Airfoil Public Relations

Have You Unlocked the Potential of Your Brand?

The playing field for brands has been leveled. Consumers use web, mobile and social to define brands on their own terms, ultimately transforming themselves into becoming the brand. Winning brands of today and tomorrow have only one choice – embrace and be empowered by consumer action and engagement. How can you get there? We’re sharing Six Rules for Progressive Brands. Check out Rules #1 Control Freaks Need Not Apply and #2 Check Your Ego at the Door.

This week we’ve released Rule #3 – Don’t Be a Clown at the High School Prom. In this day and age, you can’t force the customers to come to you - instead you must interact with your customers in the right places, on the right platforms, at the right time. Why be a clown at a high school prom when you can be lighting up young faces at an 8-year-old’s birthday party!

Hear some ‘Foilers explain why it’s critical to be where your customers are:

 

Need a recap on our previous two rules?

#1 Wanted: Creative Directors for Progressive Brands - Control Freaks Need Not Apply 

Accept that you can’t ignore and control online conversations, but you know that you can help direct the show with our tangible tactics.

#2 Check Your Ego at the Door 

What can progressive brands learn from Mr. Splashy Pants? Let go and embrace the power of your online community, but don’t do it blindly. Planning, strategic messaging and careful monitoring are critical, as is transparency, ongoing, regular engagement and activation of your brand advocates.

Let us know what you think and stay tuned for next week’s rule!

--Eric Dornbrook is an account coordinator at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley. Follow Eric on twitter @ericdornbrook

 

Back off my social media

New research shows Americans hate social media promotions

Social media is hot and companies are all trying to find ways to leverage this captive audience, but according to new research from ExactTarget, social media promotion is doomed from the start because Americans hate it.

In a recent blog post on Convince & Convert from social media guru Jay Baer, he highlights a great point, “Your company needs to be human because your competing with humans.”

As brands are fighting to find the brass ring method of using social media, it could be just this simple: humanize your brand.

I think about it in terms of sales people. People don’t like “sales” people, but the most successful sales people are people that we like. We want to buy things from people that we like, not people that are pushy and trying to get us to buy something. This directly correlates into how brands are behaving on social media. Beware, consumers are pushing back and basically telling brands to back off their social media.

In ExactTarget’s 2012 Channel Preference Study (download it here for free), 1,500 Americans ages 15 and older were asked about their usage of email, social media and text messaging. Key lesson found in the report, “…just because consumers embrace a channel for personal communications doesn’t mean that they want to receive direct marketing messages from your brand via that channel.”

According to the study, 1 percent of respondents selected Twitter and only 4 percent selected Facebook as the preferred channel for permission-based promotional messages overall. The numbers rise slightly when you look at the younger generations, but not nearly as much as one might expect. Respondents were even more critical of promotions on the business social media network, LinkedIn, with zero percent selecting the platform as its preferred communications method.  Even text messaging beat out social media with 5 percent of respondents selecting this method of communication. 

So I am sure you are now wondering how Pinterest falls into all of this. As the fastest growing, independent social network with more than 17 million registered accounts as of March 2012 according to ComScore, every communicator is trying to figure out how it plays a role in our efforts. The report sums this up perfectly: “The lesson of Pinterest for marketers is right there in its name – interest.” In other words, stay away from using this platform for promotions too. Instead, use this platform (only when it makes sense to) for sharing and inspiring others to share great content. 

The good news is, while consumers are not responding to promotions via social media, they are not opposed to receiving it directly through email. In fact, the results show that the majority of Americans prefer to receive promotional materials from companies via email (77 percent). Email was reported to be used most often with 91 percent of respondents reporting daily use.  These promotions are also the most likely to result in a purchase, with 66 percent overall reporting that an email promotion resulted in a purchase.

In conclusion, businesses should leverage the power of social media as a way to humanize their brands and connect one-on-one with consumers. It should not be used as another sales channel. Give the people their social media back, your sales tactics are not welcome. 

 

-- Deana Goodrich is a senior account executive at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley.

When Wallets Talk...

In our era, where a touch screen and white earbuds are as ubiquitous as hats at the Kentucky Derby, every industry in the world is trying to capitalize on the exponential growth of the smartphone.

Just a few years ago, Internet use was reserved for those tethered to a desk with a modem and a desktop computer. Now a growing number of consumers have the ability to log-on, search items or stream content wherever they are – 44 percent of mobile phones in the U.S. are smartphones according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve – giving them anytime, anywhere access.

