Just a few short years ago, the effectiveness of a company’s web presence was dictated solely by the strength and prevalence of its website. But as companies across the globe have begun embracing social media, an interesting phenomenon has occurred over the past year. In some cases, company Facebook fan pages have received more unique visitors than the company’s corporate website counterpart. See the specific example from a Webtrends whitepaper titled, “The Effect of Social Networks and the Mobile Web on Website Traffic and the Inevitable Rise of Facebook Commerce”:

[Webtrends] analyzed the website traffic of Fortune 100 websites based on ‘unique visits.’ The study revealed that 68% of the top 100 companies were experiencing a negative growth in unique visits over the past year, with an average drop of 23%.

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Today’s rapidly shifting marketing and media landscape means that client and agency professionals must be more integrated than ever before. We can no longer think of ourselves as marketing managers, account managers, media planners, art directors, copywriters or research managers.  We are all buyers, sellers and enablers of media and must work together to achieve a successful campaign. 

Here is what I have recently witnessed within the industry. The lines between public relations and social media are blurring. Account managers need to be well-versed in analyzing technical data, interpreting those results and translating those results into strategic recommendations. Media professionals need to understand the brand strategy and all of the media options available today including social, online and mobile campaigns as well as established channels like broadcast and print. Likewise, creative and production teams are learning new technology and software programs in order to keep pace as well as how to translate TV or print concepts to online and mobile. And everyone needs to have in-depth expertise within a client’s business.

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Communications and media as we know them are evolving at a rapid pace. The manner in which we communicate and what is considered “media” is ever-changing. I remember public relations in the era of blast fax distribution and the pre-World Wide Web era. I realize that I’m dating myself by making these statements, but the fact remains:  those of us in public relations are ever-challenged to keep abreast of “new” media and to discover ways in which to use it to our – and our employers’/clients’ – best advantage.

Take social media, for example. Consumers are increasingly relying upon social media for their information – going to a company’s Facebook page, for example, before visiting a company’s website. And consumers demonstrate their brand preferences (and loyalty) by following and liking their brands of choice on Twitter and Facebook. In fact, a recent Nielsen report states that 53% of active online adult social networkers follow a brand, that social networking and blogging now account for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet and that Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other U.S. website. Pretty compelling statistics…and pretty valid reasons why public relations professionals need to include social media as part of their overall communications tactics.

Naysayers may dismiss these statistics, but I recall a similar conversation about the World Wide Web nearly 20 years ago. Enough said.

But beyond B2C communications lies the evolution of “media.” Media is ever-increasingly an online vehicle as printed media – printed news media, most especially – fades away. Writers and editors rely on social media platforms to magnify their voice and reach in the hope that it will (1) increase their reach and (2) drive traffic back to their articles/website, thereby increasing their readership and the value of their advertising.

Even what we consider “media” sometimes comes into question: are bloggers considered media, for example? In my opinion, creating online content does not a member of the media make; however, those with the forum and the voice may not be afraid to use it. So we as public relations professionals must manage these relationships just as we must consider social media platforms as media relations tools – platforms for engaging with the media and platforms for communicating with our various publics.

Does your company need assistance navigating the evolving world of social media? Do you have the tools necessary to harness the power of social media in order to communicate your messaging in a cohesive and an articulate manner? Domus does! Put our expertise in public relations and social media to work for you. Visit www.domusinc.com today and be an active part of the conversation that’s taking place in the world of social media.

For more on this topic, see “Public Relations in a Social World” posted on COMPREHENSION – PRSA’s blog: http://comprehension.prsa.org/?p=3557.

Amy Whilldin is an Account Director at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

One of the best ways to measure a company’s Twitter presence is to take an inventory of its followers. With that being said, companies and individuals put an extraordinary emphasis on obtaining as many followers as possible, and with good reason. It may seem like a popularity contest, but more followers means that more people are seeing the messaging of that company or individual and ultimately raising the visibility of that brand or person.

It’s so important that some people will do anything they can to increase their followers. But there is a right and wrong way to attract followers. Politicians have taken to Twitter to spread their campaign messages (some have ulterior motives, but we won’t name names in this blog). In the early stages of the GOP nomination process, Newt Gingrich boasted that he had 1,325,842 followers, whereas Mitt Romney and Michele Bachman have not even cracked the 100,000 mark. However, it was later learned that more than 80 percent of Gingrich’s followers were dummy accounts and were obtained by an agency that is paid to bolster Twitter followers for a fee http://gawker.com/5826645. As you can see, this is the wrong way to attract Twitter followers.

