01

Nov

Three Tips for Keeping Your Brand Consistent Across Social Media

This post originally appeared on the Nyhus blog.

While social media allows your brand to communicate over a variety of new mediums, it also creates complexities in forming a cohesive marketing message. The easiest way to maximize your social media marketing is to stay true to the way your brand is best known by its audiences and always map back to your original intent to engage.

Here are three easy tips to make your brand reliably recognizable and increase your social media ROI:

1) Be visually consistent across all channels. For most platforms it’s easy to customize a page by adding your logo and key messaging in prominent locations. Make each of your pages across the various social platforms visually alike – use the same logos, color schemes and background imagery. These common elements are useful in giving your brand a unified voice. And the repetition will make it stick in people’s minds.

 
 
 

2) Share the same message.Though the exact wording will change due to the different limitations of the media (such as Twitter’s 140 character limit and ability to hashtag), share the same updates across all channels to make sure you reach all of your audience. For example:

                          

By sharing the same updates simultaneously across your networks, you not only reach your entire online audience with your news but you can also tell which platform gains the most engagement – a useful way to determine where to focus your advertising.

3) Own your content. This last one might seem obvious, but it’s imperative to the reliability of your brand that you own the channels you promote, especially as part of campaign. Since the goal of communication channels is to build trust, confidence and awareness for your brand, your message must come from your owned channels and not a third party. For example, never let a vendor, agency or team member share social media updates on their own channel instead of yours as a part of a campaign. Doing so risks opportunity to expand your brand and increase your followers, and it also opens your brand to the dangerous ground of not owning its own content. Brand ownership of all accounts removes risk; were that employee to move on to a competitor or post less than savory content down the road, you’re potentially opening your company up to a huge liability.

Successful brands stay consistent with their marketing message, and the effort put into maintaining this regularity across all marketing material makes the message gain sincerity. Consumers relate consistency with reliability. After all, if your brand cannot be sure of who it is, how can consumers be sure you will deliver on your promise to them?

[Images courtesy of Star Wars and Nordstrom social media channels]

229 days ago Short URL Comments

Communications/Marketing/Public Relations/Social Media

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04

Oct

Three Lessons to Learn from KitchenAid’s Social Media Crisis

This post originally appeared on the Nyhus blog.

 

During the first 2012 presidential debate last night, KitchenAid’s official U.S. Twitter account posted an insensitive tweet concerning President Obama’s late grandmother that was intended for a personal Twitter account. While the offensive tweet was quickly removed, the damage from posting to almost 26,000 followers and to a widely viewed hashtag remained. Here are three lessons you can learn from the aftermath of KitchenAid’s social media crisis:

Take responsibility:  People have come to expect transparency and accountability from brands. One thing KitchenAid did well was immediately own up to its offensive post and apologize not only to the general public, but to President Obama’s Twitter handle as well.

The senior director of KitchenAid’s brand and marketing division, Cynthia Soledad, also took to Twitter to ask for forgiveness for the actions of her team, as well as offering her personal email for media inquiries. While her apologies didn’t appease all of the Twittersphere, many users thanked her for her timely response.

Have a plan: Make sure your team is prepared for the worst-case scenario. While you should trust your team’s instincts, it’s simply a best practice to have a plan in place for a potential public relations crisis. One example of lacking a plan is when a Chrysler Auto employee accidentally sent a wayward tweet about the quality of the drivers in Detroit over the @ChryslerAutos Twitter account. Instead of immediately owning up to the problem, the automotive company originally claimed its account had been compromised. While they eventually explained on their blog that the tweet had come from a since fired employee, their lack of protocol led to accusations they lied to the public on top of the damage to its hometown brand.

Learn from it and move on: Though it’s important to learn from the mistake, it doesn’t do any good to dwell on the issue. Make note of what you could have done better and respond more quickly. Get a plan in place to make sure your employees double check which account they’re posting from, then move on and focus on how to improve brand interaction. You won’t be able to please everyone no matter how great your crisis communications plan is, but you certainly can reduce the occurrence of such mishaps. KitchenAid might feel backlash from the post, but its decisive and timely handling will make the story old news by tomorrow.

