Social Media...on the road?

The fast-growing world of social media is accessible on pretty much any device that we could want, but are cars equipped with social media capabilities too much?

We've all seen the commercials that advertise certain cars adjusting the temperature, or playing your favorite songs just with a simple voice command, but is that where car companies need to draw the line? Just last month, Toyota created a "Toyota Friend" network to connect with other Toyota drivers. They have also been working with Microsoft on a system called Entune, that allows drivers to access Bing and Pandora. General Motors has also added a feature where drivers can view real-time Facebook status updates.

In a recent article from the Wall Street Journal, they interviewed U.S. Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, on the matter of these changes. "There's absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car, it's not necessary". Along with lobbying against automakers and these new social media features, LaHood is pushing for them to create public service campaigns against texting and driving. So far, BMW and Subaru are the only companies that have done so.

Do you think LaHood is stunting the growth of technology, or is he right in saying these new features would just further distract drivers?

Building Your Brand Online

It is an entrepreneur's job to take a risk to put themselves out there in order to establish their own business or venture. In order to do so, they must make their presence known. In "10 Ways For Entrepreneurs To Build Brands Online", Benjamin Lang discusses how using the internet and its variety of resources has proven to be a useful tool in a time when social media is the premiere method in attracting clients. Below are a few of Lang's pointers:

• A Custom Short URL-If you often share links on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, a custom short URL can be very useful in making your name known. Whenever your link is retweeted or shared, people will see your personal short URL and associate it with a certain brand, that is, your brand.
  
• Social Email Signatures-By making your preferred social media site part of your email signature, you will make it easier for the public to get a hold of you personally and learn more about your company.
  
• Guest Posting-By posting on other blogs, you will be able to tap into that blog's clientele and gain a more broad range of potential clients, as well as build relationships with blogs that can advertise your company in the future.
  
• Newsletters-This is a good way to gain followers. By sending out monthly newsletters filled with interesting topics and future plans, you will catch the eye of your readers, who will in turn forward your newsletter to their friends, thus providing you with a ever-expanding network.

Would you use these suggestions to build your brand? Do you have anything to add? Do you think the Internet is the best way to build a potential clientele?

To read the rest of Benjamin Lang's pointers, click here.

Musicians and Social Media

Social media has forever revolutionized how we communicate with one another. Whether it is for personal reasons, business efforts, or promotion, social media has positioned itself as the dominant means of communication for a wide range of industries.

The music world has not been immune to this shift. The rapid growth of social media has allowed musicians, specifically those who are up-and-coming, to raise awareness of their existence in a way that was nonexistent merely 10 years ago. Musicians who have yet to make it are able to share their work beyond the scope of their own social circles and cities. Through the use of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube, young artists are able to post their work and share it with the entire world in effort to achieve their ultimate goal, a deal. “Facebook is my resume,” said Aj Curry, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist from Rochester, NY. Not only can artists share their music, they are also able to market and create an image of themselves and the songs they represent. Considering that the current state of music is more fixated on production and marketing and less so on lyrics and quality of the composition, social media provides a necessary tool for the young musician to appeal to the capricious industry.

Prior to the explosion of social media, musicians were forced to do some serious legwork to achieve the results that YouTube or Facebook are capable of. Young musicians had to physically go to their potential audiences. Whether it was handing out CD's on a street corner, or incessant phone calls to bar managers in hopes of securing a venue, musicians had to put forth a great amount of time and effort to get their music out there, a strategy that is very time consuming and expensive. Social media has relieved artists of some of that burden. Artists are now able to reach a wide audience through more convenient methods. Evan Prewitt, a guitarist from Rochester, NY, said that his Facebook page has allowed him to easily promote upcoming shows. “I could not imagine trying to promote my shows without Facebook, I love it,” said Prewitt. “It’s the only way you can be in contact with everybody without being in contact with anybody,” said Curry. According to Curry, the use of social media has generated a faster growth of his fan base than when he originally began making music almost 10 years ago, a time when social media had not yet burst onto the scene.

