Why PR?

Every organisation no matter how big or small, ultimately depends on it reputation for success(Cipr.co.uk, 2018). Thus effective implementation of public relations within a company is a necessity that cannot be overlooked. In my case, one of the initiative I took was to improve the public relation strategy of Amazon.

How to do a PR strategy well

There a several ways to go about improving or creating a PR strategy, first one must identify and isolate there target audience. Who are your customers? What are there interests? Then identify on what topic you wish to speak upon, are they management oriented? Product or service oriented? These first few steps will help greatly in creating your PR strategy(Forbes.com, 2018). In my case my target audience where online shoppers( e-commerce community) specifically those who visited amazon and the topic of choice was how can amazon improve her PR.

Continuing on my initiative( improving public relations of amazon )was to improve awareness of amazons 0.5% charity donation campaign( where amazon contributes 0.5% of sale towards charity). This would be projected through the use of social media specifically through a blog campaign on Instagram and Facebook arguing in favour of Amazons charitable contributions, furthermore I would encourage amazon to participate in charitable events and fund raiser to further improve their PR.

The use of Blogs, social media and new media as whole should be paramount in any companies PR campaign and is changing how organisations communicate; especially with customers(Scoble & Israel, 2006) . This concept is further illustrated in the journal “How Blogs and Social Media are Changing Public Relations and the Way it is Practiced” by Donald K. Wright & Michelle D. Hinso showing how the communication world is moving towards a digital direction and those who understand it will communicate more effectively than those who do not(Weber, 2007).

Risks: However there are many pitfalls in regards to an organisation using social media and blogs heavily, this is due to the fact improper use of new media can destroy a company’s reputation(Socialmedia.biz, 2018). From the possibility of employee privacy violation, i.e an overexcited employee tweeting about a new project( showing your competitors your plan) to a disgruntled employee discussing the failing of your company. Furthermore there’s also the very real possibility of data theft. Information not securely locked or carelessly placed online can be victim to data theft.

*tips on how to avoid data theft: https://hospitalitytech.com/5-social-media-risks-increase-your-risk-security-breach

Measuring effectiveness

After implementing a public relation strategy it’s important that your able to measure its effectiveness, one of the ways I intended to do this for my initiative was by targeting new customers and surveying them. Asking them question, such as “ have you heard of Amazon 0.5% scheme” or “do you think amazon is an ethical company” this supplemented with sentiment analysis would give insight into whether costumers, specifically new customer’s thought about amazon and give qualitative data. Furthermore sentiment( opinion mining) analysis allows an organisation to adjust their strategy as well as measure the effectiveness off the PR campaign by finding whether customers have negative or positive view of the organisation (Hashimoto, 2018)

Risks: continuing on theres a risks when measuring the effectiveness of a public relations campaign. Firstly any sort of PR campaign which involves changing the opinion of consumer will take a great deal of time to mature, thus results will not be seen immediately.

Furthermore there are challenges involving sentiment analysis. Questions on the survey should avoid allowing the customer to use sarcasm, since its one of the sentiments that is very difficult to analyse. Adding to this, questions should also avoid neutrality, since it doesn’t reveal much about the consumers opinion i.e answers such as unsure, no opinion aren’t very useful . Finally it’s important to note negative sentiment doesn’t always mean bad PR “Sarah Palin’s appearance on the Today show generated many negative comments but still drove ratings increases” (Lazarus and Lazarus, 2018)

Conclusion & tips

To conclude doing a PR campaign well and implementing it effectively can be very difficult, there are many pitfalls. However there a few conclusions one can take, firstly you must know your target audience and know the topic you want to discuss; be clear and concise.

Secondly just like in the journal How Blogs and Social Media are Changing Public Relations and the Way it is Practiced” by Donald K. Wright & Michelle D. Hinso blogs and social media are becoming indispensable to both consumers and company and must be a part of any PR campaign; use social media and blogs effectively .

Thirdly it’s important you have an effective way of measuring your PR campaign and know its limitation, otherwise how will you know if your PR campaign worked. know the limitations of your methods.

Refrences:

Cipr.co.uk. (2018). What is PR? | Chartered Institute of Public Relations. [online] Available at: https://www.cipr.co.uk/content/policy/careers-advice/what-pr [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018].
Forbes.com. (2018). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenmakovsky/2013/08/29/improving-personal-public-relations/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018].

Muhammadsaleem.com. (2018). [online] Available at: http://www.muhammadsaleem.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/wrighthinson.pdf [Accessed 7 Apr. 2018].
Socialmedia.biz. (2018). The 3 Major Risks of Using Social Media in Your Business | Socialmedia.biz. [online] Available at: http://socialmedia.biz/2015/09/29/the-3-major-risks-of-using-social-media-in-your-business/ [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018].

