Social Science

How Social Media Can Help BioScience Industry Better Communicate

There is a growing trend among the bioscience community and it’s happening online! If you search on twitter for #bioscience, #pharma, #genomics you will see streams of conversations and content surrounding these topics. More researchers and science communicators are beginning to embrace social media marketing for collaboration and business development.

Chris Gunter, Director of Research Affairs of Hudson Alpha Institute in Huntsville, Ala and @girlscientist on twitter, gives us some insight into why the bioscience and tech community is creating more chatteronline and how these companies can utilize social media effectively.

Q. What trends have you seen emerge regarding social media and the biotech industry?

A. Twitter in particular has gone from being regarded as a time sink to a recognized way for companies (or nonprofits, in our case) to get out news and to reach interested people, anywhere. I also see companies use it to keep up with competitors, and to interact with meeting attendees and direct traffic to their booths.

Q. Why do you think scientists have become more interested in social media?

A. There’s definitely a generational effect: scientists from the generation above me often still regard it as a waste of time. Scientists in my generation are mixed, although more and more are signing up. And younger scientists recognize the potential for setting up collaborations and exchanging information. This is a revolutionary time in science — the way we communicate our results and experimental methods to each other will continue to be transformed. No one reads the print copy of journals anymore. And in the future, journals may be just placeholders for interactive, open data sites in different subjects. Science is inherently a social activity, believe it or not, and social media is the latest way to do our work.

Q. How have you used social media personally to connect with industry experts and build your personal brand?

A.There are two answers — I manage the twitter account for my employer, @HudsonAlpha, and then have my own, @girlscientist. For my own brand, I really started on twitter because I wanted to keep up with friends all over the world, whom I had met in my previous job. Then it turned into a way to keep up with the latest papers and news, and then it grew into a springboard for shared projects and academic collaborations. I couldn’t believe the day I crossed over 5000 followers. That’s amazing! We also have account for our upcoming conference, @immunogenomics. This is an area we are trying to build as it’s an emerging field. The account is becoming a meeting place for people in widely different fields. It’s great to watch.

Q. What are some of your favorite people to follow on twitter?

A. The easiest answer: a lot of my friends just got listed as the “Top N Accounts (Academic) to Follow For Genomics” -- unwieldy name, but great list (full disclosure: including me!). I also like following people who are just funny: @pattonoswalt, @pourmecoffee, my friend @NoahWG, @ReformedBroker if you’re interested in investing, and lately @SarcasticRover for another take from Mars. Through Twitter, I also discovered a vibrant science communication community, and attended their annual meeting, ScienceOnline. These are some of the nicest and most interesting people I’ve ever met, and they’re working to transform the public’s understanding of cutting-edge research.

Q. What are some practical tips you would offer to scientists, researchers and other biotech experts who want to use social media for business building?

A.Decide if you want your account to be more social, or purely business, and follow a group of people acordingly. That said, my account is a little of each at this point. It is full of pointers to interesting genomics papers I am reading. However, I keep twitter and Facebook separate, and send most of my personal updates to Facebook instead. Don’t use your account purely to advertise your products, because that will limit your interest. Let some of your personality show, but make sure you keep the tweets professional.

Q. What are some of your favorite subjects to talk about on tools like Twitter?

A. At heart, I’ll always be a geek for DNA, so of course that’s my favorite subject to talk about. One of the biggest benefits for me was unexpected: my account shows younger scientists, and people who are just interested in science, a lot about the day to day workings of science. It’s not all either big breakthroughs or endless lab drudgery.

Enterprise Trend Report: Social Media in HealthCare Marketing

Enterprise Trend Report 

Social Media in HealthCare Marketing 

More than ever, it’s essential for hospitals and health providers to rethink their healthcare marketing mix to include social media. 

The proof is in the numbers: 34% of consumers use social media to search for health information, according to research data from How America Searches: Health and Wellness. 

While it’s easy to identify demand, many healthcare marketers are not exactly sure how they might tap into the social web to reach business goals. To help understand the possible applications, consider these examples of how the social web can work for hospitals and others in the healthcare industry: 

Reach Mainstream Media 

70% of journalists now use social networks to assist reporting, compared to 41% the year before, according to a Middleberg Communications survey reported by PRWeek. With numbers that high, it only makes sense for healthcare marketers to leverage social media channels in order to achieve coverage by both mainstream media and industry publications. 

As part of healthcare marketing efforts, organizations can use social media channels – including blogs, forums and microblogs – to share success stories from out-of-the-ordinary operations or treatments, medical research or other significant achievements. For example, when Aurora Health Care tweeted a knee operation in April, it received significant media attention, both from mainstream media and industry publications including Good Morning America, the local Milwaukee public radio network and Hospital Management Magazine. 

Communicate in Times of Crisis 

When disaster strikes hospitals and healthcare providers are at the center of it all. Healthcare providers can leverage social media networks to provide real-time updates both for those directly affected by the crisis and those watching from afar. 

