Tara Hall Social Marketing

Tara Hall, the account supervisor for Weber Shandwick, came to our class to talk about her career and where social marketing has been and what lies in the future. Under Weber Schandwick, Screen Grab was started and led by Hall. Hall manages the Screen Grab practice group from San Francisco to New York with online message marketing, monitors analysis programs and manages blog and pod casts.

Hall told the class that we were lucky because there are lots of different avenues we can work within social media now because new technologies are emerging daily. Hall informed us that youth market is dominating, so if you want to target a young audience, social marketing is the way to do it.

Because space is so changing and constantly adding something new, there is always a challenge finding people who really understand the space of pod casting and blogging. Public Relations firms are looking for people like us who are being exposed to and understand what is new in technology.

Clients:
American Airlines, Exxon Mobil, Coca Cola, Walt Disney, Mastercard, Hersheys, Susan G. Komen and Energizer.

Some Facts:
18-29 is the age group that is online the most
60 percent of Americans access broadband at home
72 percent of wireless Internet users check email on a typical day

Hall mentioned that the Internet is growing faster than other media networks and that Internet users are spending less time with traditional media. With that said, people are currently trying to figure out the best way to pod cast and the idea is still going forward. She warned us to make sure pod casts give an incentive to make people come back and want more because this is the only way it will work.

Hall finished her presentation with a tip for the class. She encouraged us to get engaged in the blogosphere within industry’s we are interested in and to start participating in their blogs within the company and people will notice and respect that.

Nordstrom.com's Successful Launch

Nordstrom, one of the nation’s largest upscale apparel and shoe retailers, hired Conners Communications to help launch Nordstrom.com summer of 1999. Nordstrom’s goal for launching Nordstrom.com was to capitalize on the brand and communicate with loyal, existing customers while gaining the interest of new, younger, hip customers by the internet. Customers had high expectations and quality with Nordstrom, but customer base had not grown for a couple years.

A second goal for Nordstrom was to capture a larger audience by successfully positioning Nordstrom as the leader in e-tailing. Creating buzz and excitement around key events such as the launch of Nordstrom.com was the plan for Conners Communications. Conners also formulated messages and a public relations plan that focused on the positive elements of Nordstrom history, for example, the company’s reputation of having incredible customer service.

In result, many top journals and magazines published positive feature articles on Nordstrom.com as well as multiple business publications and newspapers commenting on how Nordstrom.com was one of the most successful launches for an online retailer.

Blogvertising

Blogvertising, otherwise known as blog advertising, represents a potentially huge advertising market and is in fact part of the fastest growing alternative media industry. eMarketer reports a study that blog, podcast and RSS advertising rose by nearly 200 percent in 2005 and is expected to grow another 145 percent in one year to reach nearly $50 million. Blogvertising is growing because there is a perceived ineffectiveness of traditional advertising by the 18-34 year old demographic, the majority of targeted age groups, and blogs reach this younger demographic effectively.

It was recently estimated that podcast advertising will actually be a larger market than blogvertising by 2010. Podcasting, projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 154.4 percent, is predicted to reach a total of $327.0 million by 2010. These numbers are closely in line with eMarketer’s own visions, which put total spending on podcast advertising at a total of $300 million by 2010.

For businesses blogging, there might not be much, if any, interest in putting advertisements on their blogs. However, if you are a small business, you should consider using advertisements to earn a little extra cash because it is predicted to actually work. Most major advertising networks recognize that there are a lot of available blogs out there that have not been tapped by advertisers and that potential real estate blog advertising is going to be the challenge for the future.

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=101102
http://www.businessblogconsulting.com/category/blogvertising/

Public Relations - Good or Bad?

Britney Spears recently provides her fans with yet another shock. Flaunting her private parts in public, modeling her poor parenting skills, her disappointing marriage to Kevin Federline, rehabilitation admissions, new tattoos and most recently her shaved head. All of which have given Britney maximum exposure to the media and her fans. Britney, as we all know has been on the cover of numerous magazines in the past couple of years, and not for the good she is doing with the community or even her music, but for the poor decisions she makes. You could ask most of the world what Britney did last week and would have an answer in two seconds, but if you asked those same people what is going on with the war, politics or medicine, blank stares is probably what you would receive. This proves that PR is good PR no matter what. Breaking news these days qualifies as all these things about Britney I listed above, when things that really matter in the world are being placed with less importance, for example war, politics and medicine.