One sector that sees a massive opportunity for the inevitable surgical attachment of smartphones to all of our hands is that of finance and payments. As consumers become more comfortable shopping via their mobile device, they want an extra layer of ease in the form of mobile payments. A number of companies are working to offer this, via a simple user experience that will flow seamlessly between shopping, purchasing and payment.

eBay is one company that understands the power of this consumer need – the company is integrating its core shopping experience with other pieces of its platform, such as PayPal. According to Mark Lavelle, VP at PayPal, mobile payments are spearheading the next era of consumerism, similar to the way the widespread use of credit cards revolutionized consumer spending in the late 1950s.

So what does this mean for consumers? It means there is a fundamental shift in the way we’re all perceiving money and payment. Technology has altered our mindset about waiting times – we want the best experience possible, wherever and whenever we happen to be. It means we want to be unencumbered by an excessive number of devices and identifications. It means we want to call our mom, research a restaurant and buy a car, all from the same place.

While this world is fast approaching, there are a few things holding consumers back, first and foremost being security. Concerns about the security of the technology have been the primary reason for not using mobile payments – 42 percent according to the Federal Reserve. What’s a risk-averse technophile to do?

There isn’t a true roadmap to follow in this transformational decade, where there have been, and will continue to be, rapid evolutions of technology, standards, security and privacy issues. The only thing consumers can do is get smart about their devices. Make sure you’re up to date on security offerings, and you’re not downloading any shady apps. Then, start shopping and paying, all with the touch of a screen.

 

-- Caitlin Cassady is a senior account executive at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley.

The Content Key

As I wrote about in my last post, the avenues open to brands needing to engage with audiences is evolving at an alarming pace. Nowadays, businesses simply won’t succeed without a smart content strategy to communicate with customers in the right place at the right time.

Click here if you need help creating content.

But here’s the part that many of these marketing studies seem to habitually ignore. What happens when you’ve got the story down cold? You’ve found the community/audience. They are ready to listen. But, for whatever reason, the message doesn’t resonate. Or worse, what if the community dismisses it?

As this article suggests, one reason has less to do with a “content” problem, and perhaps more to do with a “brand authenticity” problem.

Stated another way, if there’s any BS associated with your message and/or how it’s delivered, it’s a pretty good bet that today’s savvy consumers will immediately dismiss it (and your company).

How many times have we read articles of brands that tried to be something they are not or ignored a problem that could have been easily addressed with some good old-fashioned honesty and candor?

Just because the places we deliver these stories has evolved in recent years doesn’t mean we need to change the way we deliver them.

Speak in your own voice, be authentic, don’t promise what you can’t deliver, avoid clichés … this is stuff we learned in Communications 101. If this still isn't clear, I'll keep it simple: quit the BS. 

If you want people to know and trust your brand … to be true fans and ambassadors … then you have to be yourself. The more approachable you are on the Web and elsewhere, the more likely we’ll be to strike up a conversation.

Thanks for listening,

Janet Tyler  

 

 

-- Janet Tyler is a co-CEO at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Silicon Valley and Detroit.

The Digital Revolution

Pinterest anyone? It’s the newest golden child of social media and it’s changing the way we operate both as PR practitioners as well as consumers.

Social media is just part of how digital is growing. With the rapid growth of mobile, tablets and connected TVs, companies need to think outside the box when it comes to influencing consumers. No longer are we in the world of the second, third or even fourth screen. We have reached 24 hours of screens according to a recent Mashable article.

Growth of digital

Comscore’s recent social media study shows that social media activity accounted for 16.6 percent of time spent on the Internet in 2011 and is expected to surpass portals as the most engaging online activity.  Video activity has also experienced a dramatic increase, with the U.S. online video audience surpassing 100 million in December, a 43-percent increase from a year ago.

Measurement is king

One of the most important things to consider when launching new digital campaigns is defining how you will measure the success of the program. Paid (advertising and sponsorships) and owned (content created by brands) media are traditionally easier to measure. Earned media is much more valuable and credible, however it has been harder to measure since it is changing every day. Lucky for us PR pros, measurement tools are becoming better, helping us measure the value of earned media, and therefore define success. Right now there is no magic all-encompassing tool to measure earned media, but you can leverage several social media tools such as CrowdBooster, Hootsuite and even Facebook Insights.  Whenever possible, it is a good idea to also utilize website analytics to measure the traffic being driven to the company’s website as a result of digital efforts. 

