It's Weird That I'm Professional?

Because the public relations industry is slowly becoming synonymous with social media, we've been asked to "grow up" a little faster than our peers might have to. Our Twitter accounts have been spotless for years and Facebooks wiped clean, while our friends still post drinking pictures every weekend. I'll be the first to admit that it can be a bit frustrating having to censor myself online. You can attempt to have two profiles (one personal, one professional) but from my own experience, it became taxing and one profile always suffered more than the other. However, I try to look at it as an opportunity to write more creatively. Sure, there's probably an easier (and more profane) way to get your point across, but where's the challenge in that? At the heart of our job we're creative writers, so coming up with a bio sans #IWokeUpLikeThis shouldn't be that hard.

While you may gawk at the things your friends post online, they may equally be questioning you and your decision to not allow certain things on your profile. I'm sure you have all had the awkward or uncomfortable experience of having to ask your friend to un-tag you in a compromising photo or to refrain from using curse words in your comments. They look at you as if you had just asked them to give you their first child.

My purpose in writing about this is two-fold. First, I wanted you to know that you're not alone. Again, because of the profession we've chosen, we're required to mature a little faster in the way we present ourselves online -- and that's alright. In fact, I'm grateful for it. That brings me to my next purpose: to let you know that being a "grandma" or "grandpa" online is okay! I've realized that outside of our little public relations bubble there are still tons of students who either just started to create a LinkedIn profile or still aren't even aware of its importance. We all have friends that still think it's okay to say whatever they want because it's their profile, but luckily we know better. We don't have to learn the hard way by not snagging our dream job. We learned about the importance of online decorum the easy, by reading the PRowl blog of course!

So keep participating in your Twitter chats on personal branding, taking headshots for your LinkedIn, and blocking people on Facebook. Your friends may look at you a bit funny, but you'll also make employers take a second look.

Smartphones: Essential or too Invasive?

Everywhere you go you will see people on their smartphones, from iPhones to Androids to Windows phones. Go on popular sites like Imgur or Buzzfeed, and you'll see all sorts of funny pictures and memes about how technology is taking over our lives, how when people are 'hanging out' with friends they're really just staring at their phone. Most people will argue that their smartphone is essential to their everyday life, but if that's true then what did you do 6 years ago, when smartphones barely existed? Even beyond technology taking up everyone's attention, apps you have on your phone may be taking more information about you than you realize. 

I recently saw an article about how Facebook's mobile messenger app for smartphones recently got a major update, along with several new required permissions. For Android users, every time you update an app, the app may ask to be granted access to more parts of your phone, such as your pictures or account information. Generally, everyone just accepts all new permissions, because you can't update the app otherwise. According to this article, which I ironically found through Facebook, the Facebook messenger app now has access to people's cameras, microphones, text messages, and emails. This means that Facebook can see what your phone sees by remotely turning on your camera and looking through. Facebook can hear what your phone hears by turning on the microphone. And Facebook can see all your text messages and emails, and even send messages on your behalf, without you knowing. Now, Facebook probably wouldn't send anything or take a picture without you knowing, but they can still see everything you might not want them to see. 

Facebook, smartphones, technology, and a whole lot of other potential privacy invaders are very useful to public relations professionals, but at what cost does using them on-the-go come to you? Right now there doesn't seem to be any way besides totally disconnecting, which many people can't do, so I believe that more people have to become aware of this issue and start protesting this invasion of million's of people's privacy. 

Here's a link to the full article: http://thebull.cbslocal.com/2014/08/07/facebook-crosses-the-line-with-new-facebook-messenger-app/ 

What do you think about smartphone use? We'd love to hear from you!

It's Time to Start Reading the Terms of Service...Especially for Facebook

Earlier this week, a study was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in which researchers had manipulated Facebook user's news feeds in order to test for a phenomenon called 'emotional contagion'. Back in January 2012, for one week, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and Cornell University, paired with the Facebook data team to manipulate the news feeds of nearly 700,000 users. Using a computer algorithm, users were selected randomly, and then their news feeds were populated with more positive posts, or more negative posts. According to the study, users with more positive posts all over the news feeds posted more positively themselves, while the opposite was true for users with more negative posts. However, not a single Facebook user was told in advance, or even afterwards about their 'participation' in this study; so if you were feeling more happy or more depressed for a week in January of 2012, then this is probably why.

