Category: Twitter

Blogging as a full time job?

With the rise and rise of blogging in Australia – and in the fashion sector particularly – blogging as a way of earning a living is becoming a more and more viable option for those who started their little slice of the web with an iphone and a laptop in their bedrooms.

Hosted by Nuffnang, the Asia Pacific Blog Advertising Community, Fashionopolis gave bloggers the opportunity to come along and hear from experts about the ways in which a blog can be monetised, how best to build the brand of your blog and how you can actually make a career out of sitting on your couch with the computer.

Your Blog, Your Brand

Popular fashion blogger Phoebe Montague, of Lady Melbourne, hosted the first session of the day – Your Blog, Your Brand – talking about ways in which bloggers can take control of their own personal brand and use this to build an audience and, in time, make money.

Key takeouts included:

• Your blog is an extension of yourself and should reflect this through the authenticity of your voice and originality. Shareable content is what the people want.
• Share your blog/brand across multiple channels. Being on Twitter gives you an authoritative voice; use Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest as extensions of your blog.
• Imagery is currency and your photography is one of the most important elements of your blog. Smart phones are great and more than sufficient for photos and video. Do get a tripod for digital camera and outfit pics.
• Remember what you love about your favourite blogs and think about your blog from the readers’ perspective.
•  Treat your blog and readers with professionalism. Pay attention to what you tweet (behave online to be taken seriously!) and if you can’t blog regularly, be transparent and open about it.

Fashion Torque

This session was followed by a panel discussion with Fashion Torque founders Phillip Boon and Jenny Bannister, with special guests Patty Huntington and Sarah Gale.

While Patty is a veteran of traditional media, she was also one of the first to venture into blogging as part of her profession, with Frockwriter, giving her a unique angle on the subject.

The panel talked about the entrepreneurial spirit of the blogging community and the benefit of bloggers to up and coming designers, especially when traditional media (particularly newspapers) tend to ignore the Fashion Industry in Australia.

Key takeouts from this session included:

• The importance of doing your research. When you already have an interest in an area, take the time to seriously look at the topic and know the background.
• Know what your blog does well. Is it surprising styling, amazing images, etc? Leverage this.
• Bloggers are 24/7 news gatherers. While traditional fashion writers write between 9 and 5 and get paid for it, the bloggers are writing in the middle of the night to ensure they have the story first.
• Networking is VERY important. Have business cards and remember you are a walking endorsement for the content you create.
• Understand how best to work with advertorial. Fully disclose the nature of these posts and don’t post on products that are completely unrelated to your audience.

Monetising Your Blog

The final session of the day bought back Phoebe, and introduced Kyra Pybus of Pybus PR, David Krupp from Nuffnang and Amber Venz  from Venzedits, each providing an angle on the subject of monetising blogs.

While there are few bloggers who gain a full time income from blogging at the moment, the door is wide open for the future with endless possibilities in the reach of the bedroom blogger.

Key takeouts from this final session included:

• Consistency – in both regularity and style – in posting on your blog.
• Checking spelling and grammar of a blog post – a simple thing often overlooked!
• Have a point of view that is unique to you – talk about your own experiences, use your own voice and be authentic.
• Content is king, but going forward, imagery must be really, really good.
• There are many ways to make money indirectly from blogging – diversify into selling your images, writing ebooks and charging appearance fees, freelance copywriting or styling etc.
• Value your own experience and know your worth – don’t work for free.

Going Forward

In summary, all the speakers over the day acknowledged the potential that bloggers have to be a driving force in both the bought, and earned, media space. The power the blogger yields is their voice, and their opinions are held in higher esteem because of the perceived unbiased opinions they present.

Going forward, while brands will work more closely with bloggers and bloggers will charge for their services, it will be even more important to ensure a blog remains transparent and true to the personality of the individual behind the blog.

Do you have a blog? How do you feel about blogging in return for products or payment? As a reader, do you think this compromises the opinions and views of the blog?

Snack favourite Nestle KitKat will this week launch a new campaign, Social Break, that will automatically send updates to subscribers’ social media accounts, minimising the stress that comes from updating multiple social platforms.

