Public Relations Archives

Yes, Twitter Is Still Relevant! Here’s Why…

Twitter is dominating the news lately—possibly even more since its 2013 IPO at a whopping $24 billion valuation. The sudden surge of interest is largely related to two factors getting significant media exposure: First, discussions in the financial and business world over whether the company will reach profitability by monetizing its 317 million active users worldwide. Second, whether this microblogging platform may have been instrumental in helping a well-known New York-born businessman become the most powerful person in the world.

Since its inception, Twitter has sparked debates, discussions, laughter and skepticism. The idea of cofounder Jack Dorsey—to launch a social media platform that only allowed 140 characters, including the letters and spaces, while naming these mini-news bleeps “tweets”—was, by any standard, a reach. Yet doubt as we might have, Twitter and tweeting were quickly adopted by people around the world. For many, it became, and still is, their go-to source for quick, searchable headline news, whether global, regional or local. It’s been credited with starting social revolutions—both literally and figuratively.

Twitter is the originator of the hashtag, that “#” sign in front of a phrase, word or acronym. The conceptual value of a hashtag is priceless in that it can be used to search for news about anything. This can include world events, gatherings, topics of personal interest, corporate developments, financial news, celebrity-watching, entertainment and more. The hashtag truly holds a “sky’s the limit” potential. There are hashtags for anything and everything imaginable, and people use them to find what interests them. For example, there was #Election2016 and there’s still #PokemonGo, #Brexit and #MotivationMonday along with #MondayBlues—plus things like #GameofThrones and #SelfieSunday! Many brands launch by attempting to create a trending hashtag and often this strategy aids their success.

When I started a Twitter account in 2007 as the platform first launched, it was due to the hard sell by my head of IT, who was confident that this would be “big.” What started out as a one-follower-at-a-time process for my companies and myself has grown into our own mini-news outlet that benefits me personally as well as our clients and friends, whom we often highlight in our tweets. But still I often wondered: Is the audience real?

I could see that our followers included some high-profile reporters from big news outlets. We also have “personalities” following us—ranging from none other than Mad Money’s Jim Cramer to Little Steven of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band! Then, of course, there are my friends, coworkers and clients—and recently, my 88-year-old mom. But who were the other multiple thousands of “followers” who keep adding daily to our growing cumulative audience? To answer this, we conducted TwitterAudits of my personal and multiple corporate accounts. I was pleasantly surprised—shocked, really—to learn that 93 percent of our more than 106,000 followers were “real” people! This is outstanding in a world where “followers”—albeit fake ones—can be purchased just to make someone feel or appear relevant (although this is not at all a recommended strategy).

While questions might abound regarding Twitter’s ultimate viability—the platform seems to be trailing in popularity with millennials behind Instagram and Snapchat—there is still a lot of value for those savvy enough to understand its worth.

Here are my five main takeaways for your consideration along with a last piece of advice regarding Twitter:

1) Twitter allows a direct line of communication. Anyone can see your tweets, and more of the people you seek to reach will find them if you learn to use hashtags together with your main messages. Think of the hashtag as a way you can categorize news in a noisy universe of more than 6,000 tweets per second; 350,000 per minute; and 500 million tweets per day.

2) You can directly reach your exact audience by searching their names to find their Twitter handle which looks like this: @X and is otherwise known as their Twitter address. For example, my Twitter “handle” is @DianGriesel. You can “tag” those you want to reach and fill the Tweet with a link to your content or send them direct messages. Either way, the followers of @DianGriesel (as per this example) will also see what you tagged me with.

3) The 140-character limit in the Twitter world aligns with overall attention spans. Did you know the average television commercial is only 15 seconds long? The point is: Learn to get to the point.

4) Choose your words carefully. Your audience will be trying to assess your mood. Speech experts have been able to determine whether a tweet came from the boss (or the President himself…) or from a social media manager assigned the job.