During the November Fort Hood shooting attack, Steven Widman of Scott & White Healthcare – one of the hospitals that treated Fort Hood victims, used Twitter to provide up-to-the-minute news. 

Through Twitter, Widman provided updates on emergency room access and hospital operation status, re-tweeted news from Red Cross and communicated with reporters.  

Twitter followers increased 78% in just three days. 

Scott & White Healthcare was listed on the front page of Twitter as a “trending topic” The hospital’s YouTube channel was ranked the 79th most viewed non-profit channel during the entire week surrounding the crisis.

Provide Accurate Information to Patients 

73% of patients search for medical information online before or after doctors visits, according to HealthCare New Media Conference. With the magnitude of health information available on the web – both accurate and inaccurate – it’s likely that these patients can easily be misinformed. 

By integrating social media into the healthcare marketing mix, organizations can share accurate, timely information regarding symptoms, diseases, medications, treatments and more. Social sites like Inspire are providing a forum for patients to share their health problems and questions about treatments with other patients, as well as qualified medical personnel. 

B2B Crisis Management: Effectively Communicating in the High-Tech World

C-level executives and managers from B2B companies will ask me about their ROI on social marketing and how they can use social media as part of their overall marketing and sales strategy. The truth is social media should be less about consumer interaction for these companies and more about utilizing for internal communication, especially during a crisis situation. For example, a recent Mashable article emphasized the adoption of Google+ as enterprise business software versus just a social network. The article identified project collaboration opportunities in certain features such as Circles as well as hosting division meetings in features like Hangouts. While the idea of using a public social networking forum to conduct business matters may seem absurd to some people, companies should take into account a couple of factors. First, employees are prone to spending more time on social networking sites versus email or phone calls. Employees are fairly proficient in understanding social media and will be prone to adopting these tools versus complicated hardware. Secondly, companies need to think of social networks as cloud-based software that can help streamline internal communication and ultimately save a company time and money to implement.

So, how can social networks be used for crisis management?

Gone are the days of operating in a vacuum. Emergency communications now involve the highly interactive, high-speed world of social media. Reasons to incorporate and monitor social media include:

Effective communication: Attention needs to be given to social media communication at all phases of the disaster, crisis or emergency. It’s a dynamic, two-way street and the only way you’ll know if you are being heard is by monitoring. You can then respond in a timely and meaningful way.

Awareness of what is being said about your response to an incident.

Enhanced situational awareness, and the ability to keep in contact with staff, suppliers, clients and community activities during an incident or disaster.

The ability to dispel rumors and misinformation.

In Japan, for example, after the massive 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami, Tokyo’s transportation network and communication systems were paralyzed because of the constant network congestion. With the phone lines down for almost 24 hours, people utilized the internet to communicate with others and collect information. The internet and social networks became the platforms to retrieve information about disaster struck areas, nuclear power stations, as well as information to support those suffering and to direct donations.

Once a social media monitoring strategy is developed, it should be incorporated into semi-regular tests or exercises to ensure employees know what to expect and what to do. Additionally, mobile devices are often the easiest way to access social media during a crisis — plan how to best utilize them.

Using Mobile Devices For Company Communications

As smartphone devices become more widely adopted in corporations especially c-level, people can take advantage of tools and apps already available to handle communication.

When looking at these mobile tools, there are key functionalities to consider based upon what your management needs are…

1. Organizing and syncing key contacts
2. Accessing key documents
3. Exchanging notes
4. Communicate and track groups of people
5. To-do lists and reminders

So what are some easy mobile tools that could help you streamline communication between you and staff?

Sync key contacts
One option to consider is iCloud especially for syncing key contacts. If you have an Android device try a service like gmail, Google docs and Google Calendar.

Access to key documents

You can download apps for cloud-based storage services like Dropbox and Box.net. These freemium models also have premium services you can utilize for more storage space and bigger file downloads. You can also invite other people to share these files.

Access to important notes

With Evernote, all of your notes, web clips, files and images are made available on every device and computer you use.

Communicate and track groups of people

Group messaging apps such as GroupMe, Find My Friends, and Kik uses GPS to locate your contacts and send targeted messages with certain groups.

Shared to-do lists and reminders

Wunderlist is a fairly easy and free task management tool that allows you to create lists for projects and to-dos and share with colleagues so they can add to list. Wunderlist works on Android, iPhone and iPad. You can also look at calendar reminders like Tungle.

When the Media Comes a-Calling: Top 3 Things not to Say—Email, Text or Tweet—During a Crisis

Amid a crisis, journalists don’t just listen for comments from the CEO, business owner or spokesperson; they also dig into the social media circuit to find digital comments that may make headlines.

Social media has become the newest way for executive leaders to proverbially stick their feet in their mouths.

Proven time and time again, crisis communication in a media environment is one of the most important factors in maintaining a company's corporate image. Part of the overall perception of a company and its leadership’s credibility is how well the CEO, owner or spokesperson can internally and externally communicate a message.

