#PRFail: Prince Sues 22 Fans for $1 Million … Each

February 4, 2014 BG&A Staff
FULL DISCLOSURE: Prince is a certifiable genius and I own all of his music. That said, the dude is also a certifiable guest in one of those padded cells with the cutesy little...

4 questions to ask before paying for a Facebook ad

February 3, 2014 BG&A Staff
There are more than 1.2 billion active monthly users on Facebook. If you haven't taken advantage of talking to these users through Facebook ads, perhaps it’s time to get started. Facebook lets you target ads for just about any group of people you can imagine. But before you pony up, there are four key factors to consider: 1. What do you hope to accomplish?  Determining your goals first will help you focus on what kind of ad to create on Facebook. For instance, do you want to: • Build your audience • Increase you engagement, or • Encourage people to visit your website? Based on your answer, you will advertise either in people's new feeds, promote your wall post, or place a stationary ad on the right column of users' home pages. Whether you advertising via Facebook ads or promoted posts, don't forget to include a call to action. Ask potential customers to do something in order to increase their engagement. Make your offer tangible so they will immediately understand why they should click on your ad. 2. Who is your audience?  If you want to get the most for your money, target narrowly. The size of your audience will be influenced by your brand and location, no doubt, but you also must consider the following: • Location: Choose specific cities, states or countries where your ads will be seen. Perhaps your brand is launching a new location; you can target your ad to residents in that city or within a specific geographical radius. • Demographics: Choose an age range and whether you want to target men, women or both. For example, if you're advertising a contest, are winners only eligible over the age of 18? You can set those perimeters. • “Likes” and interests: Enter a specific interest, and Facebook will match your ad with users who have included that interest in their profiles or “liked” other brand pages related to that interest area. Maybe you are hosting a charitable giveaway. You can target people who are already interested in charities on Facebook, increasing the likelihood of engagement. • Connections on Facebook: Identify whom you'd like to target. Do you want to target just fans of your page? Or just users who aren't fans of your page? Or just the friends of your fans who haven't liked your page? • Advanced targeting: Additional options include level of education, whether to target people on their birthdays, language, and relationship status. 3. What's your budget?  When setting budget limits, determine what you're willing to pay per action to get results from new customers. Once your budget is set, use Facebook's tools to set a lifetime budget or a daily dollar goal. Don't forget to budget for any third-party software applications you many need for contests or giveaways. These tools aren't expensive, and they can make your work easier. Woobox or Rafflecopter are two great choices that can help you fan-gate contests, easily retrieve information from contestants, encourage shares and tweets for bonus entries to cross-promote on various social media platforms and beyond.  4. How will your ad be designed?  This is where you can save lots of money. Using your imagination and becoming the copywriter, graphic designer, and photographer can save you hundreds of dollars. • Destination: Choose between an external URL (such as the third-party applications we mentioned above or a page on your company website) and a unique Facebook page. • Image: Pictures are the most important leverage you have, other than targeting. It is worth trying your ads with different pictures throughout the campaign. • Text: You have 90 characters, use them wisely. • Timeframe: There is no magic length. Ultimately, what the ad is used for will determine how long the ad should last. Now that you're ready to start advertising, what kind of campaign will you be pushing? By Kate Matthews

