An overwhelming amount of news has been about Facebook’s new Timeline, a feature which all users will be required to implement in the near future. (If you are unfamiliar with the Timeline layout, please check out my colleague Andrea Corbo’s blog post for a detailed explanation of this new debatable feature.) Other headlines have focused on Facebook’s Rise From Start-Up to Establishment and its latest IPO.  

Personally, I’m much more interested in Facebook’s recent study on how the social giant has changed the way we gather and transfer information.

In a 2011 study conducted by Facebook’s Eytan Bakshy — which I found when I subscribed to Mark Zuckerberg’s statuses via Facebook this past month — the  author debates whether or not social media acts as a reinforcement of our own ideas we share with “strong ties” (such as friends, family, coworkers, classmates) or  a tool that broadens your view of the world by taking in new opinions from “weak ties” (strangers or acquaintances) and asks us to Rethink Information Diversity in Networks. Bakshy’s study was inspired by a 1973 American Journal of Sociology study conducted by economic sociologist Mark Granovetter called, The Strength of Weak Ties. In Granovetter’s study, documented well before the Internet, stronger ties flock together sharing similar information while weaker ties aren’t as prominent and withhold eye-opening news.

Fast-forward to the age of social media … Interaction is often compared to that of a party-like setting in which you must interact and share information with people in a similar manner. Bakshy conducted his current study to measure to and/or from whom at this “party” we are more likely to share information. With the help of Facebook’s newsfeeds feature, the study measured how often a Facebook member would re-share their weak ties links versus their strong ties links. While it was found that strong ties’ links would be reposted more often, it was the weaker ties that were the ones who provided the most information. How? While the strong ties may have more interests in common and a stronger influence,  Facebook friends are more likely to have a majority of acquaintances invited to their metaphorical social media bash than close friends.

The majority of a person’s newsfeed will contain new information from more dissimilar members via new updates posted throughout the day. Now more than ever, “weak ties” are able to share information spread throughout a social group. Whereas before this segment would not have the capability to reach a broader audience without the assistance of a larger media outlet, but now thanks to social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+ and any other social network site that has a newsfeed element these “weak ties” are spreading their influence. I can say that Bakshy’s theory explains why I read his article in the first place from Mark Zuckerberg, a “weak tie.”

 Do you believe we are more likely to spread information due to the quality of the connection or the quality of content? Have you found that you are more aware of opinions that differ from your own, now that use of social media outlets has increased as opposed to face to face interactions? Most importantly, did you read or share my article because of this theory?

***

Bio: Before joining the BurrellesLuce team in 2011, Kelly interned at CondeNast’s Glamour magazine as an editorial intern to the senior style writer and was an editor of her college newspaper. She received a B.A. in Behavioral Science and Business, Society and Culture from Drew University with honors. After graduation, she worked as a sales associate at Nordstrom and took a month off to travel abroad throughout Europe. In Kelly’s free time, she enjoys traveling, fashion, reading, bringing awareness to Breast Cancer, running 5Ks, baking and social media. Twitter:@miss_mulholland Facebook: BurrellesLuce; LinkedIn: Kelly Mulholland

Even though we know digital and online media continues to change, IABC/DC Metro started 2012 with a chapter meeting tackling the latest Social Media Trends.

The panelists included:

• Dan Horowitz, executive vice president and senior partner for Fleishman-Hillard Digital
• Daria Steigman, founder of Steigman Communications and the author of the Independent Thinking Blog
• Steve Radick, lead associate, digital strategy and social media practice, Booz Allen Hamilton
• Rick Dunham, Washington bureau chief of the Houston Chronicle and Hearst newspapers, and chief author of the Texas on the Potomac blog.

Emerging Social Media Trends
Each panelist brought different industry point-of-view to the discussion. Radick took government. Horowitz gave the agency perspective, Steigman reviewed the small business view and Dunham brought insight from publishing and the media.

1. Government Use: Radick dispelled the myth that the government is behind the curve, but he did see them stalling in advances for 2012 because it is an election year.
2.  Internal Communications: Radick also thinks there will be more enterprise 2.0 or social media behind the firewall to internal audiences.
3. Integrated Efforts: Both Radick and Horowitz confirmed they see more integration into all lines of communications.
4. Influencers: They felt the days of the “social media guru” are dying fast. Horowitz said it’s time to look for persuaders or influencers who can help persuade others to your thinking or agenda.
5. Small Business: Steigman sees social media platforms as a reliable ecosystem and wonders how they can be used to make it easier to reach customers. She suggested reading Phil Simon’s The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business. She also feels it will be key for business to understand search and the data around it.  
6. Digital Skills: Dunham is amazed by the use of tablets for tweeting, video, etc. Because many of his colleagues are not digitally inclined, he relies on interns to provide new ideas for using social media to drive more readers to their media properties.  

Social Media Best Practices for 2012
As with all social media discussions, some great best practices come out. Radick reminded us, “Don’t concentrate on social media tools, but concentrate on the principles behind them.

“When asked how to best measure social media, Horwoitz said, “You need to measure based on business goals, don’t measure on tactics.”  

For more helpful social media best practices, you can read Steigman’s highlights of the session on her blog.

