On January 21 around 8:30 p.m., reports began surfacing that Penn State football coach Joe Paterno had passed away. It started when Penn State’s online news organization, Onward State, posted to its

Twitter account, “Our sources can now [...]]]>

Source: Poynter.com

The news was quickly picked up locally and nationally by other outlets, including CBS Sports, which tweeted the story and published an obituary of Paterno without attribution.

Around 9 p.m. that same night, a Paterno family spokesman made clear that the rumors around Paterno’s death were “absolutely not true.” Onward State and CBS Sports both made official retractions immediately following the family’s announcement Saturday night, but Onward State took it one step further.

At just 21 years old, Onward State Managing Editor Devon Edwards possessed the maturity to understand that a simple retraction was not enough. He published a personal apology letter on the publication’s website and Facebook page that is both well-written and genuine. The letter works because it is heartfelt, and he did not make excuses or place blame.

We can all learn something from Edwards. Thanks to social media tools like Twitter, every day brings headlines about crises, most of which immediately go viral. As professional communicators, we need to be as transparent as Devon Edwards in all of our communications–especially our apologies–in order to be effective.

Photo courtesy of acf_windy on Flickr

When we first posted about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) blackout protest scheduled for January 23, we had no idea that Wikipedia and Reddit (which had planned a January 18 blackout protest) would persuade other sites to join their effort yesterday. According to the Los Angeles Times, more [...]]]>

Photo courtesy of acf_windy on Flickr

When we first posted about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) blackout protest scheduled for January 23, we had no idea that Wikipedia and Reddit (which had planned a January 18 blackout protest) would persuade other sites to join their effort yesterday. According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 10,000 sites participated in the SOPA protest by either making their sites inaccessible, or “blacked out”, on Wednesday or posting messages to encourage visitors to contact Congress about SOPA.

It appears their bold effort worked.

By the end of Wednesday, at least three lawmakers withdrew their support for the legislation – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) withdrew as a co-sponsor of the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and Reps. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) and Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) withdrew from SOPA, which is the House version of the bill. A few more may be added to that list this morning.

Google reports that at least 4.5 million people signed their online anti-SOPA petition during the protest. Even the White House received nearly 104,000 signatures on a We the People petition calling for President Obama to block passage of bills like SOPA and PIPA.

It is still too early for SOPA protesters to get excited, as support remains for PIPA and SOPA in the Senate and House, respectively. However, the success of the SOPA blackout protest thus far demonstrates how understanding your audience and using what they value to make them take action can spur policy change.

Internet users are constituents, and removing their access to content or interrupting their Web routines with SOPA and PIPA protest notices compelled them to get involved in the protest in their own way. It just goes to show that reaching your audiences where they are is an effective way for communicators to raise awareness and encourage action on an issue. Plus, it doesn’t hurt your cause if you get support from an opinion leader like Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

While time will tell if signatures to online petitions and increased calls and emails to Capitol Hill on Wednesday changed the outcome of the January 24 vote in favor of SOPA and PIPA protesters, it is already evident that the reach and response to yesterday’s Internet blackout will definitely impact it.

While I may not be able to foresee  the future, my media savvy crystal ball is suggesting that Monday, January 23, 2012, will be a dark day for communicators.

If you haven’t heard the troubling news already, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Paypal and other major Internet mainstays will be staging a “blackout” on January [...]]]>

While I may not be able to foresee  the future, my media savvy crystal ball is suggesting that Monday, January 23, 2012, will be a dark day for communicators.

If you haven’t heard the troubling news already, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Paypal and other major Internet mainstays will be staging a “blackout” on January 23 to protest proposed federal legislation that will make them liable for lawsuits for content posted on their websites.

Congress is considering a new bill – called the Protect IP Act or Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) – which would allow companies to sue websites for posting protected content without permission and force them to go dark. For example, if I posted a video on YouTube of my friend dancing at a party with our favorite Adele song playing in the background, the record company could sue YouTube and force them to close their whole website for my infraction. There will be a hearing on Tuesday, January 24, to consider this legislation, hence the January 23 protest that could endure for a few hours or an entire day.

