What social means in a business
May 13th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
A few thoughts on what it means to be social in a business from a few people in the know.
Grad life sure ain’t easy
April 27th, 2012 § 1 Comment
It must be tough being a grad looking for work. On a day when the UK officially entered back into recession, I was invited to attend a session to speak on how to get into PR.
The panel included a broad spectrum of people from different backgrounds and was organised by Ignite – a firm dedicated to promoting cultural diversity within PR.
A few things stood out for me:
1) Getting a job through the grad process isn’t easy. When you’re competing against 1000 applicants you have to be amazing to stand out
2) Although employers love to see confidence in a potential recruit, it ain’t easy being confident as a grad when you have no experience about anything
3) Networking should be taught as part of a PR degree. I spoke to a few attendees but not one asked for my business card nor had one when I asked
4) Although the event was about getting people from diverse backgrounds into PR, I genuinely think that in this day and age getting a job is more about your attitude than where you come from.
5) With the 24 hour access to information about anything and everything, there really is no excuse for grads not to have a basic understanding of an industry sector or news agenda.
All in all it was an enjoyable event. Just a shame we got turfed out of the bar early. Then again on a school night that was probably for the best.
The law catches up with Twitterers
April 24th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Not a day goes by now when some footballer doesn’t get into trouble for posting something they shouldn’t have on Twitter (or some other form of blogging platform). Sometimes it’s relatively harmeless such as Ryan Babel, other times it takes on a more sinister tone. Sheffield United’s Connor Brown and his alleged comments on Twitter over the Ched Evans conviction is the perfect case of footballers not really understanding the power of the publishing tools they possess. In fairness, to footballer it appears that many don’t understand the laws of the land when it comes to publishing. After the whole Giggs incident, it seems the law is finally getting a hand on policing the internet by arresting Twitter uses who named the victim as well as investigating Sky who accidentally amplified matters.
Maybe sites such as Twitter need users to download and read a code of ethics or idiots guide to publishing law before being allowed to sign up.
Getting back in the game
April 14th, 2012 § 1 Comment
It’s been far too long. Babies, work and being lazy have gotten in the way but spurred on by @Whatleydude I’m getting back in the blogging game properly.
Rather than getting bogged down about what area I should write, it’s going to be on anything and everything that captures my imagination (and frustration).
So to kick things off, I’ll start with a nod to my best piece of writing to date (and probably in my life). I had the pleasure of writing a chapter in a book called ‘The Social Media MBA“. My chapter is on creativity within the social space but there are a lot of other very smart people who have pulled together their ideas and experience on what businesses need to navigate the social media world.
Well worth a read, even if I do say so myself.
(Oh yeah. Here’s a podcast with me banging on about it)
Moving on…
October 18th, 2011 § 4 Comments
Six years ago I entered the doors of Millbank Tower to be greeted by a cacophony of people talking loudly on phones, blaring TV screens, and iMacs aplenty. I remember thinking, ‘wow so this is what a PR agency is like.’
Within a week I’d been lemonpartied (I’m not linking to that), told I’d never ‘make it’ at the agency due to being an Arsenal fan (thanks Nick) and got pissed with the CEO who warned me about the then marketing manager scaring new recruits with requests to ‘nosh him off’ (anyone who worked at LEWIS pre-2007 will know who I mean). Thanks Chris.
I knew then I’d have lots of fun and learn a lot about the industry. And that’s exactly what happened. From the infamous LMC parties to countless nights at the Muppet, the last six years have been a blast. I’ve also managed to learn one to two things about this thing the kids are calling social media, work with some brilliant characters and on some great (not too mention challenging) clients.
However as they say all good things come to an end and from next week I’ll be joining Ogilvy’s 360 digital influence team. For some time, I’ve admired Ogilvy’s approach to social marketing; from creating a blogger outreach code of ethics to some very smart thinking around influencer marketing. So at a time when there’s a lot of talk about how social media is bringing a convergence of marketing disciplines (my own thoughts on the matter here) the opportunity to work right at the heart of this was just too good to pass up.
I’m told the ethos for my new team is fun, fame and fortune so looks like I’m going to be doing a lot more schmoozing, helping the agency pick up more of these and making a ton of cash in the process. I just hope they also feed my Mac addiction.
Linc up live
September 13th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I had the pleasure of in Lincoln last week where the good people of Linc Up Live invited me to speak about the intersection between social media and business (yeah I know a well trodden path). I decided to pick up on the topic of influencer relations which is very much a hot topic particular with the likes of Klout and PeerIndex getting so many column inches.
You can view my ppt from the day here.
The highlights of the day though were the other brilliant speakers. Maz Nadjm kicked things off with an insightful view on social commerce. It is fascinating to see some of things companies are doing to harness the power of social.
Joanne Jacobs (who you should definitely follow if you work in PR) gave a ‘pull no punches’ talk on the art of linking in the context of influencer tools (like Klout and PeerIndex). This was based on an experiment she conducting on whether the scores could be games (spoiler alert – they can). You can view her presentation here.
Last but certainly not least was Kate Day from the Telegraph who gave an overview of how modern newsrooms use social networks. The fact that her desk was plonked right in the middle of the newsroom where the editor used to sit says a lot about the value the Telegraph places on uses social media to report and tell stories.
