Managing your Social Media.

Hi Everyone :)

So, this week in college has seen me running around the library like a headless chicken trying to get too much work done at once.

Funnily enough, I was doing a project involving looking at new and emerging social media and communication tools.

One thing I noticed, is that there are a lot of sites emerging that help you too manage your social media on a broad scale. This really is such a good idea, as it takes the pressure off trying to keep up to date on every site, big time.

Some sites in particular are very helpful;

Hootsuite is a way to manage all of your social media from one site. You can post on multiple sites at once, either the same message or tailor it for different ones. Schedule your tweets, no need for constantly thralling the Internet anymore!

Socialbro is an insight into how you can use Twitter to your best advantage. It programs around when is best for your company to tweet so your target audience will see it, how to reach them directly and how to analyse your competitors.

Cloze Organises email and social media updates so the ones from the people who matter most show up at the top of your email feed—be that family, friends, competitors or fellow business partners, what matters most will be at the top.

I had been looking at them from a business's point of view, but I can also see how they could be useful in day to day life of a PR consultant as well as in a business. If you wanted to send a message, you could simple send it via Hootsuite and send the same message to all the sites, or alter it for different ones. This is so handy because it saves you having to thrall through all the sites and just gets the job done quickly and efficiently.

Social Media is such an important part of Online PR and Communications today that these kind of sites are making our jobs SO much easier! An effective social media campaign can be the make or break of any campaigns taking place, as we are moving on from news papers and articles. The best way to reach people is though their Mobile devices such as phones, laptops and tablets. People are online now more than ever and to be successful in any business, you need to use that knowledge to your advantage.

 

 

Sites such as;

Google Alerts are perfect for helping  you to manage all your social media sites, updates, and help you keep and eye on the competition. Email prompts will send you reminders, updates, and even links to what your competitors are doing if you register with them. What more could you need?

 

 

Talkwheel takes a brand or business and gives them a mobile social profile. This profile is accessible via devices such as smart phones, apple devices and tablets. “Life isn't linear, neither are your conversations.” Could be very useful to promote business that are applicable to a larger audience.

 

 

 

 

 

So, I recommend you have a look at these sites I have mentioned if you are interested in social media and how it works. From a PR perspective i can see how implementing these social media sites would benefit a business and help to promote and publicise your business/brand/product/service with out the confines of article size or paying large sums of money for advertising. You can simply do it your self, be that from the office, or your bed! 

 

 It really is so astonishing, the way we have developed the way we use the Internet in the last 10 years.I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to seeing where things go in the next ten!

 

 

 

Blog-ception.... Yeah you heard me!!!

Hi everyone! :P
So I went ahead a did something really clever, programmed two blogs I wrote on the same day to be released in February of NEXT year... its okay, I have blond highlights still. So I will post them again later in the week.

So what I want to talk about today is blogging its self.

Blogging has become something that 1 in every 10 people do. They either blog themselves, follow a blog or read them every now and again (*cough* If loyal friends ask them to read them...*cough*).


Obviously as I have said, I am required to do this blog as part of my IT and the Media module in college. I don't think I would ever have started one other wise. Surprisingly, since starting, I have read some more blogs and realised how influential and useful they can be.


Maybe this is from a Media students point of view, but a good blog that is well written, can have a huge influence on a person. I don't know if its just because you know its a real person on the other end of it, not necessarily someone paid to give their opinion, that makes their view point more relate-able or believable. A well written blog can sell you a product, idea or way of thinking, if you're gullible enough!

Blogs are the new diary. But they can be a solid platform for people who want to go into writing or journalism. They are often used in conjunction with a magazine, TV show, radio show etc to draw people onto the online resources that the business have. Read the blogs, follow the twitter, like on facebook, you know how it goes. But blogs are actually not that bad. Some can be really informing and honest. Naturally there are some out there that are written by 'trolls' that just critique everything under the sun, but that is life. They can be useful from an online PR perspective as there will always be blogs reviewing any campaign you work on, or any person you are representing, so following them can give you a great insight into who your target audience are and how to market to them and reach them more effectively. They are also a solid career in themselves. Companies look to sponsor some of the people who write them and advertise with them. A lot of magazines will have an online blog, such as


Cosmo's multiple blogs :)
Stellars Blog :)
NME's Blog :) Irish Apple Blogs :)






Now of course those are just some examples, there are thousands of blogs out there, by thousands of beginner and professional people writing about what they love, or hate! you can pretty much search any topic and you will find it there.

