Archives for May 2009

Their skills versus your needs…

In my previous blog post I talked about the difference between Online publicity and Online PR. I argued it had to do with the difference between making noise and building relationships.

Of course both can help to drive business. The same goes for advertising. Some need it, some don’t. Some need a little, some need a lot. It really depends on your business objectives and the product or service you are selling.

Choosing an online agency to help you meet your business objectives can be quite a difficult task. First, there are simply so many agencies offering so many different disciplines all claiming to be online ‘experts’. Second, on the web the lines between marketing and PR have blurred.

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The difference between online publicity and online PR…

Once upon a time marketers had two main ways of getting their product or services noticed by consumers: advertising and publicity.

The principle of advertising is based on interruption. In order to get people’s attention you need a large degree of creativity or even humour. This helps people absorb your message and makes it stick.

The principle of publicity is based on getting placement in mass media. To compete in the battle for media inches, your story needs to have good news value.

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1 + 1 = 11

The last few posts, especially the ones on Dell made me realise that engaging in online communications on the social web is not something you do on a late Friday afternoon. It takes effort and commitment.

Steve Seager, my colleague at we do communications, recently wrote a post called ‘The Power Of Scale’ that touches on this topic. Check out his analogy between a painting of Isaac Israel and messaging in online business.

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Social media and direct revenue…

Hmmm. Still talking about Dell. And this time it sounds like a Harry Potter title. The only difference is that this actually happened!

The company that initially got engaged in social media to repair the Dell Hell reputation damage, has now produced $1 million in revenue directly through Twitter! Dell’s Twitter followers receive messages when discounted products become available in the company’s Home Outlet Store.

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PR should always be driven by business objectives…

The ‘Best job in the world’ story broke on January 12, 2009. As a result, more than 30.000 people posted their one-minute job application video in a bid to become caretaker of Hamilton Island, a tropical Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

But how many people will remember ‘Hamilton Island’ in a few months from now?

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Or why brand building beats crisis communications…

Now here’s a company that learned about engaging in online communications the hard way. This is a classic case study that dates back to 2005/2006.

What started with a blog post of one person, caught fire on the Internet and ended up with ‘Dell Hell’ as the most highly ranked Google search term associated with Dell for some time.

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Creating buy-in through education…

Last month Ad Week reported on the departure of Dell’s Social Media Chief Bob Pearson. He left the company to take a position with the Blog Council, an industry group focused on social media.

In the article he says: “The biggest challenge is what I call the antibodies. Every organization has them, and the larger ones have more. These are the people still trying to do things like they’ve done the last 10 or 20 years. They tend not to say no but not to say yes. They have lots of ways to stop progress with a smile.”

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A golden case study…

It’s an old story now, but a great example of how you can build exposure cheaply and effectively using online PR. Nintendo Wii, the fantastically popular home gaming console, used the blogosphere to it’s advantage when they pitched influential blogger Heather Armstrong.

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First blog post! Hello and welcome!

My goals of this blog are to inspire and offer more insight into how you can make online communications work for your business.

My posts will go beyond the buzzwords and the hype of the social web, and will be all about the practicalities of adopting and implementing online strategies.

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