Whatever...

Why let reality get in the way of a good story?

By Mike King

 

Last week's news that the UK economy has been performing better than previously thought doesn’t come as much of a surprise (it turns out that growth in Q4 2009 wasn’t 0.1% as previously reported but was actually 0.3%).   Not massive growth, but confirmation that the UK came out of recession in Q4 2009.  Interesting when you look at how the media has been reporting the UK’s progress, or supposed lack of it, over the past few months.

 

For a while now it has been clear that the media’s reporting of the UK economy has been out of synch with reality.  Record debt levels, the weak pound and a lack of clarity on how the government intends to reduce unprecedented levels of national debt have, understandably, all been dominating coverage.  However, what’s been missing is the over-riding feeling of optimism that now exists as things have been improving.  

 

From anecdotal evidence it is clear that the UK economy is in recovery.  On a personal level, I’ve seen a massive change in attitudes and outlook since the end of last year with new clients, new business enquiries and a real feeling that business is gradually getting back to normal.   Discussions with friends and peers confirm that this is the case across many different sectors.  Everyone I’ve spoken with seems to be in the same boat – not boom times, but a steady improvement that has been underway for a good few months now. 

 

But, the media’s love of a negative story has driven a bad news fixation and an almost Pavlovian response to any mention of the UK economy; UK economy = doom and gloom. 

 

Of course, sections of the media have long operated this way with the attitude ‘why let reality get in the way of a good story?’  What will be interesting is how much longer this style of reporting can continue. 

 

As social media grows in use and sophistication it will, eventually, provide an accurate way to measure real-world sentiment on a massive scale.  Although plenty of tools already exist to supposedly measure sentiment on social networks they are in their infancy and, in my experience, not yet that effective.   However, as this area improves, as it certainly will, media reporting that is so out of touch with reality will be clearly seen for what it is.

Media training for Tiger Woods, please

By Carol Pender & Alexandra Radius

 

While sorting out some crisis management training for a client this week, a colleague commented “yeah, we don’t want them doing a Tiger Woods”. Indeed!

 

Celebrities, just like companies, can be their own worst enemies when it comes to damaging the reputations they’ve worked so hard to build - a fact to which Tiger Woods can certainly attest. The golfing wunderkind had until recently projected a spotless image and become an internationally recognised name and role model for young athletes everywhere, which explains why the fall from grace has been so brutal.

 

But did the situation really have to turn into the media circus and personal nightmare that it has? Could he have handled it better or at least differently? Maybe if his ‘people’ had advised him better on what to do when everything goes south, and not only when everything is plain sailing, he wouldn’t be where he is now.

 

Woods has released only two statements on the furore surrounding his alleged infidelities:  the first of these avoided the issue altogether and referred to the bizarre car accident that first sparked media interest, and the second was released when he was effectively backed into a corner after some dozen mistresses came out of the woodwork. Maybe he was hoping it would all go away; that if he kept his head down and avoided the issue people would forget? Hmm…

 

Woods probably pays hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for professionals to advise him and direct his career. Surely they could have come up with a better strategy than the ‘ostrich’ approach?

 

The damage to his reputation may now be irreparable although it’s worth noting that other celebrities have come back from the brink. Everybody remembers the ‘Cocaine Kate’ incident of a few years ago when Kate Moss was dropped by a number of high profile fashion labels after pictures of her snorting cocaine appeared in the media. Yet today she is still one of the most in demand models on the fashion scene and has even turned her hand very successfully to designing. But the gap between image and reality was far narrower for Moss than for Woods. And the sporting world is not the fashion industry where having a wild image can give you a little edge. 

 

Perhaps Tiger should have taken a leaf out of Michael Phelps’ book who admitted and apologised for his marijuana incident right away, promised to do better in the future while continuing to honour his engagements. Phelps also posted his apology on Facebook and Twitter, a way of making sure he got his message across to all his fans. 

 

Celebrities, like any brand, have to take control of their image and reputation and use the media tools at their disposal to do so. In Woods’ case, the only way to claw back some dignity may just well be to go on Oprah, shed a few tears and do a major mea culpa. But please get him some media training beforehand!

 

Part two: Victim of mobile fraud – T-Luck

By Kathryn Mills-Webb

 

So since blogging about my situation with T-Mobile – namely the company trying to force us to pay an exorbitant bill run up by a burglar – I’ve been working hard to bring this story to light.  Working in PR has its advantages as I already know the best ways to take this story to the media and to get some public interest – in fact, it’s been fun being the client for once (even if I’m also the PR!)

 

And I’ve been quite pleased with the results so far.  By pitching my story to the media, creating a Facebook group, and using Twitter, this blog and other friends’ blogs, I’ve been able to generate enough interest that T-Mobile has now offered to let us off half the bill – better than nothing but still it was clearly fraudulent activity in the first place, so why should I pay any of it?