Accordingly, there are definitely comments employees and stakeholders should refrain from making public during a crisis—they could be misconstrued by the media and turn one crisis into yet another.

What not to Say:

1. “No Comment”
Classically, this is a no-no. This comes across to stakeholders, the media and the audience as unprepared or even arrogant. It says that you are choosing to give no account, no information, and take no responsibility for a crisis. It tells the world you feel you are entitled to privacy, while anyone knows that high-profile business people and spokespersons do not have that privilege.

What to say:
“As details of this situation unfold, we renew our commitment to this brand, its mission and you, our customers.” This way, you acknowledge the crisis to the media, but show the world that at such a critical time, you’re keeping a cool head and making considerations for the most important things: a commitment to your company’s standards and customers.

2. “We were unaware of the situation.”
A statement such as this causes leadership to look uninformed and out of the loop. People will question: How can a CEO or business owner not know what’s going on in his or her own company? What type of leader does that indicate? It says the company isn’t taking responsibility.

What to say: “We are aggressively gathering information and looking into this situation,” is a more in-control response, without giving the media details about what you do and do not know.

3. “The media misrepresented the situation.”
Blaming the media is a copout and reactive rather than proactive. While the media does sometimes get their facts wrong, trying to play the hurt sheep only makes your corporation look like a whining child. As well, it may be your company’s lack of clear communication to the media in the first place that caused misinformation to be published. Besides, even if the facts are incorrect, the audience will likely believe what is reported.

What to Say:
“We are willfully working with media outlets to clarify and correct misinformation regarding this situation.” This type of open communication shows you are proactively managing the media instead of them managing you. It also says you are directing them in the way that will best protect your brand and actively shaping the stories that will go mainstream.

In summary, a solid crisis communication plan is like insurance for your business. Will you be covered when the media comes calling with hard questions?

Avoiding A Mobile Crisis: Protecting Your Company’s Data on Smartphones

While smartphone devices provide ample opportunity for companies to manage day-to day operations away from their desktop, there is also a risk that important company data can fall into the wrong hands if not careful. More than 70 percent of people surveyed by Sunnyvale, Calf based Dimensional Research say the use of personal mobile devices for work purposes have contributed to increased security-related problems. When one of those tools goes missing, not only would the employee's personal information be at risk, but company email, messages, client contact information, company log-ins and access codes all could be potentially exposed.

According to the report, the No 1 factor affecting the security of sensitive data over mobile is lack of employee awareness of their company’s security policies. Companies need to invest in software and gadgets to not only track company-affiliated mobile devices, but protect and manage the work information stored on those devices. In addition, companies should also consider these following tactics to further avoid a corporate mobile meltdown:

1. Employee training on mobile device security. Employees should be made aware of basic safeguards such as updating passwords and having the ability to wipe a stolen device.

2. Give employees the tools they need to make sure they can find their devices in case they go missing. ZOMM and Phone Halo are both devices that alert the user when they're about to leave their smartphone behind. With ZOMM, the user carries a small sensor, say on a keychain. Phone Halo's tag can be attached to keys, a wallet, purse or other items. Both sound an alarm when the user is parted from their phone. Your company can even host monthly or quarterly lunch and learn meetings to give demonstrations to your employees on these mobile tools. Be sure to include your IT staff in these meetings so they can help employees install anti-malware and encrypt confidential data.

3. Create company policies on what kind of company data employees can store on their personal mobile devices. You should also have contingency plans when an employee leaves the company and you can securely remove company data from that device.

4. If your company has an app that primarily stores your corporate crisis communication plan, it’s important to only give key stakeholders access to that plan (company personnel that will be involved in crisis situations). Be sure to keep your plan password-protected and have a policy in regards to the app’s distribution and content management.

As mobile devices continue to become more prevalent in business operations, companies should invest time and resources to stay updated on current technologies and news surrounding data protection. We’ll continue to explore these stories more in upcoming posts surrounding web 2.0 in corporate crisis.

Relationship Building Still Matters in PR

Our industry is in an exciting time with technological innovations. However, an article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Your PR Efforts May Be Hurting You” reminds us how we still need to approach traditional media and teach upcoming pr students to appreciate the relationship-based aspect of public relations. I found most of the article’s statements to be true. Most students of PR do not build relationships with the media. They also don’t take the time to learn about the company they are pitching for. The first time you meet with a company, you need to ask A LOT of questions. You also need to know about your company’s overall industry. Most PR firms are successful when they have a niche like lifestyle or represent healthcare companies. This allows a firm to become industry experts. Our firm uses wire service but very strategically. In addition to this method it’s key to follow up with reporters. Some PR people don't follow up when a reporter calls or after sending a press release. Especially during a crisis situation, the reporter's deadline is priority.

