It’s always great to hear about social media being used effectively to acquire, engage and convert fans into customers, as well as being utilised internally to engage and train employees and create organisational change as companies make the transition to social business.

In fact, recently I was lucky enough to touch upon all of these topics and more when I caught up with Kristi Knight, Vice President of Corporate Communications at home security company firm, Vivint.

Vivint rebranded last year from APX Alarm and with backing to the tune of $565 million from Goldman Sachs they have become the fast-growing home security company in North America. You can find out more about Vivint from its website, YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and Twitter stream.

1. In your view what are the main advantages of online PR and social media versus traditional PR?
We strongly believe in running traditional PR in tandem with social media. While traditional PR carries the much need third-party credibility factor, it’s a one-way communication vehicle. Social media allows us to interact with our customers and have a two-way conversation. When traditional PR is coupled with social media, our communications strategy is much more powerful.

2. Just how important is social media to Vivint?
Social media is extremely important to us as it enables interactions with our customer and key constituents. We are passionate about providing great products and services to our customers and we take their comments and feedback very seriously.  Social media is a great way for us to interact with them, understand what they need and how we can improve our service. The social media we typically utilize are our corporate and charitable blog, Facebook, Twitter YouTube and proactive outreach to the blogosphere.

3. Beyond advertising, what does Vivint’s use social media for?
In addition to creating awareness, we use social media, specifically YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, to boost our customer service and recruit outside sales teams and internal staff. Social media is a great vehicle to address customer concerns and incorporate customer feedback, allowing us to constantly improve our product and services. We’ve received numerous JD Powers & Associates customer service awards, and social media played a big role in that recognition.

We also use social media for our internal communications. For example, Vivint’s CEO, Todd Pedersen, hosts a weekly podcast for the company’s outside sales teams.

4. How would you describe Vivint’s approach to YouTube and social media in general?
We used YouTube quite heavily as we rebranded from APX Alarm to Vivint. We posted entertaining videos about what went into our rebrand, and even a rap that was created and performed by a Vivint employee. We also utilize YouTube for product introductory videos and company/executive background profiles.

5. Tell me about the rap you’ve used for the rebrand – what was the thought behind that?
One of our employees, Prince Early, approached our CEO, Todd Pedersen, and asked if he could create a rap for the company’s rebrand. He wanted to express how much he enjoyed working for the company and how much respect he had for Pedersen. The rap turned out to be extremely catchy and well written. During our employee launch event, we had him perform the rap live on stage. The performance was then posted on YouTube for all to enjoy. It has become a theme song for our new brand and message.

6. What impact has social media had on Vivint’s reputation and its bottom line?
Social media has played a key role in managing the company’s reputation. Because of the transparency of the online world, people can post complaints as well as compliments. When a complaint does arise, we’re now able to immediately address that concern and turn someone who may have been less than impressed into loyal customers. Customers want to be heard and social media allows us to listen and interact. Online conversations will happen about your brand whether you participate or not. We’ve chosen to participate.

In addition, as anyone in marketing will attest, it costs a lot more to replace a customer than to keep your current ones happy. We thus dedicate an enormous amount of time listening and communicating with our customer base.

7. How would you suggest that other brands look at social media?
As a business owner or executive, ask yourself, “Do I value what my customers think? Do I want to interact with them? Do I want to gain their loyalty?” If the answer is yes, then a social media strategy is the best way to accomplish this. Different business models require different strategies: For example, a B-to-C company may find Facebook more effective than Twitter, while a B-to-B company may use Twitter or a corporate blog more effectively. The tools and social media vehicles are many and are changing constantly so companies shouldn’t wed themselves to just one. Stay flexible, experiment, and decide which vehicle and strategy will best influence your target customer.

8. As a client, what more can agencies do to demonstrate the value of social media?
Agencies need to demonstrate how to incorporate social media into a larger strategy. They need to align social media with their clients’ traditional PR or marketing activities, use case studies to demonstrate their effectiveness, and show their know-how by involving themselves in the world of social media. Essentially, agencies need to guide and teach, but they should also “walk the walk.”

9. In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about social media?
The biggest misconception about social media is that it’s easy and quick. An effective strategy takes a significant amount of time. Companies should dedicate whole teams to the task. Half-way participation won’t cut it—putting out a Tweet here and there, posting a Facebook status now-and-then. Companies need to communicate a message AND listen, monitor, and interact.