The real punchline to this story is that according to Facebook, everything they did complied with the terms of service and privacy policy that every user agrees to before creating a Facebook account. I think it's safe to say that the grand majority of people don't read those very long documents, myself included. If it really is true that Facebook's policies allow for user's data to be manipulated and studied in this way without their knowledge or consent, then it's time to at least start actually reading every terms of service you agree to, no matter how long. That's at the least, on the other end of the spectrum, many people are quitting Facebook and advocating for a general boycott of the social media giant.

Social media, and especially Facebook, have become essential parts of the lives of so many people, especially younger generations in college and high school. Having been a Facebook user myself for over 5 years, I can hardly imagine how I'd ever stay in contact with people without it. But, no matter how essential social media platforms force themselves to become in our lives, we have to remember that not too long ago, people got along just fine without them. In fact, whether or not you continue using Facebook and other sites, it's relaxing to get away from it once in awhile; go eat a meal by yourself and enjoy the scenery, or just spend the day with friends, face-to-face and without your phones. Social media is very important, especially for people in the field of public relations, but everyone needs a break from it once in awhile, just don't be afraid to take that break.

What do you think about Facebook's use of user's data? We'd love to hear from you!

Facebook's #TransformationTuesday

Facebook has come a long way since its beginning, but lately it seems like there are changes implemented every week. Check out the evolution of Facebook here.

The site recently changed the layout of the newsfeed to make it consistent across mobile and desktop platforms. Facebook also announced that images will be more prominent on user's timelines. This stems from research that proves that people are more attracted to visuals than they are to lines of text. More announcements on changes on the site can be found at www.facebook.com/business/news.

Whenever Facebook makes a big change there is a lot of push-back from users. People tend to be resistant to change, even if it ends up benefiting them. Whenever Facebook changes the way it looks or the way it can be used, people resist and say they want to old format back. Of course this push-back fades away and everyone falls back in love with their favorite social site after they get used to the change.

Don't underestimate people's resistance to change. If a big change is being planned, make sure consumers are notified of the process and intent so they can properly prepare. This keeps people from bad mouthing your organization and builds brand loyalty.

Do you think Facebook is making too many changes? We want to know!

Check out more #TransformationTuesday images of popular websites like MySpace, Yahoo and Twitter.

Social Media Lessons from the Grammy Awards

Award shows are a prime time to use social media and build your brand, be it personal, product, or otherwise.  You're automatically included in a celebrity-crazed social community when you utilize whatever hashtag is related to the show.  This past Sunday, several brands (local and national) were live tweeting the Grammy Awards along with the rest of the college students and young professionals on my newsfeed. It really caught my attention and I think it's because it shows that those brands care about what's going on and what their audiences are interested in.

If you're going to participate in the award show mania on social media, there are some things you have to keep in mind.

Be prepared for some backlash
No matter how true the tweets about Taylor Swift or Pharrell might be, there are some die-hard fans out there that will send some pretty rude things your way if you disagree with them. Be prepared with some proper responses for such a situation.

Can we say it enough? PROOFREAD!
Live-tweeting is basically a race between your fingers and the funny, horrifying and classic moments happening on screen. It can be easy to misspell a word or slip up in a post when you're rushing to get it out.

Engage, engage, engage
It's all well and good to push out your own thoughts and opinions about what's going on. If you really want to connect with your audience and build your brand, engage with what they are saying. Respond to their tweets or ask their opinions in a Facebook post.

Were any of your favorite brands following along with the Grammys? What were some of your favorite moments?

What's Your Social Media Personality?

This is a little bit like the quizzes you find in the back of a Seventeen Magazine. What kind of social media personality are YOU? Check all that apply.

PR Daily posted this infographic that breaks down the type of people who are using social media, and it's pretty spot-on.