5) Overhauls—and overthrows—can occur in days versus years. Think about how quickly we are watching management teams at companies comply with or concede the need to listen not only to their customers but to the “CEO” of the United States as well. An unhappy online crowd or a single powerful voice—whether known as POTUS or advocate or influencer—can get resoundingly loud rapidly, if related counterparties aren’t carefully listening to the complaints and responding.

Now for my parting advice: Think very carefully before tweeting. Although you might be able to delete a hasty, ill-considered tweet from your feed…a strong likelihood remains—due to #RT (re-tweet) and #MT (modified tweet)—that it is still roaming around the Twittersphere.

The Twitter platform has G-Force potential, which helps explain why it still seems to be the preferred communication platform of that same New Yorker who harnessed its power to win the most powerful position on Earth.

May the Twitter force be with you. Use it wisely.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D. is an author, strategic visibility expert and President of DGI Comm a public relations firm that can help build corporate and/or personal thought leadership status.

Corporate Policy: Think Before You Post to Avoid Social Media Disasters

(DGIwire) — Social media has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Every time we check LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, another person is writing a status about the minutiae of their day. Even A-List celebrities take time out of their busy schedules to interact with their fans on the Internet or post a “selfie.” But social media isn’t just for the singular person anymore. Companies are also using sites to their advantage to interact more directly with their customers.

For companies, having a social media presence can be both a blessing and a curse. Many of these sites are free, so they can get the word out about a new product instantaneously to millions of people. However, this communication goes both ways. It has never been easier for a disgruntled customer to rant online about their poor experience, likely poisoning many potential customers against a certain brand.

Take the fashion company Kenneth Cole, for example. In the midst of the 2011 protests in Cairo, Egypt, which caused the deaths of hundreds of persons and was intended to facilitate the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whoever was in charge of Kenneth Cole’s Twitter posted an insensitive tweet, saying that the reason for the uproar was because “people had heard about our new spring collection.” Within minutes, people began tweeting their outrage, forcing Kenneth Cole’s public relations department to scramble to fix this serious misstep. Kenneth Cole is not alone in its temporary social media disaster. Brand name companies likely paying big PR fees, such as Papa John’s, Kmart, MSN, Kitchen Aid, Urban Outfitters and Chrysler, to name a few, have all been guilty of putting their foot in their virtual mouths. Although all recovered and were able to assuage their situations before any permanent damage was done to their reputations, it is certainly a better practice for all companies to have a plan to make sure this embarrassment doesn’t happen in the first place.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D., the author of a new book, ENGAGE: Smart Ideas to Get More Media Coverage, Build Your Influence & Grow Your Business, and President of Dian Griesel International, an award-winning media relations and news placement agency based in New York City, knows the importance of keeping a watchful eye on social media accounts. Dian suggests these useful tips to get the most out of social media accounts and still walk away with one’s reputation intact:

Have a committee. Entrust only one person, or a small team, to manage your company’s accounts so that you know exactly who is posting and who has access to classified information.
Establish a company-wide response policy. If something does happen, have a pre-established chain of command. Determine who will speak to the press first so that you will come off as calm, cool and collected in the event of an emergency.
Fight fire with positive fire. If you do receive negative comments, don’t let the “haters” get a rise out of you. Resist the urge to fight back. Let your public relations team handle it, and focus on putting forth a positive image. Your loyal customers will be able to see past a few disgruntled voices.

“Social media can be a huge benefit for your company,” says Dian. “However, I urge all employees, from the CEO down to the newest hire, to understand exactly what the company or organization’s policy is regarding Internet usage. It can truly make or break your reputation.”

Good PR is Good Business…IF You Know What You’re Doing

crowd (DGIwire) — Whether the economy is booming or approaching a downturn, a company’s public relations budget is often the first to take a hit. When things are going well, some management teams consider public relations to be unnecessary, and when they’re not, shortsighted companies make hasty decisions in an attempt to cut expenses. However, more media-savvy companies understand that investing in PR is a wise way to continuously accentuate the positive—and an effective ongoing media campaign delivers multiple returns on each dollar spent.

