Tear down those walls.In today’s social media infused PR & Marketing environment it’s no longer to your benefit to only publish content to your campaign website.No, in fact in today’s iPhone wielding, Twitter, & Facebook obsessed world it’s to your advantage to Syndicate your content to as many platforms as possible.
Such a concept of sharing content used to be a dirty thought, as you wanted to control your content and simply drive audiences directly to your website.However, while that is still true today, the strategy for obtaining and reaching consumers of your content has shifted; and the focus is now on spreading your message as widely as possible and having the audience further disseminate your content and propel new eyeballs in your direction. As audiences become more and more fragmented it is increasingly important to share your content and extend its reach in order to help meet the increased diversity with which content is consumed.
Sharing your content and syndicating it benefits your campaign in a number of innovative ways:
By increasing the availability of the content, creating more pipes that lead back to your website & allowing you to reach broader audiences.
Engaged audiences take ownership and will proactively share your news, and spread the message on their own to their own friends and contacts.
Allows target audiences to opt-in and manage both when & where they interact with your information.
Beyond these aspects, there are other advantages, not the least of which is having the opportunity to syndicate any type of content from the latest news release, to a Podcast interview with your spokesperson, or simply a link to a related article via Twiter.The benefits are endless and will allow you to maximize coverage for your efforts.
Over the past year, as a Nation we have witnessed a financial meltdown, which has been unlike any other series of events that many of us have lived through.Millions have lost jobs, and confidence in the market has eroded.Certainly, it is normal for the market to have fluctuations and for corrections to take place from time to time, but the last year was beyond what anyone including the “experts” had envisioned.The repercussions from these recent events run deep and have impacted millions; leaving many wondering what tomorrow will bring.
As organizations look to the future and to moving forward beyond the financial crisis, and as markets strengthen and projects move forward, perhaps the most important component to the recovery is Communications.I do not write that flippantly, nor because it is the arena in which you or I practice.Instead, in order to get our Nation back to work, and to ease everyone’s concerns we must leverage the opportunities before us in today’s new media landscape to openly and honestly communicate and share the direction that our organizations and clients envision.Whether that means sharing notes and information via today’s social media tools such as Twitter, or Facebook, or doing a periodic Podcast interview with members of the C-Suite, or doing a media tour to promote events and campaigns.
Utilizing these tools affords us the opportunity to share where our organizations (and our client’s) are heading with both internal and external audiences.Further, sharing our message will help to ease people’s fears, and instill confidence in the greater business environment and to our customers.
While the news these days is often about the high unemployment rate and the many negative aspects to today’s economy, despite those headlines, there are millions upon millions of hard working people heading to their jobs every day.They are our colleagues in research and development, customer service, shipping & management and collectively they are doing great things and helping their organizations move forward.As for us, as communicators, PR flacks, & marketers it is our role to shine the light on the positive stories and demonstrate to our communities both locally, domestically, and abroad that we are holding our heads up high and moving the economy forward.
As communicators we manage and implement new strategies that best fit our goals and as marketing and communications have gone through various cycles we’ve adapted our strategies to deal with the latest tactics. Whether that means having a daylong conference, doing a media tour, producing a tri-fold brochure, or taking a weighty campaign and making it make sense in a one-minute radio or television spot. Regardless of the medium, it’s our job to tell the story and leverage new communications platforms to find ways through which we can deliver our messages. With that in mind, I thought I’d take a look at the latest communications tool, which of course has been getting a lot of attention, Twitter.
While I realize that many organizations have already started thinking about and integrating Twitter into their communications campaigns, there are many that have yet to fully delve in. So, for those that are still leery let me share a few quick ideas about how Twitter can be beneficial for your next program. First off, the basic premise of Twitter is to share with essentially the World, what you are doing, or thinking, in 140 characters. Now, I know your first reaction might be that it seems like we have finally reached that point where we’re boiling everything down to the lowest common denominator, and you’re probably wondering how can 140 characters help me communicate about my campaign.
Well, I would argue that upon a closer look and once you’ve taken some time to explore the Twitterverse you may actually realize it is filled with potential and be of a different school of thought. I know, you’re thinking exactly how that could be, well Twitter allows you to give your campaign and active avenue through, which you can reach your target market and engage them in an open dialogue. Perhaps, best of all, Twitter opens the doors to having a conversation with audiences that are located anywhere and about any topic.
So, how can you benefit by integrating Twitter into your next communications campaign? Here are a few ideas, you will be able to:
Develop an on-going dialogue about your campaign; sharing new information and keeping your brand in front of your audiences.
Share message points with diverse and geographically dispersed audiences.
Take an active voice in helping to answer questions in real-time.
Monitor feedback and control your own message.
Beyond these key points, by utilizing Twitter you’ll be able to engage in a virtual dialogue, which will help hammer home your message. Further, being active on Twitter will help you establish new relationships, strengthen existing ones, and perhaps most importantly share knowledge and information with new contacts who may even be potential clients.
So, think about it 140 Characters really is more powerful than you would have initially thought, right? Tweet me @jasoncohen
Over the past few years we’ve seen the world of social networking go through a number of iterations — Friendster, MySpace, Facebook. While each seems to improve upon the last, in some shape or another, the concept remains the same - an online place to connect with those who we know in some capacity from our daily lives. Typically, one would sign-up create a profile and connect with friends, beyond that the interaction has depended I suppose on how much spare time you had and what was offered on the particular site.
MySpace did a good job of becoming a venue for musical acts and comedians to easily have an online presence and interact with their fanbase, or to establish one. Then Facebook came along and offered users not only the ability to connect with entertainment based users, but to also form groups about them, or causes that they were interested in, as well as opening up its service as a platform for various applications, which enhanced the user experience and offered users a wide variety of reasons to keep returning.
In the midst of Facebook’s rise, which has evolved as a growing platform for its users, a small project called Twitter was developing and taking shape. Formed by Evan Williams, the same entrepreneur who earlier brought Blogging to the masses with Blogger (now owned by Google) the service simply asked users “What are you doing?” That question became the springboard of invention and in many ways and altered yet again the communications paradigm and the world of social networking. Now, instead of filling out a lengthly profile users could share with anyone that cared to listen what they were doing in 140 characters. (The same length as that last sentence, a nod to Inc for the idea see link below.)
After a failed bid to buy Twitter, in Facebook’s recent re-design, which garnered a lot of attention the social networking site poses the question to its users, “What’s on your mind?” Visually speaking, as a part of the re-design this question has taken on a central role to the Facebook platform and user experience. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I think it begs the question has Facebook’s time now passed? Has our communications landscape been shifted and dwindled to 140 characters?
It seems to be working as Twitter has become mainstream in a sense garnering media attention from The Today Show, to athletes, and celebrities of all types. In the process, communications barriers have been broken down and the world has become a smaller place allowing anyone to join the conversation and interact and follow any other member. Often it is said that simple is better - and maybe that is exactly what Twitter is counting on.
Now, I’m just left wondering if the next social network will have us communicating in acronyms only…Let me know your thoughts on the Twitter and Facebook debate on Twitter @jasoncohen.
Google to gobble Twitter » Adotas - How Twitter can be monetized is a big question…can you foresee a day where you’ll update your status right from Gmail?
Tear down those walls. In today’s social media infused PR & Marketing environment it’s no longer to your benefit to only publish content to your campaign website. No, in fact in today’s iPhone wielding, Twitter, & Facebook obsessed world it’s to your advantage to Syndicate your content to as many platforms as possible.
Over the past year, as a Nation we have witnessed a financial meltdown, which has been unlike any other series of events that many of us have lived through.