Most PR students and professionals (myself included) would most likely fall under the "Ultras" category.  We love our social media and we're proud of it and we might even find ourselves getting a little antsy when we can't check it several times a day.

However, there are definitely some classifications that aspiring PR pros don't want to fall under.

• The Peacocks

It's great to have a lot of followers, but social media isn't a popularity contest. If most of your audience is people that have no relevance to what you're saying, you might as well be talking to yourself

• The Ranters

Sometimes it's hard to contain our opinions, especially on hot-button issues. It's in our PR nature to want to respond right away. It's okay to speak your mind, as well as it's well thought out and appropriate. Ranting is never encouraged.

• The Ghosts

What good do anonymous or "fake" profiles do you? If no one knows who you are you can't gain much credibility. Online safety shouldn't be taken lightly but as long as you're smart about what you put out there, you can still be honest about who you are.

So, which social media personality are you? Are you a cross between a few or a completely new breed? We want to know!

The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2013

With 2013 coming to a close, it has been a year full of some impressive communications campaigns. From Facebook, to Twitter and Vine, it is safe to say that many brands are becoming comfortable with social media outlets for communicating and advertising. Overall, their unique and sometimes powerful messages increase brand awareness effectively.

Here are a few of the top picks:

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk

This 3 minute clip has over 130 million views and gained immense popularity on Facebook. Although Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty has been around for a number of years, this video evokes many emotions in the viewer. Specifically geared at women, a forensic artist asks different women to describe themselves physically, then has a stranger also describe their physical appearance.  The end sketch results are significantly different. Ultimately, Dove’s brand is trying to change the perception of beauty and encouraging women to not be so hard on themselves.

Guinness Basketball Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwndLOKQTDs

This commercial by Guinness does not sport any flashy party scenes or scantily clad women. Instead, the ad, which has received millions of hits online and thousands of shares on Facebook, conveys a message about friendship and love. The commercial starts off with a few guys playing a game of wheelchair basketball. At the end of the game, all but one of the guys stands up and walks away. The next scene shows the men having beers after the game, with one still in his wheel chair. The narrator says: “Dedication. Loyalty. Friendship. The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character." Since Guinness aligns its brand with masculinity, this commercial was a unique and refreshing approach to advertise the brand.

#MyJourney by Honda

Inspired by a couple that drove for 8 years around the world in their Honda Civic, this innovative social PR campaign encourages consumers to embark on a journey, take an image from their journey, and tweet the picture using the hashtag #MyJourney. The hashtag allows you to follow people on their longest or shortest trips, and also increases global brand awareness by using a large social media outlet such as Twitter.

More and more companies are learning how to utilize social media in order to advertise and increase their brand awareness. With the ability to reach millions of consumers in just seconds, it is a tool that needs to be used in order to keep up with competition.

What are some of your favorite social media campaigns of 2013? Leave us a comment and share your thoughts!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Tessa Cohn.

How to #Hashtag on Facebook

It has been a little over two months since Facebook rolled out it's hashtag feature and some brands have been utilizing as a potential tool to drive engagement. Although it hasn't gained much traction yet, Simply Measured's recent study found that brand adoption of Facebook hashtags had increased by 20% by the end of July. 

Five major brands have demonstrated strategic and effective hashtag tactics and, in turn, have been seeing major results:

1. American Express - Cross-Channel Campaign Promotion 
#PassionProject
Average Brand Engagement: 1,689
Post Engagement: 10,362
Engagement Factor: 6.1 x AVG
By creating awareness for its #PassionProject campaign using the same hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, American Express is making the campaign content discoverable across networks. 

2. Moet & Chandon - Seasonal Hashtags for Seasonal Products
#Summer 
Average Brand Engagement: 1,571
Post Engagement: 9,083
Engagement Factor: 5.7 x AVG
Seasonal hashtags allow seasonal brands like Moet & Chandon to promote #Summer products by tapping into a broad topic. 

3. Credit Suisse - News Jacking
#Wimbeldon 
Average Brand Engagement: 168
Post Engagement: 1,088
Engagement Factor: 6.4 x AVG
Credit Suisse, a multinational financial services holding company, used #Wimbeldon to highlight it's player sponsorship. Brands can use Facebook hashtags to create awareness for their pages by tapping into event discussion and providing valuable content. 