There are numerous ways to legitimately increase followers. Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg.com, discusses 10 ways to increase followers in the following TechCrunch article: http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/25/kevin-rose-10-ways-to-increase-your-twitter-followers/. Here is one excerpt that specifically caught my eye:

“Start a contest. @jasoncalacanis offered a free macbook air if he reached the #1 most followed spot. That never happened, but Jason added thousands of followers…brilliant.”

Domus has developed and implemented numerous Twitter contests for its clients. A recent Dacor contest included various product giveaways and successfully increased the company’s followers from under 700 to 3,366.

The most important aspect of attracting followers is that a company’s Tweets should fulfill some need. Dacor’s Twitter feed is populated by useful information regarding the company’s products, money-saving deals, recipes and the occasional contest/giveaway. Contact Domus to learn more about our Twitter strategies and how we can help your company.

Greg Smore is a Senior Account Manager at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Sentiment Analysis is the hot new buzz phrase in the world of internet marketing metrics.  With the rise of social media importance in marketers’ lives, it naturally follows suit that we want to measure whether people are talking favorably or unfavorably about our brands.  And, when the number of social media conversations grows beyond the ability of simple manual tracking, we look for automated capabilities.

The problem, though, is that today the state of the art of social media sentiment analysis is not technologically advanced enough to provide reliably meaningful information.  Manual analysis is often still required if we want to ensure the accuracy of the result.  At a minimum, automated statistics need to be periodically spot-checked to determine how valid they are.

As an example, let’s look at a recent analysis of tweets for a major brand from one of the sentiment analysis engines out there. (I won’t mention which engine so as not to unfairly target one over the others.)  The below chart shows the first 23 tweets analyzed for “Pepsi”.  Those on the left (shaded green) were determined to have positive sentiment and those on the right (shaded red) were determined to be negative.  Next to each is an extra block with a manual determination of the same tweet.  Green blocks mean the tweet was manually determined to be positive and red negative. (Although some tweets could also be considered neutral, we kept it simpler – just positive or negative.)

The result?  Out of the first 23 tweets returned from the engine, 14 of them (60%) were deemed to be coded incorrectly!  In fact, the automated analysis translates to an overall slightly negative sentiment (.43), when in fact the manual analysis showed an overall strong positive sentiment (.78).

Also note that for our analysis, we used a brand name (“Pepsi”) that is relatively easily identifiable by automated systems.  But, had we chosen another common brand such as “Coke”, our original problems would have been compounded further.  In addition to the same incorrect sentiment classifications, we have two more problems.

• The system will incorrectly include in its analysis tweets that use the same word but not intended to refer to the brand. For example, many tweets about “coke” refer to the drug. (And of course we have to take into account all of the tweets by those in the coal and steel industries referring to “coke” as the result of processing bituminous coal. They’re always skewing our numbers!)
• The system also fails (except with a second pass) to include tweets that use other forms of the brand name – in this case, the more formal “Coca Cola”. (Pepsi is lucky in that both its shortened and full names both contain the word “Pepsi” so internet searches and analyses are easier.)

Does this mean that automated sentiment analysis should be avoided?  Not necessarily, but it does mean that they need to be regularly spot-checked by actual people until they are more consistently reliable.

Domus is a leading edge internet marketing agency that brings its full range of classic marketing expertise to its hi-tech digital capabilities. For more information on how Domus can help you accurately analyze your internet presence and develop effective strategies to further your brand, visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

Yesterday Twitter announced on its blog a new feature, “Fast Follow”. This allows people in the US to receive tweets on their phones even if they have not signed up for Twitter. It’s sort of a teaser to get people hooked on Twitter so they’ll eventually sign up.

How many people are interested in getting tweets (as SMS txt messages) from their favorite vendor or brand, but have been reluctant because of the requirement to sign up with Twitter? There might well be quite a few, which means that tweeters will start seeing more followers soon.

Domus is an innovative marketing communications firm that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and classic marketing principles into effective marketing campaigns. For more information visit us at Domus, Inc. and Domus Digital.

Yesterday our blog post was titled, ” Dell and its Twitter Sales.” As a follow-up, it’s interesting to look at Apple. They have virtually no corporate-imposed social media presence. They don’t Tweet, they have a minimal presence on Facebook, they don’t make great efforts to engage with their customers online. On the other hand, they spend a lot of money on traditional advertising. They buy up significant television commercial time (Mac vs. PC ads, iTunes ads, iPod ads), they buy billboard space, they buy glossy magazine ads, etc.

