How to Capitalise on Influencer Marketing
In 2017 it was recorded that there was an 325 per cent increase in influencer marketing searches on Google. With Kylie Jenner being capable of wiping off $1.3 billion off of Snapchat’s value in one Tweet and the mass outrage brought about by Youtube star’s Logan Paul’s visit to Japan, it is clear influencers are as important as they have ever been. However, with that in mind, there is a right and wrong way to use influencers for brand purposes. This is especially true where Jenner was also responsible for the complete social media catastrophe in Pepsi’s controversial advert last year. Here’s our tips on how your brand can safely use social media stars to elevate and gain coverage.
Tips
1) The Bot Problem
A recent survey from the University of Southern California and Indiana University found that up to 15 per cent of all Twitter accounts were not even real people but bots. Significantly, this means that up to 50 million accounts are fake. It also doesn’t ignore the fact that many wannabe influencers are buying these bots to make themselves look more credible. This is relevant as it could mean that by using these influencers, you could be conveying a strong message to a very small audience which is not just a waste of time but also money.
2) Focusing on the Right Demographic
More followers may equate to potentially more eyes on your brand but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee success if the brand’s message can’t accurately be conveyed by that influencer. At 72Point we focus on listening attentively to customer needs as brand message is the biggest priority in any campaign we produce. This is exemplified by our recent campaign for Cineworld which used The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris to highlight “what makes the perfect film.” The success garnered a staggering 148 pieces of coverage in print and online media, with coverage in the Metro and The Sun. Consequently, the message was authentic and combined an influencer who had an engaged following with a brand they loved. This unsurprisingly resulted in a natural relationship that worked very well. Therefore, the focus should be on having a partnership with an influencer who has followers in the right demographic who are actually listening and will be interested in the brand’s message.
3) Consistency
Staying true to your values is an unheralded value that is dismissed more often than not. However, in the increasingly scrutinized world of social media it can come back to haunt you in the worst ways. This was best shown with Zoella’s old Tweets resurfacing. By using influencers you have to be very careful in picking consistent individuals who you are confident can deliver. The core of 72Point also focuses on consistently providing good results that don’t devalue a brand in circumstances that may result in negative coverage later on. Ultimately, this can only be rectified by strong research for brands to find the right people for the job.
4) Measurement
Without the right tools it is difficult to evaluate how successful a campaign has been, which is why a large proportion of the job in conjunction with influencers is convincing them that we can deliver on our promises. The Digital Team at 72Point focuses a large proportion of their time measuring different metrics and keeping up to date with trends to stay on track in the ever-advancing digital landscape. Overwhelmingly, it means our content matches up well with how much extra coverage an influencer can provide to strengthen a brand to the next level.
Conclusion
As a PR firm we are always looking to capitalise on the next big trends but before doing so it’s always important to step back and get the fundamentals of conveying the right message to the right audience. The marketing and PR world is always adapting but with these tips it could provide an effective solution to help steer your brand in the right direction.
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Why PR Needs To Be A Valuable Part of Your 2018 Marketing Strategy
The beauty of PR as a 21st century marketing tool is that it has evolved into an all-encompassing method of communication. Few, if any, comms methods in a modern marketer’s tool kit could claim to meet SEO, social media and brand exposure KPIs in one fell swoop, but thanks to the nature of the digital market that is precisely what PR can achieve.
In an age where content is king, creating stories and empowering storytellers has given brands oxygen on the web to stand out where others get swallowed up. Little surprise, therefore, that 77 per
cent of exhibitors at this year’s Prolific North Live carried out PR campaigns in 2017 and 92 per cent look to do it in 2018 as well.
But there are objections to utilising PR tactics among the marketing community, namely because confusion exists over how to implement a successful PR plan.
And who can blame them? The market today is extremely crowded, which means the ability to stand out is becoming increasingly difficult. PR can return a bounty of positive business benefits, but only if campaigns are orchestrated successfully, which returns me to my initial point.The art of PR is about creating stories and empowering storytellers. Whether it be journalists, bloggers, vloggers or social media influencers, having a good story at the heart of your campaign is key to its success, and so a PR plan should always start with idea generation and stress testing.
Although journalists and other media professionals aren’t always on hand to judge a story before it has been created, plenty of agencies do have current or former hacks on their books, so seek them out and run your ideas by them before you get underway. After all, overcoming the first hurdle early on will ensure you don’t run into any bumps further down the line. Then, make sure you develop the campaign with a holistic approach across all platforms and channels. Ask whether there is a natural linking structure to satisfy SEO objectives, whether the content is optimised for online media and social media and that it is sharable.
