Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Remember when the first thing you did in the morning was make coffee and sit down with the daily newspaper or tuned in to your local TV news? Now it seems more and more the first thing we do in the morning is log on to our computers and check Facebook, Twitter and e-mail to find out what’s happening around the world, in our neighborhood and within our social circles.
According to a recent study of 200,000 people by The Nielsen Company, Americans spend a large percentage of their time online, surfing social networking sites. Some of the key findings of the study include:
- 22.7 percent of our time online is spent on social networking sites, which is a 43 percent increase from the same time last year.
- Online games, e-mail and portals combined, take up just 22.9 percent of our time online.
- If the U.S. Internet time were condensed into one hour, social networks would take up 13 minutes and 36 seconds. Online games, e-mail and portals would take up just 13 minutes and 42 seconds of one hour.
“Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the Web, 40 percent of U.S. online time is spent on just three activities – social networking, playing games and emailing leaving a whole lot of other sectors fighting for a declining share of the online pie,” said Nielsen analyst Dave Martin.
While it should come as no surprise that Americans spend a great deal of time on social networks, it is becoming more apparent that social networks are a rising form of online communication. E-mail, which was number two last year, saw its usage drop from 11.5 percent in 2009 to 8.3 percent this year. Instant messaging also saw a major hit, declining 15 percent from last year to account for just four percent of our time spent online this year.
More people using social networking sites to communicate online, and the decrease in e-mail usage, could be the reason why online gaming moved up to the number two spot for the first time. Time spent on online games g increased from 9.3 percent in 2009 to 10.2 percent in 2010, which now take up six minutes of one hour. Another possible reason for the increase in online gaming is the major presence of games on social networking sites. Games such as Zynga’s Farmville and Mafia Wars have become immensely popular among Facebook users in recent months.
U.S. consumers spend time on the Internet differently when accessing it via a mobile device than when accessing via a computer. Consider the following stats from the same Nielsen study:
- 41.6 percent, or 25 minutes of one hour, of American’s mobile online time is spent checking and sending e-mails from our mobile phones.
- 22 percent of American’s mobile online time is spent on portals and social networks, or 13 minutes of one hour.
- Time spent on social networks on mobile phones increased 28 percent, from 8.3 last year to 10.5 percent in 2010.
The study illustrates that increasingly more of our Internet time is spent on social networks. The reality is social networks play a large role in people’s lives. As people begin to spend more time on social networks, businesses are adapting to this trend and harness the power of social networks to reach key audiences. Businesses will continue to embrace social networks as a way to reach current and potential customers, and customers will look to interact with businesses on a more personal level.
What do you spend most of your time on the Internet doing? Leave us a comment.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about two new social media measurement tools from Marketwire Sysomos that I recently tested out. While my initial thoughts and experience have been positive, it made me reflect on some of the other industry tools and resources available to help organizations measure social media’s impact and effectiveness.
With social media reaching ubiquitous status for both business-to-consumer and business-to-business organizations, it’s becoming extremely important for marketing and PR professions to become proficient in measuring the value of social media activities. This information and insight can often serve as a guide to help companies define and refine their social media strategies and help them effectively leverage social media.
A recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article outlined the top five social media marketing mistakes organizations need to be aware of. The number one mistake? Not monitoring social media activities. Writer Mike Proulx says, “Companies that do not first “listen” and observe how their evangelists and detractors talk about their brand risk jumping into a cyclone of unanticipated activity. Constant monitoring is a must.”
I thought I would share some of the industry’s best-known tools for measuring and monitoring social media.
- BuzzLogic – BuzzLogic targets marketing and advertising managers and offers a “conversational media platform” that helps pinpoint where online conversations are taking place and where users are most engaged around topics to help organizations build more powerful and influential relationships and track competing products.
Radian6
- Radian6 – One of the more well-known solutions, Radian6 offers social media monitoring and detailed analytics reporting to help organizations track brand performance on various social media channels including Twitter, Facebook and blogs. The company also offers functionality around social media CRM, web analytics integration and workflow management.
- Social Mention – A simple web-based tool that finds brand mentions on a variety of platforms including blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in real time, Social Mention culls them together into a single stream of information for easy dissemination. Social Mention also offers a sentiment rating so that companies can get a sense of its brand perception among users.
Sysomos MAP
- Sysomos – Recently acquired by Marketwire, the company offers two tools, MAP (Media Analytics Program) and Heartbeat, that focus on the core concepts of social media – listen, measure, understand and engage. Sysomos provides real-time business intelligence data to help organizations reach their communications, branding and business objectives as well as manage brands and reputations vis-a-vis social media.