257 days ago Short URL Comments

Communications/Crisis Communications/Public Relations/Social Media

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01

Aug

The Changing Face of Media: How Social Media Has Confronted NBC’s Olympic Coverage

This post originally appeared on the Nyhus blog.

Social media is changing the ways people interact with each other and companies, and NBC, which made the decision to put revenue ahead of its customers who prefer to watch the Olympics live, is experiencing this firsthand. In this digital age we, as news-receivers, take for granted the availability of real-time coverage and believe it’s of primary importance. But is it important to all parties involved, and what happens if it’s not? We saw this question come to a head last week as tens of thousands of vitriolic fans took to social media to share their discontent in NBC’s delayed coverage of the London Summer Olympics. Viewers first shared their dismay that the network did not air the Opening Ceremony live on Friday, opting to instead broadcast it during prime time hours. Attacks on NBC became radically worse when viewers learned that, though NBC is providing live stream of all of the events online, they’re only accessible with proof of a cable subscription. Many viewers were also irate to learn NBC is delaying coverage of most events until primetime, meaning fans would have to wait several hours to see marquis Olympic events.

In a social media age, in which news is updated in real-time, the lack of live television coverage is infuriating to those hoping to watch events prior to hearing the results. Many have called NBC’s decision to implement tape delays of major Olympic events utterly behind the times, and NBC’s ensuing PR crisis is a consequence of failing to recognize the world we live in.

So, why won’t NBC allow Americans to watch the events live and why is it not important? The short answer is: revenue. Primetime is traditionally where NBC makes its profit for the Olympics they are aiming to collect after spending $1.18 billion for the rights to the games and the expected $100 million in production costs.

Though NBC sold a record $1 billion in advertising for the Olympics this year, its parent company, Comcast, was still expected to take a $100 million loss, which it hopes to make-up for by promoting its upcoming fall sitcoms and sports channel during the games (though they have since stated they expect to break even). While they could satisfy fans by televising important events live, rather than repeating them during primetime, they would be risking millions of dollars in advertising revenue if such a decision cut into primetime viewing.

And why didn’t this happen in Beijing in 2008? During the Beijing games, NBC was able to time events so they would air live during primetime, whereas the time difference in London has not allowed them to do the same. Additionally, as Forbes points out, in 2008, Twitter had 6 million users and Facebook 100 million. Today, they are at 140 million Twitter and 955 million Facebook users, respectively. Moreover, Olympic athletes are using social media as an exciting behind-the-scenes look into every aspect of their Olympic experience. This effectively means that if you want the full story on what’s going on behind the scenes at the Olympics, you should turn to your Twitter feed, not the TV.

NBC has attempted to make social media work for them, turning to both Facebook and Twitter to encourage fan interactions through polls and comments which are often incorporated into broadcast segments. However, the company’s efforts have been dwarfed by an increasing number of satire social media accounts which give voices to frustrated viewers. One such account is @NBCDelayed, which gained almost 20,000 followers since its creation this past weekend. The parody account’s amusing tweets, at NBC’s expense, truly highlight the ridicule of the situation.

 

While the majority of viewers may not mind the tape delay, key influencers, including journalists, do, which is bringing increased attention to something that was normal merely ten years ago. However, it’s worth noting that NBC is seeing record viewers this Olympics. Though new media is growing, broadcast is far from dead. It’s important for brands to be mindful of their social media audience and companies need to utilize social media to create fully integrated campaigns. Learn more about our past integrated campaigns at Nyhus, Partners in Preservation and WA United for Marriage, which took traditional media campaigns and integrated social media efforts to great benefit.

[Photos courtesy of Twitter]

321 days ago Short URL Comments

Communications/Social Media

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21

Jul

6 Tips On How To Land Your Dream Internship

It’s been one month since I started my Public Relations Internship at Nyhus Communications. I know I’m not alone in the world of young professionals desperately trying to find an “in” somewhere, so I thought I’d share what I did to get me where I am. Hopefully these tips can help someone else out there land their own dream internship.

