Archive for the ‘Social Media & Digital’ Category

The Blagger’s Blog 13th April 2012

Friday, April 13th, 2012

A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

Worth the paper it’s printed on?

Last week’s light news success stories included…

…Samantha Brick, and the article she wrote about her own beauty, with 54 articles reporting on that self-declaration of greatness, in contrast Sky News admitted to hacking into emails, twice, and only made it into 35…

…Cheryl Cole admitting her interrest in Prince Harry, and showing off her assets in various hot pants, a move that bagged 54 stories, whereas Nick Clegg disagrees with Ken Clarke over the use of secret courts in the UK and just 32 appeared…

…and finally, Katy Perry publicising exactly how upset she was after parting with ex-hubby Russell Brand and admitting celebrity life may be getting a bit boring, an announcement reported by 37 newspapers, but Hilary Clinton’s promise to reduce economic sanctions currently in place against Burma only featured in 33.

(Source: Journalisted)

Weekly high

Ah creatives, so unpredictable, so full of ‘outside the box ideas’. Bosses at Nike obviously agree with this, as the handed a lump sum over to director Casey Neistat (of HBO’s The Neistat Brothers). He then took his friend travelling for ten days, blowing the lot, and the loved it.

Weekly low

OK, so the other week London buses carried pro-homosexual slogans as part of a campaign promoting tolerance. It’s slightly (or rather far) less acceptable for members of the Christian right to launch an opposing initiative attempting to promote therapy to turn gay people straight. No!

Battle of the tweets: Manchester vs London vs Leicester

Top Manchester #tags (seven days to 12/4/2012)

#mufc #mcfc

#thingsthatfrustrateme #mancgirlprobz

#bgt #lfc

#takemeout #worstchatuplines

#favouritefootballgoals #fourwordsyoudontwanttohear

The race for the Premier League title is still on, despite the fact we all thought #mcfc had messed up leaving #mufc to steal the trophy. Elsewhere people are listing four words they really don’t welcome, and finally we can all find out about those important #mancgirlprobz.

Top London #tags (seven days to 12/4/2012)

#thingsthatfrustrateme #lfc

#bgt #fourwordsyoudontwanttohear

#confessionhour #mufc

#icantstandwhen #sheaintwifeymaterial

#takemeout

Amazingly in London this week the only Tweets concerning football have been about teams several hundred miles north of the capital. Aside from that plenty of home truths have been spilt during #confessionhour and everyone seems to still love #takemeout.

Top Leicester #tags (seven days to 12/4/2012)

#thingsthatfrustrateme #lcfc

#worstchatuplines #icantstandwhen

#fourwordsyoudontwanttohear #yourenotfromleicester

#femaleattentionseekingstatusupd #bgt

#takemeout #icantdatesomeonethat

Who knows what they’re putting in Leicester water, but whatever it is people seem to be rather sardonic. Our favourite this week has to be #femaleattentionseekingstatusupd (read as status update), purely because we’re pretty sick of them too.

That was The Blagger’s Blog, a selection of statements, statistics and noteworthy newsies from across the media and social world, amalgamated, allowing the time-starved professional to start a conversation from thin air.

If there is a success story, blunder, or tweeting town you’d like to see included email hello@smokinggunpr.co.ukor tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!

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$1billion for a faded old picture- shrewd or stupid?

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

As many people who keep an eye on the digital media landscape will already know, this week has seen the sale of a company that designed an image-editing smartfone application fetch a staggering amount of money for its ex-owners. Like us here at one of central Manchester’s best public relations agencies, the final figure paid out may have raised a few eyebrows, but what’s the real value behind this deal?

We are, of course, referring to Instagram, which Facebook has just bought for the not so small sum of $1billion. The programme allows users to take pictures with their phones, and then share them with friends after applying a filter to the photograph to make it look like a Polaroid. So why is making a no-doubt average quality shot (no offence, smartphone users, but you’re hardly Jeremy Bailey) look like an older, but still average shot so valuable to a firm that already has the world and their brother posting status updates on its network.

It’s a query compounded by the fact that we are increasingly being told video, not still imagery, is the future of the internet. But then this notion misses a key point in that Joe Public is a very different beast from Tech Geek and New Media Wizard. In short, those that can be bothered will experiment with video, but anyone who felt a little frustrated after two minutes tinkering on iMovie will almost certainly continue to point and click with a still camera in order to retain a visual record, rather than spending half a day preparing a five minute clip.

Clearly there’s a long way to go before we’re all editing footage to create shorts to share with friends, so for the time being a photograph is still the choice medium for the average social networker with a visual penchant. As such by buying up Instagram Facebook is not only ensuring they control a rival (albeit far smaller) social network, but it’s also claiming a large stake in the burgeoning user generated image marketplace, with the new acquisition already boasting 30million members and counting.

