Entries from December 2009 ↓

E-Marketer published a list of 2010 predictions for social media today. Among them, unpaid articles and those generated by word-of-mouth will play a larger role in how public relations and marketing departments measure the value of online campaigns. Until now, metrics have been largely advertising-based, but as public relations moves into the social arena, managers will expect more ways to measure outcomes. You can read the full report at http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007410.

Another prediction is that digital streams of video — such as those found on YouTube, UStream and other user-generated sites — will find an easier path into living rooms and television sets. Personally, I’m making the prediction that the upcoming Apple tablet computer, due out April 2010, will be the  transformational  device to make this connection. I predict tablet computers will be the bridge between streaming video and broadcast television in daily lives, similar to the way iPhone brought the Internet to our pocket.

Since video is going to play an enormous role in the success of 2010 marketing and public relations campaigns, now is the time to begin adding video to your Facebook page or blog.

For best results, limit clips to just 60 to 90 seconds. Make just one key point per video and encourage sharing by using YouTube or UStream.

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Yesterday I guest-posted for Linda VandeVrede Public Relations about 6 Essential Qualifications of a Social Media Manager. What I didn’t get into were some of my thoughts about the future of  public relations, and how I think the field is going to change as a result of social media.

Social media is to corporate reputation management what inbound marketing is to sales. As I wrote in my article for Linda, social media and inbound marketing are not the same thing. Social media can not just be based on exchange relationships alone. It needs to be part of an authentic relationship-building philosophy, providing mutual benefits for all concerned, not just limited (or judged) on sales or lead generation alone.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a leading authority of how organizations manage internal and external relationships. Last month, PRSA held its annual convention in San Diego, and social media was a big topic of conversation. Many sessions provided tutorials on how and why to use Twitter, Facebook and so forth. But most in the audience were just learning.

Meanwhile, a group of social media authorities launched the International Social Media Association, of which I am also a member. There are facets and skills to be earned through ISMA that PRSA can mirror, but never fully duplicate. Similarly, there are corporate research and strategic business connections that ISMA seems to lack. I’m concerned ISMA will only produce tacticians, and PRSA members will not be able to effectively integrate social media into their campaigns.

So, 10 years from now, with PRSA still be relevant? Or will ISMA replace public relations in the corporate world?  Will social media outgrow public relations in the 3.0 world? Will these professions merge? And if so, how?

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Hopefully you noticed I changed the look and feel of my blog today. I do my blog customization myself, so still working on it, but am happy. WordPress is great because it makes it so easy to get the functionality you need. I was able to change the look and feel of my entire Web site in less than 10 minutes!

If you’re like me and have more ideas than time, then you’ll enjoy discovering all the new tools that are available these days to make your life simpler and more productive! For example, today I spent about an hour with the experts at HubSpot, learning about all the automated reporting tools clients can use to measure the effectiveness of their inbound marketing campaigns, and, more importantly, what they can do to make their efforts more productive! I was happy to learn a technique that I’m employing right now … turning a blog post out of something you were doing anyway! That’s how we can do more with less! 

I shudder to remember the days when I had to literally create unique HTML pages by hand (ugh!) every time I wanted to make a  change! Imagine — renaming a tab meant having to go through 20+ pages and rename every link by hand. How archaic!  But I digress.

As I type this I’m listening to Mari Smith’s seminar on how to make FANtastic Fan Pages on Facebook, which I’ll use later this afternoon for a Facebook consultation. (I’m also recording it so I can listen to the things I miss later.)

If you’re interested in HubSpot, let me know because I have access to free 30-day trials. HubSpot is very easy-to-use and helps organizations get up to speed with inbound marketing. Contact me if you’d like to learn more, or follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lkinoshita. I changed my theme there, too!

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I am pleased to announce many exciting new ventures in store for 2010!

First, I have spent the last two months studying about how to make social media work in Hawaii —  specifically for small- and mid-sized businesses. I’ve been furiously researching economic data and have been thinking long and hard about strategies that will effectively blend social media into traditional marketing and communications campaigns.

I’ve also been working with Twitter  to see if that tool makes sense here in the Kailua-Kona area. If you’re not following me on Twitter (@lkinoshita) please do, and let me know how you like my new background!

I’ve also been studying to become accredited in public relations, so I can better work with Honolulu agencies. Since I was investing in “professional development,” I also began learning about HubSpot and became  a member of the International Social Media Association. This has led to work with Hafner Creative Communications to develop an inbound marketing practice for Healthcare Marketing professionals. Tomorrow I will begin consulting with single-owner businesses on how to optimize and work better with Facebook and other social media platforms.

I’m surprised at how much business activity has seemed to pick up over the last several weeks. It’s been making it very hard to stay active with my volunteer work (Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce) or meetup with the Big Island Internet Society. Also, a rotator cuff injury has made working at the computer difficult. But now that I’ve learned to operate the mouse with my left hand, things are improving.  And, Twitter and Facebook have kept me updated with what’s going on.

Also in the news … Aaron Meredith of “All Eyes on Hawaii” is on Maui, and we are working on a Hawaii-based sponsorship for his Walk Across America campaign. If you are are an advertiser looking to reach the under 30 crowd through an active, viral online campaign, please contact me to learn more. We are looking for sponsors.

As I said, there’s lots and lots going on. I’ll be returning to a regular writing schedule now that my shoulder is better and share with you some of the things that keep me wondering, thinking and imagining at night. By the way, I made a decision to improve the editorial focus of this blog, which will mean more articles about corporate communications, and fewer business profiles. I will be merging this site with my other site at www.laura-kinoshita.com and will change the WordPress theme to something more RSS-reader friendly. Over the next few days, visitors to newsblotter.org will be automatically directed to the new location.

In the near future I will write about what I’ve learned, including how to navigate the waters of a joint venture, identify and obtain the help you need and better position your business for success. It’s turning out to be quite an exciting holiday season, and I look forward to sharing this adventure with you!

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