Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York

2009 will be the year we see a greater interaction between brands and their targeted consumers thanks to social media and influence of the digital platform. The evolution began slowly, but in the last several months, in combination with a fragile economy, companies small and large, emerging and established, are beginning to see that interacting with consumers, rather than talking at them, has a profound effect on sales, brand loyalty and positive word of mouth.

While many may feel that social media is becoming more fragmented and expanding vastly at such a fast pace, I also think that as social media continues to evolve, there are certain aspects that have become very niche. All you have to do is look at the blogosphere, or Ning for that matter, to see that more and more people prefer to become a part of community that shares their talents, career interests and similarities. Where TheSpaProject.com may be a social network for spa goers, Spa Clique is geared towards spa and salon professionals to connect them and keep them up to date on the inner workings of their industry.

The media landscape has been changing since the emergence of social media as a highly influential platform. Everyone has a soapbox and everyone wants to be heard. Some voices are louder than others reaching further and riding that digital wave. Not every brand out there understands how to effectively become part of that conversation and if there is any one thing that people tell me when I talk to them about how social media is instrumental for businesses today, it's that there is so much fragmentation that it makes their eyes cross. They often wonder, where do I begin? Which social media tools are the most effective? Do I have to be on every single social media site out there for it to have any impact on my business?

It's no secret to those who know me that I spend a lot of time in the space of social media and it could be said that I am a bit of a Twitter-holic. This past weekend the dominating conversation topic on Twitter was about the commercial Motrin has had out targeting moms...and not just any mom, but the moms who are considered "baby wearers." While I understood the main idea of what Motrin was trying to express--holding a child for any duration of time can cause back pain (and I am a mother of 4, so I do understand this)--the wording that was used and the way it was conveyed set off a firestorm via Twitter (and posted to You Tube) and the blogosphere that landed the controversial Motrin ad in the New York Times this morning.

The bottom line? The folks at McNeil Consumer Healthcare were blindsided by said firestorm because their consumer brands are not actively engaged in social media and monitoring discussions, good or bad, about their brands. Had they been, certainly they could have quelled the wave of people outraged by the advertisement rather than allow 3 days to pass before they realized they had were in a PR crisis.

With more people looking to subscribe to their favorite magazines digitally, we began to see a decline in print magazine subscriptions thus slagging advertising sales which always means difficult times for the publishing industry. Add to that stew a lot of economic uncertainty and consumers cutting back and finding more frugal ways to get their fashion and beauty news--and you will find print publications folding at lightening speed. And it seems that in the last few months, that list of folded publications just keeps getting longer and longer. DNR, a Conde Nast publication, can now be added to that list. DNR is a men's fashion magazine that has been around for well over 100 years.

With the continued current of bad news hitting print publications everywhere, it is apparent now more than ever, that the tide is turning to online and social media as no longer the "alternative" to print, but the primary choice for obtaining news and information. Securing coverage in newspapers and magazines where the staff count is dwindling and editors and journalists are overwhelmed has made this already competitive task even more cut throat. So what's a brand do to that isn't yet well known or highly established? They embark on a very digitally savvy marketing campaign utilizing various aspects of social media to create their own success.

Typically I would've been putting out this forecast on PR trends last month, but I think it's safe to say that the economy is turbulent and therefore what may be a great business and PR strategy one day may not necessarily work months down the line. While everyone may be all doom and gloom about the current state of public relations, I remain an eternal optimist and think that success lies in being educated, creative and having a willingness to let the diversified background of your team make you collectively stronger to meet your clients needs.

1. The spotlight can no longer shine on just one star, 2009 is about teamwork. Sure, we all have that one employee who is so amazing that everyone wants to emulate them, but look close enough, and you will find that each one of your staff has incredible talents, that collectively, make your firm a powerhouse. Find ways to help your staff let those talents emerge and yes this may take some investment of time by upper management to really identify each of your team members strengths (and weaknesses), but in this economy our best weapon is from within our own resources.

2.  Education equals vitality. No one can be ignorant any longer to the shift in the way the public consumes news and researches/purchases products. Everyone everywhere is looking to make cuts in their budgets, but educating your team should be considered a priority and not something that can be put on the backburner until the economy pinks up. Our industry will need to keep up to speed on how to work with and remain flexible during this time of transition.

