March 2009

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2009.

Skype Brings on the New Standard

March 26, 2009 | No comments

This morning, America’s Newsroom, a morning show on FOX News, hosted by Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly, covered a story about the fight over items salvaged from the Titanic. The guest interview was conducted via Skype!

Hurray!

Now perhaps network news outlets have been using Skype and I missed it. But, I’m a bit of a news hound and would be surprised to discover that the use of Skype on network news is common place at this time.

Until recently, television news outlets required b-roll. It is expensive to produce and can quickly become outdated. I recently had the privilege of working with Wycliffe Bible Translators–the world’s largest Bible translation organization. Wycliffe began using StreamBox–a live, relatively high-quality video feed that can offer media the opportunity to cover stories in remote locations without the expenses associated with international travel. Many news outlets, including FOX and CNN, are using StreamBox.

While StreamBox is fairly affordable, it does require special equipment and the news outlet must also be a StreamBox user. Skype, on the other hand, is FREE and requires a minimal investment–say $40–in a Web cam. And ANYONE who surfs the Internet can use Skype!

I know some PR professionals who have been resistant to anything that is “not broadcast quality,” but this is clearly not a trend. It is the new standard!

For years we have become used to the wide variety of video quality offered up by YouTube. It is only natural that viewers–and networks–migrate in that direction and embrace the new standard. I’m delighted that it makes our news more instantaneous, real and real accessible for good stories that deserve network coverage!

You can contact me on Skype at RobinTracy PR.

Skype, on the other hand is free and will work with a standard webcam.

W

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=4009663&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/americasnewsroom/index.html

  • Share/Bookmark

Online Media Resources: Knocking Down the Barriers

March 24, 2009 | No comments

This morning’s RSS news feed delivered several press releases, each with the obligatory hyperlink to an associated site. I decided to explore the online media resources of one of these and, guess what? There were none! So I began to check several of them and, guess what? No online media resources.

Rather shocking don’t you think, especially when you realize that these press releases were written for media that work on a 24/7 news cycle. An online newsroom or press room is essential with any media relations effort and should be a top priority. Basic press room offerings should include:

  • Press releases
  • Bios
  • Fact sheet and/or FAQs that include information about your organization and your industry
  • Stats sheet (if appropriate)
  • Endorsements, quotes and/or hyperlinks to select media coverage

The goal here is to make it easy for a reporter to cover your organization. Not offering online information–beyond the press release–actually puts up a barrier between you and the media contacts with whom you hope to work.

  • Share/Bookmark

Builder Uses Social Media to Build Online Profile-Be Relevant

March 20, 2009 | No comments

My morning Twitter feed delivered conversations about companies distributing press releases to “announce that they are using Twitter.” @PRSarahevans posted this:

PRsarahevans: How should biz/orgs “announce” their new twitter participation? Let ‘em hear it from the best (i.e. You)

PRsarahevans: The reason I bring it up is b/c I received 3 releases the past few days from biz/orgs announcing they were on twitter, nothing more.about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry

Huh? Businesses are distributing press releases announcing they are on Twitter?! BORING!

Quite coincidentally, my morning Atlanta Daybook RSS feed delivered a release from Bowen Family Homes announcing the launch of the builder’s social media marketing effort. Their angle–which works beautifully with with the start of the home buying season–acknowledges that home buyers start their home search online. Bowen is meeting them where they are. At the core of their plan is a blog that provides links to the builder’s profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, ActiveRain, YouTube, etc. Their new corporate website provides easy access via hyperlinks, too. Social Media is supposed to be interactive. While you can comment on the Bowen blog, you cannot engage in conversation with Bowen on Twitter, which is a little bit disappointing.

Should a biz distribute a release “announcing they are using Twitter?” Not unless it is part of a RELEVANT, comprehensive plan that actually serves, communicates and invites participation with your audiences. Overall, Bowen is on their way with this.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RobinTracyPR

  • Share/Bookmark

Waiting for the Dust to Settle

March 18, 2009 | No comments

I’ve spent the best part of yesterday and today cleaning out and reorganizing my office and I happened upon some great PR case studies. I’ll post about some of those over the next few days. I’ll talk to you when the dust clears–hopefully tonight!