On top of this, as Instagram is used through mobile phones, Zuckerberg and Co have secured another tool with which to target the mobile media customer. It’s a hugely important step, as a large number of Facebook profiles are still only updated from a desktop computer. As such it’s clear there’s more to this than one company simply fancying a pop at photography-focused computer software. Furthermore, these points suggest that whilst there are never guarantees, the real value to the buyer here has potential to reach far beyond what was originally paid.

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Facebook most searched brand of 2011

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

New data from internet traffic analyst Experian Hitwise, released at the end of last month, reveals the most searched for brand on the face of the world wide web during 2011 was Facebook, the most popular social network. No surprises there then, as it was the same story 12 months earlier.

YouTube, which is in fact the world’s second most popular search engine, ranked at number two in the list, with the number one option for internet queries- Google- managing seventh in the league, which is rather impressive considering most of our web browsers now link directly to said site, so we don’t have to request it via a search. The planet’s top news website, Mail Online, is the only journalistic outlet aside from the BBC to appear (at #9), with retailers ebay (#3), Amazon (#4), Argos (#5), and Next (#10) all showing up too.

Perhaps the most staggering of all the numbers to come out of the report is that Facebook now represents 2% of all UK internet searches, which if nothing else begs the question ‘why do more people not use bookmarks or auto-complete?’ A copy of the full table is below, whilst the original press release that caught our eye can be found over here at hitwise.com

Top Search Brands of 2011 - Experian Hitwise

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More Google content related (bad) news

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

It seems like not a week passes by without some news emerging suggesting there may be problems with the results provided by the world’s most powerful search engine. Well, actually it was a fortnight since the last time we discussed this, but still more fingers have been pointing.

On March 22nd, from our Manchester PR base, we blogged on how MPs had voiced concerns over Google’s seemingly lackadaisical attitude towards removing offensive content from search results. This followed a similar-ish post in January about how representatives of entertainment firms (record labels, film distributors and the like) had made recommendations to the UK Government concerning the prevalence of illegal filesharing sites in Google and Bing results.

All of which make for pretty big news from where we’re sitting. Yesterday things took a turn for the even more suspicious though, as travel website TripAdvisor filed a complaint with the European Commission over anti-competitiveness within Google’s practices. The accusation stems from a perceived distortion in organic search results, meaning Google Places allegedly ranks higher than other companies, leading some to believe the search engine is giving preferential treatment to its own products.

A decision now has to be made on whether or not to fully pursue the claims, so we’ll have to see what happens, and in the meantime we’re certainly making no judgements. But the most worrying aspect of all this is that similar complaints have been made by Microsoft and a number of other rivals, who have each submitted evidence against Google to the European Commission, meanwhile lastminute.com supports TripAdvisor’s claims, and Expedia has accused the search giant of breaching European law, apparently. Suffice to say then, this all makes rather uncomfortable reading for anyone with concerns over online transparency, not to mention those with a businesses reliant on search rankings.

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The Blagger’s Blog 30th March 2012

Friday, March 30th, 2012

A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

Worth the paper it’s printed on?

Last week’s light news success stories included…

…One Direction becoming the first British band to hit the number one spot Stateside with a debut album, the subject of 77 articles, whereas Labour failed to delay the Health and Social Care Bill and featured in just 24…

…X Factor and N Dubz’s Tulisa coming out and admitting she appeared in a sex tape, with 44 articles reporting, whilst Glaxosmithkline will create 1,000 new jobs in Cumbria and Scotland with a £500million investment and just 20 headlines were written…

…and finally, The Voice, Britain’s latest talent show on the BBC, began its first series last weekend, and claimed 76 articles, far more than the 41 that reported on Kofi Annan’s peace mission to Syria- billed as the country’s ‘last chance’ to avoid a civil war of endurance.

(Source: Journalisted)

Weekly high

As one of the main sponsors of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament HSBC need to make their presence known. What better way to do that than employ men to don fancy dress and chase balls around the gargantuan metropolis? None, we’d say.

Weekly low

Call us old fuddy duddies, but we’re pretty sure that sexual assault is not a great way to advertise high alcohol content spirits. Needless to say Belvedere was quick to issue an apology after the following advert appeared on Facebook and Twitter.

Battle of the tweets: Manchester vs London vs Los Angeles

Top Manchester #tags (seven days to 29/3/2012)

#mufc #mcfc

#bgt #manchester

#thevoiceuk #favfootballchant

#lfc #f1

#thevoice #takemeout

The race for the Premier League title is heating up, namely between Manchesters City and United (#mufc #mcfc). Aside from that most of us caught episode one of The Voice last weekend, though most likely very few people actually enjoyed it.