It’s also vital to couple your social media strategies into a much larger, traditional PR strategy. This two-pronged approached allows you to generate traditional press coverage which carries with it a third-party credibility, and to interact directly with your customers.

10. How do you measure and evaluate the value of your social media activity?
We measure social media through Facebook’s “Likes,” comments, messages and Facebook’s built in metrics. We measure Twitter through our followers, mentions and re-tweets. We measure YouTube through our subscribers, posted comments, and online virality of our video links. Our corporate and charitable blog are measured through RSS subscriptions, and comments and interactions with the various postings.  Once these metrics are gathered, they can then be incorporated into a much larger search engine marketing strategy that will assess the company’s overall online activity.

I would like to put on record my thanks to Kristi for taking the time to talk to us about Vivint and providing us with such an interesting Q&A. I wish her and the rest of the team all the very best for the future. 

My colleagues @pkellypr, @dbkinch and @koconor1 and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Crackbird, the fantastic pop-up restaurant now based on South William Street, Dublin. Given the name, it’s unsurprising that Crackbird is a chicken-only eatery, and the moreish food on offer ensures the restaurant fully justifies the other half of its title – and burgeoning online reputation.Having sampled the fantastic fare from Crackbird’s previous incarnation on the dark and dingy Crane Lane, Temple Bar, I couldn’t wait to see Joe Macken’s latest venture. Prior to our visit I noticed a few additions to Crackbird’srepertoire, but it was the Soy Garlic Chicken, Chili Chicken Crunches and Chicken Brochettes with lemon garlic bay-leaf which caught my eye.With a refreshingly uncomplicated menu, I elected for the Soy Garlic Chicken with slaw and Japanese mustard, washed down with a tasty jam-jar full of rhubarb lemonade. There was a delay between ordering and the food arriving, but it was worth the wait. The fried chicken was perfectly cooked, plentiful and most importantly, delicious – and the sides complimented this unashamedly indulgent meal, packed full of flavour. 

For our visit we were fortunate to nab the soughtafter #Tweetseats, which let people attempt to land a free meal by sending a Tweet. To try and reserve  #Tweetseats simply Tweet your reservation to @crackbirddublin and you and up to three friends can eat at 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm or 8pm any day of the week. If you’re been successful, Crackbird will DM confirmation and when you go, all you have to do is Twitpic your favourite part of the visit and, hey presto, you get the meal for nothing.

As someone who is curious about alternative systems of payment and has discussed using inbound links to pay for content, Crackbird should be applauded for such innovation. Diners can get free food, whilst Crackbird gain a constant stream of positive WOM. Everyone’s a winner.

However, a fine-dining restaurant it ain’t. But that’s the whole point of this delightful pop-up. Unpretentious, good value, but still great tasting, quality food. Crackbird is a sign of the times. Think cool and uncomplicated over showy and lavish.

With many Dublin retail units vacant and more eateries closing, the pop-up restaurant provides a short-term solution and welcome boost to Dublin’s culinary scene. Dublin needs more Crackbirds not over-hyped and over-priced Michelin starred restaurants. Whilst, the closures of Jo’ Burger, Blackrock and Orange Square act as sobering reminders of a time gone by, the likes of Crackbird and the pop-up restaurant business model offer hope and represent something new and exciting in what is a very different era.

I’ve written about quirky, successful catering businesses using social media to communicate a great product, exclusivity and a fantastic experience previously, and Crackbird is another shining example of an SME doing just that. In short, if you’re looking for a chilled-out place, with cool music, fun decor, nice atmosphere that serves outstanding, reasonably priced food, then book a table at Crackbird.

The Meat Wagon first hit our streets in 2009 as the stainless steel vehicle toured south east London serving up top quality burgers and a good time. The wagon’s owner and driver, Yianni would pitch up in random places, such as the middle of an industrial estate in Peckham, before using Twitter to let people know the Meat Wagon’s location. This type of guerrilla dinning experience really took off and people began Tweeting positive reviews and comments about the Meat Wagon’s tasty burgers.

It became clear that Yianni was onto something special as the wagon grew a legion of foodie fans across London. But in December 2010 disaster struck. The Meat Wagon was stolen. Even the reward of ‘free burgers for burgers for life’ has yet to solve this crime. Which brings us back to the Goldsmith Tavern where, Yianni and his team are working all hours of the day to try and raise enough money for a new Meat Wagon. The chop-up restaurant is packed out every night as fans mobilise via the Facebook event function to send out invites and use the #MEATEASY to perpetuate the Meat Wagon myth.

