PRoactive | Online PR trends | Sally Falkow

Online Reputation Monitoring Survey for BtoB marketers

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:43:39 -0400

Some interesting data about brand monitoring offine and online

A recent survey conducted by Buzz Marketing, and sponsored by Marketing Profs and Trackur, shows that more than half of the BtoB marketers polled aren't adequately prepared for an online crisis.

Although the sample universe was small, it is an indication of what BtoB marketers are thinking and doing.

60% say they have a good understanding of their current reputation
63% don't have a blogging policy in place
53% place strategic importance on measuring and monitoring their reputation in 2008
Only 42% have a strategic plan in place to manage their online reputation
More than half (54%) are not monitoring tradiitional media using services like Burrells/Luce or Bacons
63% are monitoring social media and blogs with free online services
Only 33% use a paid subscription service to monitor online content
54% say they are leveraging social networks ike Facebook and LInkedIn
45% are monitoring their brand on these social networks
71% say they are not developing widgets that can be added to social sites

Recommendations from the survey:

Make measuring and monitoring your online reputation a strategic priority.

People are online and they are talking about brands - and it's not only consumer brands.

Many other studies have shown that BtoB buyers are just as likely to research online before purchase and they are sharing intelligence and information in niche social networks.

Dont get caught with your pants down.

C-level Execs Get News and Business Information Online

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:49:53 -0400

They prefer to access the Web rather than read the newspaper

The Internet continues to be the most influential and important source of business information for C-Level executives around the world, at 67%. This number has increased 37% since 2004. At the same time, C-Level executives, citing newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal as their main source of business information, has decreased 36% since 2004, reports The Center for Media Research.

The study was done by Forbes and Gartner and finds

Senior Execs are using the web to research competiors and industry trends daily
They're more likely to access the web than read a newspaper before going to work
The majority of their media consumption in on the web
They think that the web contains the most informative advertsiing

Well that dispels any idea that C-suite execs are still in the last century, technologically. Yes there may still be those few dinosaurs whose secretaries print out their emails.. But by and large they're Net savvy and more of them are turning to the web for information each year.

If you want your information seen by the C-suite, you need a smart online PR strategy. And if you've despaired of ever getting ink in the Wall St Jouranl, tihs study shoud bring a broad smile to your face. You can reach that audience directly with your news - if you place it correctly into online news sites and news search engines.

PR and Social Media

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:43:39 -0400

Why you need a social media strategy

Augie Hay highlighted a post from Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester Research on how companies can get punk'd by social media

A Chronology of Brands that got Punk’d by Social Media

Criteria of punk'd is a situation where the story would not have been told if social media were not available or if social media accelerated or spread the story.

One of the examples is about a video of rats running around a Taco Bell in NYC that was posted to YouTube. Soon after, duplicates and versions started multiplying, and to date these videos have been viewed around 1.2 million times. As a result, Yum Brands’ stock sank, customers started doubting Taco Bell’s cleanliness, and other franchisees were harmed from the bad PR.

There are many other examples in his post.

If you’d like to avoid appearing on such a list, the Social Media Bootcamp would be a good investment.

Twitter/Webinar on Social Media Draws a Big Crowd

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:37:07 -0400

Radian6 And CrossTech Media push the envelope

Image: Dan Taylor

Today Chris Brogan from Cross Tech Media and Radian6 hosted a cross platform webinar and Twitter event focused on how companies can, and are, using social media.

At 11 am Pacific, 2pm Eastern 500 people logged onto the webinar and simultaneously engaged in conversations on Twitter about what they were seeing on the webinar. (Kind of like teenagers who watch Idol and text ten friends to discuss the show while they watch.) And due to the demand it was rebroadcast at 4 pm Eastern.

It worked well, despite a few hiccups in the beginning. I could hear the audio, but the screen was black for a few minutes. Then all went well after that. It certainly has raised the profile of Radian6, Chris and CrossTech Media and the people who were interviewed for the series.

In the first section people answered the question why is social media game changing?

There were many good answers, but one that caught my attention: when you are in a conversation with your customers and stakeholders you have a platform to give your point of view. An instance was cited where a company was in a tussle with a competitor and because they had a blog and an active readership, they could reach their audience fast.

My answer to this question is:

Social Media is game changing because for the last 100 years PR and marketing has been done the same way. We controlled the message and how it would be delivered.

Now people have the power of voice.

Instead of feeling like we are on the receiving end of messages, we can be a part of a conversation we can control. This completely changes the game for both parties - consumers and companies. It is as big a change as was the industrial revolution.

Social media is ultimately going to shift the way companies do business.

Dell is one good example. They hit the wall, got burned, made mistakes and learned from it all. Now they are considered one of the front runners in the use of social media.

What should your company be doing? Be willing to listen. Establish where they're talking about you and what they're saying. What, if any, are the issues that need attention.

Let people know that you're listening and taking note of what they say.

Another Twebinar is scheduled for July and one in August.

Search Fueling Word of Mouth

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:22:55 -0400

BIGResearch's Simultaneous Media Survey says people who search share their data with others

Almost half (47%) the people who search for information online give advice on a regular basis to others about products and services they’ve purchased, compared to 29.4% of all adults who say the same.

Why is this an important finding? Because recommendations from other consumers is the most trusted form of 'advertising.'

“Consumers who research products online appear to be more knowledgeable and eager to share information,” said Gary Drenik, President of BIGresearch. “Because they are likely to tell a friend about their experience, they become a building block for viral marketing efforts.”

If you are planning a word of mouth campaign, make sure you include search. Your news content should be syndicated in RSS Feeds so it gets a boost in the news and search engines. It will feed it into news aggregators. Add easy to share links so it shows up in social sites. SEO training is very important for PR.

Visit BIGResearch for more data and charts