Launching in Singapore, the downloadable widget allows a user to have updates sent on their behalf to nominated social media accounts including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, including liking posts you are tagged in and retweets. While the app is a clever marketing gimmick, it also highlights a growing problem – especially among Gen Y – that being social media addiction or stress.

With so many social platforms now part of our daily lives, more and more people are feeling the pressure of maintaining a social presence with just over half of respondents to a recent survey indicating that being in constant contact on social media was interfering with their job, studies and ‘real’ life.

Time to Switch Off?

While the KitKat app is designed to make things a little easier for users by updating their social networks for them so they appear connected, Kangaroo Island’s most recent campaign encouraged users to take the 24 hour switch off challenge, disconnecting from all their social media networks on April 28 for the sake of their own mental health and our society.

A number of bloggers took up this challenge, taking a full day to have time out took advantage of a widget developed by Kangaroo Island to advise users who visited their social media platforms that they were having the day off.

This initiative followed research indicating that heavy users of social networking sites should have at least one ‘offline’ day a week, in order to counteract our 24/7 ‘online’ lifestyles.

But I’m Lonely…

These initiatives to simplify our social lives come just days after a report in the Sydney Morning Herald discussed how almost a quarter of Australians are living alone and are lonely, often turning to social media for friendship, connections and confidants.

We no longer make eye contact with people whilst walking down the street; we sit at restaurant tables glued to our mobiles and we email people sitting three desks away. But online, we never have to be alone.

Online, we never have to be alone.

Together, Alone.

So which is it? Are we become a society of isolated individuals, chained to updating our social media networks and immersed in others’ lives through a series of status updates and tweets? Or are we lonely and seeking meaningful human interaction which, in the wake of our busier than ever lives, is only possible via social networks?

 

As a social business agency one of our roles is to help clients understand the role and influence of social media.

One of our favourite points of reference is the Nielsen survey which asks “What degree of trust do you place in the following forms of advertising?”

In 2009 (charted here) we saw that the top three were:

1. Recommendations from people you know (90%) – this is the nirvana of all marketing…. positive word of mouth.

2. Consumer opinions posted online (70%) – ie. recommendations from people you don’t know but have a common interest with.

3. Brand websites (70%) – brands stepping up to be transparent, informative and collaborative.

In the world of BOUGHT, OWNED & EARNED media the top 2 fall under EARNED which we define as “the reputation you earn by virtue of your actions.”  The tools which underpin EARNED are typically Facebook, Blogs, Twitter & forums. Brand websites fall under OWNED.

TV came in as the most trusted paid-for advertising (62%) right down to text ads on mobile phones (24%).

Three years on, the gap between EARNED and BOUGHT is further opening up as TV and other paid-for media fall away on the trust front.

Worth noting is that ‘emails signed up for’….which presumably means newsletters, holds its ground from ’09 at 50% to raise itself above all paid-for media in ’12. Editorial content has lost ground from 69% to 58%.

Branded websites too have fallen away from 70% to 58% and to me this is symptomatic of the underperformance of expectations that consumers have of brand websites. Every day we all come across websites which are too static, too wordy and too self important leaving us feeling undernourished and wanting.

The key take out here is that the opportunity cost of embarking on a social business strategy is low.

Money invested in paid for/BOUGHT media goes much further in an EARNED environment. For example 1 x 30 sec network  spot in “The Voice” on Channel 9 is now purportedly selling for $100,000 +. This spot has the potential to reach approx 16% people (all adults aged 14+) just once. Alternatively $100,000 in the EARNED environment can fund the development and part implementation of a social business consumer advocacy programme for the longer term.

If we agree that trust is a “top 3″ issue in marketing then why wouldn’t you at least explore the potential that a social busines strategy can deliver? A little bit of paid-for media goes a long way in EARNED. We’d be the first to agree that paid-for media still delivers the numbers and you do need it in the mix to drive awareness but you can have your cake and eat it with social.

Be interested in your views.