Crucially, make sure you have an effective means of distributing the story beyond your established circles by assessing how to make a big splash in the media and ways in which to infiltrate social media audiences that aren’t currently in touch with your brand. With over nine in ten companies set to roll out PR campaigns this year, the reality is that PR is not something you can afford not to do.
72Point secures media exposure for your brand across digital and traditional media. We create, distribute, and land PR and branded news stories in massmedia publications including Daily Mail, The Mirror, The Sun, Daily Telegraph and Metro as well as mass-readership news sites such as The Independent and UNILAD. Content. Covered.
This blog was written as part of 72Point’s presentation at Prolific North Live 2018 as part of their Digital Keynote Theatre – click here to view video highlights from the event
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How to Make the Most of Marketing Exhibitions
How to Make the Most of Marketing Exhibitions
Exhibitions form a key part of a marketer’s arsenal, offering unique face-to-face communication with prospective clients and vital networking opportunities. But it can be a tricky task to maximise the takeaway from these events. Last week, 72Point attended the Prolific North Live Expo at EventCity in Manchester. If you read our earlier blog (http://www.72point.com/future-digital-media-north-heres/) you will be aware of just how pivitol the North is within the digital industry. 70 per cent of total UK digital tech investment was in regional clusters beyond London, with Edinburgh (£159 million), Manchester (£78 million) and Sheffield (£61 million) among the notable recipients. The event represented a massive opportunity for us to interact with the biggest movers and shakers of the digital sphere, and we wanted to share our strategy for how we maximised our return on investment.
Make sure your branding stands out
Expos offer a fantastic opportunity to get your brand out there, and you should be looking at capitalising on every opportunity you get to do so. From merchandise to sponsored events, billboards and digital content, it is crucial that you utilise as much of the available collateral at hand to make sure your brand has prominence. At Prolific North Live, we sponsored the keynote session as a way of ensuring that our logo was in as many visual slots as possible. Our Managing Director Chris Pharo and ChannelMum’s Jane Hamilton also took to the stage to share their vital experience and insights on the changing world of digital media, news and PR, which reaffirmed our position as a professional, authoritative brand. It also gives attendees some real takeaway – making them more likely to attend and remember your brand.
Keep It Simple
Simple but effective branding is the best way to convey your message. Long-winded, complex collateral can often result in key messaging being lost. Any collateral used at an event should be punchy yet informative. At our exhibition stand at Prolific North Live, we made sure to keep it simple. As an agency that creates, distributes and lands proactive stories in major publications, we can cut out the marketing fluff and just say it as it is, highlighting our key services and ROI for clients. Making sure that your message is conveyed clearly and concisely with your exhibition panels is vital so that any passers by can instantly recognise your specialties at a glance. This will give potential customers a lasting impression of what you specialise in, meaning that you will likely be their first port of call.
Engage with social channels
Events provide great visual content for social media channels, another key way to boost engagement. Followers can be gained by simply interacting naturally with other attendees and piggy-backing on the momentum that any decent expo will generate. The exhibition floor at Prolific North Live was full of cutting-edge brands showcasing innovative tech which lent itself to regular Instragram story updates – great engaging visual content for our followers to view. Through regular updates linked to the event you can boost traffic to your social pages page and gain followers. Twitter feeds work well when utilised on a rolling basis displaying general updates and goings-on at the event including relevant hashtags. This provides followers with a newsfeed, giving them all the information they need.
The take-homes
Marketing events are a great way to boost brand exposure and increase traffic to company websites/social channels – all very viable justifications for allocating spend. But, above everything, attending marketing events allows your company to stay on top of industry trends. They provide a fertile ground for networking with key individuals and learning about what’s current and what’s next to come – allowing you to identify how this relates to you. This knowledge can be invaluable in keeping your brand fresh and relevant.
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2018: The PR Trends that you need to monitor
Jack Granard looks ahead to the trends you need to monitor in 2018. See the first of this two-part feature on the digital media predictions of 2017 that you should have followed here.
2017 oversaw the continued evolution of what it is to be a PR professional, as it became more influenced by digital elements, social media and marketing.
Importantly, as content became more visual, it superseded the tried tested methods, such as traditional press releases, whilst also bringing about the rise in the use of video, influencer and infographic content. This article will highlight the upcoming trends that need to be monitored in 2018 and how it can be incorporated by your company.
The Future Role of PR: The Statistics
The advancement of the PR role is indicative of the importance of reacting quickly to the latest PR trends so as not to be left behind.
A 2017 USC Annenberg Global Communications study which interviewed 875 PR executives and 101 marketers from around the world found that digital storytelling is the biggest future PR trend with 88% citing it as important. Moreover, social listening ranked second (82%) followed by social purpose (71%) and Big Data (70%).