Scoble, R. and Israel, S. (2006). Naked Conversations .Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.[ accessed 5 Apr.2018]

Hospitality Technology. (2018). 5 Social Media Risks That Increase Your Risk for a Security Breach. [online] Available at: https://hospitalitytech.com/5-social-media-risks-increase-your-risk-security-breach [Accessed 7 Apr. 2018].
Hashimoto, S. (2018). 7 Benefits of Sentiment Analysis You Can’t Overlook. [online] Blog.insightsatlas.com. Available at: https://blog.insightsatlas.com/7-benefits-of-sentiment-analysis-you-cant-overlook [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018].
Lazarus, N. and Lazarus, N. (2018). 10 Sentiment Analysis Issues to Be Aware Of. [online] Adweek.com. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/digital/37705-sentiment-analysis/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2018].
Weber, L. (2007). Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Buil Your Business. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.[accessed 4 Apr.  2018]

Public relations( my second initiative) has always been a key element in any major companies business plan from amazon to Asos, neglecting public relations can and has had detrimental effects on many a company; For example Nestlé Maggie noodle scandal(peoriamagazines.com, 2018). PR is the use of intermediaries to communicate with your chosen audience and influence them(Prweek.com, 2018); its probably one of the least understood marketing tools.

My second initiative focus was to improve the PR of amazon and make It more user friendly.
1. Raise awareness of amazons 0.5% policy
2. Start investing or support charities to Gain PR
3. Create a blog campaign on social media, such Instagram ,Facebook championing how ethical Amazon is, challenging any negative blogs.
4. Survey new customers to quantify the impact of the PR campaign.

How should it be done?
One of the tasks for any company in regard to public relations is the effective utilisation of social media there are several social media platforms, tweeter, Facebook, net-log etc. However many users abuse them or don’t use them enough, or use them without interacting with their target audience first(Anon, 2018). Furthermore self-promotion without substance something particularly important in the 3rd plan of creating a blog campaign, can make the public see you as self centred and give the impression the company only cares about itself; the opposite of what we want.

Secondly too much can be expected from too little, many members of staff who do public relation have expertise in other fields this bolstered with incorrect understanding of public relations, can lead to the public relation campaign being underfunded or staff member being asked too much from too little. It is important that managers understand the limits of PR and provide resources accordingly.
Third point, public relations should be given enough time to grow, public relations by its very nature will take time to grow. Thus its paramount the company gives enough time for both the message to disseminate into our target audience as well as give time for intermediaries and there message to get through. If this criteria is neglected it will show itself in the self-evaluation stage of the campaign( surveying new customers), with new customers stating other reason for using Amazon other than the PR campaign.

What resource’s are there ?
There are many resources available to a company in improving their Public relations such as Mattison (Mattison Public Relations, 2018). Firstly there are companies that specialise specifically in providing public relation services, by outsourcing, one can reduce the cost of having there own public relations department. Since they don’t have to reallocate staff or their own time in improving public relation. Furthermore a company can benefit from the experience private companies such as Mattison possess since trying to improve public relation in house can come with many pitfalls( a single careless comment can have significant ramification)that experienced companies such as mattison can avoid.

Continuing on there are a myriad of research done on the importance and relevance of public relations in 21st centaury, these include the journal of public relations research done by Taylor and Francis and is issued quarterly and gives great insight into mass communication(Anon, 2018). Furthermore if literature is not your thing there are several blogs such as this one as well as videos giving great tips on pr.

Problems?
The first problem imposed when trying to improve public relation of a company, is that it is labour intensive and time consuming endeavour. The second initiative will be time consuming & labour intensive in respects to surveying new costumer on the impact of the new PR campaign and creating a blog campaign..

To continue public relations by nature is difficult to control, due to so many external variables as juxtaposed to regular advertising whose placement, message and graphic you can control. This means any initiative involving public relations must be planned thoroughly from knowing customers to knowing there interests to knowing one’s own competition, and is paramount in launching a successful PR campaign. If these elements are done incorrectly the PR campaign can either become superfluous at best or damaging at worst, such as new cola in the 1985( brand contamination.)

Conclusion:
Public relations is greatly important in this day and age yet it is also greatly misunderstood, it’s a marketing tool which is indispensable to veterans but poison to novices.
• Allocate enough resources to the PR department if done in house
• Outsourcing can save money and man hours and be effectual((Mattison Public Relations, 2018) )
• Give PR campaigns time to manifest
• Have expectations that are reasonable and excellent PR campaign will not support a faulty company or product
• There’s a lot of research already on public relation all of which can be indispensable to both individuals and companies.