You can find the full Nielsen report here

Welcome to FRANk PR. As a social business agency that challenges assumptions about communications and looks at how we can engage with people in media, it was a logical next step that we incorporate PR into our offering, fusing it with our social business know how and connecting the missing link for our clients.

And I am the one who will help you do this – hi!

Who am I?

My name is Sarah Kempson and I come to FRANk Media after a number of years working across a variety of marketing disciplines. My background includes PR, advertising, branding and social across corporate, government and consumer clients, in both agency and client-side. I also produce my own blog and write for online and print publications, helping me to better understand the traditional and new media platforms and how best to engage them.

So what is PR today? And how do we address the challenge of integrating PR and social?

PR today is more targeted than even before. In an environment where most people in media have a Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest – or whatever the flavour of the month is – personalisation is required. Who is the right person to talk to? What is the best way to engage them? Who do they influence? Finding the right approach is paramount – one size does not fit all and it’s important to integrate across all platforms – old and new.

Old vs New

PR Professionals need to be savvy in the way they approach journalists today – a press release emailed to the newsdesk is no longer enough to get your client in the media. Hooks need to be stronger; news needs to be quirkier; a unique point of difference is required. What makes your story special?

And it’s not just traditional media that we are sending a press release to anymore. Whilst print, radio and TV might seem the most logical (or most powerful) choices, are they the right ones? Or are they simply the ones we know and are familiar with? As the graphic below represents, half of our media consumption is now via the internet. Social media, be it viral campaigns, blogger engagement or getting your message across in 140 characters on Twitter – needs to be a part of this mix.

Where to now?

At the end of the day, the basic premise of both PR and social business is the same as it has always been; the building and maintaining of personal relationships. This should always remain at the forefront of any planning for your brand’s PR and social strategy. The communications landscape is changing often and while it may seem daunting to keep up, the key will always be to keep it personal.

What are some of the best integrations of PR and social campaigns you have seen recently? Or, the worst?

The guilty pleasure of reality television is more fun shared, with a new survey released showing 67 per cent of dedicated fans of the genre use some form of social media while they watch.

Specifically, 38 per cent interacted on Facebook and 35 per cent on Twitter while watching their favourite shows, according to Reality Ravings blogger Emma Ashton, a phenomenon dubbed “the social sofa”.

Ashton and market research company Nitty Gritty surveyed more than 400 viewers nationally for the “Reality TV Viewer Insights” survey, which showed that Facebook and blogs were the most popular fan forums.

“Viewers clearly like the social nature of the format of reality TV, and people using social media during or after a reality TV episode are more likely to become an entrenched fan of show,” Ashton said.

“These fans who are using ‘the social sofa’ are more likely to watch the shows more regularly, and get emotionally involved with the series and with the contestants.”

There are no prizes for guessing what viewers like the most: 72 per cent said they “enjoyed seeing drama and controversy between contestants”.

The survey also found product placement in programs was extremely effective, with 93 per cent of the respondents saying they were influenced by the advertising and information in the shows and 98 per cent able to make an association with brands aired during reality TV.

The most-recognised brands were Coles, Qantas, Handee Wipes, Freedom and Woolworths.

“Advertisers are definitely getting more for their money by aligning with reality shows,” said Nitty Gritty’s Julia Houston. “Reality TV viewers like the information they receive from reality shows. This would indicate they are more receptive to brand placement and lifestyle messaging than (viewers of) other formats.”

With the high number of viewers interacting in the social media and online, advertisers need to rethink the advertising opportunity, extending it to a conversation with the consumer after the show has finished airing.

This was also important as the research showed 68 per cent of the viewers fast-forwarded through ads and eight per cent watched shows online.

The full report can be found at www.realityravings.com or www.nittygritty.net.au

Every day, up to one terabyte of information is uploaded via social networks including Facebook, Twitter and other social sites. Back in the day when we only knew one or two sites and people only posted status updates from home, the stream of information was merely a slow trickle. But with more and more people joining social sites, coupled with the widespread use of mobile Internet and the emergence of numerous apps, the social feed is bursting full of information from different people, each vying for their network’s attention, often with irrelevant posts.

