Facebook Dislike Button is Real -- And I Like It!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:51:00 +0000

Interesting article in the Washington Post. Perhaps you heard the news yesterday about a fake Facebook "dislike" button that quickly spread virally across the service. What you may not know is that there really is a legitimate Facebook Dislike Button in the form of an add-on for Firefox. (Thankfully, an Internet Explorer version is imminent as well.)

Developed by FaceMod, the Official Facebook Dislike Button does about what you'd expect: adds a Dislike option right alongside the Like button.

Yelping at Yelp!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:30:00 +0000

This article isn't exactly new, but it's worth looking at Yelp! again. Business owners get bent out of shape about negative reviews. I choose to look at a negative comment as a chance to communicate with the customer. Just responding to someone's concern can be very powerful. The trick is to detach your ego from the response. Their comments usually reflect more on them than you.

Yelp! What happens when an online review site itself becomes the subject of harsh public scrutiny? Such is the case of Yelp, the review site that carries the motto, “Real People. Real reviews.” In recent weeks, Yelp has been hit with three class-action lawsuits from businesses claiming that Yelp sales representatives tried to press the businesses into advertising by offering — or threatening — to manipulate reviews. Jeremy Stoppelman, a Yelp co-founder and its chief executive, has seen the tables of Web 2.0 turned against his company as angry business owners have taken to Internet boards to pan Yelp. A condensed version of a conversation with Mr. Stoppelman follows.

Facebook at Bottom of Customer Satisfaction

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:01:00 +0000

A recent consumer index by ForeSee Results, ranks Facebook at the bottom in terms of customer satisfaction of all the major social media sites with just 64 out of 100 points. Google by contract, was at the top with 80 out of 100. Highest, yes, but down seven points from 2009.

I guess I'm a little surprised, but just a little. Facebook tends to be talked about most when it comes to privacy issues and has a fondness for revamping its site. Does that make Facebook vulnerable to defections? It would seem not, as FB is celebrating its 500 millionth user worldwide and seems to have overcome threats of mass exoduses by disgruntled users.

It is a bit ironic that I got wind of this survey from a Google alert, delivered to my AOL account, and that it will be broadcast to many of you through my Twitterfeed link to my Facebook account. And, of course, I haven't been particularly thrilled with the lack of access to customer service reps, but that seems to be a pervasive problem in the online world.

You can see this article on ABC.com for recap of the rankings.

Keep Your Cool

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:36:00 +0000

I liked this post on Bloomberg Businessweek. People, don't let your public behavior hurt your brand.

I’m often called to do crisis communications work for major corporations that find themselves in a bind or damaged by an event in their industry. Unfortunately, by the time I get the call, the company has already missed the most important lesson: The best way to prevent a brand-damaging experience is to avoid doing something or saying something harmful in the first place. Small business owners are especially vulnerable. In today’s world, where people consider themselves "citizen journalists," your behavior could easily find its way onto public forums or social media networks such as YouTube, Twitter, or Yelp.

As a business owner, you are your brand. An angry tirade or rant can leave a negative impression on your customers. For example, the other week I saw a well-known real estate agent standing outside a local restaurant yelling and cursing into his phone. He was standing near the alley of the restaurant, close to the parking lot, probably thinking nobody would see him. He was so loud, however, that he called attention to himself. It was clear that he was yelling at someone he knew (his wife or daughter). Not for a minute would I ever consider using him as a realtor after witnessing his behavior. He might be the best real estate agent in the country, but in that moment he forever tarnished his brand without saying a word to me. Saying something in anger is often the easiest way to lose friends and supporters.

Here’s a second example. Several weeks ago I boarded a cross-country flight and as happens so often, we were delayed on a runway at New York’s JFK Airport. When the pilot announced the delay (45 minutes to an hour), a man next to me in his late 40s made his anger very public, cursing and yelling so loudly that passengers a few aisles away turned in our direction. I sunk in my seat so nobody would think I was with the guy having a meltdown. A couple of hours into the flight we started talking and Mr. Meltdown, a consultant, began to pitch me on his services. I thought to myself: He’s got to be kidding. After the behavior that I had just seen, I’d be scared to be in the same office with him. The consultant’s behavior "off stage"—when he wasn’t working—had ruined his on-stage performance.