For communicators, the uncertainty of the blackout compels us to find and plan for alternative ways to do our online-heavy tasks on January 23. It is rare for a public relations activity to have less than one Internet-related tactic, so, word to the wise: Avoid scheduling events or releases for January 23. It is likely to be a day when our world is narrowed to those we can communicate with in traditional ways so that protesters can enlighten us about our dependence on the World Wide Web and social media.

UPDATE 1/17/12 12:15 P.M. – Wikipedia and Reddit announced that they will blackout their sites on Wednesday, January 18 to protest SOPA. Be prepared as other websites may follow suit. However, it may be unnecessary now. Due to White House pressure over the weekend, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa announced this morning (on his website, ironically) that his committee is postponing a hearing on SOPA, essentially shelving the legislation and postponing a vote on the House floor on the bill. Time will tell if communicators need to be concerned about Internet blackout protests actually occurring since the bill seems to be old news now.

UPDATE 1/18/12 9:20 A.M. – Wikipedia and Reddit kept to their threat to go dark for 24 hours today in protest of SOPA, but other big Internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and AOL, have declined to participate. Google is just placing copy on their homepage today asking users to contact Congress about the bill. Looks like a widespread Internet blackout as predicted earlier this week will not materialize after all. However, the potential blackout did raise a lot of  interesting questions for communicators and Internet users.

Getting your message across has always been a challenge, but the shortened attention spans of audiences today make it even more difficult. Andrew Overton looks at how being persistent can help to spread your message, while Helen Mitternight looks at the importance of the messenger.

Source: JMR Photography

Long Term Engagement Is Key to [...]]]>

Getting your message across has always been a challenge, but the shortened attention spans of audiences today make it even more difficult. Andrew Overton looks at how being persistent can help to spread your message, while Helen Mitternight looks at the importance of the messenger.

Source: JMR Photography

Long Term Engagement Is Key to Moving the Needle

In the digital age, it’s no secret that attention spans have shortened. Retweets and Facebook shares aren’t enough to alter public opinion. It’s critical that audiences remain engaged over the long term if there is any hope of changing attitudes and policy. As communicators, going viral is a big deal, but we can’t end the conversation just as it is getting started. Imagine if the Occupy Wall Street protestors only spent one week in Zuccotti Park. Income inequality would never have become part of the national conversation.  Maintaining a conversation isn’t easy, but the burden lies on us to be innovative and persistent.

– By Andrew Overton

The Message Becomes The Messenger

In 2012, social marketing will become much more about “social” and much less about “marketing.” With the rise of social media and citizen journalists, people will care much more about who is delivering their messages than what the message is. For social marketers, this will increase the urgency of finding the right primary audiences to help push messages out to secondary audiences. The old adage, “the message is the medium” will become “the message is the messenger.”

– By Helen Mitternight

Visuals can be more important to effective communication than the words we use. Vanguard’s Integrated Media Services group leader Crystal Borde predicts digital media will become more visual in 2012, while editorial director LeAnne DeFrancesco argues for the power of images when communicating your message.

A More Visually Appealing New Year

In 2011, websites, media outlets [...]]]>

Visuals can be more important to effective communication than the words we use. Vanguard’s Integrated Media Services group leader Crystal Borde predicts digital media will become more visual in 2012, while editorial director LeAnne DeFrancesco argues for the power of images when communicating your message.

A More Visually Appealing New Year

In 2011, websites, media outlets and social networks became more visual. In 2012, everything online will need to be visual. Accessing content through personal, dynamic technology, such as smart phones, tablets, electronic readers, etc., is increasing user appetites for visuals. Time constraints and a growing global audience will force websites to use more photographs and infographics to tell stories and communicate information. Image-dominant social networking sites, such as Pinterest, will become the new norm and grow in popularity. As Facebook is already learning from its new timeline format, mainstream website and social networks will need to catch up by applying more visually appealing style to content. Communicators can get ahead by thinking more visually and consider graphic design options when transmitting information to our audiences.

