Social media for retailers

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I recently spoke to the Dominion Post for an article about social media for retailers. The full article is here, but my expanded comments are below.

In New Zealand, social media has enabled retailers ranging from House of Travel to Hell Pizza to local coffee shops to demonstrate a point of difference and stand out from the crowd. Do retailers have to be on social media? Well, they’d be missing a trick if they didn’t. But, in addition to being properly resourced, it has to be relevant to the target audience. If you’re looking to talk to the business community, it might be wise to set up a blog where the senior management can lay out its strategic point of view about the industry it operates in – like national retail chain dtr has done with talkingshop.dtr.co.nz. If you’re simply wanting to stay in the minds of your customers then Facebook activity and competitions like those of House of Travel are good options. Like any marketing, getting it wrong happens sometimes; just make sure you learn from it and never lie as this has a way of magnifying itself online. Read the rest of this entry »

When any PR is good PR

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Following last week’s media storm over KFC’s new Double Down “bunless burger”, one thing resonates: sometimes the old adage is true; all PR is good PR.

We all know that not all PR is good PR, but sometimes it doesn’t matter if everyone is slating a product as people just can’t help the temptation to give something new a try. Fast food is probably one of those sectors – either you know it’s bad for you and don’t care, or you just don’t think about health risks when you decide what you are going to eat. I’m not sure which group my flatmate falls into, but he has already eaten five Double Downs, three of which he queued over half an hour for! Read the rest of this entry »

PR, advertising and marketing: what’s the difference and why does it matter?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Prior to the interview that got me my first job in PR, I remember researching why PR was different from marketing and advertising.

I did a few hours of my own reading and thinking to get a grip on the comparisons, but it was when I was in the interview itself that the interviewer told me this old analogy: “Imagine you’re in a bar and see someone you like the look of … Advertising is you telling her you’re great in bed; marketing is getting your friend to tell her you’re great in bed; PR is getting her friend to tell her you’re great in bed.” Read the rest of this entry »

What PR agencies can learn from the problems caused by freedom of information

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Any Tom, Dick or Harry can set up a Twitter account or blog and start spouting off. The difference between what’s interesting to others and not just to the author is insights. It’s all about content, as we all should know by now.

But that’s not what I want to spout about. What I want to discuss is why so many people these days have such a limited general knowledge and what this means for marketers, PR people and advertisers. We are in a rapidly spiraling decline in terms of our abilities to process and disseminate information and this is of huge importance to anyone selling a product or service. Read the rest of this entry »

If it ain’t fun, why are we doing it?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

This morning at the Marketing Association’s Brainy Breakfast, I heard from two speakers: Tarver Graham of Gladeye, a digital agency, and Shane Bradley from daily-deal website, GrabOne. It was the best brainy breakfast I’ve been to because I took away some confirmations of what I already thought (always a nice feeling) and some other fresh takeaways. This is what it told me… Read the rest of this entry »

The Future of Social Networking is Smaller. But what does this mean for PR?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

There is a growing realisation that smaller groups are the future of social networking. Sure, Facebook is a behemoth and isn’t going anywhere in the short-term. But, working on the social media principle that you are trust/are interested in what your friends say, surely there is a place for smaller social network groups where conversation flows more freely.

This seems like it will be the theme of this year’s SXSW. Companies like GroupMe are banking on us wanting to be part of these ‘private chat rooms’ and it could be the differentiator in terms of location-based services genuinely hitting the global mainstream. ‘Acts of Sharing’ is a different beast in that it’s more about sustainability and not purchasing stuff that someone else can lend you, but it still supports the notion that online sharing is changing. Read the rest of this entry »

Culture Vultures and the PR Agency Hygiene Factor

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

To begin with, colleagues are the culture and vice versa. It surely all starts with the senior management and how they interact with each other and those below them. It’s also got a lot to do with what being inspired by people around you who possess complimentary talents. The more I work with designers, for example, the more I’m amazed by what they do. It gives me a buzz to see someone do something I never could. I grew up being told to try and be good at everything (why did we have to learn Pythagoras’ theorem?) and not focusing on my strengths. I now believe that once you realise what you’re good at, you should stop everything else and focus on being the best at whatever that is. Read the rest of this entry »

Lessons from the PR frontline - what I’ve learnt so far

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

With the recent rise in social and digital work, it has been easy to forget the fundamentals of modern PR. As this blog post from social media monitoring tool Sysomos says, some brands don’t lend themselves to being social. But every brand needs PR because they all have a public, be it the traditional kind of mass market or something more niche like a group of investors. Every company is looking to influence/engage (choose which word you prefer; they both mean the same thing) with a group - that’s the fundamental bridge of making business work. It’s why the old phrase ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ still rings so true. And it’s why PR is still at the core of every business, whether they call it by that or another name. Here’s a recent example of how a PR disaster can decimate a business almost over night – in this case, social bookmarking service, Delicious. Read the rest of this entry »

Will Facebook enter banking and why is it important for PR?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

As I’ve mentioned previously on this blog, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of geo-location services like Facebook Places and Foursquare. I can see the value, but it’s not great enough for me to be bothered about doing it for myself. I enjoyed the novelty factor of it all when it first came on to the scene, yet I struggled to stay interested in it as people started to spam each other with their irrelevant location.