Refrences:

Anon, (2018). [online] Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hprr20/current [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

Anon, (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-problems-facing-public-relations-practice-world-dr-ajihson/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].

Mattison Public Relations. (2018). Homepage — Mattison Public Relations. [online] Available at: https://www.mattison.co.uk/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

Prweek.com. (2018). Nestlé stuck in the PR soup as Maggi noodles fallout continues. [online] Available at: https://www.prweek.com/article/1350336/nestle-stuck-pr-soup-maggi-noodles-fallout-continues [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].

peoriamagazines.com. (2018). The Importance of Public Relations to Businesses of All Shapes & Sizes. [online] Available at: http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2012/feb/importance-public-relations-businesses-all-shapes-sizes [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].

Introduction
The importance of social media in today’s market place cannot be ignored, a company’s social media and successful use of its digital and social channels can make or break it. One example of a company who relies heavily on social media and utilises every part of social media element of Chaffey’s 6 channels, is ASOS. A completely online retail company, who lacks any physical capital.

The parts being discussed in this Blog are as follows: Firstly brand image, secondly customer acquisition, thirdly improved customer feedback and final aspect that will be touched upon is improved engagement for incumbent customers.

Source: Smart insight, 2018

Brand image
To begin, Chaffey’s 6 ( smart insight, 2018)channel list social media as one its element’s and for good reason. Social media plays a key role in a brands image. Brand image is essential in analysing the success of many companies such as Apple, Coke, ASOS, this is due to the perceived value that branding gives. With 51% of sales coming from mobiles(Hobbs et al., 2018), ASOS has realised the need to build their brand around social media with their ecommerce strategy built around social media such as using likes on Instagram in determining what’s popular.

To continue ASOS current social media campaign involves using influencers such as dancers, skaters as opposed to original influencer’s such as fashion models. This has revitalised ASOS brand image and is almost antithetical to ASOS early years and is partially the reason why millions of millennials purchase clothing from them.

Viral presence

source: tech bakkak, 2018
Viral presence is also key factor of a good marketing campaign. Firstly viral presence can be a very cost effective method of advertising compared to older methods such as TV. The cost of YouTube video or Facebook advertisement generally are lower, and can be infinitely more effective due to users sharing.

To continue viral campaign’s specifically one that leverages social media such as twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc, can be an effective way of generating awareness quickly. To add intelligence placement of ads and videos are also key, poor placement can lead to loses. In application, ASOS for example would be well advised to send their new product ad or video to loyal fans in the hopes of them spreading the word. This example only applies to companies such as ASOS who already have a large online presence.

drawbacks

However a large reason as to why viral presence can be so productive is because users can share using social media. Re-tweeting, liking etc. are the reasons why some product awareness explodes, thus any marketing strategy that fails to intrigue users may find itself underwhelmed with the response.

Improved customer feedback
Where social media really shines is in regards to customer feedback. Customers can get effective and real time feedback on goods and queries they may have. This is important for the following reasons: one because it leads to a better customer experience, which in turn contributes to brand loyalty and customer retention. In addition to this it is also greatly useful for a company like ASOS in which they can answer many customers at a time as opposed to on the phone customer service, it is also more cost effective due to lower man power required.

drawbacks

Social media in this application can also be a double edged sword if customers experience poor customer service, they may post there frustration. This can lead to damaging off brand image, or/and loss of revenue for the company.

Improved customer engagement
In regards to improved engagement that social media can bring to a company’s marketing campaign, ASOS insiders have allowed ASOS to improve their engagements with their consumers, with their OOTD (outfit of the day) scheme. What makes this ingenious is that customers can buy the featured outfits straight out of there social media account (Word-of-Mouth and Referral Marketing Blog, 2018). Without having to purchase items individually.

Conclusion
To close Chaffey 6 channels encompasses social media as one of the channels that contributes to a company’s social and website presence; and justly so. Social media can contribute greatly

• in building or revitalising a company’s brand image, such as ASOS.
• If done right can lead to a more productive viral presence allowing for a cheap and easy way of building hype for a product.
• social media can be an excellent cost effective way of managing customer services, due to the reduction in manpower.
• improved customer engagement

Thus it would be safe conclude that companies that neglect Chaffey’s social media channel, will lose out greatly either through poor brand promotion, loss of marketing abilities and a more costly customer service.

Bibliography:
Smart Insights. (2018). Digital marketing channels | Smart Insights. [online] Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/reach/attachment/digital-marketing-channels/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2018].

Smallbusiness.chron.com. (2018). The Importance of Viral Marketing in Launching a New Product. [online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-viral-marketing-launching-new-product-68291.html [Accessed 7 Jan. 2018].

