Media Week

The days of marketing without technology are dead and buried.

With the rise of social media and the increasing importance of online communications, marketeers are going to have to acquire technology skills. Being able to understand the technology or at least have an open mind to technology is essential.

There are very few marketing campaigns now that don't require a technology element.

 Justin

(www.itsopen.co.uk)

Why are organisations so paranoid about getting comments on blogs?

The fear is so irrational and it comes up time and time again. Even though blogs can be moderated. Which means nothing gets published unless you decide to publish it, companies still are very fearful.

Every company has networks talking about issues relating to its brands and services, how can companies hope to engage effectively with those conversations unless they join the blogosphere?

 The other great thing about blogs is that they raise your profile on search engines and can be used to link into your official web site.

 Blogging platforms can be used to create highly relevant content which will appeal to specific networks and therefore help extend the online influence of organisations.

 If a company genuinely wants to be innovative then it needs to move blogging and social media to the centre of its strategy rather than to leave it languishing on the margins.

Cable &Wireless is using the appeal of Facebook and other social media networks to try to change the culture of the company.

C&W has launched its own social media network for staff where they can post comments and exchange views and even adopt virtual identities using cartoon avatars.

The idea is to change the culture of the company. The company behind this highly innovative work is Chemistry Digital (www.chemistrydigital.co.uk)

To read more take a look at: http://newsweaver.co.uk/pdggraphics/e_article001020507.cfm?x=bcbhRqb,b4

 The challenge is going to be getting people to give up their old ways and use the new social media network.

Discussions are going on about whether or not Facebook is a platform for PR or primarily an advertising medium.

Stephen Davies at PR Blogger (www.prblogger.com) has written a fascinating piece about the role of Facebook. So far it has largely gained attention for being an arena for lobbying to building support (witness the HSBC student rebellion) and according to Stephen another is potentially brewing for Egg.

I don't think companies can ignore Facebook especially when there are groups dedicated to brands. My instinctive thinking is that PR is more suited to Facebook. Creative applications and an innovative presence on Facebook can certainly help the perception of companies and build word of mouth followings. Any social media strategy has to reach out to all social media networks, listening to what is being said and joining in conversations. Sure the numbers might not always be huge but the influence could be significant and you can always promote a presence on Facebook in other ways as other campaigns would be promoted. The act of companies participating in Facebook will be a good exercise because it will encourage the company to join social media networks and learn about the new environment and put the company in a better position to relate to these networks going forward. When you have a presence on Facebook there are obviously actions you can take to build the community around your presence. Additionally, I think it is crucial now that PR companies work with technology specialists. Marketing and PR is largely impossible without technology support and it is those marketing and PR people who are comfortable with technology and understand it  and want to explore the possibilities who will do best. Finally I don't think plonking ads on Facebook is going to do much good. I think the value of PR is that it enables you to integrate yourself within the community of Facebook but it has to be done sensitively, respecting the environment, you have to be open about who you are and if it is simply dull corporate propaganda it will not work at all.

How far should companies go to check out the relevance of social media channels to their audiences?

Oliver (see comment under Social Media Strategies) has made some interesting points about reviewing the audiences who are using social media channels. You can obviously approach the owners of particular social media channels such as Facebook etc to find out the age groups and profiles but they are changing all the time.

I also think that online and offline channels are merging so much and are so dynamic. It is hard to say who is reading this or that all the time. Through a social media channel an issue can suddenly spring up. I think companies need to be aware of the issues just as much as the audiences. If you are a brand which is concerned about green issuess then you need to know what is being said on blogs etc and most importantly you need to know which blogs and social media networks are most influential for the debate as a whole if you want to be a leader in that debate.

Put in a mention of any company nowadays into a blog search engine or onto Facebook and chances are they are going to be covered. They are out there. Brands are fragmenting across blogs and social media networks and businesses need to be tracking what is said otherwise they could issue releases for example or campaigns which are off the pulse.

