As we find ourselves very much in the midst of the social media craze, consumer pick-up rates are skyrocketing at exponential speeds. With the successes I’ve seen of many Fortune 100 (global) companies, there is no question to me that social is here to stay. It’s being strongly embraced by business and is simply too much a part of our daily lives for it to just drop off the face of the earth. (more…)
What do an iconic American consumer brand, a Swiss digital communications agency and the 2011 Canadian federal election all have in common? Each tells its own success story with social media. Specifically, each is a case study about using the intelligence and insight gleaned from social media monitoring for brand and reputation management, crisis communications and message control, and cross-channel promotion. (more…)
Over the past several months, I have attended conferences galore to the point where I have (for better or worse) started to develop an opinion on how they operate and what makes a session worthwhile to attend. Now, for the naïve attendee (that was me just five months ago), many panel titles imply sessions filled with awesome tips, insights and, ultimately, strategy! Unfortunately though, a lot of the time, you just end up getting pitched for some sort of service. (more…)
Social media has affected and influenced journalism to the point that, in some circles, it’s has become its own form of journalism. (But that’s an argument for another time.) Because of social media’s unique capabilities and functionalities, journalists need to keep a close ear to the groundswell that social media has become – not only as a source for stories, but also as a way to connect with your audiences. (more…)
Earlier this year, PR guru Richard Edelman addressed a crowded luncheon of businesspeople in Toronto. Buried among the many points he made that day was the growing influence of online advertising. It’s not only a question of convenience and ease of access, but it’s also a question of trust in the online space. Increasingly, people are turning to search engines for news, whereas not too long ago, one would have to phone a friend, consult an encyclopedia or head to the local library to obtain the same information that we all now have at our fingertips. (more…)
Congratulations! You’ve just created a thought-provoking, awe-inspiring and call-to-action-laden piece of content. ROI and back-pats, here we come. But then you let it sit there. Few people read it, nobody shares it and you’re the only one who tweets it. What happened? By rights, creating content that reaches the audiences we want to reach, grabs their attention and causes them to react in a positive way should be second nature for PR professionals and marketers; it’s what we’ve been trained do. But the demand from news consumers for content that is truly useful, interesting and engaging is so great, and the need for it to be portable and customizable is so ever-present, our jobs are not always so easy. (more…)
Adam Bryant, deputy national editor of The New York Times, spoke at the National Investor Relations Institute’s (NIRI) annual conference that took place this past week in Orlando, Florida. He oversees coverage of education issues, military affairs, and law and works with reporters in many of the Times’ domestic bureaus. He also conducts interviews with CEOs and other leaders for Corner Office, a weekly feature he started in 2009 for the Sunday “Business” section and on nytimes.com. (more…)
Over the past few years, working in the UK social media industry, I have attended many conferences and events. Content has varied widely with debatable levels of useful takeaways. Brands like to share their ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ lists based on their experience with delegates desperately trying to find ideas that will work in their own companies. (more…)
Everyone has a great story to tell. Everyone. Icons like Oprah Winfrey have built their careers around telling stories – hers and those of her audience. Companies like Nike – with their legendary “how the Swoosh logo was made” story – have built their brands on it. Products like Old Spice – with its “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign – have reached new fans because of it. Even individuals — like James Frey, the drug addict who authored A Million Little Pieces — have written memoirs and garnered great fame because of them. (more…)
We decided it’s no different than dating. Not speed dating, although it does include some of the same elements like responding in real time and managing short attention spans. But the real, old-fashioned, “getting to know you,” courting kind of dating.