Popular party invitation site Evite.com has a special section dedicated to making invitations for your inauguration party! With history being made, people are preparing to celebrate like crazy. On the web, there is still wild speculation about the style of the first lady’s dress for the event. If you’re not going to be in Washington during the welcoming of President Barack Obama, it doesn’t mean you get to slack on your wardrobe at your Inauguration Day party. Your inauguration fashion statement should be about glam and glory. Dress up and show no sign of our faltering economy!

Read the complete post on our Fashion PR blog, The Fashion Rag.

MySpace previously had dominantly held the position as one of the highest ranked social networking sites. Recently, though, Facebook has taken over that space as the leader in social networking and with Facebook now having over 100 million more users than MySpace, MySpace is seeking to regain it's number one ranking and plans to do so by changing their reputation via the entertainment industry. We have already seen this through the changes they have put into place through their music platform. Now they are looking to target women by beginning a wedding-themed reality series. It left me wondering, can MySpace really rebrand itself by targeting a new demographic?

2009 is already seeing a lot of change, and not surprisingly (or maybe so?) the axe is beginning to fall (a little too often) on print publications that had previously been considered successful. Back in November The New York Observer discussed the possibility of Domino folding, but today that rumor was met with reality as both WWD and The San Francisco Chronicle confirm that Domino has officially folded. It appears no one is safe in this economy regardless of success because when it comes down to it--it's all about relevancy and numbers.

With the current state of the economy, companies may be questioning the value of PR and how publicity can directly translate into increased sales. I understand this and all too often our industry sees clients cutting PR from their budgets when it is the one thing that is most important in an economic downturn. The economy has caused the priorities of public relations to begin a seismic shift and our main focus is no longer solely about consumer awareness, but now includes the added challenge of positively impacting the bottom line. For the industry to remain afloat here are some public relations strategies we implement here at Pierce Mattie PR that we've found to be successful:

Empowerment. We all feel it at some time or another and its driving force to aid in the creation of change. We saw it this past election, we saw it in Joel Comm's Tweet-a-Thon to raise money for Water is Life and we even recently saw it when 180 million Facebook users created a public relations crisis causing the top social network to revert back to their old TOS while it "re-evaluates" its newer version. We throw around the term "word of mouth" a little too easily, underestimating its true power. The power of the people. The power of their voice. The power of collaboration. It all has to begin somewhere with that one person who sparks that empowerment and passion in others. Are we miscalculating their strength?

Consumer engagement via crowdsourcing is the new black. Back when Mazda leveraged Facebook in 2007 to engage car enthusiasts to design their next concept car, it was fairly unique but without much fanfare only gaining 300 entries. However this past year when BMW held a "graffitti design contest" via Facebook, there were over 6000 entries merely seven days into it. What does this tell us? "If they design it, they will come." Consumers love to be engaged. They love to have their creativity utilized and they like to feel like they are a part of something. Is this something new? Not really. But social media has thrown it into the spotlight simply validating something we already knew.

Maybe you were on Twitter today and noticed that the Fail Whale kept making an appearance and wondered if this East Coast blizzard had anything to do with it. That is, until you realized that just about everyone in your Twitter stream was suddenly mentioning the rainbow candy brand, Skittles. A quick jump to Skittles.com and there you have it--Skittles decided to take a form of Twitter-branding by storm...and yes, coincidence that we get a huge storm today? I'd say perfect timing to get the maximum amount of exposure for this social media strategy. So is this tactic daring enough to be buzzworthy and what is the ultimate goal of this PR stunt?

Now every fashion forward individual can have the power of plastic in, but of course, a top designer’s brand.
 
On Sunday in Milan, Roberto Cavalli revealed his very own and very sexy Mastercard credit card at a launch party with special guests like Milla Jovovich, who will star with him in an Internet-only ad campaign, and Elizabeth Hurley.