6,329 ‘Credentialed Journalists’ Will Cover Super Bowl XLVIII

February 1, 2014 BG&A Staff
In case you needed further proof that the multi-headed hydra we call “the media” still struggles to define its role in a micro-blog world, today brings two very different reports about the state of the journalistic game. We’ll start with the bad news: Capital New York‘s soon-to-be-paywalled Media Pro newsletter let us know that, per our headline, more than 6,000 people who report for a living will keep us up-to-date on this year’s edition of what Stephen Colbert calls the “Superb Owl“. Some of them maystill be reporting on whether the Big Game will happen at all while the NFL’s media relations team cackles maniacally. Even CNN, aka “the only TV network that doesn’t have NFL rights to get broadcasting space” on Manhattan’s “Super Bowl Boulevard”, will transform its “Election Express” bus into the “Super Bowl Express”, because no American could possibly suffer from Football Overexposure and replacing one annoying thing with another, slightly less annoying thing is always a good idea. What he said. Now for more encouraging news: a 6-year-old magazine called Pacific Standard has scored big traffic numbers over the past month not due to some weird promotional trick, exclusive politico interview or infographic generator but simply thanks to the strength of in-depth, long-form reporting supported by an underlying research foundation a la Poynter and others. As the Columbia Journalism Review reported yesterday, the mag’s big traffic bump has been driven by research-driven pieces like these two: The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren’t Welcome on the Internet How Did Toast Become the Latest Artisanal Food Craze? The New Yorker might not respond to your pitch, but wouldn’t it be great to score coverage in a publication like PS? We’re cautiously optimistic. By Patrick Coffee  

PR Checklist for Juicing Your Facebook Page

January 31, 2014 BG&A Staff
Have you cracked the code yet on how to grow your audience on Facebook? We didn’t think so. But that’s understandable. It remains a significant challenge for PR pros and communicators to generate new fans via the social platform. The job of juicing your Facebook page isn’t getting any easier, what with a new social network emerging seemingly every few weeks (Snapchat is the just latest entry in the space that’s generating a growing amount of interest), not to mention the fickle nature of online consumers. But there are several steps PR pros can take to boost their engagement on Facebook and increase the number of likes for your brand or organization. With any luck, deploying the steps can make you the Jascha Heifetz of Facebook engagement. What increases engagement? > Wall posts with photos get a 39% higher interaction rate > Posts with emoticons get 52% higher interaction rates > Posts with 80 characters or less receive 23% higher interaction rates than longer posts > Posts that specifically ask for shares receive 7X more shares > Posts that contain questions generate a 92% higher comment rate > Posts that generate a “Caption this….” strategy generate a 5.5X higher comment rate How to increase “likes” > Contests – like your page, become a fan, win a prize. Use third party apps like Wishpond > Like-Gated Coupons – require an action to make them redeemable > Like-Gated eBooks – helpful content that is free. House the download on a tab on your page > Facebook ads – “Like” us to ______ > Add a like button or box to your blog, website > Exclusive Like-Gated Videos – Instagram videos Have any items that you would like to add to the list? By Matthew Schwartz

PepsiCo rebrands its ‘natural’ products with the word ‘simply’

January 30, 2014 BG&A Staff
Brands may want to make “simply” a substitute for “natural,” but it’s tough to tell whether consumers will buy it—literally. PepsiCo is the latest to ditch “natural” labels for the “simply” moniker. “Simply Natural” Frito-Lay chips are now just “simply.” And “Natural Quaker Granola is now “Simply Quaker Granola.” The change comes as some companies are facing lawsuits over use of the word. Kellogg’s was sued because its subsidiary, Kashi, used “a spectacular array of unnaturally processed and synthetic ingredients,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Some speculate that PepsiCo’s move is part of an ongoing trend away from the dangerous word “natural.” The company settled a lawsuit last year against its subsidiary, Naked Juice. Turns out “naked” doesn’t mean “natural.” The company said in a statement at the time: In some products, we also include an added boost of vitamins. Naked juice and smoothies will continue to be labeled “non-GMO,” and until there is more detailed regulatory guidance around the word “natural” ? we've chosen not to use “All Natural” on our packaging. General Mills’ Nature Valley bars used to bear the claim “100% natural” on the label—that is, until a2012 lawsuit called that into question. The bars no longer have the claim on their packaging. A judge threw out a lawsuit that claimed Arizona iced Tea was misleading customers by claiming to be “all natural.” PepsiCo is downplaying the changes, a spokeswoman telling the AP, “We constantly update our marketing and packaging," Some are finding that simply hard to swallow.   By Kevin Allen