As the social media ecosystem advances and develops and people go crazy with games, retweets, trends and links, logging on to a social site means an unavoidable barrage of irrelevant information – noise that distracts us from the information or connections we really want. However, the move from merely using social sites for maintaining contact with friends to using social media for a purpose to network, access new information or to engage in marketing brings its own pitfalls.

The fact that we can customize our Twitter network, subscribe to certain blog feeds and install alerts to see information we desire from niche topic, industry or company accounts, gives us instant access to knowledge in our own interests and goals, allowing us to filter out noise and gain focus. We subscribe to those similar to us, and those similar to us follow us.

There is an implicit pressure in social media to stick somewhat to an identity or niche, in order to gain a following within said niche and to avoid being classified as noise that others filter out.  For example, if a person you have been following because of their useful tweets about fashion begins tweeting significantly about something you are uninterested in, say knitting, it becomes more likely that you will begin ignoring their updates, and eventually you may click ‘Unfollow’.

The drive to eliminate noise by others and to be a relevant (non-noise) source in our social media networks may create an online echo chamber where information, ideas and beliefs are amplified by enclosed networks. How many times have we seen the same link shared over and over again on our networks, retweeted from an already highly influential source that you follow as well? When we use social media for a particular purpose other than chatting, it’s easy to get so focused on this purpose that we forget that social media can be a source of ANY information. Within the echo chamber that we create and perpetuate, we may become so focused on receiving the specific news we want that we ignore other information that might potentially interest us or enrich our lives.

Think about watching TV, or reading a daily newspaper. Back in the day (before the Internet and social media spoiled us with the choice of what we were exposed to), we were given a much broader view of the world because of the diversity of articles in a newspaper, one of which might catch our eye despite it not being in our favourite section; or an interesting documentary that happened to be on TV on the first channel we flicked to. Being ‘accidentally’ exposed to information gave us a richer, broader perspective. With the filters we have in place to block out what we call ‘noise’, are we blocking out opportunities?

We avoid narrowing our views and experiences in real life by going to new places and trying new things. Why don’t we do this more in the online realm? Why not take a little risk and be less selective in our filters? Follow people who are interesting regardless of their influence or authority in a topic?  Set aside time to find some refreshing blogs or sites. Be a bit more of who we really are, instead of enclosing ourselves within a niche?

What do you think about the effects of using filters on our personal and online lives?

Social search continues to be important for your brand’s social media presence and here are a few tips to make it work:

1. Define your keywords: When it comes to searching for your brand, which keywords would you like to be associated with? Innovation? Bathroom appliances? Design? Plumbing Melbourne? It could be anything as long as you define it first.

2. Twitter Bio: It is REALLY hard to write search relevant content while keeping it enagaging and interesting for the readers but it is worth to try. To make things even more interesting, Twitter makes you do it in 160 characters. But think of your Twitter profile as the meta description of your page and you will understand how important this is.

3. Tweets: Use your keywords early in your tweet to make it more likely to rank in searches.

4. Regularity: Tweet often and regular and also remember that the more followers you have, the better the search results.

5. Twitter directories: These directories are great to find more followers and to build links to your Twitter profile.

6. Facebook status updates: Similar to your Twitter bio, it is VERY hard to write engaging and user centric content with search in mind but it is worth you try anyway. Find a way to link your updates back to your brand’ keywords without being too pushy and use links. Use links often. Also, use anchor text.

7. Facebook photo captions: Your keyword and linking strategy should be extended to Facebook photos. Write relevant descriptions and captions and again it is hard to find a good compromise between writing for search and for the user but be creative. It is worth putting in a lot of effort here as this can significantly boost your search rankings.

8. Facebook About tab: While you cannot place a link or anchor text in the “About” section, it is one of the most important places to list your website address.

9. YouTube keywords: Make sure you include your keywords in your video title, description and keyword section. Repeat the same words in all three for best search results. Next to the title, the description is the second most important thing when it comes to search rankings so put some extra effort into the description.

10. YouTube replies: All search engines like pages which have a lot of links built into them. One way to do this on YouTube is to leave a video reply to related videos.

