Posts Tagged ‘initiative’
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
Andrea Corbo*
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.
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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
Tags: #BlueKey, @ecoteer, @PlanGlobal, @planuk, @Polaris_Project, @tkhf, @unicefusa, @UNRefugeeAgency, @VolunteerMatch, Andrea Corbo, Beth Kanter, Beth's Blog How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, BurrellesLuce, campaign, community, D.C., Engagement, Fresh Ideas, goal, hashtag, initiative, media measurement, mentions, metrics, NGO, non-profits, online, PR, Public Relations, Qualitative, Quantitative, sentiment, Shonali Burke, Social Media, strategist, tactics, The Blue Key campaign, timeliness/relevancy, tips, tone, tweetathon, Twitter, USA for UNHCR, Waxing UnLyrical, word-of-mouth, World Refugee Day
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Media Measurement, Media Outreach, Public Relations, Social Media | 5 Comments »
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
by Tom Kowalski*
I recently attended the Social Convergence and The Enterprise conference held at The Graduate Center of CUNY. I listened to more than a half dozen speakers discuss the importance of social media in their organizations. There was one underlying message that everyone seemed to get across: companies who try and jump on the bandwagon of social media without a concrete plan will ultimately 
end up failing with this initiative.
There’s been a 230 percent increase in social media since 2007. The growth is staggering. Yet, the question remains – how are companies engaging in social media successfully? Brian Renny, CMO, Harvard Business School says we need to understand the sociology of engaging social media to connect with our audience; otherwise we’ll fall short of success. Just because a company tweets or has a Facebook fan page, doesn’t mean the organization is successful. It’s all how the organization is using the social media tools available to them and how they’re leveraging them to connect with the community.
Conversations, good and bad, are happening everywhere. As we all know, a successful public relations campaign is always well thought out and planned. So why should this be any different with the way we handle social media? Matt Peters, creative director, Pandemic Labs, says building a solid social media platform is essential to the organization’s success of future initiatives. Although social media has certainly changed the way we do our jobs, the core concept is still the same. We still must identify how we communicate with our audience.
Some of the most successful PR campaigns and crisis communication resolutions in recent times were well-thought out plans that connected with the audience via social media. As my colleague Denise Giacin points out in a recent post on the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog, Jet Blue is a great example of a company using social media to manage PR communications and engagement. When the Valentine’s Day brand disaster occurred in 2007, the company quickly turned to YouTube to connect with their customers. Founder and former CEO, David Neeleman, went on the Internet first apologizing to the employees of Jet Blue and then to their customers for going against everything the company stands for. He ensured something like this will never happen again. The quick response and admittance of fault allowed the public to forgive the airline and move on.
Jenny Dervin, director of corporate communications stated that the company built the brand on goodwill through daily engagement and cashed in on that when the disaster occurred. Dervin said it’s important that you’re proactive with social media on daily basis and people will be more forgiving, should a crisis occur. Another important point Dervin made is that social media allowed the company to directly speak with their audience, rather than using traditional media channels as a middle man. People perceive the company as being more genuine and sincere when the message is direct.
So before you send that tweet, or create a fan page, have a concrete method that parallels the goals of your business and/or your campaign or crisis and do your research. Once you have the appropriate channels in place remain sincere and proactive when connect with constituents. Otherwise, if you jump in too soon without thinking, the chances of your success with social media or handling crisis communication will diminish.
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*Bio: As a Senior Account Manager at BurrellesLuce, Tom Kowalski works closely with New York-based clients and PR agencies. Tom brings extensive knowledge of the PR industry with more than 7 years of agency experience. He hopes to stimulate readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas by sharing useful information related to the communications industry and business in general, as well as different perspectives on customer service. LinkedIn: Tom Kowalski Twitter: @BurrellesLuce Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: audience, Brian Renny, BurrellesLuce, campaign, communicate, community, connect, conversations, crisis communication, David Neeleman, Denise Giacin, engaging, Facebook, fan page, Fresh Ideas, future, Graduate Center, Harvard Business School, identify, initiative, Jet Blue, leveraging, Matt Peters, organizations, Pandemic Labs, plan, planned, platform, PR, Public Relations, resolutions, Social Convergence and the Enterprise, Social Media, sociology, success, Tom Kowalski, tools, tweets, YouTube
Posted in Client Services, Industry Events, Public Relations, Social Media | 4 Comments »
Friday, August 6th, 2010
I recently joined the Droid world. I LOVE my Droid Incredible. The coverage is amazing, the clear picture and fast processor allow me to view websites and videos on the go, access Adobe files with crisp clarity and truly work “in the cloud.” And of course the tool that every public relations professional needs at all times – a camera. The Droid comes with a 8 mega pixel camera for all your photo needs. But my real Droid joy comes from the many apps I now have at my fingertips.