We have all been taught in our communications classes that public relations is all about creating buzz. The definition of creating buzz is basically spreading news by word of mouth and obviously Britney has made that happen. You think this would be a disaster for Britney, but it actually gets people talking about her again even after her music “fell of the face of the earth.” Public Relations professionals would say Britney could possibly still have hope because people are interested in her life now and want to see what will happen in the future.

Check out the YouTube site to see Britney in action!

Cancer Survivorship

Cancer is something that everyone fears and for those who have already been hit, long for recovery. Heal and Cure magazine have found the place in cancer patients lives to help them recover. In the up and coming blog supporting these magazines, the home page of the blog should have a welcoming tag line that draws in the audience. Knowing that cancer patients are aware of the magazines Heal and Cure, because my grandmother has been diagnosed and is currently being treated for breast cancer who reads Cure, the mission statement provides a credible statement cancer patients are aware of.

I believe it is important, being on the Relay For Life board at SMU, that people are aware of fundraiser events that are going on to support cancer research. A side bar would be great on the blogsite of Heal and Cure to have fundraiser information: money being raised, goals, entertainment, and how survivors and cancer victims could help and contribute by volunteering or being included in survivorship programs during the events. These women and men should have the opportunity to share their cancer story with the groups that strive to cure and research cancer. The American Cancer Society website, www.cancer.org, provides links to different fundraising events as well as survivorship ideas and facts as a way to be healthy.

Who wouldn’t enjoy a spa day? I am trying to put myself in the shoes of our audience, and personally would enjoy a “Spoil yourself” type of section including spas and group exercise facilities such as water aerobics and yoga information for those who are still weak from treatments to enjoy. After a long treatment process, every woman and man deserve a little bit of spoiling, why not a day at the spa. We could provide links to spas to encourage relaxation and allowing cancer patients and survivors that it is okay to spoil themselves.

Cancerfightingstrategies.com is a site that would be a great addition to the Heal and Cure blog as a way for patients and visitors to research ways in which they can aim at focusing on their life and making it cancer free. My grandmother, who I mentioned before, finds great encouragement in reading recommended strategies towards a cancer free life. I think it calms her mind and fills her heart with joy knowing that people out there are providing this type of information and finds it enjoyable to read.

“The Cancer Blog” provides great factual information on different types of cancer that could be worth posting as a sidebar on the blog. Although patients are bombarded with statistics of their illnesses, I still find importance of having this information available on the blog, especially for those who are family members to cancer patients who research for their loved ones.

Medicineworld.org
In working with the new Heal blog, I have researched some websites I think would be good to add to the site. Medicineworld.org gives advice for good herbs to take while going through chemotherapy and good herbs to take to prevent cancer. It suggests good behavior changes to adopt in the road to prevent cancer. The site provides information on chemotherapy treatments and the latest health news involving cancer as well as multiple links to cancer statistics and information sites.

The Cardio Blog
The Cardio blog is full of information on healthy tips for your heart. I think it is important to provide this type of information to those who link to cancer.

Texas Childrens Cancer Center
This site provides a link with information for parents of children with cancer. It includes information on different Children's hospitals and what they are doing as far as research, treatment and money raised for cancer.

Cancer Kids
Cancer Kids is my favorite children's cancer site I came across. It is appealing to children because they are able to read about other children's stories that link to cancer and their treatment. I believe it is important for children to realize that they aren't alone. The site includes tons of stories from children all over the country.

You can visit the sites at:
www.medicineworld.org
thecardioblog.com
www.txccc.org
cancerkids.com
cancerfightingstrategies.com
thecancerblog.com

Tips for PR Workers from Journalists!