Yianni hit upon the magic formula of a great product, exclusivity and a fantastic experience. The Meat Wagon uses social media to communicate these three elements and generates a tremendous amount of positive WOM. Interestingly, the Meat Wagon has decided to use a blog over a website which I think is a shrewd move. A blog allows a company to tell its story and keeps fans returning with new content. In addition, blogs are easy to manage, have great SEO and enable fans to take part in the conversation. Whereas, websites are static and normally used to describe products in detail, but with the Meat Wagon there is no need. Everyone knows what a burger is.

Image from thebus under Creative Commons

Here’s my take of how the Meat Wagon uses social media:

Twitter

• Drive sales by announcing the Meat Wagon’s location
• Generate positive WOM by encouraging fans to use #MEATEASY
• Listen to feedback from customers to improve products

Blog

• Enable the Meat Wagon to tell its story
• Keep fans up to date with latest news and allow them to comment
• Increase online search visibility for the Meat Wagon

Facebook

• Build an online community of burger fans
• Speak directly to customers
• Utilise the events feature to invite fans to the Goldsmiths Tavern

It’s undoubtedly a nice story and whilst Yianni describes himself as a ‘professional amateur’, he masterfully uses social media to tell it to a growing number of loyal of fans. The Meat Wagon is a great social media case study for any SME out there.

You can follow the Meat Wagon’s story as it unfolds on Twitter, Facebook and their blog. What SMEs do you know who are using social media to communicate with their fans?

I say this as my colleagues and I see an increasing number of graduates who connect with us via social media channels. Social media provides great opportunities for sharing and discussing ideas, finding out the latest news and networking – but occasionally I’ve noticed people take a sledgehammer approach coupled with a fair dose of pester power when sounding out a role.

Before we start, I must say that this post is not intended to criticise people, but offer constructive feedback and more importantly, tips that will help pitch your skills, personality and knowledge to an employer using social media – and hopefully land that job. In addition, with many PR Grad Schemes at the international agencies closing in the coming months, this post may also be useful for those looking to connect with the top dogs at smaller consultancies.

My point is that one person’s good intentioned persistence can be perceived as a bit overwhelming – or worse. Sociologists and HR directors have been quick to cast Generation Y as having great expectations and being known for expecting (and demanding) to get what they want. We’ve seen some of this, but most of the pester power approaches can be put down to youthful exuberance, enthusiasm and perhaps a touch naivety. I suppose the best advice is to put yourself in an employer’s shoes. Will your pitch place some doubt in a potential employer’s mind about your ability to pitch to journalists, bloggers or other stakeholders?

The PR industry is all about relationships and your ability to identify, nurture and enhance relationships is a vital skill. The way I see it, the best way to pitch yourself to a potential employer is by demonstrating that you have a good understanding of the industry by curating and creating content, commenting on blogs coupled with real life experience and a big measure of creative thinking.

Here are steps that will help pitch your skills, personality and knowledge to an employer using social media.

1. Curate
Highlighting useful industry news and opinions on Twitter is an effective way to start curating content and building up your own knowledge of the industry. Don’t just re-tweet everything a potential employer tweets, but concentrate on curating content that adds value. Be discerning. They key points to remember are listen, understand and engage in a personal way – don’t spam people with links and you’ll soon notice your number of followers from the PR industry increasing.
Tip: with the demise of Delicious not too far away, use a tool like Diigo to bookmark every Tweet that contains a link, so you can return to your curated content.

2. Create
I would strongly recommend to any PR student or person wanting to break into the industry to start creating online content of some description. The reason being is that producing regular content takes planning, creativity and commitment. The content you produce could take the form of a blog, podcast, video or photo album. If done effectively, you’ll find that you’re not just creating content, but a community of fans too. Whilst being able to write well is a prerequisite of the PR industry, an understanding and experience of what makes good content and community management are valuable skills to pitch.
Tip: Acquaint yourself with WordPress. Almost without exception this is the default platform we advise clients to utilise and a working knowledge is a great advantage.

3. Comment
I know many PR students who blog, but too few regularly engage in the online conversation by commenting on other people’s blogs. Making comments is a great way to show your understanding of industry issues, a grasp of online netiquette and your ability to form a balanced argument. It is also a good opportunity to network with industry professionals and promote your own content which will encourage feedback and comments from others.