I don’t know how many apps are too many or too few. After reviewing the app marketplace I downloaded, tested, and kept the following free apps to help organize and maximize my mobile experience:
AndroNews: Provides fast links to major news sources: CNN, USA Today, WSJ.com and BBC to name a few.
Evernote: My most-used, must-have app for organizing notes on all of my devices. The “cloud” at its finest.
Facebook: Full-featured Facebook interface.
FourSquare: Not totally sure why, but I continue to “check-in” from time to time.
Google Goggles: Snap a picture and launch an automatic Google search of whatever you’ve scanned. *CAUTION people searches yield XXX results
Magic8Ball: To help with my really tough day-to-day decisions.
Scanlife: Allows me to engage and maximize the QR Code experience.
TMZ: Celebrity gossip. A supplement to my subscription to People!
Touiteur: My Twitter app of choice. I tried several apps, including the Twitter app and found Touiteur to be the best, most feature-rich.
UrbanSpoon: Scouting new restaurants either at home or on the road.
Where: Provides easy-access reviews and allows local vendors to send me coupons when I’m in proximity of their location.
All of the apps I share here are free. I don’t mind paying for an app if it’s good, but there are so many great free apps you don’t necessarily have to invest to maximize your mobile experience. Though I caution you before settling on any apps; thoroughly read the reviews. Don’t be fooled by the overall rating. Upon digging deeper into the reviews I realized many of the reviewers who provided detailed feedback actually ranked the app lower than the overall rating. Those higher ratings were primarily just the rating with a very brief “It’s excellent” or some mundane response.
I know we have a lot of Blackberry, iPhone and Droid users who follow the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog so I ask you to please share: What are your go-to apps? How do you use them to stay organized and be more efficient? If you are in PR or media relations have you helped create an app for your brand or client’s initiative? Can you give examples of successful app marketing campaigns?
Tags: Adobe, AndroNews, applications, apps, BBC, Blackberry, brand, BurrellesLuce, campaigns, celebrity gossip, client, cloud, CNN, Coverage, decisions, downloaded, Droid, Droid Ultimate, efficient, Evernote, experience, Facebook, feedback, Foursquare, free, Fresh Ideas, Google Goggles, initiative, iPhone, Johna Burke, Magic8Ball, market place, marketing, maximize, Media Relations, mobile, on the go, organize, people, picture, PR, QR code, rank, rating, restaurants, results, reviews, Scanlife, search, subscription, tested, TMZ, Touiteur, Twitter, UrbanSpoon, USA Today, videos, websites, WSJ.com
Posted in Mobile Media, Public Relations, Technology | 5 Comments »
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
by Lauren Shapiro*
The White House recently announced that they are taking steps to create a manner in which online identities could be protected from hackers through the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). This new initiative would provide individuals with online identification cards, ala drivers’ licenses or social security cards. This identity could then, hypothetically, allow for safe online banking and shopping. Although this program is quite a breakthrough and a necessity for the already burgeoning world of online transactions, it is not the first to discuss the issue of privacy in cyberspace.
Flickr Image: ~MVI~ (Shubert Ciencia)
At the beginning of this year the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the FCC came to a head over the privacy concerns. And more recently the Federal Trade Commission considers implementing a do not track mechanism that would allow consumers to more easily manage targeted marketing.
What may be more interesting and certainly sets the NSTIC initiative apart is the communication strategy used by the White House.
The announcement of this program was made via a blog post by Howard A. Schmidt, cyber-security coordinator. In it, Schmidt describes the vastness of cyberspace, the relatively humongous role it plays in everyday life and the need for a greater emphasis on security within the online environment. The goal of the NSTIC is to, “reduce cyber-security vulnerabilities and improve online privacy protections through the use of trusted digital identities.” What better way to convey a message about cyberspace than in cyberspace!
The other PR savvy tactic: Mr. Schmidt asked for the public’s opinion on how best to mold this new proposal. By visiting http://www.nstic.ideascale.com/ you could submit ideas or opinions while browsing ideas already submitted and agree/disagree with them.
By empowering the nation to become an active voice in the creation of the NSTIC, Howard Schmidt has taken full advantage of one of the most beneficial aspects cyberspace has to offer – the ability to create an open forum of discussion and polling. Through this method, the White House will, theoretically, be able to create a system for the public by the public.