Twitter turns 5 this week and to celebrate this special event I thought it would be good to share the latest Twitter numbers and trends. Twitter has had phenomenal success over the past years and has grown rapidly.

Twitter released some impressive numbers on their blog and below is a summary:

The first tweet ever was sent on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey (@jack):

Tweets:

It took 3 years, 2 months and 1 day to reach one billion Tweets

The average number of Tweets sent per day rose from 50 million one year ago to 140 million in the last month

The current Tweets per second (TPS) record is 6,939 set 4 seconds after midnight in Japan on New Year’s Day

Accounts:

New accounts created on March 12, 2011: 572,000

Increase in number of mobile users over the past year: 182%

Employees:

8 in Jan 2008

29 in Jan 2009

130 in Jan 2010

350 in Jan 2011

400 Today

For the full story please read Twitter’s blog article.

Twitter has also been credited with fueling the revolution in Tunisia and also put up a “call to tweet” hot line in Egypt with the help of Google. When the internet was down in Egypt, people could ring the hot line and leave a message which would be then turned into a tweet.

I also recommend this video from Funny or Die (rude language so nothing for the kids) which provides you with other little known and funny facts around Twitter. For example did you know that the past tense of “to tweet” is “twote”?

Happy Birthday Twitter! I think you rock! And of course you can find me on Twitter too:  @Martinez_79 if you are interested in updates around social media (and sometimes other things).

The votes are in and according to the critics, academics and ad executives the winners of this year’s Super Bowl branding battle are Volkswagen, Bridgestone, Doritos and Bud Light.

However, who here is really the big loser? It may well be the actual polls and reviews run by USA Today, Kellogg School of Management, The Wall Street Journal and Advertising Age.

Marketers no longer need to wait for these polls to be released to reassure them that their millions of dollars spent on advertising have been well received. Twitter and Facebook can now tell them almost instantaneously.

Of course, rating highly in polls still doesn’t hurt. But social networks can tell us more than the simple thumbs up/thumbs down conclusions of voting, since the ads become the subject of conversations rather than one-word responses

With a creepy finger licker, a resurrected grandpa and a pug puppy getting the best of a bad man, Doritos were the most talked about commericals this year according to Brand Bowl 2011.

With a soft spot for dogs, my personal favourite was in fact Bud Light’s Dog Sitter.

You can veiws the rest of the Super Bowl XLV commericals here.

To read the first round of this debate click here.

As of this morning Harvey Norman is out of the retailer coalition propaganda campaign for 10% GST tax on purchases from overseas websites. It seems that the backlash of consumers on twitter and facebook has won this round.

It’s a good decision. Harvey shouldn’t be the only one taking the fall. It’s now time to calculate the damage done.

The damage to the Harvey Norman brand should not be taken lightly. The trust in the brand took a significant hit that will take a lot of time to recover from. Google ranking will suffer and all the goodwill in social media destroyed as the only thing left are negative comments. Add to this the emergence of groups like “boycott harvey norman” on facebook, new and unflattering search terms like: “Harvey Norman GST”, the impact on franchisees and employees moral and lets not forget the #GerryAntoinette hashtag.

What’s next? well, it’s time to plan. This needs to be an overhaul of all customer facing touch points including customer service, store personal and social media. the first step in this planning phase should be “Listen & Learn”.

Here’s why Harvey Norman needs to listen & learn: the backlash was not about the 10% tax. No one really cares about it. If you take the time to listen to your customers you’ll find that many expressed outrage about your customer service, pricing and warranties.

A few things made clear to Australian businesses from this “Social  Media” case study:

1. You have to treat your customers with respect. This is something that I believe is Harvey’s sticking point. They forgot that the people they are talking about are the same people who pay staff salaries by buying at Harvey Norman. They’re also the ones who  invest in the business as shareholders.

2. Twitter and facebook are not an add-ons to your marketing mix. Social media is just the tip of the iceberg – It will affect every department of your business. It will also change the way you do business. That’s why you need a Social business Strategy.