 

I’m planning to continue my campaign – hopefully I can put enough pressure on T-Mobile to wipe the bill completely (and encourage a few more people not to use them in the future), so feel free to join my group and support me on this.

SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK: How do you measure social media? Good question...

  By Rebecca Surtees and Laura Mead

Confusion.  This was the key takeaway from the final session of last week’s Social Media event: Social Media Measurement.   There’s no doubt that social media is growing massively in popularity and certainly has a place – though quite where is still undecided.  After sitting in on Friday’s discussion, it seems clear that the major challenge is how to get business value out of social media.  In fact, one of the biggest hurdles that we in the PR industry face is proving to clients that social media is valuable enough to a) get involved in the discussion and b) provision budget and resources for it (ie. pay for it!)

 

Building relationships has always been fundamental to a business’s bottom line and at the dawn of a new decade, social media is the optimum channel.  The key is understanding what you want to achieve with these tools and setting tangible, focused objectives – this makes it easier to measure the impact that social media can have on your business.  Yet, the million dollar question remains, how do we do this?

 

We know engagement, sentiment and influence are key to the process, but what are we looking for in the tools and software systems that exist?  With around 60 social media and monitoring vendors in the space – many of whom seem to flog the same type of service – we thought we’d let you in on  a few of the tips we picked up during the session:

 

1.    Measuring social media can’t be done in a vacuum, it has to be undertaken in the wider context of the web

2.    There is no silver bullet – the key is using a combination of customised tools aggregated onto one platform

3.    Understand what you are trying to achieve, then align monitoring tools to help you reach these objectives

4.    Analyse sentiment to determine your key influencers and use comment counts or forum thread sizes to help measure engagement effectively

5.    Reach metrics need to be separated – each social media platform is its own community and needs to be treated that way

6.    Report and measure on a quarterly basis – there’s no other effective way to measure trends and peaks in traffic and to understand the impact on ROI

7.    Last but certainly not least, always negotiate with social media monitoring tools and ask for a trial basis

 

What is evident from last week’s Social Media event, is that social media is still in its very early stages, with a lot of confusion around exactly what’s involved in the space.  We’re likely to see a fair bit of consolidation in the sector soon enough and reckon a few of the digital industry’s giants will be wanting a piece of this pie too (a’hem, Google).  In our experience, cost remains one of the key barriers for the PR industry, and so we’re particularly interested to see if companies like Google do dip their toe in the market, whether this will drive down the cost of monitoring social media.

 

What was absolutely clear from London's Social Media Week is that many people are still feeling their way when it comes to engaging with social media channels.  We wonder how this will develop – from consolidation to the fusion of traditional and digital channels and how this may impact the PR industry.  This all remains to be seen so, until next year #smwldn followers!

Social Media Week: The Road from Listening to Activation

By Kaylen McNamara, Account Executive

 

On Thursday morning, I attended an interesting panel discussion hosted by Converseon, titled “The Road from Listening to Activation.” Even better than the delicious crepes that were served was the insightful conversation that took place among the panel of social media, or what they prefer to call “social intelligence” experts. Moderated by Rob Key, CEO of Converseon, the panelists included:

 

• Jon Burg (@jonburg), Emerging Channels Specialist, Digitas
• Craig Daitch (@cdny), SVP of Activation, Converseon
• Andy Von Kennel (@avkthinks), SVP, Growth Director, Rapp

 

During the discussion, as well as throughout Social Media Week, it has become clear that the question is no longer “What is social media?” For most companies, the past year has been primarily focused on social media checkboxes. Twitter account? Check. Facebook account? Check. Company blog? Check. However, as suggested by panel moderator Rob Key, “it is time to stop talking about what social media is and start talking about what social media does.”

 

As discussed by the panel, the true value of social media begins with the art of listening. Mining conversations can (and should) be used to develop a strong activation strategy between brands and their audience. Here are some highlights and key takeaways from the panel discussion:

 

