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Facebook. MySpace. LinkedIn. Friendster. Twitter. Flickr. Social networking is all around us. Talking about the latest happening on Facebook, or the latest Tweet from Walt Mossberg on Twitter has just become normal conversation. In fact, I feel that people who aren't "connected" are doing themselves a great injustice by missing out on numerous opportunities that networking brings - reuniting with old friends, connecting with industry leaders , job opportunities, etc., etc. That's on the individual side of social networking...
Now, more and more companies are finally stepping into the twenty-first century and asking the same question - "should we be participating in these social sites?" And the answer is.... "Yes...but with caution." Newsday's contributing business columnist, Jamie Herzlich, recently wrote "Online social networking sites not just for kids," where she stated that "it's time your small business started to look at ways to leverage these and other social networks to boost business." I agree with her that business should start to take advantage of these opportunities, but they must proceed with caution.
Companies cannot start airing their dirty laundry or revealing personal employee knowledge, which could possibly eliminate their competitive advantage. Also, you have the question of who in the company should be able to participate in the social sites? Should only the CEO or president, or is everyone allowed? Sun Microsystems has an interesting take on the subject of blogging, where every Sun employee is allowed to participate, but with guidelines. I believe this is definitely the right approach for any established company or new startup who is thinking about breaking into the social networking and/or blogosphere.
We've had this company blog for years and have a BLAST Twitter account, and our account reps all utilize social media to make connections with members of the press and to keep a pulse on industry insiders. Companies should definitely "put a face to the name" and let their customers and clients into their world, but with restrictions. For the most part, companies do a good job of participating in the social networking world, but it only takes one idiotic comment or blog post to ruin a reputation. If you ever have a doubt whether you should leave a Tweet on Twitter, start a company page on Facebook, or put embarrassing photos on Flickr, remember this - the world is connected. Once something goes on the Internet, it's out there for good. So, the next time you want to place your "virtual fingerprint" on Facebook or LinkedIn, just ask yourself, "How does this reflect on my business?" - and then ask your PR agency!
There's nothing like the feeling of a successful announcement. Whether a new client announces its first product ever, or the fifth in its product line-up, it's always exciting to let our media contacts in on the news and see the reaction from our clients when they get great coverage!
Last week, we helped Zip Express Installation - a third-party installation service for CE retailers and a next-day installer for consumers nationwide - announce a major partnership with Target.com. This is big news in the retail world, so we immediately started contacting the appropriate media before the announcement was officially made to gain some early traction. Voilah! We were able secure an exclusive with the Wall Street Journal online. I must say, no matter how long you've been in the game, great coverage never gets old!
As the day continued, we also spoke with the Associated Press, who wrote a piece on the announcement that was included on Forbes.com and BusinessWeek. We also worked with trade media TWICE, Dealerscope and Electronic House to let them know about Zip Express and it's partnership as the first installation service to work with Target.com, seeing coverage in all three.
At BLASTmedia, we're experts at how to handle the days leading up to a major announcement to maximize exposure when the announcement is made. We are always formulating unique pitch angles and working closely with press from print, broadcast and online outlets to get our clients the best media coverage out there. Coverage is as fun for us as it is for the client and a successful announcement just plain 'ole makes us giddy!
With sales surpassing $300 million this week, The Dark Knight has rapidly reached status as this summer's biggest blockbuster hit. According to Media By Numbers LLC, the Time Warner Inc. release passed $314.2 million this week and set five box-office records last week, including best opening-weekend sales with $158.4 million.
The Dark Knight is the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, with Christian Bale reprising his lead role as Batman and Heath Ledger starring as his arch-nemesis the Joker. Originally, Warner Bros. created a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional Web sites and trailers highlighting screenshots of Ledger as the Joker, but after his death in January, the studio refocused its promotional campaign.
But just how much did the media's coverage of Ledger's death play in the role of skyrocketing of ticket sales? Take a look at almost any news coverage of The Dark Knight's ticket sales and try to find a story that doesn't mention Heath's tragic death. With the buzz of an upcoming Oscar nomination for his role as the Joker, it's safe to say that between Heath's award-winning acting skills and the media coverage of his very untimely (or timely for Time Warner?) death, ticket sales will continue to rise and could possibly even beat the current title-holder of largest grossing domestic movie - Titanic with $600.7 million.
What are your thoughts - do you think sales would have been as strong minus Ledger's tragedy?
Just when you think one person could not influence our culture more than Steve Jobs, he outdoes himself. Thanks to Gizmodo, we learned today that Steve Jobs not only brought us all things Apple - he also was the originator of...wait for it....the popped collar! I bow to you, Steve Jobs. Because of you, big Tools everywhere are jamming out to their iPods and sporting the double collar pop. Brilliant.
(if you've been living under a rock, that's him on the right)
PR is a competitive industry. At BLAST we know that there are hundreds of other PR reps competing for the same editorial space and time that we are trying to secure for our clients. Our competitiveness in the office has extended again this year onto the softball field. It's our third year in a softball league, and this year's league started back in June. As the coach, I can proudly say that this year's team is the best we've ever had. We haven't had any losses...until last night. With the Groeppers on summer vacation and the Wernes at a family function, we recruited some subs to play last night in the "battle of the undefeated." We gave a strong showing and were ahead until the fifth inning, when the other team came back to tie us at 11 - 11. In the bottom of the seventh inning with one out, we lost to a home run. Completely over Chantal's head in center field - and the fence. If we're going to give up our undefeated status, I guess it's best to go out by a home run. We'll be back on the field again next Thursday for more action...and a win.
From time to time, the media coverage we secure for our clients has an error in it. A price may be listed as $53 instead of $35 or a Web link could be non-functional. Editors are people too, and mistakes happen. We always work with editors to have the error corrected. Today we came across an unusually funny media mistake - check out the newspaper that actually misspelled its own name in the masthead. How did they let that one slip through?!?
While personal relationships with editors are our best way to deliver national media exposure to clients, we're always on the lookout for useful tools to help us generate even more media coverage. Like most PR agencies, we use traditional paid-subscription media tools like the Cision directory and BusinessWire. We also have a few other freebie favorites, like Meg Weaver's Wooden Horse Publishing newsletter and Peter Shankman's HARO: Help A Reporter Out. While Wooden Horse keeps us updated on new developments at media outlets, we love using HARO to connect reporters, who need expert sources and new products, to our clients. The service has grown tremendously since it was launched back in January and, according to some, is going head-to-head with the PR industry's traditional service--PR Newswire's ProfNet.
The competition is starting to get a bit ugly, but we're sticking by HARO. After all, it has helped us secure coverage in a variety of publications including the New York Times, Charlotte Magazine and Pizza Today. Plus, we've had some great client interviews with outlets like AARP.org, EverydayHealth.com, Baseline Magazine and Executive Roundtable Radio.
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