New Media PR Blog

Tracking Trends for Company Growth with New Media

It’s no secret that companies collect large amounts of data in order to improve business. Demographics are carefully monitored and customer habits carry great importance with marketing firms and advertising execs everywhere. Even so much as a customer satisfaction rate card at your local diner can provide insight with information on how to improve the business. That customer rate card is one of the first examples of social customer engagement.

The basic principle that exists among public relations, marketing and advertising professionals is communication. They each communicate for different reasons, but grabbing attention is vital.  In the past, it was mostly one-way communication: push out the press release, product advertisement or publicity campaign and then evaluate the outcome. Traditional media impressions still have a role to play in all this, but nothing has changed the landscape of customer and brand relationships more than new media. As brand communicators, we must learn to adapt to the changing media environment that now includes the everyday consumer.

With the increasing use of social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, businesses are still adapting to the reality of user-generated content. Customers can easily voice their concerns and opinions about a brand or organization. Businesses and organizations can use this individualized content to better cater to their customers and learn more about their partners.

Communication professionals can use social media to measure the tone of customer satisfaction over a certain period of time. Social media actually gives professional communicators a chance to listen and respond in a more personal way and understanding this can have a positive effect on brand reputation if the company is proactively tracking trends in conversations about a product or service.

Link-shortening sites like bit.ly and multi-interface social platforms like TweetDeck are a few ways to get started with tracking online activity, specifically with web links. But there are more enhanced tools available for communicators such as HubSpot, Ragan6, Klout and more. These sites are great for content ideas, optimization and analytics, something more public relations professionals should be getting more familiar with anyway.

As brands and consumers continue to venture into the digital realm, there will no doubt be new ways to share, new apps to use and new trends to follow. There’s no need to flood the channels, just find a few reliable sources for content and information along with your own material and be transparent about your brand. With enough time in the social realm, your brand may be the next trending topic.

How does your brand use new media? If it doesn't, why not? What trends would you follow to better understand your customers and improve your business?

The Vowels of Good Content

As youths, we are taught certain, basic guidelines meant to make life a little easier. We're taught that things work out best when handled politely and with care. We learn to show respect for one another, and that in order for it to be reciprocated, respect must be earned through proper action.

These principles hold true in social media interaction. Through proactive communication that is carefully created and monitored, businesses can find and share valuable content that will gain traffic to their landing pages. When sharing that content, it is good form to give credit where credit is due - to site the sources of the material.  However, not everybody knows exactly what type of content to share or how to build a strong online presence.

Here is an easy way to look at what kind of content is best shared. Use your vowels.

A, E, I, O, U:

Accuracy: Be sure the content is as accurate as possible in regards to industry relevance. This helps the brand to show that it is informed and aware of industry best practices.

Entertaining: Not all content has to be serious. Liven the conversation with some wit, laughter and videos. Use innovative dissemination methods such as QR codes and infographics to grab attention.

Informative: Share the industry knowledge that will assist your visitors and strengthen your relationship with them. The goal is to have them return to your site for more valuable information...and ultimately to you for your services and products.

Original: Nothing shows character like originality. Take time to create dynamic content that speaks to your brand as much as it does to your audience. Also, forwarding the original ideas and content of others demonstrates your ability to recognize and converse about advances in the marketplace.

Useful: Nobody wants to know that you just had a cheese sandwich, because that sandwich is of no use to them. Create social value by sharing tips, best practices, and statistics relevant to your client and industry.

Content may vary by industry, but the goal should always be the same: relevance. How does your organization manage its social content? What strategies do you use to share content and how might you be able to improve those strategies?

7 Ways Your Marketing Strategy Can Leverage Market Value

1. PROFITIABLE MARKETING ROI
The best marketing organizations keep a sharp eye on where and how they focus their efforts by carefully monitoring spending as well as the impact of the business. Opportunities to improve these efforts are continuously explored but perhaps the most important piece is what’s called the ‘time value’ of a marketing investment. It reveals how much return is produced by funds spent in a specific timeframe. This provides a larger view of a marketing strategy and investment value over many periods. In order to better understand which marketing approach works best, individually evaluate your return by activity and channel distribution.