– By Crystal Borde

Be Stingy: Let Images Do (Most of) the Work

Last Friday, I was waiting at a coffee shop for my weekly ritual caramel macchiato when I noticed that of the six people in line ahead of me, every one of them was looking down at a smart phone. Every one. There were holiday images on the windows, gift displays throughout the space and holiday music on the PA, but all of it was lost on these people who were engaged elsewhere.

It made me wonder how communicators — writers in particular — can interrupt a person’s tunnel vision long enough to take in the messages around them. And then, that lesson from Advertising 101 hit me: Don’t TELL me. SHOW me.

Source: http://psd.tutsplus.com/articles/web/40-brilliantly-photoshopped-print-ads/

In 2012, people will use even less time to consume content in an advertising campaign or website. But if they can get the message via a powerful visual — along with a few words, of course — the chances are greater that they’ll stick around to learn more, or even take action. (I’m ready to personalize M&Ms as gifts for the next 12 months.) Although in marketing efforts PR professionals can sometimes be pressed to over-communicate, we shouldn’t be afraid to let design do (most of) the talking. Expansive vocabularies can be used elsewhere.

– By LeAnne DeFrancesco

Source: Shantanu Gautam

Social media is an ever-evolving world, and communicators are working overtime to keep up with the changes. Gary Ritterstein predicts that a platform to integrate all social media will be the next big thing, while Scott Rieder looks ahead to a time when all media outlets use Twitter for breaking news. [...]]]>

Source: Shantanu Gautam

Social media is an ever-evolving world, and communicators are working overtime to keep up with the changes. Gary Ritterstein predicts that a platform to integrate all social media will be the next big thing, while Scott Rieder looks ahead to a time when all media outlets use Twitter for breaking news. Finally, Stephanie Dukes looks at how people will use social media specifically to spread the word about third party candidates.

Social Media Deck

Just as Google is using its new Plus platform to integrate its online tools, 2012 will be the year that at least one site will take the stage to bring everything together. With more platforms than ever, looking ever more familiar with each new iteration, it only makes sense to have a one-stop shop where you can follow news and friends, update your status or share content. Microsoft’s recently leaked “Tulalip” appears to be the first of its kind where “search meets share,” complete with a Facebook and Twitter login. This sort of Tweet Deck-type site could help communicators, both professionally and personally, better manage our online brand. As we attempt to find a unique role for each new platform, it’s only a matter of time before our new homepage is one page that does it all.

– By Gary Ritterstein

Extra! Extra! Tweet All About It!

Think about some of the most significant breaking news items of the past year – Osama Bin Laden’s death, the Royal Wedding and presidential campaign announcements. What do all of these items have in common? They were all announced via Twitter, becoming instant, breaking news to millions of people around the world.

Breaking news via Twitter is overtaking traditional news channels to adapt to a 21st century digital news cycle, and this will continue in 2012. Just as paper boys on the street corner and nightly news radio were replaced by television broadcast news, social media is now the best place to get news as it happens. With media outlets catching on as well (CNN’s Breaking News handle, @cnnbrk, has over 5 million followers), 2012 will be the year that every media outlet uses Twitter to report breaking news. As such, communicators will be even more engaged in the 24/7 breaking news cycle to stay on top of the social issues that affect us most.

– By Scott Rieder

Social Media: The Third Party Platform

“There is no way to have all the people’s ideas fit into two parties.”

That was the opinion of one respondent to Lab42.com’s survey “The Political Agenda.” The survey asked social media users a variety of questions about top issues, candidates and political news sources. Roughly half of the social media users surveyed said that they’ve posted political content on their Facebook pages.