Keys to writing a good blog are pretty simple too.
1:Identify and write for YOUR key audience: For me, that's you guys. So I write in a style that is generally easy to read and not too laborious. If you were writing for professionals in a specific area, or academics, you would obviously use a different style.
2: Write about relevant topics: Something they want to hear about, something they already know about but from a different angle, something they don't know but that they would be interested in. If you write about different breeds of cats, you wont ramble on about food for gerbils, will you ?
3: Keep the blogs interesting: No one wants to spend 10 minutes of their life reading something that's going to bore them to tears. The occasional meme or joke provides a break in the seriousness.
4:Blog regularly : Now, we are all human, but you need some sort of order... right?

Those are just a few pointers for any of you thinking about starting your own blog. It is also handy to have a plan of topics you can blog about so you wont run out too fast. Instead of writing a really long blog that no one will read, turn it into a 2 or 3 part blog over the space of a week. Makes from easier reading and no one will pass out due to boredom.

So that's it for today, and I'll be posting the other blogs that didn't go up with in the week. I clearly didn't stick to number 4, huh...

Thanks for reading :) 

Are you two timing your TV ???

Hi everyone :)

Today i am going to talk about the new epidemic that is taking over the world...
PEOPLE CHEATING ON THEIR TELEVISIONS!!!

Now we all know that scenario where you have been in college or work all week, Friday night comes and you decide to sit down and watch what ever program grabs your attention on TV. Maybe out of no where, something dramatic happens, so you decided to whip out your smart phone and tweet your friend to watch it too. This then becomes a conversation on Twitter, other people see this and they switch on to see what all the fuss is about. Then suddenly, BAM... Twitter and Facebook explode. People are hashtagging all over the place and you cant even look at your Facebook for fear of finding out how Darren died. (If you have a Facebook page and have heard of Love/Hate, you know what I'm talking about.)

It looks to me like TV has become just background noise to drown out the sound of  the keys clicking on your laptop. No one can just watch TV anymore, they have to tell you what they are watching, and how its going. If a movie like Titanic comes on, you are just waiting for the Facebook status's to start clogging your news feed...even though the sun, moon and stars know (SPOILER ALERT) that Jack dies. Get over it.



It is now common place to have a whole family in one room, the TV on and not one person even looking at it. Or they are glancing at it over the iPad or Laptop screen in between tweeting about the news being an outrage.

Although the link between TV and Social Media being so accessible and dangerous combined is becoming a problem. Just look at Sean Gallagher in the Presidential Elections last year. During one of the Presidential Debates, a tweet was read out claiming Gallagher had been involved in financial digressions in his past. Although this tweet was later found out to have been sent by an apposing team, it severely altered the course of Gallagher's campaign and in the end cost him the campaign.

" A poll for RTE found that 28% of voters changed their mind on who to vote for in the final week, with 58% switching away from Gallagher." - click here to read the article from The Guardian.

Clearly, two screening can be very harmful if used by the wrong people. It can affect the views of your program, the way people watch the program and the reviews it will receive.

Although it is obvious that an effective on line campaign could get a lot more people to flick the channel and maybe listen to your program as noise in the background? its worth a try!

Yo Video....

Hello Everyone :)

Today I am going to be talking about the new craze- Video.

Now, I realise that video has been around longer that DVDs etc. The video I am talking about is new wave video- video blogging (Vloging), Skype, Video conferencing and many more forms.