One of the last corporate investments that should ever be cut is good PR strategy. A well-planned corporate communications program provides reliable third-party endorsement, helps craft your company’s message and ensures consistency of messaging. Not only do these angles keep your company in the news; they also attract editors and segment producers who cannot easily ignore a media-worthy pitch. These campaigns tailor your story to reach selectively targeted media, from mass marketing to the general consumer to “me” marketing that reaches niche and trade publications.

A successful PR strategy will also position your company’s CEO and key executives as experts in their field, minimize damage by announcing bad news intelligently, build credibility for your company’s products and services, and keep your company in the minds and portfolios of investors.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D. a long time communications strategist says, “An effective PR strategy will consistently deliver inventive ways to get your company in the news and keep it there, whether that means tying your story to trends and current events, positioning your CEO and executive leadership as expert spokespersons or using holidays and seasonal occasions as news pegs. The possibilities are limited only by imagination.”

In other words, a good PR campaign appreciates that your company’s story is inherently newsworthy. How does your lead product work? What noteworthy figure was just signed to the board of directors? What upcoming conference will management be attending? What hobbies does the CEO enjoy that might make him or her attractive to specialized niche publications? Even stories about your competitors can be leveraged into excellent opportunities for bylined pieces or letters to the editor. There is always an opportunity to pitch a story from an opposing view or new angle.

All of these reinforce a golden rule of PR: Media coverage begets media coverage (a fancy way of saying “news makes news”). For example, when you secure a major placement for your company, it is good PR practice to issue a press release drawing attention to the company’s appearance in that publication or media outlet (on the assumption that not every investor subscribes to, say, National Geographic or an industry specific trade, for example). You might be surprised by the very tangible effects these types of news announcements can have on relationship building with your various constituents.

Simultaneously, you also want to make sure you spread the news about any stories about your company on your preferred social media outlets. Be sure to add a line and a link to your article on your twitter, facebook, linkedin or other social media pages, while “stumbling” the story or adding it to pinterest or instagram, for example, if there’s a good accompanying photo. This strategy is not only a good way to leverage the internet’s reach, it’s a great way to do a “turn in kind” for the hard working reporter that wrote your story in the first place. Everyone benefits from the greater dissemination and recognition.

Despite these benefits, PR traditionally gets a bad rap. Disgruntled companies might complain about shelling out high fees and seeing few results. And, as in any business, there are sharks in these waters. However, rather than a disreputable dark art, PR has become an integral, quantifiable part of any winning media-age business strategy.

Implementing a clear, bold, rigorous and transparent PR campaign means you will likely enjoy the thrill of seeing your company in print and on the air. And that exposure translates into all the tangibles (higher stock price, better customers) and intangibles (a better general perception of your company and its management) that consistent media coverage ultimately provides.

Branding: Sear Your Image into the Mind of the Masses

(DGIwire) — Long ago, the term “branding” conjured up images of red-hot irons and cattle. However, as the United States became more industrialized and capitalism took hold, “branding” became the way for consumers to identify a product or service. Everything from big-ticket items such as televisions, cars and computers to smaller household items such as laundry detergent, toothbrushes and peanut butter all rely on their brand’s reputation. Generic mouthwash may cost less, but Listerine might sell more because consumers recognize its name from advertising campaigns.

Today, the term “branding” is no longer relegated to companies—or cattle. Every individual has a personal brand, whether they know it or not, and whether they want to or not. According to a recent article in Forbes, many of us have not consciously cultivated these personal brands, but they exist nonetheless through our digital footprints. Do you have a Facebook or Twitter account? Do you ever comment on articles or write reviews on Amazon? Are you listed on your company’s website or do your friends “tag” you in pictures? All these things are partly responsible for shaping your personal brand. In fact, according to a study conducted by AVG, an online security company, 92 percent of children under age two in the U.S. already have a digital footprint.

