For the past four months, I have been training for my second half-marathon. Through the wintry months when it felt like I was bordering frostbite to the warm weather this spring, I’ve been increasing my mileage week over week in order to build up my endurance and condition my body to run 13.1 miles. During each run, I try to envision myself crossing the finish line. I constantly try to keep the end result in mind and recognize that all these small runs will ultimately help me improve my stamina and accomplish my goal.

Good public relations professionals know the importance of keeping the end goal in mind. How do the hours spent finalizing a press release or crafting the perfect pitch ultimately help the client reach their goals and support their mission? It’s important to understand how each individual tactic will contribute to the client’s desired results. Following are some tips to keep in mind:
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After a recent trip to Walt Disney World with friends, my childhood love for princess dresses and romance came rushing back to me. Though many of these films are older than I am (I’m only 22!), the lessons we can learn from them are timeless.

As someone who leverages social media on behalf of my company and clients, I have been able to take a few lessons from Disney and apply them as best practices for a successful social presence and strategy.

1. Always be prompt. Social media posts should always be timely and relevant. If you are late posting important news, you will seem both disconnected and uninteresting to your audience.
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At one time or another you’ve met someone that you instantly liked. You laughed at what they said, agreed with their opinions and were eager to see them again. And no, it wasn’t a date. It was a conversation where you just clicked with the other person. That person had charisma, and most likely, you aren’t the first person they made that type of connection with.

Great leaders often have that same penchant for connecting with another person. And because of this, they’re quite successful. But how can this observation help you and your company? Assuming your company is engaging in social media, you actually have the opportunity to be charismatic in each and every conversation. Virtually.

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Facebook released its financial results for the third quarter. Some of the most interesting observations are:

• Facebook Q3 bested Wall Street expectations with $1.26 billion revenue in Q3.
• Facebook has reached a gargantuan number of 1.01 billion monthly active users as of end of September 2012. This is an increase of 26% year-over-year.
• Facebook’s revenue from advertising was $1.09 billion. This represents 86% of total revenue and a 36% increase from Q3 in 2011.
• The biggest thing that stood out in Facebook’s Q3 results is the shift of the world’s largest social network to mobile. A total of 604 million mobile monthly active users were reached at the end of September, which is almost 60% of the monthly active users and marks a fantastic 61% increase year-over-year. Moreover, 14% of Facebook’s generated advertising revenue now comes from mobile.

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In August, Inc. magazine published an article titled “11 Reasons a 23-Year-Old Shouldn’t Run Your Social Media,” and I took serious offense to it. Firstly because, while I may look young, it was a reminder that I’m not the 23-year-old newbie being referred to anymore (ugh!) and secondly, as a supporter of the young workforce, I truly think the most recent set of college grads are the employees with the best handle on social media and all its capabilities. So then why shouldn’t we let the young 20- something with a Facebook page, an Instagram profile, a plethora of Pinterest boards, two Twitter accounts (one for work and one for personal use) and an active blog on, say, “tips and tricks for city living on a budget” (I’m sure there’s someone that fits this profile) run a client’s social media campaign? They’re clearly an expert on how to do it all, but as Inc. explains, a social media expert needs to be versed in much more than just social platforms. Read on …

http://www.inc.com/social-media-dont-put-intern-in-charge.html

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Your brand’s social actions are just as important as its social content. Now don’t get me wrong, content is a driving force behind a successful social media campaign. But there is a lot to be said about a brand’s social interactions in addition to the information that it proactively publishes.

User interactions

Does your company have a protocol for how to respond to negative user comments on your brand’s social media pages? How about positive posts? If your answer is yes, then you’re off to a good start. If your answer is no, then we have a little bit of work to do. The point of having a social media campaign is to have SOCIAL interaction with other users. So when users like your Facebook content or Retweet certain Twitter Tweets, there should be some additional form of followup. It could be as simple as a thank you; or perhaps a Retweet of their content. Conversely, if your brand receives negative comments or an influx of customer service queries, these comments should be addressed publicly in order for others to know that your brand is hearing their demands and is there to provide support. (continue reading…)

What makes a good conversationalist? I’ll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with how well a person can deliver a punch line or how well read they are.

A good listener makes the best conversationalist. That’s right, more important than witty banter or animated storytelling is the art of listening. Think about the last truly good conversation you had. There was an open exchange of dialogue, your points or arguments were thoroughly considered before you received a response, it felt like you were really being heard and that what you had to say mattered and it left you eager to speak with that person again.

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On May 16th, The Wall Street Journal reported that General Motors would stop advertising on Facebook since the auto maker felt that advertising didn’t have a major impact on auto purchases. GM’s CMO Joel Ewanick said that “GM is definitely reassessing our advertising on Facebook, although the content is effective and important.”

In a meeting during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June, Mr. Ewanick and Facebook’s Head of Sales Carolyn Everson discussed that Facebook would be willing to provide GM with better data on how its ads could be more effective at producing auto sales, but GM said that it would only return to Facebook advertising if Facebook could better prove the effectiveness of its advertising. (continue reading…)

Social media pages serve as a vital component of the marketing and communications mix for companies. They allow organizations to disseminate company news and deliver exclusive offers and can also serve as a method of customer service. While these are all positive examples of how corporate social media can support a company’s initiatives, there are negative issues that can arise within social networks.

Social media gives a voice to the masses that was once only reserved for the traditional media. With that said, social media now provides an opportunity for the masses to express their individual opinions toward organizations, whether positive or negative in nature. It’s also worthwhile to point out that individuals are more willing to offer negative opinions versus unsolicited positive praise. The key to remember is that not everyone in the world is going to like a company – Google, Apple and Facebook are three of the most popular U.S. companies and they each have sizeable detractors – and negative comments and posts are going to happen; but it’s how a company handles these posts that can make or break a brand. (continue reading…)

The impact of the web and social media on the delivery of “news”

More and more, I find myself watching television newscasts and thinking, “This is old news.” As a smartphone user and an admitted social media junkie, I follow a select group of prominent news media outlets via Twitter. I regularly check my Twitter feed each day – most often in the evening – so by the time I’m watching the 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. news (or the morning news programs the following day), the vast majority of the stories are “old news” to me – even many of the human interest pieces.

With the delivery of news in real time via the web and social media platforms to our tablets and smartphones, I wonder:  are TV news broadcasts and newspapers becoming obsolete? Think about how revolutionary CNN was to the delivery of news back in 1980; it was the first and only channel dedicated to round-the-clock news coverage. Similarly, the web/social media and the widespread adoption of tablets and smartphones have revolutionized the way we receive news and gather information. (continue reading…)