In terms of skills for future growth, strategic planning with 89% was voted as the most important, followed by written communications (86%), social media (84%), multimedia content development (82%), and verbal communications (80%).
87% of professionals believe the term “public relations” will not describe the work they do in five years, which exemplifies the initial point about being reactive. This is given further strength, where 60% of marketing executives believe PR and marketing will become dramatically more aligned in the near future.
Ultimately, these figures suggest the importance of being a well-rounded PR executive. It is essential to keep on adapting, otherwise the PR professional today could become extinct in as soon as 5 years.
Dark Social Media
Data coverage and tracking in the PR industry has become a fundamental element of presentation and success for clients, in identifying social influence and monitoring performance. However, what is impossible to track is dark social, which is defined as the communication through private messaging platforms, such as, text, email, Whatsapp, Messenger and Skype. The importance of tracking this is accentuated by the likes of Forbes.
Bearing any privacy concerns, the main interests in measuring this is emphasised by the notion that increasingly we are more likely to share a link via dark social than on your Facebook profile. Consequently, PR firms are incapable of measuring this and are left confused as to where the rise in traffic to websites stems from. Significantly, standard web analytics are incapable of measuring this and key insights are lost.
Therefore, to start measuring dark social, one method could be to really emphasise the social sharing buttons on your site, whilst making sure all buttons have trackable links. Alternatively, if your direct track URLs are too long, it will be more unlikely to have been typed in their browser.
Overall, with this being a recent hot point, it is notable to keep your eyes peeled for new developments.
Artificial Intelligence
As stated throughout, data measurement has been very important to the PR role and AI has the potential to extend this further, through being utilised for basic research and media monitoring.
By utilising data scientists to predict future trends and investing in artificial intelligence to also combat this, it could pave the way for workload to be reduced for PR companies and to predict when and what businesses need to change. However, one topic that has been heavily discussed is the usage of intelligent chatbots. These bots powered by artificial intelligence could evolve the way customer communication is utilised and may also be used to create a new fun concept to promote a brand. Further weight is given, as it was highlighted by Business Insider as “the biggest thing since the iPhone.”
Speech Recognition Technology
Whether you have seen the parody videos or you have utilised the technology in Amazon Echo, Apple Siri or Google Home, it is largely agreeable that it has been a strong talking point recently.
Speech recognition built into modern devices is quick, accurate and definitely the future. With the possibility of it being used more frequently it could bring about a process where ads and SEO are not relevant. This has been heavily advocated by Steve Waddington (Social Media Director at Ketchum) who believes it will “create another wave of internet disintermediation.”
With rising incomes and interest in becoming more technological, firms should try to incorporate this technology into their campaigns and find new ways to be different.
Personal Brand Reputation and Social Ethics
Is it obvious? Yes.
Does, more need to be done? Yes.
Social media has brought about exposure in new ways, putting us all under scrutiny. However, this is also a positive thing as it allows the opportunity for engagement with all these individuals through social media to gauge what this company is like. Previously, executives would target features in broadsheet papers but now optimising social networks is essential to harbouring not just brand reputation but a personal relationship with the consumer.
72Point has effectively created a space to combat this and has evolved through its recent brand revamp to better understand our organisation, our consumers and our goals. Now with increasing competition and shorter attention spans, only specialised websites who understand how to communicate effectively with all these new tools can succeed.
The PR industry is only likely to become more ethically focused with the Public Relations Communication Association’s (PRCA) expulsion of Bell Pottinger being a major point in 2017. Therefore, more awareness and positive messaging needs to be shown to restore trust.
Conclusion
This year will involve more competition and more technologies to use than ever before. At 72Point, we attempt to stay one step ahead and monitor these trends carefully. The PR world is a jungle and it has been shown to be ruthless in the past year. Therefore, more personal and genuine campaigns need to be implemented this year before it is too late.
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2017: The Digital Media Trends that you should have followed
In the first of a two part series, Jack Granard looks back at the digital media predictions of 2017 that you should have followed.
A year can seem like a long time in the media business these days.
Just last week, Facebook announced changes to its algorithm that effectively turns the industry on its head, with many publishers and comms agencies forced to reverse well-worn practices to ensure they don’t get slapped by the updates.
But as the common saying goes, those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it, and with that in mind, we take a look back at the PR trends that caught our eye in 2017.
1) The Fake News Blues: The Focus on Personal and More Reliable Content
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will be aware of how often the term “fake news” has been used this year. In fact, so worn has the phrase become that it was officially crowned the ‘Word of the Year’ by Collins Dictionary. Even Theresa May weighed in, announcing a whole unit to combat the rise and spread of the media's phony phenomenon.