• Listening requires more than just mining conversations. It is important to analyze what people are saying about a brand or company and why they are saying it. As stated by panelist Jon Burg, “the web is the largest focus group” and we should be taking advantage of all it has to offer.
• Social media is not just a PR issue. Nearly every comment made about a brand in the realm of social media is a direct result of the company’s efforts, whether it is related to sales, marketing, public relations or finance. Therefore, it is important to have all departments of a company involved and listening to what is being said on these platforms in order to keep customers satisfied.
• The term “social media” is limiting. When many C-level executives hear the words “social media,” their minds often go directly to Twitter or another type of technology that they have not yet fully grasped the concept of. However, there is a deeper level to social media that can be uncovered by just listening to the conversations that happen on these platforms.
• Social intelligence is what produces results. While the idea of listening (using social media) is built on technology, it is the human intelligence behind this technology that makes a difference. One of the panelists gave a great example of this concept, explaining that there is a difference between “I love Toyota” and “I love anything but Toyota.” Knowing the context and source of what is being said on social networking sites cannot yet be determined through technology and requires human analysis and insight. 
• Know your audience qualitatively as well as quantitatively. While metrics and web analytics are certainly important, they do not allow you to get to know your audience on a deeper level. Knowing a person’s history and level of engagement in social media platforms helps companies to decide what issues need to be addressed. When negative comments are made about a brand, looking at the person’s following and previous comments can help determine the validity and potential impact of their claim.
• For most companies, listening is validation. With brand managers and CMO’s at war with the social media beast known as “ROI,” their primary purpose for listening is usually to prove to the CEO that they are doing their job. However, the most successful executives are those that are brave enough to use listening as a way to find out what they are doing wrong. By listening to what is being said on social media platforms, a company can gain deep insight into its customers’ feelings and pain points, allowing it to make the necessary improvements.

 

Is your company actively listening? Leave a comment below or send me an email!

A Shaq to the System: Tebow, Tiger and the New Online Realities of Sports Journalism

 
By Pete Cataldo, Account Executive

 

This Sunday, millions of people will grab their nachos and pizza and chili and wings and gather in living rooms and sports bars around the world to watch one of the biggest sporting events of the year: Super Bowl XLIV. While the game is played on the field, a duel match will be played off of it, in the world of Social Media.

 

Wednesday night, a panel of sports journalists discussed the changing landscape of their field and how it is reported and written:

 

· Dan Shanoff (moderator) – SportingNews.com columnist, creator of "The Daily Quickie" on ESPN.com

· Will Leitch – New York Magazine columnist/contributing editor, Deadspin founding editor

· Jason Fry – National Sports Journalism Center columnist

· Stephanie Wei – Writer/editor of golf blog: Wei Under Par

· Amy Nelson – Writer for ESPN.com

 

Social Media has completely changed the way sports are covered. Never before have fans been able to get real-time access from journalists covering the games in the press box. But, Sunday night, while the Colts and Saints are worried about winning the big game, reporters will be strategizing how to score points with fans following their feeds on Twitter.

 

“If a fan asks a question through Twitter that might be of relevance, a reporter might make note of that and say, ‘that was a good point, let me ask the player about that in the locker room after the game,’” Will Leitch said. “We’ve never seen anything like that before.”

 

The discussion quickly turned to the public relations impact of social media on the sporting world.

 

Flashback to four years ago, when pictures of a partying Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger were shown on a tiny online publication called Deadspin. Local media in Pittsburgh ate it up, and questioned “Big Ben” about it. It caught like a wildfire and spread nationally. It was unprecedented.

 

Now, it’s old hat.

 

Just this year, Portland Trailblazers Center Greg Oden was caught with his pants down in a nude “self-portrait” of himself. The media frenzy was not nearly as heavy as it was for the Steelers star. Why? Oden came out, apologized, and got ahead of the major media buzz.

 

“I’m certain that is part of the training for PR teams of sports franchises now,” Jason Fry said. “We’ve gotten so used to social media that it’s almost invisible. It’s just what we do. So, [PR pros] must be ready for this sort of thing when it comes, by getting out in front of the story right away.”

 

Tiger Woods might be the best example of where PR through Social Media (or in his case, a lack thereof) can go wrong. By doing the exact opposite of Oden, and not addressing the problem, his situation festered and ballooned from what was originally thought of as an accident and a heroic effort to save him by his wife, to a scandalous front-page-headline-grabbing extravaganza.

 

“Poor management by his handlers there,” Leitch said. “His team was not equipped to handle [crisis communications]. Here was an athlete built up to invincibility, and then did not adjust as things went wrong. Instead, he gave these PR canned responses through his website.”

 

The story-telling has been affected, too. With interaction through avenues like Twitter, and real-time updates made available through everyone’s smartphone, there seems to be less and less interest in the meat and potatoes of the beat writer’s craft: the game recap story.

 

“People today read everything but the game story,” Amy Nelson said, “So, our job is trying to come up with a different angle, a different storyline that appeals to the reader and piques their interest.”

 

This Sunday, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees won’t be the only ones scratching their heads as they try to figure out how to beat a defense for a touchdown. Journalists down in South Florida will be scratching theirs, trying to figure out how to make their next Twitter post interesting enough to make you read tomorrow’s headline.

 

“We have these insane deadlines to get print on chunks of wood to ship to you the next morning reporting something you already know about because of SportsCenter, Twitter or your iPhone,” Jason Fry said. “So the next step is to engage you during the game through those very same avenues.”

 

We would love to continue the conversation on this topic. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or you can always follow me on Twitter.