- Trendrr – Trendrr takes real time social media monitoring capabilities and puts the data into perspective with numbers. Specifically geared towards branding, marketing and business managers, Trendrr tracks and graphs activity and trends across a variety of digital platforms including social networks, blogs, Amazon, Craigslist, Twitter, Google News, torrents and video sites.
While it’s clear there are many tools and resources available today to help monitor, analyze and measure the impact of social media, I anticipate these tools will only become more comprehensive. As a PR professional, I find it an integral part of my job to help clients understand the value of measuring social media, the criteria in which it should be evaluated and the tools and resources available to help accomplish this.
Do you have a favorite social media monitoring/analytics tool? We want to hear about your experience with it. Leave us a comment.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been with Communiqué for a little more than two years – it’s been a great experience and I’ve learned so much. However, on Aug. 12 I will be leaving the company to pursue new opportunities in New York City.
I thought I’d take some time to reflect on what I’ve learned over the past couple of years.
- The media landscape has shifted and will continue to change. The economic downturn affected nearly every industry and organization – and print publications were no exception. In November 2008, we wrote a blog post about the economic impact on the industry’s top publishing houses. This downturn forced many magazines and newspapers to cut budgets and staff. During the past year or two we have found that editors have been more receptive to receiving bylined articles due to the decrease in resources. As a PR professional, this has greatly helped me boost my writing skills. Given resources are so limited and editors have less time to sift through e-mails, I have found that it is more important than ever to write very succinct pitches that tell a compelling story in order to secure coverage and share our clients’ story with key audiences.
- Social media is not a fad. It is here to stay. When I first started working at Communiqué Twitter was not the social media phenomenon it is today. I remember when US Airways flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River in New York – the fact that this news first broke via Twitter shows the way we exchange information has dramatically changed. Gone are the days when we would rely solely on TV, radio and newspapers to get our daily update on current affairs. In fact, more often than not I learn about breaking news events via Twitter or Facebook before I do via a traditional media outlet. I anticipate social media platforms will continue to expand and as they do, it will be important for organizations and PR professionals (like myself) to engage and familiarize ourselves with these different platforms.
- Transparency is not an option. Transparency, especially in light of the social media boom and popularity of online content, is truly an integral element to participating effectively in online conversations. When I tweet about a client, I make sure to let my followers know that I am promoting a client’s service, product or raising awareness of a recent announcement. I wrote a blog post in July 2009 about a company that failed to be transparent in publishing a product review and the ramifications that this had on the company’s reputation and image.
Working with clients including Attachmate, Tecplot, Tideworks Technology and Florentia Press has been such a pleasure. I’ve met some great people and have learned a lot about different technologies and products, as well as how a company works and the importance of client relations.
I want to thank everyone at Communiqué as well as the clients I have worked with the past couple of years. The experience and skills I have attained will be truly invaluable in my next adventure.
We talk about Twitter and its role in public relations a lot on the Communiqué blog. While we believe Twitter is a great tool and can be used to reach millions of people almost instantly, it is important not to ignore the biggest social media platform, Facebook. It not only dwarfs Twitter in the number of users (500 million registered Facebook users to 75 million Twitter users), but can provide organizations with a unique way to build and extend their brand and engage with key audiences.
A recent study from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, found that companies that use Facebook to reach fans see customer loyalty significantly increase among their fans. As such, Facebook recently began seeing an increase in companies harnessing the power of the platform to deliver their key messages.
Facebook can be extremely effective in reaching key audiences. When one person “likes” a fan page, that piece of information will show up his or her friend’s news feeds, allowing them to see the page and possibly “like” the page as well. This acts as a sort of word of mouth tactic and can help a product or brand gain more followers.
Additionally, when someone “likes” a page, they are given the option of inviting their friends to “like” it as well. Once a customer “likes” a page, they will then receive updates directly in their news feed, making it extremely easy for businesses to deliver their message to their fans.
Customers can comment and “like” specific posts and write their opinions or thoughts on the company’s Facebook page, providing businesses unfiltered information. This data can then drive new offerings, adapt messaging or help improve a product.
To help PR professionals learn the power of Facebook, the company created a fan page called PR on Facebook. The page is run by Facebook itself, which hopes to “share what we have learned about creating social content, promoting events, optimizing Pages, and integrating with tools off of Facebook.” I recently took a close look at the PR on Facebook page and want to share my initial thoughts.
Much of what is shared on the PR on Facebook fan page is how Facebook uses its own platform for day-to-day PR activities. However, all examples shared can be easily applied to any fan page. Facebook has shared examples such as how to provide reporters with permalinks to screenshots and announcements, and criteria for building and maintaining a successful Facebook Pages.