-- Deana Goodrich is a senior account executive at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley.

Regardless of platform, customers are hungry for content

A recent study on the use of social media tools with Inc. 500 corporations supports the idea that blogging is officially a trend on the decline.

However, from my perspective, the real revelation from this study is more about how radically fast the communications playing field is changing than the decreasing metrics of any one channel. 

It’s insane how quickly things change. Five years ago, the idea of having a corporate blog was viewed in many circles as a fairly revolutionary way for businesses to foster a meaningful dialogue with their target audiences.

Now, a blog is just a one of many “check the box” avenues on the conversation superhighway that extends from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to emerging platforms such as Pinterest. As each space continues to grow, putting yourself where your audience is becomes even more important. Just having a Facebook and Twitter presence isn’t enough - what matters is what that channel is producing to create engagement and show thought leadership.

The one constant – i.e., the thing that often gets lost – is the need to produce good, smart and relevant content. Regardless of your company’s social tools of choice, if you create a steady flow of quality content, your audience will engage.

Without content, what conversations will you drive? What message are you sending your followers? What change will you inspire?

At the end of the day, isn’t that the only social media/business metric that truly matters? 

 

-- Janet Tyler is a co-CEO at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Silicon Valley and Detroit.

Pining for Pinterest

As marketers across the globe are busy developing decks to show their clients why they should be on the hot new social network Pinterest, Pinterest users are largely blissfully unaware of the land grab that’s in the early stages.

Instead, these users are quickly becoming addicted to and enthralled with pins and boards, creating ideal house projects, recipes and fashion must-haves for themselves and their friends.

Should you, as a brand, join Pinterest? Well that depends. Here are some pros and cons to joining the social network at this stage:

Pros:

• As an early adopter, you’ll be among the first to experiment with the site and its new audience.
• Media are adopting Pinterest profiles, so it provides an additional venue to connect.
• “Pinners” are hungry for visual content and putting ideas together for them can create brand loyalty and affinity.
• Adding monetary symbols ($xx.xx) creates price tags for items, and users can click through to your ecommerce site if you include a hyperlink.

Cons:

• Because it’s not designed for brands, there are no design features or functionality to help you connect differently than an individual.
• Metrics are not available.
• Because it’s growing so quickly, Pinterest is working at full steam to help its community by meeting its demands. At the same time, the company has taken some flack surrounding affiliate links.

Lands’ End and Barney’s have developed brand promotions and contests via Pinterest, and several other brands will be following suit shortly.

And the site is not just for recipes and fashion. Media such as The Wall Street Journal to the Detroit Free Press are there, as well as the hardware company AMD, Major League Baseball and universities such as Miami of Ohio.

As one of the fastest-growing websites in history, Pinterest is sure to stay on the radar for many brands in the coming months. With more than 12,000 unique users per month, it would be hard to ignore such a large audience.

For more on how to use Pinterest for brands, see our presentation. Happy pinning!

Pinterest for Brands

View more PowerPoint from Airfoil Public Relations

-- Tonja Deegan is the social media director at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley.

 

The hype of no 3DTV hype at the Consumer Electronics Show

Two years ago, it was all the rage – 3DTVs will be taking over your home. Except – no one liked the glasses, you had to have a 3D Blu-ray player and there were dire warnings of staring at the screen for too long. CNN listed other reasons, such as 3D content that was rushed to market and therefore lacking as another reason for mild adoption.

This year, reporters are speculating that 3D is dead or dying because of a dearth of mentions at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

During the holidays, I was one of the consumers who helped create a surge that led 3DTVs to increase sales more than 100 percent. What prompted me to by a 3DTV? I was in the market for a larger TV for our living room, and the current TV was set to go to my husband’s new home office. I was looking for LCD, a larger size and good picture quality with a reasonable price. I had started studying various models and following deal sites after Black Friday to see what would be selling when.

My intentions were to wait until the TV sales of the Super Bowl, but then an eBay Daily Deal (eBay is a client but all deal procuring is personal) popped up that was hard to pass. The 3DTV was LCD and came bundled with a 3D Blu-ray player and four pairs of passive glasses.

My daughter received the Smurfs 3D movie for Christmas (complete with client Parrot’s AR.Drone cameo) and it looked just like the movie theater – only we were on a more comfortable couch. While I’ve only used the 3D feature a couple of times, the “regular” TV watching is crisp, clear and everything I expected.

Now, if I had only waited for 3DTV without glasses.

