YOUTUBE

I decided to blog about youtube this week as I saw an advertisement for 3G network on it last night. this clip went viral and has a few hundred thousand views and all this came from just on view on television. Youtube helped this video to go viral so that the rest of the world got to see it. if you haven't caught a glimpse of it yet here is the link.

But youtube isn't just used for watching funny videos or catching up on some adds you missed on tele last night.
Youtube can be used for posting up video presentations for those who might not have been able to attend the meeting you can record and place the video on youtube and they can be viewed by the people who are authorized to see the content. Training videos can be made on youtube to show your employees how something is worked ie how to set up a facebook account.
these are a few ideas that you can use in your business to help those busy schedules and to get things done faster.

Social Sites

Posting pictures has become a new trend in social media there are so many new sites popping up all over the place, instagram, Pinterest and pheed to name a few.

These are new ways to interact with your customers you can post up pictures of your business and if you have a product you can put up pictures of your new products. this can help with your marketing strategy and can really help to get your brand out there. On most of these sites you can also comment to your customers so it is also letting you talk to your customers and potential customers.

i know some people may ask the question how can these help with my business  But really it can, people TALK I've been on these sites and I've seen for example people posting up pictures of their dinner that they cooked and in it they said thanks to my George foreman, now this is advertising the George foreman and someone has recomened the use of a George foreman when cooking  there is nothing more powerful than word of mouth.

                         


In my next blog I'm going to talk about youtube and your business.

Smart Phones

Everyone has a phone these days and its hard to think how could my phone help make my job easier?? But the convenience of them can!!
Smart phones are the most popular phones in the market, these being Apple, Android, Blackberry , Windows and Galaxy and HTC just to name a few.
They have become a huge importance in our life’s, we can now access our social network accounts and keep our blogs up to date on the go. They can also send and receive emails quick and easy which gives you much more time in your day instead of logging onto a computer. Its basically a  personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone in one. No longer are we restrained to sitting by a computer waiting for a reply of an email to come in we now can get it straight to your mobile phone and it also allows you to send emails, this saves you so much time and helps you to do your job better. You can also video conference on tho go which can be convenient if you are a busy body.
the only problem with these smart phones is the battery in most of them is terrible, so keep your charger near you at all times just incase!!! 
     

Video Conferencing

Video Conferencing can be very useful in your business . Video conferencing allows one ore more people to interact with each other through telecommunication technologies. The quality of these calls are based on your internet connection, web cam, microphone and speaker.

They are handy in a business as if someone was unable to attend a meeting they could still have their input through a video conferencing call. It also saves time and money if some individuals lived a great distance away. It also allows you to have meeting on the go, if there was a PR crisis in your business and ye needed a meeting ASAP then its possible to have a conference call within minutes it can be accessed on computer and phone so it very convenient. 

                                               

If you were interested in a client over seas you can now broaden your horizons and have them as they can contact you through video chat. You now don't have to focus on employees that are only in your area and within driving distance now you can look for people throughout the world that you feel could have an impact on your business.

In my next blog il be talking about something as simple as a smart phone and how it helps us do our job quicker and more efficiently. 

social media strategy

A social media strategy is important to have in your business. As social media is over packed with different tools, toys and tactics you need to set up a social media strategy so that you don’t get distracted and lost. Here is a step by step basic guide on how to develop your very own media strategy............

                                                 

Developing A Social Media Strategy For Your Business:

• -          Set your goals and objectives
• -          Decide on your metrics
• -          You must recognise your audience and create some persona’s
• -          Based on your audience and your personas chose the right media platform that is suitable to your company.
• -          Gather your resources and determine the roles within your company.
• -          And most importantly create your content. The kind of content you decide is based on your goals.                                   

    

In my next blog I'm going to look at video conferencing and how it can be useful in your business.

Commun.it

Another useful tool in the market that i think every business should look into is commun it.

 Commun-it can be used to build relationships with potential customers and supporters through twitter.

This free service allows you to keep track and recognize your most valuable customers and interactions, which then rolls the collected data into and action driven dashboard. This dash board then lets you see who to reply to and who to thank.

Commun-it also allows you to count up your interactions between yourself and tweeters and it lets you know whether or not you are following them.

This is a very useful tool to have in your business as it allows you to contact the right customers that are interested in your product or service.