Leaving Negative Reviews Online is Not as Safe as it Used to Be

January 29, 2014 BG&A Staff
If the Justine Sacco case showed us anything, it’s that people are still not fully aware of the potential ramifications of their comments on Twitter. Those using branded accounts or with a company title in their profile can act as de-facto spokespeople for your business, and writing ‘views are my own’ in their description might not negate collateral damage to your brand. So while we generally know not to post inappropriate content, there are a few unwritten Twitter rules that probably need to be noted, just as a refresher for those with their mouse pointers hovering over that ‘Tweet’ tab, ready to fire off something they’re not 100% sure they should. The five rules go like this: 1. Thou shalt refrain from using thy brand profile to Tweet personal updates. Use your personal profile for that – or better yet, your personal Facebook profile with relevant privacy settings in place. Don’t share news about your favourite sports team or your son’s first word, this is the place for business updates and information relevant to your business followers - always keep the audience in mind. Social media is about establishing connections to foster ongoing relationships, spamming your followers with content they have no interest in is not likely to endear them to your brand. Also, if you’re in the public eye, or your personal profile has alignment to your brand, maybe avoid using Twitter to send questionable content. Cautionary tale: Anthony Weiner’s recreational activities 2. Thou shalt reconsider tweeting uponst consuming too much ale – We’re all on social media all the time - your iPhone’s right there in your pocket, waiting to be checked, but sometimes you do need to disconnect. Sure, most people can handle their drink and it’s generally not a problem, but just a consideration for those with access to a brand Twitter account. Cautionary tale: American Red Cross ‘#gettngslizzerd’ Tweet 3. Thou shalt confirm thou art logged out of thy brand profile before tweeting – Have you ever sent out an e-mail then noticed that you’d CC’d a person or group you really didn’t mean to? I imagine that feeling is similar to the one you get after sending out a personal message from your brand Twitter account. It’s been blamed for a raft of Twitter fails over the years, including Microsoft’s Ann Coultercontroversy. Make sure you double-check where you’re sending from before pressing ‘Tweet’, it could spare you a world of pain. Cautionary tale: KitchenAid ‘Obama’s Grandma’ Tweet 4. Thou shalt maintain thy awareness of world events and trending topics – An ill-timed Tweet can become a major PR disaster. There’s no way to 100% protect against this, but worth checking the trending topics, and what the actual story is behind it, and paying attention to news events to avoid potential mis-associations with your content. Cautionary tale: Celeb Boutique’s ‘Aurora’ mis-understanding 5. Thou shalt eliminate negativity from thine Tweets. This is no joke, and one which we should attempt to apply as widely as possible. You remember how your parents used to say ‘if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all?’ Yep, that. There’s no reason for, or benefit to, negativity on Twitter. You don’t like want someone’s saying, you stop following them. Don’t engage in any bashing of competitors or making critical comments. Your brand Twitter profile should remain positive and focussed on your company strategy. Sometimes you may have to respond to an unhappy client, but keep in mind that Twitter is a public forum, everything you or your representatives Tweet is out there for the world to see. If an exchange is at risk of getting heated, advise the client that you will connect with them in a more private forum. In a broader sense, social media is a new world, in relative terms, and the ethical boundaries of it have not yet been set. By working to eliminate negativity, we can create a new normal, through weight of majority, where negative comments are simply not acceptable practice. You can never take back something that’s been said in person, but you can re-read a Tweet before sending. No negativity on Twitter. No place for it. Let’s make that a goal for the new year. By Andrew Hutchinson