Make Opportunities For Yourself. While hopefully you were smart enough to spend your collegiate summers doing internships and honing your skills for the business world, it’s still sometimes hard to get an internship for your dream job. It’s especially hard when you keep getting told you don’t enough of a type of experience, and the only way it seems to get that experience is to do an internship like the one you’re applying for! That’s why you need to create a way to get the skills you want. When I was originally told (when I started applying to places out of college) that I didn’t have enough experience, I used some networking to secure a part time volunteer (read: unpaid) position as a local community shelter. I was lucky enough to gain a mentor from the person who found me the work to do, and had the chance to build my portfolio from press releases and media alerts I wrote for the community shelter’s charity events. This went a long way to showing that I was ready for a serious internship when I handed them a portfolio packed with results.

Showcase Your Writing Skills. For most jobs out there you’re going to need to communicate effectively  (especially in PR!). But unless you have a way to show your work, yours skills are pretty moot. So find a way to get published. Yes, blogs are good, but is there any opportunity in your life that could use an experienced writer? Before my internship I was working at the Roanoke Inn on Mercer Island part-time to pay the bills. I asked my manager if they would be willing to publish a weekly newsletter of fun stories about the place and local events. While she and the owner weren’t originally sold, they thankfully gave me the chance to write an example newsletter to see what I could do. I ended up writing 20 publications of The Roanoke Weekly Press that was always met with acclaim from customers. Free PR for them, another thing to add to the resume and more published writing for my portfolio = a win/win.

Make a Portfolio. And not just the hard copy you give to employers at interviews (you have one of those, right?). It’s really easy and cheap to create an online portfolio. All you need is a WordPress page. Check out some examples, write a quick about me and then add pertinent sections e.g. Writing Examples, Skills, and, of course, Contact Info. Add the link to it at the bottom of your e-mail signature so when you contact potential employers they’re tempted to click it (and just link it to tell them that they can go check out your portfolio if they wish). Add a professional-looking photo to humanize the whole thing, and you’re good to go!

Network. I did mention I found my prior internship by networking, right? It’s amazing how easy it to find a job as long as you know the right people. One of my regular customers at the waitressing job I did, and a good high school friend’s Mom was able to introduce me to a PR pro that she volunteered with at the community shelter for which I did PR work. Not only that, but the PR pro who so nicely mentored my budding career also gave me a glowing recommendation for the internship I now have. While I had to put in the work to earn it, I have no doubt that that recommendation went a long way towards getting me in the door for an interview.  And don’t limit yourself to just family friends. I searched for local PR society happy hours, meet and greets… really anything that could get me face-to-face with someone that would hire me. Any chances you have to hand out a resume and speak intelligently (so no over indulging at those happy hours!) are truly to your advantage. Don’t miss out!

Be Savvy. First of all, this means doing your homework on the places to which you’re applying. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT go in to an interview with only the knowledge of “oh, it’s a PR firm” or “I know my interviewer’s name is Joe… something…” You should not only know the name(s) of your interviewers, but I highly suggest stalking them AND the owner of the company as much as possible. They should have a bio on their company site, but most pros have LinkedIn and/or Twitter accounts from which you get an idea of what this person is about. It may sound a little creepy, but remember that they’re not just looking to see your qualifications, but if they like you enough to work with you. You should also have an idea of their current and past clients, and what services they generally provide so you can sound smart when talking about why you want to work there (e.g. “I was really impressed by your work on ______, and would love to work with a client with such excited projects as ­­­­_____ and ______!”).

Secondly, be savvy in what you’re marketing about yourself. I recently heard a story at a networking event about a past interviewee at a PR firm. The interviewee had not only put that he was “Homecoming King” on his resume (um, narcissistic much?), but also had a public Facebook profile on which he bragged that he had four interviews that week. When the interviewer asked where his other three interviews were at the guy froze. While the bragging wasn’t that bad, the fact that he didn’t know that his status was public AND didn’t expect his interviewer to do their homework on him was a huge turnoff for a social media heavy position. Needless to say, he didn’t get the job.

