Online / digital PR

Online / Digital PR WHAT IS DIGITAL PR? SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MEASURING DIGITAL PR CROWD SOURCING AND VIRALS Alex Sass, Renegade Media

Alex Sass Head of digital – Renegade Media Ltd [email_address] Twitter.com/ADSass +44(0)7891 386496

Good times for online spend Jeff Levick, AOL President, global advertising and strategy-- “ Brands are steadily running out of places to control their brand”, he said and referenced a quote from a senior marketer at P&G, who told him that more than ‘60% of network programming will be reality television and I can’t put my brand there’. Niche is the new mass media.

Everyone wants a piece Brands want to be a part of our social dialogue, position themselves within a new market where the consumer is trusted more than marketing. Digital PR is ‘ conversation management ’

Public relations has always been... What you do What you say What other people say about you You cannot control the media You can manage what the media perceives and reports PRs and journalists are not involved in an exercise in social harmony – the media’s role is to uncover the truth and report it

Every organisation depends on its reputation for survival and success Customers, suppliers, employees, investors, journalists and regulators have an opinion about your industry and your brand, whether good or bad, right or wrong. In today’s competitive market, reputation can be a company’s biggest asset – the difference that makes you stand out and gives you a competitive edge. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating and building positive relationships.

Inventing your industry BRAND ADVOCACY EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN BRAND IMAGE OR BRAND SATISFACTION

All of our clients demand.... BUZZ!

NEW PR IS SOCIAL MEDIA Online PR Channels

The words we're using Evangelist marketing

Our influence This is what we have and what they want 11 TO 12 INTIMATE CONTACTS 150 SOCIAL CONTACTS 500 TO 1,500 WEAK TIES

The words we're using Homophily I’m head of homophily

MICRO-BLOGGING Tweet tweet tweet

Micro-blogging is a form of blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually less than 200 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, and the web.

A look at crowd sourcing What do they think you are? Allow the public to innovate Publish back their innovation It’s Walkers’ biggest ever campaign in their 60-year history , with a spend of £10m across PoS, radio, online, and television. The prizes are massive. All five runners-up get £10,000, and the winner gets a one-off prize of £50,000, as well as 1% of all subsequent sales of their flavour .

It's not exactly calling out for content 100,000,000 The number of YouTube videos viewed per day.

PR THROUGH BLOGS Which channels?

80% of those that read reviews (such as blogs or comment forums) are directly influenced by them. i.e. the reviews had either confirmed their initial choice or changed their mind 78% of web users trust recommendations from other consumers more than adverts. Sources: Econsultancy Internet Statistics Compendium; Hitwise

Two types of blogging Engaging with bloggers Traffic Brand building SEO Trend watching Self publishing Building a story Getting your message across Thought leadership Direct response channel SEO

How sports brands are reaching out to Europe through digital

Another good example of blog outreach

http://limitedhype.com/2009/04/asics-left-right/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg8WI8ZDf8A

DEADLING WITH COMMENTS Once the blogs up...

Based on US Air Force blog assessment schema Barclays example from cScape

PR THROUGH VIDEO SHARING New PR Channels

They all want the horrible word!

What isn't community Community is not a tool that connects people who already know each other, that's just 'interface' It's not a one off discussion or forum where people take on a selected identity and exist only in cyberspace. It's not 1 million people watching a YouTube video or playing with a viral application, that's just marketing.

Facebook – it's a reflection, only More Facebook messages are now sent than emails, but they tend to go to people who already interact in the real world. Those are relationships that won't be swayed by a new 'buddy' very easily. To change behaviour you need to offer social reward, recognition or status. You can't do that in networks with existing leaders, subordinates and promises made.

Facebook – it's a reflection, only. It's reflected in CTR and CPC- Facebook-- typically 0.1% click through On/Offline networks-- typically 2-5% click through It's cheap, but it's only broadcasting. The majority of ad spend is based on direct response rather than building a brand. Once you turn that off, it just stops, they move on.

They can never be global, they can never be for everyone and everything. SSS Theory, are you profiling by geography, social link and sense of self? Is the profile more 'real' online than offline, can you offer a lifestyle tag using social media tools? Can you create a social movement? I 'do' Facebook, I 'am' “ConverseAlwaysOn” Creating true community

People who are getting it Converse – Fan Pages that incite real world behaviour, use Facebook as a gathering tool but the brand as a 'doing' tool. Converse blog– inviting conversation in 5 languages. MINI – Create micro campaigns, create a MINI Space, use the vehicle as a tool to connect– MINI Cinema Bayer – Becoming part of the discussion by providing educational resources, allow discussion, host the platform. Under Armour , reaching out through bloggers, recognising unsung heroes, using real world events, monitoring online reputation and mentoring ambassadors. Dominos and BLM , allowing you to be the pusher.

MESURING DIGITAL PR Digital PR

You can measure this stuff UK interest in “under armour”

Micro campaigns can kick off ‘viral’ effect for a tiny budget Look at those logo impressions – brand recognition

Facebook for people gathering (example of micro budgets)

Link ‘buzz’ to search volume

The credibility of Google results Is inversely proportional to the success of SEO

Where else do we turn? Facebook, trust your mates? Twitter, trust the masses? The pub, trust the drunk?

Where else do we turn? Facebook, trust your mates? Twitter, trust the masses? The pub, trust the pissed?

Start at the top? Google won’t call me back, for $100K Facebook won’t touch for $30K Yet my bloggers have a bigger reach than the natural search term figures.

Change approach Social media is a fabulous CRM tool CPC and ROI is higher Move the social media budget from the SEO department to CRM or Brand Management?

Online PR worst practices Being fake in any way isn’t good on the social web Not listening . How can you learn anything if information is only flowing one way? Being oblivious to formal & unwritten social rule s. It pays to lurk a bit. Aspire to “ speak like a native ” Being pushy or overtly salesy in communications and expecting traditional marketing outcomes Approaching social media channels as silos – too many approach it via individual web sites. It’s a collaborative effort Not staffing appropriately – it’s a full time job Not having a mechanism to assess ROI – include mechanisms to assess business value. It might be a value placed on increased awareness, more visitors, downloads. ROI is easier to obtain if there is a stated goal

Social media best practices Start with a plan, not tactics . Research & build roadmap: audience, objectives, s trategy , tactics, tools, technology and metrics “ Give to get” – Successful programmes involve listening and participation. Participation centres around giving value before expecting anything in return. This is not “sales” it’s influence Commit resources & time to be successful or you may well fail. It’s important to forecast hours, who, what, when, how and where with the intention of succeeding, not just experimenting Be transparent with intentions & your identity or you may alienate the very audiences you’re trying to connect with. Do your homework and it should be obvious what commercial messages are appropriate Understand, you do not control the message . Old habits die hard and there’s a tendency to want to control messaging Welcome participation, feedback and co-creation . Encourage participation with communications, especially with brand evangelists. Metrics should roll up to objectives and objectives should be relevant to the channel.

Simple tips Twitter – state your intention, host a hub page and set a policy Facebook – Go Micro, be specific, increase your CTR, drive to the real world. Invest in media events that naturally move online, source the crowd. The technology is a given, invest in sociology.

My 3 daily questions... What happens when you turn the site off ? What happens if you turn the web off ? Can you measure the movement ?

Questions welcome [email_address]

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