But is this shift in the way we communicate truly beneficial to an artist who has yet to make it? The extreme popularity of these sites and the excessive amount of information posted everyday makes it easy to comprehend how a young musician may struggle to become noticed. How can an artist distinguish him or herself from the masses that constantly saturate social media sites with their work? It’s a daunting task to say the least, but one that is necessary in today’s world.

Curry noted that the accessibility of these sites has resulted in a large quantity of bad music being posted on the Internet. The voluminous amount of poor to mediocre music being pushed on social media websites has made it hard for good music to get noticed, a truth that has frustrated the young musician. But, according to Curry, persistence is the key. “Facebook really allowed me to prove my musical capabilities,” said Curry. Despite his frustrations with the continual exposure of subpar music, Curry credits much of his current success to his use of social media, attributing much of his recent fan growth and hype around the Rochester area to the quotidian postings of his songs and music videos on his Facebook page.

Prewitt expressed a similar sentiment. He too is frustrated with the mind-numbing music filling social media sites that make it difficult for quality, underground musicians to make a name for themselves. But ultimately, Prewitt feels that if you are good enough, you can separate yourself from the artists who prematurely release their work online. “I think what it boils down to is you can’t jump the gun until the product is right, especially if you’re just starting off,” said Prewitt. Much like Curry, Prewitt has increased his fan base and been offered to play gigs around Rochester because of his social media usage.

To learn more about Aj Curry’s or Evan Prewitt’s music, please visit their Facebook pages. You can also follow Aj on Twitter @AjCurry.


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Evan Galusha.

Dove's Not-So-Clean Ad Campaign

Nothing illustrates the power of the blogosphere more perfectly than a textbook PR dilemma. The Dove soap brand recently came under fire for a national ad that many claim to be racist. Before I delve into the crisis, take a glance at the ad for yourself:


See anything questionable? The ad is for Dove’s VisibleCare Body Wash, which claims to improve the overall appearance of women’s skin in just one week. Dove’s media headache began when the blog ‘Copyranter’ posted the following about the ad: “Dove body wash turns Black women into Latino women into White women.” The post explained how the ad shows black skin as bad and white skin as good, by having the skin color get progressively lighter by the ‘after’ or better side of the ad.

This dilemma brings up the question of how PR professionals should react to negative blog or social media posts. Fight back and risk saying something offensive or let the people talk and spread rumors? In this case, Dove kept a low profile by simply replying once to the original blog saying,

“…The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week. All three women are intended to demonstrate the ‘after’ product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”

Little action on Twitter has been taken by Dove, and their Facebook page has been managed by one Dove commenter to defend the company. In my opinion, Dove handled this situation very responsibly, by replying to the original blog that started the chatter and to no one else. The new world of blogging creates these new types of problems for PR professionals everyday, and crises such as these are prime examples of how to deal with them.

Personally, the ad should have never seen the light of day, because when looked at closely it does give off a negative image towards darker skinned women. Looking at the ad again, it would make much more sense to have all of the women standing under the ‘after’ sign, showing that women of all skin colors are beautiful.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

Fundraising for Social Good

As the nonprofit cheerleader and advocate that I am, one of my favorite twitter feeds and blogs is @Nonprofitorgs (http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com). One of the most critical responsibilities tasked to nonprofits is raising sufficient funds for the organization. Thanks to social media, nontraditional approaches are allowing nonprofits to reach wider audiences, gain more awareness and visibility and therefore increase overall funds raised. The blog Nonprofit Tech 2.0 posted a great article on 6 online fundraising tools that many may have never heard of:

1. Swipegood: This resource enables donors to round up all of their debit and credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and allows them to donate the difference to the charity of their choice. It's an easy and effective way for people all around the world to put good use to their spare change.