These are tough times economically. Anger is rampant. Many people are out of work, losing their homes, afraid of losing their jobs. As a small business owner, you might be seeing your revenue and profits fall as customers spend less. I understand why people are angry. It spills over into their personal lives as well. But you must guard against meltdowns, especially in public. If anything, always have a smile on your face, a spring in your step, and a kind word. You are your brand.

Social Media Inside Companies?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:17:00 +0000

There are some interesting points in this article on Forbes.com. While some companies are banning the use of Facebook and Twitter while on company time, others are using it to communicate within their organizations. That's obviously very different from the inside out model that we're all used to.

So, does it make sense to use a public medium to communicate company goals, information and ethics?

Are Newspapers Dead Yet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:56:00 +0000

I love On the Media. For anyone in communications, it's a must. One of the points that I thought was important was how legacy news organizations are still struggling to find a way to make online profitable. Some are putting more behind subscription walls. The problem is, if you make your content hard to access, and with the overwhelming amount of content out there, won't you just lose your audience? The trick is to determine what content you provide has value to your readers and focus on that.

Facebook Hits 500 Million

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:35:00 +0000

This is probably no big surprise to anyone, but it still amazes me. Facebook can claim 1/12 of the world's population as users. No doubt, a percentage of these accounts are no longer active, or the users have died (Take a look at the New York Times on July 17 titled Ghosts in the Machine for reference). Still, it's just mind boggling.

The social networking phenomenon is expecting to grab its 500 millionth user this week, according to Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman. With just about a half-billion users, Facebook has become a social networking powerhouse that has helped to transform the way people use the Internet and connect with one another.

"Half a billion users is quite a milestone no matter how you look at it," said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group Inc. "This obviously makes Facebook the numero uno social network, which is a quite an accomplishment. However, they can't rest on their pixel laurels. Their position guarantees them additional scrutiny in terms of user security, appropriate content and stability."

Rumors have been circulating online that Facebook has some big plans to celebrate its 500 millionth user, but Noyes declined to say what they might be.

OK, Linking Your blogs and Twitter is Confusing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:39:00 +0000

I think I've got this working so that my blog posts will now appear on my Twitter page, but I'm not sure. We'll see.

Connect the Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:21:00 +0000

A colleague forwarded an interesting article on the rise of technology that allows companies to mine social media connections. Why? Becuase your friends are 5X more likely to buy the products that you do. AdWeek has done the most comprehensive article on this issue that I've seen so far.

The online social networking universe presents a tempting pool of data for advertisers to use in order to improve their targeting techniques. The rise of Facebook and other social destinations means that users are revealing their connections, their influences and tastes like never before. Information like this is obviously a potential gold mine for marketers. http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/e3i344418db676344f04f7c79ca447c6e96?pn=1

Cool LinkedIn Feature

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:15:00 +0000

If you use LinkedIn -- and I recommend that you do -- there is a handly little feature that I just discovered. It's called Company Buzz, and you can get to it by clicking edit on the Your Profile section. By signing up for this, you can pick up the Tweets on any company or organization. For example, I picked up conversations for the company that I work for, Altus Agency, as well as posts for a number of clients.

One thing to keep in mind, choose your keywords carefully. For example, I am on the Board of the Public Relations Society of America, Philadelphia Chapter. If I put in PRSA, I get hundreds of tweets from every chapter across the country. By narrowing it down to PRSA, Philadelphia, I was able to cut it to more relevant postings. It's easy enough to create another keyword, say, PRSA, Washington, if I want information from that area.

Why should I care, you ask? Well, it's important to keep an eye on what people are saying about your company if you want to be an effective advocate. Read twice as much as you write, I always say.

Check it out.

Do You Censor Yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:25:00 +0000

I just read this from Marcompass. It asks some important questions about self-epression and self-censorship on social media. As I see it, the answers to this question seem to divide into two camps,1) those for caution, and 2) those for free expression. This may be a false choice. Read on.