4. Loreal Paris - Already Popular Hashtags 
#ManiMonday
Average Brand Engagement: 1,012
Post Engagement: 3,387
Engagement Factor: 3.3 x AVG
Popular hashtags on other networks can be extended to Facebook. Cosmetic brands' use of #ManiMonday exemplifies that using context that has already been created for many popular tags on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram is effective. 

5. MTV - Leverage Your Largest Audience 
#BeyInspired 
Average Brand Engagement: 4,924
Post Engagement: 8,171
Engagement Factor: 1.7 x AVG
MTV has shown how brands can use Facebook hashtags to run integrated contests and promotions to encourage fans, their largest social audience, to participate on other networks. 

Revamp Your Facebook Posts

Many aspiring PR pros begin their careers with college internships. More recently, there have become an abundance of social media internships available across the nation. If you are a social media intern you are most likely in charge of the company’s Facebook page and, in recent years, getting people to engage with a brand through Facebook has been quite difficult.

Has the fan activity on your company’s Facebook page stalled? Is your “People talking about this” number shrinking instead of growing?

The solution could be as simple as posting better status updates. Here are a few examples from a Ragan article written by Kristin Piombino:

1.       Endorse something – when you share someone else’s content, offer your opinion. Perhaps adding “great tips” or “helpful piece” will change how people react to the post.

2.       Inspire action – if you post a cool picture, ask fans to pin it on Pinterest or share it on Instagram.

3.       Use images with text – Overlay text on an image to make it stand out on a newsfeed.

4.       Add a P.S. – it will grab the fans’ attention.

5.       Tell people what to expect – if you are linking to a video or article, tell fans how long it is. They’ll appreciate it. 

How do you engage your Facebook fans? We want to know!

Smartphone Dependency Syndrome: It's Real

Have you ever told yourself that you need to put your iPhone away? 

You tell yourself you'll put it down for the next thirty minutes   You feel like you are being super productive and it starts to feel as if it has been hours since you last checked it. You think about all the texts, tweets and Instagrams you've missed. You pick up your phone and look at the time. Only three minutes have passed.

Face it, you're addicted; but you're not alone.

According to the new Research report by IDC, smartphone dependency is real for Android and iPhone users, ages 18 to 44. 

The report is based off of an online survey, sponsored by Facebook, of 7,444 smartphone users 18 to 44 years old during a week of March. 

Here are some of the eye-opening numbers from the report:

49% of the entire U.S. population uses a smartphone, according to previous research from IDC. By 2017, the percent of smartphone users is expected to reach 68%.

132 minutes is average amount of time each day that smartphone users spend communicating and using social media on their phones. Over the weekend that number increases to 163 minutes.

70% of smartphone users check Facebook on their phones; 61% check it every day, oftentimes more than one time a day.

Four out of five smartphone users check their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up. Among them, 80% say it’s the first thing they do in the morning.

79% of smartphone users have their phone on or near them for all but two hours of their waking day. 63% keep it with them for all but one hour. One-fourth couldn’t recall a time of the day when their phone wasn’t in the same room as them. 

Are you addicted to your iPhone? Tell us about it. 

The Super Bowl and Social Media

If you haven't realized that Superbowl XLVII is just a few days away than I am not sure you are a true American! This year's game is a face off between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

Like most people, I still have a few more things to do in preparation for game day. As I was searching the social media world for new information regarding Sunday's showdown, I stumbled upon this lovely infographic posted on Mashable a few days ago.

If you are an aspiring PR pro and as social media obsessed as I am, be sure to use this information to know which reporters and players to follow, which hastags to use and how to find each team's website. You never know when it'll come in handy!

Even if 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh thinks "Facebooking and the Tweeter" are a waste of time, if you want to become a future public relations professional, it is best to brand yourself and get your social media imprint out there now!

