Major advantages trending towards the podcast medium!

Podcasting is positioning itself to gain serious momentum on the traditional television and radio media avenues for advertisements. I would argue that there exist a significant and mutually beneficial link between advertising and public relations; this makes the following data important to track and monitor for continued evolution. Consider the following from a recent podcast consumer attitudes study:

• Podcast fans are significantly more affluent than general population
• Podcast fans are rapidly turning away from traditional media advertising models, generally regarded as "interruptions"
• 37% of video podcast users and 31% of audio podcast users say they enjoy advertising in podcasts. By comparison, only 6% say same of TV and radio.
• Podcasts confer on their advertisers and sponsors positive reviews for advertisers that sponsor shows they like.
• Over 70% of active podcast listeners are receptive to sponsorship messages in podcasts.

I can understand why podcast audiences are generally more receptive to advertising. Listeners are already subjecting themselves to the target audience demographic by simply choosing to download or subscribe to the preferred podcast. This commitment demonstrates a personal interest in programming topics, this audience is no longer a prospective one but rather a vested one. Podcasts are portable which enables the user to have mobility that is just not afforded with the stationery mediums of television or confinement to your automobile. It is apparent that the audience is engaged with the content, now it comes down to having the proper direction to clients. Please comment, what are your experiences or preferences with podcasting?

Organizations not using video sharing that should be!

This will be a bit of an abbreviated blog posting due to an overwhelming amount of midterms and papers due shortly! One of the main things that struck me today from Dr. Waters's lecture on video sharing sites was the slide on the Pope and his use of Youtube to reach out to the congregation. I immediately thought of the nonprofit organizations that fail to utilize this medium to effectively attract prospective donors and engage existing ones. One of the most familiar lines said to telephone nonprofit solicitors, if they even get that far, is..."send me your information and I would be happy to look over it." If a nonprofit representative gets to this point, chances are you have greatly reduced your chance to enlist a new donor. Video sharing would be a nice alternative that could provide an inside look at the organization to current stakeholders, allowing them to see their money or time in action. Prospective contributors could gain a feel for services, staff, and mission of the organization. A video sharing site could also include links to other social media pages and the official website; increasing visibility of the organization and ease in which one can donate if a link is available on all sites. Perhaps most importantly, the solicitations may be easier and attract more attention. Even if you are getting cut off on the phone, a quick way to leave an impression is to simply say..."just check us out on Youtube!" Please share your comments. What other organizations would you recommend use video sharing sites? Want a great example, check out this Youtube nonprofit: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmRedCross

Windows 7 making use of Groundswell!

Want to witness Groundswell in action, look no further than the highly competitive market of computer programming to find a great example. Microsoft and Windows have been promoting the concept of embracing the customer's needs and ideas in conjunction with the launch of the new Windows 7 for PC. Popular opinion, word of mouth, and even advertising appeal has all been in favor of the Mac systems recently and the sales differentials corroborate this development; even with Mac having a substantially higher price tag. To combat this trend, Microsoft has launched a new user friendly campaign that is driven by...you guessed it, the ideas and suggestions of the consumers. The new ads are spreading across television and many of the social media sites in an effort to appeal to a diverse range of potential consumers. The overarching theme of the new commercials is to have people of all demographics explaining how they sent their ideas to Microsoft and the resulting feedback is what created the new Windows 7. The message being this new software is for consumers, made by consumers. Essentially, Microsoft has generated considerable new buzz and positive reviews by simply highlighting the fact that many of the new functions were produced by listening to the user! Maybe they read Groundswell too! Please feel free to comment, have you seen the new commercials? Do you think it is striking a chord with users? Is Microsoft effectively blending social media with the book's concepts?

Etiquette includes making it easy to leave!

I wanted to take this opportunity to branch off of some of the topics Dr. Waters covered in the class material. I thought of an extra consideration when attempting to provide the best etiquette possible. This idea was also formulated while listening to the radio this morning and hearing one of the hosts complain about how he signed up for CNN news texts to his phone but had since decided he no longer wanted to participate. The issue was that he could not figure out how to discontinue the service and had become quite frustrated and turned off from CNN in its entirety. A crucial lesson for all who interact with and promote through social media applications is to keep in mind that not everyone who follows an organization or is interested in accessing information on the website is technologically savvy. Companies should strive to make any mediums they utilize as user friendly as possible, this includes offering tutorials to help viewers efficiently navigate the material. Perhaps a forgotten aspect of etiquette is to ensure that when an audience or follower would like to opt out, the process is easy to figure out, convenient, and implemented in a timely fashion. This should alleviate frustrations and ease the fears of prospective users that they are engaging in something that they cannot get out of. Please feel free to comment and share any similar problems you have encountered or etiquette advice you would like to promote!