What social media trends do you see for 2012? Please share them with the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers.  

Flickr Image: Nate Hofer

Just in case you have been out of commission and haven’t heard of Pinterest, according to its About Page, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web […] Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.” 

The site was (soft) launched less than two years ago and is still by-invitation-only, but has exploded in popularity in the past few months. According to ZDNet, Pinterest received nearly 11 million total visits in the week ending December 1, 2011. That’s 4,000 percent growth on visits during a single week in just six months, points out CNET, bumping it into the top 10 social sites among the more than 6,000 properties that Hitwise tracks.

In fact, for the first time Pinterest made the new BurrellesLuce 2012 Top Media Outlets: Newspapers, Blogs, Consumer Magazines, Websites and Social Networks. The site comes in at number 9 on the top social networks (with 0.41 percent market share) according to Hitwise rankings for the week ending December 17, 2011 – beating out newcomer Google+ which rounds out the number 10 spot with 0.36 percent market share.

We all see cool stuff online that we’d like to share or save (aka “pin”) – I have some Facebook friends that I wish would use Pinterest instead of filling my stream with kitten images and quotation graphics, but that’s for another post. Snark aside, it is no surprise that people are finding use for this online pinboard. Friends and colleagues that are engaged are pinning wedding themed items, foodie friends are pinning recipes, fashion junkies are pinning wish-list items, etc.

So, I get the individual use, but what, if anything, can this do for companies or organizations?

Pinterest for Cause Marketing
Joe Waters answers this question for causes/non-profits in a HuffPo article. He points out that if you have an interesting or compelling story that can be told with images (and believes every cause does), and if you’re active on other social media platforms (because he doesn’t believe Pinterest is a good stand-alone platform yet), then you may very well benefit from the site. However, he warns, you must act socially – be useful. One example is Amnesty International’s boards.

Small Businesses on Pinterest
Kathleen Scarrow addresses Pinterest from the small business point of view in a Globe and Mail article. She points out that currently the majority of the user base is women 25-44 so if this is your target market, and again, if your story can be told via images, then this may be a great tool to use. She also warns about self-promoting and to think creatively instead. A good example is Etsy’s boards.

Journalist and Media Outreach
Mashable posted an article from the International Journalists’ Network that talks about how journalists could use Pinterest. For example, you could use the site to showcase your work, use mobile pinning of pics for breaking news, find trends or ideas, or simply curate the news into a make-shift online magazine. Check out TIME Magazine’s boards where they’re using it for staff bios and to promote behind-the-scenes blog posts and more.

Corporate Branding
Other articles, including this one on Mashable and  this one on AmEx Open Forum, discuss how bigger brands can or are using Pinterest. First and foremost they warn against blatant broadcasting and suggest using a more holistic approach. Some of the suggestions are using it as a focus group, promoting a lifestyle, showcasing brand personality, crowdsourcing, general inspiration for your team(s), fostering creative communications between the brand and its customers, and running contests – such as Land’s End’s Pin It to Win It contest.  If you want specific brand examples, try checking out Real Simple’s boards, which according to a Business Insider post, now gets more referral traffic from Pinterest than from Facebook. Or check out the Whole Foods Market’s boards – be forewarned you WILL be hungry after seeing this one!

I thought I’d share my research here, with you – the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers – but truly want to know if you’re using Pinterest, for what, and why.

I find it fun to look at a profile picture and wonder what the person looks like or how they act in real life (IRL). When I met Brian Solis, I wondered if he would really have the monocle or if it was just a prop. (It was just a prop and a borrowed one.) Also, I often wonder why some people use their children as their profile pictures, because it doesn’t give me any reference as to what they look like or insight into their personality. Some people using a cartoon drawing or Avatar for their profiles can make me wonder if the drawing is better than real life or if they are using one because they think it’s more fun or humorous

Recently a few women have mentioned they do not use their own picture because of security reasons. Raegan Weber, a PR consultant, mentioned, “I had people using my picture for their own blogs or online news stories. So, I chose a picture of my beautiful German shepherd instead of my own headshot.”

Other people like to show support for a cause, school or sports team with Twibbons. They are small icons you can put on your picture. When it’s October, I feel compelled to add a pink ribbon to my profile picture and I still have to have my college mascot Twibbon. Sports fans tend to include their favorite team in their pictures. My BurrellesLuce colleague Denise Giacin makes a point of wearing her favorite baseball team’s hat in her picture.

For me, I just want a nice picture. When I lived in Hawaii, I had a fabulous driver’s license picture. I was skinny, tan and my hair was bleached from the sun. I was so sad when I had to give it up. I know a lot of people who will do anything to keep a good driver’s license picture for as long as humanly possible. I might be that way about my current profile picture. A few years ago, several BurrellesLuce colleagues and I had our head shots taken. Fellow bloggers Johna Burke and Tressa Robbins kept me laughing and smiling, so the picture turned-out great. I use it for all my social media profile pictures, presentations. Well, pretty much anywhere I can use it, I will. Over dinner with friends recently, my husband said I will probably use it for my obituary. Yes, I’ll probably have one of those obituaries where it says I died at 95, but I don’t look a day over 30 in the picture!