Top London #tags (seven days to 29/3/2012)

#boyfriend #bgt

#thevoiceuk #f1

#mymurder #lfc

#cfc #mufc

#takemeout

Down in London village the rather dark talking point of #mymurder seems to be on many a pair of lips. Aside from that there’s that reality TV talent show BBC are trying to make us watch, and Britain’s Got Talent (#bgt).

Top Los Angeles #tags (seven days to 29/3/2012)

#middleschoolmemories #boyfriend

#hungergames #la

#dodgers #thingsthatilike

#madmen

In the movie capital of the world folk have been discussing the latest blockbuster hopeful The Hunger Games (no doubt with a few people asking if it’s just Battle Royal in English). Elsewhere Series Five of Madmen also has people talking.

That was The Blagger’s Blog, a selection of statements, statistics and noteworthy newsies from across the media and social world, amalgamated, allowing the time-starved professional to start a conversation from thin air.

If there is a success story, blunder, or tweeting town you’d like to see included email hello@smokinggunpr.co.ukor tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!

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How to… get the most out of the fresh-look Facebook

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

With over 700million users the world’s most popular social network was familiar to many people. This month huge changes to the interface are taking place, but by reading this you’ll understand exactly how your business’ brand page can benefit.

OK, so we know someone once said something about how if it wasn’t broke then a fix wasn’t required. But still, things never stay the same, least of all in the rapid fire world of web based media.  Regardless of whether they’re welcome or not then Facebook’s changes are happening, meaning you need to get to know the fresh faced site. Take a look at these five key factors of the all new interface to ensure the switchover is smooth.

Where’s my landing page?

Landing pages, or fan gates, have been removed, meaning you can’t ask people to Like your page in order to see its content. Controversial, yes, but at least you can get creative with a clean looking Cover Image to dominate the top of your Timeline.

Telling your story

The emphasis is now on storytelling via your Timeline, which acts as a diary for your posts. Highlight stories by starring them and post larger photo and video content for stunning image-based pages, with pictures stretching right across the screen. Meanwhile, pinning trophy pieces to the top of a page focuses attention.

An event worth shouting about

A fantastic opportunity to tell the brand story in an easy to digest way, simply click on the line in the middle of your Timeline, select Milestone, and then fill out specific information. Whether it’s the date you founded the firm or a major launch event you can let the picture, and a few well chosen words, do the talking.

Improved apps and content management


Pre-define applications to sit at the top of your Timeline, and even add a call to action to the description for competition purposes. On top of this you can approve user posts before they appear on your Timeline, whilst those from Fans now appear in the bottom right, just below posts about your brand made by their friends, further socialising the experience whilst keeping your company messages in focus.

More feedback, please


Interactions between Fans and brands will be more direct, as individuals can now send Private Messages to a company. Once the lines of communication have opened it’s a two way street too, so your business can respond to a particular person without the public watching, which could be a game changer.

Of course it won’t be too long until a whole host of additional alterations are made to the Facebook modus- after all, the world’s most popular social network didn’t get so big by standing still. So what would you like to see changed about the way it currently works? Why not let us know via the comments form below.

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Social media for the design savvy: Pinterest

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

There’s no shortage of press flying around about the world’s newest online network. With 4,000% growth in four months this isn’t surprising, but should we really bother spending time getting to grips with it?

We’ve all seen social networks come and go, so when people start spouting superlatives about another startup it’s easy to cast such comments aside as hype. But then clearly from the opening statistic, Pinterest, the social network in question, is attracting a huge number of eyes to its pages.

More so, it’s pointing them on to even more, with a better rate of referral traffic than YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn combined. Needless to say then, it can pay to be on the end of those links, but first and foremost it’s important to establish that this isn’t Facebook, or Twitter, or…

As some have put it, Pinterest is a lifestyle brand building site. Not that the developers want business or self promotion to become part of day to day activity on the network, apparently. Which is surprising, as this is a place for people to post things that interest them- be that a photo, video, article or blog- and have it presented in cleanly designed glory, a great way to advertise services or stock.

The real question is whether Pinterest is right for your brand. So far the biggest take up has been amongst women aged 25-34, which is indicative of the way things have a kind of ‘fashion spread’ feel to them, with a clear visual focus. As such without content that suits great video and pictures it’s really a redundant resource, but clothes brands, design firms, freelance creatives, food manufacturers, retailers, entertainment firms, and more should certainly take note.

An estimated 3.3million unique users access the site every month with wheat in mind, not chaff. So only quality posts- or ‘Pins’- are any use, as you’re looking for someone to ‘re-pin’ the content they like from your page to theirs. This means you don’t want mindless clutter, and it’s vital you think in terms of longevity.