In 2017 we saw PR take on the role of becoming a more reliable source for media outlets. Rising scepticism amongst consumers and greater diligence required from journalists as a consequence of “fake news” acted as a catalyst for a renewed focus on reputation management from content production to the individuals involved in its creation.
Ultimately, this gave rise to third-party research being essential to the success of pitches. At 72Point we utilise the partnership with our market research arm at OnePoll and with our brands’ own studies when compiling stories to ensure they meet exceptionally high standards.
2) Social media domination: Video and Live In the Moment Content
A common theme of my commute to work involves reading up on the news or if I am in need of a laugh, watching the latest viral video on my phone. Whether you agree with it being a good thing or not, you can’t disagree that society has become addicted to their mobile phones. Furthermore, at a breakneck pace we have become more interested in visual and video content as a subsequent result of our social media use. As early as 2013, it was found that the average person watches 32 videos per month, and interestingly, there’s a 74 percent increase in understanding when someone watches a video. Subsequently, our 2017 objective was to increase our video content production and utilise our talented design team to create more infographics and animations for customers. The importance of having an early lead on this is strengthened by the 2017 report from Cisco which predicted that 75% of the world’s mobile traffic will be video by 2020.
Now, with Facebook live, Periscope, Youtube Live, Instagram and Twitch exploding in interest, 2017 highlighted the applicability of creating content that could gain immediate responses.
3) The Traditional Media Press Release Is Dead
The old method of writing press releases for the media has been overtaken by posting on a website in conjunction with emails and Tweets to customers and journalists. This more direct focus has streamlined the process and has created a faster turn-around. Significantly, 2017 marked for most firms the reduced significance of press releases with media channels concentrating on becoming more visual and creative. A good example of this is Manchester United’s recent announcement of new signing Alexis Sanchez which was utilised by a cinematic Twitter video.
4) Evolution of the PR role
The PR individual of past would struggle to adapt to today’s requirements. Previous demands focused on being capable or understanding the processes of writing content, event planning and maintaining relationships.
However, success is now dependant on having these things on top of a broader skill set applicable to a digital focus whilst utilising social media, content marketing and content strategy. The rapid shift in PR becoming more data driven in every process has resulted in greater pressure to respond to real time events by reacting with the correct responses to PR trends from days to now minutes. Data collation and the utilisation of the correct software to gain results has long been implemented by 72Point to highlight the success of a campaign and where improvements can be made for the future.
5) The rise of the influencer
Long gone are the traditional use of media relations, 2017 marked the year of the social media influencer. This is supported as a recent survey highlighted that youngsters would rather aspire to be social media superstars than musicians or actors.
Subsequently, media relations have advanced from merely pitching media to actively working with these individuals who are more accessible and willing to work in all forms of social media. It has directly linked PR to marketing and has influenced the methods of earning media to just paying for it.
Conclusion
Whether you had kept abreast of these new developments in 2017 or not it would hold you in good stead to follow these principles for the future. PR has dramatically changed in the past year and is constantly evolving to new pressures and technologies. At 72 Point we constantly monitor these developments and attempt to adapt to stay on course as a market leader.
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The future of digital media is in the North - here's why
The future of digital media is in the North - here's why
In what is being dubbed a “digital migration” in the industry, many media organisations that once housed their digital functions in London are migrating to the North of the country.
Although the shift can be attributed to a number of factors, early signs that London has been caught napping while the digital revolution took hold are certainly there.
According to one recruitment consultant there has been a significant increase in the demand for experienced digital professionals throughout the north, with Leeds a particular hotbed for such talent over the years.
Here's how the north positioned itself as the chief beneficiary of a digital migration.
The Past
There once was a time when London had a monopoly over the media industry. In fact, so concentrated was the media landscape that in 2003 the government was forced to intervene with the Communications Act, which required a proportion of programmes by the UK’s main broadcasters be made outside the M25. This acted as a catalyst for big media moving to the north.
The Present
Fast forward to today and the news on the media front is that Salford outranked both London and Manchester to become the UK’s top city for starting a new business in 2017. Sunderland also laid claim to the most new tech businesses in the UK, with the turnover of digital tech businesses in the city growing by 101 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
This is even further exemplified by the fact that nearly 70 per cent of total UK digital tech investment was in regional clusters beyond London, with Edinburgh (£159 million), Manchester (£78 million) and Sheffield (£61 million) among the notable recipients.
Significantly, digital employment in Sheffield and South Yorkshire stands at over 21,000 and digital firms in the region boast one of the highest growth rates of any cluster in the UK, with turnover increasing at 47 per cent.
In Birmingham, there are already an estimated 50,000 creative workers in the city area, and more than 5,800 companies. Little wonder, therefore, that Birmingham successfully lobbied to gain more investment from the BBC in the same vein as Salford by pitching itself as "young, diverse and digital".