Take a look and let us know what you think:

Mastering The Cover Photo

While many PR pros have given up and consider Facebook a lost medium, others are taking full advantage of the new features offered up by the social networking site. One of these features is the cover photo. Cover photos are larger photos displayed behind your profile picture and is often the first thing someone sees while visiting a Facebook profile. To social media managers and PR professionals, this may seem like another thing to manage, update, and mold. However, if given the time and attention it needs, a cover photo can be the shining glory of a brand. Here are a few tips to help you master the art of the Facebook cover photo:

1. Update often - Is your client releasing a new product, or making a major branding change? What better way to announce this to consumers than through your cover photo? Update the photo whenever something fresh and new is happening to give viewers a reason to keep stopping by your page. Keep in mind updating for holidays as well!

2. Make it fit - A cover photo should measure 851px x 315px, no more and no less. Make sure your photo fits the space provided, and is done in an aesthetically pleasing and graphically correct way. This isn't a time for low quality images done by a friend who "dabbles" in graphic design. This is a chance to put your best face forward!

3. Show off the staff - Help your consumers and visitors build a relationship with your team by using a behind the scenes shot in your cover photo! Show them the faces of the brand that they love and trust to form a bond beyond money and products.

4. Get creative - If one picture is worth a thousand words, why not use more than one picture? Have your graphic designer put together a collage of photos to showcase all that your company or brand has to offer!

5. Shout out - The point of creating social pages is so that your brand can socialize with its consumers! A great way to do this is through a shout out program, where you display the name, photo, and short blurb or quote about a client who stood out! Post a question to your status every week or month, and then chose the best response to be a shout out in your cover photo!

How are you using the cover photo feature on Facebook? Let us know, and share your tips!

A New Age Of Facebook

As Facebook grows older so do its members. People that were once young using the “hip” new Facebook have grown older yet still continue on as registered members. But just who exactly are their main members? The answer may surprise you. Men. Middle age men are the ones who are using Facebook the most and not only registering at older ages but keeping their profiles up to date for longer periods of time as well. 

Keeping that old audience is great, but it is also important to remember that new members sign up every day and there cannot be a reliance on one demographic. New generations of people will eventually wipe out this older generation of users and then they will become the older audience still using Facebook. 

As people grow older, Facebook provides them with the ability to stay in touch with those special people in their lives. This is why, currently, their membership of an older audience is stronger than the younger. People will accept the new age of technology because they realize the advantages it can provide for them. Facebook is part of this advantage and people are embracing the many avenues presented to them. 

Facebook will always have a continuous cycle of new members becoming old member and then eventually a non-member. But it is important for Facebook to still be a thought in people’s minds. People have to want to join and it is Facebook’s job to keep the interest alive. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations Secretary Alison Curran.

Share Everywhere

This Thanksgiving holiday, Facebook posted a blog that confirmed that they will now how a “share button” on their mobile site, Android, and iOS apps.

“The company said there was no technical hurdle that made a share button difficult to implement on mobile,’” Facebook said. “Facebook simply never made it a priority.”

The share button will show up on newsfeed posts alongside the “like” and “comment” buttons.  While sharing was available before, this is the first time that users will be able to do so via a mobile device.

So, how will this help us PR folks? 

Sharing news articles and pictures will be a helpful aspect of the share button.  Facebook users will be able to easily share any news article that they few on their phone or any picture they see anywhere they are.  Posts will also be able to be shared, even sponsored posts!

Bottom line, the share button will widen the reach of people who might not normally see a news article, picture or post, creating more views on them!  This will broaden the network of people that you can reach through your social media. This will be very helpful to any PR professional because more networks that you could never reach before will be able to get received.  Hopefully in return, users will be able to gain more followers also.  

A mobile share button will help everyone with broadening their networks and gaining more followers and that is something that all PR professionals can be thankful for!  Do you think sharing via mobile will be useful to you?

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jackie Grillo

The Social Media High School Yearbook

For most college students, high school seems like it was just yesterday. We all remember the cliques that made up the student body like the nerds, the athletes and the band geeks. Each group had their own interests and similar personalities that set them apart from the rest.

In the dawn of the social media age, I guess you could say that social media sites are the high school of the Internet.

