Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Macworld 2011 in San Francisco with one of our newest clients, the Omni Group. Given this was only the second year the conference was held without Apple, there was much speculation and discussion on whether the show would be as exciting and well attended as in years past with Apple’s presence. Well the verdict is in and I can safely say the show was a hit. Not only was the expo floor packed, but I heard from many exhibitors that they were running low on products they were selling, as well as marketing information, half way through the show.
The Omni Group, a leading developer of productivity apps built exclusively for the Mac OSX and iOS platforms, leverages Macworld each year to reconnect with their customers, foster relationships with industry influentials and showcase upcoming apps. We were tasked with securing briefings with media and analysts to showcase the 2011 product roadmap and discuss the impact of the new Mac App Store.
As a result of our outreach, we secured more than 18 briefings with influential technology reporters and Apple-focused media and analysts including ZDNet, PC World, Macworld, Ars Technica, Technologizer, InformationWeek, Mac User, Seattle Times, Gartner, Forrester and more. These meetings have already resulted in 23 pieces of coverage to date from outlets such as Mac Observer, AOL/TUAW and Macworld. In addition, the Omni Group’s booth was consistently packed with visitors anxious to learn more about the company’s apps and meet the creators behind the popular productivity apps.
Macworld 2011 reminded me how vibrant the Mac community is. In every corner of Moscone West there were conversations and buzz on everything from apps to new programs to iPad cases. Clearly Macworld has evolved but it hasn’t deterred a passionate community from coming together to celebrate innovation around Apple’s platforms.
Recently I had the opportunity to do some in-depth research on how to launch a promotion on Facebook to help one of our clients meet its business and communications objectives. As I was discovering the various intricacies, guidelines and best practices, I thought it would be useful to develop and share a check list that can be used by any organization who is considering launching a promotion on Facebook. At a minimum, here is what you should know:
- Know the Rules. Facebook has strict guidelines about implementing contests on its platform. For more details, visit http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php.
- Determine your Goals and the Definition of Success. Are you looking to drive more engagement with your brand? Do you want to stimulate sales? Or do you want to gather information about your customers? Once you know what you’re trying to achieve and how you’ll measure ROI, you’ll be able to develop the right type of promotion.
- Consider Wildfire Interactive. You can only administer a promotion on Facebook through an application. Wildfire Interactive has an online software application that enables businesses and organizations of all sizes to easily create their own attractive, branded interactive campaigns (e.g. sweepstakes, contests, give-aways, incentive-based surveys, etc.) and to simultaneously publish them in multiple social networks and their websites. You can learn more about these applications by visiting the Wildfire website or call them directly to chat with a customer service representative.
- Find a Developer Versed in Facebook Markup Language (FBML). If you are using Wildfire Interactive’s lower-end service, you may want to make modifications to your landing page or maybe link a couple of promotions together to create a single promotional campaign. If this is the case, you’re likely to need a developer familiar with FBML and Cascading Style Sheets. Alternatively if you have the budget of $15,000 to $25,000, Wildfire Interactive’s team will happily create a white label promotion taking care of all the custom application development for you.
- Keep it Simple. To drive participation, we recommend making the promotional campaign easy for people to enter. Those that are complicated simply don’t attract as many participants. For instance, asking people to submit a photo is much easier than asking them to create a five minute, original video.
- Determine Criteria for Judging. Think about how you’re going to evaluate and determine winners. With Facebook promotions, you can convene a panel of prominent or celebrity judges to determine winners, have the public vote to determine winners or take a combination approach with judges selecting finalists and the public selecting the winner. You will want to think about what will work best for you.
- Come up with Compelling Prizes. You need to make it worthwhile for people to participate in your contest. The right prizes are essential; however, you must make sure they are relevant to your audience and your brand.
- Publicize Your Promotion. Develop a publicity plan to drive awareness of your contest, sweepstakes or special offer. Make sure to include information on your website, and consider the development and distribution of a press release to generate interest. Here is a release distributed by Cathay Pacific Airways announcing a “unique competition through its official Facebook page.”
- Build in Time for Winner Notification. When your promotion ends, you are likely to need a few days to get in touch with the winners, since according to Facebook’s policy you cannot notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat or posts on profiles or pages.
- Seek Legal Counsel. Get an attorney to review your official rules, entry form and terms and conditions for participation to ensure you are in compliance with state and federal laws. You should also understand the taxes required when prizes are awarded.
