https://twitter.com/#!/media_vic
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Twitter: Your own personal PR
Twitter
is so important as your own personal form of PR. Many people use twitter in a
way that doesn’t maximise its potential by tweeting about everyday mundane
things rather than tweeting about interesting content and linking to different
content so that followers gain things from following them. To end this social
media blog I am going to put this to the test by seeing how many followers I
can gain in 24 hours by using twitter in the right way; linking to content,
linking to this blog etc and see if it effects my followers on the blog. It
will begin at 12pm tomorrow and end at 12pm Thursday. So get following and
thank you for reading my blog!
https://twitter.com/#!/media_vic
https://twitter.com/#!/media_vic
Sunday 13 May 2012
How important is gamification?
Gamification is a huge social media trend for brands right
now. It’s definitely something that has been identified in recent issues of
FIR. Gamification is basically applying gaming techniques to PR, therefore many
brands are releasing games as a promotional tool
Topshop
Topshop released a game called SCVNGR (scavenger). You had
to download the game in the form of an app. Then there were different
challenges to play for different prizes such a £50 to spend in store etc. there
were also tasks inside the store to encourage footfall.
Lookbook
Lookbook is a site where people can upload pictures of their
outfits. Lookbook hasn’t actually released a game for PR or promotion it’s used
gaming techniques as part of the uniqueness of the website. The more that you
like an outfit you are encouraged to ‘hype’ the look. The more hypes a look
gets then the higher it gets featured on the homepage. The more hypes it receives
then the average of ‘karma’ becomes higher which gives the user more exposure.
So basically the reward of having a good outfit is social status.
Gamification is very important as it's a great PR tool simply because it's a really fun way of getting people involved
in a brand.
Want to know more?
I recommend reading these articles:
Thursday 10 May 2012
For Immediate release
For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report
Main Topics Discussed:
On the 7th May co-host Shel Holtz reviewed Jane McGonigal’s “Reality is Broken,” which argues that the principles of game play can lead to better results than the routine approaches we take to problem-solving in the real world. The 9th May was an interview with Grantoo co-founder and CEO Dimitri Sillam where they discussed student loan debt and how it effected students giving to charities.
On the 7th May co-host Shel Holtz reviewed Jane McGonigal’s “Reality is Broken,” which argues that the principles of game play can lead to better results than the routine approaches we take to problem-solving in the real world. The 9th May was an interview with Grantoo co-founder and CEO Dimitri Sillam where they discussed student loan debt and how it effected students giving to charities.
Things I found interesting:
One of the answers to the problem discussed was gamification, creating some sort of game to get students enticed to interact with the charity and therefore encourage them to give. Obviously the whole review about 'Reality is Broken' was about gaming techniques and it was interesting to see how they delved into the power of gaming and how game designers have discovered what stimulates us. It shows just how important gaming techniques are and if they are applied to PR tools this is something that can be a real winner for promotion brands. Gamification is definitely an interesting PR tool that I want to explore, see what brands are doing it, and doing it successfully!
Monday 7 May 2012
Companies using social media the RIGHT way
Listening to a recent FIR (03/05/12) about companies that have got social media wrong I decided look at the companies that managed to get it right!
Glamour – Pinterest
Glamour use Pinterest better than most companies that I’ve seen. They use their boards to show different elements of the magazine. Such as pinboards for inspiration for an up and coming photoshoot for the magazine. They also create pinboards for different trends. Doing this not only creates a personality for the magazine but it also invites the readers into the ‘behind-the-scenes’ inspiration that goes into the magazine and allows them to share these aspects with their readers.
Coca-Cola –Facebook
Coca-Cola’s facebook is so unique because they really maximise all the features of timeline. You can go right back to when Coke first began to find out information on the brand. They also interact with their fans through competitions, promotions and campaigns. Right now they are offering tickets to EURO 2012 if you get involved with their ‘Move to the beat’ campaign.