Anyway, there is a buzz on the interwebs at the moment that could change the way we all see location. In very broad and sweeping terms, Facebook could be on its way to becoming the world’s biggest bank. It makes total sense when you think about it. As ‘The Next Web’ informs us, savvy brands are already facilitating some purchases through their Facebook pages. However, this is still pretty limited in its scope. It would be relatively simple for Facebook to allow its 600 million or so users to start buying all kinds of products and services directly on Facebook. It would go from being the facilitator to the transactor and suddenly start making infinitely more money. Read the rest of this entry »

When a brand becomes super – what PR professionals can learn from Starbucks #markchat

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I recently read a great article in The Economist about Starbucks decision to change its logo. For those who haven’t seen, Starbucks has removed the words ‘Starbucks’ and ‘coffee’ and also the circle around the mermaid, or whatever she is.

As the journalist says, there are relatively few brands that are recognised purely by a logo – think Nike, Adidas, Playboy, McDonalds and Apple. It’s part of the evolution of a super brand to announce itself as such an integral part of our lives that words are no longer needed. The company now transcends the product itself, which tends to be tied in to the fact that the company then starts selling more stuff it wasn’t traditionally associated with. For Starbucks, this means alcohol and various beverage accessories.

I won’t go into any more detail about why companies do this and why it works or doesn’t as The Economist covers this off well. Instead, I’d like to discuss the other element of this move – the community and ownership of a brand. Read the rest of this entry »

Location based online marketing – it’s about context

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Location based marketing is about a whole lot more than telling people you’ve checked in to the local burger joint. With this in mind, I recently read an article on The Daily Beast in which it discusses how Google is gunning for social having conquered search, video and mobile. The article confirmed my belief that, in the not too distant future, we will all be following each other’s geographical movements. If this seems strange to you, let me assure you it seems very strange to me. I’m not the biggest fan of location based services like Foursquare and Facebook Places. I jumped onto Foursquare in early 2010, used it for about three months and then abandoned it when I got bored of competing with colleagues to see who was Mayor of the office. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s like a digital loyalty card for discounts and freebies; I just can’t be bothered checking myself into places all the time and spamming my social network with my mundane movements. Yet, at the same time, I feel like I should re-engage as soon it (or something similar) will be like not being on Facebook – i.e. socially frowned upon. Read the rest of this entry »

PR People Take Note - Targeted Social Networks Are Coming

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We have Twitter for instantaneous news collection, dissemination and research; Facebook for a mix of personal and professional networking and larger community collection; LinkedIn for keeping our professional profile updated and for recruitment; Foursquare for broadcasting your location; Facebook Places for following the location of others, blogging for deeper content and so on and so forth.

It seems we have all we need in terms of the large social networks. What we need now is services that filter, structure and personalise the kind of information that flows through these channels. In essence, this is the reason why the Old Spice virals took off. The minute the personalised videos started appearing is when it went from very successful to stratospheric promotion for the brand. We also need products that better connect the ‘real world’ with the internet, in a meaningful way of course.

A couple of resources come to mind here. One is Planely, a service that allows you to see if anyone in your network is getting on the same flight so you can meet for a drink or share a cab. That’s all it’s for, and therefore some would say limited. However, I’d argue that it’s useful for the very same reason – there is no confusion as to why you are using it so you are more likely to achieve outcomes for your input of time. Read the rest of this entry »

What will be the key social media theme of 2011?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

What will be the key social media theme of 2011?

Many people may be bursting at the seams to answer this question with ‘mobile’, but I would argue that was last year’s theme. It seemed to me like last year was the year people outside of tech and media circles bought a smartphone, started using apps like TweetDeck and it was also the year Apple released the iPad, thus adding another dynamic element to mobile communications, whilst not actually being a phone.

For my money, 2011 is the year we get to grips with content and work out the specifics around delivering that content to a particular audience. Two elements are key to the delivery of content. The first is authentic tone of voice that resonates with the audience; the second is timing. Sure, responding to comments within 24 hours and general community management are important, but get the tone of voice and timing right and the rest should follow.