Keep Trying. While it’s hard not to get down on yourself when you don’t get the job, remember that there are plenty of opportunities out there. If it means going through one more unpaid position to get your dream job, then it will eventually be worth it. As long as you keep working hard to better your skills, your resume, and yourself, you’ll get there eventually as long as you don’t give up.

332 days ago Short URL Comments

Communications/Marketing/Public Relations

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15

May

Why Being A Theater Major is Perfect for Going Into Public Relations

There’s a reason that people fight so hard to keep the arts in schools, despite constant incredulous opposition and budget cuts. There is simply nothing like the arts to cultivate the ingenuity of young minds, while teaching them to be articulate, eloquent, quick-witted, and highly creative. And those who fight for the arts are exactly right to do so: these are exactly the attributes that I, as a young professional, needed to be able to flourish in the business world, especially in communications.

The Memorandum for Drama 2 at MIHS

While I am about to show you why this is true, you should know that I write this piece with a bias: I was a Drama major at the University of Washington (Class of 2011).  However, I did not choose my major because I held on to some childhood dream of becoming a famous actress. I chose it because everyone told me that your major did not matter as long as you cultivated the skills you needed to succeed… so you might as well do what you love. I have been involved with theater for as long as I can remember, so I knew that the “Communicative Arts” were exactly what I needed to do (and wanted to do!) in order to expand upon the abilities that would get me my real dream job.

Here are five ways being a theater major has prepared me for the Public Relations industry:

1.  Communication. There is nothing more necessary to be successful in PR than the ability to communicate well. And theater is the quintessential medium to learn how to be an amazingly effective presenter. Where else do you learn to stand up in front of a crowd while confidently and compellingly communicating a message with a motivating and entertaining flair? Furthermore, creating and building relationships are the foundation of the PR industry. In the theater, it is imperative to study the human condition so as to intimately understand the character you are to portray. I cannot stress the importance of being trained to observe and understand others in any professional situation, but it is especially useful for Public Relations to understand your client’s needs, their customer base, and even the wants of your own co-workers! Finally, you will never meet a more odd or eccentric group of human beings than those who choose to work in theater. It is through my experiences collaborating with absolutely every kind of person imaginable that has taught me to understand, respect, and effectually communicate with an unusually diverse variety of people.

Improv at the beginning of Godspell at YTN

2. Improvisation. In the world of theater, improvisation happens all the time – such is the nature of live performance. If something can go wrong it will go wrong: dropped lines, missed entrances, a prop not functioning correctly, even a fire alarm mid-performance – I’ve done it all! I even used to be a part of an “improv” group, in which you’d create comedy out of basically nothing. At the time is was all fun and games, but now that I’m in the PR industry it is amazing how useful it is to be able to focus, think quickly, rapidly respond to the problem, and do so while maintaining the persona that everything is under control. Every day in PR is different, and to do well you must not only have a high tolerance for chaos, but also thrive in the midst of a challenge. Crisis communication is a necessary and abundant part of Public Relations, and the ability to keep your cool and improvise quickly is an invaluable attribute when your client’s reputation is on the line.

Yes, that is a paper mache dress based off of the Sydney Opera House

3. Doing What Needs to Get Done. The Drama major at the University of Washingon does not simply allow you to get your acting classes in and go – rather, you had to learn everything it takes in order to make a production a reality. That meant lab hours learning how to do lighting and sound design, intricately building stage design dioramas, “teching” (being part of the technical crew) for the graduate student performances, creatively costume design, stage make-up design, and even work as an usher or at the concession stand. While I definitely spent a few weeks of my life living up in the rafters of a theater running a spotlight, running around backstage helping with quick changes, and painstakingly hot-gluing tiny set pieces to miniature stage dioramas, I could confidently say that I had the ability to do whatever that was needed to be done. Yes, it was hard work.  But that pro-active, get ’er done attitude is exactly what I needed to learn to be successful in the business world. Those who do well in PR are the ones that go above and beyond by putting in the extra time, effort, and hard work. Beyond that, I learned that in order to be effective at what you do, you need to understand everything that goes into making it work. For Public Relations that means understanding media relations, broadcast news relations, TV and web production, and meticulously studying how and why the media chooses to publicize. Without theater, I doubt I would have realized the imperative need to intimately understand what goes into your success.