Who is the “we” and what is the “it” I’m talking about? The “we” included a roundtable of like-minds who joined me at one of the IABC 2011 World Conference early morning sessions: Amanda Brittain of Vancity; Dawneen MacKenzie of Livingston International; Steve Hogle of Edmonton Arena District; Beth Boswell of Fleishman-Hillard; Kathleen Vincent of BC Housing; Christopher Swan of Avery Dennison; Susi Maclean of Glass Tower Ltd.; and Erika Ruiz Ramos of Boehringer Ingelheim. The “it” had everything to do with best practices on how to build brand by engaging influencers. (more…)
Wow. Sometimes in life, you are privileged to share thoughts with some very forward-thinking souls. Today, I enjoyed tapping into the minds of chief communicators while moderating the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) 2011 World Conference In-Depth Session highlighting preliminary findings from the IABC Research Foundation and Marketwire Conversations with CEOs’ Study (#id4). Nearly two dozen CEOs – from companies including Playboy Enterprise, Best Buy, and DeBeers – engaged in in-depth interviews discussing the CEO’s role in corporate communication, how it affects financial performance and business success. The final full study, along with podcasts of the individual conversations, will be shared globally in the coming months via IABC and Marketwire. (more…)
The other week, I had the great pleasure of attending my first ever BlogWorld show in New York. While the event has been a long-running favourite of the social media community, this was the first time they had ever done one on the East Coast. While there were tons of great speakers, presentations and things to learn, I thought it would be fun to share with you three of my favourite take-aways. (more…)
Love him or hate him, adore him or detest him, one thing is clear: Justin Bieber has reach. In a recent press release, Justin Bieber and PhoneGuard introduced PhoneGuard 360, a new mobile phone app suite that eliminates the dangers of texting while driving. The reaction to that news, and what happened on the day of the announcement, was quite remarkable.
Using Sysomos, our social media monitoring and analytics platform, we found several interesting notes that show how much of an impact social media – and relevant content — has today. Let’s review the sequence of events: (more…)
An interactive piece that explains a complex issue; published by Portfolio.com.
What “is” interactive journalism?
The jury is out on an official definition – “interactive” being somewhat of a nebulous word that could have different meanings depending on who you ask. But, based on one of Asian American Journalists Association’s (AAJA) recent conventions, “interactive” is interchangeable with “visual.” (more…)
In the traditional sense, the distribution of news releases had one goal in mind: pick-up or coverage.
With the explosive growth of social media reporting and the extensive networks of people that are influenced by social media, there is an increasing need to structure press releases to speak and reach out to more than just your traditional print and broadcast media outlets. Bloggers are equally important to address. In fact, some of the more prominent bloggers carry as much, if not more, weight as their traditional-media counterparts. (more…)
Shopping. Sharing. Communicating. Socializing. Relationship-building. Conversing. Connecting. Contributing. Multi-tasking.
Throughout (recent) history, women have dominated in every one of the very things that drive the social Web. So is it any wonder, and was there ever a doubt, that we would rule when it comes to Internet activity?
Not for the group of marketing and e-commerce decision-makers — from companies small to very large, public to private and non-profit, North American-based to global — who gathered together for an invitation-only thought-leadership experience in New York City at Econsultancy’s Peer Summit 2011 this past Thursday. As a sponsor and participant, and as a female executive, I came away from the event inspired as I learned from colleagues who shared real successes of just how powerful “girl power” has become in today’s corporate and consumer-driven environments. (more…)
Over the years, we’ve come to affectionately refer to June as “Conference Season,” because we sponsor, attend, speak at, host and exhibit at more events in this one month than any other throughout the year.
Well, it’s that time again, when Marketwire folks ready their best smiles and handshakes, and prepare to meet and greet clients, prospects and peers at conferences and special events across North America. From Saint John to San Francisco, the Marketwire gang sets forth by planes, trains and automobiles to mix, mingle and learn what’s new in the world of public relations, investor relations, social media and marketing. (more…)
Weeks have passes since Royal Wedding fever captured the world’s attention, and some of us are still remembering the bright colours of those fascinators, wondering what flavour of wedding cake the bride and groom enjoyed, and wishing we could be William and Kate’s Welsh neighbours. 
I recently had the pleasure of attending