Most recently Facebook has shared how to set up a live stream box, which lets users visiting your Website or application share activity and comment in real time, on a fan page. To illustrate this functionality and the benefits, Facebook,
- Directed people to Facebook Engineering’s page to watch a live stream of their latest Tech Talk as an example
- Posted a link describing how someone could set up a live stream box on their own page
- Linked to a Mashable post describing how to set up a landing page for visitors
PR on Facebook illustrated how a PR professional could use the live stream box to help a company announce a product launch or do a daily segment with fan interactions, much like what the Facebook Engineers did in the example shared on the page. While the page is still in its infancy it appears to be a resourceful tool for PR professionals looking for ways to integrate Facebook into campaigns and initiatives.
So the next time you are planning a PR campaign don’t over look Facebook, consider integrating your activities with this powerful platform. PR on Facebook is a good resource as you investigate how to leverage the medium to your advantage.
Have you used the PR on Facebook fan page? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this as a PR resource.
The recent leak of thousands of reports surrounding the war in Afghanistan has become the focus of much discussion over the past couple of weeks. Not only the validity of these reports and the ramifications the information could have for the government, but also how technology’s role in assisting with the release of information will impact journalism.
In late July, more than 76,000 classified reports were release via WikiLeaks, an international organization that “publishes anonymous submissions and leaks of otherwise unavailable documents while preserving the anonymity of sources.” It appears that if consistently credible, the site could become a go-to source for journalists looking to mine information for stories.
A recent Wall Street Journal article discusses how websites such as these can impact traditional media. Jonathan Zittrain, a law and computer science professor at Harvard says, “I see WikiLeaks as just a new intermediary, not something that gets rid of intermediaries. So the function it’s serving if any is not something alone that should strike fear into traditional newspaper editors.” He goes on to say, “The people at WikiLeaks have learned that if they want to get a message out, they should hand it to the mainstream media under embargo. WikiLeaks is wholsaling it to multiple papers at once, so it’s not an example of WikiLeaks just supplanting what the media does.”
In the case of the war reports, WikiLeaks sought to proactively work with traditional media outlets to disseminate the news. The founder of the company held a press conference where he announced the availability of the information and helped journalists navigate their way through the reports. In other instances WikiLeaks also worked with publications to give them a sneak peek of the information via a protected password to the site. Is this type of collaboration a new model for journalism?
While there are still many legal questions surrounding whether WikiLeaks illegally obtain classified information, the website certainly is causing a stir among media experts. It will be interesting to see how site continues to work with journalists and media outlets to provide classified information. I believe if the site can continue to prove its information is consistently credible and protect its sources, it can certainly be a game changer within the media landscape.
What do you think about WikiLeaks? Leave a comment or send us an e-mail at [email protected].
Melissa Liton
We often get asked by our clients, “how can you measure the value and success of social media?” There are many tools that can track social conversations, capture data around who’s driving these conversations and measure the conversation’s influence. However, it can be a challenge to understand how this information is impacting an organization (i.e. brand perception, sentiment of customers and prospects, and thought leadership in the market).
I recently had the opportunity to test out two new solutions called MAP and Heartbeat from Sysomos, a provider of social media analytics which was recently acquired by Market Wire, a newswire service. Of all the products I’ve seen, MAP and Heartbeat are much more than social media monitoring tools. The solutions provide automated sentiment, key influencer tracking, geo-demographic information and access to real-time and historical social media conversations to help communicators and organizations understand and leverage social media in way that provides business value to the organization.
Sysomos is being used by some of the largest PR agencies and companies in the world such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and HSBC. According to Sysomos’ website, MAP and Heartbeat’s key features and functionality include:
- Access to billions of social media conversations, both real-time and historical, that provide insight into the key social media conversations, why they’re happening and who’s driving them.
- Identification of key influencers by industry or demographic group, and the ability to engage them on-the-fly through access to Twitter, Facebook and blogs.
- Automated sentiment analysis to determine whether the relevant conversations are positive, negative or neutral.
- Detailed geographic and demographic data about social media participants and the conversations they’re having, including their age, gender and profession.
- Tools for in-depth research, historical analysis and the preparation of value-added reports.
In a recent press release from Market Wire, Brian Solis, principal of FutureWorks and social media expert said, “The future of marketing and communications is built upon data and intelligence. For the first time, the ability to not only learn how we can engage with communities of influencers, consumers, and prospects, but also measure the results in real-time will transform everything.”
One of the things I liked best about these solutions is that you can leverage data and analytics to determine whether or not a social media campaign is on track to be successful. Access to this type of data could enable communicators to shift aspects of a campaign if it’s not making traction. Additionally, you can use these solutions to gain insight into your organization’s brand perception or that of its competitors. This type of business intelligence can be highly valuable to an organization, offering the ability to identify and build relationships with key influencers, gain insight into brand perception and engage in conversations around your brand.
We’re currently trialing MAP and Heartbeat and will keep you posted on our thoughts. To see Heartbeat in action, check out this YouTube video.