While we are in age with advanced communication tools like social networking, video chat and smartphones, relationships still matter in public relations. Here’s how you successfully build relationships with both traditional and digital media writers:

1. Reporters are people too. They have families, busy schedules just like we do. Get to know them.
2. Reporters are not out to get you.
3. Answer reporter's calls.
4. Help them when you don't have skin in the game (a story).
5. Follow Up.

Crisis on the Seas: Cruise Disaster Spreads on the Internet

Since Tuesday morning, Italian rescuers and divers continued their
perilous work locating a second "black box" and the remains of five
people in the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. While we
have watched the tragic events of the cruise ship unfold, what’s even
more disturbing is how quickly more internal information is coming to
light that shows a lack of personnel responsibility.

Transcripts from CNN show an Italian coast guard official demanding
Captian Francesco Schettino return to his ship, the transcripts show.
"You get on board! This is an order!" the coast guard official
instructed Schettino.

"You have declared 'Abandon ship.' Now I'm in charge. You get on
board -- is that clear?" the port official said.
Port Authority to cruise ship captain: 'Get on board, damn it!'

If this same incident happened over ten years ago or even six years
ago, this same transcript wouldn’t have been made public until weeks
after the incident. When a crisis happens to any company, internal
and external personnel information can be made public just as soon
as the crisis occurs. Since this past weekend, Carnival stocks have
already plummeted. What’s more disturbing as this tragic experience
unfolds is the personal accounts and experiences we’ll hear from
survivors through social media channels and the internet. Although
the company can release official statements, they can’t deny the
stories from survivors that will proliferate throughout the internet in
days to come.

Is it the employers’ responsibility to train their employees on good social media ethics?

The answer is yes…and here’s why.
More employees are spending countless hours on social networks during office hours. But, what could be more troubling to companies is how their employees are conducting themselves online.

A study published this week by the nonprofit Ethics Resource Center (ERC) found workers spent more than 30 percent of the workday participating on social networking sites. In addition, 42 percent of active social networkers said they felt it was acceptable to blog or tweet negatively about their company or their coworkers, while just six percent of non-active social networkers saw such behavior as OK. Although, a majority of active social networkers (56 percent) said they would also be likely to post about good things their coworkers did.

A corporate crisis isn’t just an external communication breakdown but also an internal issue that can cause considerable risk to the company’s reputation and employee morale. With social networking showing no signs of going away, big companies will have to find a way to deal with the ethical changes that come along with it.

The Risks

One risk businesses face when it comes to social media is the sharing of information. Either employees can share opinions in ways that reflect badly on the company or they can release confidential information such as intellectual property. Confidential information being leaked, data breaches, privacy violations, offensive tweets – all of these possibilities make organizations hesitant to adopt social media.

However, not engaging in social media can become a risk in itself. Most every company and brand is being discussed through online social channels. It is important that the company provides its voice in these discussions and conversations.

Best Practices

Since social media is becoming a standard practice for many businesses or at the very least a good way to interact with customers and partners, it is important for employees to understand the best practices for engagement with particular emphasis on ethics and legal responsibilities. Having a good company policy on social media with an active governance plan is no longer optional. It is essential to mitigating corporate crisis communication risks.

You also need to work with your company’s legal and human resources team to understand current social networking workplace laws and procedures. According to a recent ruling of National Labor Relations Board, employees can write anything they want about your company on their own Facebook profiles in off hours, so anything limiting that usage in your acceptable use policy should be changed. Your IT and legal departments should revisit acceptable use policies once every few months or after major decisions to ensure that they are still current, and employees should be made to sign the updated copies.

A decent workplace social media/Internet acceptable use policy should do a few things well. It should bind the employee to using the Internet specifically for work purposes during work hours in the office, and ensure that any electronic forms of communication aren't used to disseminate confidential information about the company. Overall, to avoid risks related to online employee crisis communications, companies must train, educate and create protocol to address our society’s ever-evolving communication channels.

Image Credit: edudemic.com

Why Using Social Media For Market Research is Smart: 4 Winning Strategies For Your Company

Using social media for market research

View more presentations from Andrea Walker

It remains to be seen if 2012 will indeed be the year if the social media bubble finally bursts. Analysts predicted this notion of “digital/social exhaustion” more than two years ago and yet the numbers are climbing in regards to social media usage. According to a recent Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project study, 66% of online U.S. adults use social media. More than two-thirds of adults are conversing online, posting reviews, and recommending products or services to their networks.

Traditional market research typically consists of mailing out customer surveys, conducting phone interviews and holding focus groups. While I’m not suggesting you alienate these methods, there is a huge opportunity to learn more about your customers or competitors through their online conversations. Social media monitoring can provide you rich, social analytics that you can track over time to determine your customer or potential customer’s habits, interests and even what is being said about your brand altogether.

Four Ways to Use Social Media as a Tool For Market Research

Search

This can comprise of brand reputation monitoring, keyword search and online mentions about your company or industry in all mediums.