What are some of your favorite profile pictures? What does your picture say about you? Do you use the same picture for all mediums or do you have different one based on the platform? 

What do you think of this year’s most popular Fresh Ideas stories? Were you surprised at the range of topics? What would you like to see covered in 2012? Please share your thoughts and leave comments below.

10. Are PR Budgets Back?

9. Don’t Let a Bad Interviewer Spoil the Interview

8. Twitter Chat Transcripts Now Available from BurrellesLuce

7. When It Comes to Brands and Content, Simplicity Matters

6. Measuring Social Media, The Value of Influence

5. The Evolution of Media Measurement: Dr. Jim Grunig, University of Maryland, Interview

4. Public Relations and Marketing With QR Codes

3. Can We Talk? Social Media’s Impact on Human Relations

2. Survey: Journalists Do Not Want to Be Contacted Via Twitter

1. Blogger Relations Misconceptions

Did your favorite Fresh Ideas posts make the list? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know.

20. The Art of Storytelling

19. PRSSA National Conference Speed Networking PR Student Questions

18. How to Speak C-Suite

17. Disappearing Act: 10 Brands That May Not Be Around in 2012

16. The New York Women in Communications 2011 Matrix Awards

15. When a Hashtag Leads to Help: PR Tips from #BlueKey

14. Zappos, 24/7 Customer Service in the Internet Age

13. Oscar’s Social Media Fever

12. Snooki’s Appearance at Rutgers – Good PR or Poor Reputation Management?

11. Poll Results: Should PR Interns Pitch the Media?

This brings up an important, but often forgotten, point about Facebook pages… You need to choose your Facebook page name carefully, because, as I discussed in my BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas post, Facebook Tips for PR Pros, you cannot change the page name once your page has 101+ fans. If UND had used “University of North Dakota (UND) Sports (or Athletics)” or some variation originally, this situation might not be happening. Remember, you can change the “About” and “Company Overview” at any time, so consider using these for more creative names and information.

Diane Thieke, founder, Simply Talk Media and Mike Schaffer, director of social media, iostudio have both recently helped clients make a Facebook page change. Both advocate a well-developed communications strategy, which should include:

• Clear messaging: Why is a new page needed? What new benefits will it offer?
• A transition timeline: Allow enough time to communicate the change. This can be as little as eight weeks, for a small fan base, up to six months or more for a large following. It is very important to give an end date for when the old page will no longer be updated, and stick to it.
• Integrated marketing: Communicate regularly, and often, through multiple channels (email, newsletters, website, etc.) about the transition. You want to reach as much of your fan base as possible to let them know about the page change.
•  A content strategy: Drive people to your new page. For example, post identical content to both pages until the end date is reached, but gradually phase out content on the old page. Eventually, your new page should offer unique information not available elsewhere. Expanded content, like HD video, pictures and polls, will give the new page more value.
• A “like” campaign. Consider offering incentives. For example, you can donate $1 for every “like” to charity. Branded swag can help rebuild the emotional connection. Be sure to promote all campaigns across all channels of communication.

Thieke says, “Remember that social media is a conversation. Respond to the comments on the old page and acknowledge how your fans feel, but avoid engaging in arguments. Often, people just want to know they’re being heard.”

Rebranding is never easy. Schaffer confirms, “The key to remember is that the loyalty isn’t to the name, but to the institution.” If the new Facebook page is going to allow fans, students and alumni to gain information and insight to the teams, then they will make the transition. Eventually, the old name will become less important.

Have you had to change Facebook pages for your organization or a client? Can you share some lessons learned and best practices with the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers?

I love the holiday season! During the month of December, I revert to a nine year old, anticipating the slew of holiday traditions upon us. First, my family assembles the fake pine-like tree in our living room. (Well, my father assembles the tree while I read the directions.) Then, my siblings and I decorate it until it looks like a personalized Santa’s beacon with every light blinking.

One of my favorite parts of the holiday is gift-giving. However this year it seems like more of a financial burden than fun. Brands seem to understand this and are incorporating humor into social media holiday campaigns. Old Spice and its MANta Claus One Man, Seven Billion Gifts campaign is one example.

While a far cry from seven billion gifts, here is how I am using social and online media to spread a little holiday cheer while spending only $43 on presents for four family members, three awesome friends, two roommates, and one cat.

1.       Craigslist. I love Craigslist for vintage and technology. I found a quality, fully-functional vintage record player for free. It just needed a little TLC, and my father (whose record player broke) would love this. ($200 value). I also received 30 vinyl records, which I am giving half to my dad and the other half to my roommate who equally loves vinyl – potentially saving $20 on gift for said roommate.

Remember to check if it works before paying and to ensure the seller is legit. Also, make sure you know what your receiver wants. There is no use getting something for free if no one wants or needs it.

Spent: $0

2.       Groupon. I love Groupon for trips, beauty/spa deals, events, and classes. But we all know how addicting Groupon was when we first signed up and started buying all those Groupons that we thought we would use, but probably won’t. Now we can put them to good use. I have six random Groupons from a day spa to belly dancing. I am giving a Groupon to my sister, mom, and two of my friends. ($800 value).

