Google+ survives

Social media experts thought Google+ was doomed to fail over the last few weeks but it has since seen a speedy turn around. Recent reports show Google+ participation increased after it ended the invite-only trial period. Within days of opening the social media platform to the public, active accounts increased by 30 percent. It is now the third largest social media networking site. Do you have a Google+ account?

New Features to Google+
The Circles feature on Google+ can now be easily shared by users. A ‘share’ button allows two existing circles to overlap, combine and copy contacts. Another feature is more geared towards businesses and marketing. You can now track the traffic on Google+ in real time. This offers business owners a chance to see when their ads are getting the most views on the site.

Google turns 13

Google celebrated its 13th birthday this week with a birthday cake homepage like they do each year. In 1998, Google began with a $100,000 investor check and has blossomed into the most widely used search engine on the planet. To give you a frame of reference, here are some things that were happening 13 years ago: dial-up was the only way to connect to the internet, AOL Instant Messenger had the highest volume of accounts and Microsoft Windows 98 had just hit the shelves.

The recent buzz reminds us how dependent we are on Google, and how it has become a staple in our daily lives. While the effects of Google+ remain to be seen in the long-term, what do you think we can expect from the upcoming Google+ platform for businesses?

Keeping It Legal

The always evolving realm of social media provides opportunity for growth and advancement. It is also important to stay on top of to the latest developments. In order to use this tool effectively, make sure you’re aware of the legal issues surrounding social media. Even the smallest promotions and contests on Facebook or Twitter are subject to regulations. Learn more about keeping your company out of trouble if you’re thinking of running an online contest.

Blogging Like a Pro

Want to grow your blog like a Fortune 500? There is a strategic way to accomplish that goal. Some of the steps include reflecting on your previous quarter and checking who is reading your blog. These steps, while basic, provide a great insight into how you can attract more readers and increase participation. What tactics have you used to grow your blog?

Social Media Management Tips

If you offer social media services to multiple clients, managing all of the accounts takes preparation. There are a few tips that can help keep your social workflow under control. Remember to delegate tasks from the start of a project, this will help identify problems quickly and avoid confusion. Organizing an editorial schedule and other account details in one location can also help keep the entire team on the same page. Management tools like Pulse, HootSuite and Tweetdeck can ensure your team doesn’t miss anything.  If you need help managing your company’s social media accounts, contact us for a list of services.

Baseball and Social Media: A Great Combo

The St. Louis Cardinals take on the Cubs this weekend in Chicago, but don’t forget about Social Media Night at Busch Stadium next week. Attendees get access to specials and the chance to network with other social media professionals in the area. Will you be there?

Teachers and Students Can’t be ‘Friends’

Recent legislation in Missouri will make it a crime to be Facebook friends with teachers. Beginning on August 28, any contact through social networks like Facebook and Twitter will be prohibited between students and teachers. This Senate bill is meant to deter misconduct and to more clearly define teacher-student boundaries.  Teachers will still be able to create Facebook pages for their classrooms, as long as they do not have direct contact with their students via social media. If you or your company need help establishing a social media policy to help prevent misconduct, check out TVG’s social media services.

Save Money on School Supplies with Social Media

Popular retailers like Target and Sears are using social media to share shopping tips and deals with their customers, demonstrating how social media is a win-win for customers and companies alike. Customers can make electronic shopping lists with their favorite stores and receive 40 percent off of items that they ‘like’.  Companies can drive engagement and sales without expensive TV ads. How do you plan to use social media during your back-to-school shopping this year?

Smartphones for smarter classrooms

Teachers are finding ways to use technology to foster learning and student participation.  Handheld devices called ‘clickers’ enable teachers to administer quizzes and ask for feedback in real time. Clickers are helpful teaching tools, but expensive. Companies around the country are now creating apps that allow students to use their cell phones or laptops to engage in classroom discussion instead of ‘clickers.’  Here at TVG we are using iPads to conduct research and work more easily with clients. How have you seen teachers or coworkers use social media and other technology to their advantage?