4. Resiliency. Public Relations has consistently been named as one of the most stressful jobs in America. There’s always an impending deadline, multiple projects to finish, and the impending havoc of potential bad publicity at any moment. Additionally, PR is a competitive sport – successful agencies are looking for go-getters who will garner results. If your work ethic is not up to the challenge of late hours, a readiness to do whatever is needed, and serious attention to detail then this is not the right career path for you. Similarly, the world of theater does not allow one to sit idly by and get things handed to them. To merely attempt to get a part you must face multiple auditions against very worthy competitors, and constantly work on improving your skill set. Even when you get the part you are then expected to work long hours getting ready, and memorize everything during your off time. The name of the game is results (in either arena), and theater revealed the inherent correlation between the amount of work put in and the magnitude of your positive results.

Shadow Gods (I was Athena) in The Odyssey at YTN

5. Creativity. Last but certainly not least! The talent of creativity is not merely a gift granted to certain people. It is a skill that must be honed, trained, practiced, and developed. In order to do well in theater, PR, or in life, it is necessary to break out of established ways of seeing something and look at things in a different way. While any fool can create publicity, it is up to the PR professional to find imaginative ways to beneficially promote their client’s key messages and mission in the public eye.

Likewise, in theater you are always trying to find a way to make the same old play new and exciting, attempting to create a sensational original play, or find some other way to ensnare and enrapture your audience’s attention. It is also endlessly important in both fields to creatively use what you are given. For example, both industries usually have to make due with a limited budget – and therefore need to resourcefully use what little they have to make magic. It is through ingenuity that we can use less to make more, not to mention find new and stimulating ways to make things interesting (whether those things are dusty old Shakespeare plays or a boring press release!). Theater showed me the importance of being inspiring, breaking the rules, and not being afraid of taking risks in order to make your final result truly meaningful.

I am proud to have been a Drama major, and so thrilled to be using the expertise I’ve learned for my job path. While it doesn’t hurt that I write a mean essay (maybe my next blog should be “Why a Law Minor is So Useful”), and have learned the finer points of the daily duties of PR professional (press releases and media alerts galore!), it is because of what the theater has taught me that I know I will find success.

399 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Public Relations

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07

Feb

Love & Liberty

 

Today we took another step towards equality. I am proud to say that a U.S. Federal Appeals Court struck down Prop 8 as being unconstitutional, ruling that the controversial ballot initiative that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman “singles out same-sex couples for unequal treatment by taking away from them alone the right to marry.” While the ruling decided the issue on very narrow grounds (it says nothing about whether there is a Constitutional fundamental right to marry regardless of gender, nor did it address the question of whether a state could outlaw a marriage between same sex couples), it is still a landmark victory, and hopefully a sign of good things to come for the legal status of gay marriage. While the battle for Prop 8 is far from over (the Protect Marriage coalition has long voiced that it will appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court), I can only hope that the SPOTUS will recognize the validity in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that Prop 8 “serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”

While I am thrilled that Prop 8 was found unconstitutional (again!), it is highly upsetting to me that marriage equality is still a serious dilemma in our modern day society. Rick Santorum is actually in contention for the GOP nomination, and he’s as homophobic as they come! It has been almost 50 years past Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and almost a century since women’s suffrage won us the right to vote… and yet we STILL have a societal intolerance towards equality. And while days like today are encouraging, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed at the injustice that still exists. Maybe it is because it’s simply so clear to me what the inevitable outcome should (and will) be.

I cannot wait for the day that the moral dinosaurs of the past are extinct, relegated to hide their intolerance for fear of embarrassment when they are the exception rather than the norm. I cannot wait for when tolerance and love win, and all people – no matter their race, gender, religion, nationality, sexuality, or anything else – have the right to happiness without judgment. To those who would deny this fundamental right or invoke religion as a pitiful excuse against what is just: you are simply speed bumps on the road to progress, and I hope your ignorance will one day learn that love will always win.