  • Share/Bookmark

March 16, 2009 | No comments

For the last few days I’ve been following the activities of the annual South by Southwest Conference 2009 (being held in Austin, TX this week) on Twitter. I have to admit, I’m a pretty sad that I am not there! The 22-year old conference–known on Twitter as #SXSW–is part music & media conference, part film conference & festival and part interactive festival. But, mostly is just plain influential!

Jenna Wortham ’s New York Times’ article, “At Austin Meeting, Seeking Exposure for New Tech Products” really captures the gravitas of the event. Quoting Jeremiah Owyang, an attendee and analyst with Forrester Research, Wortham calls the attendees the “cool kids” because they are the Web’s most prominent bloggers and influential Twitterers.

Her examples of what NOT to do when marketing products, services and ideas at this event tickled me. My fav is this quote: “When we first got our gift bags, we went through and threw away every bit of paper,” Mr. Sando said. “You would think that at a digital conference, they’d think of more intelligent ways” to promote a company.”

Understanding the wants, needs and desires of our specfic audiences–especially industry influencers–has never been more important.

  • Share/Bookmark

The "R" Word

March 15, 2009 | No comments

The central focus of our current economic plight is all about recovery. This morning’s news run delivered a bit of a “Before, During and After Recovery” theme.

Phoenix-based Jamie Glass, founder of Artful Thinkers pointed me and her other LinkedIn contacts to this good Harvard Business Publications article, “How Marketers Should Plan for Recovery,” by John Quelch.

Thomas Oliver, of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shares his thinking on recognizing recovery in this morning’s “How t0 Know When a Turnaround is at Hand.”

Chris Quinn, also of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pointed me and all of his other Twitter friends to “Newspapers and Thinking About the Unthinkable,” a historical summary about modern-day newspapers and their failure to successfully prepare for the impact of emerging technologies.

The common thread in all three is consumer behaviors. In this economy, we must be observing behaviors to determine emerging trends, identifying behaviors that may emerge as the new “normal” and plan accordingly. Now, while business may be slow, is a good time to re-evaluate your business model, refine the definition of your key audiences, and crystallize your core identity messaging so that you are prepared for recovery when it arrives.

  • Share/Bookmark

Cover Up…for Grabs, That Is!

March 13, 2009 | No comments

Interesting how the economy is impacting traditional media–also now called legacy media. Today’s New York Times article titled “Creeping Onto the Front Covers of Magazines, Paid Ads” herald’s the arrival of advertising opportunities on the front cover of Parent and Child Magazine, and potentially, the same opportunity on other print media icons. With staff and budget reductions, bankruptcy and worse at some of America’s most iconic media outlets like the Chicago Tribune and TIME and O, it’s no wonder the cover is now up for grabs.

  • Share/Bookmark

Don't Do It Just Because You Can

March 12, 2009 | No comments

This morning a relative who works in the advertising industry here in Atlanta sent me this link
http://HowToUseTwitterforMarketingandPR.com/. It made me laugh out loud. While I don’t agree with the black and white “guidence” offered at this site, it does confirm a reality that marketing, advertisig and public relations practitioners face. If we use Twitter–or any other social media for that matter–for marketing purposes, it had better be done right. Twitter, for example, is only effective if there is a following of peeps who want the know what you are doing and what you are thinking. Ultimately, regardless of the medium, the basic fundamentals of good communication remain the same: purpose and messaging must be relevant to the audience. If not, just “don’t” do it.

  • Share/Bookmark

Ahead of the Curve and NOT Liking It!

March 11, 2009 | 1 comment

Last night I made a fairly significant investment in a new laptop with built in camera and BlueRay (b/c my hubby was with me) PLUS a docking station, wireless keyboard and mouse, speakers and a hi-def monitor. The new system has ALL the bells and whistles and I couldn’t wait to take it out for a spin with my early morning run through research, news reviews and blogging.