St. Louis County Government (@SaintLouCo) experienced this firsthand with their recent minor Twitter misfortune. After tweeting, “@MileyLikeABoss thanks for the #StLCo love,” in reply to MileyLikeABoss’, “STL city is downtown. The county is so much nicer,” the County couldn’t take back what it inadvertently indicated about the City. Twitter lit up, and everyone from businesses to the spokesperson for the Mayor felt compelled to chime in on what was said.

Twitter is a great tool. It not only acts as an instant news source, but enables companies to interact with clients and constituents, and give recognition and thanks. But, even with the best of intentions, it can wreak havoc when used improperly. (And, don’t get us started about U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner.)  Some parties argue that people overacted to the @SaintLouCo tweet, but either way these recent mishaps highlight a rule every company should follow–think before you hit send!

For more information on TVG’s social media practice, click here or check us out on Twitter @VandiverGroup.

Chrysler recently had a big “oops” when someone at a firm hired to manage their Twitter account accidentally tweeted from the @ChryslerAutos account instead of a personal account. The tweet dropped the F-bomb, reading: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f****** drive.” Needless to say, their recent branding efforts (Imported from Detroit) and the company as a whole took a big hit. Oops.

Even though things like not attaching a document to an email or posting to Facebook instead of Twitter may seem like harmless mistakes, we can still set parameters to help us avoid these situations. Here at TVG, we encourage clients to develop cohesive communications strategies that involve consistent messaging across all outlets. This helps ensure that all communications by a company—both online and off—support the bigger picture (i.e. business objectives). It also helps to have a system of checks and balances that focuses on the security and accuracy of all company communications. This can prevent avoidable mistakes from affecting your reputation.

But even with systems and securities in place, “oops” moments happen, especially with the rapid pace of social media. One wrong response on Facebook or one misconstrued tweet can flip the panic switch and send your team into crisis mode. A crisis communications plan is a necessity for any company, but the best way to avoid a social media crisis is to set up a social media policy and teach your team how to use social media correctly. Just as with every medium, make sure you align your social media communications with your overall strategy.

TVG offers social media training and refresher courses that can help you take proactive steps to avoid those “oops” moments. We also can work with your company to develop an effective social media policy to prevent a Chrysler tweet disaster from happening to your company. To learn more about TVG’s services, check out the Services page of our website.

It has become common practice for most companies to tell the consumer that they are taking our information and sharing it for purposes of e-mail marketing or handling of a customer account. But they are not really being transparent about where the email addresses are going. Very few companies handle email relationships in-house. This means consumer email addresses are going to firms like Epsilon, who are capable of tracking e-mail response rates, mapping them to in-store purchase decisions and demographic information, and analyzing the data with a host of other marketing tools.

This is all well and good for marketers, but for consumers this means your information is not housed safely within the walls of your favorite company. Some consumers might be outraged by this, but in the end we are the ones who handed over our information in the first place. And so, fair or not, our personal online privacy must ultimately be our individual responsibility.

What it comes down to is using common sense. Don’t provide sensitive information over email and don’t respond to emails from senders you don’t know. This will prevent a flood of spam to your inbox and protect your email account from being mined for other sensitive data. Just make sure you use an extra dose of caution and even an extra secure password to protect your information. Not sure about an email? Check that the recipient URL is it consistent with the URL usually used when you get information from that company.  Worried about a scam?  Search for the email topic or sender address on snopes.com.

For more information on this story, click here.

The Community Connections Program is designed to promote public diplomacy through exchanges of cultural ideas and values and create a positive exchange of ideas and business approaches between professionals in Russia and the U.S. The discussion centered on PR agencies and how they are run in the U.S., specifically how they work with non-profit clients to develop campaigns. There were 12 delegates from the Russian city of Novosibirsk in attendance, along with a translator to help facilitate the conversation.

Here are a few photos from the visit. For information about TVG’s non-profit work, click here.

TVG staff members and the Russian delegates

A few of the delegates

Donna discussing PR with the delegates in TVG's conference room

A gift from the delegates' hometown of Novosibirsk

1. Foursquare vs. Facebook

Foursquare has emerged as one of the premier check-in services for your mobile device, but is facing stiff competition from Facebook Places. In response, Foursquare is focusing more on discovering new places, de-emphasizing the gaming aspect of the app. They say they want to be able to make recommendations to users and create a more personalized experience. Will this open more doors for marketers to use geo-location?

