Gone Vloggin'

Hi Everyone,

You will now find me at http://blog.limelitepr.com/ where I am now vlogging.

See you there!

Jeanette

Where Does Social Media Belong?

I must thank Twitter and everyone on it for continuing to expand upon the conversation that was generated from my previous post. Someone I follow on Twitter brought up the excellent point that I've singled out PR as the sole profession at fault here. She's right - I did. With that, I double-checked the letter that my friends received received and sure enough, the PR side of the agency wasn't credited - it was the Social Media Director. So, I stand corrected for blaming bad strategy & execution on their PR personnel. (But that still doesn't change my opinion that it is a flawed strategy with bad execution.)

But this did bring up a couple great points which I'd love to discuss further:

1. Who should manage social media outreach - PR, Marketing, WOM Agencies?

2. What is the definition of PR in today's social media world?

My fellow tweeter questioned "why is poor outreach always blamed on PR." I replied that typically PR agencies are assigned the outreach while marketing agencies develop a strategy. I want to clarify that PR does need to be part of any marketing strategy so we PR folk either work closely with those agencies or we develop client-direct PR strategies. One of our roles as PR practitioner is to understand how to effectively manage the communication flow and which tools are the best used in the process. What I'm trying to say is that when it comes to outreach, it typically lands in the laps of PR professionals, however she is right -  in today's multidisciplinary environment, all personnel under the communications umbrella should be held accountable. At very least I would expect that anyone managing social media outreach on behalf of a client should be communicating with other members of the communications team (including PR) to ensure the strategy and execution align with the brand itself.

The PRSA definition of public relations is "the practice of managing the communication between an organization and its publics. Public relations gains an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment." So in the traditional sense, one would assume that tweeting to gain exposure would fall under the PR category. 

There's an awesome post by @JasonFalls of Social Media Explorer that I feel presents a great argument for SM being handled by PR practitioners -"PR as social media owner in many ways also addresses the concern of the online community that marketers don’t belong. Assuming we can trim away the corporate speak and manage transparent communications efforts in years to come, public relations representatives are the least likely to sell and most capable of speaking as humans to humans, rather than up-selling hucksters to “consumers.”

So now its your turn, what is your definition of PR and do you think Social Media 'belongs' to any specific practice?

What Not to Do

In case you missed it, Twitter was all a-buzz yesterday when @TassimoCanada launched a twitter giveaway which stated:

“ONLY 50 TASSIMO Systems remaining for Twitter Giveaway. DM your email if you want one! You must live in Canada and have 500 + followers!”

(Now, don’t think that you have been living under a rock because you haven’t heard of Tassimo because I expect 95% of the twitter entrants hadn’t. Tassimo is a Kraft coffee machine that has “patent barcode technology” that will brew a cup precisely each time.)

In a subsequent tweet, @TassimoCanada responded to a mom blogger and stated:

“we are trying to give TASSIMO Systems to as many moms as we can ... thank you for spreading the word!”

Like all the other entrants, I was excited because …well, who doesn’t love free stuff! But what intrigued me the most was the strategy and execution of this PR campaign and the fact they are trying to target moms. On a base level, there were many flaws to this campaign, which I believe will ultimately negatively affect the brand.

1. EXECUTION: Twitter 101: As many of the entrants pointed out, you cannot DM someone if they aren’t following you back. So everyone (including me) sent a general tweet to @TassimoCanada which first pointed out that you can’t DM them but that you wanted to be considered. The big problem was that their entry guideline was flawed by a lack understanding of how Twitter works on a basic level, which can translate into a negative for brand value.

They also created a storm in a teacup, which could have gotten much worse. By singling out moms on twitter, a few dads got up in arms about why they couldn’t enter. The company quickly rectified the situation by offering a machine to a couple dads but this brings me to my second point -

2. NO TRANSPARENCY & GUIDELINES: One of the #1 rules to any contest is the entrant needs to understand how you are going to choose the winner and make it clear for the entrant on how to submit their entry in order to have the best chance of winning. Well, I met the criteria of being a mom, having over 500 followers (I have 1100 in fact) and being Canadian but somehow, I didn’t get picked. Yet 3 (count them 3!) of my friends did and 2 of them entered AFTER I did. Before you say I have sour grapes, I should mention that I have a kick-ass Saeco coffee machine (valued over $1,000) so I didn’t really want or need a machine. What irritated me was that no one truly understood that they were being judged on; obviously there must have been some other criteria than what they said otherwise I would have won.

