The media circus that accompanies every election is already gathering pace with much posturing from all parties, not to mention an acceleration of ‘PR spin’ – a much used and misused phrase which does little to reflect the real day-to-day work of the public relations industry or, indeed, to enhance its image.  But, I digress – for the first time, the election will see a new, untried communications channel enter the political arena with the plethora of social media networks spawned since the last election in 2005.

Back then, Facebook and MySpace were just for techies and geeks, while Twitter and LinkedIn  hadn’t even been launched!  The digital landscape has changed beyond recognition in the last four years.  Social media networks are now mainstream communications tools and the ability to use them effectively a la Obama, could prove crucial in the UK too.  For example, the recent announcement by The Sun that it would be supporting the Conservative Party was greeted with generalindifference – the national press simply do not wield the power they once did.

There is no doubt that the battle to dominate the blogosphere has already begun, however, the British political parties have a long way to go to approach anything-like the sophistication of the Presidential social media machine.   At the recent CIPR Northern Conference , keynote speaker and blogger Alistair Campbell said that he had emailed Peter Mandelson during the recent party conference to tell him that he was ‘trending on Twitter’ – Mandelson’s response was a large question mark! 

The power of the Twitter phenomenon can be tracked as it evolved from a channel which reported the news in the style of traditional media, into a medium which was breaking world news stories in real time – its role in the Mumbai siege of 2008 marked a turning point in its role and influence.  Since then, its popularity has burgeoned  as it has played host to the world’s largest ‘popularity contest’ with various celebrities vying with the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres and Britney Spears for the No1 spot.

While all of the parties are paying lip service to embracing social media, are any of them actually harnessing its powers?  A quick visit to Twitterholic showed the following interesting stats in our political leaders’ beauty parade:

Gordon Brown ranked 83,381th with 608 followers (March 2009); David Cameron ranked 39,527th with 1,277 followers (Feb 2009); and Nick Clegg ranked 886,320tghwith 24 followers (April 2009)

To put this into context, Barrack Obama is currently running a few places ahead of Oprah Winfrey at No. 6 with 2,612,615 followers!

There is no doubt that the power of social media is moving up the political agenda – who would have believed back in 2005 that the prime minister would use YouTube to address the nation?  Although whether or not this was a wise choice is debatable.

Personally, I feel that the growth of social media is a positive move for the humble voter.  Not only do immediate news channels like Twitter increase transparency, they also give individuals greater influence.  Apparently, PR agency Fishburn Hedges worked with Channel 4 News to use Twitter to extend public participation during the recent round of party conferences.  Their ‘twitter fringe’ or ‘Twinge’ initiative aimed to change the traditional fringe meeting by using the network to encourage wider audience discussion from people outside the meeting.  In this way, social networks are able to act as a conduit for public opinion and discussion which can only be a positive development for the democratic process.

Top 10 Political Blogs

As well as the main parties’ blogs (Labour List, ConservativeHome and LibDem Voice), the following are some of the most useful for would-be pundits:

Iain Dale

Political Betting

Guido Fawkes

London Reconnections

UK Polling Report

John Prescott

Matthew Taylor

Alastair Campbell

Nick Robinson

Paul Waugh

Still, it was an impressive and fundamental breakthrough which paved the way for our now passionate love affair with the internet. A small click for some very clever scientists, a giant plug-in for mankind.

In a relatively short space of time, this beloved piece of technology has wildly altered the way in which we live our lives. Could anyone now cope without it? Go back to relying entirely on posted correspondence, doing research in libraries, ditching our ipods for Discmans and buying our CDs from the spotty teenager at Our Price record store? How did we communicate, nurture friendships, sell, buy, do business? Can anyone actually remember?

I recently found myself living without internet access for a few weeks and had to navigate through what can only be described as a grieving process. Like a break-up. It surprised me just how often I would sit up to go and switch on my computer, hoping to find the answer to a question I’d dreamt up, plan trips I needed to make or search for those shoes I couldn’t find on the high street, before realising that that resource was not available to me.