2. COMPREHENSIVE MARKETING PERSPECTIVE
When companies evaluate performance it is common practice to start with product sales, but there are supplemental factors that can effect that performance immediately and in the future. Companies should remember to monitor the proficiency and frequency of distinct market segments in order to rectify or foresee any potential obstacles.

While evaluating product and segment performance may require a more logistical approach, entire campaign assessments should be carried out during significant moments in the company timeline such as adding a whole new section to a food menu or creating an online forum where customers can suggest new product ideas. Where product and industry assessment supply a basic outlook on company growth, campaign evaluation brings necessary and deliberate refinement. Proper preparation prevents poor performance.

3. BRAND VALUE
What is the best way to measure the value of a brand? Some company executives prefer to stick to real ROI and follow the numbers. Others like to compare themselves with the competition. These types of measurements are usually done quarterly or annually and track real profits and earnings of a product or service, but what about a brand’s inherent worth? Measuring intrinsic value is not so concrete but the commitment to brand performance should be the same. That is why it is important to create metrics that assess and quantify brand value as it develops in order to monitor the part of the business that isn’t on the balance sheet.

4. EMPLOYEE v. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Disgruntled workers can lead to unsatisfied customers. Nobody wants to buy something from somebody who doesn’t want to sell it. Employee well-being is just as important customer satisfaction and should not be treated differently. That is why a company should be diligent about keeping employee advocacy as high as possible. Through team builders and recognition of employees who consistently perform well, as well as proactively reaching out to those with opportunities to improve, job satisfaction rates are likely to increase along with customer approval. Tracking both employee and customer metrics will help to ensure solid performance.

5. QUALITY and CONVENIENCE of PRODUCT
Launching a product or service isn’t just about watching and waiting for revenue to sky rocket. It is an ongoing process that involves constant quality control over both the product and the consumer. Unless your customers are all millionaires, it goes without saying that your product should be affordable to the general public. If not, it may have difficulty selling, especially if competitors offer a cheaper alternative.

Once price is settled, the product should also be easily accessible to consumers, either online or a nearby on-site location. Finally, there is public opinion. Are consumers satisfied with the quality of the product? Does the product have that household name status that shows the acceptance every brand dreams of? If the price and availability are reasonable, then the answers to those questions should be yes.

6. PIPELINE VELOCITY
When comparing the rate of sales performance against marketing efforts, it can be easy to overlook how much one effects the other. Assessing certain aspects of the business like close rates, revenue per sale, and lifecycles of sales can provide greater scope into untapped marketing opportunities for enhancing the overall sales process and eliminating unnecessary steps. Not only will this assessment help to expedite sales, but it can also blend the marketing and sales teams to streamline the workflow.

7. COMPANY CLOUT
Though there are times when marketing and sales should remain separate, there are an increasing number of ways in which the two correlate. A company can focus their market messaging on specific items of the business and then compare that with market share activity. If the cost of market spending is low but the return is high, then the marketing strategy is working. However, in an ever-evolving digital world, companies would be wise to closely monitor the traditional and technological habits of the competition in order maintain a solid position within the market.

Poised for Social Media?

As companies continue to incorporate social media into their marketing strategy, they also unearth challenges coupled with keeping a strong presence in the online community. Many companies still lack the training and resources needed to efficiently facilitate and manage conversations via social media. Those that are successful in this task are so because they treat social media as a tool for collaboration within and outside the organization. A report conducted by Forrester Research entitled “Accelerating Your Social Maturity” effectively describes the developmental stages companies go through in social media and how it becomes a part of the workflow and ultimately, the culture.

