Category: social media

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

Would you pay to use Facebook?

22-Apr-10 17:18

This is an interesting question for millions of global users to ponder. I think the prospect of even paying a few pounds per month for a service that people are used to accessing for free would go down like a lead balloon. In fact, if this rumour turns out to be true then many Facebook users, including myself, wouldn't hesitate to simply delete their accounts and look for other ways of communicating with the outside world.

Understandably the social media site is looking for ways of generating additional revenue from its 400 million users worldwide, but it risks upsetting its contacts and losing them from its enviable database. Many of us have shared our personal thoughts, feelings, discussions and photos with friends and family on Facebook for many years and will be really disappointed to have to pay for it. However, maybe it was too good to be true for us to have access to such a collaborative and interactive site for free for so long and possibly it's only a matter of time before there's a cost associated with it, which will be a huge shame.

But, this is definitely a sign of the times as The Sunday Times and Times only announced last month that it too will charge the public to access its online material. More of us are using the internet to access information, read books, order goods and communicate, rather than read hard copy material, and organisations are obviously looking for ways to take advantage of this. Personally I wouldn't be surprised to see more businesses going down the same route in years to come.

Angela

Councillors should know better

29-Jan-10 11:44

Having read the story on councillors in Cornwall using Twitter to mock other members during a meeting, I am left amazed at how negligent people can be when it comes to using social media. As I work in the PR industry I have come to rely on Twitter quite a lot for my own use as it allows me to find out what features journalists are working on and in turn lets me pitch in ideas relating to my clients.

Although I have found this very effective, I would say that Twitter is not for everyone, or for every business sector. I would argue that it has its place in the public sector as it is a way of making MPs and political parties appear more approachable - however social media can also damage the reputations of organisations or public figures just as easily.

Whilst councillors saying things such as "high level of accidental sexual innuendo in the council today" and "she said phones must be switched off. (I love that we're completely ignoring that instruction)" may not be classed as particularly libellous or defamatory, it does make you question the professionalism of these councillors if they are being so blatant on a public website.

The article goes on to say that the council is now in the process of putting together a social media policy for employees to ensure that it does not adversely affect its reputation and this is something many organisations should be considering if employees are active on social networks; especially for work purposes.

Louise

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