4. Publish
I frequently recommend that people should publish real work they have undertaken on a blog, e-portfolio or personal website – all of which I consider the evolution of the rather staid paper CV. PR is a creative industry, so you need to use every opportunity to demonstrate your real life experiences in an imaginative way. At the very least, graduates should move beyond a static Linked In page and make it dynamic by synchronising it with Slideshare, Twitter, their blog and Behance. If you’re serious about creating an e-portfolio, I suggest you investigate Behance, it’s the e-portfolio platform for creative professionals.
Tip: Flickr is a great tool to store and manage press clippings or print screens of online success. It can also easily be embedded into blogs and personal websites.

5. Innovate
Admittedly this is easier said than done. But there are some fantastic examples of people who have used really creative social media ideas to pitch their skills to a potential employer and support their application. Creative and fresh thinking is the lifeblood of the PR industry and the ability to demonstrate creativity coupled with successful execution is a winning combination. Recent and well-documented examples include Graeme Anthony, Jed Hallam and Laura Tosney who have all stood out from the crowd to land jobs and gain promotions.

In addition, to these tips, an overarching consideration has to be your online reputation. Remember that what you do online often leaves a digital footprint – your activity is permanent, immediate and instant. Are you managing yours correctly? Here are some useful techniques which can help enhance your Personal SEO and manage your reputation.

Ultimately, a subtle, balanced and tailored approach is the best way to begin relationship building and pitching with potential employers. What tips would you recommend to graduates making the pitch to potential employers?

I’ve also included an article, which although a couple of months old, only caught my attention this week. It looks at internships within the PR industry and my friend Mike White makes some great suggestions on how internships could be defined in the future. I’ll reiterate my position; I think it is unethical not pay expenses and that best practice should be the minimum wage – at least. The post has generated a fair amount of conversation, which is just what we need more of, if we are to find a more equitable solution.

Why Your Customers are Turning to Social Media
You may have noticed the way we communicate and engage with each other has changed. In no small part it is because of technology, though it’s less of a technology revolution and more of a communications evolution.

Analysis: What are the Web’s Top Sources of Referral Traffic?
If there’s one thing we know about Web authors it’s that they are constantly seeking new sources of traffic for their content. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blogger, a marketing manager or a small business owner, there is simply no reason to invest time with content creation and Web design if no one is coming to read it. For this reason, it’s important to figure out where to actually invest time for the greatest ROI.

In order to give you a bit more background, after the #Bigotgate affair I Tweeted how foolish Gordon Brown had been and that as things stood, I would be voting for Nick Clegg*. Shortly afterwards, I received an unsolicited reply from @blackburnvotes which was clearly pushing a political agenda. Things then escalated. I’m personally interested in politics and I am fortunate enough to know people who are active for the main parties, however I’m yet to make my mind up who to vote for – and like most people, I do not enjoy being spammed with political lines, especially on a social space.

Whilst, a few argumentative (or complimentary) Tweets from a party activist will not influence who I vote for, this mudslinging with @blackburnvotes sharpened my focus on Labour weaknesses. Although, the initial approach and engagement may have been well intentioned, in this instance it has resulted in a negative outcome. It has been a counter intuitive tactic. I suppose my big gripe is having someone who I’ve never spoken to before, spamming me with uninvited political views. Indeed, it did cross my mind that @blackburnvotes could be an elaborate troll.

Politics aside, I think this is an interesting case study of how someone, although well-meaning can cause more harm than good. Employees and supporters of organisations are having these sorts of online conversations all the time and whilst, we encourage organisations to embrace social media, in order to fully appreciate the potential benefits and risks it is best to acquaint them with basic guidelines or tips to consider. There are many cases of unofficial sources getting the tone right when engaging on social media, however there are many more who have got it wrong.

Whilst, I’m sure @blackburnvotes had the best intentions of the party at heart, it has inadvertently made me think about reasons not to vote Labour. Anecdotally, I know a lot of my peers have not made up their minds and 6 May will be a new experience for them. With the election race this close and allegiances yet to be forged, small differences like this, can make all the difference. Whilst, policy is integral, personal experiences and interactions have a big impact too.

Voters want to be wooed, not wound up. Labour probably just lost my vote.

*Subject to change.

For starters…
To begin with search Google for your name and see what comes up. Then include the industry you want to work in. The fact is employers do google potential employees, so it is well worth monitoring this. Then have a look at 123people.com which is essentially a people search engine that aggregates people’s photos, videos, email addresses, and social network profiles. This will basically show you your digital footprint. At this point it may be best to consolidate your social media platforms and close any dormant accounts.