Yet, can anyone doubt that Apple is a successful company? Can anyone doubt that they are in touch with what the consumer wants in this digital age?

Does this mean that new media does not work? Absolutely not. It’s a reaffirmation, though, that what matters most isn’t as much the media as the brand itself. Media is the vehicle for spreading a message, but if a company does not truly have an impactful message emanating out of an inspiring brand position, the distribution of that message does not have much impact.

And an inspiring brand position can’t just be some slogan made up by a group of people in a room. It has to be part of the heart and soul of the company – starting with the person at the top and including everyone below. It has to be evident in the product, in the culture, in the service. Everyone knows that Steve Jobs created and continues to inspire creation of innovative, high quality products that enhance consumers’ computing and multimedia experiences.

With an inspiring brand position solidly in place, a company can distribute their message effectively in many ways, including new media. But without one, a company might be best off by first figuring out how they can truly stand for something meaningful to their potential customers.

Domus is a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. We help companies build inspiring brand platforms and then develop and execute effective communications programs, including advertising, public relations, internet presence management, social media marketing, and others. For more information, please visit our web site at http://www.domusinc.com.

How enamored we are with social media sites like Twitter? Yesterday, the news was filled with story after story of how Dell sold $6.5 million using its Twitter accounts. (E.g., see Dell Sells $6.5 million via Twitter.) Story after story reported this as if it were a major achievement, proof that new media was where business ought to be. (Manish Mehta, Dell’s VP of Social Media and Community, even wrote an article titled, “Isn’t the Value of Social Media What Business Is All About?”.)

Very few sites, though, have have stepped back and looked at Dell’s actions from a broader perspective. One blog, digitalseachange.blogspot.com, did post an analysis showing that Dell probably lost close to $3 for each dollar of profit from the $6.5 million in revenue it received. But, otherwise, no one looked at Dell’s overall strategy and results.

The fact is, as Dell has been increasing its Twitter sales, its overall sales have declined. (See Dell Shares Slump on Fears of Being Left Behind in PC Market or Dell Disappoints on 3Q Sales and Profits.) At the same time, its major competitors, HP, Acer, Lenovo, and Apple (although Apple is not as direct a competitor) are all showing upticks in their sales. In fact, Acer just passed Dell to become the second largest PC maker in the world (Acer Surpasses Dell To Take Second Spot in PC Sales).

My point is that, as marketers, we cannot focus on any one channel or campaign in isolation. Our success or failure must be measured in aggregate. That’s not to say that any one program cannot be deemed successful or not on its own, but the company or brand itself must be looked at from an overall perspective. Moreover, from a strategy planning and execution point of view, successful marketers are those who can coordinate and integrate all programs and channels under a unified, effective brand platform and campaign. Dell apparently hasn’t done so; otherwise, it wouldn’t be the only one of the five major PC manufacturers to show an overall sales decline.

Domus is a unique marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. We’re an advertising agency, a PR agency, a digital agency, a social media agency – we’re all of these – but most importantly, we’re all of them together. We approach every brand we market from a high-level strategic, integrated viewpoint, grounding our thinking in classic marketing principles. We develop inspiring and effective brand positioning platforms, and then integrate all of our strategies, tactics, and message exchange channels around those platforms. For more information, please view our web site at http://www.domusinc.com and then contact us to find out how we can jumpstart your marketing efforts.

As everyone knows, social media is an absolute must for any marketer today. It’s more important than measured media advertising, traditional customer service, and just about every classic marketing technique.

Everyone also knows that Starbucks is a case study example of how to do social media well. It has almost 200,000 Twitter followers, nearly 1.5 million Facebook fans, and a large, active blog. It regularly tweets, posts, and comments.

Except year-over-years same-store sales at Starbucks continue to decline. They’ve declined each quarter this year, even as their social media program has shined. On the other hand, social media wannabes like McDonald’s have continued to see sales increases based principally on good classic advertising and other marketing techniques.

The point here is not that social media marketing does not work; rather, the point is that it is just a tool in a company’s marketing bag, not an end in and of itself. Starbucks sells the experience of hand-made premium coffee at its many coffee houses. Just because they get a lot of people communicating with them online does not necessarily sell more coffee. (And, in fact, it hasn’t.)

Domus is a Philadelphia-based marketing communications agency. Please visit our web site at http://www.domusinc.com for more information.