Photo sharing, what's your take?

I must admit to not being very familiar with photo sharing websites, I do not view them nor do I currently operate any accounts. I had a hard time coming up with a topic to discuss so I asked some friends and family for their opinions on photo sharing. Almost universally, everyone I talked to was not a fan of this type of social media, outside of my sister-in-law. She finds photo sharing websites, especially Snapfish, to be a good alternative to sending out pictures to fiends and family. Instead of emailing each picture, she can just send a link that will open entire albums with tags and descriptions. She also enjoys the extra benefits of uploading the pictures to the site and then having the capability to create albums, mouse pads, calendars, etc out of these pictures and then having the site mail to her the finished product. However, a lot of people felt that it was too inconvenient to click additional links and then wait for photos to load. It appears many of the concerns were related to personal photo sharing accounts instead of organizational. In general it appears photos would have to contain subjects of personal interest or a high human interest topic for viewers to remain engaged with individual photo sharing sites. Organizational photo sharing is essential for effectively managing photographs and keeping target publics informed and connected. Organizations produce greater volume of photographs from everyday business operations, company products, company events, etc. In this area, photo sharing is an organized, efficient medium to nurture relationships and offer additional legitimacy to the organization's efforts and goals. Please share your opinions on photo sharing; I enjoy reading a variety of insights and learning something from your comments!

Toyota, tweeting through the crisis

John Jantsch's Using Twitter for Business article gave some great insights into the value of organizational use of Twitter. I was intrigued reading about the success Dell had found through this media and immediately turned my attention to Toyota, who is probably suffering through one of the worse public relations problems in quite some time. Certainly, Twitter would have to provide some advantages against the persistent media coverage that could allow the company to speak to people more directly? It turns out that Toyota has done just that, the company has taken to Twitter and issued a variety of statements, apologies, information, and updates. Toyota is really utilizing the site to effectively communicate with the masses, although it is almost entirely impossible to directly answer the overwhelming questions and concerns constantly flooding their page. The company is using Tweetdeck to track what is being said and to address and engage with as many issues as possible. It appears that Toyota is doing a more efficient job with their social media use than their pr image nurturing when you considering that Toyota's president took far too long to make an official statement. As a Toyota owner, I am somewhat comforted by the efforts I read about on their Twitter page, information that is not available through the media sensationalizing. Just to illustrate how much is being tweeted about the company; in the span of time it took me to write this blog (roughly 15-20 mins), Toyota has been tweeted to or about 319 times! Please share your thoughts, comments, and opinions. How do you think Toyota is doing? Is it possible they could use Twitter more effectively? What other companies do you think could benefit from better Twitter usage?

Take it to the masses with social media!

This vlog was generated based on some great insights from Dr. Waters lecture and Ch.5 in Groundswell. I had tweeted this epiphany I had while watching the class material and this is the end result. You may not always be able to win in the court of law but sometimes, the court of public opinion may be equally effective to obtaining your goals. Please share your thoughts, questions, and opinions!

1960 in 2010 but still no social media?

A popular topic that is "trending" today based on my research of Twitter and Yahoo (#2), is the 1960 Greensboro, NC sit-in that was a historic part of the civil rights movement. Certainly this is not unexpected with today not only representing the 50th anniversary of the event but it is also the opening of the new International Civil Rights Center and Museum, located at the site of the sit-in. With all of this interest and attention, I thought it only appropriate to survey the official site and use some of the class lecture ideas on blogging. Well to make a long story short...to my surprise there is no blog or any type of social media associated with the site. Social media represents such a popular, inexpensive, and far reaching medium to target audiences, share information, and promote a cause. I find it unbelievable that the museum would not want to capture the current momentum and start engaging people through social media, especially a blog. This blog could serve as a means to report on the opening day activities and continue to build a following that would benefit the center and other interested visitors and parties. The website does a very effective job at providing information, story sharing, and soliciting donations. However, the absence of links to social media pages and a blog causes concern for me that once the initial attention goes away, will they be able to generate their own? Please share your thoughts and comments! Here is the site, http://www.sitinmovement.org/ Let me know your opinions!