we like it or not. (It is no coincidence, then, that Twitter and Facebook have been incorporated into Obama’s world, or that he gets to keep his Blackberry while in office, albeit with limited use.)
For resisting business leaders who refuse to have these frank conversations with the media, their employees and their customers -- preferring instead to stay on the corporate message track -- they will miss out. A new bar has been raised by Obama, and the public will be less and less likely to respond to a leader who lacks that authenticity. And it will be up to us, PR professionals, to give this level of counsel to our clients, spokespeople and company leaders.
Social media: should I participate?
Posted by: Julie O'Brien
Last week I went to an event about social media hosted by our PR association International Association of Business Communicators. The room was full of communication professionals, which is an indication of how much we’re craving information on how to incorporate more social media into our PR programs.
Blogs and Twitter were the hot topics, and consensus from the panellists (all of who have been blogging for years - Michael O’Connor Clarke, Mathew Ingram, Boyd Neil and Jennifer Evans) was that you have to participate. Conversations are happening online and we can’t control what’s being said. This leads to the question for many “how do I participate?” Having a presence is important, but in what form? For instance, should my CEO set-up a blog? Or as a PR professional should I be on tweeting on behalf of my client? The answer: it depends.
Companies have to put communications tools in place in order to work with and respond to the flurry of social media that’s changing the way we all communicate. For instance, honing skills to write key messages in minutes versus hours is critical in responding quickly to online conversations.
Because social media is evolving quickly many may be hesitant to jump in – however, like the panellists said participating is the first step. So start off slowly. For instance, blogging is new to us at BlueSky and we kicked off 2009 jumping in with both feet. Or join a conversation on a social networking site like Facebook on a personal level to learn how it works then see how you can apply it to your professional life.
Last week I went to an event about social media hosted by our PR association International Association of Business Communicators. The room was full of communication professionals, which is an indication of how much we’re craving information on how to incorporate more social media into our PR programs.
Blogs and Twitter were the hot topics, and consensus from the panellists (all of who have been blogging for years - Michael O’Connor Clarke, Mathew Ingram, Boyd Neil and Jennifer Evans) was that you have to participate. Conversations are happening online and we can’t control what’s being said. This leads to the question for many “how do I participate?” Having a presence is important, but in what form? For instance, should my CEO set-up a blog? Or as a PR professional should I be on tweeting on behalf of my client? The answer: it depends.
Companies have to put communications tools in place in order to work with and respond to the flurry of social media that’s changing the way we all communicate. For instance, honing skills to write key messages in minutes versus hours is critical in responding quickly to online conversations.
Because social media is evolving quickly many may be hesitant to jump in – however, like the panellists said participating is the first step. So start off slowly. For instance, blogging is new to us at BlueSky and we kicked off 2009 jumping in with both feet. Or join a conversation on a social networking site like Facebook on a personal level to learn how it works then see how you can apply it to your professional life.
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