Recession? What recession? Whilst common folk may be struggling to cut down on their expenses, Cavalli is busying himself with spreading his power far beyond just fashion…while keeping it fashionable, naturally.  The credit card eludes fabulousness all on its own, with features including an embellished gold logo and a multi-hued, iridescent snakeskin print. But is this a bold move to keep a luxury brand in the spotlight during the economic downturn or more risky due to the credit crisis?

Anyone else getting tired of the doom and gloom of the news lately? Recession, lay-offs, newspapers and magazines folding, bail-outs....and the companies (AIG *cough cough*) who spend the bail-out money on luxury items and raises? I know I sure am (and we've given you some tips on how to keep your spirits up despite it.)

So in the spirit of watching the transition from print to digital publications become more clearly evident for those who lived in denial for so long, I decided that to avoid having positive news about your newest products falling on deaf ears thus slipping through the cracks, that another blog post was in order regarding some of the pet peeves blogger's have when it comes to pitching them. I'm sure you've read the more serious Do's and Don'ts of pitching bloggers that I wrote and had published on the Bulldog Reporter's The Daily Dog or even my interview with several mommy bloggers on what works and what doesn't in pitching them? If you haven't, you should. So we polled blogger's on Twitter this morning to ask them what bothers them most when being sent PR pitches; here's what they said:

Twitter has finally hit the mainstream media. Quite honestly, it has gotten so much press lately you would think this social networking site only just emerged on the scene. Yet it's been around for a few years now, so can we really call it "Twittermania" simply because the mainstream press has finally taken notice? The great thing about being an early adopter is being able to feel like you are in this secret, underground society where you know something most people don't. You know the advantages and disadvantages of being a part of this exclusive group, and you even try to lure people over little by little simply because you understand the value. But you also know that once enough people are on board, it's growth is like a high speed train careening out of control...until it hits a brick wall. Will Twitter become the next MySpace hitting the height of popularity only to then meet a turning point allowing a competitor to emerge and steal the spotlight? Or has the exposure Twitter is now receiving THAT turning point which determines how we will evolve the way we interact and communicate in the future?

As part of the "comeback story" for Britney Spears continues, her latest venture is with footwear and apparel brand, Candies, who has partnered with Kohl's. Her new ads for Candies for Kohl's are reminiscent of the old Britney, but the ads are getting a lot of flack for being airbrushed, which has helped generate a lot of buzz and publicity for this collection. However if you watch the behind the scenes video, it's obvious that Miss Brit is in fantastic shape these days!

So will the mix of photoshopping controversy and pop star comeback help drive consumer awareness (and sales) for Candies for Kohl's?

I admit I am not a big fan of Amazon; the books take forever to arrive, the shipping fees are insane and the used books often smell like they have been stored in someone’s barn. In recent years we have watched countless independent book sellers close up shop not because of Barnes & Noble, oh no, but because of Amazon.com. As a former librarian page it's even more upsetting to watch book publishers use Amazon.com as a tool to determine what titles, genres and authors are selling the most. Have you ever wondered if the ranking system seems a little out of sku?

In recent days the conversation on Twitter (and among bloggers) started getting into a well deserved uproar over Amazon’s catalog misplacing the gay titles into their adult category which prompted Amazon's public relations' to respond. Is this clean up a matter of good PR or a response to full online transparency in the world of social media? It’s interesting to note that in the virtual world you can’t get away with "glitches" such as this because your audience will call you out on it immediately. I am happy that Amazon's PR responded so quickly hopefully averting what could have surmounted to a much bigger PR crisis. Will the news that it was potentially a hacker help recover their reputation?

However, my bigger question is why rank gay subjects as adult, why not label it regardless of sexual orientation? If Ellen Degeneres' biography is a biography then label it as such, not as adult or gay. Her TV show is a talk show, not an adult show, and the list of examples goes on. I personally will be sticking to the NY Times Best Sellers list to get a view of what moves in the book world. What do you think about Amazon's "glitch?"

Photo Credit: Just Jared

Located on Main Street in Concord, Massachusetts, Cynthia Cosmetics & More recently opened its doors to "Bring out your inner Goddess..." I recently took the opportunity to interview Cyndi King to learn more about her and her beauty company:

Pierce Mattie: Tell us more about Cynthia Cosmetics & More.