For more information about social media promotions, please check out our previous blog posts on the topic:
- Wildfire Interactive Provides Easy, Customizable Facebook Campaigns (Jun. 23, 2010)
- Social Media Contests Have the Power to Drive Massive Awareness and Engagement (Apr. 30, 2010)
- Twitter Contest Helps Drive Awareness and Sales (Feb. 19, 2010)
You can also check out current promotions on Facebook here.
The media landscape is continuing to evolve and change, along with the tools available to communicators to disseminate information and engage with key audiences. It is important for us as communicators to stay up on the latest changes and ensure we are leveraging emerging tools to make certain our strategies are executed in an efficient and effective manner.
While staying current in this rapidly changing world is a challenge for those immersed in the field, it is even more challenging for in-house professionals whose industries may be slower to integrate and adapt to these changes. We frequently speak with marketing executives looking for guidance or education for themselves or their team members.
For those of you looking to gain insight into the changing communication landscape, I recommend considering the New Media in Communication Series through the University of Washington’s Department of Communication
The series includes an upcoming Social Media Saturday for Communicators on February 12, 2011, where I will be moderating a panel of representatives from for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to discuss how they integrate social media into their communication strategies. There are two additional sessions scheduled in the series – Photography in the Digital Age and a Video Bootcamp: How to Shoot, Edit and Upload Video to the Web.
For more in-depth study, the University of Washington has a unique and compelling graduate program – the Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM) program.
This past fall Hanson Hosein, director of the MCDM program, invited me to be a guest speaker in his Strategic Research and Business Practices class. The class is a required core course of the MCDM program taught by Hanson and Dr. Malcolm Parks.
I found the participants highly engaged and building strong expertise in the world of communication. For this particular course, the students were getting hands-on experience by helping real-world organizations such as the EPA, Pacific Science Center and the Woodland Park Zoo solve a specific challenge, as outlined in a blog post by an MCDM student.
Given the students were managing projects for real-world clients, I focused my discussion on best practices for client relations. Specifically, I shared my perspective and tips on engaging key stakeholders and building consensus, developing a strategic plan, understanding the impact of social media and the importance of educating clients about social media, and finally, measuring success.
I was thrilled with the engagement of the class and the thoughtful questions they posed throughout the evening. It was clear these individuals were up-to-speed on the latest tools and trends in the media landscape. As many of the students work fulltime, they are able to apply the information they gather during class to their day-time jobs. What a great win for their employers, who are probably garnering significant benefits as these employees become experts in a rapidly evolving and extremely relevant space.
There are a number of other ways to ensure your team is educated on the current changes and latest trends with communication and media. In addition to your local college or university, consider seminars and classes available through local chapters of the American Marketing Association or PRSA (Public Relations Society of America).
Do you have other tips for staying on top of the changing media and communication landscape? Share your suggestions by commenting on this post.
Many companies are now using Twitter to boost their brand awareness, connect with consumers and media, and to publicize announcements. By incorporating “hashtags” at the end of their tweets, companies can denote content that is relevant to a certain interest group. This makes it easy for interested users to find more information or join the conversation by searching for tweets with that particular hashtag. For example, someone wanting to follow all the news and discussions surrounding next month’s Mobile World Congress will search for “#MWC11,” which is the hashtag companies will use for the show.
While adding a hashtag to tweets seems like a no-brainer task, often our clients are unaware of why a good hashtag is important or how to choose the right one.
Last week, GigaOm posted an interesting article that addresses what makes a good hashtag for your company’s event or announcement. The article notes that a good hashtag is something people understand and can relate to. Further in the article, the author points toward a blog post on Twitter’s own media section, which offers the following tips:
- A good hashtag begs a question. According to Twitter, some of the best hashtags start or form parts of a sentence. Think of this strategy like using a cliffhanger in a story, people will feel compelled to respond. Examples are #MyResolutionIs or #HaveUEver.
- Use a hashtag that appeals to a specific group. If your hashtag is too broad, it won’t inspire people to respond. It’s a good idea to relate your tag to something you know people are passionate about. Twitter offers the examples of #WhenIWasYoung or #ScorpiosAre, for tags that are simple, yet provocative.
- Utilize other social media channels. Cross-promoting your hashtag helps drive further awareness and participation. Don’t be afraid to direct your Facebook followers to your Twitter page by offering a discussion through your particular hashtag. For example, “For more discussion on the best mobile phone platform, join us on Twitter and use #BestPhoneEver…”
Companies considering a hashtag should do their research. Before you publicize your hashtag, take a few minutes to check a) if the hashtag has been used before; b) when it was last used; and c) what was it last used to promote. It is OK if your hashtag was used in the past, but it’s a good idea to make sure it wasn’t previously used to promote something that is offensive, against the company’s mission, or is currently in use by another company.