                                          

In my next blog I'm going to talk about the importance of having a social media strategy and how to develop one.

buffer tool

 

So today I'm going to look at another new tool in the market called Buffer. Linked with such sites as Twitter,  Facebook and Linkedin Buffer os a tool that allows you to schedule your tweets ahead of time so that you site is always been updated and active. It is very important to keep your site active as it keeps your audiences interested and informed about your business or service. This is a great tool to have in your   business as it allows you to have your post set up in time and they will send when you want them to , this saves you time as it is not necessary to go on each page and post comments everyday.

                                                          

new tools in social media

By the introduction of new tools in the market it is helping us as PR professionals find the right customers that are needed to be targeted in the market and in turn saving you time. There are many new tools that can be used in your business to help you cut time and find useful statistics for your business.

I'm going to talk about a few of these tools in some of the blogs to follow but today I'm going to talk about   Unlock to Share.          

                           

Unlock to Share is a simple plug-in that when people visit your page they are encouraged to share you page on their social network site such as Twitter or Facebook before they can continue to the content of you page.

This gives you more likes on Facebook and in return makes your business more visable; through sharing your link through twitter you become more visible to potential customers.

This new amazing technology can really help get the traffic on your page high so that you come in near the top on a google search of your business, which makes you easier to find.

 In my next blog I'm going to look at Commun.it a new tool in the market.

Twitter in your business

Along with Facebook twitter is also one of the biggest social media sites at the moment. Twitter allows you to contact and create a personal relationship with your customers. You can also create an amazing customer service system with twitter, an example of this would be 02 thy have an amazing customer service, I gave out about their network one day on my own personal twitter and with in 5minutes I got a reply from them asking could they help me with anything. I thought this was he most amazing customer service that I have ever received and they helped me with my problem over the Internet and in turn I didn't end up leaving their network. This just shows the power that a social networking site can have on a business.
In my next blog il be talking about all the new tools that have recently come out to help you run your social networking sites

Facebook and your business

Face book is one of the biggest social media platforms at the moment and Facebook is a must have in business these days. It helps you to interact with your customers and also to gain new potential customers. It's free and easy to use which is always a bonus.
You can post information about your business and show them the services thy you have to offer, it makes it easier for the customer to get back to you through a social networking site and if used correctly you can create an amazing customer care service If you get back to customers posts quickly!!
I would recommend any business person reading this to go and sign up for a Facebook page for their business if they don't already have one!
In my next blog I will be talking about the use of twitter to a business.

Evolution of social platforms

Top social media platforms must be used for the target audience by business and be a useful place for the brands to get the opportunity to connect with their consumers and journalists. Mass social platforms such as Facebook , Linkedn and twitter on some level will be important , but in the future networks that are specific in an industry will become more important. The more important platforms for PR professionals in the future will be more focused towards their clients.

Facebook, twitter and other sites similar can be fun and getting down into sites that are industry-specific are far less fun, as a PR professional you need to understand your clients, services their business models, technologies and more. Its really about PR professionals becoming better and more useful and up to date PR professionals and them understanding their clients and their business, social networks aren't the be all and end all and they don't fit every business.

Social platforms will continue to grow but a PR's job will remain the same, but the PR industry is moving 

 from broadcasting to highly valuing monitoring and measurement..

Social platforms are growing due to demand , they help journalists and PR professionals to keep in contact with each other.

My next blog is going to choose a social network and explain their values and uses and how i feel its impacting our job as PR's.

Social Networking & PR

Social networks are becoming huge in our everyday life. Some people cant go to the toilet with out tweeting  or go to the shop with out tagging it on Facebook...crazy i know, but i have to admit I'm one of them, i don't know what I did when I didn't have a twitter I mean twitter is like online counselling  you go on and tell everyone your problems.

But that's enough on how I get out my problems, on to the importance of it in Media & PR. As a current student in IT Carlow studying Media & PR I've seen how much of an impact social networks have on PR. 

The traditional Press releases are slowly diminishing over time and the new so called "Social Media Releases" are taking over.  Sites like Pitch engine and mind touch are moving Public relations into this century allowing professionals to post their releases online. It might take a few years for social media to take over completely put its slowly working its way in, press releases are not dying out their just being updated... its about time!! Keep an eye out for my next blog where il be talking about the evolution of social platforms.