To give an example, I’m currently managing the Contiki NZ Facebook page, which has been an interesting case study in content delivery. It’s a great idea to have a content calendar, even if it is superseded by breaking news or competitor developments. That said, I probably stuck to this calendar too rigidly at first and tried too hard to mix up the content with news from around the world. I’ve learnt that, on this page, people just want to answer and discuss more generic questions about travel. And international news is only mildly interesting. I assumed people on the page would be interested as they obviously like travel, but I guess it’s one thing hearing about a place and another to actually go there! The content is now more about the people than the tours. Read the rest of this entry »

2010 was great, but 2011 will be better

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I recently shared my thoughts on StopPress.co.nz on what’s happened in New Zealand’s marketing world in 2010. It got me looking back on what has been a great year. It also got me thinking about what lies in store for 2011.

Here are some of the biggest professional realisations I will take away from 2010:

• Communications is about creating content, be it a press release for a journalist to use or social media fodder for people to consume and share. I knew this already, but I didn’t realise how much of a skill content creation is. We can all create content, but that doesn’t mean we can all create dynamic, successful content
• One day in the not too distant future, we might stop having marketing silos. When I started in PR a few years ago, I only knew the dictionary style definitions of what it entailed and the same goes for how it is different from marketing and advertising. Now that we have all become so muddied in what defines our place in the market, it might be wise to just have one marketing function, all contributing ideas directly into the same pot and do away with all the confusing titles Read the rest of this entry »

#markchat : The Idea Economy – how do we think creative before delivery?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We increasingly speak about the difference between online and offline and how, sooner rather than later, we will all be walking around with iPad-style devices. In a few years, we won’t read print newspapers, certainly not on a daily basis, and we will consume only nuggets of information. Anything bigger than that will be too big for our shrunken attention spans to comprehend. And Social media has been the greatest accelerator of these trends. As a result of this wave of digital activity, you’d think it’s made the world more creative and more linked to the business objectives because there are more opportunities to talk direct to consumers and more channels for releasing ideas into the world. But, I’m not sure this is the case. Read the rest of this entry »

#markchat Summary: Personal Authenticity vs Professional Brand – Where Do They Meet & Diverge?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

This week’s #markchat was all about the blur between personal authenticity and professional brand. How do you ‘keep it real’ online while at the same time not losing professionalism?

I personally tend to steer clear of talking about my personal life online, especially on Twitter, LinkedIn and on blogs like this that are to do with work. This isn’t because I am worried that a client will sack me if they knew I was hungover from too many mojitos last night. It’s more to do with whether people in my overlapping yet different networks would be interested in what I’m saying. For example, I assume most people following me on Twitter do so because I discuss marketing, PR, social media and media in general. They mainly have shared interests to me, in some way, shape or form. This is why I re-tweet stories I find useful about media stuff or ask questions I think have relevance to my community. Read the rest of this entry »

#markchat : Personal Authenticity vs Professional Brand – Where Do They Meet & Diverge?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We all have perceptions about ourselves that aren’t necessarily what we would want them to be. Think you’re known for being really creative? Maybe you are. Or maybe you’re known for being really resourceful, but lacking the spark that generates relevant ideas.

Either way, how others perceive you is, ultimately, very important when it comes to your business life. Whether you like it or not, your personal brand impacts heavily on your business brand, whatever sector you’re operating in. This is especially true for those of us who operate at least part of the time in the online marketing world.

So, have you ever gone back and re-read your personal tweets, Facebook or LinkedIn updates from the last month? And, if you blog, have you taken a look at what the content of the few months of blog posts has been like? No? I hadn’t either so I thought it wise to take a look and see whether it gave the impression I would want to project.

To use the example of Twitter, I separated my updates into the following categories:

· @’s where I was asking or answering questions to people in my network

· Re-tweets

· Independent updates where I wasn’t asking or answering questions (this consisted mainly of my own, self-absorbed musings)

· Sharing personal links (i.e. those related to Bullet PR or other associations I’m involved with like Social Media Club)

· Sharing other links to sites on the web with which I have no relationship

NB – I excluded #markchat updates as there were so many and I felt this would skew the results Read the rest of this entry »

Two Ears, One Mouth: Social Media and Continuous Dialogue

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I’ve heard or read that many marketing types believe that one of the themes of social media next year will be continuous dialogue with customers. For a while I thought this sounded great; ongoing dialogue means more opportunities for marketing. And this is all synonymous with social media, or so they have us believe…

Having mulled it over, I’m not convinced that ongoing dialogue is the right way forward for most brands. Let me quickly clarify something. I feel that, broadly speaking, there are two types of brands when it comes to social media and online marketing: those that I call ‘utility brands’ and those that aren’t. Utility brands are those in the utility sectors themselves, along with pseudo-utility brands like telcos, banks and public sector organisations. Utility brands are those where we have few opportunities to switch (think long term contracts with electricity companies or telcos). Non-utility brands are those that we can pick up and discard easily. If a restaurant is rubbish, we just won’t go back, for instance. Read the rest of this entry »

Social Media Junction 2 - The Public Sector Workshop

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

For the opening day of Social Media Junction 2, we held a Public Sector Workshop, spearheaded by Simon Wakeman. Simon is Head of Communications for Medway Council in the UK and is considered a thought-leader in online communications within the public sector. He regularly speaks at conferences and blogs on his personal site, which you can find here.