497 days ago Short URL Comments

Public Affairs

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03

Feb

Will the Pink Ribbon Campaign Ever Be the Same?

If you haven’t heard about the Susan G. Komen controversy over pulling its funding for Planned Parenthood, I can only assume you’ve been living under a rock. Brief recap: Komen pulled hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding for Planned Parenthood that provided breast cancer screenings and diagnostic services for underprivileged women. They blamed the move on the charity’s newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. Thankfully popular dissent trumped partisan politics and after an amazing public outcry that the defunding was entirely political due to pressure from right wing organizations that are anti-abortion. Especially since it’s clear that the investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Investigative Subcommittee is merely a “trumped-up investigation by some Republicans in the Congress who have a vendetta against Planned Parenthood”, as Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California put it, and just wrong. Therefore, the foundation did the right thing and reinstated the funding, while amending the rule barring grants to only apply to those under criminal investigation and “conclusive in nature”.

So will I still be participating in “Race for the Cure” this year?

Honestly, I’m not sure yet. While Komen’s public apology promised to continue to fund Planned Parenthood’s existing grants (something that already was going to happen), and make Planned Parenthood eligible for future grants, it still hasn’t given any guarantees that it will renew the grants in the future. From a PR standpoint, I feel like the foundation was merely bowing to the inevitable after so many of its top officials resigned in revolt, local chapters mutinied, and millions of people took to social media devices to decry their actions. Even Judy Blume tweeted: “Susan Komen would not give in to bullies or to fear. Too bad the foundation bearing her name did. Support @PPact. Save lives.” If the charity wanted their organization to ever receive any future support, trust, or credibility as a women’s health organization whatsoever (except from pro-life conservatives), they obviously needed to reverse the decision.

But has their moral compass realigned? Does that really matter when they’re still doing amazing work for women’s health and breast cancer awareness? As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, I have a very personal connection to finding a cure for such a horrible disease. But I worry about the leadership of the Komen Foundation, and what my hard earned donations could support. Komen’s new Vice President, Karen Handel, originally ran for the governor of Georgia in 2010 on an aggressively anti-abortion and anti-Planned Parenthood campaign. Sarah Palin endorsed her, if that gives you any idea of how little respect I have towards her radically conservative ideology. After she lost the election, she was elected to be Komen’s new VP – which leaves very few guesses as from whom the new legislative criteria originated. While the Komen Foundation has apologized, I have to admit that I expect a change in leadership (beyond automatically rehiring those who resigned in disgust) to stop what (and who) led them into this public relations nightmare in the first place.

On the bright side, I have a renewed faith in the American people to fight for what is right. Millions expressed their disappointment in the decision by advocating for women’s health via social media sites (just Twitter search #standwithPP), and donated more than three million dollars to Planned Parenthood as substitute funds. My entire news feed was clogged with derision towards Komen’s stance, and adulation regarding all the work Planned Parenthood has done being an amazing advocate for women’s heath. I was also highly impressed with Planned Parenthood’s reaction to the situation – the survivor blog “Planned Parenthood Saved My Life”  and “Still Standing With Planned Parenthood” photo was shared via Facebook and Twitter (hashtag #ppsavedme) by a myriad of people.  Not only did they turn a turn a terrible situation around and launch a social media frenzy in their favor, but through it they created a fundraising machine.

I have a feeling I’ll still Race for the Cure come spring. I’ve never been one to hold a grudge for long, especially after an apology and about face. But you can bet that I’ll be watching the Susan G. Komen Foundation extremely closely to make sure their actions would make their namesake proud.

Feel free to donate to Planned Parenthood here, they definitely deserve it.

Edit:  Wow.  I had to add this video.  Very few people have the ability to explain the situation better than this:

501 days ago Short URL Comments

Communications/Crisis Communications/Public Affairs/Public Relations/Social Media

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