Text Messages – reaching your audience

Once again, I am going to highlight an example from my previous agency experience as it relates to Agriculture and reaching farmers. My agency experience has been a great way to build my career and provides great examples for this blog!

Farmers and ag professionals are an example of one group that really embraces their cell phone technology. Most of the farmers and retailers I spoke with on field travel have two things with them in the truck, combine or other piece of machinery – their radio and their cell phone. It is the easiest way to get in touch with them rather then calling their house at 6 am before they start their day or after 7 pm, and they really enjoy the connectivity.

A few years ago we started playing around with the idea of sending text messages to alert farmers and retailers about new product offerings they may be interested in. We had to consider the response and reaction of the recipient of the text message, because they would essentially be paying to receive an advertisement. The way around it? We piggybacked on a subscription weather report service, running a banner ad along the bottom of the report. They received the information they needed on their phone, and we we able to help push our message and product to our target audience.

 

Brand and Reputation

As the lecture states: Brand = the promise, Reputation = delivery on that promise.

With so many people turning to others’ recommendations and reviews it is important to recognize your audience and monitor what they are saying about you to ensure you are delivering on your brand promise. And if you aren’t, you need to be able to address the issue and acknowledge the issue with you customers.

One blog I read is a perfect example of this. www.thebloggess.com The author is funny, quirky and has thousands of followers. She is a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, keeps her blog and writes a sex column. She recently wrote about the numerous pitches she gets from various Public Relations professionals and the response the sends when it is obvious they don’t research the type of writer she is or the audience she caters to.  Specifically she targeted an email pitch she received from Chevy, and basically blasted them for not researching who she was and who they are as a company. While her blog is not a customer service network, she does have thousands of followers. To help remedy the situation the Chevy Director recognized the blog was negative against their brand and sent her the following email:

“I’m sorry we sent you that pitch. I’m embarrassed, too — not only because that’s not how we like for Chevrolet to represent itself or how we like  to talk with people, but because I agree with you 100% that this kind of  ”marketing” doesn’t work at all. It’s cheesy, it’s impersonal, and it belies a complete misunderstanding of how the social web works.   Frankly, I’m glad you blasted us on your blog — because we had it coming for  that pitch, and because I’m going to send your post to everyone in GM communications and marketing (not just Chevrolet) as a reminder and an instruction on how NOT to talk to people (whether they’re bloggers or Twitterers or not). We don’t usually talk with people that way, but on this occasion we did and it makes my entire program seem clueless; I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. So in a weird way, thank you for the rather unpleasant medicine.”

A great example of monitoring what people are saying about your brand, identifying and acknowledging the situation and changes that need to be made, and working towards repairing your brand reputation.

 

Wikis – what I wish I knew then

The lecture about wikis this week and the example of sharing information and content with clients really hit home for me. As I have mentioned before, I have worked for numerous agencies, and was involved with a pitch for new business that we landed. The part of the pitch that was my responsibility was outlining the project management and collaboration opportunities between the client and agency and within the client communication groups internally. The client we pitched was a global group, they had individuals in Switzerland, the United States and throughout other European countries. It was very important for them to have a constant location available to them that they could log on to, securely, and comment on the material we were developing for them. The solution I presented was Microsoft Sharepoint, but after watching the lecture I think  a Wiki would have been very helpful. As part of the pitch we compiled research information about the market, conducted interviews across the globe and developed what we felt would be helpful background information as we moved forward with the development of marketing materials. All of this information could have been shared on the Wiki, and those that worked for the organization would have had the opportunity to edit, comment and add additional information as they saw fit. In addition, we could have posted drafts of material and the communications managers that were living all across the world and working in different time zones could have logged on and made their comments as it was convenient to them.

Moving forward I will try the wiki route, I can see the benefits of having information available in a central local where people can log on and make comments when and wherever they are.

 

PR Professionals as Photographers

My first job out of college was working with a local PR agency, and our main client was a agriculture chemical company. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we had to travel in the field, collecting testimonials and taking photos of growers and their fields. The photos we took were used in the collateral we produced, we didn’t want to pay for the rights of a professional photographer’s work, and we were out there so we might as well make good use of our time. It took quite a few trial and error trips to start taking photos that we could use. We were also using strictly film because digital wasn’t as readily available, so we had to have a general understanding of what made a good photograph. We didn’t have the luxury of previewing the photo while we were out, we had to be confident when we got back to the office that there would be at least one good shot. This is just one example of when you are expected to wear multiple hats as a PR professional.

Now, this agency and others have contests where they ask growers and customers to upload and submit their own photos. It provides an additional way to connect with the customer base and allows the agency to receive some great photos to use. It keeps customers coming back to the site to see if their photo is featured and keeps the chemical company and their brands at top of mind.

 

A General Social Media Question

I recently posed this question on my Facebook page.

“Question for all my FB friends – do you think all the social media that allow us to be more connected with our friends really makes us less connected?”

The lecture this week about micro-blogging made me consider this question. Specfically the short tutorial that explains what Twitter is. As they explain:

“So, what are you doing. It is one of the first questions we ask friends and family. Even if the answer is just mowing the lawn or cooking dinner it is interesting to us. It makes us feel connected, and a part of each other’s lives.” Youtube video Twitter in Plain English

Here was my response to my question posed above:

I keep “in contact” with people that I wouldn’t if it wasn’t for Facebook etc. But, I’m not really “connected” with them – in fact it can make me less connected with my friends  because I don’t ask “How are you?” because I already know based on status updates etc. There are times I am less engaged because they will be telling me a story and I think – didn’t I already hear/read this? Oh yeah, I did. And, here’s the other question – do you really need to be “connected” with people from high school or college or previous jobs that you never really talked to or hung out with in general? Does it distract from those that you have a real connection with now?