Blogger Collen Coplick’s “GE Gets Social Media” post piqued my interest in the GE Smart Grid Site and Smart Grid Project interactive video. Clicking through her hyperlinks I landed at the appropriate sites and almost immediately hit the proverbial wall. According to the pop-up window, Adobe Flash does not run on a 64-bit operating system. You can run it in a 32-bit browser running on a 64-bit operating system instead. Adobe does, though, hope to support the 64-bit platform in an upcoming release of Flash Player 10. HUH?!

Now I’m NOT generally an early adopter of computer hardware so I was surprised that I could be “ahead of the curve” but here I was sitting in front of my new computer “sports car” without the ability to see how fast she’d drive.

I reverted to my old laptop to check out the links and totally agree with Colleen–GE does get social media and this is a great example of how one organization has pulled together a comprehensive marketing package that is appropriately leveraging multiple communication channels.

While my morning stutter-step is no one’s fault, it provided a really important reminder: When implementing cutting-edge strategies and tactics, it is important to remember HOW your key audiences will access that information and ensure that the technology you are using doesn’t create an unnecessary barrier.

  • Share/Bookmark

The World is Going Social

March 10, 2009 | No comments

I’ve been accused of having an addiction to Facebook so I find great comfort in knowing that my social media habits are really just a micro sample of a global trend. According to a new Nielsen report “Global Faces and Networked Places” folks worldwide are migrating toward social media in record numbers.

“Time spent on social network and blogging sites growing at over 3x the rate of overall Internet growth. This increase in popularity is only half the story when it comes to the social networking phenomenon – the time people spend on these networks is also increasing dramatically.”

“The total amount spent online globally increased by 18% between December 2007 and December 2008. In the same period, however, the amount of time spent on ‘Member Community’ sites rose by 63% to 45 billion minutes; and on Facebook by a massive 566% – from 3.1 billion minutes to 20.5 billion. Facebook’s time is so high due to being the ninth most popular brand online and having the highest average time per person (three hours 10 minutes) amongst the 75 most popular brands online worldwide.”

Social media is a powerful platform and EVERYONE wants to be part of it. Harnessing the power to advance a specific cause or organizational goal requires maximizing your online presence–but doing it appropriately.

  • Share/Bookmark

The new face of Facebook: Coming soon!

March 8, 2009 | No comments

Social media is the buzz amogst communications professionals who are charged with indentifying appropriate social media channels for specific initiatives. I myself use Facebook, Twitter and a variety of social media bookmarks. Over the past week or so, my Facebook account has opened up with this little reminder at the top of my profile page: “Changes to the Home page are coming soon. Learn about the new features ahead of time. This is happening soon; check out the home page tour now.”

I checked it out and it looks like the new face of Facebook will offer some intesting benefits. But as a user, I won’t know if I like the changes until, well, after I use them. As a public relations pracictioner, I’m very excited about the potential for some incredible bene’s. According to the PRSA,

“…the 5,000 limit on the amount of friends that users can have. Now, those with large audiences can reach numerous people instantly. Facebook has positioned itself so that it can turn a profit from public figures and other organizations that want to promote messages and brands. These profile pages are interactive and users can connect and join the conversation with people such as President Obama, Bono and Oprah Winfrey.

“Just as you connect with friends on Facebook,” Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder said, “you can now connect and communicate with celebrities, musicians, politicians and organizations.”

How impactful is Facebook? The New York Times has posted at least 190 articles about the growing and evolving phenominon. How will the upcoming changes impact how we view and use it, we’ll see on Wednesday.

  • Share/Bookmark

Harnessing the Power of the News of the Day

March 7, 2009 | No comments

The news continues to herald the woes of our nation’s worst economy in 26 years. In the midst of an “all economy, all the time” news environment, I’m charged with helping my clients elevate their message in such a way that it rises above the din of job losses and contracted economy. It’s a challenge for any communications professional.

Sometimes the most effective way to do this is to harness the power of the news of the day–leverage it to your own benefit–and make it work for you. RE/MAX International has done this, and done it well. This international real estate company–with a network of nearly 100,000 agents in more than 65 countries–recently launched the “Kick Yourself” television spot, which does a masterful job of leveraging the current economic market with people’s desire to get a good deal. RT

  • Share/Bookmark