The day began with audience members being asked to write down their expectations for the workshop, along with their personal role within the public sector. This was a useful way for people to get to know each other and a timely reminder of the importance of sharing information and experiences between delegates as much as gaining insights from the speakers themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

Brothers in marketing: does collaboration between creative agencies work? #markchat

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

First things first, it would be wise to list what I deem to be ‘creative agencies’. The following fields are what I am principally referring to:

PR; advertising; marketing; design; web development.

So, in the broad modern world there are lots of creative entities ready and willing to promote a brand. But can marketing agencies really work collaboratively with design agencies and can media agencies work in blissful unison with advertising agencies? And what happens when a PR agency has to work alongside a web agency to deliver a project? From experience, this is sometimes a very rewarding process as you get input from people with different skill sets. That said, it can also be a frustrating process when the other party doesn’t understand, or doesn’t want to understand, how your contribution fits in. Read the rest of this entry »

Does a smaller budget increase creativity? #Markchat tomorrow at 12.30pm

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I’ve often heard people say that a smaller budget increases creativity. They argue that because you have less money and fewer resources, you have to think harder. The brain working on overtime produces better results because you don’t have the option of throwing cash at marketing without much forethought. I certainly agree that massive budgets often breed lazy marketing; however, I’m not sure the opposite is a truth that can be confidently stated.

Sometime it’s true that a smaller budget increases creativity, but smaller budgets just as often deliver rubbish ideas. For me, it’s a bit like the kids at university who claimed that doing their papers on the night before they needed to be handed in was preferable as they ‘performed better under pressure’. I didn’t buy that line then and I don’t now. How can necking copious amounts of Red Bull and coffee and staying up for longer than anyone should be awake deliver your optimum effort?

Anyway, we digress. Tomorrow, at 12.30pm NZ time, we are doing #markchat and we want to hear your opinions on the topic above.

To kick-start your thinking, I had a look for great examples of small budgets delivering great creativity. I didn’t come up with a huge selection; partly because I wasn’t sure what people would define as a ‘small’ budget (I would guess it is relative to the competition). That said, this guy has done some very cost-effective marketing over the years, despite a large personal fortune. And these guys have long driven an idea/campaign I love, which hasn’t been expensive compared to others in the market.

On the other end of the spectrum, here is one terrible piece of marketing that would have cost a fair wedge of budget and here is another, more recent example that has received a fair amount of criticism. Oh, and here’s another for those of you who want more.

Does NZ ‘ness’ matter for brands? #markchat

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Is there a New Zealand quality to New Zealand brands? Does it truly come through and is it useful? Should we express New Zealand ‘values’ to brands?

These are the questions we kicked off today’s #markchat with and it stirred lots of useful debates.

The general feeling seemed to be that a Kiwi flavor to the brand is useful and relevant so long as it isn’t forced. The brand is partly responsible for fostering this ‘NZ-ness’, but the consumer will ultimately decide whether it feels right and whether it sticks. Speaking of brand perceptions, the consensus was that people have long memories. Both Bullet PR’s Jennifer Duval-Smith and Gen-i’s Chris Quin had interesting points and questions on this subject. Read the rest of this entry »

PR talking point: Size does matter, just not in the way you think

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Excuse me while I get slightly philosophical. 18th century Swiss philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, said that true democracy couldn’t survive in states of more than 50,000 people. I would argue that effective social media, and by that I mean social media that holds real value and meaning for both the consumer and the client, cannot be achieved in communities bigger than 50,000 people.

Hell, I’m not sure that, for most brands, it can be achieved in communities bigger than 40,000 people. If you are one of those brands that appeals to just about everybody, like a telco or a retailer that sells all and sundry, then it’s probably a little different. But how can you communicate with a group any bigger than 40,000? How can you possibly expect to have the kind of conversations that social media is meant to facilitate? Read the rest of this entry »

PR Conundrum: How to turn ‘like’ into ‘I’ll buy’

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We are all in the business of encouraging as many people as possible to be more engaged with the products of our clients. And we want this to lead to increased sales and revenue. The issue is that ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ don’t necessarily translate into ‘buys’. There is a big difference between the ‘like’ of the potential customer letting you converse with them and the ‘love’ of actual purchases.

But how do we untangle this complex situation? A friend recently alerted me to a cool set of new adverts by Foster’s, the beer made in Australia and consumed primarily in the UK. I think the adverts are really funny; they also make me feel more engaged with the brand and I’ve already told plenty of other folk about them, so they have the talkability factor.