Cyndi King: We offer authentic mineral makeup, chirally correct skin care and the art of Joan Terrell Smith in the historic Grist Mill of Concord MA. Refill, reuse, recycle is at the heart of the makeup studio philosophy located above Main Streets Market & Café tucked in with Nesting and The Muse’s Window at the top of the stairs. Cynthia Cosmetics & More offers 10% off your purchase when presented with old conventional, traditional makeup or skin care products for recycling. All of our product packaging is recyclable and many are made with the ability to re-fill and re-use the bottle, brush or container that contains the product. Proceeds from the sale of the Revitalash lash conditioner and the Clarisonic professional skin care brush system go to cancer research.

Pierce Mattie: Concord Massachusetts is known for its great literature that comes from that town. It is the biggest little place in America. Are you going to plan anything like; A Book & a Makeover? Or having any book readings at your store while consumers talk shop on lip gloss and sunscreen?

Cyndi King: Absolutely! Our local book store is independently owned; most of the historic Concord shopping district is inhabited by independent businesses. My greatest wish is that when Diane Ranger releases her biography that she does so here in Concord at Cynthia Cosmetics & More! I plan to offer a reading area focused on wellness, skin care and cosmetics education. I feature the art work of Joan Terrell Smith, a locally born, award winning artist, now living in France. More of her work will be on display during the Art Walk in Concord on Saturday, May 16th, 2009. www.joanterrellsmith.com

Since last August, in an effort to boost sales, Procter & Gamble have come up with a giveaway that has been so secret that no one has really known about it. On every deodorant stick lies the chance of winning a $15,000 diamond. By entering the product SKU from a Secret Flawless deodorant at www.secretdiamondgiveaway.com, a person can find out if they have won one of the ten $15K diamonds that have been hidden (fake ones to be traded for the real thing) or another prize such as a $500 Visa shopping spree or dinner at a 5-Star restaurant. However, it appears that the campaign hasn't really gotten much buzz until recently which leads me to ponder about this unique promotion--has it really been a viable PR campaign?

Borghese's publicity and social media strategies have really caught my eye lately. As a big fan of their skin care products, I wanted to get the inside scoop from their communications and publicity team on what they have been up to and what products we can expect to see this fall.

Pierce Mattie: Borghese sure has caught on to the develops of social media. You have a Facebook fan page, a twitter profile and a flickr page. How has online communication been working for the Borghese team?

Borghese: The social media has been amazing for us. We are connecting with customers from all over the US. We recently launched our Community Page; our customers are sharing stories with each other on when they first discovered Borghese, their favorite Borghese product, etc.

Pierce Mattie: I actually get announcements when to head over to Lord & Taylor for facials, has Facebook announcements like this in the past helped fill the chairs at the department store?

Borghese: It certainly has helped in the past although social media has made it easier for us. Instead of sending out invitations (whether a bounce-back card or email which may be forgotten) to our events by city and state, we are now able to just list all our events and have our customers see it all at once when they log onto their pages with reminders, a list of who else is going, notifications to their friends, etc.

Pierce Mattie: Borghese is doing something quite special because you are remaining true to your loyalty of retail but actually helping the department stores to garner more consumer demand by stimulating customers with your social media strategies, what other ways have you been exciting the shopper?

Borghese: We try to connect with our customers in different ways; a good example is the shopping event, Shecky’s Girls Night Out. We alternate between having a physical presence at this shopping event and just a gift bag presence. With the physical presence, we get to speak one on one, not just with existing customers but new customers and customers who we may have lost. Our R&D is always working on developing new products which use the latest technologies. Also, we sometimes include an invitation back to our retailers for a complimentary facial or makeover in the event gift bags.

Have you been procrastinating about grabbing a Twitter profile for your business? Not sure where to start or what to tweet about? Pierce Mattie recently wrote an article in GCI Magazine with some guidelines, as well as success stories, from those who are using Twitter to increase their online (and offline) visibility.

Twittering from the Bench and the Field...

"Social media sites, as exemplified by Twitter, have quickly become the 21st century’s version of word-of-mouth, quickly putting brands on the map and generating conversation around products and services. While jumping on the bandwagon may seem easy enough, there are definitely guidelines to follow to get the most out of connecting and networking for the sake of transparent communication, especially if it involves your latest cosmetic creation."

