[Written for the CIPR Friday Roundup]
There will be an economic recovery and best practice public relations will play its part.
Economists may not agree on the how, but they are agreed on the what – we need economic growth. And economic growth comes from organisations that are more productive, and productivity is partly driven by improving mutual understanding between the organisation and its stakeholders – ie, the excellence model of PR.
An organisation that better understands all stakeholders will be more sensitive to its market and more agile and appropriate in its response.
Last week, the UK government announced an initiative with twenty six major organisations "working together to deliver a new era of consumer empowerment". The programme, midata, "will give consumers increasing access to their personal data in a portable, electronic format."
This is a world first as far as I know, although the prospect has been discussed for several years. It's often referred to as vendor relationship management (VRM), the other side of the CRM coin if you like.
Will your organisation join this revolution in customer data? Will you play your part in the economic recovery?
Best regards, Philip and The Conversation team.
P.S. If you're a CIPR member or fellow, don't forget to vote for the President 2013 / President-Elect 2012 by midday 18th November. Check out the Presidential Debate on CIPR TV.
P.P.S. I write the Roundup in my own capacity. I am not a spokesperson for the CIPR.
Election Post for CIPR President Elect 2012 - Lionel Zetter FCIPR
by Philip Morgan of Chartered Institute of Public Relations
This is the third and final blog post in a series of posts in which each candidate in the election for CIPR President-Elect, which is currently being contested, can post on the CIPR Conversation.
Today's candidate is Lionel Zetter FCIPR.
Why I want to be a two time President
The great thing about banging your head against a brick wall is the sheer relief when you stop doing it. Most Presidents hand over the (mythical) chain of office with a sigh of relief. I didn’t – I enjoyed my year as President, and I would love to do it again. More...
Mobile Apps Potential for Creative Content Marketing
by David H Deans of Digital Lifescapes
I've been thinking about the numerous ways that marketers are connecting with their customers and prospects via mobile devices -- smartphones and media tablets. Mobile apps that utilize a digital magazine (or eZine) format are particularly interesting, because they offer the potential to enable new forms of multimedia publishing.
Granted, substantive editorial content development is very labor intensive, but I believe that it's more likely to engage a marketer's target stakeholders than the typical mobile advertising campaign. More...
Your customers will share their experiences and they will influence the decisions of others
by Brian Solis of BrianSolis.com
In The End of Business as Usual, I review in detail how markets are evolving and what businesses need to do to earn relevance among a different breed of consumer. For those who struggle to make the case within their business or organization, to not just engage consumers online, but evolve business philosophies, practices, and systems, to truly matter, this is your guide.
In the end, your customers will share their experiences and they will influence the decisions of others. Shared experiences contribute to a collective reality that differs from how you market and sell your brand today. More...
The UK takes a step closer to Streams Banks – your personal data nirvana
by Philip Sheldrake of Meanwhile
A year ago, to the week, I was writing Chapter 8 of The Business of Influence about the future trends each and every influence professional would have to grasp. In particular, I wrote:
I consider the data and information I create directly or indirectly through my use of products and services to be private and mine by default. I may choose to make any part of it accessible to specified others and maintain my ownership, or relinquish some ownership rights, or all rights.
Should I consider entering a contract with the purchase of a product or service that entails some variation to this default – More...
by Jonathan McGinley of Freelance
The Occupy Wall Street protests have hit the media headlines and some would argue have the potential to fast become an unwanted headache for both corporate businesses and governments at a time of economic instability. At the time of writing this article the movement has a presence in many cities worldwide including New York, Berlin and St Pauls Cathedral in London.
The growth of the movement globally within a relatively short space of time is certainly both impressive and striking. Yet should we really be surprised? After all, the phenomenon of anti capitalism activism in itself is not new. More...
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #624: November 7, 2011
by Neville Hobson of NevilleHobson.com
Content summary:FIR Interview with Chris Boyer posted; Dell B2B Social Media Huddle in London on November 3: podcasts coming soon; Shel was at BlogWorld Expo; News That Fits: Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2011 report; Fortune 500 social media adoption report; Ragan promo; Dan York reports on “cloaking” as a way to game SEO, and more; marketing fails to resonate with shoppers says global Havas consumer survey; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; Michael Netzley reports from Singapore on Holmes Report Think Tank Live Singapore, and more; More...
8 reasons why word of mouth is so powerful
by Andy Green of andygreencreativity
1. People rate w-o-m as their most potent source of new business or reliable information. You know the scene: You are making a choice or dealing with an unfamiliar problem. You are not sure what to do. It could be a major purchase, or even just deciding what film to see. You ask a friend, or the friend tells you: “It’s supposed to be good.” A recommendation that probably determines your decision.
2. Lack of a direct, positive experience is usually the single greatest factor holding back any decision from greater and faster acceptance. More...
Google+ for businesses: a shop front without customers?
by Stephen Waddington of Speed Communications
I’m not going to write a blog post about how to create a Google+ page. Plenty of other bloggers have covered that off.
