Posts Tagged ‘audio’
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011
by Lauren Shapiro*
In the past few years, nearly everything has found its way to the Internet, from ordering your groceries online to ordering a pizza. What we have learned, though, is that the Internet takes out a key component that online shoppers often need – personalized assistance… or at least the option of it. In fact, many online retailers have left their consumers high and dry when they need help navigating their website or have questions about their products. Other brands have gotten creative, however, combining the ease and convenience of online shopping with the option of real-time customer service when needed.
One of the main draws to Zappos.com is the accessibility to a real walking and talking person! While on the Zappos site, you can easily call the 24/7 customer service phone number or opt for live help which will connect you via online chat with a customer service representative. Zappos.com is a prime example of client service gone right. According to venturebeat.com, Zappos grossed over one billion dollars in 2009 and, as cited by cmswire.com, they earned themselves the number 15 spot on Fortune’s 2010 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Their attention to customer service combined with a quality product and strong culture have made Zappos an example for other organizations to follow in 2011.
Zappos isn’t shy about sharing their secrets to success either. Zapposinsights.com provides a unique opportunity to visit the Zappos “family” (as the employees are called), schedule time to tour their facility in Las Vegas and learn about and request your own Zappos Culture Book that outlines Zappos culture, core values, and tips for your own organization.
Zappos puts a strong emphasis on the culture in which their employees thrive. The happiness of the employee then translates to the customer – making for an overall positive experience. Just ask Donavon Roberson, Zappos culture evangelist, or Matt Wong, Zappos audio/video jedi, who make up a portion of the Zappos Insights team.
As we continue to worry about the down trodden economy, the unemployment rate and the many other lackluster things going on – why not take a nod from Zappos.com and put our focus on being creative, thinking outside the box, being positive and being strongly attentive to customer service and internal culture?
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*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now serve as Director of Client Services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: audio, brands, BurrellesLuce, client service, cmswire.com, customer service, Donavon Roberson, Fresh Ideas, Internet, Lauren Shapiro, Matt Wong, online, products, Public Relations, shopping, venture beat, video, Zappos
Posted in Client Services, Public Relations, Technology | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 13th, 2010
Image: www.aftermathnews.wordpress.com
In March 2009 I wrote my first blog post, here on BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas, about how emerging technologies and platforms were changing the way we consume news – supported by input I gathered from a media summit I had attended that featured panelists such as Joe Scarborough from MSNBC’s Morning Joe and BBC’s Rome Hartman.
I wrote, “And with the rise of ‘citizen journalism’ and this ‘Pro-Am’ partnership that is developing with media, the panel agreed that consumers will have a stronger need for trusted brands, filtering, and editing to help navigate the media.” A year and a half later, the cream seems to be rising to the top in this fragmented media universe.
Today the “trusted brands,” such as The New York Times, are beginning to abandon the old business model of offering free content in exchange for paid advertisements. They are instead looking to generate additional revenue by putting their text, audio, and video behind pay walls or by offering their content as an app for a small fee. “I think we should have done it years ago,” said David Firestone, a deputy national news editor commenting on the NYT’s decision to put some of their content behind paywalls beginning in 2011. “As painful as it will be at the beginning, we have to get rid of the notion that high-quality news comes free.”
The Times Co. Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. added, “This is a bet, to a certain degree, on where we think the Web is going…This is not going to be something that is going to change the financial dynamics overnight.”
In fact, no one is sure where the web is going; this undeniable shift away from free content will certainly make life more difficult for the Googles of the world who rely on free content to fuel their search engine. Consumers may turn to company’s like Apple for their media, who adopted the “paid content” model early on by making content available for small fees through iTunes and more recently showing consumers how convenient it is to access a magazine or newspaper digitally for a small fee on their iPad.
Fox News this week launched its new iPhone political app, available through iTunes for 99 cents. “The idea is that this is your essential guide to daily political news,” says Chris Stirewalt, Fox News digital politics editor, “to put power into peoples’ hands to give them the opportunity in this history making, nation shaping election, to have the tools at hand so that they can really understand and add to the depth of their experience.”
With more people opting to have their media pushed to their smart phones and iPads rather than retrieving information over the Internet it will be interesting to see how this affects web browser traffic. As free content slowly disappears, news websites and aggregators such as the Drudge Report and the Daily Beast may have a tougher time filling their sites with the hyperlinks that contain the raw material that drives much of their sites traffic. Instead the eyeballs will be looking in other directions – with more people willing to pay for content this may ultimately prove to be the antidote that saves a hemorrhaging newspaper industry.
It appears we are on the verge of coming full circle on how we get our news. We’ve gone from relying on newsstands and subscriptions to searching and accessing free content online, only to return to paying the publishers directly once again for their content through app fees and online subscriptions.