The choice is no longer whether you want to have a personal brand, but rather what you want your personal brand to reflect about you. You can choose to let the Internet define your personal brand or you can take the initiative to carefully cultivate your persona. This is especially important for people who hold positions in publicly traded companies. Investors as well as other potential stakeholders who may want to buy shares in your company aren’t only looking at your company’s operations—though that is a huge factor. They are also looking at you and the other people who are part of your company’s leadership team. In the age of Google, you’d better believe that potential investors will learn everything about you they possibly can before cutting that check.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D., President of DGI Comm, an award-winning media relations and news placement agency based in New York City, knows the importance of branding for you personally and your company.

“We live in a social media-obsessed, ‘sum-it-up-in-140-characters’ world,” says Dian. “If you manage a public company and don’t know how you or your company are perceived by the public, I’d recommend that you Google yourself and your company regularly. The Internet may not always have completely factual information, but you’ll be able to get a pretty good sense of what people think of you.”

Dian adds, “Of course it’s impossible to control everything that others might tweet or blog about you or your company, you do have more control than you might imagine over your own image. If you, as a member of the leadership team, display the utmost professionalism and integrity as well as a strong point of view, people will trust that you hold your company to the same high standards.”

Surf the PR Waves So You Won’t Go Down in a Storm

(DGIwire) Public relations is the lifeblood of strong companies. Without a solid public relations plan, even the best company can lose traction among its flashier competitors. But like every aspect of business, the way in which people tackle their media outreach must evolve as the years go on.

The Business Journals, a premier online media solutions platform, offers these predictions for the future of public relations, going forward in 2015 and beyond:

Competition will be fierce. The number of data-headed journalists is on the rise, making for a more competitive coverage landscape. The most notable, newsworthy, unique and interesting topics will continue to earn media play, while the remaining “noise” will fall to the wayside.
Social media will become more of a trusted source. Due to their prevalence, social media and other digital environments will become even more of a trusted news source. For maximum success, businesses must manage, analyze, support and communicate with all social media outlets, and ensure that their own online presence fully represents their company and products to the best of their ability.
Digital reputation management will be key. A broadening interest in citizen journalism, courtesy of blogging and access to social media via smartphones, means that the communications path is no longer one-way; it is two-way and immediate. One negative tweet can cause insurmountable damage in a matter of minutes.
Increased demand for accurate and detailed PR measurement. If you’re charging a client for PR services, you need an established method for proving a return on investment for said services. Historically, clients received gigantic books of articles that “proved” how valuable a PR program or campaign was. But now with the vast majority of content online, it’s harder to create such a portfolio. Still, clients working with PR agencies should demand that the agency prove itself by providing some evidence of its past success, as well as reliable references.
Crisis planning will continue to be essential. If we learned nothing else from the numerous PR crises over the past few years, it was that an in-place crisis plan needs to be established immediately. Many companies endured significant hits to their reputations while scrambling to tie up loose ends. PR staffs should aggressively counsel their clients to create and frequently review crisis plans.

Dian Griesel, Ph.D., President of DGI Comm, an award-winning media relations and news placement agency based in New York City, is so adamant about keeping PR plans up-to-date that she has literally written a book about it. ENGAGE: Smart Ideas to Get More Media Coverage, Build Your Influence & Grow Your Business shares 226 “smart ideas” that companies and their PR teams can use to capture the attention of their target audiences, build influence as they establish expert status and, as a result, power up the growth of their business to the level they seek through lots of free media coverage.

“A large portion of my book is dedicated to how game-changing social media and online resources can be,” explains Dian. “In order to stay on top of the changing tides, PR professionals need to learn the ins and outs of these new outlets. If not, their reputations—and the companies they represent—will capsize.”