Just as companies set legal and HR guidelines, a social media policy must also be implemented to help drive home the value of a cohesive social media strategy. This policy could serve as a blueprint for representing the company brand in both B2B and B2C online communication. Nevertheless, companies just venturing into social media may have big ideas but must start small, showing careful deliberation in messaging. Be social, with P.O.I.S.E.

 Prioritize

• Develop a content schedule or task-oriented calendar focusing on key metrics of the business
• Work with respective departments in the company to develop and ensure timely, effective communication
• Set a policy in place that helps employees grasp underlying company goals for social media

Organize

• Set a standard for the kind of content that will be posted on company social sites, but be open to useful user-generated content
• Determine the desired audience for every type of content (employee, partner, customer?)
• Locate experienced social media users within the company and work with them to help encourage usage of the platform in their coworkers. Their experience may be able to assist in integrating social media into the company culture.

Identify

• Key Players: Find out who in your industry is using social media and how they are using it
• Research trending industry terms and topics. Follow them and the people who use them most. Hashtags are a great way to start.
• Take advantage of industry lists and groups in social media. Watch the discussion and join when appropriate. 

Share

• Don’t just crash servers with your content. Bring ideas to the table by sharing pertinent and constructive material that prompts conversation.
• Listen. Sharing is caring, but caring means being a good listener.
• Quality Control. Leave room for dialogue, but remember to carefully monitor the conversation for any unexpected criticism

Evaluate

• Was the message clear enough? Did it get people talking? If so, what specific things were they talking about? What drove the conversation?
• If not, what was the message lacking? How can it be modified to build a conversation?
• Does the audience need to be re-evaluated? Are you hitting the right targets?

 

Is your company active in social media? If so, how are you managing your efforts and what sort of results are you seeing? What might you need to do differently?

Study: How Corporations Use Social Media

Recently, Primary Research Group published an extensive report on corporate usage of popular social media sites. Specifically, the report focused on how corporations take advantage of microblogging sites such as Twitter and the tools provided to make their social media interaction more efficient.

Based on data from a survey conducted on 100 public relations directors, the report found such items as:

• Slightly more than half of those surveyed said they use applications which are designed to simultaneously submit content to multiple microblogging sites

• -Less than 20% said they actively use the microblogging website known as Tumblr.

• Almost one third of the respondents said they only use Twitter as opposed to other microblogging sites.

• More than 30% felt that microblogging sites like Twitter were more effective than traditional blogging sites like BlogSpot, while 35% felt traditional blogging was as effective.

• Almost half of the companies sampled regularly develop a statistical analysis that shows how the company and its products appear on microblogging services.

Does your company use social media sites? How often do you use them and in what capacity?

LIKE, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY

Every business has competitors whom they would like to outshine. A great way to do this with social media is to engage customers but it isn’t just about keeping up with the conversation. It’s about using the social platform in a way that inspires and creates a community built for a brand, by a brand and its loyal public. A good strategy integrates the latest apps and digital tools that allow users to develop a personal connection with the brand.

If The Shoe Fits…Share It!

• Nike is doing a fantastic job of this with the Nike+Fuelband #MakeItCount campaign. It encourages people to be more physically active while using a wristband accelerometer to track the amount of physical activity. Not only can users can tweet or post their goals and progress on Facebook, but Nike set up a giant LED screen in downtown Austin for South by Southwest 2012 showcasing user-submitted photos via Instagram using the #counts hashtag.

• Conversely, Reebok’s current social media strategy is not as dynamic. Their Facebook wall mainly consists of ‘Workout of the Day’ posts, deals on merchandise, and photos of their footwear. Interesting, but hardly inspirational. For that sort of thing Reebok is currently using the hashtag #GetAfterIt in order to generate inspirational user-generated content, but it feels like it’s lacking a specific call-to-action.

• Both Nike and Reebok have a steady stream of conversations flowing on Twitter and do a decent job of responding in a timely manner. Both also have more than one account representing various targeted audiences.