Social Media Week: The Advancement of Twitter

Continuing with the theme of social media this week, Johnson King’s Jonathan Mathias takes a look at how Twitter has advanced over the past few years and questions whether businesses now need to employ more advanced tools to manage the flow of information.  Read the full post on the Affect Strategies blog.

Where is the ROI in social media?

As part of Social Media Week Johnson King’s Jonathan Mathias and Tom Kirkham assess whether businesses can really hope to make money from social media, or whether it’s best to redefine ‘return on investment’ when evaluating social media outreach.  Read the full post on the Affect Strategies blog.

Social Media Week: How Does Your Agency Handle Social Media?

 

By Christine Carney, Account Supervisor

 

Last night, #SMPR and PRSA-NY hosted a panel addressing the issues surrounding the way that public relations agencies handle social media for their clients.  The panel was hosted by Affect’s very own Leslie Campisi, and featured the following panelists:

 

• David Teicher, Social Media Manager, McCann Erickson
• Alex Payne, Digital Media Coordinator, MWW Group
• Danielle Mancano, Account Manager, SHIFT Communications
• Allison Martin, Assistant Account Executive, Zeno Group
• Keith Trivit, Account Executive, RLMPR

 

It’s interesting to note that all of the panelists were members of Gen Y. I can’t help but notice that Gen Y has grown up with social media (and has been its earliest adopters), and they are the generation that has created the role of the “in-house social media expert” at many agencies. All of the panelists were eager to share their experiences and help attendees understand the way that social media operates within their agency.

A few key takeaways:

 

• Be adaptable by understanding your audience: Regardless of what social media platform you choose, know your audience and respond accordingly and respectfully. In other words, “Don’t bring a ham to a party thrown by a vegetarian.” Remember that you don’t have to comment on everything, but identify key moments when a response from your client is required. It’s also important to remember that not every client is the same, so you may need to adapt your social media plan on a client-by-client basis.

 

• Measurement: It’s no secret that social media measurement can be challenging. Provide your clients with tangible metrics:

 

1.    On Facebook: Look at the number of engagements (comments) and “likes” on the page, as well as fan growth over time

2.    On Twitter: See how many re-tweets occur and take note of the number of appropriate and applicable followers.  Don’t forget to evaluate the reach of your messaging.

3.    Use Google Analytics for landing pages (it’s free!): Measure your website traffic to evaluate your tactics.

 

• Pay attention: As panelist Danielle pointed out, people are chatting about your brand and industry whether you participate in social media or not. It’s critical to be aware of what people are saying about your client to know what kind of buzz is being generated.  Once you’re ready to engage you’ll be ready to jump right into the conversation.

 

• Learn from the mistakes (and successes!): As with anything in life, mistakes will be made when launching and maintaining a social media campaign and presence. Learn from them and adapt your campaign to move in the right direction.  Also take note of what works for your brand, and build on it.  And don’t forget to take a lesson from your competitors, watch and evaluate what they are doing to learn lessons that can be applied to your own campaigns.

 

We’d love to know how your agency sets social media strategy for clients.  How do you measure the success of your campaigns?  Leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

 

To read the tweet-stream from the event follow the hashtag #SMPR on Twitter.

 

 

Social media and the disaster in Haiti

   
 
By Danielle Modzelewski from Affect Strategies in New York

 

The juxtaposition of the panel discussion I attended about the devastation in Haiti to the glamorous building the panel was held in could not have been more apparent. Entering the New York Times building for the first time did not prepare me to see the images I was about to see and the stories I would hear for the next two hours.

 

The panel discussion focused on Twitter and how it was able to help with the disaster in Haiti. For those on the panel, Twitter served as the prime medium to communicate need, danger and information to loved ones and the general public.

 

One of the anecdotes that strongly resonated with me was told by Jason Cone, communications director of Doctors Without Borders, and NBC reporter Ann Curry (@AnnCurry). Doctors Without Borders attempted to land a plane in Haiti but was unable to because the airport’s control tower was down. Doctors Without Borders started tweeting about this from the USA and was able to garner enough attention, including Ann Curry’s, that she, and others, were able to reach out to appropriate contacts and get the plane grounded in Haiti.

 

The presentation was peppered with other examples of family members, organizations and humanitarians getting in touch with others to ultimately help in the relief effort through Twitter. This brought up a lot of bigger questions regarding Twitter and its evolving role in our everyday life. As I exited the building I found myself wrestling with a series of questions:

§  Will Twitter soon become the primary way people get their news?

§  How much can you trust what you read on Twitter?

§  Do you have a moral obligation to act on what you read on Twitter?

 

Your thoughts on these questions are welcome, although like most hard questions, there isn’t one answer. This discussion brought light to another side of Twitter that I have not explored or experienced, but left the building feeling better than I did when entering it as I thought about all the people that came together through Twitter to ultimately help those in need.