What I am going to do is ask you to stop and think before you start creating your page. Ask yourself if your customers are on Google+? If not why would you want to create a profile on yet another network?
There's a strong case to be made for media businesses seeking to syndicate content and scoop up clicks to be first to Google+. Tech titles eWeek Labs, SlashGear, and TechRadar have already signed-up. More...
Page One: Inside The New York Times
by Stephen Waddington of Speed Communications
Stop what you are doing right now. Head to iTunes and rent a copy of Page One: Inside The New York Times.
The movie tells the story of the fragmentation of media over a 12-month period spent in the news room at The Times.
Its not going to win any Pulitzer Prizes for reporting or storytelling but there are some wonderful moments as it fronts up to the issues that traditional news organisations are facing as ad revenue declines and audiences move from print to digital editions.
Times' staffer David Carr debates the future of media on televised panel with Michael Wolff creator of the news aggregator Newser. More...
by David Meerman Scott of David Meerman Scott
It's rare that I get really, really excited about a new social network, but that's happening to me with Instagram. My friend Ann Handley introduced me to it last month and I am loving it. Since there are already ten million Instagram users, I'm certainly not an early adopter, so forgive me if you're already an Instagram pro.
Instagram is a photo sharing iPhone application that makes it easy and fun to manipulate a photo with various filters and turn it into instant art. Then with a few clicks, you can share your photo with a caption via Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. More...
My Video Interview with Brian Solis at PR Directions 2011
by Trevor Young PR Warrior of Parkyoung
At the recent Public Relations Institute of Australia’s PR Directions national conference in Sydney I had the opportunity to catch up with best-selling author and renowned new media thinker Brian Solis following his opening keynote address.
I wrote about the presentation here: Brian Solis on Branded Journalism and the 'Connected Consumer'.
The video was shot by Burning House Productions on behalf of the PRIA. More...
by Graham Jones of Internet Psychology
Babies know what you are thinking. New research shows that at around 10 months, young infants can detect if someone has changed their mind. Before they can walk or talk, babies can see inside your mind. So why does this happen? Why is it that trying to get to grips with what is going on in someone else’s head is more important to our development than learning to speak or getting up on our own two feet? According to the researchers who did this study, “beliefs guide behavior, but it would be difficult to explain another person’s behavior without explaining his or her mental state.” More...
The Rules of Smarter Engagement
by Brian Solis of BrianSolis.com
To celebrate the release of my new book, The End of Business as Usual, I recently hosted a discussion on behalf of Vocus on how businesses should rethink a marketing-driven social media approach by not just engaging, but activating a market-driven strategy defined by smarter, more meaningful engagement.
More than 1,000 people attended the event and while I tried to answer every question, many were left unaddressed because of time constraints. This post tackles some of the recurring questions we received on Twitter. More...
Daisy Girl: the advert that changed political advertising
by Mark Pack of MHP Communications
When I was doing my round-up last year of five of the best political adverts from around the world, I included Lyndon Johnson’s Daisy Girl advert from 1964. Despite only being aired once, it has had a huge impact – both because of its power at the time and because of the way others since copied the use of a short, emotional story in preference to a long, factual presentation.
A new book is coming out about the Daisy Girl advert and its author, Robert Mann has been writing about the origins and impact of the Daisy Girl advert: More...
'There's Magic in Them There (Google+) Hills'
by Trevor Young PR Warrior of Parkyoung
Although only a few months old, the Google+ social network has won a couple of heavy hitting fans in the form of Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaki.
Speaking in tandem at last week’s BlogWorld 2011 in Los Angeles, both Brogan and Kawasaki enthused about the potential of Google+ for business.
In answering the inevitable comparison between Google+ and Facebook, Kawasaki said Facebook was for friends and family while Google+ was all about new relationships built on shared passions.
Under criticism
Kawasaki, who often comes under criticism for using Twitter as an automated ‘push’ More...
State of Social Report 2011 by Econsultancy
by Stuart Bruce of Stuart Bruce Associates
Today Econsultancy published its new State of Social Report 2011. It makes interesting reading. Thanks to Econsultancy I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview and was able to provide some comments on its findings. I've published my comments at the end of this report, but if you're responsible for any aspect of social media strategy or management then I'd recommend you head over to the Econsultancy site and buy a copy, it's only £250 or you can join for £295 and get access to all of Econsultancy's reports. More...
The World According to Peter Shankman
by Trevor Young PR Warrior of Parkyoung
One of the better presentations (and there were many) at BlogWorld Los Angeles 2011 was Peter Shankman's keynote. Shankman (below) is best known as the founder of an online service called HARO ('Help A Reporter Out').
He is an absolute showman, but at his heart he’s an entrepreneur who intuitively understands PR and marketing in today’s hyper-connected social age.
Here are some of the tips Shankman dangled in front of the packed BlogWorld crowd.
Everyone talks about having a back-up plan for when you fail. More...
