Posts tagged ‘Online PR’
There are many clear links between word-of-mouth marketing and psychology. Even if modern word-of-mouth marketing seems to be looked upon as equivalent to social media marketing in the minds of many marketers today, it is of utter importance not to forget that there are human beings at the heart of today’s socially connected digital world. Thus, understanding the psychology of human relationships is crucial if you want your brand to succeed on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and in other social media channels.
For most word-of-mouth marketers, it should be fairly clear that the most influential word-of-mouth effects arise when people tied together by strong emotional bonds share and spread a message. You will naturally listen more to recommendations and opinions from your family and close friends than from people you do not know. This insight was strengthened by a Harvard Business Review study showing that out of the famous “Six degrees of separation”, only the first three degrees of social connectedness actually have impact on people’s behaviour and opinions:
“… a person’s influence progressively diminishes as the degrees of separation increase. For example, the risk for smoking in a person connected to a smoker (that is, at one degree of separation) is 61% higher, on average, than would be expected as a result of chance. It is 29% higher if the friends of that person’s friends smoke, and 11% higher if the friends of the person’s friends’ friends smoke. By the fourth degree of separation there is no longer an increase in risk.”
So, this shows that the closer a person are to you, the stronger influence that person has on you. However, what’s really interesting is that beyond that point of truly close relationships, there seems to be a gap or a grey area where there is less influence – followed by increased influence again on “the other side” of that grey area. The grey area I am referring to holds the people you know well but don’t have truly close emotional ties with. That guy you went to school with and you now meet from time to time through common friends but that you never really hang out with, would qualify as such a “grey area connection”. Beyond the grey area, you have people you do not know as well, and they may actually be more influential than your grey area connections. I recently found a post over at PsyBlog that made me think that this may be the case. PsyBlog lists a number of studies showing that the better you get to know people, the less you seem to like them.
“…As this study shows, on the vast majority of occasions the less we know about someone the more we are inclined to like them. It’s like the fake student in Moreland and Beach’s study, ambiguity allows us to imagine that other people share our world-view, our personality traits or our sense of humour. Unfortunately as soon as we start to find out more about them, we’re likely to find out how different they are to ourselves and, as a result, to dislike them.”
It is a common human trait to be interested in and attracted to making new connections with other people. When you come in contact with a new person you may like them for whatever reason, such as their humour, intelligence, expertise or good looks – and mostly you like people who are a lot like you. But, as you get to know them better, you become aware of traits that you do not share with them, and from there it goes downhill and you like them less.
With this insight in mind, it seems pretty clear why some bloggers, Twitter profiles and other online influentials can have such great impact on the world around them. It is simply because they manage to build strong relationships with their followers without letting their followers get to know them too well. I, for one, actively follow Brian Solis, Jeremiah Owyang and other social media/tech sources – and I really like them. Maybe that’s only because I don’t really know them… and if I did, maybe I would not be so inclined to listen to what they write, blog, tweet and talk about?
According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Report , 67% of marketers plan to increase their use of social media channels including blogs, Twitter, and Facebook.
It’s important for the organization to understand that testing and experimentation are keys to success. This comes naturally to an organization whose culture embraces being proactive and open. The reason why all businesses need to have a social media strategy is because it prevents any misunderstandings and emphasizes why social media is relevant to your business’ overall goals.
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Americans spend almost a quarter of their time online on social networks and blogs. The time spent have increased by 43% since last year. A third of the time is spent on communication on social networks, blogs, email and instant messaging.
Xbox’s Twitter Support was recently honouered in the Guinness world of records as the most alert brand on Twitter. The Xbox Twitter Support started as pilot project and has now grown to involve ten employees, working 24/7 helping gamers to solve problems, pay attention to up coming problems and create valuable relations to gamers on Twitter.
No one could have missed out on the topless man, Old Spice Guy, Isaiah Mustafa? Who personalized grooming and established himself as the man of all men. He has undoubtedly became one of the most popular commercial characters in recent history since he burst on the scene back in February this year and his videos quickly went viral on YouTube.
Roy Greenslade recently wrote at the guardian.co.uk blog about the results from the New Media, Old Media report. The digital media consumer devotes less time on individual news with more time on comment and share. As news spread quickly, they risk to lose the novelty value in the digital channels and to have an impact and influence on what is said about your company, requires you to in a more active way work with online public relations, more than with traditional public relations
Det första juridiska fallet med mis
stänkta bloggmutor uppdagades i slutet av januari. Federal Trade Commission, FTC, beslutade i dagarna att inte ställa återförsäljaren Ann Taylor inför rätta med anledning av misstanke om mutbrott i samband med ett event för märket LOFT. Även om incidenten inte ledde till åtal har det lyft fram betydelsen av att sköta sin online PR på ett riktigt och moraliskt sätt.
Branschorganet Word of Mouth Assosiation, WOMMA, som funnits sedan 2004 jobbar för att främja en bransch som bygger på förtroende mellan kunder och marknadsförare. Medlemmar av WOMMA stävar efter att:
- Bibehålla hög standard i uppförande genom att endast använda lagliga och etiska metoder i sina affärsverksamheter.
- Observera alla lagar, regleringar och regler som tillämpas i marknadsföringen.
- Aktivt främja och uppmuntra till största möjliga integritet inom branschen.
- Föregå med gott exempel och följa etiska normer, även de som inte innefattas av lagen.
- Åta sig att utveckla och använda de mest effektiva normer och rutiner för att främja konsumentskyddet.
Pronto har varit medlemmar i WOMMA sedan starten 2004 och med och utvecklar framtidens regler och riktlinjer för en transparent, ärlig och värdeskapande bransch.
The first legal case of suspect blog bribery came to light in late January. Federal Trade Commission, FTC, decided not to take action against retailer Ann Taylor. Although the incident did not lead to prosecutions, it has highlighted the importance of managing your online PR in a proper and moral way. Industry agency Word of Mouth Assosiation, WOMMA, has been working since 2004 to foster an industry based on trust between customers and marketers. Pronto has been a member of WOMMA since its inception in 2004 and taken part of the development of future rules and guidelines for a transparent, honest and value-creative industry.
The Role of Social Media
Vikten av en strategi för sociala medier och hur man bygger relationer till sin omvärld på ett modernt sätt blir allt viktigare. I denna bild sammanfattar vi hur sociala medier och relationsarbetat får en alltmer centarl roll i en modern organisation.
The importance of social media and consumer relations strategies is increasing rapidly. This image summarizes the role social media should have in the modern organization - as a hub in between many business areas.