I do think audience is importance but issues are important too. I also think that blogs and social media networks provide new opportunities for companies to attract audiences and also to revitalise their brands, energise them and make them more responsive and contemporary.

There has to be a lot of companies who have Facebook groups but are they interacting with these?

A lot of people get hung up on measurement or whether or not social media campaigns will work. It is important to start, to experiment and find out what works. And aboveall, I think it is important to embrace the new and enjoy it and not to fear it too much.

I spoke to a prospective client the other day who said she'd met a couple of agencies who made social media sound exciting but they didn't seem to know how to help develop a strategy. So what makes a good strategic approach to social media? Here's a few tips:

First of all I think it is really important to find out what is being said online in blogs and social media networks about your brand and or about issues relating to your market.

You need to understand what is being talked about and what is of interest before you can participate in a meaningful way. Then you can ensure that your messages are designed to address concerns/issues that people have and which are being discussed already. So listen first is probably the best approach and monitor what is being said.

How does an organisation decide whether or not to have its own blog? Here are some tips:

Can you update the blog several times a week?

Do you have a writer or group of writers who can support the blog?

Do you have something interesting to say other than just linking to other blogs and news sources?

Can you provide information of value to your readers?

Do you read other blogs and do you have an understanding of what is being talked about regarding your industry and services?

Do you have content on your web site (white papers, case studies etc) which you can link your blog to in order to take visitors further?

Why is that Corporate blogs have such a bad name and how can companies ensure that their blogs are worth reading?

If a company wants to make its blog interesting it has to ensure that the blog adds some value to the lives of its readers.

There has to be a good reason why people should bother to read the blog. Afterall we are all very busy.

The blog has to give the reader something which they cannot find anywhere else to be successful.

It has to be information that your customers, partners and prospects will find interesting and useful. Not necessarily what you will find interesting and useful. You have to be a valuable resource otherwise no community will grow around your blog and no one in their right mind will want to connect to you.

As Microsoft's bid for Yahoo hots up, Google is using its blog to fight back.

David Drummond, chief legal officer for Google, has posted on Google's blog about Microsoft's bid for Yahoo

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ His comments have already been picked up by the Financial Times.

This highlights how a major company can use blogging to its advantage and get its message across very quickly and effectively.

It also shows that by having a blog and using it this way that Google is not only light years ahead in terms of its search service from anyone else but that it is also leaving companies in its wake when it comes to embracing new progressive methods of communication.

I think a lot of PRs who warn their clients about the legal risks of blogging should take a look at how a chief legal officer is happily using a blog to get a very important company message across which will affect share prices.

Given the dynamic nature of the Google blog this will spread far more quickly than a standard press release or briefing to the media.

How do you measure the return on blogging? Companies who are already blogging have some interesting insights.

Blogging is clearly very fashionable and those companies who adopt blogging can gain first mover advantage and position themselves as more progressive. There are reports from companies who are blogging who say that they want to be seen as more collaborative and transparent. They want to get away from the days when they issued a carefully packaged message and then just drew up the drawbridge not wishing to enter into any conversations.

IBM is a major company which has embraced blogging in a positive way and on a large scale. With so many experts in different areas they see joining conversations in blogging communities as a major opportunity to gain influence and extend the reach of the IBM brand.

You can measure blogs in terms of how many visitors they are getting and in terms of how many people are linking to them. After that it is down to the relationships you build through the conversations and communities you join. You can also learn lessons and get valuable feedback. Furthermore, blog posts are favoured by search engines. Blogs have good Google juice and will help raise your online profiles. Blogs are also an excellent way to provide platforms for fans of your brand and for customer evangelists. Vespa motorscooters and Starbucks have customers who blog on their behalf, spreading positive messages across the networks of the web. Vespa worked with its PR agency to set up its fan blogs. The bloggers get compensated with scooters which are loaned to them. You can ignore fan bloggers, try to shut them down, or encourage and work with them.