1. Blog
I would strongly recommend to any PR student or person wanting to break into the industry to start a blog. Not only is it an effective way to document your thoughts on the industry and improve your writing, but it can be a great networking tool and will score highly on search. In my experience, being able to demonstrate a firm grasp of wider industry issues at an interview is a brilliant way to stand out.
Tip: be sure to make full use of tags by tagging (appropriately) key words and your name within the blog, as this improve search further.

2. Linked In
Create a Linked In account. It’s an excellent way to showcase your career, latest achievements and network with industry professionals. There is also numerous groups and discussions to join, as well as many jobs advertised. Quite simply it’s a great online community to be part of and if you think of it like a professional Facebook, you’ll be alright. Linked In also scores highly on search.

3. Twitter
Twitter has been the darling of the PR industry for the last 18 months, so it is well worth gaining an understanding of this platform. In its most basic form Twitter can effectively be utilised as a tool to share your industry thoughts and personal observations.

Whilst, Twitter scores highly on search, for me the real benefit is the unparalled access to industry colleagues and importantly what they are thinking and up to. Although, there is a lot of noise on Twitter, it still has the potential to be a really neat networking and personal SEO tool. Do remember that employers will check your tweets to try and find out more about you. So it is worth considering what you broadcast.
Tip: show your true personality, but also demonstarte that you are interested in the industry by talking about and re-tweeting PR news.

4. Comment on other blogs
Whilst, I know many PR students who blog, too few regularly engage in the online conversation by commenting on other people’s blogs. Making comments is a great way to network with industry professionals, promote your own blog, and encourage comments from others.
Tip: when you comment on someone’s blog it will ask you for your website/blog URL, by entering this you are linking back to your own site which will boost SEO.

5. Upload a CV to Scribd
I would strongly recommend all students to create a Scribd account and upload their CV. This can be easily edited, downloaded by prospective employers, scores highly on search and can be embedded into a blog or website. Whilst, Linked In is great for an initial introduction and networking opportunities, it is yet to produce professional looking CVs. Indeed Linked In’s poorly templated, CV PDFs are one its biggest weaknesses.

6. Privacy settings
Whilst, this post contains lots of tips to enhance personal SEO, you should also take steps to protect your online reputation by having your privacy settings on private for Facebook and all other personal networks. In addition, leave any Facebook groups which betray the image you trying to project e.g. someone companies would like to employ. Remember that social media is often immediate, public and permanent. You don’t own your Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg does.

7. Write for other publications
Students I speak to do not seem to consider this, but by guest blogging or writing for other publications and websites you will boost your personal SEO. Indeed, just a couple of articles for different publications will make a lot of difference.

Writing about the PR industry, as well as having your name appear online with some good use of tags will also boost personal SEO. At the end of the day employers will be impressed if they Google your name and find a number of well written article on the PR industry.
Tip: I would recommend writing something for PR student magazine Behind the Spin.

8. Google Profile
When Google launched this feature in 2009 it was designed as a kind of virtual business card. Whilst, Google Profile usage has not quite taken off as expected, I’m sure that creating a profile with the worlds biggest search engine can only be good for your personal SEO. I would recommend creating a profile with a vanity URL ASAP.

9. Make yourself contactable
This is something that I still find frustrating. I’m not saying publish your home address and mobile number, but I would say make an email address available online so people can contact you directly. Whilst, being active on various social media platforms is a great start, most organisations still communicate by email not via social networks. So make sure you are easily contactable.
Tip: To avoid spambots you should write your email address phonetically, for instance my email becomes contact[at]ben-cotton[dotcom].

10. Make your work sharable
If you do a great piece of work, don’t be afraid to share it online. There are a range of platforms that you can use to host work such as Scribd, Slideshare, YouTube etc. It’s all about setting your work free so others can see and share it – once again this scores highly on search. We advise our clients to have content that is sharable to the largest possible audience and the same principle can equally be applied to individuals looking to enhance their reputation.

I would then recommend waiting for a week as it normally takes a couple of days for Google to trawl the web for these SEO improvements.

*Caveat: I’m a great advocate of e-portfolios, but have omitted them from this particular list. Whilst, I think they are a great tool, I’ve chosen to include tips which can be carried out fairly quickly, whereas an e-portfolio takes months to put together. Click here to watch the video of the e-portfolio presentation I gave to Leeds Met earlier this year.