2. Philanthroper: Just like Living Social or Groupon, Philanthroper is a daily deal site, although instead of selling you pizza for half price, the website shares a different nonprofit's mission and story daily. If you like what you read, you have the choice to donate $1 to the organization.

3. GiveBack: GiveBack allows donors to create their own foundations (giving portfolios) where they can follow their favorite nonprofits, donate directly, and allocate dollars raised through their online shopping portal.

4. Give A Tweet: Give a Tweet was founded to leverage the real-time power of Twitter to make it easy to donate to non-profits. Donors can either give directly to nonprofits, or match another donor’s gift. It’s a creative way for business brands on Twitter to get recognized for their philanthropy.

5. Cauzoom: Cauzoom allows nonprofits to create projects/cauzs that can then be crowdfunded or endorsed by individuals and businesses.

6. BroadCause: BroadCause is a social good platform where individuals can join cause communities and nonprofits can create wish lists, events, and fundraise. Integrated with Twitter, there is also a corporate giving component where brands can sponsor your nonprofit’s cause.

Social media is revolutionizing the way nonprofits conduct their fundraising campaigns and it provides these organizations with brand new tools that will enable them to continually increase their donor base and overall funds. Nonprofits have always had to struggle with having their message heard, however with the development of social media, their messages are not only heard but easily spread around the world.

What other fundraising tools do you use when supporting nonprofits or raising funds for your own organization? Share with us!

Representative Weiner’s Big Twitter Problem

United States Representative Anthony Weiner experienced a bit of a problem over the weekend, possibly in more ways than one. Rep. Weiner, who is best known as a Democratic firebrand in congress, may now be known for something more evocative of his last name.

The vocal New York congressman is an avid Twitter user. Many of his tweets are personal in nature, ranging from everyday life situations to politics and sports. On Friday, May 27, Weiner’s Twitter account posted a tweet that took personal to a whole new level. The tweet, which was sent to a 21 year-old college student, contained a photograph of a man’s bulging underwear.

Weiner removed the post from his account almost immediately. A few days later issued a statement dismissing the issue and claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked. He told reporters that the post was a prank but he did not file a police report. He instead hired a lawyer and refused to talk anymore about the issue, a move that helped to fuel the growing media speculation about the incident.

On Wednesday, June 1, Weiner broke his silence and confirmed to an MSNBC host that the post was a prank. However, he could not say with certainty that the photograph posted was not of him. Luckily for Weiner, the recipient of the photograph wrote an article for the New York Daily News that identified a probable culprit and debunked many rumors that were floating the media.

Weiner should have fully addressed the issue sooner through his Twitter account and media relations operation. Trying to ignore an issue will almost always have negative consequences, especially for a public official. Finally, Weiner’s claim that he did not know whether the picture in question was of him or not is a horrible media relations move. That blunder may drive future speculation and media coverage. Weiner may get lucky this time, but in the future he needs to address gaffes sooner and more effectively to avoid a public relations crisis that could end his political career.

Is it Worth it to Interact?

This past week The New York Times experimented by replacing its Twitter automatic feed with its social media editors Liz Heron and Lexi Mainland. The experiment started off by @LHeron and @LexiNYT asking, "What do you want to see from us?" a standard question that generated numerous promising responses. Heron states in the article "Why The New York Times replaced its Twitter ‘cyborg’ with people this week" by Poynter, "This week’s experiment is about changing the perception, and it’s about being a little more strategic about what we put out there — finding the most engaging content."

While The Times is just starting on the human interaction journey, the Wall Street Journal has been interacting with its followers since January 2010. Zach Seward, the man behind @WSJ, explains how the activity increased instantaneously. So why is New York Times just starting to interact with its followers? Short answer, man power. The big issue that New York Times is trying to tackle is determining whether hiring full time employees as well as editors and even an entire staff dedicated to social media necessary. While hesitant in taking the human interaction lead, Zach Seward has proven the extra work in payroll is necessary.
 
The results are not in but the future of The New York Times rests in the follower's hands.