Again, before giving random Groupons to people (unless you don’t care and will never see them again) make sure you know they will actually like the gift.

Spent: $0

3.       Marshalls. Marshalls is great to buy name brand for less. I bought an adorable jewelry box set for my other roommate and a mouse toy for the cat. 

Spent: $10

4.       eBay. I bought a miniature doll tea set for my best friend who loves all things miniature. eBay is a smorgasbord, if you know what you want this site is loaded with deals.  

Spent: $10

5.       Barnes and Noble. I love my brother and he loves Legos. So, with my sister’s help we split the difference for the LEGO 2011 Architecture White House and received a 10 percent  discount because I am a member.  

Spent: $23

The best part is that my friends and family are getting something that they always wanted.

What other ways have you used social and online media to saved money or to promote your products and services during the holidays?

***

Bio: Before joining the BurrellesLuce team in 2011, as social media specialist, Ruth worked as a marketing assistant in a kitchen design firm and, later interned with Turner Public Relations. She holds a BA in Economics with a minor degree in International Relations from Rowan University. In addition to economics, education, and finance – Ruth is passionate about understanding the business implications of social media, including how it can be used to increase ROI, find and maintain a career, and create a business. Connect with her on Twitter: @RuthMesfun LinkedIn: Ruth Mesfun Facebook: BurrellesLuce 

Panelist Ricky Choi, social media strategist for LivingSocial, reminded the audience, “Social media should be visual, personal and conversational.” He noted that social media will be a better marketing tool than email in three to five years and that social media engagement is the sum of interaction and content. Communicators should try to include context without being salesy.

The evolution of the media is happening, but questions remain regarding the best way to translate personal use to the big picture, Noyes reiterated. Choi suggested more education as one possible solution. Facebook is trying to educate younger users on how to be good digital citizens and understand that reputation is important. The social media giant is working with outside thought leaders to encourage people to use their privacy settings effectively.

Moderator Mike Schaffer, director of social media, iostudio, asked the panelists for brands who are using social media effectively. The panelists touted Dell, for its various social media identities and customer service, and Pepsi for its Refresh Project.  ABC anchor Diane Sawyer was praised for use of social media.

(Read the full Twitter Chat Transcript in the BurrellesLuce Resource Center)

Facebook Stats
To understand the full usefulness of Facebook communicators should consider these statistics:

• One out of every eight minutes spent online is spent on Facebook.
• The average Facebook user has 150 friends.
• The average user is connected to 80 groups.
• 25 percent of users’ time online is spent on social networks.
• Facebook grew 500 million users in two years.
• To translate Facebook to 70 languages it used crowd sourcing.
• The fastest growing Facebook audience is seniors.

A key question for accessing ROI: what’s the value of a follower or a fan? It was suggested you need to look at who your fans’ influence and what is the possible amplification.

Tips for Using Facebook Effectively
In general, there is a generation gap with social media. The youth embrace social media, but young professionals need business experience to harness its power effectively. Some best practices for Facebook:

• A one-line post will see increased engagement.
• Post a question or a call to action.
• Post one story idea a day to entice reporters.
• Photos and videos increase interaction.
• Start a conversation.

Choi suggested considering dividing your social media team into those who are responding to issues proactively and reactively. He also encouraged using a promoted hashtag for indexing.

Want more tips on how to effectively use Facebook in PR and marketing? Johna Burke, SVP BurrellesLuce, will be leading a workshop and speaking at the PR News Facebook Conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on December 1, 2011.

Where do you think social media is headed in the future? How can communicators use it more efficiently?

My last few BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas posts have focused on integrating online video into your public relations campaign and creating, marketing, and measuring online video in PR. Both were inspired by a recent PRSA-NY panel. For this post, the third and final in the series, I thought we could discuss how to enhance online video with live streaming and SEO, as taken from the panel.

The event featured presentations from Joe D’Amico, PopTent; Jake Finkelstein, Method Savvy; Jonah Minton, Ustream; Mark Rotblat, TubeMogul; Eric Wright, DS Simon; Jim Sulley, newscast US; and Larry Thomas, Latergy.

It was followed by a roundtable Q&A moderated by Jason Winocour, social and digital media practice leader at Hunter Public Relations.

Recipe for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Marketing and communications professionals often talk about the need for engagement and the desire for their videos to go viral. Who wouldn’t want millions of people viewing their videos and spreading them across the web seemingly overnight?

While it’s not impossible to fulfill that goal, the success of a video is quite relative. It won’t matter how great or potentially “viral” your video is, if no one can find it online…

Jack Finkelstein, president of Method Savvy, had these tips to share on effective SEO and improving the searchable quality of your video:

• 180 Million Americans watch online video each month.
• Content must be clear not blurry.
• From a technical perspective, include keywords in file name as this adds value to SEO.
• For video titles, put the keywords you want to own early in the title.
• Include a description of the video. Put the URL first or include the link early-on in the summary.
• Use relevant tags to increase discoverability.

Live Streaming
Live streaming (not to be confused with life streaming) is necessary for high-level social engagements across multi-platforms, including mobile, tablets, apps and internet protocol television (IPTV), confirms Jonah Minton, VP of sales, Ustream, Inc.