Paperboys and newsstand operators may be on the verge of extinction; however, content providers like newspapers, network, and cable TV and movie studios may have the final say in how their product is consumed after all.
As public relations and marketing professionals, how are you getting your news? How do you think the evolving media landscape will affect your ability to successfully conduct media relations and assess the value of your efforts?
Tags: Apple, apps, Arthur Sulzberger Jr, assess, audio, BBC, brands, BurrellesLuce, business, cable, Chris Stirewalt, Citizen Journalism, consumers, content provider, Daily Beast, David Firestone, digital, Drudge Report, editor, efforts, fee, financial, Fox News, free content, Fresh Ideas, Google, Harry Grapenthin, hyperlinks, information, Internet, iPad, iTunes, Joe Scarborough, magazine, marketing, media, Media Relations, model, movie studios, MSNBC Morning Joe, national, network, news, newspaper, newsstands, online, paid advertisements, Paid Content, panel, paperboys, parternship, pay waylls, platforms, Pro-Am, Public Relations, publishers, revenue, Rome Hartman, search engine, searching, sites, smart phones, subscriptions, success, technologies, text, The New York Times, traffic, trusted, TV, video, web, web browsers
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Industry Events, Media Industry, Public Relations | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Flickr Image: yago1.com
The Oriella PR Network issued their 2010 Digital Journalism Study recently. The survey consisted of 770 journalists across 15 countries, and is used to find out how digital media has changed the nature of news-gathering. In reviewing this study, I naturally paid the most attention to those items that directly affect public relations and media relations practitioners.
For example, according to the report, “interest in traditional news content remains healthy.” Results showed:
- 75 percent of journalists surveyed indicated they like to receive emailed press releases, and
- 52 percent want to receive still photography.
Interestingly, demand for social media news releases (SMNRs), chosen by 19 percent of journalists in 2008’s survey, and 15 percent in 2009, has leveled off at 16 percent in 2010.
- Video content has fallen to 27.5 percent from 35 percent.
- Audio / podcasts have fallen to 15 percent from 19 percent.
The report notes it is possible that these declines may be due to the fact that publications have the capabilities to produce their own multi-media content now. Previously they were more reliant on content from third parties.
Considering the international reach of this survey, I was curious if our own U.S.-based media followed suit. I set-up a (very un-scientific) three-question survey on PollDaddy and asked my Twitter and LinkedIn journalist connections to respond. There were only a handful of responses, but the poll answered my question.
- 85 percent of journalists who responded to my survey indicated they prefer to be contacted via email.
- 44 percent said it was okay to contact via Twitter, but keep in mind that I posted the survey on Twitter and LinkedIn so the journos that responded are those that are on social networking sites – be wary of assuming this is true across the board.
- 67 percent want to receive hi-res photos with press releases.
- 55 percent would like to see supporting documents (such as backgrounders, bios, fact sheets, etc.) and/or attributable quotes.
When I asked for additional comments, one respondent replied, “I wish press releases had original quotes instead of marketing-speak.” Another responded, “Short, sweet and to the point. Make it catchy. Make it actually newsworthy. Make it interesting. And don’t send something that’s happening that day. Timing is EVERYTHING.”
Jessica Pupillo, freelance writer and editorial director for St. Louis Sprout & About, opined: “Put the news release headline in the subject line of an e-mail. Also put the text of the release in the body of the e-mail, and ALWAYS include copies of the release and access to photos on your online press room. Include a phone number where you can be reached during reasonable hours (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.). If you don’t answer your phone when I call, I may just skip your news.”
The author of the Digital Journalism Study results report surmised, “Time pressures remain – it is down [sic] to the PR community to facilitate access to relevant stories so they can turn it into a compelling story as efficiently as possible.” And, goes so far as to state, “While the communications landscape has become increasingly complex, journalists continue to rely on PR professionals to address the basics of news gathering in the content they produce. Communicators that overlook this essential need do so at their peril.”
If you’re a media professional, do you agree with the survey findings published in the Digital Journalism study or from my poll? What do you wish public relations professionals would do better? If you’re in PR or media relations, how are you tailoring your strategy to meet the changing needs of journalists? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
Tags: audio, backgrounders, bios, BurrellesLuce, comments, communications, Communicators, community, compelling, connections, content, digital, director, editorial, email, fact sheets, freelance writer, Fresh Ideas, headline, hi-res, international, Jessica Pupillo, journalism, journalist, landscape, LinkedIn, marketing-speak, media, Media Relations, multi-media, news, news releases, online press room, Oriella PR Network, phone, photography, podcast, PollDaddy, PR, press releases, Public Relations, publications, quotes, report, SMNR, Social Media, social networking, St. Louis Sprout & About, stories, strategy, study, subject line, survey, text, Time, traditional, Tressa Robbins, Twitter, U.S., video
Posted in Media Industry, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations | 8 Comments »
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
As we watch the Internet’s evolution, the introduction of mobile news, and the growth of social media, we tend to think that media relations is also changing. Not really. True, communications technology is changing, but media relations itself remains essentially the same.