From the 2008 election to anti-Mubarak demonstrations in Cairo to Occupy Wall Street, social media is now a powerful tool to galvanize instantaneous political action. In 2012, American voters who feel that neither Democrats nor Republicans speak for them will make significant use of social media to spread the word about third party candidates for election. There seems to be fertile ground for their efforts, with 59 percent of the survey’s respondents saying they would support an independent or third party candidate for president. Next year, keep a close watch on how Libertarians, Green Party members and others further develop their social media strategies to boost candidates who have historically had a difficult time reaching a broad cross-section of voters.

– By Stephanie Dukes

Instead of writing an apology letter to Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas per the request of her high school principal, 18 year old Emma Sullivan was commentating on first amendment rights and social media to CNN.

Twitter, the social media platform, shed light on Sullivan’s comments regarding the governor last week when he spoke to [...]]]>

Instead of writing an apology letter to Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas per the request of her high school principal, 18 year old Emma Sullivan was commentating on first amendment rights and social media to CNN.

Twitter, the social media platform, shed light on Sullivan’s comments regarding the governor last week when he spoke to Shawnee Mission East High School students.  Sullivan tweeted “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot” to her 65 followers.  Before the advent of such public facing social media, no one would have been privy to criticism shared between a high school student and her friends.  But now, increased transparency reflects the diversity of all participants and a tweet like this can have the power to rise to the top of public discussion.

Gov. Brownback’s staff, who monitor tweets referencing their boss, identified this tweet as problematic.  Instead of engaging with Sullivan — or ignoring her tweet completely — they went to the school principal.  Sullivan was then instructed that she needed to write a letter of apology to the governor for her comments.

This begs the question, since when should someone apologize for expressing an opinion about a politician?  Isn’t that what social media is all about?  Engaging with new audiences of ALL opinions and persuasions is now standard for organizations, corporations and social movements.  As encouraging individuals to share own thoughts, ideas and opinions is a keystone of democracy, political uses of social media have been common place for years.  And it doesn’t mean that all of the participants are going to agree with you or like you.

Monday, Sullivan tweeted “I’ve decided not to write the letter but I hope this opens the door for average citizens to voice their opinion & to be heard! #goingstrong” to nearly 15,000 followers. Meanwhile, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback apologized for his staff’s “overreaction” to the tweet in a statement made at the State Capitol, as well as on his Facebook page, noting “My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.”

Thoughtful and deliberate policies and procedures for social media communication are needed across the board. This means the strategists monitoring and curating social media content should have clear internal guidelines about how to handle feedback — the good, the bad and the quirky — for the organizations and entities they are representing.  This also means that online participants should have access to an established set of public guidelines, which can be placed on the “Contact Us” or “About Us” sections of websites.  Ragan.com has more great tips about how to handle social media interaction.

If engagement and two-way communication is what democracy needs, then transparency, honest interaction and difference of opinions should not only be respected, but upheld.

In Sunday’s New York Times, the third richest person in the world penned an op ed asking President Obama and Congress to raise his taxes. Since then, Warren Buffett’s op ed is appearing everywhere. Political commentators are discussing the viability of his recommendation to tax the wealthiest in the U.S., media outlets are writing stories [...]]]>

In Sunday’s New York Times, the third richest person in the world penned an op ed asking President Obama and Congress to raise his taxes. Since then, Warren Buffett’s op ed is appearing everywhere. Political commentators are discussing the viability of his recommendation to tax the wealthiest in the U.S., media outlets are writing stories examining his perspective and, arguably most important, everyday people are using social media to share Buffett’s recommendation that the nation “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich.” Links to Buffett’s op ed are appearing over and over again in my Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn news streams.

Photo courtesy of MedillDC on Flickr

What makes this op ed so special? It offers the elusive op ed trifecta: timeliness, an element of surprise and byline credibility.