The Future
The impact of Media City’s introduction to the wider region and the rate of growth should not be understated, as thousands of start-ups now rub shoulders with the likes of the BBC and Channel 4, who headquarter in the city.
It would appear the only way is up for the region. In 2016 a £1 billion plan to double the size of MediaCityUK was given the green light. Moreover, according to a study by DueDil, if Salford maintains its startup growth rate, the city could be on course to produce 5,286 new businesses this year alone, a huge increase of 2,436 from the previous year.
According to Stuart Clarke, who headed up the Leeds Digital Festival in June 2016, Leeds has the potential to become ‘digital capital of Europe.’ Thanks in part to the rising costs of running a business in London an increasing amount of start-ups are heading to Yorkshire to capitalise on its burgeoning digital sector. The Leeds University backed SPARK programme supports student entrepreneurs, while Futurelabs, Duke Studios, Leeds Beckett Digital Hub and ODI Leeds provide space and networking opportunities. A £3.7 million grant from Leeds City Council will be divided between innovative tech projects, and Creative England backed Gameslab Leeds will continue to support games studios in the area.
The North East is also in the process of handing the keys to the region over to tech-savvy Millennials. The IPPR “State of the North” report pointed to the opportunities afforded by the creative and tech sectors in the region that will necessitate more digital skills. Sunderland now has the highest rate of digital tech business startups in the country, while Newcastle and Middlesbrough both have higher birth rates than the national average – with a hotbed of IT and digital talent and creativity there to welcome firms who take a punt on the country’s chilly North East.
In Birmingham, the digital scene is thriving with the youthfulness and diversity of its workforce, as Under 25s make up 40 per cent of the population, making it among the youngest cities in Europe with an increasing supply of talent for media firms operating in the digital space.
Conclusion
With the secret now out, it will be interesting to see how aggressive this migration is set to be. Although London is undoubtedly important to the Digital Media sector, it seems like the tide has turned to the North with only greater growth expected in 2018.
72Point's Jack Peat will be leading Prolific North Live’s Digital Keynote Theatre on 28th February and 1st March, for more details, see https://live.prolificnorth.co.uk/.
Football clubs are putting PR at the heart of their comms strategy - and reaping the rewards
Football fans up and down the country will know the feeling. Constantly refreshing your Twitter feed to check if your team has found the final jigsaw puzzle to propel them toward the Premier League title. He finally signs - cue fanfare, interviews with the player, general knowledge articles and all-round hysteria. It demonstrates how in just a matter of years social media has become integral to fanship and football.
The worlds of marketing, PR and social media are now a big part of how football teams operate. But believe it or not there was a time before all this, when the world's biggest football teams were not paying such close attention to their PR departments.
Manchester United are the biggest football team in England and, debatably, the world. For me they are a huge example of how pivotal PR has become in football. Six years ago they allowed one of their hottest young prospects, Paul Pogba, to move on for free to Juventus in Italy. Fast forward four years and they buy Pogba back, initiating one of the most drawn out transfer sagas in football history that would eventually make him the most expensive footballer in the world (at least for a while).
Fans were literally champing at the bit for confirmation of the transfer, and when it finally came Pogba had already inherited a popstar-esque stature. Social media was sent into overdrive with content and hashtags centred around the French star returning, with Man United running ‘#Pogback’ with even his own emoji.
Then there was a collaboration video featuring Pogba (an Adidas athlete) and Stormzy (a prominent UK rapper, also part of the Adidas roster) rapping and dancing dressed in Manchester United kit (Man U are also sponsored by Adidas).
The whole thing was a PR explosion and for the first time in a while I had started to believe the football world had gone mad. From a business perspective, allowing a player who was on your books to leave for free, only to buy him back four years later for £90 million seems absolutely ludicrous. Surely that's a shocking investment and a hugely avoidable mishap that would punch a hole through the heart of Manchester United’s financial situation? Right?
Wrong. When you factor in his shirt sales reaching £190 million within three weeks, then the whole PR stunt makes perfect sense. Not only are United getting a player of extreme quality, but also by turning him into an international popstar they are actually getting value for their money at £90 million! How insane is that? And this is before we even mention the benefits for Adidas, the kit manufacturer who sponsor Man U and also Pogba.
In other words, the deal made perfect sense for everyone involved, especially Adidas, who hold Pogba as arguably their most prized asset - someone who they invest most of their marketing and advertising budgets into.
Now, let's take a look further down the leagues. This year, Bristol City (who play in the English Championship) have implemented a PR stunt that was never before seen in the world of Football. They used their Twitter account to give fans a glimpse of the players, which is nothing groundbreaking, but the way in which they did it has hooked the nation, and has pretty much made them the nation’s favourite second team.