Read the article here:gcimagazine.com

Or the digital version here.

Come join the conversation on Twitter: @PierceMattiePR

With traditional print media going the way of the dinosaurs, advertisers have been forced to adapt accordingly. With magazine subscriptions and newspaper circulation numbers steadily declining, advertisers are turning to interactive digital channels to raise brand awareness and connect with consumers.

Within the fashion industry, social media has been the next great frontier with brands, particularly luxury brands, utilizing outlets like Twitter and Facebook as a way to connect with their customer base. Once adverse to online endeavors, fearing that Internet exposure would cheapen their storied reputation, luxury brands are now eagerly embracing the digital sphere...possibly because they no longer have a choice.

An industry veteran last week got in a huff over an invitation they had sent someone on LinkedIn who rejected the invite with “don’t know.” They were upset by this and couldn’t understand how their invitation to connect could be rejected by someone in their same industry. After all, if you are looking to build your online social network shouldn't you just accept everyone's invitation to connect?

Not exactly! This example got me thinking about Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks in regards to how people use them to create rolodexes that don’t really have any weight or metric value because they lack real authenticity. These are the people you haven’t really met, done business with or have any other real life connection with. Yet everyday we all have come into contact with these "list builders" and the trend only seems to keep growing.

An industry veteran last week got in a huff over an invitation they had sent someone on LinkedIn who rejected the invite with “don’t know.” They were upset by this and couldn’t understand how their invitation to connect could be rejected by someone in their same industry. After all, if you are looking to build your online social network shouldn't you just accept everyone's invitation to connect?

Not exactly! This example got me thinking about Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks in regards to how people use them to create rolodexes that don’t really have any weight or metric value because they lack real authenticity. These are the people you haven’t really met, done business with or have any other real life connection with. Yet everyday we all have come into contact with these "list builders" and the trend only seems to keep growing.

Back in 2005 when I started my own blog, I wanted to remain anonymous not fully understanding (much like the rest of the world) that there is no such thing as anonymity on the internet. I know it's something Pierce Mattie has been on the fence w/ since their blogs launched in 2002. It's amazing to me how much privacy has evolved over these last 5 years due in part to social media. It seems we have been desensitized and actually expect all of our digital information to be much like our fingers... leaving prints all around the world wide web. We've become tagged, categorized, indexed, searched and googled leaving no clear line in the sand between public and private information; we've become an open book society with no page unturned.

The nosedive of the economy has made stories of brands going belly up and filing for bankruptcy as common as a can of hair spray in the bathroom of the cast members of The Jersey Shore. However, one thing that has changed brand restructure is the digital age that we find ourselves in, is in how the brand chooses to bounce back. Crabtree & Evelyn, an iconic 30-year beauty brand, is emerging from bankruptcy with a focus on ecommerce. Which, in my personal opinion, is a smart move, however there has to be more to it than ecommerce in and of itself.

The number one reason companies have always deemed social media as the "wild wild west" is because they felt there is no semblance of order and a lack of control over their brand's image. Essentially, they can put the message out there, but relinquish a portion of control once it is in the hands of the end user. Nestle's recent social media PR crisis is one such example of how a brand's use of the space can quickly turn from fan adoration to an urgent case of reputation management. So what can a brand do to encourage discussion amongst true fans and those there to graffiti them with accusations?

While Nestle's first attempt to quell the fervor was to essentially demand good behavior on the fan page and establish rules for interaction, they did so under the assumption that clicking "become a fan" meant those 98,000+ people listed as fans were indeed true fans of their brand. Demands + Anti-brand = Defiance (as witnessed by folks using the Nestle logo in the manner Nestle told them not to.) In a sense, Nestle was trying to control what you cannot: human behavior.

So when you get bad press or called out for something publicly, how should it be handled before it gets out of control?

Last week I watched a video interview of Richard Stacy, a social media consultant in London, on Cosmetics Design Europe. The headline that pulled me in was: "Small and medium-sized cosmetics players lead the way in social media." Before I even heard the interview, I nodded my head in agreement. It has been my experience over the years that smaller brands (regardless of niche) tend to be willing to try new things to expand their reach while larger brands have a tendency to "wait and see." Shoestring budgets often energize smaller brands to take creative approaches to marketing and publicity than a larger company would. Would you agree?