Obviously I spoke about Youtube in my last blog (Look over there to look at the others I have written recently ->), so we all know about how that site works. You post the video, we watch it and share it if we like, or don't like it. But video has come to be used in many other ways that can be very useful in regards to Online PR and Communications.

People such as emerging  professionals in many different occupations have been using video and sites such as youtube to build their career foundations. Also, Youtube can be used to record people drawing, designing, building etc so others can see them 'do their thing', for lack of a better way to describe it, without needing to see it in person. This can also be used to educate other people. Such as a guitarist teaching you how to play a certain song, or how to play guitar in the first place. You could potentially learn to play an instrument in your pyjamas from your bedroom, if you found someone who you find gives easy tutorials to suit your personal needs.

Vlogging has become very popular also. Some people have Youtube sites dedicated to Vlogging on a regular basis - some even daily - that have become very successful. These Vlog's can be serious, comedy based or based on reviewing products or services. A certain bunch of successful Vloggers have been sponsored by a company who advertise on their Vloggs, and they earn a living that way. Which is pretty cool... I think!

Skype has become very prominent on the Communications front in recent years. Not only does Skype allow us to keep up with friends in college in other counties in the country, it also allows us to keep in contact with Family/ Friends all across the world have moved due to one reason or another (YES RECESSION, I'M TALKING TO YOU!). IT is a great site to bring people together. which brings me to my next point, business and video.

Either using Skype of regular Video Web Cam, businesses can connect to each other all across the room. Video conferencing has become very popular and saves businesses millions of Euro on flights and expenses. For example, take PR consultants. A company is now no longer limited to using only the PR consultants in their country. they can search world wide and use the people they consider best for the job. They can hold video conference meetings for minor meetings, which keeps money for flights for important meetings that need to be held in person. This means that they will be getting the best for their service or product and the most bang for their buck.

The fact that Video Conferencing, combined with cheap travel rates to certain places makes it much easier to work with people who are a vast distance away. This is a big deal for companies world wide, and for potential PR consultants like myself who will now have a means to interact with world wide business instead of being limited to one place.

Good on you Video, even if you're a little different to what you used to be!

You like the Youtube?

Afternoon!

So today I am going to discuss Youtube.

I think that it is one of the key online PR and Communications tools.

Take for example, from a Public Relations point of view, the recent Tesco burger meat scandal. When the news that over 10 billion supposed 'Beef' burgers containing horse DNA had been pulled from the shelves of a handful of stores in Ireland, the public went wild. The race (forgive me this pun) began to see who would be the first to report it. People were making horse related puns on Facebook, ranting about the disgrace on Twitter and posting videos of concern on Youtube. The publication of this scandal happened so quickly via all the online media sites, as well as going to the Print and Broadcast media, that it was going to take a lot of damage control to make this issue go away. A lot of damage was done to the companies involved.

"The ABP Food Group, owned by Larry Goodman, has lost contracts worth an estimated €45m with Tesco, Aldi, the Co-Operative and Burger King, over the fiasco." - IrishExaminer.com

Apart from the seriousness of the situation, you have to credit the Irish sense of humour. Facebook was jumping (that's my second attempt at a pun, poor I'll admit...I'll stop now) with horsey puns. Then some students took it to the next level, posting a video of a very sad pony looking for his Mam and Dad in Tesco's frozen aisles on Youtube. (Click here. to view him on his quest.)

That's the thing about Youtube though, isn't it? The minor catch. The fact that anything, and I mean ANYTHING can be uploaded with the touch of a button. From Presidential debates to boys in a horse suit running around super markets causing a scene. Be it serious, wild, weird, creepy and more often than not, outrageous, there is always a video doing the rounds that every one must see. Some things on Youtube really should not be there, there has been a recent craze in outlandish video's being posted just for what appears to be, shock value. The fact that it is so easy to upload a video has opened up Youtube to a whole load of crazy.

