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Posts Tagged ‘users’

What’s the Deal, Facebook?

Friday, November 19th, 2010

by Lauren Shapiro*

To businesses looking to attract consumers: I’ll give you my email address, if you promise to send me coupons. I’ll fill out your online survey, if you give me a free appetizer at my next visit. I will fan your Facebook page, if you send me exclusive offers. I would even check in to your business, if I used a service like FourSquare or Gowalla. But, I will only do what you ask, if you give me something in return…

Facebook introduced “Places” in August, an application that allows users to check in to local businesses and places ala FourSquare. However, according to PC World, a study by Pew Internet and American Life Project released statistics showing that “only four percent of online adult Americans use location-based services.” Merely one percent of participants in the Pew survey actually use check-in applications, such as FourSquare.

So why would Facebook broach the location-based application market when only a very small percentage of Americans actually use it? Leave it to Mark Zuckerberg to have another trick up his sleeve. Zuckerberg, with the launch of Facebook Deals, realized that the popularity of Facebook , the release of The Social Network and, let’s be honest, an already Facebookcentric world – can and probably will turn the one percent of location-based app users into way more!

According to the PC World article mentioned earlier, Facebook Deals “will allow people to find deals nearby when checking into a location on Facebook.” Even better, you can find deals ahead of time and then choose to venture to that business and check-in to receive a coupon on your mobile phone. What better incentive to check-in to a location than the promise of a discount? Furthermore, aren’t users more likely to visit a business that is offering a discount than a business that is not?

Taking a nod to the marketing gurus of the world, consumers love discounts. Especially in this economy, coupon offers can be the deciding factor when debating where to get lunch or where to get that new pair of jeans.

Facebook has not only paved the way for social networking and changed the way users interact online, but now has allowed businesses to have a greater reach with their current consumers and easily find new ones!

Are you in the one percent of location based application users using applications such as FourSquare and Gowalla? If not, will you be more or less likely to use this type of product if you were guaranteed a discount? Please share your thoughts with 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 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: American Life Project, app, application, BurrellesLuce, businesses, check-in, consumers, coupons, discount, Facebook, Facebook Deals, fan page, Foursquare, Fresh Ideas, Lauren Shapiro, local, location-based social media, Mark Zuckerberg, market, marketing, mobile, offers, online, online survey, PC World, Pew, Places, Public Relations, reach, Social Media, social networking, The Social Network, users
Posted in Client Services, Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »

Everyone’s a Journalist: Beyond the Beat

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

This post first appeared on PRSA’s ComPRehension blog 11.10.10 and is cross-posted with permission.

This year’s PRSA 2010 International Conference was my 11th in the past 12 years. As the date approached, I found myself wondering if it was going to be worth it. Would I really learn something new? Now that the Conference is over, I can report a resounding, “Yes!”

One of the sessions I attended was led by my BurrellesLuce colleague, Johna Burke (@gojohnab). She offered so many great tidbits of social media/media relations-related information that it would be impossible to include them all in this blog post. However, there’s one point that stood out the most to me.

Burke began by discussing the changing media landscape. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, some 44 percent of online news users get news at least a few times a week through e-mails, automatic updates or posts from social networking sites. You must decide where social media fits into the strategy, and how to take advantage of it.

She advises:

Participate in the dialogue, but don’t broadcast.
Messages need to work in tandem and support other messages. In other words, consistency is key.
Communicate to the whole organization, not just the media. Who are your other audiences? Who are our stakeholders?
Be where your audiences hang out online. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the “big three.”

So what about pitching via social media? Burke prefaced these best practices with her PR101 golden rule: everything is on the record! She says, at the bare minimum, know what sort of journalist they are — print, online or “MOJO” (mobile journalist). You should also:

Know what they are writing about.
Think about how to build a relationship with them. Comment first, pitch later.
Find a way to provide information without giving away the scoop.
Tell them why they should care.
Do NOT send multiple requests to one reporter/blogger on multiple platforms. (You don’t want to stalk them!)

