Published by Janine on 25 Feb 2010
Social media campaigns are popping up all over the web from businesses in all types of industry. It is essential not to rush into such campaigns, you have to think about how you are going to develop your strategy, what you want to achieve etc and from research, how you are going to achieve it.
Published by Jenny on 15 Feb 2010
Is a picture worth a thousand tweets? Quite possibly
I loathe seeing pictures of myself appearing in the public domain. Vain enough to do vanity searches, realistic enough to recognise that I’m not particularly photogenic, I’ve chosen in the past to use meaningless alias pictures wherever possible.
Published by Janine on 09 Feb 2010
Many companies banned social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to stop employees using them in work time, however for those that allow them, there is always an element of risk…
On this blog in August 2009, I wrote about how tweeting can get your own way and how the power of Twitter is unbelievable, which is very true and I think people forget this all too often!
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Published by Janine on 29 Sep 2009
As social media is playing a more active part in many organisations, WebCertain MD, Andy Atkins-Kruger decided to hold a Twitter Training session, the idea being to maximise website traffic and to enhance company engagement with their audience. After all, social media is a cost-effective marketing solution with real time search benefits.
Published by Jenny on 03 Jun 2009
Do you have blocked or runny nose? Are your eyes itchy and uncomfortable? If so, you are probably one of 40 million* people in the UK suffering from hayfever and the summer months are the most uncomfortable for sufferers.
* Figure plucked out of the air for purely illustrative purposes
Published by Jenny on 19 May 2009
Just look at that tag cloud…
When my then-colleague, Mademoiselle Mondon and I started this blog last year, Twitter was just one of the crowd of social networking sites that we paid cursory attention to.
Published by Jenny on 18 May 2009
The opportunities and threats of marketing through Twitter
At the Social Media International Search Summit hosted by WebCertain in London on Thursday 14 May, I gave a presentation on the use of Twitter as a marketing tool. Twitter is definitely a “marmite” concept – it divides people. There are some who have embraced it with almost religious zeal and it provokes red-faced rage in others.
Published by Jenny on 14 May 2009
The fourth International Search Summit hosted by WebCertain is taking place at the moment. This conference is focussed on Social Media. Whether you weren’t able to attend, or just want a reminder of what was said – here’s an overview…
Also follow #isslon on Twitter for live updates.
Published by Janine on 22 Apr 2009
The use of social networking and blogging is growing increasingly popular every day, with more and more people looking to find reviews and true product knowledge on all topics. From finding what a specific holiday destination is truly like from real life experience of a blogger, to using Twitter for recommendations of restaurants and cafes in a certain city. The use of online networking has escalated to new heights, in a positive way; this will continue to rise in the future.
Blogs and forums are used to promote products / services and to inform people about issues which you may need to research about a product, or for example, DIY to give you up-to-date information. Many people use forums to get information they need, not necessarily to join one. News stories from bloggers aren’t always dependable, although many people do find blogs for product reviews.
Social media is also advantageous in real life experiences, i.e. following selected people on Twitter can be beneficial, as Jenny, our online news and PR manager discovered. Also, the news on the Hudson Plane crash posted on Twitter was passed around the world faster than any of the media coverage on satellite or cable TV.
With social networking you tend to build your own portfolio and web presence, creating links to people you know or people who may be of interest to you, generating a network, whether personal or professional.
Blogging is all about giving your opinion on a subject and can be more educational, unless you have your own site you’re not going to be building a web presence. Blogging can go from giving your opinion on a subject matter to reviews of products or services.
Both blogging and social networking are very different, yet can offer the similar routes to problem solving and product knowledge, getting you the information you need.
Published by Jenny on 21 Apr 2009
Although this blog is dedicated to sharing positive, cheery advice on how to get on in the online PR field, the first thing that anyone in communications needs to learn is think about what you’ve written before you press ’send’!
One hapless PR (not that she deserves any sympathy) has discovered the troubles that can be caused by a thoughtless pun – especially when bloggers and tweeters can make a mistake big news in minutes.
The excellent Lost in Showbiz blog (not connected to the Guardian blog as far as I know) keeps us all our toes, correctly highlighting the pretentiousness, deceit and general, unconvincing uselessness of many press releases.
They’ve got a humdinger today. Once of the most thoughtless headlines imaginable has destroyed a harmless release about a supposed poll on the best war films of all time.
Here’s the intro, can you spot the obvious error?
From: libby@swns.com [mailto:libby@swns.com]
Sent: 21 April 2009 10:51
To: NationalNews
Subject: SCHINDLER’S LIST IS GREATEST WAR MOVIEWOULD JEW BELIEVE IT
NEWS COPY
Schindler’s List was yesterday (Tue) named the greatest war movie of all time.
Read more at Lost in Showbiz
Thanks to Twitter and other social networking sites, this story is flying around quicker than you can say “viral marketing”.
Do share more howlers here, or at our Global Social forums - and chat about it on Twitter…