Minton suggested the following tips for increasing the effectiveness of your video efforts via live streaming: 

• Distribute events through mobile web.
• Keep it RAW.
• Utilize multi-bit encoding devices.
• Plan ahead for “production problems.”
• Be realistic about your budget. Get quotes and budget in advance.
• Engage users (before, during and after) the event. Be social; engage all social outlets.
• Provide video on-demand.
• Reach out to content users via your PR team.
• Stream live video from a press conference or corporate event to convey your story visually.

One in every thirteen people on earth is an active Facebook users (500m+) and 35+ year olds making up over 30 percent of users, with 55+ year olds becoming the fastest growing demographic – why aren’t more organizations using live streaming of events to reach their audiences?

How are you using live streaming and SEO to optimize your video PR?

***

Bio: Alfred Cox is a rare commodity of a performer who combines a relentless drive to succeed with the ability to provide “first-person” touch to his clients, creating loyalty and repeat business. He has a hard-nosed work ethic in a results- driven environment and he is often called the “Network King.” Alfred has been in the PR industry for the past 18+ years and joined the BurrellesLuce team in 2011. Connect with him on Twitter: @shantikcox Facebook:  BurrellesLuce LinkedIn: Alfred Cox

Recently I wrote a post, here on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas, outlining key tips for integrating online video into your PR campaign from a recent PRSA-NY panel. For this post, I thought I would re-cap some of what I thought were the most compelling best practices for creating, marketing, and measuring online video content – as discussed at the event.

The event featured presentations from Joe D’Amico, PopTent; Jake Finkelstein, Method Savvy; Jonah Minton, Ustream; Mark Rotblat, TubeMogul; Eric Wright, DS Simon; Jim Sulley, newscast US; and Larry Thomas, Latergy.

It was followed by a roundtable Q&A moderated by Jason Winocour, social and digital media practice leader at Hunter Public Relations.

How to Create Online Video Content
Nearly 89 percent of journalist report that they regularly include online video content in their stories. But how can marketing and communications professionals create compelling video content?

Jim Sulley, president of Newscast U.S., had these best practices to offer:

• Understand who you are trying to reach. Who are your target demographics?
• Get the attention of the people watching. You only have 10 seconds to hook their interest.
• Shoot to script, don’t script to shoot. In other words, take the time to plan your videos and write a script.
• Create biscuits, little surprises along the way, and don’t give away the ending upfront.
• Be truthful. And remember, production values count.
• Entertain or DIE.
• Too much text is annoying for online video.

When creating video content, you will also want to get your online community, stakeholders, and agencies involved, as this with provide you with feedback and help you market your initiatives.

Joe D’Amico, vice president of sales, Poptent had this advice to share:

• Initially, your objective should be to create 30-60 seconds of video.
• Work closely with the PR agency and provide the agency with a variety of creative approaches.
• Consumer insight is vital. Direct consumer engagement and take advantage of strong social media outlets.
• Showcase performance – such as votes and comments received from consumer engagement.

How to Market Online Video and Measure Results
It isn’t enough just to create compelling digital video and push it out to your constituents. PR and marketing professionals need to understand how video fits in to their larger communications and branding strategy and report on those results.

Mark Rotblat, vice president of Sales, TubeMogul, provided these tips for marketing online video and measuring results:

• Brands must determine what are they looking to accomplish through their budget.
• Paid Media drives Earned Media.
• Paid video drives consumers to your site.
• Owned Media (e.g., a company website) – Video improves conversions for web retailers by 64 percent.
• Broadcast your video on popular public websites such as, YouTube, Google video, Yahoo video, and dozens of other user-generated sites.
• When social sharing always include clickable overlaps to Facebook Fan page and social media games.
• Use click-through rates to measures the value of the video.
• When reporting ROI, know who’s watching, where they’re watching, and what sites they are watching.

In my next post, I will examine how live streaming of video can enhance engagement and community participations, as well as ways to effectively optimize video content for online search, as discussed at PRSA-NY.

How do you use digital video to connect with your stakeholders and constituents? What tips can you provide for marketing and measuring the success of online video campaigns? Please share your thoughts with me here on Fresh Ideas.

***

Bio: Alfred Cox is a rare commodity of a performer who combines a relentless drive to succeed with the ability to provide “first-person” touch to his clients, creating loyalty and repeat business. He has a hard-nosed work ethic in a results- driven environment and he is often called the “Network King.” Alfred has been in the PR industry for the past 18+ years and joined the BurrellesLuce team in 2011. Connect with him on Twitter: @shantikcox Facebook:  BurrellesLuce LinkedIn: Alfred Cox

Over Halloween weekend, the Northeast faced an unprecedented snow and ice storm, atypical for this time of year, leaving over 2.5 million people from Maryland to Maine without electricity. Many people in New Jersey (BurrellesLuce is headquartered in Livingston) have only just now had the power turned back on, while hundreds of thousands are still in the dark. In fact, some towns in NJ have postponed trick – or – treating until Friday (today).

With millions of people scrambling to the nearest café for WiFi, what’s a social media junkie to do? Of course, the day after the storm my sister texted “Shouldve gotten 4G,” which at that moment I was tempted to double my monthly cell phone budget just for some Yahoo!News.