Obviously, not all of the tips are necessarily “new,” but there were new applications of old principles, and some were simply solid media relations refreshers.

Tressa Robbins, vice president, Media Contacts, BurrellesLuce, is a regular contributor to BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog, a member of the St. Louis PRSA Chapter and a PRSSA mentor. She recently served as a panelist for PRSSA’s National Conference and speaks at the local and regional level. Connect with Tressa on LinkedIn and follow Tressa on Twitter @tressalynne.

For more coverage on the PRSA 2010 International Conference: Powering PRogress, visit PRSA Intelligence, follow #prsa_ic and the Conference blog.

Tags: audiences, behind the beat, Broadcast, BurrellesLuce, communicate, ComPRhension!, dialogue, Facebook, Fresh Ideas, International Conference, Johna Burke, journalists, LinkedIn, media, Media Relations, messages, mobile, news, online, Pew Research Center, pitching, PR101, print, PRSA, relationships, scoop, Social Media, social networking, stakeholders, strategy, Tressa Robbins, Twitter, users
Posted in Industry Events, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations | No Comments »

Social Media Gets UnSocial

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

by Lauren Shapiro*

The evolution of social media’s impact on the way we communicate is so vast and is changing so rapidly that experts can’t write their text books fast enough. New developments in social media technologies seem to be positioning themselves in a manner that allows users to find each other online through friends, interests, location, and connecting them offline with tools such as Facebook’s location application, FourSquare and, the communication professional’s favorite, the TweetUp. Thankfully, the world of technology has realized that users seek interaction beyond the computer screen and are finding new niches in the marketplace to make that happen.

According to this TechCrunch article, UnSocial, the newest app for iPhone and Droid, is “geared towards professionals who want to connect with other professionals in similar or related fields, who happen to be nearby.” But don’t let the name fool you, the whole point of UnSocial is to help users bloom into social butterflies within their industry. Using your LinkedIn login/password, the application will ask you to input words that describe your professional background, as well as characteristics of people you are looking to connect with. The app searches for people who match your criteria within close proximity of your location. If you find someone you want to connect with, you can then message, email, or even call that person.

The application is geared toward professionals, but even more specifically toward users attending conferences. The program will help users to more easily indentify the people they most want to network with. I wonder if we will see this app at next year’s PRSA?

How do you see this or similar technology helping media relations and public relations professionals build their offline networks? Do you think that the communications industry will be quick to adopt this type of application at industry events? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

Tags: app, applications, BurrellesLuce, call, communicate, communication, conferences, Droid, email, evolution, Facebook, fields, Foursquare, Fresh Ideas, friends, industry, interaction, interests, iPhone, Lauren Shapiro, LinkedIn, location, Media Relations, message, network, offline, online, professional, PRSA, Public Relations, social butterflies, Social Media, TechCrunch, technologies, Tweetups, UnSocial, users
Posted in Industry Events, Public Relations, Social Media | 5 Comments »

Facebook Going Places or a Privacy Risk?

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

by Lauren Shapiro*

As if we aren’t already super connected with social media, smart phones and web cams – Facebook now wants to know, “Where are you right now?” And if you want everyone to know, then visit Facebook’s Places application and share. According to Facebook, “Places is a Facebook feature that allows you to see where your friends are and share your location in the real world. When you use places, you’ll be able to see if any of your friends are currently checked in nearby and connect with them easily.” With this new feature, you can find out which of your friends are in or around your location – creating opportunities for impromptu meetings with friends.

The “Places” application is creating a bridge between online and face to face communication (F2F). This is refreshing when F2F interpersonal communication seems to be lacking with the surging reliance on computer mediated communication. The new application encourages users to find each other and participate in dialogue outside of the Facebook community. Perhaps there is life outside of Facebook after all!