Uniqlo
Uniqlo is brand that is the king of social media for brands. Their social media history includes releasing a pinball game that allowed customers to win discounts and promotions as well as this it recently release a website called lucky counter that similar to groupon discounts the price the more that you tweet about it or share it. On top of all of this they were also one of the first retailers to release a mobile phone app in 2008. To find out more about their successes read this article and scroll to the bottom.
Overall, social media really is key to creating a good online personality and maximising the potential of a brand.
Want to know more?
Glamour – Pinterest
Glamour use Pinterest better than most companies that I’ve seen. They use their boards to show different elements of the magazine. Such as pinboards for inspiration for an up and coming photoshoot for the magazine. They also create pinboards for different trends. Doing this not only creates a personality for the magazine but it also invites the readers into the ‘behind-the-scenes’ inspiration that goes into the magazine and allows them to share these aspects with their readers.
Coca-Cola –Facebook
Coca-Cola’s facebook is so unique because they really maximise all the features of timeline. You can go right back to when Coke first began to find out information on the brand. They also interact with their fans through competitions, promotions and campaigns. Right now they are offering tickets to EURO 2012 if you get involved with their ‘Move to the beat’ campaign.
Uniqlo
Uniqlo is brand that is the king of social media for brands. Their social media history includes releasing a pinball game that allowed customers to win discounts and promotions as well as this it recently release a website called lucky counter that similar to groupon discounts the price the more that you tweet about it or share it. On top of all of this they were also one of the first retailers to release a mobile phone app in 2008. To find out more about their successes read this article and scroll to the bottom.
Overall, social media really is key to creating a good online personality and maximising the potential of a brand.
Want to know more?
I recommend to read these articles:
Wednesday 2 May 2012
Social Media and a Successful Blog
Many bloggers will agree that social networking and social
media is a huge part of their success. Recently one blogger tweeted that since
she had not been promoting her blog on facebook her blog hits had halved in
just one week. So how vital is social media to the successfulness of your blog?
Want to know more?
WishWishWish
WishWishWish began in 2007. As an avid reader of her blog I
have seen it grow over the years. She never promoted her blog on facebook, and
she was a late user of Twitter. The way that her blog has gained success is
through old social networking sites such as Livejournal which she regularly
posted in communities such as What I Wore Today and The High Street. By doing
this she gained followers who once she moved to her own blog platform followed
her and were a vital part in spreading the word about her blog.
Nicola Claire
Nicola Claire’s blog is only a year old, but in a year she has managed to gain over a 1000 followers. Most of her promotion and followers came from a site called LookBook.nu where she regularly posted pictures of her outfits. She gained a following from that and many users wanted to find out more and therefore began to follow her blog. She also had a lot of interaction with other bloggers who in turn promoted her blog. I think making friends with other bloggers is a vital part to success as they will link back and more followers will be gained that way.
Both these bloggers now use twitter and facebook to continually
promote their blogs, but it definitely is not something that they used as
single tool to gain followers. It is definitely an amalgamation of different
social media tools, and not always the obvious ones that you think of like
twitter and facebook. I think the most important thing is identifying what
social networking and media sites do the people that you want to read your blog
use, and then start promoting your blog from there.Nicola Claire’s blog is only a year old, but in a year she has managed to gain over a 1000 followers. Most of her promotion and followers came from a site called LookBook.nu where she regularly posted pictures of her outfits. She gained a following from that and many users wanted to find out more and therefore began to follow her blog. She also had a lot of interaction with other bloggers who in turn promoted her blog. I think making friends with other bloggers is a vital part to success as they will link back and more followers will be gained that way.
Want to know more?
I recommend to read these articles:
Sunday 29 April 2012
Vlogging the new Blogging
So we all know what a huge phenonmenon blogging has been.
Bloggers are practically celebrities (well in the fashion world!) Sitting on
the front row of fashion shows, having articles written about them and being a
major part of PR for brands. Well recently I came across a far more modern
version of blogging that I believe is going to be even bigger and better than
blogging, especially when used in conjuction with it. Its called Vlogging.