1. Buffett’s topic is timely and relevant. Many valid opinions exist about how best to address society’s ills, but only the most timely can make it into the news cycle. Buffett’s op ed comes on the heels of the debt ceiling debate and the tensions between balancing the budget and raising taxes.
2. Buffett’s position is surprising and intriguing. What really catches readers’ attention, though, is his unlikely opinion about taxes. Buffett expresses an eager willingness to pay higher taxes to generate more government revenue, which is likely not an opinion shared by many of his fellow billionaires. Buffett, whose individual wealth could cover a significant portion of the United States’ debt, gives permission to U.S. policymakers in his op ed to tax wealthy Americans like himself at the same rate as the working public.
3. Buffett is perceived as a credible expert. Attaching Warren Buffett’s byline to this op ed makes people want to read it and later discuss his surprising opinion with others. People know Buffett understands economics and the current financial crisis better than many, so when he goes on the record with recommendations about what the government should do to generate revenue, people will listen.

Sharing op eds and news articles now is so easy with social media, offering new opportunities to get a position out to a larger audience, as Mr. Buffett discovered. I suppose the rest of us taxpayers are so pleased by his willingness to share the tax burden, we’re sending his message to our friends and followers on social media. Buffett’s message spread via social media because his ideas validated what some Americans think about increasing taxes on the rich. Whether his plan is a good idea or not, Buffett’s op ed struck a common nerve; when your op ed is able to articulate a sentiment shared by many, you expand the number of people reading and recommending your op ed to their family, friends and colleagues with the click of a button. While people tend to also share op eds or articles they disagree with on their social media profiles, favorable positions tend to put an organization in the best light and generate positive responses from the social media community.

The increased integration of social media is raising the stakes for op ed success: Whereas the op ed trifecta used to be necessary for just getting your op ed placed, it is now essential for ensuring sharing via social media.

Good afternoon! Today, we’re live blogging the What’s Next – Your Marketing Communications Roadmap event at George Washington University in DC. The morning session was jammed packed with great speakers and information on issues impacting the future of how we communicate social change.  We will continue live blogging in a few minutes.  Please stay tuned!

NOTE: [...]]]>

Good afternoon! Today, we’re live blogging the What’s Next – Your Marketing Communications Roadmap event at George Washington University in DC. The morning session was jammed packed with great speakers and information on issues impacting the future of how we communicate social change.  We will continue live blogging in a few minutes.  Please stay tuned!

NOTE: All updates here should be considered notes on the information presented at today’s event, and not direct quotes from the participants.

12:45 pm: Debbie Weil, founder & president of WordBiz.com is up next.

12:47 pm: Tactics to finding your social media sweet spot:  be transparent. The sweet spot is the congruent space between you, your audience and your employees.

12:53 pm: Experiment with social media. Try different tools until you find one that successfully reaches your targeted audience.

1:00 pm: The next speaker is Matt Goddard, co-founder and CEO, R2integrated.

1:03 pm: Rather than using the term “social media,” communities of interest or networks are places we go to make better decisions.

1:05 pm: Social media is nothing new as humans have always been social. The only thing that has changed is “how” we do it. Speed, access, storage and transparency has changed the way we make decisions.

1:15 pm: Audience’s communication journey has two key phases:

1. Discovery journey: audience considers and evaluates.
2. Loyalty loop: audience advocates and bonds.

1:20 pm: To implement a community of interest-based cross-channel marketing plan, communicators can follow these steps:

1. Identify the target communities of interest.
2. Identify access points for content and conversation.
3. Develop content strategy in the context of a network world.
4. Develop programs, outreach and campaigns.
5. Drive them and then optimize your activities.

1:22 pm: Communication resources that we use to have separate are combining now. Public relations, paid media and community management joined forces now for an integrated approach.

1:30 pm: Your social strategy shouldn’t be about social media its about the network world that we live in.  Identify the communities of interest, build your loyalty and advocacy, create a strategy and enter your way in.

1:31 pm: Rand Fiskin, CEO and founder, SEOmoz.org is next up on the mic.

1:35 pm: Share + tweets = rankings on search engines.  The things that get tweeted on Twitter and shared on Facebook impacts the ranking system on search engines, like Google and Bing.

1:40 pm: Search engine optimization (SEO) is still under-invested. Only about 20 percent was used last year.