I felt anxious that I couldn’t get to the hallowed shores of Facebook or the comfort of Hotmail, and frustrated when I needed a phone number right that minute for that restaurant I couldn’t remember the name of. It was like leaving the house without my wallet or mobile phone.

Had I really become so pathetically dependent on it? Or did I just have to accept that I, along with our society, am now simply unable to function as efficiently without it?

I’m glad to report that we’re now back together and very happy we are too. Once again I really do have the world at my fingertips and I can’t imagine it any other way. My social life is enhanced by it. My work depends on it. I can research everything I need to know (almost!) in a few hours, catch up with business news and journalists in an instant and promote my clients to audiences it may otherwise miss.

Indeed, social media mechanisms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have evolved beyond the realm of personal networking to become a fundamental part of our PR campaigns. Communicating through these channels allows businesses to reach out to previously untapped audiences, building profiles and sharing information, whilst keeping track of what others are doing and what tricks they’re missing.

The momentum they have gained is incredible and they are now justifiably seen as key business tools – social media really is the future and has a legitimate place in all communications campaigns in one way or another. It seems like everyone is exploiting it and it’s therefore important for businesses to recognise the opportunities it brings and incorporate social media into marketing strategy.

PR results can be hugely enhanced through digital media, allowing for effective corporate positioning, endorsement and news profiling, reinforcing a brand and building a personality behind it. It’s something that Appeal is taking seriously and we’re committed to meeting this revolution head-on to offer best value for clients. Embrace it and reap the benefits. We can help show you how.

So, the last 40 years has seen the internet evolve into a vast universe of knowledge and opportunity. It has changed the way we work forever, bringing us closer to our customers, helping us to operate and sell harder, faster, better. And this is only the beginning. If life begins at 40 then I, for one, am looking forward to what lies ahead.

Interested? Here are a few Appeal hints, tips and opinions to help you get into the swing of social marketing.

The benefits of Twitter

Making the most of LinkedIn

Facebook – Employers’ friend or foe?

So what is LinkedIn all about and what can it do for you?  The best description I’ve come across is that it’s a social networking site for grownups.  Unlike MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, it has been specifically developed for business people; its user profile is professionals aged between 25 and 65.  The premiss of the site is that there is no stronger recommendation than word of mouth (if you think about it, this is also the basis of PR – people put their trust in companies they hear others talk about, whether in person or in the media). 

Everyone inadvertently creates a network of contacts through their work and personal lives, but more importantly, these contacts have their own bank of contacts, whom you might not otherwise be able to access.  The idea is that everyone can benefit from the power of personal recommendations.  The ‘connectivity’ that is generated by being part of a group, even through remote connections, is a great way to open doors.

Perhaps because of the more mature age profile of users, LinkedIn has taken a little longer to really catch on – we 40 somethings are not natural early adopters of technology!  However, the argument is that once hooked, this market is likely to remain more loyal than the fickle younger audience.  Some business people (particularly recruiters) are using LinkedIn as their main marketing tool; and there is no doubt that it can deliver significant benefits, especially for those in the B2B sector.  It can be used to find new customers, jobs, suppliers or employees; as well as building brand and reputation, picking up trends in the market place and sharing industry information. 

But how can you optimise LinkedIn for your particular business and personal goals?  Here are a few useful tips to get you started, many of which I picked up at an excellent seminar I recently attended about LinkedIn.

1.  As with traditional networking, the usual principles apply – openness, transparency and honesty are essential.  Users should remember ‘the golden triangle’ of giving, asking and thanking

2.  Like any marketing activity, the starting point is to develop a clear strategy:

• Why are you joining LinkedIn? (long term goal)
• What specifically do you want to gain? (medium term)
• Who can help you – what types of organisations/positions do you need to target; and how are you going to go about it? (short term)

3.  Once you have answered these questions, you need to devote some time to creating the best possible LinkedIn profile – it should reflect your ‘personal brand’; think about the image you will convey from the information you provide and the way it is presented

