The Fleishman-Hillard team has again made a monthly selection from the huge amount of digital news. This month’s digital highlights include:
- SXSW: key trends and take aways
- Molblog digs for buzz moles
- Pinterest and The Fancy
- Flawsome brands
Going Beyond: key trends, takeaways, and lessons learned – SXSW
Our American colleagues were of course present at South by Southwest (SXSW) to keep us posted on the newest digital trends and developments. Read their findings on, among other things, ambient social networking and visual storytelling.
DE, KPN, Pon and Randstad involved in comment spam
This month Molblog delved into the phenomenon of ‘buzz moles’. In the first instance it was discovered that Groupon involves students to participate in forums to generate links to Groupon deals. There was even an employee who pretended to be an MS patient on a patients forum. After the publication Groupon apologised and the employee was fired on the spot. Molblog continued delving into the matter and found out that various organizations make use of an agency for search machine marketing which are out to create as many links as possible to a specific webpage by means of ‘buzz moles’ to improve their search results.
DDMA launches Social Media Marketing Code
The arrival of the DDMA’s Social Media Marketing Code is intended to enhance the transparency of social activities by organizations. In short, it must be clear when a message is being distributed in the framework of marketing. This code is derived from the WOMMA and when it is adopted by the Advertising Code Commission it will apply for the entire Dutch business community.
Your friends have norms and values, think before you post
A striking case came to court: an employee of the Blokker store chain had said some pretty insulting things about his boss on his Facebook page. One of his friends reported this to Blokker and the man was immediately fired. The court held that Blokker was in the right. As far as we are concerned, having a social media policy is one thing, but making sure that employees are familiar with it and comply with it is another. Training employees at various levels can help in this respect.
Social
Pinterest primer for PR peeps
A great deal has already been written about the social network Pinterest; see also in the last edition of the digital highlights. Our international colleagues once again explain for everyone how Pinterest works and explain how Pinterest can be used for brand activation.
Pinterest with social e-commerce: the Fancy
Fast grower Pinterest has a lot of female followers. There is something for men too: The Fancy. Contrary to Pinterest the network does not focus so much on making its own moodboards, but everything is put in your stream. The Fancy content is a little different: a lot of gadgets, media, design, scantily dressed women, art and more toys for boys. We like the fact that it is based on a business model. By Fancying certain products, you unlock, for example, special badges which give you a discount on that item. It would appear that The Fancy intends to add a webshop link. Smart social e-commerce!
Social media figures March
Danny Oosterveer of Marketingfacts has taken another in-depth look at the figures for social networks. This time adding user numbers of the social networks Pinterest and Fancy.
Brands
Building brands in the connected world
Facebook had Forrester conduct a sturdy regarding the effect of social media on brands and how best to respond as a marketeer. The old marketing tricks can be thrown overboard and new social strategies must be embraced. Some recommendations: give brands a unique online voice, be relevant and use insights from social channels. Tip: review the document on the changing customer journey.
Flawsome: why brands which show their human side are simply brilliant
Consumers are showing an increasing penchant for brands which are not completely perfect, which dare to admit they got it wrong and are open to criticism. This increases the brand’s credibility. It is important to welcome both positive and negative feedback. This trend letter contains a few good example cases of Marmite and Dominos, among others.
The Conversation Company
Steven van Belleghem presented his book The Conversation Company last month.
This book deals with the large unutilised conversation potential within organisations which are key for business growth. Boost conversations by people, culture and social media. In order to stimulate conversations Steven proposes a process based on ‘The 4 Cs’- Customer Experience, Conversations, Content and Collaboration.
Digital PR
PR Agencies: Adapt or Die
The title alone earns this item a place in the digital highlights. This Forrester article focuses on digital at PR agencies and the need to ensure proper integration.
Interesting that the writer says that primarily search agencies snatch work away from the PR world.
“While search agencies diversify to offer services like press release writing and article generation many PR agencies aren’t even adopting simple keyword targeting strategies to accompany the content they DO create.”
5 key trends supercharging today’s digital PR
An overview of 5 trends influencing the Digital PR scene.
- Beyond the second screen: 24 hours of screens
- Think like PR People. Measure like Mad Men.
- Find your peeps. These are the new influencers.
- The rise of fan women.
- Small teams FTW!
YouTube highlights
“You can find your safety jacket below your seat”
How a creative New Zealand airline manages to get people to watch the eternally boring safety instructions film.
L’Effet Wouaaah avec le soin Q10+ Texture Légère de NIVEA (YouTube)
To round off, a nice Nivea clip from France. Was the scene set or not? The lady in question does look very much like ‘the Nivea lady’. But… it is a cute clip.
