PR has always been about creating content and campaigns that have the ability to engage and create brand loyalty. No other marketing discipline has the ability to develop enduring conversations to such an extent. The advent of social media has merely given PRs access to a new world of tools with which to create these conversations.
PR is currently in the strong position of having genuine credence as a bridge to unite and lead the other disciplines in the marketing mix. Moving forward, the more PRs embrace social media and incorporate it into their brand campaigns the less it should be seen a ‘specialism’ and solely the remit of ‘the digital guys’. And that’s not just twitter and facebook...
Of particular interest were the 10 key social media trends of the year:
1. Clear evidence of social media’s successful role in behavioural change campaigns
2. Influencer vs evangelist
· You don’t have to look to the people with the biggest reach. This is all about being highly targeted, speaking to the specific audience you want to - those who are huge fans of the brand - and letting them evangelise
· When George W Bush came to power his team knew he couldn’t win over large sections of new voters, so instead they focused heavily on the core of existing supporters who they knew would be powerful enough to get him into power if he engaged with them
· Marmite is famous for being a love/hate brand. It therefore uses social media to engage with it’s most fervent fans, rather than trying to target a mass audience
3. Truly open content
· Increasing use of open source technology
· Allow the consumer / community to do what they / it wants to do with your content, rather than controlling all the content yourself with no interactivity
· Let your audience touch and feel the brand
4. Feedback and product development
· The ability to listen and react
· giffgaff built an entire blueprint, and then product, based on market feedback
5. Search and snapshot
· Reputation management through paid search
· Google searches now act as an instant snapshot of your brand, not just a listing
· Ann Summers bought up key words linked to hot topics like “BA Strikes”, “election” and “recession”, and then put up cheeky stories when people searched for them. They also got a load of ancillary PR off the back of it
6. Branded content
· Make it appropriate, fun and interactive and it will beat the classic celebrity endorsement format
7. Social commerce
· This will get bigger and bigger
· Max Factor are launching sales through facebook
· Groupon is one of the fastest growing websites in the world
· French Connection has a Youtique on Youtube
8. Speed
· Quicker, more relevant, greater impact
9. Disillusionment
· There is a new notion of the quarter life crisis – kids / young adults turning to each other through social media as they want to do something more meaningful in their lives
10. Pro bloggers (this links to the influencer point above)
· There is huge potential for one key blogger to create a major knock-on effect for a brand, both positive and negative
· Social media isn’t just about twitter and facebook, it’s about what can happen to your brand if it goes wrong. Crisis comms will remain just as important
- Tim Court
Great summary Tim and really useful points made - did you bring back any of the presentations by the way? Maybe add to LinkedIn/Slideshare if the authors are cool? Cheers Maurice
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