What do you think? Is micro-blogging another great way to keep in contact with those around you? Or does it just distract us from making real connections?

 

Vlogging – a successful example

Vlogging is a funny word. A funny word for an activity that can have a big impact on your organization.Vlogging = video blogging aka vidblogging aka vlogging. Vlogging can add interest to your website or blog, can add an additional dimension and can draw significantly larger audiences. A brief vlog gives others the opportunity to share their story, experiences and feelings about your organization, adding credibility and helping build a sense of community.

A successful example of an organization I know that is utilizing vlogging on their site to help promote and garner awareness is DurhamCares. As posted on their website:

DurhamCares was founded to help Durham residents love their neighbors; not just the people next door, but across town and even across the world. Our vision is to see our city engaged in serving each other, building relationships across cultural boundaries, and transforming our community through committed involvement.

Co-founder Henry Kaestner has done an incredible job collecting vlogs to post on the DurhamCares website. It is a great example of how easy it is to collect and post vlogs, Henry has a small flip video recorder that he carries with him everywhere. When he meets someone with a story he is ready to record it and share the story with others. The vlogs are unscripted and help residents of Durham learn more about their neighbors. Check out their website and the hundreds of vlogs he has collected to date: http://www.durhamcares.org/video/

 

The Mommy Blog

There are millions of blogs out there and according to Technorati there are 120,000 new blogs added each day. How do you make your blog stand out and be successful? What makes a successful blog? Obviously you want an audience that follows you and comments on your posts. Blogs are not meant to be a one-way conversation, gaining feedback and comments help create that relationship with your audience.

The first step is to remember your audience – who are you trying to reach and what do you want them to respond to? In addition, you have to dress your blog for your audience – are you maintaining a technical blog or is it more causal and formal? You have to listen as much as you talk and don’t let the flame burn out. It is important to keep your blog updated on a regular basis, and participate in conversations with your audience.

One group that has exploded in the blogosphere is the Mommy Blog. These blogs are started by mothers, some first time moms, some with many children and some with blended families, and are a place where they can share their experiences and gain feedback and support from other mommies. They are extremely popular and those that experience the greatest success are those that blog consistently and keep the conversations going. They have become so popular many are earning a living off the ads they run on their blogs and baby product companies recognize the influence they have and want to advertise on these sites.

These sites are so popular because the authors know their audience and they write to them. It is a place where writing about poop, puke and postpartum depression are accepted, and followers welcome these bloggers into their lives as a way to connect with others and feel like they aren’t the only one out there dealing with these issues. The blogs provide moms a sense of community when they may feel alone at home caring for their baby.

A few popular Mommy blogs:

Momversation

Dooce

Coolmom

Girls Gone Child

 

Let’s share!

“Have you seen this site? It is a great resource and I think you will find it extremely useful – here let me e-mail it to you.”  Sound familiar? You get the link and then either delete the e-mail or it gets lost in the thousands you have saved. What if there was an easier way? There is! Social bookmarking allows users to store bookmarks, tag them with a description that makes it easier to find in the future and then share the bookmarks with your friends, colleagues or stakeholders.

Social Bookmarking is a great way for public relations professionals to collect and share links with relevant information with their target audience. It is a way for the organization you represent to become the trusted source of information around the subject or industry they support. For example, I work for a healthcare software technology company. With all the changes in healthcare due to the Healthcare Information Technology reform act and the stimulus money awarded from the government there are a lot of websites and a lot of information in many different locations out on the internet right now. I can bookmark the sites that are relevant, that provide new government information surrounding the changing regulations,  and I can share them with our customers and other people within my company to help keep everyone up to date.  By collecting all the information in one central location under my organization’s social bookmarking site it gives us the opportunity become a trusted source for current information.

 

How Do You Judge What is Right and Wrong?

Ethics – how do we decide what is ethical when it comes to public relations? There are many factors that play into ethical communications, the interests of the corporation, the interests and opinions of the stakeholders and even your own personal feelings. The Public Relations Society of America states the Code of Ethics as: “We serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those we represent.”

Based on this I would like to pose a scenario – you are tasked with developing literature informing your target audience of the features and benefits of a new product. However, you know the product isn’t complete, and therefore you are misinforming the public with whom you are trying to build a relationship with. Do you complete the promotional piece and satisfy your client/employer? Do you think about your public, considering the risk of losing their trust by providing them misinformation about a product that is not complete? What about your own personal ethical concerns?

 

What is the Groundswell?

What is the Groundswell? According to Li and Bernoff (2008) “The groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other instead of from companies.”

Think about it. When you go to buy a new car what do you usually do? Many of us will ask friends and family for advice and if they like their current car. The last person we are going to ask is the car salesman at the dealership because we don’t trust them. General opinion is the salesman is out for a commission and will tell you what you want to hear about the car you are considering purchasing. What if you can get input from people all across the country, even from across the world? Forums, blogs, car review sites – all of these are examples of people talking to others to get the information they need before going to a dealership or visiting a car website. We don’t even need the dealership anymore. Visit Craigslist, ebay or Autotrader to find and purchase the car of your dreams.

The same is true for booking a vacation. There is no longer a need for a travel agent to find and book the best rate and provide recommendations on where to stay, eat and activities to participate in. Sites like Travelocity and Tripadvisor allow you to search for the best prices and read reviews from others that have traveled to your destination. People are connecting with others they may never meet based on their desire to travel and get the most out of their time and money invested. Travel experts are no longer held as the authority, everyone now has the opportunity to share their thoughts and shape the general opinion.

Who do you go to for advice? Where do you turn to learn more about a product or service?