I also resisted the urge to hibernate under my blankets until the power went on. Instead, I came up with these five ways to get my social media fix:

1. Play Twitter Scrabble. My sister, the writer, would loathe this but I believe Twitter scrabble is the best invention for twitterholics. Instead of using actual correct words, players write it in “tweet speak.” Also, the blank tokens can be used for symbols, such as the “@” or “#” sign.

2. Write a blog post, or seven. I use every social media device to write anything other than the blog post I am supposed to work on. Well, without any electricity, I have no other choice but to actually write. Plus, think about how impressive it would be when you have all your work done AHEAD of time. Afraid to use up all the power in your laptop? That’s why we have paper and pencil. 

3. Clean up your room, computer, hard drive, car, anything! Yes, you know what I am talking about. Most people use social media as an excuse NOT to clean. Well, no excuse now! Plus, if you are feeling really compelled, you can probably take a few pictures to post on your Facebook, Tumblr, or Flickr account once the power is back on … this way your friends can see exactly what you’ve been up to while away.

4. Play “Keep it Short.” Now if you have listened to the Breakfast Club from Power 105.1, you know what I am talking about. To play “Keep it Short” you need at least 3 people. One person will say an acronym and the first player who says the correct phrase scores a point. Whoever has the most points is the winner. #winning

5. Build your network. I know that this might seem like a head turner, since you cannot connect to any networking sites. But, go to your town and get to know the local business owners (in real life) and give them your card or tell them what you blog about. Who knows, you might get a free cupcake, if you are sweet enough, never mind the chance to build relationships. You can then turn these into hyperlocal connections online.

Now, these are my top five to stay connected to social media and the community when the power is out, what are yours? Please share your comments here on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

***

Bio: Before joining the BurrellesLuce team in 2011, as social media specialist, Ruth worked as a marketing assistant in a kitchen design firm and, later interned with Turner Public Relations. She holds a BA in Economics with a minor degree in International Relations from Rowan University. In addition to economics, education, and finance – Ruth is passionate about understanding the business implications of social media, including how it can be used to increase ROI, find and maintain a career, and create a business. Connect with her on Twitter: @RuthMesfun LinkedIn: Ruth Mesfun Facebook: BurrellesLuce

Flickr Image: United Nations Photo

We all know there are many reasons to use social media, but why not use it for a good cause? Well, that’s what many non-profits, NGOs, and supporters do! 

Let’s take a look at a recent social media campaign launched by USA for UNHCR. The initiative, called The Blue Key campaign, aims at raising awareness of UNHCR refugee work and raising money through the purchases of blue keys that symbolize a key to a home, which refugees no longer have. Their goal is to “dispatch 6,000 Blue Keys by December 31, 2011.” To date, they have dispatched over 3,400 keys. The campaign has had huge success this year and still has a presence if you run a Twitter search today. #BlueKey

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Shonali Burke, a public relations and social media strategist based in metro D.C., who consulted on The Blue Key campaign (USA for UNHCR is her client), and blogs at Waxing UnLyrical. From our discussion, I was able to see that the tactics fell into several categories.

Measurement
If you are a PR professional running a campaign, you may choose to set a goal that you can measure such as a set-amount of followers, hashtag mentions, or number of group members. (One of their goals was the number of blue keys.) You can then relate these quantitative metrics to monetary measurements and numbers of people positively affected as a result of such aid. You can also take a look at qualitative metrics, think tone or sentiment, to see how people may be reacting to your campaign and how your campaign may have shifted their awareness – positively, negatively, or neutrally.  What types of response can you get?

To understand how analytics helped UNHCR tell their story, check out this interview between Shonali and Beth Kanter, author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media.  

Timeliness/Relevancy
Use holidays and events to your advantage. A great idea in the Blue Key campaign was to incorporate an online frenzy via a tweetathon (on June 13th) that approached World Refugee Day, held each year on June 20th.  These tweets then led to more awareness which, for UNHCR, resulted in a direct increase in support through purchases of blue keys. In fact, the tweetathons were so successful that they were held again in September and again on Monday, October 24th in honor of United Nations Day.

According to a recent email message sent by Marc Breslaw, executive director, USA for UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency, the tweetathon held last week generated 1, 800 tweets with the hashtag #bluekey and have helped to spread even more awareness and keys.

And as 2011 draws to a close, another tweetathon is planned for November 17th from 9am – 9pm.

Word-of-mouth
Clearly, USA for UNHCR and other organizations can create their own campaigns to raise awareness. But how can people get involved with these organizations if they don’t launch the campaign themselves? That’s where the Blue Key Champions come into play. Social media users, in general, can aid in these campaigns by participating by spreading knowledge, posting info for events or fundraisers, and sending targeted info to their friends.

Community Engagement (In Real-Life)
Since part of the goal is to actually bring real world action to causes, it is important for organizations and the communities to meet in real life, not just online. Today (November 2nd), in the NYC-area there is a  tweetup (NYC #bluekey tweetup) organized by local Blue Key Champions and the D.C. #bluekey tweetup will be on November 10th. These tweetups are a great way for people who are passionate about a cause to come together and meet others who are equally as passionate and foster a sense of active community.