Whenever City score, instead of tweeting an ordinary goal update, their twitter account will tweet a hilarious gif of the goalscorer doing something completely random! Examples include players cracking eggs on their heads, brushing their teeth or even doing the ironing, and this one of midfielder Bobby Reid cracking 2 beer cans over his head!
GOAL: #BristolCity 1-0 Wolves, Reid 53. #BRCvWOL pic.twitter.com/Pu8K4e3Rx5
— Bristol City FC (@bcfctweets) December 30, 2017
(See more here)
So here we see a Football team using clever content not only to give their fans fun insights into their players, but also to boost their engagement and exposure with general fans of football up and down the country. One would be forgiven for mistaking them for a PR company!
When you consider their strong start to the season which places them firmly in the promotion race and a massive cup win against the aforementioned juggernauts Manchester United, then you have a football team who are massively on the up. All this on pitch success enhances the clubs stature and size, but the clever off-field PR moments have also hooked onto fans and keeps Bristol City at the forefront of their minds.
The world of PR is ever-changing. With the explosion of social media, content has been adapted to be more snappy and hard-hitting than ever, and football has changed to match it. Football teams are paying more attention to their PR then ever, and are reaping the business and exposure benefits because of it.
2017 – Letting The Numbers Do The Talking
Although the PR industry has developed remarkably over the past few decades, one thing that hasn’t changed is our compulsive need to use bizarre jargon to sell our wares. Incubators for influencers, accelerators for thought leaders, alignment for holistic viewers. Surely it’s time to de-layer the ecosystem?
While some may argue that the many faces of the digital revolution has necessitated an explosion of terminology in PR, it also threatens to overcomplicate what are often very simple objectives. Brands seldom approach us with such terminology in hand, so are we not doing them a disservice by adding waffle to their brief?
Here at 72Point we achieved a record-breaking year in 2017 by going back to basics. We have expanded into areas such as social media while solidifying our national media base by sticking to the basic principle that good stories perform well on any platform. And the proof is in the pudding.
We generated over five thousand print and digital cuts for our clients across the year, landing on an average of 15 publications for every story we put out. Add social media engagement statistics to that – a total of 635,000 shares across the year – and you get a decent picture of how our clients are getting serious bang for their buck.
But the highlight of 2017 was how we took our traditional press offering and applied it to social media. With a new social team in place – including UNILAD hires and a new social media management structure – we were able to generate a succession of viral campaigns, one of which was aired on Good Morning America with Will Ferrell and others which garnered a reach of hundreds of thousands of people across our social media suite of platforms.
Along with our national media offering and regional publication package we were delighted to introduce the Breakthrough Package in 2017 which delivers unrivalled cut-through for clients looking to get national exposure as well as touching the regions and getting traction on social media with the people who really matter to them.
The inflatable sanctuary project run for Hotels.com is a classic example of this. The project, featuring a mock ‘sanctuary’ for left-behind animal inflatables, was a huge hit with the national media garnering 29 pieces of organic coverage on titles such as The Telegraph, Daily Mail and Fox News. It also ran across over 170 Johnston Press regional titles and was distributed to tens of thousands of people on social media who are interested in travel or thinking about booking a holiday – a remarkable result all told.
It is a package we look forward to delivering more of in the New Year, quite simply because it delivers what it says on the tin without getting bogged down in meaningless jargon. It guarantees national exposure, it guarantees regional hits and it guarantees a targeted social boost or your money back.
That’s a straight-talking package from a straight-talking agency.
How social media turned TV audiences into ‘sheeple’ – and how you can influence them
Social media has played an increasingly advanced role in shaping what we watch.
It informs us on what the next groundbreaking progrmme is to see, advises us on new talking points to dish amongst work colleagues or friends and it shows us what our friends and our influencers are interested in.
Consequently, critics and wannabe influencers now have the platforms to actively share their voice and impact our decisions, which has become impossible to avoid.
I noticed this trend recently when my mum surprisingly started watching Blue Planet, which is a far cry away from her normal television schedule of Strictly and Downton Abbey.
It is also hard to find a day in the office where someone isn’t trying to converse over the latest episode of Stranger Things.
Significantly, in digging a bit deeper, it became clear that there are clear parallels with social media’s influence on what we want to watch.
This study delves into this debate and how through social media and PR you can influence individuals to watch your content.
The Statistics
If the above doesn’t convince you, numbers will.
As early as 2013, it was reported by Yahoo!7 in a poll of 7,000 individuals that “42% of respondents said they had chosen to watch a particular show because of a social media recommendation and 38% said they became aware of television shows through Facebook and Twitter,” evidencing how social media has turned us into TV Sheeple.