Wix, a popular web desgin company, took a look at social networks and found out which site fit each cliche high school stereotype. Based on what we all are sharing, Wix developed this inforgraphic comparing each social network to a high school stereotype.

For example, YouTube is the drama enthusiast. Twitter is the Chatty Cathy. Instagram, naturally, is the flirt of the bunch.

Check out the rest of the social media yearbook to see where you fit in:

Can you think of any other social media stereotypes? Let us know!

Fakery on Facebook

Recently, the New York Times released an article about a hospital in North Carolina that became a victim of a pseudo Facebook Page. In October, a ‘fake’ page popped up and discussed the negative effects of “Obamacare”. The page quickly gained hundreds of followers, and the anti-Obama campaign picked up immeasurable number ‘likes’. Officials at the hospital attempted to take control of the situation, but as quickly as the page appeared, it disappeared. The article goes on to discuss fakery all over the internet, including Facebook.

Gaston Memorial’s experience is a lesson in the problem of fakery on Facebook. As the world’s largest social network, it is an acute problem, because it calls into question the very basis of the site. Facebook has sought to be viewed as the community where people use their real identities. The appearance of fraudulent accounts makes Facebook’s mission impossible and could cause users to question Facebook’s reliability.

Facebook says they are taking the problem very seriously and have recently stepped up their efforts to terminate ‘fake’ and fraudulent accounts. However, the problem has become almost impossible to manage. Hundreds of these fraudulent sites can pop up simultaneously and some even contain malware and other viruses. Additionally, ‘fake’ coupons form meals and other items are appearing on Facebook news feeds, aimed at tricking individuals into revealing their personal information.

Facebook says they first noticed an increase in the creation of fraudulent sites when pages were beginning to decrease in the monthly amount of likes. Additionally, the election season seems to have increased with this reported activity.

One public relations implication of the rise of fraudulent Facebook accounts is the declining opinion of the public. Fraudulent ‘likes’ damage the trust of advertisers, who want clicks from real people they can sell to and whom Facebook now relies on to make money. 'Fakery' also lowers the credibility of Facebook itself.  If users no longer feel secure or believe Facebook is reliable, the site may see a decrease in users and a lowering of stock prices.

Reasons to NOT use Social Media for your Client

Social media is around every corner. Clients often use social media to raise awareness about their brand and to increase revenue or even attendance in certain cases. But social media isn't a good choice for everyone. Below are a few instances where social media probably isn't the route to follow:

Brand loyalists don't equal brand evangelists: Just because someone "likes" your brand on Facebook, it doesn't mean that they will be going around advocating for you. It's easy to assume that anyone who supports your  brand on social media sites is going to continuously support it. While this is sometimes true, it is not foolproof, and can be deceiving when evaluating success.
Facebook is great for reaching broad audiences, but not niche markets: This goes for all social media sites. Frankly, not everyone uses social media. And, depending on what kind of organization you are, social media just does not hit your target audience. Sure, some might catch on, but your goal is to use a tactic that will reach the majority of your audience.
An untended blog is a negative advertisement: Appearance is everything. If your company hasn't posted on its blog in months, then that reflects badly. The whole point of a blog is to engage your audience. If you are creating content that is mainly sales-focused, or none at all, then what is the point of a blog? In that case, then a blog is probably best at a later time, if at all.
Public feedback cuts both ways: While it is normal to receive some negative feedback, if it becomes an issue in the sense that it is overwhelming the positive, then it may not be worth having a social media presence if there is a low ROI.

How do you feel about social media and brands? What are some companies you think could do without social media? Let us know!

The Knot’s Smart Use of Sandy

Hurricane Sandy wrecked havoc and put life on hold for millions of residents on the East Coast this past week, destroying homes, flooding cities and causing millions to lose power. As I was sitting at work discussing the disaster and its repercussions with a fellow co-worker she mentioned something that really struck a chord; Sandy had completely destroyed her friend’s wedding venue. That made me think – there must have been thousands and thousands of fall weddings cancelled, venues ruined and churches flooded all due to Sandy’s destruction.