Not that all of Youtube is just crazy videos, it also can be the grounds of your career. A lot of people are now starting off their music careers, comedy careers and other careers in areas such as design and video making on Youtube. Singers like Justin Bieber, Conor Maynard and Esmee Denters were all discovered on Youtube. Comedians such as Jenna Marbles, Bo Burnham and Ray William Johnson were all first discovered on Youtube and now have sponsorship packages, they get paid to make videos!

I think Bo Burnham (a singer/songwriter/ comedian who found his fame via Youtube) pretty much sum's up the perks and set backs of Youtube right here :)

Youtube is also a place where you can be linked in to event happening all the way across the world. The London Riots were filmed from Mobile devices and posted online so you could see what was happening. The same could be said for the Syrian Riots. I watched the American Presidential Debates on Youtube because they are not broadcast over here.There are so many ways you can use this site.

Advertising is now a big thing on the videos. There tends to be a 20sec clip of a advertisement now before you can watch your desired video. This is what pays to keep the site running free. Youtube can be used to a PR advantage because you can make a brief advertisement, post it on Youtube, forward to Facebook and Twitter and maybe have your advert circulating the world in a few days if its good enough.

The power rests in one little button. Upload.

Facebook Face Off...

Hi guys :)

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who read the blog, I really appreciate it! Also saying hello to my super supportive Housemates, who said they wont read it unless they are mentioned... sound guys :P

So today I want to talk about Facebook.

Like alot of people in today's society, I enjoy using Facebook. I'm not really a die hard fan, I dont check it every minute of every hour of every day. I'm more of a once-a-week spree type of girl.

Facebook is fantastic, I admit. It is one of the best social networking sites I have ever used. It has so many uses; promoting events, promoting awareness about campaigns around the world, promoting business/products/services as well as the obvious, keeping in contact with friends and family both at home and far away.

It does however, have some serious faults about it. You need to have your whits about you when using the site so you don't get trapped in the web. These are just some things I've noticed about facebook since I started studying Media and PR last year. They have completely altered the way I look at the site, and the way I handle the information I share on it.

• 1. People seem to be using Facebook as an online diary, in which they tell everyone the in's and out's of their day. What they had for lunch, how the public transport was that morning, what lecture is annoying them, how their friends are irritating them and my favorite, the "song-lyric-that-is-deep-and-meaningful-about-an-ex-or-current-love-interest-who-is-seeing-this-now-and-cringing" status.
  Now I don't claim to be prefect, I have committed each of the above mentioned status crime's at least fifty over the last few years of using the site. Honestly though, is it me - or are people seriously starting to take the mick? Status's that are longer than 3/4 sentences about ANYTHING, belong in a blog, in a diary or in a text message to someone who cares or in your mind. That's harsh, but some people just don't seem to understand that not everyone wants to have their news feed clogged with status's that have a "click to read more" tag underneath. That is not a good sign. People these days seem much more inclined to share their opinion on EVERYTHING, not just certain things that need defending. I am not saying people shouldn't have opinions or share them, but you don't need to tell us what you think about everything, all the time. I like a good debate about which Harry Potter film is the best out of them all, but I don't post reems of information about which one I chose and fight to the death to defend my belief and prove it correct. Maybe, its just because I don't care that much...(and I couldn't choose anyway.)

• 2. Putting up pictures of children that are not yours. WHAT??? Yes. I have noticed a trend of young lad's and lassies that put up pics of their Nieces, Nephews, children they baby sit and children of their friends. This sets off alarm bells for me. I dont know if it is just because privacy is a big issue for me, but once you put an image online, it never fully comes back down. For all you know, that picture you took of your Nephew Joe yesterday at the park, could end up being used by a student in the other end of the world during a presentation one day. I dont want to alarm anyone, but this is the least that could happen, there are some very not nice people out there. From a Media Students point of view, I would never post a picture of a child with out the parent approving the picture, but i probably wouldnt post a pic of my child anyway. Just to be on the safe side. I would hate to see it get used for some sort of purpose other than what it was intended for, to show Nephew Joe enjoying the swings in the park, but things happen. I understand that people don't even think about it, they think its just their friends and family that will see it, but that is not the case. Hopefully reading this will make you aware and possibly change your view on this, because the little one's we love so dearly deserve to be protected.