All in all it was a very informative day. A special mention to Glenn Le Santo, Celia Lacy, Andy Clayton and Tim Downing (who I promised a beer but shamelessly forgot to get it) for organising a top day.
Looking forward to the next one already.
You say potato, I say potarto – how much does diversity play within your search marketing?
March 17th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
One of the benefits of social media is that it has forced marketers to focus more on building and nurturing communities rather than the spray and pray, one size fits one model that has defined the industry for decades.
But how much of a role does diversity play when it comes to really understanding the different communities marketers seek to engage with? And what how much should search marketers get to know or exploit colloquiums when optimising keywords?
Search is a particularly hot topic for PR professionals now. Perhaps not quite as sexy as social media but many in the industry are starting to realise that search is very much interlinked (excuse the pun) with its more glamourous cousin in helping a marketing campaign meet its objectives. They might be late to the party but PR pros are starting to wake to the importance search engines play in communicating a message. While they might not have the technical skills of SEO marketers, PR brings a certain advantage when it comes to relationship building but also in the form of keyword research and understanding what audiences are actually looking for when they ‘Google’ something.
Added to this is the rise in social search. This is where recommendations from your friends show up in your search results. You type ‘football boots’ into Google and within the search results that come back you’re alerted to the fact that your brother-in-law who had a trial at the Emirates recently ‘liked’ the latest Nike boots on Facebook. As a consumer, you want to know personal recommendations before making buying decisions. And as a marketer, you can finally get some of the coveted ROI that your finance director has been hounding you for.
As a web evolves to fit around our lives having a social elements to marketing campaigns will become the rule rather than the exception. Having a diverse campaign team that is not only able to tap into local lingo and jargon but is also astute enough to spot and capitalise on opportunities in the mainstream media that drive search trends is worth its weight in gold.
What is influence?
February 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
What is influence and how do you measure it? It’s the eternal question that PR and marketing types constantly ask themselves. A case in point comes from the guys at the Brass who’ve created a Twitter influence measurement tool not too dissimilar to our own Chatterscope and are experimenting with it as part of Social Media Week London (#SMWLdn)
For those whom social media is very much part of their day job, measuring influence from an analytical standpoint is, has been and will continue to be a challenge. And that’s because it’s inherently not something that can be measured. Influence on someone else comes down to the sum of a person’s right and left-brained take on things. Of course, we can track specific metrics on campaigns (and this is where PR professionals need to embrace analytics) but it’s important to place as much weight on the irrational, fuzzy, element in campaigns as well.
My approach on how PR and social media people can report on or track influence for clients comes down to balance. Companies and brands should have a pretty good idea of what influence they wield offline and then seek to replicate this online. The two should exist in tandem otherwise you end up with a well-known brand name that gets exploited online or more commonly an online sensation that gets forgotten about when next week’s hype comes along.
Social search is cool. But what does it mean for traditional PR?
October 25th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I was reading a very interesting post from Altimeter Group’s Charlene Li about the new developments from Bing and it’s integration with Facebook search. As the web continues to dominate every facet of life, having the knowledge and ability to manipulate social networks to communicate a client’s message is an ongoing debate within the PR community.
I’ve long argued that social media is good for PR because it allows us to bring an element of science to what has traditionally been viewed as a ‘fluffy’ profession. Traditional PR purists would argue that PR is fundamentally about relationships which by their very nature can’t be measured and often hark back to the days when a strategic booze-fuelled lunch with an editor would guarentee a client coverage. While the times have moved on from then, I do think there is a danger that in a world of metrics, we lose sight of the importance of relationships. This is where the social media idealists often clash with the social media sceptics.
Social search, however, changes this by bringing together the best of both worlds. Seeing what friends or colleagues find interesting or helpful will always form the basis of our buying decisions. Being able to transfer that offline relationship online in a way that can be measured has now become the holy grail for the PR community.
Can the PR industry handle an inconvenient truth?
September 30th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Those active on the UK PR Twitter scene will have noticed this morning’s launch of a Media Spamming Charter, the latest episode in the ongoing discussion about the relationship between PR practitioners and journalists. The debate is one that has raged for as long as I’ve been in the industry andshows no sign of abating. There’s hardly a week that goes by without a rant about poorly-targeted pitches or the overuse of the #PRFAIL hashtag. As someone who started off my PR career within a professional body, I recognise the need for a collaborative approach to improve and maintain standards within any industry and as such applaud the CIPR, PRCA,IRS and NUJ for taking a stance on what is a serious problem for the reputation of PROs.
However, questions will always remain on how serious the Charter will be taken by clients and those most guilty of spamming. Many have long argued that self-regulation is the answer, and in my time I’ve called for ‘naming and shaming.’ I’ve since mellowed on that front - maybe because I’m getting old - but the argument will carry on unless something drastic changes.
It remains to be seen whether simply having a charter actually goes far enough as I’m sure some will probably just view it as an overly-bureaucratic exercise that carries little weight. But at least it’s a step in the right direction, particularly as the lines between PR and other marketing disciplines blur and we become exposed (albeit not binded) to other codes of practice. Plus it beats naming and shaming.