New social network aims to connect people via favorite words

January 27, 2014 BG&A Staff
By Kevin Allen I once read somewhere that strong relationships boil down to whether you find the same things funny. Simplified? Sure. But could relationships also be built on whether you like the same words? FavoriteWords.com is a niche social networking site that connects people through their—you guessed it—favorite words. There’s no doubt that words are powerful things, but the people behind Favorite Words are taking it a step further. The site’s About section explains: What is the purpose of this, you ask? Certainly it helps to build your vocabulary and it surely is a fun exercise, especially if you have a fondness for words, but the purpose ofFavorite Words is a bit more complicated and somewhat simpler than that. You see, words have power, and when you collect your own favorite words, they can evoke feelings and memories that you associate with them; they can also improve your creativity or even show you the way in your life and career. The words on your list need only “ring a bell inside you” to warrant being put on your list. The site was created by Shavkat Karimov, a self-described “serial web entrepreneur.” His vision for the site is pretty lofty, claiming that compiling your favorite words can have therapeutic value, self-development value and social value. Karimov is looking to help people “understand themselves better, heal themselves in a harmless way, and find their matches for life, friendship, or business in a simple yet efficient way.” To use one of my favorite words: nice.

Why We Heart It Could Be the Next Big Social Network

January 25, 2014 BG&A Staff
By Kurt Wagner For a taste of who uses the image-based social network We Heart It, look no further than Facebook. A simple Graph Search query for "People who work at We Heart It" returns hundreds of results, many of them young females with titles like "Boss," "Heartbreaker," and even "Chief Executive Officer," all claiming to work at the 2-year-old startup. This list is not the actual staff roster from the San Francisco-based social network. In fact, We Heart It has only 18 employees. Instead, these are the platform's loyal users, and the counterfeit job titles somewhat baffle, but ultimately please, the startup's actual CEO, Ranah Edelin. "It's one of the proof points about how special this community and service really are," says Edelin. "We've never done anything to prompt or ask anybody to do that. They just are finding outlets to say that 'We Heart It is my favorite service.'" If you aren't familiar with We Heart It, there's a relatively good reason. The company didn't share a single press release until last June, when it announced 20 million monthly active users and $8 million in funding. That monthly actives number is up to 25 million, and the Pinterest look-alike is adding well over one million new users each month. We Heart It isn't simply collecting users, however. The social network is collecting the most coveted users available to social media platforms: the ever-important, mobile-savvy teenagers. Roughly 80% of We Heart It's monthly users are under the age of 24 Roughly 80% of We Heart It's monthly users are under the age of 24, and the same percentage of the platform's activity comes from users on mobile devices. Pinterest's demographic is very much the opposite. Roughly 80% of Pinterest users are overthe age of 24. (Pinterest has similar mobile usage — more than 75%, according to a spokesperson.)   And with teenagers reportedly leaving other larger social networks like Facebook behind, We Heart It hopes to be there to catch them. "Because [Facebook] is so large, it cannot be cool to the younger demographic that thrives on finding places to call their own, that are cool" says Edelin. "[Places] that their mother, grandmother, uncle and everybody else aren't on. That's not Facebook's fault, that's just human nature." This younger user base, and the types of content that come with it, are what separate We Heart It and Pinterest, two otherwise similar platforms, says Edelin. We Heart It works and feels like a younger, artsier Pinterest, where images of beautiful celebrities and peaceful sunsets replace the wedding dresses and home cooked masterpieces synonymous with the more established network. Board member Alex Rosen of IDG Ventures describes the images as "positive and inspirational," and indeed many of the photos have text overlay containing motivational messages and quotes. "This is very different from product-oriented, quasi-catalogue [images] that you get on Pinterest," he says. The platforms do have a few other differences. Instead of a profile page and Pin Boards, We Heart It users have a "canvas" and "collections." We Heart It users can only "Heart" photos, which automatically adds the photo to their canvas. Comments are not allowed to ensure no bullying or negativity occurs, says Edelin. We Heart It users can tag photos; Pinterest users add descriptions only.   A We Heart It user image. IMAGE: WE HEART IT We Heart It was incorporated in the United States in 2011, but the original site was built after a designer in Brazil started collecting images that inspired his work back in 2007. By the time the company officially formed, it was not alone in the realm of image-based social networks. Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram were all relevant, but that didn't dissuade Rosen from showing interest in We Heart It. In fact, it inspired him. "Frankly, this entire market didn't exist eight years ago [or] 10 years ago," he says. "There are opportunities for half a dozen to a dozen billion dollar outcomes, and the fact that there were some already out there didn't discourage us, if anything it encouraged us." We Heart It is in the process of making the next step in the company's expansion. It announced its first round of formal partnerships in December, and now has a half dozen partners including publications like Teen Vogue and Lucky. These relationships are not financially-driven, but they do demonstrate that We Heart It is commanding outside interest from other brands. Edelin also says that We Heart It will look to take an additional round of funding, possibly in 2014. With a growing audience, a slew of new partnerships, and the potential for more investors on the way, perhaps We Heart It will have room to make some of its "employees" on Facebook a real job offer.