 Not to step on anyone’s toes but, in this instance Nike is one step ahead and gaining speed.

Where’s the Proof?

The day this post was written:

• Nike’s Facebook fan page shows 530, 416 people talking about the brand and they have just under 300k followers on Twitter.

• Reebok’s fan page has 45, 595 people talking about them and 53, 761 Twitter followers.

  

Optimizing Social Media Content For Maximum Results (part 2)

Here is the second portion of our previous blog entry on creating effective content that is optimized for social media...

Picture This

• Uploading photos to Facebook is very simple. Facebook users love photos so have fun with it and be sure the photos are at their highest quality and include a brief caption.
  
  
• Twitter users need to click on a link to view a photo so make sure it is worth the click. A tweet that reads, “Check out our newest pie, fresh out the oven!” with a link to a photo would get more clicks than a link with a tweet that reads, “Take a look at this," or one with no caption at all. That seems ambiguous and unenticing.

• Most importantly, whether on Facebook or Twitter, give prudence with the photos shared because once it’s out there, it’s out there.

The Proper Response

• Twitter is all about conversation. A strong following comes from genuine personal interactions and recognition of other users.

• Try following relevant conversations with other users and repost their content when applicable. Remember that anytime someone is @mentioned on Twitter only followers of that user and the user who mentioned them can view that post.

• Use private messages sparingly. They’re only really necessary for confidential material.

• Facebook updates can start in-depth discussions with a simple statement or open question. If it’s compelling enough, users will join the thread. This helps a particular update and company gain highlighted status in the ‘Top Stories’ section on the wall of users who follow that page. (See our post: Reaching Your Audience with the Best Facebook Content)

Conclusion

Social media in business is about a call-to-action through inclusion. Successful social media content, however, delivers that call-to-action through exclusivity. Users want to feel like they are a part of an elite group. They usually follow a business on social media to get something out of it whether it is a free gift, a chance to share their thoughts on a product, or just a brief mention of their name. People like to be recognized, and good social media conduct is the epitome of ‘Quid Pro Quo.’

Optimizing Social Media Content For Maximum Results

Businesses, organizations and individuals the world over have turned to social media to stay in the proverbial loop. In fact, these days it almost seems crucial to have a social media presence, especially for businesses. Still, not everyone is adept at creating compelling social content that is quick, concise and relevant year-round.

Whether it’s on a Facebook page or on Twitter, any content posted must fit the needs of the audience. Frankly, this is the most important part of any social media strategy. The way users share content on Twitter is different from the way it is shared on Facebook. so your messages must be valuable to the group and fit the format of the communication channel.

Stimulate, Don’t Saturate

• Stand out among the flood of tweets with personal engagement and relevance such as retweets, mentions, new blog posts, contest giveaways, special offers and event updates.

• One report revealed that more than one tweet an hour actually hurts click-through ratings by more than 200 percent. Too many posts make an account seem fraudulent and drive followers away.
  
  
• Use a tool like Hootsuite to pre-schedule Facebook and Twitter updates at a later time but separate scheduled posts by at least an hour, duplicating as little as possible.
  
  
• Facebook pages must be maintained with more frequency than Twitter but without overkill. Facebook measures how many and how often users interact with a page, and how often a company updates their status so take advantage and provide at least four updates a day with new and engaging information.

Size Matters

• Tweets should be short, to the point and as genuine as possible.

• Tweeted links should be shortened and include a brief description. (Sites like bit.ly are great for shortening links and can often track the number of clicks per link.)

• Spelling, grammar and punctuation are not scrutinized so much on Twitter. Use the extra space for links to new blog posts, photos, and allow for retweets from other users.
  
  
• Facebook includes a ‘See More’ link after 3-4 lines of content. As convenient as that sounds, status updates should not be a short story. Three lines or less is a good rule of thumb.
   