Do You Censor Yourself on Social Media?
By Joyce Dierschke March 12, 2009
It came up just the other day - someone emailed me a video that had an obvious political slant. I thought it was interesting and entertaining, so of course, my first reaction was to post it on my Facebook Page (They make it quite easy to do this - YouTube offers several options to share on your social media pates with just one click…one simple click…too easy?). I was just about to click on the “post” button when I a thought entered my head: Maybe not.
My Facebook Friends include friends, family, acquaintances, a few people I don’t know all that well, colleagues and clients. It’s not that I’m ashamed of my political views, quite the opposite actually. And I would have loved to share this video with the majority of my “friends”, but I began to think about the clients that are in my “friends”.
Now don’t get the wrong idea - there was nothing obscene or truly bad about this video, but it definitely leans to one side. Its not that I don’t want or even care, frankly, if anyone knows my political views. But I do understand that many topics, politics especially, can be very emotionally -more so I think, lately. I wouldn’t want to offend anyone or have them think I am some sort of radical…do you see where I’m going with this? Its not that I would offend anyone, but the possibility - remote as it was - stopped me from posting the video.
So I began to think - do others censor themselves on social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc.? The whole idea of Web 2.0 and social media is transparency - but does that mean that you should say and post whatever you want? Or because of the neverending/everlasting network that is the Internet, do we need to be even more careful about what we say and post?
My decision was not to post the video. But I wonder if that was the right thing to do or not. After all, it wasn’t incendiary, at least I don’t believe it was. I didn’t want to take the chance - and it was mostly my clients that I was concerned with - of someone thinking, “oh Joyce has those political views does she? well, since I don’t agree, I think I’ll find a new copywriter.” Actually, sounds silly now that I’ve written it out!
Still, I think it brings up a valid point about how we portray ourselves on line. Do we build specific on line personas? Or should we just be ourselves completely? And if we are not truly ourselves on line, what does that mean for social media transparency?
Have you ever censored yourself when using social media? Or do you believe that it is an anything goes medium? Perhaps you fall somewhere in the middle? Let me know your thoughts!

Strategic Planning for Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:53:00 +0000

I recently attended a meeting on strategic planning for social media. Instead of a session on the intricacies of Facebook and Twitter, it turned out to be a back-to-basics on how to write a strategic plan.

Now, that might seem like an oxymoron. After all, aren’t social media supposed to be organic in nature? Don’t you destroy the conversation when you introduce an official point of view? Well, as in all things, the answer is yes and no.

So, how can you plan for social media when they are supposedly uncontrollable? How can you influence the conversation and still keep it real? I will take up these questions in a series of 10 articles over the next few months. I plan to look at questions including:

Why and when should a business engage in social media?
How do you plan your social media?
What should your role be as a public relations professional in your client’s social media efforts (or conversely, what should you expect of your public relations professional?
Which social media should you use and how should you use them?
What are some do’s and don’ts in using social media?
Are social media really grassroots communications, or should you take an active role in managing them?
Are social media a unique form of communication or just a communications channel?
How and why should you respond to positive or negative comments on your social media?
How do you measure success in your social media programs?
How long will it take for this stuff to help your business?

While I plan to write these articles from a communications point of view, my intention is that these articles will make perfect sense to the business owner who wants to incorporate social media into their marketing. I welcome your comments, so please comment early and often, so that your voice can be heard.

Philadelphia PRSA Elects 2009 Board

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:51:00 +0000

The Philadelphia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, a professional association, elected its 2009 board.

Jack Horner, president of Jack Horner Communications Inc., Philadelphia, is president.
Michael Gross, president and co-owner of Anne Klein Communications Group, Marlton, is president-elect.

Anne Buchanan, president of Buchanan Public Relations, Ardmore, is vice president.

Sarah Casey, assistant account executive of Maven Communications, Philadelphia, is secretary.

Molly Wilson, account supervisor of Tierney Communications Inc., Philadelphia, is treasurer.
In addition, these directors-at-large were elected:

Barbara Link is a communications consultant at Link Ink, Penn Valley.

Jonathan Morein is director of public relations of the Altus Group, Philadelphia.

Lisa Packer is principal at Robinson Packer & Wannenburg, Wayne.