The problem is that I would never buy Foster’s. It tastes god-awful and I only bought it when I was a broke student. I’d like to buy it because I love the adverts. I just can’t bring myself to get a crate of something I wouldn’t use. I imagine the adverts will help increase sales as it will influence people choosing between Foster’s and a beverage of similar quality. So I guess it’s done its job. It did get me wondering though whether the quality of the creative was directly proportional to the effect it will have on selling more beer? Read the rest of this entry »

#markchat round three: social media and ROI

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We held the third #markchat yesterday, with the aforementioned topic of ‘Social Media Engagement and ROI’.

Plenty of great points, suggestions and debates appeared in the tweet stream and it really feels like we have something with huge potential on our hands. It even climbed up the trending ladder in Auckland, which is cool.

I’m going to struggle to articulate all the salient comments, but here we go… Read the rest of this entry »

Bullet PR speaks on ‘Social Media for Professional Networking’ at Social Media Club

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We were part of an interesting Social Media Club on Tuesday night. The topic was ‘Social Media for Social Networking’, an important topic for us all.

Our speakers were:

Linda Coles, trainer and speaker on building and maintaining relationships online (www.bluebanana.co.nz; @bluebanana20)

Jane Kennelly, Company Director of frog recruitment, industry veteran and innovator (www.frogrecruitment.co.nz; @frogrecruitment)

And me, Alex Erasmus of Bullet PR (www.bulletpr.co.nz; @AlexErasmus)

Linda mainly discussed LinkedIn and we can all use it for establishing and strengthening business relationships. I think her talk reminded everyone of the points of difference that LinkedIn has over the likes of Facebook. The most pertinent point for me was that it only takes a few minutes a day to keep your online profile looking good. In many ways, it’s simply a ‘hygiene factor’ for when you’re looking for work, but it’s a good habit to get into.

Jane Kennelly of frog recruitment showed she is one of the few in her sector who is embracing social media. There is certainly a sea change in recruitment, where employers are now often looking at LinkedIn profiles and not CV’s. This is especially true for those working in media, but will surely be true of many more jobs in future. This is, like a lot of social media related subjects, heavily tied in to faster broadband, free wi-fi zones and smart phone adoption. Jane gave the example of MOTAT, who produced a great recruitment video, which beats traditional methods.

I finished the evening with a quick run-through my take on online networking. My opinion is that you should start by being interested in what others are saying and listen to their responses. It also pays to have a clear understanding of what you are looking for from the relationship. Networking for networking’s sake doesn’t do any of us any favours. Moreover, are you actually adding value online? Rather than trying to connect with as many people as you can, why not try and do something different from others in your field so that people want to connect with you? This is a much better way of approaching it. Read the rest of this entry »

#Markchat: social media engagement is fine, but how do you evaluate and define ROI?

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

To those who are new to this #markchat business, it’s a weekly Twitter conversation at 12.30pm (NZ time) every Thursday. Each week we have a different topic and encourage new people to join us. We started it as a way for people to have a conversation around a relevant topic amidst all the clutter we see online. We co-host it with one of our clients, Michael Holt, CEO of gardyneHOLT design. To follow the conversation, simply search for the hashtag #markchat using TweetDeck, Seesmic or a similar tool. Alternatively, you can go to www.wthashtag.com/markchat

This week we will be talking about how you take social media beyond engagement to the point of evaluating ROI. This is also the over-arching topic of the conference we are hosting - Social Media Junction – on November 16^th and 17^th. This time, we will look to focus more on B2B brands, rather than the typical consumer brands people reference in these conversations (Apple, Coca-Cola etc.) Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter chat: a short relevant conversation about marketing and PR

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

We will always be emotionally driven. It’s part of our DNA. But how can we harness that truth for better, more effective marketing?

Today, I co-hosted a Twitter chat on this very topic. To give a little background on the Twitter chat idea, it’s basically a 30-45 minute online conversation on a particular marketing topic. We use the hashtag #markchat so we can all follow the conversation without the distractions of all the other Twitter updates. The aim of the game is to have an informative and intelligent chat about marketing at the same time each week that people know they can tune into. For more information, click here.

The inaugural chat was about ‘Head vs. Heart’ and how rational people really are when making a purchase decision. It was lively, with lots of interesting points from a range of people. In total, there were 133 tweets from 16 contributors. Read the rest of this entry »

Securing ROI from social media marketing: 6 international speakers at Social Media Junction 2 on 16-17 November

Posted by: bulletpr

After a hugely successful inaugural conference in May of this year, which attracted more than 200 NZ marketers, Social Media Junction returns with six international speakers, 16th-17th November at SkyCity in Auckland. The theme is Achieving ROI in your Social Media Marketing Strategy. US keynote Lee Odden will offer his insights into how to build long-term business benefits through great digital engagement on social platforms.

For more information and to buy tickets, please go here.