Five Key Elements in Writing High Quality, Engaging Content

January 24, 2014 BG&A Staff
By Andrew Hutchinson Creating high quality content will be a major focus for brands in 2014. Strengthening your online presence will rely on it, and for many businesses this poses a new challenge, a new element to factor into their strategic planning. But creating engaging, quality content needn't be a daunting task. Yes, it takes additional time, in research and planning, and skill, in writing, but people within your business have vast experience in their respective fields and your company has diverse interests and stories through its staff and affiliations. You just need to work out how to find and share these elements in an engaging way, and one which allow you to showcase your brand’s expertise and reinforce your company values. In one of my previous posts I noted some tips on writing shareable content. One of those notes was ‘quality content is what your clients want to read, not what you want to tell them’. This is an important point in creating great content, but there are a few other elements to consider which will also help you create better brand stories. 1. Your content doesn’t necessarily have to be about your company’s products and services. In a recent article on Coca Cola’s corporate website revamp, Coke’s Group Director of Digital Communications and Social Media Ashley Brown noted that half the website’s content has nothing to do with the brand. The focus is on story, in alignment with strategy. Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ ad campaign is a premium example of this. Whilst not mentioning products, this content underlines the mission of the business. This feeds better relationships with the brand - and social media is all about building relationships. Strong stories that reinforce the aims and values of your company have the potential to establish an emotional connection with your audience, which will, in turn, maximise the reach potential of your content. Establishing the humanity of your business, the link betweeen your brand and the reader's daily life, is a key element of story-based content. 2. Does the content align with your brand’s strategic goals and values? You need to have a strategic plan for social media, measureable goals for achievement. Once these are established, any and all content you create needs to be cross-checked against them to ensure it fits into the overall strategy. Maybe you choose to do a story about the company’s sponsorship of a local sports team. Maybe you focus on the benefits your brand has delivered to a community. Whatever it is, once you have an idea down, you need to ensure the desired results align with, and reinforce, your strategic objectives. And worth confirming the content doesn’t conflict with your company values, particularly if they’re public knowledge. 3. Does the content inform and offer a new angle on a topic? Here’s a more challenging one, and one which you may need help with. Finding a unique angle can be difficult, but it'll ensure your content is more compelling and shareable. One thing to keep in mind is no one can tell your story. Every person has something unique to say. This also relates to your brand – no one else has the same experience as your company. Can you find a way to present a story that offers something new and, ideally, something with heart? A pulse, is what I call it. When I’m reading content, the thing that really gets me is when something comes alive. It has a pulse, a passion that the writer has been able to translate. It’s often when you can tell this is something the writer genuinely cares about. Then it has that pulse, that human factor, and you can connect with it on a deeper level. This is probably the most challenging aspect of creating great content, and one which may require the assistance of a professional writer. 4. Attention to detail is the difference between good and great This is always a risky one to put in because everyone makes mistakes, misses a word, forgets to turn off their LinkedIn activity broadcasts before overhauling their profile. Anytime I note this, I always double check everything I've written to make sure I haven’t slipped up when I’m making a point of it (and normally I have) but this is universally true. Attention to detail elevates your work to the next level. It may take longer, it may be a pain to check and re-check, but it will shine through in the end. Everyone makes mistakes, but as long as you can press save and honestly know you’ve done all you can to ensure it’s the best it can be, then you’re on the right track. 5. Is this something you would want to read and, more importantly, share with your followers and connections? No doubt most of you are like me and you read through 20-30 articles each morning, staying on top of industry news as well as other items of personal interest. As you do this, think about how many of those articles you feel a compulsion to share. Think about why you want to share them. Consciously think over what makes the content you share ‘shareable’, then apply those findings to your work. Does your content stack up? Can it be more shareable? There’s no definitive guide to what will and won’t be shared, and as noted, there are professional services that can assist in writing and planning, but hopefully these points will help you expand your thinking on how you approach the challenge of content creation and give you a better idea of the direction you want to take for your brand.  