While Dennis Crowley, creator of location-based social media site Foursquare, has called Facebook Places “boring” and “unexciting,” the real issue surrounding the newest Facebook application is one of privacy (a concern Facebook is likely used to debating by now). All users must configure their own privacy settings for this application. According to Reuters, “Facebook says all Places check-ins are visible only to friends by default unless your master privacy control is set to ‘Everyone.’” However, it is important to note that there is no way to completely opt out of the Places app. Reuters notes, “If you use Places to check yourself in, then third-party check –ins [ability for your friends to check in your location] are turned on automatically unless you adjust your privacy settings.”

But the other key issue goes back to the days when Mom would leave you home alone and say, “If anyone comes to the door, don’t tell them that I’m not at home.” With Places users are parading the fact that, not only are they not at home, but they are having a nice dinner, in this city, on this street and probably won’t be home for awhile… giving someone ample opportunity to find them or their home.

The debate will continue as users begin to delve further into Places. Do you think Places is a privacy risk or another way to connect with contacts? How do you plan to incorporate Places into your public relations or marketing mix? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.

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Tags: application, BurrellesLuce, check-in, communication, control, Dennis Crowley, Facebook, Foursquare, Fresh Ideas, friends, Lauren Shapiro, location-based social media, marketing, Places, privacy, Public Relations, Reuters, risk, settings, Social Media, users
Posted in Client Services, Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »

Professional Development Is A “Must” For PR Practitioners

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Brittany James is a recent graduate from Quinnipiac University with a degree in public relations and a minor in marketing. Currently she is interning at Source Communications, a New York-based strategic consulting firm.

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At the end of last month, the BurrellesLuce team invited me to attend the Bulldog Reporter’s Media Relations Summit. Being a young PR professional, who had just attended my first PRSA event at the beginning of June, I was eager to partake in the day’s activities. With a lot of great companies being represented at the summit, I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed in this amazing learning experience.

While there were very informative “Meet the Editors” roundtables, I had the pleasure of listening to four panels that all mirrored the same message throughout regarding growing industry trends. Some of the key messages conveyed were:

Keep your skill set up-to-date
Participating on the Internet is no longer an option

During the first panel, the skills every public relations professional needs were discussed and writing was stressed to be the biggest skill. Like any PR professional knows, writing is essential to their everyday tasks and the panel talked about how being able to tell stories requires writing skills. These writing skills need to have a visual image and content, which helps to develop the full picture of what is impacting areas.

Moving more towards the social media aspect, during the other three panels I listened to, the need for more incorporation of the Internet into PR was a strong topic. In today’s PR world, there really isn’t an excuse to not be on social media and engaging with your and your clients’ audiences. Steve Momorella from TEKgroup International presented the statistics that:

90 percent of social media users follow/monitor news and information daily
75 percent of social media users visit corporate websites after a story
73 percent of social media users believe social media sources with news is more timely

In the second presentation, Tina Brown from The Daily Beast still thinks that as PR professionals we are still retro and need validation through print or TV. She went on to say how we can help shape the response of stories on the Internet by participating and also assisting to make the story go viral.

By being part of the conversation, we as PR professionals can help to position the story in a positive light. However, if there is no presence, anything can happen. As social media is continuing to grow, Bev Yehuda from Products MultiVu stated that “social media is the start of a transition away from ‘push,’ one-way communications to a world full of interactivity between PR professionals and the media.”

Being a young PR professional, what do you foresee as some future trends in the industry? How are you getting your company and/or clients into social media?

Tags: audiences, Bev Yehuda, Brittany James, Bulldog Reporter, BurrellesLuce, communications, content, corporate websites, daily, engaging, follow, Fresh Ideas, industry trends, information, interactivity, Internet, key messages, marketing, media, Media Relations Summit, Meet the Editors, monitor, news, PR, Products MultiVu, professional development, PRSA, Public Relations, skills, Social Media, Source Communications, Steve Momorella, strategic consulting, TekGroup, The Daily Beast, Tina Brown, transition, users, visual image, writing
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Career Advice, Industry Events, Media Industry, Media Monitoring, Media Outreach, Media Relations, Public Relations, Social Media | 1 Comment »

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