Interestingly, in the Yahoo!7 survey it was stated “43% used social media while watching television,” which demonstrates the connection between the two and the opportunity to boost viewership based on social media activity. This is given further strength as it was corroborated by Ericcson’s surveyof 30,000 people in 2016 that highlighted “64% of consumers say at least once a week they use a mobile device to complement or supplement what they are watching on television.”
In looking at viewership rates, Erriccson reported that since 2010, the share of viewing hours spent on-demand short video clips has jumped 86%. This statistic is particularly important as these clips which are mainly categorised as Youtube videos are based on content that is more reliant on social media, further highlighting the strength of social media in increasing viewership.
Additionally, such is the impact of social media influencers to our life, that Nielson’s in their Millenials on Millennials report, recorded that male Millennials have a “higher opinion of trending social media stars than they do for sports stars, pop stars, actors and actresses.” Thus showing how much influence social media influencers have on our viewing choices but also how far social media has come in allowing these individuals to have a platform to be more respected than traditionally known celebrities.
With the recent outcry over fake news, it should be noted that some people don’t even watch television, such is the influence of social media as a source of information. According to the Conversation in 2016, it recorded globally, for all age groups under 45, “online news is now ranked as more important than television news.” Particularly among the consumer group of 18 to 24 year olds, social media at 28% was rated more important than TV at 24%.
Overall, these statistics paint an effective picture that social media to a large extent has been and can be responsible for our viewing habits. The tricky part is using the platforms we have to affect this.
The Unilad Model
Unilad, a platform that is synonymous with being a giant in social media and the place that unearths the latest trending content, is the best example of this.
Launched in 2014 as an entertainment outlet for UK students, its rapid rise coinciding with its campaign for The Inbetweeners 2 movie and The Entourage movie stressed how media has shifted in generating mass traffic.
Starting out as a Facebook group, its large global share of the social media world has meant that Quantcast, an audience measurement company, discovered that “Unilad users are over 5X more interested in film and entertainment than the average internet user.” Therefore, when promoting content to its 34 million audience on Facebook alone, it was the largest site in the world to host the official trailer of Inbetweeners 2. Notably it also received the greatest amount of views and shares of the UK trailer for the Entourage film.
Consequently, as a platform Unilad have understood their audience to match their needs without being too intrusive and their audience has complied to share their content. Utilising these skills sounds simple enough but it can backfire if not done with care and consideration for your audience. Significantly, this is why sites similar to Unilad are able to generate such reach and are the starting point in that discussion with your friend at the pub or at work, as to what you are excited to watch next.
PR Stunts
Stunts are always a good way to stimulate interest for an upcoming series or film.
A recent example of this successfully working is the 2017 Baywatch film where coinciding with its release, a slow-mo marathon was held in Los Angeles. This gained traffic through social media with 60,000 views on Youtube alone and was likely a shared talking point for many people during the day who witnessed the event. It further gained shares and mentions on major publications, like Adweek and Campaign for its efforts.
More effectively, the best example is the 2012 stratos jump from Red Bull, where Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier. This stunt produced and broadcast by Red Bull pulled in 8 million live views on Youtube and currently stands at 42 million views on their channel. Although not solely responsible for Red Bull’s expansion into cementing itself as more than an energy drink, it did significantly assist in helping it transition its focus on the media front.
Incorporating Social Media into your Show
Audiences of yesteryear had less influence on what they saw on their favourite programmes or films with only little opportunity that their sentiments would be heard by a network exec.
However, the introduction of social media has changed this dynamic, as today’s viewers can not only watch a show but also share their feelings in real time. This has also changed the role of the producer of these programmes, for they can potentially know what is popular or not by what is trending on social media platforms. In essence social media has transformed live television into a “global social experience.”
It should be noted that this isn’t exclusive to television, as live game broadcasts on Twitch, events shown on Youtube Live, Periscope or Facebook live, all offer opportunities to be involved and have your thoughts heard.
Although consumer feedback is not necessarily a new invention with the previous method used as SMS, it is notable how much more influence social media has in this area. For that reason, those conversations on Facebook or Twitter shouldn’t be underrated in their importance to the higher-ups. Consequently, popular channels and television stations are using this to their advantage to encourage people to share and promote their shows.
An example of this working very well is WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment. For those who thought wrestling was just men in tights drop-kicking each other prepare to be surprised. Forbes reported at the end of 2016, WWE had close to 739 million followers. They also anticipate that by 2018 this will surpass 1 billion. Additionally, now that your attention has been caught, you may be left wondering how this is possible?