As I was on Twitter, I came across an article discussing how the most-trafficked wedding website called The Knot helped to salvage over 2,000 weddings disrupted by Sandy. The online company estimates nearly 2,300 brides-to-be had to put a halt to their wedding plans this week due to the inclement weather. 

The Knot created a Facebook page as an online forum to connect brides with venues and vendors to reschedule this week’s weddings and to keep the more than 4,000 November ceremonies intact.

“Helping Brides in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy” is the name of the Facebook page where East Coast couples can share tips, find available venues and talk to local experts. Helping couples “tie the knot” as scheduled is the main goal for The Knot.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 25, vendors are asked to list their businesses, addresses, availability and contact information. Many venues in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut lost power and sustained damage from flood waters, forcing brides to make major adjustments.
This is a great example of taking a current event and using it to your company’s advantage. The Knot saw its opportunity and clearly took it. I believe this is a great lesson in marketing as well as public relations.

Can you think of other companies like The Knot that could benefit from a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy? Let us know!

We Are the Twenty Percent!

In the world of business, ROI is everything. In order to increase your ROI, you need to ensure you are delivering the right message, to the right audience, through the correct channel.

Online, there are seven types of audiences: altruists, selectives, passionates, connectors, trendspotters, provocateurs, and careerists.Of these consumers, only 20% are high sharers, active users, like us, whom generally create original content and whom are loyal to online brands, and the other 80% are considered low sharers, consumers not loyal to a specific brand and whom are not very active on social media. In general, campaigns should be tailored to your company's or organization's high sharers. Below, I will highlight the characteristics of each type of high share consumer and how to cater to them.

1. Altruists account for the largest percentage of social consumers. They re-tweet, post and share because of a desire to help others. Altruists are especially important to focus on for non-profits and fundraising endeavors. The most effective way to engage altruists is through Facebook and email.
2.  Selectives make up the second highest percentage of social consumers. They strategically share information and content with specific users. These consumers use email most frequently to share content.
3. Passionates share content and information because of a common passion they share with their followers and friends. They can be frequently found on Facebook and on customer review sites.
4. Connectors share information in order to create opportunities. They generally will link multiple account to optimize their social experience. They are most commonly found and can be reached on Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr and Facebook.
5. Trendspotters want to be in and let others know they are in the know. They attempt to increase their credibility via multiple social channels and can be found on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, foursquare, Flickr, Facebook and Delicious. 
6. Provocateurs are always looking to get a reaction. Bloggers are generally included in the this category and can be reached on YouTube, Wordpress/Blogger, Twitter, LinkedIn, foursqare, Flickr and Delicious. 
7. Careerists general use social sites for business and networking purposes. In general, Careerists utilize YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr and Facebook.

The number of followers and analytics of your company's page are no longer an appropriate measure of a campaign's success. Targeting high share consumers to generate recommondations and inspire creation of content is the appropriate means to increase engagement, brand loyalty, and ROI.

This post is based on the Huffington post article written by Jennifer Nagy,  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-nagy/social-media-marketing_b_1695186.html 

The Social Celeb

When it comes to social media, how celebrities use their accounts is really no different than the rest of the world. However, their communities, reach and relevance is much more prevalent and on a much larger scale.

When a celebrity tweets or makes a status update it is literally “heard” around the world. Celebrities can use this personal PR tool to provide their fans and followers with a more intimate look into their lives. When used correctly, social media can be powerful and instrumental in taking relationships, engagement and establishing connections to a higher level. The growing use of social media among people in the public-eye is bringing them closer to their fans.

Celebrities utilizing social media can be dangerous though. Since it is an instant form of PR placed directly in the hands of the individual, the reality is that celebs have a lot to lose if they don’t use discretion with their social media accounts.

Here are some positive ways celebrities have used social media to their advantage:

-          Connect on a personal level with fans and followers

-          Rally community support for a good cause

-          Increase awareness on a certain public issue

-          Drive sales

-          Promote contests and giveaways

-          Announce private news before it goes public

Can you think of other ways that celebs can get the most out of their social media profiles? Let us know!