3. RESULTS & MEASURABILITY: As I stated 3 friends have won machines. They received a nice long email from the PR company that stated they received 1 of 300 machines for free. But what shocked me was that they stated they ‘chose’ them because they “love to drink and talk all-things coffee and tea.” - which they don’t and that definitely wasn’t made apparent as part of the original criteria to enter into the contest. The letter goes on to say that they “did a search for active bloggers and social media enthusiasts in Canada and you were within our top list”. Hmmm, since when did tweeting that you want a free item make you an active blogger and ‘social media enthusiast’? What this says to me is they are looking for quantity over quality of results (assuming that results are defined as number of tweets, number of blog posts).

Sure, the PR company generated a bunch of twitter posts but they are all based on a FREE value proposition – which is an easy route to take and could actually hurt the company’s overall brand value. 

I also know that at no point in their communication with the winners has the PR company defined any obligation to post or tweet about the machine once they receive it. Perhaps they are hoping that everyone who receives a machine will do it, but I know from experience that unless you give people direct instruction and deadlines the novelty of the item quickly dissipates and so does the ‘buzz’ factor.

What are the measurements of such a program – number of tweets, number of blog posts? When I create a program I include those numbers as part of the measurement but I have quickly realized that the value of a campaign is in the quality of interaction and conversation with a brand – not in the amount of posts or tweets it receives. PR is about brand recognition and equity that is obtained through continuous, relentless and prominent presence in the media and key influencers. You cannot obtain this by ‘spraying’ a bunch of products into the twitter-sphere.

4. A "FREE" PROPOSITION DEVALUES A BRAND: At the core of my ‘beef’ with this campaign is the fact that when you give something away for free, you diminish its value. I’m sure this machine is great for rushed moms & dads who are trying to get out in the morning but instead of describing the benefits of how this machine will save time, save money and ultimately making these parents lives easier so they should consider BUYING a machine, they are doing us Canadians a favour and giving them away for free instead. In other words, why buy it when you can get it free!

As you can tell, I’m up-in-arms about this so I’m committing to the fact that my next post will be on how I would have done it differently. It will be a few quick tips so that hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes as these big players did. Stay tuned!

Necessity is the Canadian Mother’s Mobile Device

New Survey Reveals Canadian Moms' Mobile Technology Habits

Vancouver, BC/Toronto, ON (September 9, 2009) – As CEO of the household, busy moms are leveraging their mobile technology to help them be more productive and stay connected. And as Canadian moms prepare for their family’s return to a demanding schedule, 24% are also considering an upgrade of the item or service they have deemed a necessity – their mobile device/cell phone service.

This statistic is just one of the results of a nationwide survey conducted by SavvyMom.ca and limelitePR which set out to investigate Canadian moms’ mobile device habits.  The results of the survey, which collected the opinions of SavvyMom readers from across Canada, reveal that 70% of Canadian moms consider their mobile devices a necessity in order to stay organized and manage communication with friends, family and work. Not surprisingly, the device of choice of 30% of respondents was a multi-functional device or Smart Phone such as an iPhone, Blackberry or Palm.

The survey garnered over 1,000 respondents from coast to coast and polled Canadian moms on their mobile technology and how they most commonly use it. Respondents included stay at home moms (22%), work from home moms (13%), work outside of home moms (42%), as well as retired, pregnant and maternity-leave moms (23%).

More Than Just a Phone

Although 75% of Canadian moms are primarily using their mobile devices to text and talk with friends, 32% say they use it as a camera, 28% to stay organized, 15% to play music and 15% for web surfing.

Additionally, 32% say they let their children play with their mobile device, with 53% choosing “traveling in the car” as the primary location for this activity.