• A recent study shows Facebook posts containing less than 80 characters had increased interaction by 27 percent. The same study shows that full-length URLs on Facebook have better reception than shortened links.
   

(Here is Part 2 of this blog post on optimizing social content for maximum results.)

Integrate Social Media with Your Next Event

Becoming an industry thought leader is a central goal for most businesses.  One of the most effective ways organizations showcase their unique insight is by hosting special events, such as conferences, symposiums, or lecture series related to their business.  While these methods have been around for a long time, successful organizations are bringing new life and enhancing the patron experience by making social media a key component to their events.

Social media can play a key role in the build up to an event, growing exposure and generating buzz among attendees and industry practitioners.  A healthcare group might consider hosting an event forum on their website, giving participants the opportunity to share ideas about conference themes.  The event forum also allows event organizers the chance to blog on relevant topics.  As this content is shared through the forum, then to personal social media accounts and blogs, these organizers become ambassadors for the event.

Throughout the event, social media can be used to engage participants and also push the event beyond the conference hall, to the audience who could not attend.  At the recent IBM Lotusphere conference, social cafes were set up around the event.  These social media areas featured large touch-screen televisions, allowing users to interact with a variety of real-time social media content related to the conference.  Participants could see blog posts, status updates, pictures from the event, and even tweet right from the screen.  To provide incentive for participants to fully engage with the social aspects of the conferences, prizes were awarded to winners of social media scavenger hunts.

After the speeches are over and chairs are folded, organizations can use social media to keep their message and conference community growing.  Consistent engagement with their online their online group allows organizations to pass along updates, without the air of unwanted advertisements.  More importantly, regular interactions give a human element to otherwise faceless events.  That human touch is the essence of social media and the spark behind a strong social business strategy.

Special events provide tremendous opportunity to grow visibility among a variety of stakeholders.  How has your organizations used social media to establish valuable connections at events?

Reaching your audience with the best Facebook content

One of the most common questions we hear from businesses new to social media is, "how do we reach our customers?" Setting up a Facebook account is easy, but companies want to know how to use the social network to grab their audiences with effective, influential messaging. As long as the internet has been a tool for branding, companies have used flashy graphics and techniques to reach audiences. Now we are learning that perhaps connecting with audiences online is much more simple.

Recently Mashable, a leading internet and digital media news site, found where exactly users focus their attention when browsing Facebook brand pages. The group worked with EyeTrackShop to study the eye movements of 30 users viewing the top Facebook brand pages, included Coca-Cola, Victoria's Secret, and PlayStation among others. The key takeaways are:

- The Wall is king. Most users in the study looked at the profile wall first and spent at least four times longer viewing this area than any other part of the page. For businesses, this means an emphasis on posting content your audience will find most compelling. What your users find interesting will change depending on industry. For example, a recording studio might post updates related to local concerts next to self-promotion for recording services.

- Pictures matter. The eye-tracking study found that users paid little attention to brand pages with traditional logos, while those with faces retained users for longer periods of time. Of all the brand pages in the study, users spent the longest time on the PlayStation page, which had pictures prominently displayed on the wall. Businesses should consider this and try to post new pictures regularly in order to keep users on their pages long enough to read other compelling content. (New pictures automatically post to your profile wall after uploading.)

Facebook announced this week that beginning in January 2012, the social network will begin showing 'sponsored stories' in the main user news feed. While these targeted ads will not show up on individual profile walls, they will show up alongside status updates and new pics from their friends. Because sponsored stories reflect their friends' interests, this is a great opportunity for inbound marketing - without the air of unwanted advertising.

The eye-tracking study and this week's Facebook announcement are big news for businesses using the social network to reach audiences where they play. Areas like profile walls and news feeds are prime real-estate on Facebook. Now business will have even more opportunities to reach audiences with the assurance their efforts will have an impact.

Marketing on Facebook is ever-changing. How will the eye-tracking study and Facebook's decision to allow ads on news feeds affect your marketing approach?