Tech Bakbak: A technology blog that is easy to understand. (2018). 6-second YouTube ads you can’t skip -. [online] Available at: http://techbakbak.com/6second-youtube-ads-wont-skip/ [Accessed 7 Jan. 2018].

Hobbs, T., Vizard, S., Hobbs, T., Reporters, M., Roderick, L., Barnett, M., Barta, T., Vizard, S., Woollen, P. and Joy, S. (2018). Asos on why digital must be a balance between mass reach and targeting – Marketing Week. [online] Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2017/03/20/asos-targeting-mass-reach/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018].

Word-of-Mouth and Referral Marketing Blog. (2018). How ASOS Built A Popular Brand Through These Brilliant Marketing Strategies – Word-of-Mouth and Referral Marketing Blog. [online] Available at: https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/asos-marketing-strategy/ [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018].

Social media in the recent decade has exploded and has become an integral part of any good business strategy and its prominence in marketing is ever growing. The purpose of this blog is select and analyse one of the section of Chaffey’s 6 channels( chaffey,2016) , The channel this blog will Audit is social media marketing.

source:( PR Team, 2017)

1. the importance of social media to PR & Publicity?

publicity is absolutely critical. Good PR is infinitely more effective then good front page Ad – Richard Branson. Public relation doesn’t solely consist of Social media its only a aspect of it. However social media is a cost effective way of engaging and responding to customers, it allows for two way communication between both company/ business and the customers they are trying to appeal to. Thusly having good social media campaign can make or break a company through bad PR.

2. The effectiveness of social media as advertisement

Research indicates in the U.S  that for every 15 hours spent by users between 18-70 they would visit one social media website( emarketer,2015) , thusly  social media is exceptionally effective way of advertising your business to consumers. To continue it is up to date news on any upcoming events or services such as sales( black Friday, Christmas, seasonal) allowing better consumer awareness.3

3. social media is very popular

Social media is very very popular, with entities such as Facebook who have  net worth off over 350 billion dollars (Monica, 2017) and over 1.7 billion users. with other social media form such as twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to name a few , social media is everywhere. By not being on the social media loop a business sees to isolate itself from a great deal of customers of every demographic. Social media have dynamic functions and can allows a business to advertise to a greater variety off consumers, as seen by the statistics gathered www.emarketer.com shows that consumers found advertising on social media to be the most effective. With sponsored social messages on periscope and snap chat eclipsing classical TV commercials.

source:emarketer

4. Its effective for customer service

Using social media can be an effective tool of customer service, since it allows immediate and personnel responses to customers and there queries. Social media users are extremely active using there accounts up to 17 times day( constant contact blog, 2017) thus meaning any feedback given to customers will be immediately seen, a two way communication as previously mentioned allowing business to gain constructive feedback from there consumers. It also gives customers confidence that there queries will be handled quickly and effectively as opposed to the traditional method of using the a phone line or emailing the business which can and does take more significant time. This allows business have a cost effective way of handling customer service as opposed to the traditional method of calls, a single member of staff can effectively answer several queries at a time, saving money and time.

conclusion:

in summation social media should be an essential strategic element of any business marketing campaign, by neglecting social media companies can isolate themselves from a myriad of benefits. 1. Good PR and allowing your company to have some form of control over its own brand image online. 2, its exceptionally effective way of advertising since customers can see any upcoming events or news real time. 3,It goes without saying social media is very popular with quarter of the world using Facebook, with new forms of social media being made everyday and its not likely to stop in the near future. Finally it is an excellent way to interact with customers and a cost efficient way of running a customer service sector of any business due to the ability for employee to answer multiple queries, as well as be quick and easy for customers.

bibliography:

Chaffey, D. (2016) ‘Definitions of Digital marketing vs Internet marketing vs Online marketing’. Smart Insights, 21st December 2016 [Online] < https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-marketing-mix/definitions-of-emarketing-vs-internet-vs-digital-marketing/> [Accessed 29th Nov. 2017]

Constant Contact Blogs. (2017). 10 Ways Social Media Marketing Can Help Grow Your Business | Constant Contact Blogs. [online] Available at: https://blogs.constantcontact.com/why-social-media-marketing/# [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017].

Monica, P. (2017). Why Facebook could one day be worth $1 trillion. [online] CNNMoney. Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/28/investing/facebook-trillion-dollar-market-value/index.html [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017].

Emarketer.com. (2017). Are Sponsored Social Posts the Most Effective Marketing Channel? – eMarketer. [online] Available at: https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Sponsored-Social-Posts-Most-Effective-Marketing-Channel/1013242 [Accessed 29 Nov. 2017].

PR Team. (2017). Public Relations v Advertising – explaining the difference. [online] Available at: http://prteamsolutions.com/public-relations-v-advertising-explaining-the-difference/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2017].

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