Category: online PR

The social media debate

03-Jun-10 17:16

A recent survey by Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia has found that a massive 31 per cent of companies do not set aside any budget for social media activity in their PR campaign. A further 34 per cent said that they had spent money on social media, but only a fractional five per cent of their budget.

Whilst these findings don't shock me (as I have witnessed a fair amount of hesitation from clients and prospective clients over the years) it does highlight that as an industry, we should be doing more to encourage clients to "dip their toe in the water".

I believe, and I think others will agree with me, that social media is not for every business and some companies that are currently engaging in social media may be doing it because they feel they have to, rather than because of any real benefits it will bring their business. Having said that, the response we often receive after mentioning our online PR services in a new business meeting is, "What can Twitter and Facebook actually do for my business?"

The answer is that social media can bring real marketing and relationship building benefits that go hand in hand with a traditional PR campaign. We are strong advocates of Twitter and manage around 50 per cent of our clients' twitter profiles. Each client has a different objective for using Twitter, some clients have asked us to focus soley on building relationships with the press so we are involved in researching relevant journalists and "tweeting" about interesting news and opinions on topical events. Other B2C clients are interested in widening their reach with consumers and our remit would be to run competitions on Twitter and let followers know where they can read about the client in the press. Both methods have been successful and it is a great way of easing new clients into social media slowly. We also manage blogs for some clients and help to track down influential bloggers to build relationships with, as we would a journalist.

The online world is changing at a rapid pace and we are constantly suggesting new ways of utilising the Internet to widen the awareness of our clients. Whilst some companies are understandably cautious about trying something that is still new to many people, we have a range of services that allow our clients to get a real taste for it and to allow them to see if it's right for them.

Louise

Online killed the radio star? Apparently not

27-Nov-09 16:35

 

I was interested to read a recent report which detailed the most influential media. Expecting to read that online would be right up there at the top, it was a bit of a surprise to find that it was actually radio that was deemed to have the most clout.

The poll of 1,000 opinion leaders found that radio had more impact than any other media on corporate reputation.

 

The Thought Leadership Index 100 found television in second place, print media in third with online way down in fourth. With online advertising soaring, I was surprised to see it ranked behind other traditional forms of media which are seeing a decline.

At Ascent PR, we build relationships with a variety of media on our client's behalf and radio is one of these channels we use for delivering these messages. As we see the popularity of online PR rise and the need for brands to engage with social media, it seems the impact of the good old wireless should not be forgotten.

Liz

Twitter: business tool or business fool?

12-Nov-09 12:38

Twitter's everywhere at the moment. You can't open a newspaper, listen to the radio or turn on the TV without some clever clogs banging on about the cool kid of social media. Even celebrities like Stephen Fry, Jamie Oliver and Katie Price are in on the action.

But, when it comes to Twitter as a business tool, opinions are divided. In today's Times, a letter was published from Paul Stallard of Berkeley PR - Ascent PR's sister company, defending Twitter's use as an effective business tool and platform for succinct communication.

The sceptics among us would no doubt argue that allowing employees access to such social media sites is asking for trouble - namely in the form of reduced productivity and poorly judged ‘Tweets'. I mean the last thing any business wants is an employee tweeting excessively about the previous night's drunken antics or moaning about their workload and bringing shame on the corporate image.

But managed in the right way, Twitter can open many doors and provide an engaging and interactive face for a business, promoting better customer perception and service. Equally, with online media expanding at a rate of knots, now's the time to embrace online PR and the opportunity to raise your business profile, within Twitter's thriving journalist community alone, is vast.

To make sure your business doesn't get left behind, jump on the Twitter band wagon - drag your employees along with you, set some objectives and guidelines, and enjoy the ride!

 

 

Beth

 

Social Media has the X Factor

12-Oct-09 16:31

With over ten million viewers glued to the TV as the X Factor went live at the weekend, ITV is winning the reality TV battle week after week. The media coverage surrounding the latest series has been huge, and it seems hard to escape the rumours, scandal and stories being written about both judges and contestants.

I wasn't surprised to read lately that ITV has turned to social media to increase audience engagement and boost interaction with fans of the show. Social media is becoming an increasingly important part of PR and marketing, and will enable ITV and the X Factor to capitalise on the buzz around the show and provide fans with an extra way of supporting their favourite contestant and communicating with other X Factor enthusiasts.
With forums, Twitter ribbons and Facebook applications, social media looks set to be a crucial part of the X Factor's marketing strategy.

At Ascent PR, we are seeing an increasing number of clients asking us to use social media alongside traditional PR techniques. The web presents a huge opportunity to expand audience reach and target new communities with a message. Savvy organisations are tapping into the power of these sites and reaping the rewards that the web presents.

Social media is no longer just for teenagers; it is a viable communication tool that, used as part of the marketing mix, can provide great return for businesses.

 

Liz

Twitter training at Ascent PR

14-May-09 14:04

Yesterday we had a packed day of training in the Ascent PR office; along with our sister company Berkeley PR. One of the courses was about how we can effectively use Twitter as a business networking tool.

Twitter appears to be taking over the world at the moment, well at least in the social networking arena, and as an agency we are open to embracing the opportunities it has to offer. In the training we learnt that whilst it can be tempting to follow everybody under the sun, including celebrities, it may be more beneficial to pick influential people in related industries or with similar interests. I have found that following a few journalists from some of our clients' key target press, has already generated some great results.

By doing this you are often able to see what the journalists are writing or talking about, and which networking events they are attending. From here it is easier to approach them with the relevant material they require or may find interesting. This can help strengthen the journalist relationship and gain great coverage for our clients.

I think that the key piece of advice was that by tweeting about things that others will find interesting, rather than just what you are having for lunch, can help build relationships with key people in the industry who are interested in similar areas to you. This in turn could result in a piece of coverage for a client, a journalist lunch or even a new business lead.

For a great beginner's guide to embarking on Twitter see the ‘Twitter Bible' on CIO.com.

Danni