E-focus

This is one of the easiest ways to crowdsource your customers for product feedback. What better way to utilize your brand’s online community than to let them be apart of your market research. Be careful to not come across too commercial or promotional when talking to the public.

Trends

Social media gives you insight into consumer behavior that you can use to detect growing trends or movements within your target customers. Use the data you collect to identify new opportunities to position your company in a new market or a different customer base.

Competitive Research

Not matter what your business is you have to know WHO your competitors are. With the current economy, many start-ups are popping up in various industries and it’s up to you to know who could be potentially taking away market share. Social media tools can help you understand your competitor’s business, their partners, employees and maybe even their business model! Many of these companies are surprisingly very open about sharing “insider” info online via tools like LinkedIn.

New Study Shows Most Companies Not Prepared for Social Media Crisis. Are You?

Ragan’s PRdaily.com reported that while many companies are eager to employ new social media technology to promote their businesses, most are not equipped to handle threats associated with that technology.

The report was based on a recent study conducted by the Altimeter Group. So, how does a company know if it is facing or is susceptible to facing a social media crisis? According to the study, “to qualify as a social media crisis, an event must have one of these four effects: It causes major media coverage, necessitates changes in company processes, directly causes a decrease in revenue, or results in fines from the government.”

While some companies have put social media policies into place to monitor their online presence in an effort to control branding, reputation and even the safety of trade secrets, many have not communicated these policies efficiently to their employees and have not regulated them or even updated them as new social media outlets surface. To rectify this, the report suggests that “processes for what to do should be shared companywide. Companies should have formalized social media crisis response plans ready to go. More than half the companies surveyed didn't have one.”

Think about your company’s online social media activity. Do you know what’s posted daily about your company and where and why it’s being posted? Do your read the comments section on your blog or corporate Facebook page? Furthermore, do you really know who you’re following on Twitter and who is following you?

Ongoing social media training programs for employees and high-level administrators is an integral part of crisis management and is vital in ensuring that a social media crisis doesn’t damage your business. Companies should develop a solid crisis communications response plan, not entirely unlike a natural disaster response plan or fire safety plan, that incorporates a strategy for what employers and employees will do and say should an emergency arise.

If a social media crisis hit your company today, would your employees know what to say to the media when they call?

Being Successful in an Economy that’s Not: How PR Can Help

Prweek.com reported this week, “As political leaders deal with growing investor fears that the country may relapse into another recession, PR agencies have seen a short-term uptick in corporate client activity related to navigating economic volatility.”

In this time of economic uncertainty, a business must relay a message of certainty to temper fears. Regular communication to stakeholders, customers, and potential customers is

vital, and reaching out through direct mailing, online, and through media mechanisms shows key constituents that you are still alive and that there is still positive movement in your company.

News articles that announce corporate achievements and human resource growth, a once a month e-newsletter, a corporate representative as guests on television shows or radio broadcasts, and meaningful social media efforts contribute to what we call “TOMA” or Top of Mind Awareness and convey fiscal health.

Another way to utilize public relations in a sour economy is in creating a crisis communication

plan to manage image and messages in the event that your stocks do slide. While most

shareholders will automatically hit a panic button, a crisis communication plan will help them

slow down and will encourage them to contemplate a future recovery instead of dwelling on the

now.

The heart of public relations is building and maintaining meaningful relationships with

stockholders and customers that will weather the ups and downs of economics. To maintain

these relationships, investors must know that you are as invested in your own company as they

are, which means reaching out to beef up resources in order to remain viable and visible. Hiring a solid PR firm will actually upgrade your business during an economic downgrade.

How is your company strengthening its resources in this challenging economic time?

Celebrity Spokesperson: Helpful or Hurtful?

by Spencer Watson

When trying to promote a product or company lots of planning goes into it. Many companies are taking the celebrity approach. If you choose to have a celebrity spokesperson then you need to make sure you choose the right one.

Business owners should look for candidates who mesh well with their target audience and key demographics. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a teenager (no matter how famous) promoting products or services geared toward wrinkle creams. Make sure you hire a stable-minded celebrity as well. Some companies have faced the plight of hiring

someone to be the face of their company only to have that spokesperson do something on the personal time that would not reflect the company in a positive matter.

According to Cherylwaller.com, A-list celebrities don’t come cheap. Unless you’re a multimillion-dollar behemoth of a company, odds are you won’t be able to afford top-tier movie stars and pro athletes. Celebrities in this stratosphere are probably starting in the mid six figures, depending on the project. If you don’t have that kind of budget, start lower on the “celebrity chain.” Businesses with more of a community focus can utilize local celebrities, such as TV news anchors, retired sports figures and other neighborhood standouts.

We want to hear from you: Do you think having a celebrity spokesperson for your company is a risk worth taking?

If you would like to contact Spencer Watson personally, he can be contacted at prviewintern@gmail.com.

