BLOGGING IS THE NEW BLACK

If you have a computer, a phone, a tablet or any devise that connects to the Internet, I can almost guarantee that you have stumbled across some form of blogging. It is even rumoured that there is no longer a count for how many blogs exist in cyber space these days as the number is so great and increases so rapidly it would be too hard to keep track.

We need to remember that Blogging has expanded past the traditional forms and has expanded into Micro Blogging such as twitter and Video Blog just for a few examples.

I know that I personally have been aware of the existence of blog for a while now and do even read and follow a few myself. However, I have never truly realised the true potential and value that a blog can hold.

During the time I have spent at my Internship I have come to realise how much of an asset a Blog can be, but even more so, a relationship with a Blogger. It may not be the case in all industries but for the Industry I have been involved in Bloggers are the new Media power player. They have taken such a large role in influencing certain publics and can have very strong and loyal followings.

A large aspect of my Internship is Media Relations, so in the beginning I started to build a media guide of the outlets I felt were important the company builds relationships with. I followed the traditional paths of newspapers, magazines, journalists, reporters but it was the blogging world that really attracted my interest the most. With page upon page of Blogs that focused on my industry not to mention located locally in Perth, this became a large aspect of my research.

I have found that Bloggers are actually a key media for this industry and any company within my industry. The particular target market that we aim to reach really values the opinion of bloggers within the industry so to have this segment on side became of key importance in the companies media relations planning.

Blogging really has become an outlet to watch, and one to make sure you do not forget when it comes to whom you want to build your media relationships with. Considering current trends and the amount of people moving from paper to the Internet, I can only see their presence getting stronger.

Just because individually they may each be just a little fish in the big sea of the Internet, combine them all and that is a great amount of power you are not harnessing or that could be ultimately working against you.

Find out if people blog about your industry today, you will be surprised about what you find.

Happy Blogging!

Email Fail

I am completing my placement with a company who specialises in the diagnosis of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) and every two months I am presented with the task of writing our newsletter. The underlying topics usually include any new developments in osteoporosis research (i.e. new treatments, risk-factors, exposed myths) and updates to do with our company (i.e. opening/closing of clinics, new staff members).
The target audience for this newsletter includes our employees and patients. To distribute the newsletter to employees it is simply a matter of forwarding the PDF through our intranet email.
Reaching our patients is an entirely different matter.
For those of you who know anything about osteoporosis I am sure you are aware that this disease is generally labelled as an older-person's disease. Thus the majority of people reading the newsletter are by and large in the elderly category.
Our newsletters are uploaded onto the company website where they are available to read online, but most of our patients have little or no interest in the internet let alone the ability download PDF copies of our newsletter from the webpage. At the moment the best way to reach our patients with the newsletter is by providing hardcopies in all our clinics, to doctors suguries near our clinics and to the ABC nurses and other health care workers who support our services. It is not feasible for our company to post hardcopies of the the newsletter to patients individually (although many have asked us to do so).
Recently we attempted to create an email list of patients so we could electronically forward the newsletter to them in the same way we do with employees. Every patient who books a bone-scan with our company is required to complete a questionnaire during their appointment. We added "Would you like our company to forward you electronic newsletters?" to the questionnaire in an attempt to generate a database.

A quote from the younger online generation summarises this attempt perfectly: "EPIC FAIL"

After two months we have not had one single patient indicate they would like to receive the newsletter electonically... though many still want it in the mail.

I guess this shows that although new technology is a great way to reach some audiences, ours just isn't one of them. Back to the drawing board,


Kind Regards,

Ashleigh Coyle

Revolutions as Solutions

One thing I’ve definitely learnt is how much new media is both a friend and a foe to any major organization that gets media attention.

As my boss explained to me, bloggers have a vast following; you get one to support your company, you get the rest of them.

Also, it seems major organizations are really getting into the kick of utilizing websites like Facebook and Twitter. Our own Prime Minister has a facebook page (but he’s yet to accept my friend invite. heheh); and the CEO of my interning-company has a twitter. I know this because the local news networks used one of his tweets as a quote in a recent news article.

If you think about it, especially those who study Journalism…
Will we have to start using Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs as a credible source in the future?
And from a PR point of view…
media monitoring, it seems, gets more complicated because erroneous statements aren’t just via word-of-mouth anymore. What do you think?

*P.S. this is not a Tweet
Fatiha - LUCT

The Perils of New Media

I am on fire today!! A lot of stuff has happened that I want to write about :)

We released an article on behalf of Stefans jewellers about a ring that was purchased for $1 million bucks. Wowser! We thought it was pretty newsworthy, perfect timing for valentines day, and a bit of light relief after all the heart break in Victoria.

The websites Perthnow and watoday ran the story, which was great. On Perthnow, the article got 94 comments. Sounds great, right?

Not so much!!

Some of the comments were very bitter and nasty, commenting on the waste of so much money in the economic period, and the devastation in Victoria.

"While I applaud the fact that this man can afford to make this purchase, he has openly contributed (knowingly or otherwise) to the Blood Diamond trade in Africa."

"Are you kidding me? We've got nearly 200 dead(expected to go much higher) and 5000 homeless in Victoria as a result of the fires. I hope the recipient gets to look at pictures of wives with no husbands, kids with no parents or toys, the homeless and the absolute devastation in the faces of those who have lost everything. Enjoy your ring!"

"Yeah all people with money deserve it how dare we criticise... What a load of BS. $1m on some ugly ring is stupid and anyone who spends like that obviously hasn't mastered business and savings. I bet daddy gave him a fair bit of cash and he works 3 hours a day while his staff earn him all the money"

However, some of them were great and got behind the un-named buyer.

"Thats really sweet. Lucky lady. Why are people bagging this guy out???"

"He has probably donated more then you earn in a year, it's a gift to his sweetheart, how sad on life are you, Why don't you give them your home if you've got one. Hope she loves the ring mate"

"You ever thought the guy might just be successful and really love his partner? Why does it always have to be suspicious? No wonder we are a world of cynics!"

All those lessons and lectures about PR being uncontrollable, particularly in a new media forum, suddenly got rammed home. It was a fantastic experience to witness that first hand, from the first story idea (which I helped formulate), to writing the release, then pitching it, then the joy of getting it placed, then the angst as we watched the comments role in.

As for those comments, I think the defence won in the end, but maybe that's just my hopeful bias :) Check it out yourself


Cheers,
Krish
Bentley Campus

Good Blogs

I have come to plug!
For those of you who check out blogs regularly, you have to look at http://www.theperthfiles.blogspot.com/ Its a funny take on Perth life, written by one of the consultants here at PPR, so it has some intersting reflections on topical issues and what is going on in the media. John Cooke is our resident new media expert, and seems to spend all his time surfing the web and twittering. Good job hey? Hint: John loves a good comment, and he will be a great contact for you in your career.
Also, I'm not sure if you know, but there is a huge conference coming up in March for marketing professionals. There will be amzing speakers and great networking opportunities. With the expected huge ticket price, I'm not sure many of you fellow students will be able to afford to go, but you can see the buzz at the blog site http://blog.amms09.com.au/ Hint: Post a few comments to get your name out there and start a dialogue with what could be future contacts!
Cheerios,
Krish
Bentley