When they explain social media, the purists will tell you it is not about selling something or pushing out your message, but about engaging in a conversation that enhances your organization’s reputation. It is ultimately about creating community, about customer service. In this world where public relations has historically about pushing the message out, it is hard when explaining social media to perspective clients to shift that paradigm and talk about things like listening, engaging and problem solving. It is hard to talk about how…
They all survived. Maybe there was a little blood spilled, but at the end of the day the panelists at Tuesday’s Richmond Social Media Clob program dig a bang up job addressing the issue of how social media is changing or in some cases, not changing their lives as reporters, editors and members of the media. There were moments. Like RichmondBizSense’sAaron Kremer admitting to the crowd that he didn’t use Twitter and didn’t see it as a news tool (Aaron, not the right crowd to…
In recent days I’ve had reason to do some research into the social marketing efforts of some tobacco brands. Then today I ran across this article in Ad Age about how Michelob is entering the Twittersphere. So it got me thinking how deep should brands which historically have seen their marketing activities limited by the government because of health issues be allowed to trend in this brave new social world. Many of the issues relate to the products and how they are marketed to minors. …
This will likely be my most challenging post to date and one I have been debating about actually writing for a long time. For more than six months now, we have been working with clients and non-clients who have expressed some level of interest in either learning more about or executing social media as part of their marketing mix. In that time we have found that most people (clients, potential clients, interested parties) usually fall into one of four categories. This post will identify those…
From time to time I have spoken about some of the great people I have met and learned from on Twitter. Prime examples are John and Chrisanne Sternal, a PR “power couple” from Florida. Living with someone in the business is something with which I have some experience as well, and the Sternals have turned their passion into a business. Their website understandingmarketing.com is full of rich content focusing a great deal on small business marketing, public relations and social marketing. Their latest article includes…
Wow. Sure it was loud, crowded and well…loud. But the SMCRVA event tonight was a great success. It was also long overdue. Richmond needs groups like these with people who can bridge their own specialties through the use of technology and communications to help each other and the community in which they live. Tonight was just the beginning. People who have been conducting virtual conversations for months on Twitter and Facebook met in person for the first time by exchanging hugs. More than one person came…
I admit it, I’ve become one of the “gray-hairs.” On my recent trip to Florida one of my cousins (insert Jewish accent here) looked at me and said “Jonathan, you’re getting gray….looks good though.” I’ve been in Richmond now for 17 years and have “practiced” public relations and marketing for 16 of them. In all those years I can’t remember a time where the birth of a local industry group has been met with the excitement and anticipation that the birth of our (Richmond) Social Media…
So just about everyone who knows I’m on Twitter and that we at THP are helping clients with social network, ask me the same questions….”How does Twitter work?” or “I don’t understand how it can apply to my business?” or “I tried it but all it is, is people telling other people what they ate for breakfast.” So here’s a real world example of how Twitter works. A couple of days ago we posted a social media release about the Virginia Education Wizard, a client…
Thanks. To everyone. I’m back in Richmond after spending one of the worst weeks of my life in Florida. My dad had two surgeries (one on his leg, one open heart) and while he is still struggling with post-op issues and a lingering MRSA infection, things seem to be getting better every day. As many know, I was giving daily updates on my Facebook status and on Twitter. For some of you, this might have seemed a little self serving, but it proved to be…
So now we have a number of clients for whom we are doing various different levels of social marketing work. We’re listening, evaluating, posting content, getting it to migrate, counseling on blogging and tweeting. YEA! But there’s a nagging question that they are asking and I’m frankly asking myself. How do to truly measure a return on the social marketing investment? Admitting you don’t know the easy answer to a question on a blog read by your clients is a risk, I know. But I want…
We lost a Fan today. And given the feedback on the new Facebook and how just about everything posted on Fan Pages ends up in the individual Fan’s stream, I can’t say I blame people for wanted to cut down the chatter and the clutter. We have been experimenting on the THP Fan Page, as I’m guessing others have as well. When every time you post a client’s success ora status update it ends up being blasted to fans, that’s at least one or two posts a…
Record breaking response to my blog post earlier this week about Facebook Fan Pages and how they compare to online newsrooms. The were also a number of comments including from some in the online newsroom business who are friends of THP. In the spirit of providing equal time, here are two of the comments from experts in the online newsroom field. The first is from Eric Schwartzman who created iPressroom. We actually had Eric come to Richmond about a year ago for a social media…