-- Tonja Deegan is the digital and social media director at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley.

“Context” is the new “clutter.”

Pushing products and services to the masses, “seeing what sticks,” and flooding the customer’s world with generic advertising were default (if not strategic) practices in a pre-digital era when marketers were limited in their ability to truly contextualize communications. But a progressive breed of shrewd marketers are poised to win big in 2012, replacing clutter with context through in-text keyword advertising and more meaningfully fulfilling their roles in the B2C quid-pro-quo relationship.

In our series of 2012 prediction posts looking at the convergence of on- and offline worlds and the resulting impact on business communications, we’ve explored how “context” is emerging as the next great communications strategy. Customers don’t care whether their needs are met through retail or e-tail, or augmented reality applications…they just want their needs met. This consumer reality is also being acknowledged through online advertising techniques, such as in-text ads and social media ads, where readers receive such targeted content it’s almost personal.

In-text keyword ads allow users to click within a pop-up ad to read a brand’s Twitter messages or Facebook posts in real time, or to watch a brand’s YouTube video content, all without leaving the Web page they started at. You may have encountered such an ad – manifesting as a double-underlined word within a piece of editorial – without realizing it. Users who scroll over the keywords trigger a pop-up box, and it’s at this point that the finesse of in-text advertising becomes evident – only compelled readers link through and consent to the full-text ad/website/social channel, and the rest keep reading.

Whereas in-text gradually pulls a customer into the message, social media ads like those sold by Facebook push a message to what can be an extremely qualified, discrete audience. People openly list their demographic information, jobs, residence, and interests within their profiles, all which can be used by brands to narrow their ad placement strategy. An example of an advertising option on Facebook is the “Likes & Interests” targeting option. With this, businesses can display an ad, for example, in front of individuals that have “Liked” a competitor’s page or an event you’re planning to attend.

Airfoil and many of our clients will have a presence at CES next week, and contextual advertising has the potential to draw a strategic readership into social channels where we discuss the event or simply build brand awareness with companies that have “Liked” the event, and with whom we may want to connect on site.

Given the heightened degree to which today’s advertisers are held accountable for ROI, in-text and social media advertising can be effective not only strategically, but economically, too. Contrasting with display ads that are sold based upon how many people will see, not actively consume, them, these forms of online ads charge the advertiser per click. The consumer is not the only party that benefits from a more relevant brand interaction but the brands themselves that spend their money more wisely – on either highly motivated or qualified consumers – in a contextualized model. 

Even as social and digital platforms have evolved to enable marketers to be more precise in their outreach, less sophisticated brands are still talking at – not with – customers whenever, wherever.

But brands that embrace new ways like in-text and social media ads to right size the amount, frequency and type of information they provide consumers an experience that is a more intuitive, natural exchange of information that mimics an in-person interaction. And the line between digital and actual further blurs…

How do you feel about 2012 being the year where “the line” completely vanishes? Are you ready for it? We’d love to know…please share! 

‘Dumb’ Consumers Mean ‘Smart’ Businesses

Gawker recently posted an article that it deemed as “insights into the dumbest social networking users in 2011.” I think what they found is nothing short of fascinating. First things first, here’s the breakdown of the top, fastest-rising searches by channel in order of popularity:

· Google (Rebecca Black, Google +, Ryan Dunn, Casey Anthony, Battlefield 3)

· Facebook [lms (like my status), tbh (To be honest), Death of Osama bin Laden, Charlie Sheen, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3]

· Twitter (#egypt, #tigerblood, #Threewordstoliveby, #idontunderstandwhy, #japan)

After snickering at a few of these, I took a closer look at the sources and how users turn to each platform in very specific ways. From the list, one can conclude that Facebook is used least for breaking news and more for casual sharing, Google is best for tracking trends and information gathering, while Twitter is all about showing that you know your stuff, first.

While none of this is surprising on the surface, this information has important business implications surrounding the way consumers interact online. For example, if I’m looking to drive a campaign about a new product, I should speak to its coolness factor on Facebook, marketing descriptor on Google+ and unique uses on Twitter.

Thanks to predictable, “dumb” consumer habits, businesses have a chance to get a leg up on the competition if they just listen in the right way. Smart businesses know their audiences and will project personalized messages on the right platform.

What about your business? Are you communicating in the most effective ways with your customers?

-- Heather Arft is an account executive at Airfoil Public Relations, a high tech PR agency with offices in Detroit and Silicon Valley.