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Archive for April, 2011

Keeping up with the Royals

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

So the big day is almost upon us. If you’re lucky enough to have booked off the last two working days then well done, that’s some good forward planning. If not then we’ve got just the distraction while you make your way home, so long as it’s via public transport, of course.

Some may have been concerned by the lack of information surrounding the ways in which we can all check in on tomorrow’s wedding. Others probably couldn’t care less, but will no doubt see Media Week‘s summary as a rather amusing sign of the times, because it shows the extent to which the Royal Family will take over TV, radio, and the web, starting first thing in the morning.

From Tweets to streams and exclusive broadcasts it’s all going off, with many online regal platforms set to experience a record number of hits. With that in mind, and knowing that many people may be unable to partake in BBC1 and ITV1′s coverage (from 8am and 8.30am respectively), we thought it appropriate to quickly run through the House of Windsor’s social media celebration. This means all you need is a phone and signal to partake.

You Tube

A no-brainer really, though certainly a battery-drainer. Between 10am and 2pm a live stream will be broadcast to the world on the planet’s most popular video website. So join the other die-hard Royalists by watching the event on the Royal Channel, just make sure your mobile browser is up to scratch.

Royal Wedding Website

Look at the blog for a reminder of how anticipation has been building, get government advice on any planned trips to London over the weekend, and watch a selection of videos, whether it be people delivering congratulatory messages to the lucky couple, or interviews with florists and designers.

British Monarchy Flickr

It might surprise some to learn that a few people didn’t already know the Queen and company signed up to the expansive photo-sharing site last spring, and since then have been adding to a burgeoning collection of new and archive imagery. After the event expect the catalogue to grow significantly.

Twitter @clarencehouse

387 tweets and counting, though no doubt that figure is already redundant. Specifics aside, follow Clarence House, the remarkably vocal official residence of the Prince of Wales, for regular insider updates. Whether re-tweets will be read during the speeches is unclear.

British Monarchy Facebook Page

Last but not least is the Daddy. With half the world, or at least 50 per cent of the UK already signed up to the social network it’s unsurprising the historic day will be a major feature. Click to ‘Attend’ the event, keep an eye on the hourly status updates, and use the ‘Stories’ app to share your own thoughts.

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The cracks spread- B2B publishing in decline

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Are we all sick of doom and gloom print media news yet? Well, seen as we’re a public relations agency our answer is no, because aside from the work here on Mount Street that focuses on digital and online PR, we have great relationships with the press, and follow developments closely.

A recent article in The Guardian obviously thinks most people agree, as Monday saw the website run an article examining fresh statistics set to give the press another coronary. This time round it’s one of the areas that has, traditionally, been seen as safe ground.

The feature points out how trade magazines and newspapers, like all advertising-dependent outlets, have suffered in the media and wider economic downturn. That means, by default, the industry is now entering a period of recovery. But the process would be far easier if government spending cuts weren’t taking so much from the public sector, which accounts for around one third of all sales for business-to-business publishers.

This, of course, suggests that a once robust area is succumbing to the same fate as the free-falling glossies and papers. Though that’s where the comparisons can stop. One look at the figures surrounding Media Week- a trade outlet that has increased revenue since moving online- shows that with great content and a respected brand the web can work.

Furthermore, we don’t think it’s unthinkable to imagine a company paying a nominal subscription (when compared with print) to access in-depth, and, more importantly, accurate industry information online. Nor do those signed up to pay for unlimited access to content on sites like The Drum and FT who will currently be enjoying more than a few benefits in return for their investment.

In comparison, by July 2010 UK consumer titles had seen 13.31 million knocked off combined circulation figures, and this number was rising, with some titles’ readership plummeting by nearly 30 per cent, year on year. No matter how you work those numbers, losses like that cannot be sustained. With that in mind if we return to the question posed by The Guardian at the beginning of this week (have trade magazines got a shelf life?), we’d be more confident in answering ‘yes’ than for most print media. Therefore the real quandary is what format the publication will be delivered in, and how it can stay afloat while current business models catch up with internet.

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World (wide web) domination

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Forget the Alexa browser toolbar, site audits and any other methods our colleagues and peers in marketing and public relations use to judge the popularity of an internet address. A quick Google search will easily reveal the UK paper that currently holds the number two spot in terms of English-speaking news online, according to analytics firm ComScore.

Like, love, or loathe it, The Daily Mail has been the most popular web publication in Britain for some time, and now the centre-right title has surpassed AOL’s infinitely popular Huffington Post to bag the world’s number two spot by attracting more than 39million unique visitors in March alone. It’s a huge figure that represents a 27 per cent rise in visitors over the month preceding.

On Tuesday The Guardian nodded to the increase in US based content as a key reason behind the growth in readership Mail Online has seen. Though at first glance it would appear there’s a long way to go before market-leading American broadsheet The New York Times has much to worry about, given the fact some 61,964,000 individuals perused its online pages over the same period. There’s also been plenty of talk about appealing, accessible and digestible content, in particular The Daily Mail‘s decision to populate a good chunk of its web space with scandal and celebrity. Or, as The Next Web puts it, ‘a very blog like formula’.