10 Tips for Using Social Media for Your Business

Social media is an easy way to give your business an edge over your competition. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. The 2 most popular are Facebook and Twitter. According to Inc.com, here are some of the top ways to use social media.....


Offer something special. Offering first looks at a new product or idea can cause buzz and improve sales. Post special deals in a tweet or a facebook post about a sale your company is having. Example: 50% coupon.

Frequently update. Updating your social media sites frequently will keep your readers interested. Update at least once week or your readers will become bored and places to locate the information elsewhere.

Feedback. Social media is an easy way to get instant feedback. You can ask questions or use surveys on social media sites to receive answers to questions you might have for your customer base.

Interaction. You must remember that social media works both ways. If you expect to ask questions, you must be ready to answer questions.

Know your customers location. A growing number of social networks are designed specifically for users on the go, and some, such as the mobile application Foursquare, offer tools specifically for businesses.

Allowing your customers to interact. Include forums or communities on your company’s websites and social media sites. This function allows your customers to interact about issues or show excitement over a new product.

Help others promote you. Social media can help you find passionate customers who are more than willing to spread the word about your company.

Do not promote too much. Your followers are interested in your company or they would not be following. However, I have yet to meet anyone who enjoys a spam of advertisements.

See what people are saying. Using social media opens conversation about anything and everything. This can help you determine your reputation in the eyes of others.

Social Media is free. The majority of social media sites are free. This means quick turnaround because you will be able to receive publicity and advertisement without having to pay a dime.

Picture Source: http://www.ismoip.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/social-media.jpg

Community Relations during Natural Disasters: Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You

The recent natural disasters that have affected our globe cannot be ignored. Almost immediately after an earthquake near Japan triggered a Tsunami, a chain of new disasters followed, including an outbreak of deadly tornadoes across the South as well as the flooding of the Mississippi River.

As soon as these disasters occurred, companies and organizations who were equipped to do so, sprang to the aide of those in need. For instance, American Behavioral a Birmingham-based behavioral health care organization serving clients nationwide, began receiving calls from their client companies. They put a plan into action to deal with what they knew was going to be the beginning of a severe emotional reaction that would follow those who were affected by the storm devastation.

In the days after the storm, American Behavioral sent out fliers and resource materials to all of their Human Resource contacts with information about dealing with the emotional impact tornadoes may have on their employees and family members, how to recognize the signs and symptoms of those suffering with a severe reaction, and ways that supervisors can help their employees to cope.

They also began sending on-site counselors to conduct group critical incident group debriefings and individual sessions with employees to the affected work areas to client companies affected by the storm, which ranged from banks, retail stores, fire and police departments, manufacturing plants, nursing home facilities, to hospital and other healthcare facilities.

American Behavioral has offered to provide expert advice to local and national publications through media alerts and pitches, establishing the organization as a dependable and credible go-to source on this topic. By providing tips and guidance on the human resource and financial toll on companies, as well as the emotional and financial toll on employees, American Behavioral is able to help both citizen victims as well as corporate victims of these disasters. Through this, American Behavioral is also able to introduce those company owners and employees who do not have behavioral health benefits, to a service that can help them be more prepared in the future.

This is an example of community relations between client and provider at its finest.

Tip Sheet: Apply the Golden Rule in Your Client Relationships

Originally posted at prnewsonline.com.

By Helene Solomon

Public relations pioneer Edward Bernays would have had a field day today. Long before integrated communications and social media, when business relationships were somehow more simple, clients hired Bernays to move public opinion; and he invented the press release to do just that. His brand of “propaganda” was considered revolutionary, and unquestionably gave birth to modern-day public relations.

But PR in the 21st century is much more than 20th century propaganda. To be successful, today’s PR requires a team effort between clients and PR agencies to understand the unique issues of the client’s space, prepare for the unexpected, stand out in increasingly crowded fields and keep up with the latest trends and technologies.

For any public relations agency/client partnership to be successful, it’s important to work in close collaboration with the in-house communications team and the rest of senior management.

According to a recent study conducted by Glasscubes, nearly 90% of PR pros said they would achieve better results if the agency/client relationship were more collaborative. Following are five tips on how best to build those agency/client relationships, and improve collaboration.

• Become your client’s biggest fan. Not just on Facebook. Understand their pressures and what keeps them up at night, anticipate their needs and challenges and be an advocate for their issues. If you want to build a thriving partnership, the agency team must learn to think like the client. Understand the corporate culture. Align your thinking with theirs—not so you would necessarily do what they would do, after all one of the advantages an agency has is a fresh perspective. Recognize their business goals and objectives and know what they are trying to accomplish long-term in their sales and marketing plan.

• Review and test the crisis plan. If recent events have proved anything, it’s that every organization needs to have a crisis plan. It needs to be tested, exercised and well communicated throughout the organization. No ifs, ands or buts. It is the best way for agencies and clients to get to know each other. It takes you from the first date to marriage faster than any other exercise.