Here are some key points Stacy made regarding social media that I absolutely concur with:

I like to think of social media as a chameleon. Over the last few years it has shown us how unique it can be yet still be adaptable to almost any situation we utilize it in. Print magazines are now found online in blog format, blogs are now used for SEO, microblogging for social sharing and customer service, live streaming to bring behind the scenes, local and non-local events directly to you and social networks to build relationships with customers. I'm talking social media from a business perspective, of course, and now more businesses are looking to incorporate the ability to sell direct to the consumer. Not just tweets from @DellOutlet with exclusive deals, I'm talking jumping onto Facebook and seeing more than "We just launched a new lipstick" on your favorite cosmetics brand's fan page. Instead you find actual storefronts set up making it easy to read about said newly launched lipstick and simply clicking a tab to purchase it...all without ever leaving the Facebook fan page.

About two weeks ago, Chris Brogan posted a video asking "Are We Addicted to Social Media?" My response via Facebook was: "I like to think of it this way--we are social creatures, we're not addicted to the platform or social media, rather we are addicted to the interaction and push and pull of the relationships we create through it." From a personal perspective, it is the positive interactions that gives us the emotional fuel we need. It strokes our ego, it feeds our hearts and nourishes our soul. So when an article was recently published in Fast Company boasting "Social Networking Affects Our Brains Like Falling In Love", everything started to come together. Positive interactions with friends, companies we love and colleagues via social media increases our oxytocin levels (ie. the feel good chemical) only further encouraging us to repeatedly seek it out. So if you are a brand who previously blew off social media as an extension of reaching your consumers online, you may want to pay attention now. 

Good customer service has always been the sure fire way to land the best publicity on earth. When economic times were good, many companies bypassed emphasis on this principle and strictly built value based on which publications featured their products. Certainly if they had a showcase of magazine hits here and broadcast hits there, that certainly was enough to make people buy (and repeat buy), enough to make people trust and enough to get people talking about their brand...right?

Maybe this was the way before, but in a want-it-now generation coupled with a troubled economy, there is a shift back to the "old school" principles of listening to what your customers want, then delivering. Or in other words, putting the customer first again. And honestly, I for one, love retro business standards. We could argue that the fervor around social media + business along with the demise of our economic stability created the perfect storm. 

We here at Pierce Mattie PR have been blogging since 2001. Although I'm not going to go that far back into our archives, there are plenty of really good posts from a few years ago that I felt needed a re-look. Since it is well known that my passion is blogging and the overall use of social media, I've pulled up posts that seem to be the most popular with our readers.

         Social Media:

• Public Relations Strategies: Sifting Through the Clutter of Social Media
  
• Public Relations(hips): The Power of the People
  
• Brand Communication: Less Talk More (Inter)Action
  
• Brand Strategies: Driving Sales Through Consumer Engagement
  
• Can Social Media Increase Sales Through Feel Good Engagement?
  
• Transparent Social Media, Your Fake Rolodex & Followers Who Would Love To Be Leaders
• Has Social Media Changed Our View on Privacy?
  
• Do Smaller Beauty Brands Utilize Social Media Better Than Those That Are Well Known?
  
• Forget The Department Stores – Let's Go Direct To Consumer
  

   Pitching Bloggers:

• Social Media PR: Top 10 Ways Not to Pitch Bloggers
  
• Communication 2.0: Bloggers Speak Out on the Dos and Don'ts of Pitching
  
• PR Tips: How to Pitch Mommy Bloggers
  
• Etiquette Protocol For Pitching Products To Bloggers

  Bloggers Who Pitch PR Firms:

• Taking a Stand on Entitled Bloggers

Seems that social networks are all abuzz lately about the October movie debut of The Social Network, the alleged story of Mark Zuckerberg and the people surrounding the founding of Facebook based on Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires. While Zuckerberg wasn't consulted for the book, Eduardo Saverin (a co-founder of Facebook) was, but as we know...there are always two sides to every story.