The Top 5 Mobile Applications Downloaded by Moms:

1.    entertainment or novelty apps for moms (51%), with Facebook being one of the most popular choices

2.    schedule & calendar gadgets (45%)

3.    email applications (42%), Gmail was the most common choice

4.    Maps or GPS (39%), with Google Maps repeatedly mentioned

5.    entertainment apps for kids (25%)

Additional Mobile Moms Survey highlights include:

• 30% use it as a direct link to kids, nanny or babysitter (keeping the kids close)
• 27% of moms said they would like to make online purchases from their mobile device
• 25% have downloaded mobile applications
• 53% discover new mobile device applications via friends and other moms, highlighting the power of word of mouth when it comes to spreading the word about these tools

“While it’s not surprising that the typical Canadian mom has integrated mobile technology into her daily life, understanding the value she attaches to such a device provides marketers with the potential to engage with Canadian moms in a new way,” says Minnow Hamilton, Managing Editor, SavvyMom.ca

“We felt it was important to get a Canadian perspective on mobile technology within the mom market. The survey results demonstrate that Canadian moms view mobile technology as an integral part of their lives or more importantly, as a necessary tool that helps them save time and stay connected,” says Jeanette Miller, Principal of limelitePR.

About limelitePR limelitePR is a boutique public relations firm that is dedicated to creating a buzz and connecting leading brands with moms across Canada and the USA. By conducting traditional media relations, blogger outreach, and creating influencer mom-market activities and programs, the limelitePR team develops an integrated PR approach that will generate brand awareness at a consumer level, which directly increases sales and maintains brand recognition.

About SavvyMom Media SavvyMom is the trusted resource for time-crunched moms across Canada, delivering tried and tested practical solutions to everyday dilemmas. SavvyMom’s bi-weekly email newsletter reaches 30,000 moms across Canada. More information on SavvyMom Media and its subsidiary programs can be found at www.savvymom.ca, www.momentrepreneuraward.com, and www.sharesavvy.ca.

-30-

For more information contact:

Jeanette Miller, principal limelitePR

O: 778.786.1495  M: 778.552.2949

E : jeanette@limelitepr.com  T: @limelitePR

 

Manage work communication outside the workplace		28.8%
Text and talk with friends		75.1%
Download podcasts		3.0%
Play music		14.7%
Web surfing		15.3%
Distraction or entertainment		17.3%
As a direct link to my kids		22.8%
As a direct ink to my nanny or babysitter		8.9%
To stay organized		28.4%
As a camera		32.5%

The Essentials to Getting Coverage and Creating a Buzz: PR PREP

This is the first in a series of posts on how to create a buzz for your company via PR. This first post details the items you need to get you started.

Hi-res (300 dpi) photos of your products. These should be on a white background and in focus – if you have a product with labels then make sure when you zoom in you can read the label clearly. If you are service-based company then you need hi-res photos of images of you and images of what you represent (i.e. if you are a money expert and the PR campaign angle is about offering quick tips on saving money then have pictures of people pulling their hair out, sitting at a kitchen table looking over bills, enviously looking at a luxury family car). If the photos are too large to email then look at ways to share the photos via services like YouSendIt.

A press kit. Companies always ask if they really need a press kit. The short answer – YES. The media will not take you seriously if you do not put the effort into providing them with information on you, your company, your products/services, price, and distribution (retailer list). Have a professionally designed press kit which means get a graphic designer to lay it out (not your brother Tom who can do wonders in MS Word). The good thing is that a press kit can double as sales kits which means you (or your sales reps) can use it to solicit new accounts; the investment goes beyond media outreach. 
Bloggers are more forgiving so if you are planning on doing a blogger outreach campaign then you can typically get away with supplying them with photos and a brochure (along with a pitch letter). However if you are including e-newsletters in your blogger list then note that they do require a press kit.

Samples. Be prepared to send samples of your product or provide your services for free (if that’s possible). Bloggers and editors require samples; don’t expect them to give you coverage based on photos. Better yet, for bloggers, offer them samples or a discount they can offer to their readers.
If you are service then think about ways you can offer them your expertise. This could include quick tips, free tickets to your speaking engagements or cross-promotion of your blog posts.