Do you use online polling or discussions during the creation of your PR strategies? Will we one day vote for the President of the United States via online polling? How does online privacy affect your professional communications objectives and personal activities? Please share your thoughts with the me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
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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 work as the supervisor of BurrellesLuce Express 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: activities, blog, BurrellesLuce, communication, creation, cyber-security, cyberspace, digital identities, discussion, FCC, Federal Trade Commission, Fresh Ideas, Howard A. Schmidt, ideascale, identities, initiative, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Lauren Shapiro, marketing, message, National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, NSTIC, objectives, online, online polling, PR, President of the United States, privacy, proposal, protections, Public Relations, strategy, tactic, targeted, tracking, transactions, voice, vulnerabilities, White House
Posted in Media Industry, Public Relations, Social Media, Technology | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
by Emily Mouyeos*
Influence marketing is beginning to showcase itself as an effective tool in social media strategies. Companies such as Starbucks and Virgin America have partnered with Klout , a startup that measures influence on Twitter, to identify influencing social media users. The criteria used to identify key influencers include more than 25 variables used to measure “true reach,” “amplification probability,” and “network score.” Klout’s website explains that, “The size of the sphere is calculated by measuring True Reach (engaged followers and friends vs. spam bots, dead accounts, etc.). Amplification Probability is the likelihood that messages will generate retweets or spark a conversation. If the user’s engaged followers are highly influential, they’ll have a high Network Score.”
The examples of Starbucks and Virgin America shows how companies are reaching out to find influencers to (in the words of Frank Sinatra) “start spreading the news” or share their valued opinion on a product or service. However, it can be just as important for the company to be the influencer, especially in B-to-B marketing. Being an influencer means you need to create a following (True Reach), have smart and interesting things to say (Amplification Probability) and connect with other shakers and movers (Network Score.)
This article, appearing on The Drum, offers some tips for effective influencer marketing, among them:
- Focus on the Influencer.
- Focus on Transactions.
- Focus on the Story, not the pay-off.
- Measure what counts.
If want to become an influencer then scoring high in these areas will pay off for your sales and retention efforts. If people come to know and like you, they will want to buy from you. Co-founder of influencer marketing company Pursway, Ran Shaul states, “The fundamental marketing challenge today is more strategic than tactical. Numerous studies all draw the same conclusion – the majority of people buy based on the conversation and recommendations of trusted friends, family members, colleagues and, increasingly, online reviewers.”
He then goes on to cite Nielsen’s latest Global Online Consumer Survey, which revealed that out of over 25,000 Internet consumers, from 50 countries, “90 percent of consumers surveyed said they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 trust consumer opinions posted online.” Incidentally, 70 percent of consumers surveyed also indicated that they “trusted brand websites completely or somewhat.” With 64 percent listing that they trust “brand sponsorships.”
How does this translate to sales and retention efforts? Becoming the influencer (directly or indirectly) gives you direct connection to potential clients who will remember you when they are looking to buy. These types of relationships increase brand awareness and prove you are a trusted advisor through thought leadership. Potential clients plugged into the industry chatter will know who you are and what you are about. Social Media has made it incredibly easy to share information. You no longer have to write a book to be considered an expert or impact the community.
As an example, I loved watching the phenomenal initiative; “Help A PR Pro Out” (HAPPO) impact the PR community. The campaign partnered together “PR Pros” with recent graduates looking for jobs in this tough economy. It may not have been the intent of the co-founders, Arik Hanson, ACH Communications, and Valerie Simon, BurrellesLuce, but they instantly became industry influencers to the young generation of PR professionals. You better believe that the college graduates will look to them for future partnerships and will one day become influencers themselves, not to mention the group of current PR influencers HAPPO was able to group together. I think the HAPPO campaign hit all of the “high scoring” variables used by Klout on the head. They created a strong following of PR pros and college graduates, gave out incredibly valuable information and gathered together the PR industries current and future influencers.
Do you know of any influence marketing campaigns where the influencer is the actual company? What are potential pitfalls to a company striving to be an intentional influencer?
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*Bio: Emily Mouyeos joined the BurrellesLuce account management team with a background in nonprofit communication and development. Her background and current experience with BurrellesLuce allows her to effectively address client needs and consolidate feedback for senior management. To Emily, nothing feels better than helping others achieve their goal, whether it’s professionally or personally. By focusing on client management through the Fresh Ideas blog, she hopes to evaluate new client management trends, as well as provide insight to the pros and cons of current practices. She looks forward to connecting with the readers of Fresh Ideas for new perspectives and dialogue on issues that affect overall success. LinkedIn: Emily Mouyeos Twitter: @BurrellesLuce Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: ACH Communications, advisor, amplification probability, Arik Hanson, b-to-b, brand awareness, brand sponsorships, BurrellesLuce, campaign, Client Services, community, consumer reviews, conversation, economy, Emily Mouyeos, Engagement, Frank Sinatra, Fresh Ideas, Global Online Consumer Survey, HAPPO, Help a PR Pro Out, influence, initiative, Internet, key influencers, Klout, marketing, measure, media measurement, network score, news, Nielsen, opinion, PR, product, Pursway, Ran Shaul, recommendation, rentention efforts, sales, service, Social Media, Starbucks, story, strategic, strategies, tactical, The Drum, thought leadership, transactions, true reach, trust, Valerie Simon, Virgin America, websites
Posted in Client Services, Media Measurement, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations, Social Media | 3 Comments »