• 3. Checking in to locations. This is so dodgy. I never really want people to check me in at places but people don't even ask you, they just do it with out thinking. opening yourself up to all sorts of people knowing where you are at any given time is just wrong in my opinion. I enjoy being slightly mysterious...and don't necessarily want my Mam and Dad to know I have been in the pub since 2 o clock on a Tuesday evening when they know I have class till 4. I'm happy for you to be enjoying "The Lol's" in the cinema in town with your friends, its other types of these posts that baffle me. The type of log in like "Enjoying the sun at Tra More beach, hope little Milly is okay home alone". So imagine Milly is your  friends new dog. She and her family are away at the beach for the day. While Friend expresses her concern for Milly, she has also informed all suspicious characters that her house is empty. GO FISH. Friend and her family arrive home to find Milly outside the house shivering in the cold by the front door. They wonder how she got out. Answer is, Friend check in away from home, and some sort of suspicious character aw this on facebook and mentioned it to his mate, who went and robbed Friends house for all it was worth. Good job Friend, feel stupid now? Next time, bring Milly with you, and leave a light on upstairs and in the sitting room. Twat.

People dont seem to understand that anyone can access youre account and read these comments, view youre pictures and know where you are at all times if you put the information up there for them to access. Hopefully this will make you think about the way you share information and how much. I need only meet you once in a pub, find out your full name and I can "creep" to my hearts content on your Facebook page. Next time I see you, I'm going to ask about that picture of you asleep in a boot at Oxygen 2008, Why are you wearing a pink jumpsuit ? I will also ask if your Granny is feeling better... Just don't be shocked about how I found out what pub you were going to tonight...

Twitter- to tweet, or not to tweet?

Hi anyone and everyone who may or may not be viewing this right now :)

My name is Aoife, and I am a 2nd year student of PR and Media in the Carlow Institute of Technology, Ireland.

I have to admit, I don't think I would be here by choice, but I have been given an assignment which requires me to blog regularly during the following weeks about online PR and communications. So that's what I'm going to be doing. Who knows, i might enjoy it and keep going after wards :)

So today I'm going to be talking about Twitter.

Good old Twitter. It was so lovely until it became popular and now its not so fun anymore.
Too many moaning teenagers complaining about how hard life is that their mam wont make their dinner earlier and that Home and Away isn't on this week, there for their life is over... my heart is truly broken.

Funnily enough, Twitter is a device that can be used both subliminally and consciously to promote and persuade the public into buying certain products, supporting certain brands/bands/companies/ individuals/ organizations and you may not even know why. In other words, for actual reasons other than just whinging about life.

Twitter is an online resource that alot of  individuals and organizations have been using to promote their product, be that clothing, food, music or a service, but are we really aware of what they are doing?

How many times have you been flicking through your tweet feed and suddenly gotten a craving for Oreo's or to go buy a Here's To Us T-Shirt or something like that due to something you subconsciously read ? Well I don't think I have (perhaps because I am a media student), but I found myself noticing a lot of friends doing it. Certain friends saying "Oh Simon Neill from Biffy Clyro? I was following him on twitter and he bought a pair of red RayBan's and got a new girlfriend, so I decided I needed a pair too." Obviously that's a complete exaggeration, my friends are not idiots, but small similarities occur such as buying the same brands as celebrities or from a site you follow, who follows you back... Is that not kind of strange?

Tweets are so small (140 characters per tweet) that if you are going to sell an product, you have to pack a punch in very few words. But this can be easily done if you have someone who has the know how!

My course actually delivers a twitter class on Wednesday mornings teaching us how to use twitter, talk about bringing PR into the 21st century.

I find myself wondering if in the next few years, after studying sites such as twitter, will I end up avoiding them completely ? Will there be so many people on there promoting stuff, people reviewing it after they have bought it and people fighting over whether its good or not , that I will actually avoid these sites I once loved?

I suppose thats the joys of technology for you!