Google Instant; impact on online content and PR

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

This morning I read a really thought provoking article on The Guardian website about Google Instant. The article is essentially all about how the internet is making our attention spans shorter and shorter.

For those of you who don’t know, Google Instant is a new addition to internet search technology that shows results below the search window as you type. The aim is to reduce the time spent searching for what you’re looking for, often without the need to even press ‘enter’ to bring up the right results. And yes, you can turn it off if you so choose.

I was at a conference recently where Google Instant was being discussed and I was pondering how great an innovation it was. This was another step in making it quicker (and hopefully easier) to find the right content online. Brilliant.

However, after more consideration and since reading the Guardian article, I’m now slightly concerned about the wider ramifications of the way things are heading. Read the rest of this entry »

The Future of Real Estate – Social and Digital Engagement

Posted by: Nicholas O'Flaherty

I recently delivered a presentation at Realestate.co.nz’s ‘Future of Real Estate Conference’. I spoke about how real estate agents could use social media to engage with potential customers.

One of the overarching themes of the event was how real estate agents can make themselves a central part of their local communities. This can be achieved through a mix of talking about the local property market and also about news in the surrounding area.

This can be anything from local festivals to new shops opening. It’s another example of how online communications are becoming more personalised in order to increase their relevance. Here’s a great example of a real estate agent leveraging the most out of online. Thanks to fellow speaker, Joel Burslem for highlighting this one.

In terms of my presentation, these were the main points I discussed:

· The relationship between PR, SEO and the real estate industry

· The changing nature of being an influencer

· The differences between a journalist and a blogger and why this matters

· Business outcomes off the back of social media Read the rest of this entry »

Where PR Fits into the Social\Digital Media Mix

Posted by: Nicholas O'Flaherty

I delivered a presentation this afternoon to the B&T Digital Bootcamp on where PR fits into the Social\Digital Media Mix.

For the full presentation, please click here.

However, here is a summary…

Read the rest of this entry »

The Complexities of Social Media Monitoring for PR Agencies

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I’ve been doing a lot of research recently on online monitoring case studies. They all talk on about how the monitoring tools reduce the time it takes to track mentions, buzz and sentiment for their brands.

While this is certainly true and useful, I haven’t read many people who mention how the requirements of a tool vary dramatically from client to client.

This is especially important in New Zealand. For some brands, it is interesting to monitor global trends. For example, a coffee company locally can be ahead of the curve by watching trends from the North American market around the pick-up of geo-location services.

On the other hand, for some brands it is near-irrelevant what’s happening abroad. Kiwi supermarkets should be primarily focused on comparative online activity locally, for instance. This is magnified by the duopoly in this market. Read the rest of this entry »

Music, Social Media and PR

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I gave a talk the other night to the NZ Music Managers Forum. Broadly speaking, it was about how music can benefit from social media. However, I tried to focus on how to engage, rather than the tools.

The overarching points I made were:

· Have a goal

· Get everyone on the same page

· Choose the platform wisely Read the rest of this entry »

‘Word of mouth’ marketing is social media, PR and all of the above

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

Media types sometimes refer to ‘word of mouth’ marketing as the most powerful form of communications. Social media is intrinsically tied into this as it is based largely on the fact that personal recommendations are the most powerful; certainly more powerful than a brand talking at you.

However, word of mouth marketing isn’t purely about social media. It can be embodied in ambient/experiential marketing, promotional stunts and also PR.

The slight difference with PR is that it’s a third party recommendation/endorsement from a journalist or blogger rather than a personal contact.

So, essentially, social media is very closely aligned with PR. Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting survey - how Global Fortune 100 is using Social Media

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

I recently came across this survey by PR agency Burson-Masteller on London-based Social Media agency, Fresh Networks blog.

In my opinion, many of the best examples of Social Media leverage are by small to medium businesses. Perhaps this is due to their nimble nature and the entrepreneurial skills of the staff or it could be they are more likely to look for cost-effective marketing tools. Whatever the reason, this survey shows it is pretty rare for Global Fortune 100 companies not to be using Social Media. A whopping 88% of the European companies surveyed are using one, if not more, of the following: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogs. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, this figure is just 50%. Read the rest of this entry »

The ’socialisation’ of the internet

Posted by: Alex Erasmus

SEO and SEM specialist First Rate recently pointed out how data from Hitwise (the online data monitor) shows that Facebook has overtaken TradeMe as New Zealand’s second most popular website (after Google, of course).

With the rising popularity of other social media such as Twitter and Flickr and the further news that Facebook has just signed a deal with market research company Nielsen to boost its credentials as a genuine advertising platform, businesses in NZ need to be aware of how these events are changing the way they need to work. This ’socialisation’ of the internet is not simply a way for people to stay in touch; it’s bigger than that. The use of social media tools to speak to potential and existing customers has broken down the traditional barriers between businesses and the man on the street.