• Be proactive, not reactive. Think one step ahead of them. Be the first to send over media coverage and relevant industry news. Suggest fresh, creative ideas that show you follow their space and competitors closely. Be accessible, and respond quickly and thoughtfully to client questions, comments and concerns. Add value by always being on the lookout for other ways to help. For example, if you know they have been bedeviled by lack of access to a key influencer, figure out how to get them to that person. It may not be directly billable by the hour, but will pay great dividends down the road.

• Make the in-house team look good. There’s a general understanding that if you help make your client contact look good in front of their manager, you will boost their ability to achieve their annual performance goals that may mean a raise or promotion. It’s the agency’s job to consistently produce results that prove the value and capabilities of the in-house team. This way, when it comes time for the decision-makers to update annual business plans and review budgets, the in-house team has the evidence to make a strong case to keep the agency, and possibly expand their role and budget.

• Excel in the vast world of social media. A recent study conducted by Yankee Group revealed that nearly 60% of customers feel company outreach via social media would improve their loyalty to that company, and 70% wanted access to company experts and support via social media channels. In-house marketing professionals may understand social media, but it’s up to the PR agency to excel as leaders of its spheres of influence, recognizing where it would benefit the client most.
BERNAYS WOULD BE PROUD

Today’s PR agency is doing a lot more than writing press releases. We’re also selling relationship building, executive visibility, brand awareness, alignment with public policy, strategic counsel on partnerships, crisis planning, reputation protection as well as a true commitment to the client to support them in all facets of their business. And we’re not in it alone. At the end of the workday, we are one team, working side-by-side with our in-house partners to meet the same goals. We just have different e-mail addresses.

Helene Solomon is the cofounder and CEO of Solomon McCown & Co., a Boston-based strategic communications firm, and a member of the PR News Advisory Board. She can be reached at hsolomon@solomonmccown.com.

Selling Happiness: Boomers Look for Youthfulness, Optimism and Social Consciousness

I once had an editor that said, “I know I’m old. I just don’t want to be reminded of it all the time.” He made the comment in reference to the under-45 mission our magazine had tacitly adopted, which manifested itself in the photographs and language we used throughout the pages. Fresh-out-of college young ladies were shown planting flowers, just-married young couples walked parks together with toddler in tow, and the use of “cool” and “hot” in story headlines became ubiquitous.

Thing is, my editor’s philosophy was supported by hard research garnered through reader surveys and studies. Younger readers, predictably, wanted to see their peers in the magazine. However, interestingly enough, those same studies uncovered that older readers had no objection to seeing a younger, modern, and trendier stories and photos. Furthermore, they actually preferred this spin.

A recent study by the Geppetto Group reports that those in the Boomer generation are still looking for uplifting mechanisms and are even “identifying” with youthfulness when selecting brands. As well, adults beyond adolescent age want to see that companies are socially conscious through green efforts and sustainability. Far beyond advertising, however, public relations can be a primary engine for conveying freshness, optimism, and social responsibility in a brand.

For instance, a company that hires a PR firm to build its social media will be seen as
youthful and in-tune with the day. As well, it will be seen as socially conscious, by taking an electronic, non-paper route to reach their audience. Public relations firms often guide companies into strategic philanthropy so that the company is seen in the public eye as community-invested, in-touch, and reachable.

I once set up a story for an elder care company with a local newspaper. The photography
for the story was as strategic as the pitch. Although the article focused on a company
that goes into the homes of elderly, often ill, adults, I made sure that there were younger people photographed with the elderly so that there was a component of life and vitality to the article.

In keeping with the findings in the Geppetto Group study, public relations firms would do well to explore and identify a fresh mindset for their clients in order to reach a maturing audience who is looking to stay vibrant.

How to STOP annoying reporters and START building relationships

By Mickie Kennedy

Want to get your press release or important story in the paper?

Don’t do what many of your peers do—pitch all the livelong day and not interact with a reporter like he or she is a human being. Instead, focus on developing a relationship with your local journalists. You may be surprised at the results.

Here are 10 tips to help you get in their good graces.

1. Don’t pitch (at least not all the time). Pitching is obviously a necessary part of your job, but reserve it for the end of your conversation.

2. Reference their work. Want someone to feel important? Talk about what’s important to him or her. For journalists, it’s their past stories and columns. You don’t have to memorize every word, but rest assured a little reference to past work will make them smile—and remember your name.

3. Talk to them like humans. Reporters are very busy, so don’t flood their inboxes with inane banter. However, once in a while when you do talk to them, don’t just stick to business. Ask about their kid’s school play, or whether that big story they were working on panned out. And remember, no jargon.

4. Learn their schedule. Speaking of being busy, learn what times and days it’s best to talk. This includes knowing when to call and when to email. Not only will they appreciate that you took the time, you also stand a chance to actually get a hold of them when you need to.