Target list. Whether you are approaching media outlets or bloggers, you will need a contact list. This requires time to research the outlets and read/watch/listen to past articles/posts/reports in order to find out who the best person to pitch, if they write straight product reviews or take a larger look at an industry surrounding the product/service. For traditional media outlets, target the reporters or assistant editors vs senior editors.
Build your list in Excel with multiple columns headings: outlet name, web address, contact name, contact email, contact phone, address, twitter ID, facebook page, statistics (subscribers, number of followers, etc).

Press release or social media release. This is a debatable essential. Bloggers don’t want to receive press releases but some will accept social media releases; the media are inundated with press releases but most of the time they don’t read them right away unless they know the sender or company. Sometimes a well written email can take the place of a press release. We recommend writing press releases for events, a product launch or if you are planning a wide distribution (via a service like Cision).
In the end, a press release is simply a tool used within a process, but it’s the process that really counts.

Next post will be on establishing a benchmark to determine success.

Cross-Promotional PR Programs with Canadian Mom Media

When trying to attract new customers and raise awareness about your product/service,  I regularly encourage my clients to consider cross-promotional relationships with media outlets, key influencers (mom bloggers), like businesses and other organizations. These type of relationships are a win-win situation that cost nothing and typically only require an exchange of in-kind services or products.

We recently took this same strategy for limelitePR and have implemented three unique cross-promotional relationships with two of Canada's leading online mom-focused publications:

This month SavvyMom.ca launched their third annual Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award and as you will see, limelitePR is one of the top 5 prizes for the grand prize winner!

Grand Prize – Take Your Business to the Next Level with $15,500 in Prizes!

The overall national winner of the SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year award will be crowned Canada’s Top Mom Entrepreneur and receive our grand prize, a custom package of cash and services valued at $15,500 designed to improve every aspect of a growth-oriented business and help the winner take her business to the next level. The grand prize includes:

• a cash prize of $5000 for investment in the business


• a Q & A feature on Todaysparent.com


• a full-year business mentorship with Canadian Sitter Inc. founder, Martha Scully, winner of the 2008 SavvyMom Mom Entrepreneur of the Year Award


• a workplace productivity assessment and program courtesy of Clear Concept Inc. valued at $3000


• a consultation and 90-day Action Plan courtesy of Limelite PRvalued at $6000


• a search engine optimization (SEO) assessment courtesy of Eighty8 Online 
  valued at $1500

In the fall 09, SavvyMom.ca and limelitePR will also be conducting reader surveys to learn more about Canadian moms' habits. First up is mobile technology - what brands are Canadian moms loyal to, what kind of applications are they downloading, why do they use it. Stay tuned for more details and results.

Finally, as we know the best way to interact with moms is to be part of their community and create a special experience that taps into their core values, feeding their desire to be better moms.  In partnership with yoyomama.ca (Vancouver's leading e-newsletter for mums on-the-go) limelitePR will develop custom interactive brand experiences that will raise brand awareness and develop customer loyalty. This grassroots influencer program is an out-of-the-box results oriented program that allows you to personally interact with yoyomama's loyal readers (across the Lower Mainland) and create a buzz within the mom community. Benefits include the ability to distribute samples, coupons, promotional items; cross-promote with local retailers and other like-businesses; develop strong strategic partnerships and effectively promote a unique marketing initiative to acquire customers.

Want more info? Contact limelitePR www.limelitepr.com 

Report: Growing Number of Moms Using Social Media

Mediaweek.com just published some great insight into moms' social media vs traditional media habits thanks to a new research report released by BabyCenter.

According to the article and the report, 63 percent of women report being active on social networks. When compared to a similar study done in 2006 when just 11 percent claimed to be social net regulars, we can see that moms' priorities and community is continuing to change. Most also claim that as their personal time is constrained, they end up sacrificing time with magazines and newspapers compared to before they had children. BabyCenter data indicates that "women with new babies at home cut back on media consumption by as much as three hours, with print taking the biggest hit. According to the report 49 percent of respondents claim to read magazines less after giving birth, and 46 percent said the same about their newspaper usage."

The article and report go on to details that "moms develop two distinct friendship circles: their real friends and their mommy friends - who they may or may not have actually met in person. Because these women are so social, and so information hungry, they often meet other mothers in similar child-rearing stages on sites like BabyCenter and a variety of mommy blogs."

To read the complete article visit: Report: Growing Number of Moms Using Social Media

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