Want some other causes to follow on Twitter? Help promote a cause that you are passionate about. Use your social media power to your advantage. Here are a few Twitter handles I suggest you follow to get started: @UNRefugeeAgency, @planuk, @unicefusa, @Polaris_Project, @PlanGlobal, @tkhf, @VolunteerMatch, and @ecoteer.

I hope I’ve encouraged you to get involved and help promote through your social media accounts. It’s easy and it means something important. What organizations do you follow on Twitter? Tell us by leaving a comment on Fresh Ideas.

***

Bio: After receiving a B.A. in communications, and briefly working at a TV production studio, Andrea began volunteering abroad. This lead her to work in the non-profit world, where she was fortunate enough to learn about international education, women’s empowerment and social issues for the elderly, while traveling to over a dozen countries.  Since joining BurrellesLuce in 2011, Andrea is excited to share her thoughts and views on branding, social media, and communications with the growing Fresh Ideas audience, as well as her passion for cultural awareness, volunteerism, and sustainable efforts. Twitter: @AndreaCorbo; Facebook: BurrellesLuce; LinkedIn: BurrellesLuce

Transcript -
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce and I’m here at the PRSA Connecticut event on social media. I’m joined by Lane.

Lane, will you please introduce yourself?

LANE SUTTON: Sure. I’m a 14-year-old social media coach and entrepreneur for diverse types of businesses.

BURKE: Lane, you just did a presentation about social media. Can you tell us a couple of the key takeaways in working with the youth today via the channels of social media?

SUTTON: Definitely. So no broadcasting, OK? So we’re in the era where PR releases do not work on social networks. And now we need to engage and listen and have bigger ears out there. And then also customer service is a huge differentiator for PR in that what–that’s what sets companies apart from each other. And lastly, PR has been used so much. You know, it’s all about analysis and things. So some great tools to do that would be Hootsuite, Social Mention and journalist tweets.

BURKE: And to show that Lane is very well rounded, he has a pretty exciting announcement. What’s your new position at school when you’re not out public speaking, Lane?

SUTTON: I’m treasurer for student government for my freshman class at Framingham High School.

BURKE: Excellent. Congratulations, Lane.

SUTTON: Thank you.

The 2011 International PRSA Conference kicks off in Florida tomorrow through Tuesday, October 18^th.  Will you be there? Join Johna Burke, senior vice president, BurrellesLuce, for a workshop on ROI and Storytelling in the Digital Age. And to help get you thinking about storytelling, read the October 2011 BurrellesLuce newsletter in our free resource library.

For those of us not attending this year, myself included, there are ways to experience the conference without being there in person. 

Here are just a few of the ways I plan to capitalize on what surely will be an educational week of professional development:

• Twitter:  Follow the hashtag #PRSAICON to check out tweets from sessions Twitter users are attending.  There’s sure to be live tweeting.  I know the BurrellesLuce team of @gojohnab, @tressalynne, @cldegoede and @_laurenshapiro_ attending the conference will be tweeting under this hashtag.  You may also want to follow the Twitter handles of some of the conference’s speakers. I also set up a column in my BurrellesLuce social media monitoring tool (Engage121) to keep tabs on all these tweets.
• ComPRehension Blog: This is the official blog of PRSA and will be updated with conferences blog posts, podcasts, interviews and other news related to the conference.
• Flickr:  Another source I will check out is the 2011 PRSA International photo stream on Flickr to view event photos.
• Facebook:  While their doesn’t appear to  be an official page setup for the conference, I still plan to monitor PRSA’s Facebook fan page for interesting tidbits, along with some of the local Florida chapters.

I look forward to “listening” to the conference from New Jersey…How are you going to make the most of your virtual, conference experience this year?

***

The social media buzz was unavoidable. A posting by Arik Hanson prompted an idea. BurrellesLuce currently posts transcripts of several industry Twitter chats, so why not see what the social media world is saying about Jobs?

Many of the posts were posted via Apple products, and the re-tweeting of this fact, probably helped to stall Twitter. There were several trending words and hashtags, but the most poignant was #iSad.

Some of my favorite posts were:

• @Peter_Max: Remembering Steve Jobs 4 more than computers & iPhones. His concern for the environment & the idea to Think Different were his true gifts!
• @libbykober: “Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple” #RIPSteveJobs
• @wobiwan: Three apples changed human life; Adam’s apple, Newton’s apple and the Steve Job’s apple. #RIPSteveJobs #iSad
• @ladygaga: From his own invention I open my browser to it’s homepage. Today it took my breath away. #ThankYouSteve. Going to eat Apples all day.
• @claiirebearclaiirebear: My life has been changed and impacted by a man i’ve never met. Such dedication and brilliance. RIP. #ThankYouSteve
• @rene: #ThankYouSteve for all the products you’ve made for Apple. I can’t live without my iPhone 4, iPad 2, & Other products. RIP Steve Jobs! #iSad
• @Vegas__Paul: Steve Jobs: born out of wedlock, put up for adoption, dropped out of college, then changed the world. What’s your excuse #thankyousteve
• @debhalasz: All I know is 10 years ago we still had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope, and Johnny Cash and now we have no Jobs, no Hope, and no Cash. #isad
• The Next Web blog – Beautiful: Public #thankyousteve Tweets visualised into a giant Steve Jobs poster. http://ca.engage121.com/articles/1094388190/
• Apple World – Slideshow: Steve Jobs through the years. http://ca.engage121.com/articles/1093980712/

You can view the entire #iSad and other Steve Jobs related transcripts here.