Overall, hashtags are an easy way to generate buzz and excitement around your brand. As more people retweet the hashtag, its popularity ranking rises, which could result in your hashtag getting featured on Twitter’s hourly, daily and weekly lists of most popular topics. Stick to the tips mentioned above, and you’re sure to find success promoting your announcement on Twitter.
Side note: If you are interested in learning more about the history of hashtags, check out this GigaOm article.
I often wonder if the founding fathers of photography ever envisioned that imagery would be adopted on such a massive scale as it is in media today. Images are no longer reserved for use by marketers in product packaging and advertising campaigns or for use by the top-tier media outlets. Today, both still images and video surround us across all forms of media – print, online, even on our mobile devices. And not only do images and videos have the power to engage and entertain us, but they also educate and influence us as consumers.
For each of our client’s announcements or events, we strive to provide the media with images that capture the essence of the news. For example, with the recent launch of Bookbyte’s Guaranteed Buyback, we were able to provide journalists with a comparison grid illustrating the cost savings achieved through their program as well as a video explaining how the program works. The video and comparative graph complemented the press announcement and added value for our media partners who are often looking for dynamic content to distinguish their outlet from others and attract readers.
If images are not readily available, suggest a few compelling ideas that the media outlet can capture if they bring their own staff photographer. When securing a company profile story on Earth Class Mail to The Oregonian, we encouraged the reporter to bring a staff photographer to capture images of how the company sorts, scans and stores mail so letters can be viewed online by clients (see images below).
Broadcast typically require more visuals than online or print media outlets. In the instances when we are pitching a story to the TV news team, we identify the components of the story can be illustrated as ‘images’ to create a compelling broadcast segment.
In September 2010, Bookbyte launched a digital learning pilot with Oregon’s Salem-Keizer school district to provide an enhanced learning experience in the K-12 classroom. To bring this story to life, we approached a reporter with Portland’s NBC affiliate, KGW-TV and not only offered her interviews with Bookbyte’s Andres Montgomery and the school’s faculty members, but also the opportunity to film students in the classroom using the Apple iPads as part of the pilot program. This visual element was a critical piece to secure the story for Bookbyte and for KGW-TV to create a compelling and informative segment for their viewers.
When preparing to announce your next product or initiative, think about the visuals you can provide to convey your message and illustrate your brand. When doing so, it is important to remember the 4 Cs:
- Characteristics (mood, tone);
- Content (objects, topic);
- Connotations (associations, meanings); and
- Context (story, happening).
Then ask yourself what emotional response do you want people to have when they see your imagery. If your imagery is simple and direct, while engaging at the same time, it will effectively communicate your message and create an impression of your brand in a matter of seconds.
As my colleague Holly Zuluaga pointed out in her recent blog post, “Mastering the Nine Second Sound Bite,” it has become increasingly difficult to capture people’s attention in today’s rapidly moving society. If we now only have a matter of seconds to convey our message whether it is through print, online or on air, it is no wonder why imagery is used as frequently as it is today. It is a powerful form of communication that transcends any language and culture and as the old adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
The other day I was listening to KUOW and heard a story about how social media is impacting donations to charities. Given our work with a variety of nonprofits and my past writing on the topic, I quickly reached over to turn up the volume on my radio. (My past blog posts include “Tools for Fundraising” published on Sept. 15, 2010 and “Social Media and Fundraising” published on June 4, 2010.)
According to the story, social media is having a big impact on how people are giving to charities. Marketplace Money Reporters Tess Bigeland and Jennifer Collins explained that, “last year social media accounted for more than $2 billion in donations,” and it is now changing the way nonprofits operate. This was not a surprise to me as several of our nonprofit clients have successfully and cost effectively secured donations by leveraging social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. However, I did enjoy learning more about the specific campaigns that nonprofit organizations like The Salvation Army and ShelterBox USA are using to raise money.
The Salvation Army, for instance, has recruited virtual bell ringers. In addition to their holiday tradition of volunteers standing in front of department stores asking people to donate change, they now have a group of people asking for donations via Facebook and Twitter. This seemed really clever to me as people are increasingly spending more time online and it allows them to reach a new demographic.
I am not going to rehash the details of the entire story here. However, if you’re interested in this topic, I would encourage you to listen to the story, which appears to have originally aired on Dec. 31, 2010. This story just might give you some ideas for your next fundraising campaign.