1:46 pm: Key SEO principles:

1. Be accessible with quality content.
2. Implement keyword research and targeting.
3. Invest in link building.

1:48 pm: Be a link magnet.  Build a platform so users can share on your site.

1:51 pm: Reggie Bradford, CEO & founder of Virtue Inc., speaks next on social media best practices for communicators using Facebook.

1:55 pm: Facebook users are very active. Facebook users interact with over 900 million objects.  In addition, they are connected to 80 community groups, pages and events.

2:00 pm: Facebook users can promote messages on multiple platforms. Facebook provides multiple options (i.e. fan page, like and plug-in discussion board).

2:13 pm: Bradford highlights Amway and State Farm as good examples for effectively using Facebook to promote their brand.

2:15 pm Geo-targeting is a growing tool that many communicators using Facebook can utilize to target their audience.

2:20 pm: The next speaker is Shonali Burke, principal at Shonali Burke Consulting, who will be discussing how digital and social technologies empower and redefine public relations in the 21st century.

2:22 pm: Public relations is still about building relationships. Public relations’ goal is to deliver information to your audience and hopefully empower them to do what you want them to do.

2:27 pm: Burke uses Eidia Lush shoe company as a case study.  After months of waiting for shoes she ordered online, the president of Eidia Lush reached out to Burke personally and apologized for the delay and offered her additional coupons as a token for the delay. The personal outreach was an effective PR tactic and created a personal relationship.  In today’s world of pr, the audience is the media.  In addition to monitoring traditional media, we must monitor our audience.

2:30 pm: AJ Gerritson, founding partner of 452 Marketing, will talk about building a public relations in the digital world.

2:33 pm: Traditional public relations tactics are still key, but they have to be integrated with digital technology, because the communication landscape is changing.

2:40 pm: Essential digital public relations tools today include SEO, Google keyword search optimization, ProfNet, HARO (Help a Reporter Out), Toluna (survey site similar to Survey Monkey, but offers greater number of respondents) and PRWeb.

3:00 pm: Bill Lake, EVP and co-founder, ClicFlic speaks next.  He will touch on intelligent media and how it is engaging audiences.

3:10 pm: Examples of intelligent media:

1. When buttons are added to video clips, there is a 4x increase in video viewership.
2. Viewers like to jump around when watching a video so by simply adding a navigation tab on the side that breaks up the video into snippets, it increases viewership.
3. Viewers like simplicity. If you make videos too complex then you will lose your audience interest quicker.

3:15 pm Goldy Kamali, founder and CEO of FedScoop is up next to talk about strategic government marketing and targeting decision makers.

3:18 pm: Citizen engagement will increase within the government agencies in the coming years.  Government community thrives on technologies and causes.

3:20 pm: Trust, loyalty and tradition are three key components to make note of when dealing with the government IT community.

3:25 pm: Government marketing strategies are similar to what traditional marketing pros use.  They are mainly using traditional media and events, but are gradually using social media.

3:26 pm: Steve Ressler, president & founder, GovLoop, enthusiastically jumps on stage and exclaims his sociology degree was not a complete waste.  He will talk about online communities.

3:27 pm GovLoop is a social network for government employees.  It like any other online community exist because of its usefulness, purpose and trust.

3:32 pm: Reasons why people join online communities:

1. To belong. People want to find people like themselves.
2. To share their story and experiences
3. To be entertained
4. To be leaders, but also to be led
5. To learn

3:36 pm: Tammy Gordon, Senior adviser at AARP, says social media is not just for kids.  The 50+ community is the fastest growing community using social media.

3:45 pm: AARP has established a full platform of social media, including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

3:47 pm: AARP’s social vision is not just broadcasting to members.  They are listening and engaging with members daily. AARP has full staff across the country to engage in social media.

Well, that ends the What’s Next: Your Marketing Communications Roadmap conference. We enjoyed the great dialogue and glimpses of what’s next for the communication industry. Check InSites this week for a few more posts discussing some of the bigger ideas shared at the event.