What are your favorite Steve Job tributes?

Facebook has described it’s new timeline as a way to “tell your life story.” If you have any presence on social media sites, you’ve surely been hearing the hype from friends and online articles alike.

Users will now be able to display their likes, photos, apps, and more from the beginning to the end in timeline format rather than a traditional profile. This leaves many users wondering if the site will display things from the start of their account or if they’ll be asked to fill in the blanks from earlier moments in life. Of course there are other questions:

• Will there still be a newsfeed?
• Will there still be status updates?
• How does this new type of profile influence the way we connect with friends and fans?

The company itself seems pretty confident in the new layout and timeline. They’ve even released a promotional video in anticipation of its launch.

With the countless changes to Facebook in the past, the most recent being the addition of a ticker of real-time updates from connections, I can’t recall a video for any of those new features.

With all this hype over timelines, I’m left wondering, what is the damage verses the gain when changing a social media site? Each time Facebook makes even a small layout change, users post angry statuses complaining about what they don’t like. When Facebook first added the newsfeed back in 2006 it seemed that everyone was outraged. Now, users are comfortable with the newsfeed (despite the latest updates that change the way posts are displayed in a feed) and expect to see it. So, do users just want to keep things the same for the sake of comfort? Or are these new projected changes really a negative thing?

With the new timeline, some current users fear threats to privacy, dislike the open display of too much information, and dread adjusting to the differences. Yet, others seem excited to relive moments with friends and embrace a new approach to display their info. I can guess that once the timeline is launched to all users, people will reject the change at first and then eventually learn to love it.

But for now, we will have to wait and see as Facebook Timeline Has One Week Time-Out and has delayed beta testing in order to sort out issues over possible trademark infringement.

***

After receiving a B.A. in communications, and briefly working at a TV production studio, Andrea began volunteering abroad. This lead her to work in the non-profit world, where she was fortunate enough to learn about international education, women’s empowerment and social issues for the elderly, while traveling to over a dozen countries.  Since joining BurrellesLuce in 2011, Andrea is excited to share her thoughts and views on branding, social media, and communications with the growing Fresh Ideas audience, as well as her passion for cultural awareness, volunteerism, and sustainable efforts. Twitter: @AndreaCorbo; Facebook: BurrellesLuce; LinkedIn: BurrellesLuce

September 2011

Most of us have come across a “meme” or two. (Sad Keanu, Schrute Facts and even the concept of online “spam” are just a few that come to mind.) Whether they take the form of a catchy tune, hashtag, video, link, phrase, advertisement or some other concept, Internet memes are becoming the new sound bites and quickly shaping communications and culture.

Discover four things you need to know about Internet memes and how to incorporate these nuggets of viral gold into your marketing and PR strategy.

Flickr Image: o5com

Privacy laws remain the same, even in electronic mediums. Many organizations think the rules might be different, but actually the same rules apply. This was a key point from the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA-NCC) September 13 professional development panel.  

The expert panel included:

• Brigitte Johnson, PRSA-NCC president and director of communications and executive editor at American Forest Foundation
• Randy Barrett, communications director, Center for Public Integrity
• Justin Brookman, director, Consumer Privacy Project, Center for Democracy & Technology
• Christian Olsen, vice president for the Digital and Social Media team at Levick Strategic Communications

All the panelists reminded the audience about the importance of being transparent regarding who you are representing when pitching online media.

Barrett commented on the concerns of media and journalists. Media outlets try to avoid the appearance of any kind of bias and ask their journalists to be careful of whom they “like” on Facebook. Journalists should also always identify themselves when on social media, verify all social media leads and remember social media posts are discoverable in court.

Always disclose who is behind a post, because transparency is key says Brookman. He recommended looking at why and how much secondary data you might be collecting and be sure to disclose how it will be used. You should try to avoid unnecessary collection. He used the example of mobile apps, which can often have access to all the data on the phone. Olsen agreed and commented on how he removed the Facebook app from his smartphone, because he thought Facebook went too far when his entire address book of phone numbers imported to his Facebook account.  

Public relations professionals have an obligation to counsel clients on how to be transparent in social media. Olsen encouraged the audience to understand the rules of the various platforms and said everyone needs to be monitoring what is being said through various tools, whether that be a free or paid tool(s).  But as good as tools might be, it’s important to have someone, who has an understanding of the industry as well as social media, reviewing the information.

PRSA-NCC president Johnson reviewed the code of ethics for several professional organizations and found they all had truth, honesty, and fairness as the basis for the codes. She commented that we are all guided by our ethics, first, so don’t ignore them. She encouraged all to work to stop the idea of being spin pros.

How do you counsel clients on privacy and transparency? Are their examples you can share with the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas readers?