We already know the media relations basics, right?
- Do your homework and research.
- Think like a journalist.
- Write a catchy headline or subject line.
- Know who you are pitching.
- Use the K.I.S.S. method – keep it short and simple.
- Be honest.
- Know your story and why it’s newsworthy.
Most importantly, in the words of Jon Greer, “If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about PR, it would be this: to make all press releases and PR pronouncements about the interests of readers, users and editors, not about the organization issuing the press release.”
What is changing is how we get this information in the hands of the media and the format. (Reminiscing break: remember when you used to stand at the copy machine and spent hours stuffing physical press kits with printed releases, photos with caption stickers, and any other collateral you could think of? I sure do!)
Now, all press releases need to be multimedia. Print publications may use a video for their website. Radio and TV stations may not only use the audio or video sound bites, but also a printed story for their website.
Sternal Consulting’s Understanding Marketing site recently published a PR Checklist for Media Relations to help you ensure your story is strong enough to make it through the newsroom clutter.
What are you doing differently these days to make sure your media relations program is successful?
Tags: audio, BurrellesLuce, clutter, communications technology, evolution, Internet, Jon Greer, Media Contacts, media measurement, Media Monitoring, Media Outreach, Media Relations, mobile news, multimedia release, newsroom, Planning Media Outreach, PR Check List for Media Relations, Press Kits, printed releases, Public Relations, Social Media, sound bites, Sternal Consulting, Tressa Robbins, Understanding Marketing, visual
Posted in Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations, Technology | 5 Comments »
Is Digital Media Changing PR’s Role in News-Gathering?
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010Flickr Image: yago1.com
The Oriella PR Network issued their 2010 Digital Journalism Study recently. The survey consisted of 770 journalists across 15 countries, and is used to find out how digital media has changed the nature of news-gathering. In reviewing this study, I naturally paid the most attention to those items that directly affect public relations and media relations practitioners.
For example, according to the report, “interest in traditional news content remains healthy.” Results showed:
Interestingly, demand for social media news releases (SMNRs), chosen by 19 percent of journalists in 2008’s survey, and 15 percent in 2009, has leveled off at 16 percent in 2010.
The report notes it is possible that these declines may be due to the fact that publications have the capabilities to produce their own multi-media content now. Previously they were more reliant on content from third parties.
Considering the international reach of this survey, I was curious if our own U.S.-based media followed suit. I set-up a (very un-scientific) three-question survey on PollDaddy and asked my Twitter and LinkedIn journalist connections to respond. There were only a handful of responses, but the poll answered my question.
When I asked for additional comments, one respondent replied, “I wish press releases had original quotes instead of marketing-speak.” Another responded, “Short, sweet and to the point. Make it catchy. Make it actually newsworthy. Make it interesting. And don’t send something that’s happening that day. Timing is EVERYTHING.”
Jessica Pupillo, freelance writer and editorial director for St. Louis Sprout & About, opined: “Put the news release headline in the subject line of an e-mail. Also put the text of the release in the body of the e-mail, and ALWAYS include copies of the release and access to photos on your online press room. Include a phone number where you can be reached during reasonable hours (7 a.m. to 9 p.m.). If you don’t answer your phone when I call, I may just skip your news.”
The author of the Digital Journalism Study results report surmised, “Time pressures remain – it is down [sic] to the PR community to facilitate access to relevant stories so they can turn it into a compelling story as efficiently as possible.” And, goes so far as to state, “While the communications landscape has become increasingly complex, journalists continue to rely on PR professionals to address the basics of news gathering in the content they produce. Communicators that overlook this essential need do so at their peril.”
If you’re a media professional, do you agree with the survey findings published in the Digital Journalism study or from my poll? What do you wish public relations professionals would do better? If you’re in PR or media relations, how are you tailoring your strategy to meet the changing needs of journalists? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
Tags: audio, backgrounders, bios, BurrellesLuce, comments, communications, Communicators, community, compelling, connections, content, digital, director, editorial, email, fact sheets, freelance writer, Fresh Ideas, headline, hi-res, international, Jessica Pupillo, journalism, journalist, landscape, LinkedIn, marketing-speak, media, Media Relations, multi-media, news, news releases, online press room, Oriella PR Network, phone, photography, podcast, PollDaddy, PR, press releases, Public Relations, publications, quotes, report, SMNR, Social Media, social networking, St. Louis Sprout & About, stories, strategy, study, subject line, survey, text, Time, traditional, Tressa Robbins, Twitter, U.S., video
Posted in Media Industry, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations | 8 Comments »