>Well, WWE has mastered the art of making the views of their audience heard. Regular viewers will know that at different points in the show, a running tab of social media comments will be displayed on the bottom of the screen displaying people’s opinions on the show thus far. Therefore, if your comment is merited you will be rewarded on live television for your views, thus enabling the incentive to share your views.
Importantly, in every match or segment, there is a hashtag in the corner of the screen so people know what to mention and they inform the viewer with a notification in the opposing corner when they are trending worldwide.
The use of hashtags or encouraging individuals to share is given extra weight as is it also cited by Daily Nationwho mention “that the more a show is talked about the better the chances it stands of surviving…It starts with a simple hashtag like #NowWatching which makes it easy to track the conversation.” Moreover. that article goes as far as to say that “TV shows cannot run away from social media but should just embrace it.”
Overall, there is a lot of credence to suggest that the more your content is talked about, the more weight it lends to not just survival but also revenue. Consequently, mere things like hashtags or encouragement to share or subscribe can be very important to measure success and gain it.
72 Point’s Work
Our company’s influence is exemplified by a wide range of work but most recently, the work utilised for the History Channel on the build up of their “World War True” season strongly demonstrated the importance of PR and social media side-by-side.
Using our creative team and our extensive research arm which covered 2,000 respondents, 72 Point were able to demonstrate the shocking lack of knowledge regarding WW2 with some people mistakenly believing Germany and Britain fought on the same side. Coinciding with the survey which demonstrated more startling statistics, a quizz was generated to highlight the top 10 WW2 films.
These facts displayed on our site and spread across our wide media connections through social media and marketing platforms elevated the serious concern for these issues but also generated significant buzz for History Channel’s new programme. Examples of the success of our campaign are displayed by it reaching an online readership of 448 million combined with it being circulated by print to an audience of 4.45 million. The value of our sources gained in print and digital is highlighted by major publications like The Independant, The Sun, Mirror and UniLad promoting the story. Ultimately, this campaign built publicity in a unique way and assisted in turning people into TV Sheeple.
Conclusion
While the social media world seems like a competitive battlefield for attention it can effectively be used to your advantage. Utilising some of the tips above or just acknowledging the statistics can help and it should be known that the game has not just changed but evolved. Significantly to stay one step ahead of your competitors is necessary in this market and it is solely up to you to find ways in social media to step
Start a Conversation this Christmas
Recognising Loneliness as a chronic issue in the UK, the late Jo Cox MP established a cross-party initiative called the Jo Cox Loneliness Commission, of which 15 major charities including Age UK, British Red Cross and The Silver Line UK are taking part. The Commission aimed ‘not simply to highlight the problem, but more importantly to act as a call to action. With the message ‘Start a Conversation’ about loneliness, and with each other. The Commission has got people talking at all levels – whether chatting to a neighbour, visiting an old friend, or just making time for the people they meet. After a year of research and community-building activities it will close on the 15th of December.
Bereavement is a prevalent cause of isolation that affects everyone, but in particular the older generation. Chronic loneliness can often set in when an individual loses close friends and partners who they have gone through their entire life with, leaving them with no one to spend time with on a daily basis. This leads to a vicious cycle where an individual has next-to-no contact with the outside world, therefore they cannot meet new people and make new friends and feel increasingly isolated from society. Charities such as Sue Ryder launched their #ConnectingThread campaign, which is on online community to provide people going through a difficult time with support – the campaign has provided people with a safe place to find practical advice, and an opportunity to share what they’re going through.
Poor health is another factor which can be experienced at any age and one that limits people’s contact with society. It’s an unfortunate fact that many elderly individuals are more prone to suffering from poor health, making it difficult for them to get around town or even their own home. Half a million people over 60 usually spend their day alone. In July 2015, Co-op and British Red Cross launched an innovative partnership to tackle this. The partnership has raised £6 million to fund new Red Cross services, helping over 12,500 people connect with their local communities by providing up to 12 weeks of practical support, helping finding activities and groups to join.
The Silver Line UK is the only national, free and confidential helpline for older people that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 68% of callers contact The Silver Line because they feel lonely or isolated, 90% live alone, and 54% say they have no one else to speak to. The charity is doing great ground work in providing older people with practical support, or simply giving them someone to have a chat with. Last Christmas, The Silver Line say they were unable to answer 5,000 calls due to huge demand. It costs £5 to answer a call. So this year, we at 72Point have partnered with The Silver Line to help them answer every single one.
We pride ourselves on being conversation starters. This Christmas we will launch our #StartAConversation campaign, urging people to talk about issues of loneliness, and more importantly – talk to each other.
We’ll be launching a new video on Friday the 24th of November to help The Silver Line start conversations that count this Christmas.
Stay tuned.