Read the rest of this entry »

Corporate blogs level the playing field for small businesses

Posted by: Nicholas O'Flaherty

In the latest issue of b-Innovative, the publication of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, writer Catherine Slogrove sought my views on the opportunities that social media provides small businesses. As I am often asked this question,  I thought I would re-publish some of those thoughts here.

Social media is a leveller. Traditionally, small businesses can’t compete with large corporates which enjoy vast advertising budgets in traditional media. But due to the low costs of new media, a small business can have an equal, if not greater online presence than larger  companies. And when an online presence  is planned, executed and managed well, the benefits flow. These include attracting new customers, engaging more effectively with existing clients, and stimulating relevant media coverage. Read the rest of this entry »

New Zealand Public Relations and Journalism in an online world - are the lines blurring?

Posted by: Nicholas O'Flaherty

I was interviewed this week by business journalist Melanie Cooper for an article published today in The Independent which looked at the alleged blurring of the lines between journalism and public relations in New Zealand.

The article discussed the role of well known site, Scoop, which publishes media releases as well as news. In addition, the National Business Review, has recently launched a service, ‘From the Horse’s Mouth‘, which publishes unedited media releases.

I made a number of points to Melanie which, for space reasons, could not all be published. So I thought I would post in more detail, here on BulletPoints, my thoughts around some of the issues she raised: Read the rest of this entry »

Latest YouTube development enables users to get specific with video clip links

Posted by: Mike Shaw

YouTube’s newest trick might not be a giant leap forward, but it’s a handy step for those wishing to share YouTube clips. In the past when you linked to a video, or embedded a clip in a blog post you were stuck with the clip playing from the start (unless you also employed additional tools liked Splicd). However as Jason Kincaid on TechCrunch explains, by adding a small extension to the link, you can now control the point at which YouTube starts playing.

In other words, rather than link to an entire speech, or full video clip, you can now add ‘#t=2m15s’ to the end or the URL in order to set a specific start time. In this case, 2 minutes and 15 seconds in to the clip. Particularly handy if you wish to refer to a specific point in a YouTube clip, or even simply to skip advertising or opening credits.

For an example of what I mean, just compare the two links below…

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPS73z5_UY&feature=related

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPS73z5_UY&feature=related#t=3m22s

Five reasons why blogging makes sense for smaller businesses

Posted by: Thom James

I spoke at an Auckland Chamber of Commerce event this week on the benefits of blogging for small to medium businesses. It really is an ideal channel for companies offering niche products and services that lack the brand presence of larger organisations. Here are five reasons why blogging is such a great tool for SMEs:

1. Cost - Access to free software such as WordPress make a blog an extremely cost-effective branding tool for companies that lack a substantial marketing budget
2. Presence - A blog site external from an organisation’s website expands its online footprint, increasing its visibility. There are a lot of poorly-optimised company websites out there, making a blog a particularly vital SEO tool
3. Personality - Blogging gives a business a means of breathing a bit of personality into its brand, conveying an authenticity that engenders loyalty and trust in consumers. Many small businesses are run by the individual(s) that started them, so why not give an outlet for the passion they have for what they do?
4. Conversation - A blog is a great opportunity to instigate conversation with a customer base. I spoke with a lady at the event who was a naturopath. A blog is an ideal communications channel for such a business, allowing it to hold conversations with customers who are seeking advice or who might have queries about natural medicines. That one-to-one relationship adds significant value to a company’s offering
5. Community - As I have noted, with many SMEs operating in niche spaces, a blog is an opportunity for them to position their brand as a community hub. For example, I spoke with a chap who sold kickboxing equipment. Setting up a blog on kickboxing would give him a platform to position himself as an expert, provide his customer base with a focal point to discuss the discipline and deliver his company with excellent brand positioning, and an avenue back to his sales channel.

Corporate blogging; why New Zealand companies should blog

Posted by: Nicholas O'Flaherty

I gave a presentation on online public relations last week to the Sales and Marketing Institute of New Zealand, which included the topic of corporate blogging. As a result of a number of questions following the presentation, I have compiled a list of key benefits, which are in no particular order of importance:

• Cost: it?s cheap to set up with little ongoing costs except your time
• Online makes sense: A lot of people now have broadband at work and at home, and they are with this as a communications channel
• Ease: online publishing is easy; posting blogs becomes second nature
• Content: Most companies are sitting on a mountain of content. One post minimum on average per week is respectable
• Media relations: the blog can help enormously in strengthening your relationships with key journalists.
• Blogger relations: a blog makes it much easier to start to attract the attention of influential bloggers; they provide links to your posts, driving traffic to you
• Connecting with customers: this can become a real cost effective direct channel to let your customers know what to look forward to
• Research/polling capability: the direct relationship ultimately may allow you to do this
• Gain better insights of your customers: find out what they want, get greater detail, demographics etc
• Providing an online community for customers: the comments capability will allow feedback and discussion; strengthening your customer relationships, and making isolated customers feel together
• Attracting prospects: the blog can drag in prospects virally and show them what they?re missing out on.
• Strengthens your brand: makes key influencers sit up and take notice; a blog shows that you are progressive, dynamic, 21st century, customer ?centric, etc
• Risk: comments are moderated which deflects unsavoury content or spam
• Potential advertising revenue: yes, why not? If you build your readership, you may end up with an attractive advertising target