Creating a profile

• Be creative, passionate, humorous, explain what you can deliver
• Have a professional headline
• It’s important to include a business-like photo
• Give as much information as possible in your profile to increase your profile rating (aim for 100%); LinkedIn can really increase your Google rating
• If you see ‘LION’ after a name, it stands for Linked In Open Networker  ie someone who is open to anyone joining their network; opinion is mixed about whether or not this is a good thing, but it does make it easier to build a substantial network quickly
• The summary should explain what you can deliver eg enhanced media profile to increase sales
• Make copy concise; break up with bullet points; write in the first person (needs to feel personal)
• Specialities: think about what terms people may be searching for and include a number of titles eg PR consultant; PR professional; public relations consultant; media relations specialist etc
• It’s important to include interests to make the profile more personal, but make sure they do not conflict with the personal brand you are trying to convey
• Recommendations are very important – aim to receive up to 20 and make sure you also give some!

Once you’ve done all that (and it really isn’t as onerous as it sounds), go through your address book and link up with as many contacts as possible.  It’s worth investing some time if you really want to maximise the opportunities offered by LinkedIn – a well-presented, informative profile and a strong network of first connections is a good start.

Other tips

• Include links to your website and blog (put URL, including http://, on all your message replies to make it easy for people to link through; again it will really help your company’s Google ratings)
• Ask and answer questions; start discussions
• Don’t use the status bar very often (no more than once a week) and only when you have something important to say eg new event.   Do not use for trivia as you would Twitter as your LinkedIn messages will be sent to all of your network and too many can be irritating
• Join relevant groups eg old school/university.  This connectivity increases the likelihood of someone choosing to do business with you
• Look for groups that will link you with your target audience eg businesses in a particular region or sector

LinkedIn is only the first step to establishing a relationship; the idea isn’t to do a hard sell, but rather to share contacts and information for mutual benefit.  It has huge potential for any organisation – a head hunter I know has built up more than 2,500 first connections, giving her a third level network of over five million people!  Now that’s an audience that most businesses could benefit from in one way or another…

LinkedIn

I’ve never been an advocate of using complex terminology, technical speak and marketing buzz words during my career in PR, and have always found that a straight forward and direct approach to business suited me just fine.

But that’s become more difficult as we have all embraced the myriad of new digital and social media over the past year or so that has brought a whole new language straight into mainstream culture.

I have been an avid ‘Facebooker’ for some time, having family spread across the world meant that was the best way to stay involved with people I know everywhere – it made sense for me.

Linkedin has crept through the PR industry and other professional services – especially recruitment – with an undeniable momentum. Last year we started using Facebook fan sites for clients who had ‘follower’ customers – restaurants, bars, websites and hotels particularly see the benefit.

Then came ‘Tweeting’ – and more than ever we have been drawn towards the world of blogging and social media as devices that are relevant for communicating with new publics, and not just for clients targeting ‘Yoof’ groups and geeks.

We have reached the point where social media PR is now relevant to every client, whether B2B or consumer to some degree or other. As an agency we aim to bring our trademark no bull approach to this exciting new opportunity.

Our challenges now are to filter the most relevant media devices for each campaign and client, to explain their relevance and implement them efficiently. That means getting to the bottom of every piece of jargon, every new trend and every facet of social media. If people can understand how this will benefit their business, they will use social media and benefit from it.

As a starting point, I found Darren Rowse A to Z useful.

We are already working with our clients to take the most relevant aspects of the social media mix for their businesses, and sew them together with traditional PR and media relations into a package that makes sense and delivers value.

Our use of digital media can amplify traditional PR results – media coverage – with very little additional effort, and funnel the benefits – sales and enquiries more directly to client businesses.

Just like media relations, this isn’t rocket science, but the devil is most certainly in the detail. We know some very clever specialists and we are learning from them and using the best expertise. Most of our clients want to get the most ‘bang for their buck’ – and by making social marketing relevant for their business – we can deliver that.

The social media and digital revolution is the biggest opportunity to get value for money profile in decades, and we hope to share some of our experiences of making social media relevant to all manner of business, tell you more about what the Appeal team are up to, and hopefully get your views too…