5. Lend a hand. Offering help when he or she needs it makes a reporter’s life much easier. This can include anything from being a source to helping find facts about your industry for a story. When the time comes to fill in a story for the paper, they’ll come to you.

6. Comment on their stories. Another way to help reporters get their stories noticed is to comment on them. This can create a dialogue between the two of you, and even a real rapport. If their site is relevant to your followers, share it on Facebook and Twitter.

7. Be on call. If you’re actively helping out a reporter, remember to be on call. You’ve always expected them to answer the phone at suppertime and at 7 a.m., so do the same for them. If they call on your vacation, answer the phone!

8. Write a story for them. Want to really get on their good side? Don’t just send a press release for your story, go ahead and write the whole thing. This way there’s a big chunk of work that’s already done. Make sure you follow the style of their publication.

9. Speak clearly and concisely. When a reporter does contact you, don’t ramble on at a thousand miles an hour. Make sure you know what you want to say, and say it with clarity and conciseness. Don’t give them an excuse to dump the story because they need to call you back for clarification on a few points.

10. Be Nice! Above all, be civil and polite. You’re busy, the reporter is busy—everyone is busy. It’s no reason to be rude. Even if the person on the other end seems harried, remaining calm and nice on your end usually does them in. Keep in mind the old saying about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar!

This article previously appeared in PR Fuel, a service of eReleases.com Press Release Distribution.com.

What Public Relations Can Learn From Real Estate

Driving by the “for sale” signs in the front yards of properties on the market barely yields a passing glance these days, due to the sheer volume and mundane appearance of the signs. Even those who are aggressively looking will resort to online MLS listings before entering a house simply based on a sign in the yard. A new cable series, “Selling New York,” details the extravagant strategies that real estate agents of the Upper East Side, who are more like public relations and marketing agents, employ in order to promote a property and get potential buyers inside. The tactics go far beyond those 8 x 8 cardboard signs posting a realtor’s basic info.

These agents sometimes hire five-star chefs to provide hors d'œuvrs, as agents representing buyers walk around. They sometimes rent furniture by the latest designers to stage the area in a way that makes potential buyers feel like they’re already at home. In effect, once they get potential buyers inside the properties, the spaces themselves do the talking, and the real estate agents are able to close a deal.

In keeping, public relations firms nowadays have to employ modern tactics to get clients into their doors. For many, those “for sale” signs are no longer effective, as the market has become flooded with so many pitches that look and feel the same. Power point presentations are becoming flashier, web sites are becoming more interactive and social media has become the tool of choice to capture the attention of potential clients. Business cards, which will still always be a staple of basic business transactions, have gone digital—potential clients are impressed when just a bump of a phone yields an electronic contact card that is automatically saved to their handheld.

Take a look at how you’re selling your public relations products. Are you leaving it up to the “for sale” sign, or are you selling your prime property in style?

Tuning in to Opportunity: How Companies can use online videos as the new TV

Tuning in to Opportunity: How Companies can use online videos as the new TV

Think about the amount of time each day you spend listening to a radio. Next, think of the time each day you spend watching TV. Finally, think about the time you spend in front of your computer each day. In each of these scenarios, the time growth is exponential. You may not have noticed, companies and organizations have been carefully watching the technology trends and have made a point of incorporating online videos into their efforts to reach you, the audience. In fact, EMarketer.com predicts that in five years, B2B firms alone will spend 20 percent of their annual budgets on social media, which includes communication through online videos.

Far beyond simply being engines for online ads, companies, nonprofits, even politicians and celebrities are posting online videos as public relations tools to reach a people who are quickly trading in their television remotes for iPads.

Does this mean that television is fading and going the way of hard copy newspapers or those radio broadcasts you used to tune into on the weekends? Not at all. It simply means that television, as well as those same newspapers and radio programs, are learning to utilize new methods for reaching patrons.

According to a recent study by Nielsen, online video usage in the U.S. is up considerably from the same time last year. Results showed that time spent viewing video on personal computers, Macs, and laptops from home and work locations increased by 45 percent in January 2011. The study showed that this year, viewers streamed 28 percent more video and spent 45 percent more time watching.

Among favorite sites to tune in were MSN, Windows Live and Bing, which were the fastest-growing video brand month-over-month, increasing 26.1 percent. Furthermore, top online video brands used by unique viewers in February 2011, included AOL Media Network, YouTube and Facebook.

If the audience is allocating more time to online video, then, logically, they are spending less time utilizing other media. So, how can companies incorporate online videos into public relations campaigns? Look at BP after last year’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill or Toyota after the massive recall. The companies not only ran spots for television, radio, and newspaper, but also invested a great deal of time, money, and effort in posting their public relations message all over the internet via online videos that were crafted to patch up their reputations and sell the repaired image to the online viewer.

This year, look for even more companies and organizations to tap into online viewership in even more creative ways. In this society of instant access, these online videos will be tweeted, texted, instant messaged, and so on. The message will be accessible from anywhere and will penetrate everywhere.