Overall the future remains unclear though. The most successful English language newspaper in global cyberspace will soon introduce a subscription service set to cost users between $15 and $35 per month, which is sizeable to say the least. But will readers flee NYT in favour of The Daily Mail? It seems more likely The Huffington‘s writers will see more people reading their work. Meanwhile, The Guardian is set to expand operations Stateside, with current web editor Janine Gibson leading an information assault designed to build on the broadsheet’s 8million monthly US readers. What happens in the next half year will, therefore, be nothing short of fascinating.

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When it all goes wrong (sort of)

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

For almost all public relations firms and marketing agencies social media is high on the list of priorities when it comes to new campaigns. And not just those that practice and preach the ways of web 2.0 to the extent we do here on Mount Street.

But what happens when things go a little awry? Well, as a recent stunt for SAS Airlines proved, all may not be lost, even if Facebook shuts you down for contravening the social network’s terms and conditions.

The idea was simple. CP+B Europe were charged with promoting the aforementioned airline’s 1million seat sale online, and asked fans to swap their profile image for a thumbnail bearing the slogan: ‘Fares up for Grabs’. Then entrants posted a second, matching thumbnail to the SAS Facebook page, with the most innovative submission winning a free trip to Paris.

It’s a fantastic example of how to use common content, such as photographs, in a fun and engaging way that offers consumers a good chance at a great prize, with relatively little hassle in this camera-phone age. In return the company received an increase in web traffic, and free publicity for both day-to-day products, and the discounted tickets. What’s more, since the competition was removed by the powers that be even more people are talking about it, meaning whatever angle you analyse it from the creative minds behind the campaign have done a great job. Not that we condone breaking rules of course…

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Social media tops leaderboard, hit-wise

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Experian, a leading competitive information agency, has revealed the UK’s Top 10 most searched for brands online, and favourite web-based activity. The results, unsurprisingly, bolster the notion that the ‘social age’ has arrived.

As a PR firm with a social media and interactive focus this obviously interests us enormously, and we’re pretty sure you’ll raise an eyebrow too. So, here are the facts… In 2010 Facebook accounted for a staggering 3.5 per cent of all British queries on Google, Yahoo! and Bing.

Take into account spelling inaccuracies, and abbreviations (such as ‘FB’), and this figure jumps to roughly 6 per cent. When you consider how many times people use a search engine, well, we need add no more. Except, of course, to show what the final league table looks like:

1.Facebook

2.YouTube

3.eBay

4.Amazon

5.Argos

6.BBC

7.Autotrader

8.Sky

9.Next

10.Tesco

As promised, that’s not the only news. According to the same statisticians, during January 2011 12.4 per cent of all UK internet visits resulted in a social media destination. In total the study monitored a rather mind-blowing 9,000 social networks, which collectively received an unbelievable 2.4 billion visits during the first 31 days of this year. For more details, take a look at the Experian Hitwise report, Carpe diem- Seizing the moment in social media.

Image (C) Benstein

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Google doesn’t launch Circles, but may let Likes in +1

Friday, April 1st, 2011

Last week the world and their dog barked on about Google unveiling Circles, it’s own social network, at SXSW in Texas. This didn’t happen, and we’re all still left guessing as to the future of this rather mysterious, unconfirmed project.

If true, then Google obviously believes it can bring something new to the table. Let’s hope so, because as a PR agency specialising in social media, we know only too well how many online communities exist, and how time consuming they can be. So, is there really room for another soapbox?

Well we shall see. Blog site The Next Web claims the network will arrive sometime in May, but may be called Google Me, while O’ Reilly Media founder Tim O’ Reilly Tweeted recently that he had seen Circles, and it looked ‘awesome’. This statement was then retracted; with the man in question claiming what he actually saw was just lab data.

So who knows what will happen. Whether the new network materialises or not, Google has certainly taught a few people a thing or two about the power of speculation, and (lack of) information. And, even if this rumour mill produces nothing, this year is expected to see a huge development in how the web gatekeepers treat social media activity, within the context of internet rankings.

SEO experts are increasingly predicting that Facebook ‘Likes’, in the same way as Tweets and re-Tweets, will soon be taken into account by Google and similar sites when they organise search results. This could signal big changes in the way people approach content creation and management. However, as with all good web-optimisation, the best practice is to consider all aspects of the (often lengthy) process.

Trying to jump up the results page by using your followers’ followers as a platform will do no more good than cramming a page full of keywords and adopting a protectionist policy towards linking in other websites. So, as the age-old adage goes, keep calm and carry on. Times are changing, but only a fool jumps ship at the first wave. Still, it’s always important to stay up to date, meaning Google’s new +1 also needs referencing.

Now when people sign in with a Google profile all web results will appear with a +1 button. Pressing it is similar to ‘Liking’ something, and will allow others to see what’s popular, and with who (via Gmail, Google Reader, and soon Twitter contact books). At the moment this doesn’t influence rankings directly, because only two per cent of users in the US have the service, but it’s only a matter of time until it does.

Again, this is really one small addition to a computer screen, but one giant leap for anyone with online interests. In both the cases, this gives users more control over the online keyhole, takes the emphasis away from the ‘black arts’ of web publishing, and creates a more pluralistic landscape wherein a range of factors, not just technical prowess, will mean the difference between success and failure. Or at least it should once we all get access.

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