There is no doubt that the story of Facebook, and Zuckerberg being the world's youngest billionaire, reads like a fairytale...a bit of a twisted fairytale and as the movie's tag line suggests, "You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies." Zuckerberg has made enemies, and you always do when you don't let anything stand in your way on the road to the top. But how far astray the story line veers off from the truth is unknown since Zuckerberg will not endorse or discuss the film.

Rolling Stone magazine critic, Peter Travers, tweeted that The Social Network is "the movie of the year that also brilliantly defines the decade." And for future generations to really understand how one network changed the definition of social on a global scale, perhaps this is the movie they will look to.

Regardless if the movie is fact or fiction, I plan to go see it...and be sure to tell my Facebook friends what I thought. What about you?

Everything we encounter on a daily basis has been taken over by technology. Let’s face it: we are now living in a digital age. Using social media and networks, customers and consumers now communicate and interact with businesses via digital mediums. Given this truth, it is important for businesses to keep up or get left behind. The Network is Your Customer: Five Strategies to Thrive in a Digital Age is a new book by David Rogers that aims to assist businesses with customer networking.

David Rogers, digital strategist and executive director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School, serves as the perfect expert on this topic. In The Network is Your Customer, Rogers focuses on five trends when it comes to networking with customers:

• Accessing
• Engaging
• Customizing
• Connecting
• Collaborating

He explores all five of these topics and offers companies effective strategies that can essentially build sales and clientele. Roger’s book will guide and business owners and management step by step to ensure that a company reaches its maximum potential.

Any individual proficient in public relations is fully aware that in order to remain relevant in today’s society, it is essential that social media skills are mastered. The skills presented in The Network is Your Customer provide PR professionals with a strategy to build relationships with their clients and get the most out of social networking. If you work in public relations, I would advise you to make this book your new best friend.

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our world today. It’s rare to find someone who isn’t using it in some capacity. Companies are learning that in order to reach their customers, they need to have this online presence. “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson will provide you with all the advice and tips you need to successfully launch your social media campaign.

Guerrilla marketing through modern technology is "non-traditional" and most importantly, effective. This strategy is very flexible and allows you to connect and market on a consumer level. This book is referred to as “THE social media guerrilla's go-to guide” and it is a great tool to have. The book offers social media secrets, how to measure ROI, attack plans and more.

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our world today. It’s rare to find someone who isn’t using it in some capacity. Companies are learning that in order to reach their customers, they need to have this online presence. “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson will provide you with all the advice and tips you need to successfully launch your social media campaign.

Guerrilla marketing through modern technology is "non-traditional" and most importantly, effective. This strategy is very flexible and allows you to connect and market on a consumer level. This book is referred to as “THE social media guerrilla's go-to guide” and it is a great tool to have. The book offers social media secrets, how to measure ROI, attack plans and more.

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our world today. It’s rare to find someone who isn’t using it in some capacity. Companies are learning that in order to reach their customers, they need to have this online presence. “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson will provide you with all the advice and tips you need to successfully launch your social media campaign.

Guerrilla marketing through modern technology is "non-traditional" and most importantly, effective. This strategy is very flexible and allows you to connect and market on a consumer level. This book is referred to as “THE social media guerrilla's go-to guide” and it is a great tool to have. The book offers social media secrets, how to measure ROI, attack plans and more.

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our world today. It’s rare to find someone who isn’t using it in some capacity. Companies are learning that in order to reach their customers, they need to have this online presence. “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson will provide you with all the advice and tips you need to successfully launch your social media campaign.

Guerrilla marketing through modern technology is "non-traditional" and most importantly, effective. This strategy is very flexible and allows you to connect and market on a consumer level. This book is referred to as “THE social media guerrilla's go-to guide” and it is a great tool to have. The book offers social media secrets, how to measure ROI, attack plans and more.

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our world today. It’s rare to find someone who isn’t using it in some capacity. Companies are learning that in order to reach their customers, they need to have this online presence. “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson will provide you with all the advice and tips you need to successfully launch your social media campaign.