And in particular, here are some important Search Engine Benefits of blogging

• Create inbound links to your blog: having a blog at yoursite.co.nz/blog means that these links benefit the ranking of your main site
• Create niche content: By blogging about niche subjects you are able to create highly optimised content, increasing your rankings for key terms as well as the ?the long tail?
• Fresh content: Search engines love fresh relevant content; regular posting will benefit search rankings
• Social media: By submitting each blog post to relevant social media sites like Scoopit, Digg & Reddit you not only allow content to spread virally, you can create a lot of incoming links

Blogging in the NZ Public Sector; slowly but surely

Posted by: Paul Matthews

I recently attended a seminar in Wellington on the use of social media in the Public Sector, organised by the Network of Public Sector Communicators. There were attendees from a variety of state agencies including the IRD, Ministry of Economic Development, State Services Commission, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Although it appears to be early days so far for public sector blogging, clearly the momentum is building if the level and intensity of discussion is anything to go by.

One of the attendees, Matthew Lane at the State Services Commission, alerted me to ?In Development?, a multi-author blog the Commission has just launched this month, for an initial six month trial period. As the blog explains, ?it?s an experiment for us to practice what we preach as we provide advice and guidelines to other agencies that are considering use of Web 2.0 tools to achieve their goals.?

The sector as a whole has been cautious. As Matthew Lane told me ?keep in mind the real purpose of this stuff. It is not valuable in and of itself to have a wiki or a blog. Are these things doing what we always wished we could do better than before? Sometimes wikis and blogs can be a waste of time?? I agree wholeheartedly. However, I do believe social media, if implemented correctly, can provide a level of responsible transparency that the Public Sector constantly seeks under its statutory obligations.

Incidentally, for a good explanation as to why Government Departments have been slow on the uptake, read Jason Ryan?s overview on his excellent blog. Jason is Communications Manager at the State Services Commission.

Currently, there is not a large number of agencies visibly raising their heads above the blogging parapet; though as one seminar attendee said, ?everyone is experimenting, and often people do not like to announce that due to fear of failure.?

Some public sector blogs appear to be little more than short-term experiments. Take this blog by the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC); a few posts in December, and then nothing.

Blogs with sporadic posts can nevertheless provide valuable insights. The NZAID Field Blog is a case in point. But I guess the nature of that blog merits some leeway as NZAID staff ?update the blog as they travel to the field to visit NZ-funded programmes and projects;? and this is from places as far ranging as Tonga, the PNG Highlands and Sri Lanka!

One of the most impressive and successful blogs by the New Zealand public sector has to be Lively, part of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage?s online portal NZLive.com. It?s just marked its first year online and the multi-authored blog is contributing to a significant footprint of valuable online resources.
We know there is much more to come. I will return to this topic as more social media initiatives come to the fore.

Corporate Blogging & Online PR ? Bullet PR presentation at Search Engine Room

Posted by: Nicholas O'Flaherty

Here are some edited video highlights of our presentation at Search Engine Room in Auckland November 2007.
There were more that 100 attendees at this inaugural event, mostly from the search industry as opposed to public relations.

Successful Blogging: Relevant content for the right audience

Posted by: Thom James

The recent travails of a young Brit by the name of Max Gogarty has highlighted one of the principal rules around blogging. Max, the son of a Guardian journalist, was given his own blog on the Guardian?s website, where he would post on his travels as a backpacker. Unfortunately for Max, a combination of his apparent upper-class background, the manner in which he got the blog in the first place, and his inability to write a decent sentence resulted in him being pilloried by the Guardian?s readership.

The incident reminds me of why it is so critical to know who your blog is targeting, and how much thought you must put into your content. Max was something of a sacrificial lamb to the Guardian?s liberal readership, but surely it should have occurred to the editorial team that maybe he was not a particularly good match as a contributor? It smacks of a rush job, and when you?re preparing to launch a blog, consideration is critical ? get off on the wrong foot, and your blog is doomed to fail (Max?s blog has since been pulled). You need to be sure who your audience is, and your content should be tailored to suit that audience. Young Max is a shining example of how paramount relevance is. If you?re not relevant to your targeted readership you will either be ignored, or at worse be on the receiving end of a Gogarty-esque flaming.