How a Nonprofit Raised $41k on Twitter in 24 Hours Without Trying

January 23, 2014 BG&A Staff
By Steven Shattuck Serendipitous giving happens all the time, but occasionally social media fuels a philanthropic goldrush that even the most carefully planned and executed campaign could not have delivered. As the polar vortex and a dire forecast descended upon the Midwest last week, Peter Dunn, a personal finance expert based out of Carmel, Indiana, had an idea. “I was talking to (my son) about staying warm this week. I said some people won't be able to stay warm, and then my mind started racing from there.” Knowing a lot of snow was on the way, he took to Twitter and sent out a simple challenge: I'm donating $100 per inch of snow tomorrow (airport measure) to @WheelerMission. Who will join me? Any $$ per inch would be great. — Peter Dunn (@PeteThePlanner) January 4, 2014 Within minutes, the tweet went viral and the pledges started pouring in from businesses and individuals: @PeteThePlanner In for $4/inch. We've been complaining about no hot water for a couple days, but that's nothing compared to being outside. — Jessi (@jessirunkel) January 4, 2014 Love what you're doing here @PeteThePlanner! Put SKB down for $50 an inch.@WheelerMission does good work plus their our neighbors :) — Sun King Brewing (@SunKingBrewing) January 4, 2014 As the snow piled up, so did the pledge total, fueling even more giving: Oh man. What a day. Btw, we're now at $2185/inch of snow to @WheelerMission to help our community's homeless during this harsh weather. — Peter Dunn (@PeteThePlanner) January 5, 2014 All told, Twitter users pledged $3,700 per inch of snow. By the time the weather system passed, Indy-metro had racked up 11.4 inches, equating to over $41,000 in pledges. With this money, Wheeler Mission estimates it can deliver about 18,222 meals. For nonprofits, there are a few lessons to take away: 1. Stay Aware When a social media firestorm (good or bad) erupts around your, you want to become aware as soon as possible. It’s important to check your accounts daily, if not hourly, and set up alerts for brand mentions. Users might not always tag your or use your username in a mention. Even though it happened on a Sunday, Wheeler Mission stayed on top of the tweets and made sure to thank supporters. It’s likely that the results would have been diminished had they remained silent during the impromptu campaign. 2. Leverage Influencers The responsibilities of fundraising do not have to fall solely on the shoulders of staff members, board members and formal volunteers. Dunn chose Wheeler because they “epitomize ‘troops on the ground.’ They do what everyone else talks about.” Chances are, your nonprofit has donors that feel the same way about you, and who are active on social media. Identify and leverage them during campaigns, and keep them in mind when brainstorming creative ways to raise funds. You don’t have to do it alone! 3. Fundraise Creatively Appeal letters, silent auctions, annual galas and capital campaigns are all great ways to tried-and-test ways to raise money, but nonprofits shouldn’t feel limited to these traditional forms of fundraising. Try running a few experimental online campaigns every once in awhile. You might be surprised what works! Donors want to give in creative ways, especially through channels that puts their philanthropy on display. Have you seen nonprofits using Twitter in creative ways, or a group of influential donors fundraise on their own? Let me know in the comments below!
Share this:

 

"Bob Gold & Associates not only “get us” but works tirelessly to be proactive and keep us front and center. In short, Bob Gold & Associates is an invaluable addition to our team."


- Colleen Nichols, Sr. Director Corporate Marketing, Ooyala