Now many of my favourite bloggers such as WishWishWish and Gem Fatale have used videos in conjunction with their blogs for tutorials and a different take on a post. But the job of a vlogger is to use only video and gain a community via sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. At first I did find it slightly cringey to watch, especially because many of the Vloggers aren’t trained on proper video etiquette, but it quickly became addictive and rather interesting! Vlogging can be about anything, but a lot of the Vloggers are comedians, but it's great to see fashion vlogging starting to make it big.
Just like blogging brands are now contacting vloggers to do sponsored videos about their brand. This can sometimes be even better than blogging posts as it's more than just pictures and vloggers can show people how to properly use the product, making it more likely that they will buy it.
Want to find out more?
Now many of my favourite bloggers such as WishWishWish and Gem Fatale have used videos in conjunction with their blogs for tutorials and a different take on a post. But the job of a vlogger is to use only video and gain a community via sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. At first I did find it slightly cringey to watch, especially because many of the Vloggers aren’t trained on proper video etiquette, but it quickly became addictive and rather interesting! Vlogging can be about anything, but a lot of the Vloggers are comedians, but it's great to see fashion vlogging starting to make it big.
Just like blogging brands are now contacting vloggers to do sponsored videos about their brand. This can sometimes be even better than blogging posts as it's more than just pictures and vloggers can show people how to properly use the product, making it more likely that they will buy it.
So check it out! Vlogging! Below is a video of one of the
Voggers I liked the best.
Want to find out more?
I recommend reading these articles:
Vlogging The Good The Bad
Pros and Cons of Vlogging
Teen Vloggers: Fashions New It Girls?
Friday 27 April 2012
Sparked by one of the recent FIR, I’ve decided to find out
more about Pinterest. Recently the first Pinterest user to be sponsored has
been in the news and it’s made me want to know more about what draw people to ‘pinning’;
Why use it for your own promotion and Why should companies use it?
So if you don’t know already, the whole concept of Pinterest is to create moodboards of photos. you easily categorize them and they can be about anything in general, but it’s basically an online pinboard that you can share with others.
One brilliant thing about Pinterest is firstly it’s a great way to flow traffic to a website or other social media links. What I think is really great about Pinterest is that it’s a great network to gain inspiration, and in that sense it is like no other social networking site. In a recent FIR(23/04/12) they mentioned the fact that Pinterest is losing users because once people have tried it out they have decided it isn't for them. But I don't think this is a threat for Pinterest as it is still in a growth faze.
Pinterest is a great source of PR. Recently one Pinterest user was sponsored by a company to pin live during a fashion event. Very similar to PR that bloggers create. It’s also great for companies to have a pinterest as it’s visually a unique way to communicate the personality of the company and another great way for brands to reach out to their customers.
That's it, I'm won over, I've already requested my invite to join the Pinterest community!
Want to know more?
Below are two videos, the first is a general talk about pinterest in the first 10 minutes. The second is exclusively as to why brands should create a Pinterest.
So if you don’t know already, the whole concept of Pinterest is to create moodboards of photos. you easily categorize them and they can be about anything in general, but it’s basically an online pinboard that you can share with others.
One brilliant thing about Pinterest is firstly it’s a great way to flow traffic to a website or other social media links. What I think is really great about Pinterest is that it’s a great network to gain inspiration, and in that sense it is like no other social networking site. In a recent FIR(23/04/12) they mentioned the fact that Pinterest is losing users because once people have tried it out they have decided it isn't for them. But I don't think this is a threat for Pinterest as it is still in a growth faze.
Pinterest is a great source of PR. Recently one Pinterest user was sponsored by a company to pin live during a fashion event. Very similar to PR that bloggers create. It’s also great for companies to have a pinterest as it’s visually a unique way to communicate the personality of the company and another great way for brands to reach out to their customers.
That's it, I'm won over, I've already requested my invite to join the Pinterest community!
Want to know more?
As well as reading the linked content I recommend these
articles:
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