Jenny Shields is a consultant.

Candace Steele is senior director of product communications at Cephalon Inc., Frazer.

The Power of Sacrifice

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:32:00 +0000

What is the value of sacrifice? At a time when everyone is battening down the hatches, is it smart for companies to keep employees, even if it hurts the bottom line? Steve Korman, CEO of Korman Communities, thinks so.

Korman has taken out ads in the Philadelphia Inquirer and New York Times, imploring companies to put the long-term security of his workers ahead of stock-prices. While he acknowledges that companies that must make cuts to say in business may have no choice, However, he asks companies to refrain from making cuts just to improve their stock price.

I have to say that this is a pretty courageous stance. I'm sure that it won't make him many friends among the Pfizers and FedExes of the world (Korman holds stock in these and a number of other Fortune 500 companies). However, I believe that it will have positive PR value for him and his company.

Do you think it's a good PR move? Take a look at the article and decide.

Area executive urges firms: Resist layoffs
By Diane Mastrull

Inquirer Staff Writer
It was during a morning workout on his treadmill early last week that Steven Korman felt inspired to make a public appeal to business leaders:Resist layoffs - even if that means smaller profit or a drop in stock prices. Read article

How Sweet It is - Pairing Wine, Chocolate & PR

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Checkout this upcoming event at PRSA Philadelphia

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Join PRSA for a Special Valentine’s Day Event! Join us for a presentation by Philadelphia-based John & Kira’s Chocolates at the Union League of Philadelphia on Wednesday, February 11, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. - part PR success story, part wine and chocolate…what’s not to love? John & Kira’s Chocolates, a company built on food and fun, will introduce us to the brand and discuss how they managed growth brought on by successful media relations. Following a 2002 cover story on Gourmet Magazine, the company instantly grew from a two person shop to one that had 15 on staff in order to produce enough chocolates. Today, their mail-order gourmet chocolates are in demand around the world.

This presentation will be followed by a delicious and informative wine and chocolate pairing.
Bring your Valentine or colleagues interested in this entertaining presentation.

The Union League of Philadelphia140 S. Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19102
Business Attire
Event Registration
Member $45.00Non-Member $50.00
Register Now!

Be Smart About Copyright

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:38:00 +0000

The PRLawyer recently posted a very useful article on 14 ways to use your reprint to generate a buzz. I recommend that you read it – it gives some very good suggestions for getting more value from your media coverage.

Now, if you’re new to public relations, a reprint is a reproduced copy of a magazine or newspaper article. Since the material is copyrighted by the publisher, it is advisable to purchase the reprint rights, or the written permission to reproduce copyrighted material from the publisher. This is especially true if you plan to reproduce the article for marketing purposes, or if you plan to put a copy on your Web site.

Now, in my experience, clients often copy and mail or their articles on a regular basis. In truth, none have ever complained of running into problems with the publisher. Still, if you plan to send it to more than a few trusted friends or clients, I’d recommend looking into getting the rights. This can cost anywhere from a few hundred, to a few thousand dollars depending on the publication.

What you get for your money can vary. Some may provide you with a single, printed copy, while others will provide a PDF. Some may allow you to create the reprints, while others will hold the original and require that you use them for the reprinting. Make sure you know what their requirements are before you move forward.

Similarly, if you want to put a PDF of an article on your Web site, you may want to look into getting the reprint rights. Again, I have never known anyone to have an issue. In reality, you could probably take the article down if the publisher ever called you to complain.

Another way to do it is to post a link to the article if it appears online. Most print publications post their content online, so it’s pretty easy to do this. However, be aware that you run the risk of the link being broken if the publisher takes the content down.

For a good guideline on copyright, take a look at Copyright Compliance: How to Legally Share Newsclips by Burelles/Luce.

Got a question about copyright? Put it into the comments and I’ll get you an answer.

The People Have Spoken

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:40:00 +0000

A new survey confirms that Americans want, nay, they demand plain English in corporate communications. OK, that's probably not a big surprise to most of you. However, as communicators, how often do we slip into "corporate speak"? More often than we think or are comfortable admitting, I'd gather.