Someone may have stumbled upon your Pinterest account accidentally, which means there’s no guarantee they’re going to comeback. Those purely using the platform for advertising experience a far lower number of returning fans and get less followers than those pushing content from other sources. Again, the comparisons with a lifestyle magazine are prominent; it’s about recommending the best to people, and making sure they refer to you as a high standard source; standard social media behaviour, really.

Of course there’s nothing to stop you running competitions, and opening things up to ‘guest pinners’, allowing people to pin whatever interests them to your noticeboard. Take a look at the so-called ‘World’s First Pinterest Campaign’, which saw Kotex use the network to find 50 Israeli women, and what inspires them, before creating individual gift boxes based on what each had on their Pinterest noticeboard. Take a look at the video below:

That’s about as business focused as the network can get at the moment though, so really it’s all about redirecting traffic to your site (the items pinned act as links to the source material). This also means doing the same in reverse, so promoting your Pinterest account via Facebook, Twitter, and all other online outlets is a must. After all, this is a social network for sharing, not simply communicating.

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March 2012 in the Smoking Gun Study

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Warmer weather is now a reality for most parts of the UK, meaning spring has finally sprung. We’ve got plenty to be upbeat about too, what with two national award wins, a new ecommerce client, and more Pandas loose on the streets.

Not that we’re bragging. But then picking up both the Freshest Small Team and Freshest Digital Media or Social Networking Campaign trophies at the recent Fresh Awards in Manchester is an achievement that makes us understandably a little proud, especially as the latter sees yet another accolade bestowed on our work with a certain liquorice treat.

On top of this it give us great pleasure to mention that the Smoking Gun team has also picked up a nomination for Best Social Media Agency at the up coming How-Do Awards. Needless to say we’ll let you know how things go in due course. Such nods of approval don’t come without hard work mind, and there’s been plenty of that over the last month too.

After a successful pitching process Loving Outdoors, an online outdoor clothing retailer, has joined our burgeoning client list. So we’ll be focusing on product placement within on and offline media, and ensuring things fit nicely with the company’s trading calendar. Suffice to say, our experience with the likes of Mountain Hardwear will come in more than useful here.

Elsewhere plenty of hours have been dedicated to our current roster of brands, including our favourite health food snack. To give away much more would ruin the surprise, but let’s just say that our panda suit has seen plenty of action over the last few weeks as the company found the eye of the tiger in a brand new video campaign, full details of which are soon to be revealed.

Of course we’ve been perfectly willing to meet new contacts and share our knowledge with interested outside parties too. From appearances at the inaugural Hedgehog Awards with the PRCA- run in conjunction with our friends at Don’t Panic- to Manchester’s ever useful Social Media Cafe, representatives from Smoking Gun have been on hand to help develop ideas with others, in the industry and beyond. A successful 31 days all round then, eyes in the office are now firmly focused on the lighter evenings ahead, and the new opportunities they will bring.

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Simply unmissable 3

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Another four weeks, another load of internet treasure well worth shouting about. From ethical videos boasting nearly 100,000,000 hits to US politicians rapping, the best selection of coffee break content is right here for you to enjoy, so without further ado we present the finest of our finds.

Statistic of the month

72% of marketers handle social media for themselves, the rest outsource.

Cult clips

This video, designed to raise awareness of child soldiers, has attracted over 85,400,000 YouTube hits. Whether this is partly because of the director subsequently being found naked in the street, mid-potential nervous breakdown, is unclear.

The iPad 3 has arrived, with the usual launch day queues stretching the world over. Refreshingly Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, also chose to get in line, much to the delight of many an internet viewer. Now there’s a man of the people.

US Presidential candidate Mit Romney of the Republican party decided to explain exactly who he was with this spoof of Eminem’s breakthrough single, making scores stand up, take note, and concede that America’s politically conservative populous actually has a little rhythm.

Infographic of the month

Not so long ago we posted this handy visual aid, which looks to show how Facebook and Twitter, amongst other sites, are as addictive as alcohol and cigarettes. Hats off to Biz Media for putting it together then, as it still has us talking.

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Like Madmen, love this

Monday, March 26th, 2012

Fans of a particular US TV series that celebrates the glory era of Madison Avenue advertising have plenty to sink their teeth into this week. And we’re not just talking about the next set of episodes that start airing in the UK tomorrow evening.

Tuesday March 27th sees the arrival of Season Five in the saga that is Madmen, via Sky Atlantic. Of course viewers in the U.S. have already seen the drama begin to unfold (last night), meaning those that want a sneak preview of what happens need only click here for The Guardian’s review of the opening hour.

Aside from this fans can also enjoy an Advergame created to celebrate the fifth coming. You play the part of Don Draper, and must perform a series of tasks, and the order in which they are achieved leads to different endings, with plenty of humour along the way. Digital media at its most fun, and just the thing for a Monday afternoon. Now, where was that bourbon?

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