As we all should know going into this profession, journalists and PR people share a love-hate relationship, but can't seem to do without each other. I have found some tips that I believe would shift this relationship between PR people and journalists to appreciate each other a little more. The following tips are from journalists giving advice to PR people, so we should probably all consider them!! Here are my favorites!!

1. If you call to make a pitch, make sure you keep the pitch to 10 seconds. If you haven't persuaded them to write the story in 10 seconds, you will never persuade them. We are talking about first impression here. If they aren't completely sure that your pitch will make a good story, you can forget about it.

2. Spell and pronounce their name right. I think we all understand why this is important. How many times has someone pronounced your name wrong, especially when they need a favor.

3. Don't ask for informaiton you can find on the website. We should probably all learn not to be lazy. Do your research and background checks before you ask something that is easily given to you.

4. Don't call them after 5 pm. Journalists know this is crunch time, but be respectable to them and call before 5.

5. Make the story easy for them to understand. If it is not easy for them to understand, they aren't going to work with you and try to understand what you are trying to tell them.

I got these tips from a couple websites... check them out!

http://www.valleywag.com/tech/flacks/dont-be-a-flack-tips-for-pr-workers-from-the-journalists-who-hate-them-200494.php

http://indiapr.blogspot.com/2006/09/what-journalists-hate-in-pr-people.html

http://www.businessblogconsulting.com/2006/03/pr-case-study-how-not-to-email-a-blogger.html

Media Relations Tips

Having the right contacts and knowing how and when to deliver the right message is the key to getting results in the media relations industry.

What would be the strengths as a public relations professional if they moved to a new city and knew no journalists? The strengths the public relations professionals would have are communication, planning ability, understanding the media expectations in that area, and the industry. The challenge, then of course would be how fast they can adapt to the public relations scene in the new area and get acquainted with the local journalists. There is a known thought that says it is the relationship with the media that counts. If you know a journalist well enough, they will find a news angle just out of anything and do a story for you. Many media heads in public relations agencies will agree that it is because of their good bonding with journalists that have saved many public relations accounts at crisis situations. It is a good tip for public relations professionals to help their clients to build these strong relationships with journalists, invite them over to meet your client personally. It is an easy way to start a relationship with reporters by commenting on their blogs or sending them information that is not just a blatant pitch for you or your clients company. Become part of journalists’ network of sources. This comes into play with blogging. Remember that buyers, reporters and editors read blogs for story ideas and to understand market trends. Also, if the reporter has a blog, read it, comment on it, and track back to it.


Public relations agencies that have figured out the importance of relationships with the media agree that it pays off. Story angles work on good ideas and content, but good media relationships can give these story angles a push into becoming print items.

As many know, public relations professionals have been sending news releases and blind pitches to hundreds and thousands of journalists at a time without giving any thought to what each reporter actually covers. Sending large groups of journalists with public relations materials is not a good strategy to get reporters and editors to pay attention to you. In order to get your work in the hands of journalists and reporters, pay attention to what individual reporters write about by reading their stories and write specific and targeted pitches crafted especially for them. Before you pitch your stories, read the publication you’ll be pitching to.

I have found two lists dealing with international media relations I thought would be helpful to those students looking into public relations around the world!


Golden Rules:

1. Remember journalists have a demanding and often difficult job to do, so make their work easier.

2. Always return calls.

3. Be accurate, clear and concise.

4. Brief the press when any major event occurs within your company.

5. Listen to journalists and make your best efforts to comply with their requests.

6. Check announcements for clarity and cultural nuances; make sure to take different time zones into account.

7. Make management accessible.

8. Get to know the foreign press clubs.

9. Build personal relationships with foreign editors and correspondents.


Deadly Sins:

1. Unresponsiveness.

2. Trade jargon and slang.

3. Treating foreign journalists with disdain.

4. Treating foreign journalists as secondary citizens.

5. Assuming foreign journalists are hostile.

6. Bluffing, snowing, spinning.

www.prsa.org
www.businessfordiplomaticaction.org/files/fmrg_proof_20061108.pdf
http://indiapr.blogspot.com/2006/05/media-relations-content-or.html
www.gittinsgranado.com/communityrelations.html

Please comment your thoughts!!