There is an especially powerful demand for clear language in financial documents. Do you support a law mandating plain English in corporate communications? Take a look at the survey.

Keep It Real

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:19:00 +0000

By now, you’ve probably heard about Belkin’s attempt to pump its products by paying for fake product views. If you haven’t, here’s thumbnail sketch. Michael Bayard, a business development representative for Belkin advertised for people to provide fake reviews of Belkin products using Mechanical Turk, a side business of Amazon.com. The blogosphere went wild with negative publicity, promoting Belkin CEO Mike Reynoso to post this letter on the Belkin Web site:

Belkin has always held itself to the highest standards of corporate ethics and its employees to the highest standards of personal integrity. Similarly, we support our online user community in discussion and reviews of our products, whether the commentary is good or bad. So, it was with great surprise and dismay when we discovered that one of our employees may have posted a number of queries on the Amazon Mechanical Turk website inviting users to post positive reviews of Belkin products in exchange for payment.

See the rest of this letter

OK, first of all, that’s a pretty good recovery. Why? The reason is that the furor mainly occurred in the blogosphere. Posting a letter online gives bloggers a reason to copy and post the letter to their blogs, thus ensuring that it is read by Belkin detractors.

Second, if you’re interested in getting online reviews and publicity, there are legitimate, if not more time consuming ways, to get visibility for your products. Here’s a short list:

Get legitimate reviews: provide access to your product to real consumers and ask them to post a review. Do not indicate how you would like them to write the review. And, for God’s sake, do not pay them to write the review!
Ask a trusted group of friends to review your product. However, you must make sure that 1) They are not connected in any way to your company or have any financial stake in your product, and 2) You do not influence the writing of the review in any way.

Given how rapidly the blogosphere blew the lid off of this story, it’s clear that bloggers have great influence. Pitch your product to them. Before you give access to your product, make sure you have a good story to tell. It’s not just about the product benefits. Make sure you know what the product means to your audience.

While traditional press is less influential than in the past, make sure you pitch traditional media outlets like newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, etc.

How Belkin manages this issue is essential to the company gets it’s branding back on track. If you’re promoting, remember, keep it real.

Emerging Principles for Web 2.0 Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:05:00 +0000

As a PR person who is absorbing everything about social media that I can, I recommend this article from PR Tactics. It gives a good overview of how Web 2.0 can fit into your customer relations program.

Emerging principles for Web 2.0 marketing
addthis_pub = 'prsaweb';

Dec.18, 2008
The technological tools of Web 2.0 — blogs, wikis, social-networking sites and other online communities, virtual worlds — offer marketers a remarkable new opportunity to engage consumers. But as The Wall Street Journal reports, most companies are still not well-versed in these new possibilities. With input from 30 executives at the forefront of experimenting with Web 2.0 tools, three college professors have identified a set of emerging principles for marketing.

See full article.

A Picture's Worth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:32:00 +0000

I was taking another look at Nadav Kander’s “Obama’s People”, in the Jan. 18 New York Times Magazine. It’s an amazing series of portraits that depict Barack Obama’s Cabinet.

I reacted very emotionally to the images. I really like Vice President Biden’s picture. It’s very warm and paternal. Hillary’s photo was also very human and likable. Rahm Emanuel was bored and irreverent. You can tell that he has sharp tongue.

So, why are so many of the staff stone faced and serious. Take Ellen Moran, the new White House Communications Director. She has this no-nonsense look that makes you start explaining yourself, even if you’re not involved. It’s like the clock is already running on your conversation. It’s not at all like her photo on Emily’s List, which is much warmer.

Deisree Rogers, the White House Secretary, also has this ultra-serious look. With her elegant chin and deep brown eyes she looks regal, queenly. It’s a look that reminds you to get to the point right away, or risk scorn. Interestingly I saw her at one of the Inauguration events. She was talking with someone and smiling. She looked positively beautiful and approachable (not that I did).

So, maybe it’s an obvious question, but why is it that the most powerful among us are free to smile, while those who are one the “business end” of the stick must present themselves as these armor-plated creatures that can make you self-conscious with glance?

Take a look and comment.

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