2. Twittering Adults

A recent Pew Research survey shows that in the U.S., eight percent of adults on the internet are using Twitter. Although it isn’t very surprising that 18-29 year-olds are the most active; those age 30-64 make up 13 percent of the market.

3. BP and Quick Payments

Although BP has been out of the main news stream for quite a while, the aftermath is still affecting residents of the Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility has issued more money at a faster rate than BP did, and is working to give expedited final payments in exchange for their right to take legal action. Do you think this will bring good or bad press for BP?

4. The Value of a Tweet

How much is a single tweet worth? If you recently bought a new Toyota, it could have been worth $500. Through this past Wednesday, Toyota was taking $500 off the purchase of a new Toyota to anyone who posted a specific tweet about their Toyotathon campaign. Toyota says the high discount was enough to generate a strong buzz and a stronger call to action. Does your company utilize Twitter to its full potential?

5. GAP PR Problems … Again

GAP has released limited edition FEED bags, as part of its anti-hunger FEED campaign. For every bag purchased, GAP will donate $5 towards the U.S.’s school lunch programs. It also dons a “Made in USA” logo, and advertisements and product descriptions say it’s made here in America. The problem is that the bags’ tags say they are made in China. In a survey, people are saying that because of this, they will not buy the bag. How would you handle this from a PR standpoint?

In twenty-first century marketing, there is a new rulebook. Rule Number One: Your best marketers are always your satisfied customers. In conversations with friends, family, peers, people they interact with online, and even those who follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and the myriad of other social media sites, your customers are talking about your projects.  Your potential customers are searching for advice on branding, marketing, public relations and social media. TVG became a charter member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) because we wanted to be sure we were adhering to the ethical use of the tools available to us, and because TVG has been using social media for about eight years.

WOMMA members use social media as a tool to get the conversation started, to form and engage communities, and to drive awareness and sales.  What better way than through the positive experiences of your customers?

Which brings me to Rule Number Two: The dark side. If done improperly, word-of-mouth can be counterproductive, even disastrous. In the latter case, this usually happens because the marketing or digital firm tried something unethical or deceptive.

Ethics–always important, no matter what you are doing.

If you are unsure about what’s ok in social media, WOMMA is devising guidelines for marketing practices, and is surveying the field for help in developing the answers.

The Member Ethics Advisory Panel (MEAP) of WOMMA, is currently looking for comments on two questions as part of their Annual Ethics Code Review:

1. Contests – how and when should disclosure occur in social media contests? For example, does a “material connection” exist between a brand and a blogger who enters a contest and writes about his or her contest entry?
2. Data scraping – The practice of using technology to “scrape” employee data, social media profile information, and in some cases discussions within private social networks, exists. Issues of privacy and respect for rules of venue may be raised by this practice. What do you think?

You can post your responses to: www.womma.org/ethicsreview/2010/11/01/members-ethics-advisory-panel-meap-posts-ethical-questions-for-response.

We in the industry need to demonstrate that ethics in our practice is something we take very seriously.  We realize our reputations, and the reputations of our clients, require ethical, open communication.

If you miss this lesson, you will experience Rule Number Three: clients and competitors will take advantage of the fact that you didn’t follow Rule Number Two.

“The world of communications is changing.  Social media is growing by leaps and bounds and it is important that your company stay in the game. But in order to play the game, it is important that you know the rules.

Research firm Forrester estimated that more than $700 million would be spent on social media marketing in 2009, and more than $3 billion will be spent in 2014. With advertising dollars and the amount of users increasing in the social media realm, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revised the Guidelines Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (Guides) in December 2009. The Guides focus on protecting consumers from deceptive endorsements and testimonials and the FTC has now included guidelines for businesses using the Internet and social media spaces.”

To read more on the new guidelines click here for the rest of Donna’s article.

This article first appeared in Vol. 11, No. 3 of Enterprising Women magazine (www.enterprisingwomen.com) and is being reprinted with permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.