3. ”You might have got a nasty phone call or a letter back in the old days but now anything slightly controversial, these people, whoever they might be, they go for you zealously and with hatred all over Twitter,” - Yes, the world has changed. You need to change with it. Be prepared to be more transparent, collaborative and intuative.

Good luck Harvey.

What is the next big thing in social media? This question consumes many companies at the moment and nobody knows what it will be. It could be geo-location services built into your coffee cup or it could be something completely different.

The question is though: do you really need to chase the next big thing?

I think not. I think many companies waste a lot of time and resources chasing the next big, finding themselves in a never ending loop.

I think any company can be a leader and innovator in its category by exceeding expectations and putting customers first. What if the next big thing in social media is already here?

Let me explain: The key to success in social media is to focus on your customers. They buy your product, use your service and tell other people about it. Your brand would not exist if it were not for your customers. Now it is time to give back some love.

Ever wondered why a person goes back to the same hairdresser although the cut is not as good as expected? Well, it is because you get so much more at a hair salon than a new hair cut: You get somebody to chat to, listen to your worries and dish out the latest gossip. You also get free coffee (even wine these days), a scalp and neck massage and a hot towel to relax.

Do you remember the time of door to door salesmen? We had heaps in our neighborhood: vacuums and bags, frozen food, fresh bread, vegetables and eggs from the farms, Avon for the ladies, knife and scissor sharpeners etc. Those were the days were consumers were valued and customer service was high. The sales people were focused on each individual consumer. They remembered each person’s orders and preferences but also how many kids they have and what football team they support. The sales people took time to get to know their consumers and managed to sell products by not talking about the products but by talking to their consumers.

So how can any company apply this principle and sell products by not talking about its products? This is where social media comes in handy.

Social media allows a business to get to know its consumers, talk to them and most importantly: LISTEN to them. It enables a business to give something back to its consumers, make them feel appreciated and valued.

But, not only your customers benefit from such an approach. It also provides value to your company when Customer Service is a marketing weapon.

Keep it simple, manageable and consistent and you will find that the next big thing really is nothing you have to keep chasing.

The following tips are taken from our friends at Social Blabla and their blog.

I have also added a few of my ideas so the translation is not 1:1.

1. Know and love your brand: This makes sense right? You need to know both positive and negative things about your brand in order to confidently talk about it in the social space. It is the only way to win over the community around your brand.

2. Show Yourself: You are the face of the brand and you should be present as much as you can in the social profile. Take photos, go to events, get the web cam out and interact as much as you can with your community.

3. Monitor but do not interfere: Interact with your community and show them you are here to help. Let them develop content while you listen to what topics they want to discuss. Interfere only to reinforce positive behavior or to accept constructive criticism. Ignore the trolls, they have always been there and will always be there. Also avoid censorship or delete content or you risk the dreaded Streisand Effect.

4. Forget Marketing: The community manager’s roles is not to sell. It is your job to listen and identify the community’s needs and concerns. Rather than focusing on posting product news, engage with the community by sharing your interest, passion, concerns etc.

5. We are all equal: Treat everybody in your community equal. It does not matter if some  comment and interact more than others. The quiet observers also deserve your attention and by giving them the same attention you may be even able to get them to participate actively.

6. Delegate: You don’t have to do it all. Delegate if you can to others in your organization to help create content and manage the community. That way the conversations can become more dynamic and interesting.

7. Constantly update: It is very important to update your social profiles up to date and keep the conversations between you and your community going. However, there is a thin line between constantly updating and spamming.

8. Use your tools: You need to be a bit of a Geek and keep up to date with the technology around social media. Tweetdeck for example helps you manage multiple Twitter accounts and conversations therefore making your life easier. Subscribe to RSS feeds to keep informed of topics of interest.

9. Be flexible: A community manager does not have normal office hours. It is important to be there for the community wherever you are. Invest in a smart phone to be accessible at all times (within reason obviously).

10. Analyze and improve: A good community manager is not measured by how many fans and followers the brand has. More important is the strength of the connection a community manager builds with the community. A meaningful relationship with a few is more preferable than many fleeting relationships. Use tools to monitor returning users and find out what makes them return to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.