PR has been a priority for most major corporations whether they retain a team inside or hire an agency outside of the business. “According to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. …” In some cases PR specialists were some of the first to embrace social media, in other cases PR specialists have stuck to their more traditional means of fostering relationships with key media in respective areas of print, radio, television and used the news wires to distribute their press releases with follow-up to their ongoing contacts to whom they have formed relationships. Read the rest of this entry »

We are back from taking a break with our posts and look forward to connecting with you again weekly – as we have done over the last few years. It is always interesting to hear how many companies are still fearful – of leveraging social media and use negative responses from customers as a reason to not dive in. As you have seen via many large companies Nestle, Motrin, Boeing to name a few – avoiding those customers who are complaining and or unhappy – can create issues that may become far bigger than they ever began. If you think of how you personally feel – when you are unhappy about something, speak up to that business immediately and they then find a way to fix the situation – you usually walk away not only satisfied – but far more passionate about that business or brand then you were prior to that particular situation. Read the rest of this entry »

We talk about social media and engagement on our SHARE blog – as key touch points – to understanding how to best leverage social media tools for your customer while building- honest and truthful mutually beneficial relationships. We talk regularly to our clients both new, current and potential about understanding your target market. One size does not fit all. It is understanding who you want to connect with and how they want to connect with you that is vital in serving your customer via social media. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember those delicious Girl Guide Cookies? Or the Avon and Mary Kay representatives that used to come door to door – with their catalogs back in the day. They would have a bag of samples of products for you to try, you could leaf through their catalogs make your selections and then your representative would come back to your home and hand deliver your order. None of those things have disappeared – but like everything the methods for which some of those salespeople are now not only finding new customers, but communicating and engaging with their current customers is via social media online. Read the rest of this entry »

In light of the world cup soccer FIFA – taking place as I write this in South Africa – I thought it might be fun to write about sports and social media. As many sports fans know ,there are many sports that have embraced social media from NBA basketball ( which is in the midst of a nail biting finals), hockey congrats to the Chicago Black Hawks who won the Stanley Cup after a record draught of 49 years! WOW that is worth the celebration that took place on the streets of Chicago! Yes my beloved tennis just finished the French Open and all of these sports have embraced social media. Read the rest of this entry »

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago and one of the executives in the meeting mentioned -that many of her clients are not using social media. Big corporate companies in some cases are not – but IF you think for a second that it is not being used by every industry you can think of – think again! Almost everyone I know and that YOU know has a Facebook profile or knows someone who does. From your local grocery store, to your local news station, to the boutique who sells your favorite shoes all have a presence on Facebook! Read the rest of this entry »

I read a great article today that I am going to SHARE with you at the end of this post. It talks about brand promise vs brand experience. Social media as we all know – has now broadened the net for reach and allows not just a brand, but anyone to SHARE anything their hearts desire and have it spread like wildfire by leveraging social media tools. Many businesses are finally waking up to the power of these tools and better yet -  it is the customer that is now driving much of the power – by being able to clearly articulate and SHARE with those that will listen, to their wants, needs and benefits of doing business with them. In return the business in question must be able to not only listen – but stand tall on what their brand promise, product, service and value is and stay true to their word. Read the rest of this entry »

I have written many articles about Twitter in the last few years that I have been writing this blog. There are many out there -that are still trying to figure it all out – along with many other social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin. While you continue to ponder or assume that many of the people you are trying to connect with and target may not be there – guess again. On Twitter alone there are more than 100 million users and many small businesses have already begun to use it as a free resource to market their business. I tell our clients all the time that even if you are not ready to use social media – I can almost guarantee (I still go by the adage that their are no guarantees in life!) – that your current and potential customers already are and better yet they are talking about YOU. The question becomes are you reaching out and talking to them? Read the rest of this entry »

I am not sure how many of you are familiar with the Nestle social media backlash – in fact I may have touched on this debate some months back. In any event to fill in those that are unfamiliar – Greenpeace was very upset with Nestle claiming their practices contributed to rainforest deforestation. They then used Youtube to post a very graphic video to shock viewers. It came across my path more than 8 weeks ago and I am sure for many of our readers it crossed your path as well. Read the rest of this entry »

It is amazing how quickly the news media has leaped into social media – while may businesses and corporations still lag behind in hesitation . I read most of my newspapers online now – 3 to be exact and tend to go to several of the sites – where I used to subscribe to magazines. I do admit that there is something great about a beautiful print magazine. My favorites continue to be Vogue, home decor magazines and of course food. Some magazines have been extremely successful in integration of offline and online, Bon Appetite is one that has a robust site and Facebook fan club. Read the rest of this entry »