Guerrilla marketing through modern technology is "non-traditional" and most importantly, effective. This strategy is very flexible and allows you to connect and market on a consumer level. This book is referred to as “THE social media guerrilla's go-to guide” and it is a great tool to have. The book offers social media secrets, how to measure ROI, attack plans and more.

It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our world today. It’s rare to find someone who isn’t using it in some capacity. Companies are learning that in order to reach their customers, they need to have this online presence. “Guerrilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson will provide you with all the advice and tips you need to successfully launch your social media campaign.

Guerrilla marketing through modern technology is "non-traditional" and most importantly, effective. This strategy is very flexible and allows you to connect and market on a consumer level. This book is referred to as “THE social media guerrilla's go-to guide” and it is a great tool to have. The book offers social media secrets, how to measure ROI, attack plans and more.

Consumers today know technology. We blog, tweet and update our Facebook statuses as part of our daily routine. Many bloggers are reviewing products and Twitter users are tweeting about them. You can hope they’re saying only the best, but that’s not always the case as there are plenty of complaints and negative reviews everyday. Companies are finding it imperative to engage in this online communication and it’s necessary to maintain a positive branding image and a positive relationship with consumers.

I get emails, tweets and even mobile texts from some of my favorite brands every day- and it works. I spend the time reading about their new products, taking advantage of special offers or visiting their websites. “Branded!: How Retailers Engage Consumers with Social Media and Mobility” is an excellent read for businesses and PR professionals. Lori Schafer teaches companies that in order to reach your target audience, you need to think like them. Her book gives a clear review of social media and the use of mobile marketing and how every company will have a different personality when it comes to social marketing campaigns. Schafer also provides professionals with tools to analyze and measure performance and make intelligent and informed decisions on data.

Lisa Gansky is a self-described “impact junkie”, a woman who actively tries to break down traditional boundaries. Gansky’s aim is to help businesses evolve in conjunction with our social media-centered world. As a CEO of multiple internet companies and an advisor for several new businesses, Gansky has a solid background that allows her to credibly pass her knowledge on to others. Her new book, The Mesh, explains how business can create dynamic results and progressive partnerships through the use of social media and wireless networks.

The Mesh challenges the traditional business framework: Create product, sell, make money, repeat. Gansky explains that a different, contemporary model has been formed and is undoubtedly more effective. At its most base level, The Mesh is about the fundamental concept of sharing. We’ve been told since we were toddlers that sharing is good, but that knowledge tends to fall to the wayside when business ventures are concerned. Gansky brings us back to this idea of sharing, and directly links it with the Internet.

Let me be clear from the beginning, it's not wrong to partner with a blogger for a product giveaway, but if you are looking for it to convert into sales, then you are employing the wrong tactic. Furthermore, if you are simply working with *any* blogger just to get a hit for your client or brand, then you are contributing to the brand discounting mentality that has suddenly picked up speed due to the toxic mix of the economy, newer bloggers looking for freebies and the brands/PR firms who are happy to oblige just so they can say, "Look we're mentioned on X blog!"

How is that working out for you?

I'm writing this as both a blogger myself and as someone who works directly with brands for their social media strategies. To capture the attention of a blogger and gain coverage via a review or write up, takes a lot of relationship building, and for some, a little luck with just the right subject heading and catchy pitch. I'm finding that more and more brands are getting desperate to get mentioned on a blog or to simply have the ability to say, "Yeah we work with bloggers..." And due to this, they are bypassing promoting a great product and instead offer it up as a giveaway because in a sense, it benefits the blogger as well. However, this is a slippery slope and one that I think more brands need to take precaution with because in the end, it's not about how many, but about who you are working with.

Why should I actually buy your product if I can find it on *any* blog giving it away for free?

There's something to be said for exclusivity. Pick a handful of reputable bloggers and work with them if you want to engage your potential consumers with a giveaway to spark interest in your brand. But certainly do not, under any circumstances, just work with anyone willing to host your giveaway. First of all Facebook numbers don't tell the whole story. So what if a blogger touts that they have 20K fans? If all they ever do is host giveaways and promote it via Twitter, and you've all seen it -- "Help us get to 3K fans! We're giving away X product!" ...well it's completely logical to come to the conclusion that the fans and followers are only there for free stuff, certainly not for their content or even to consider purchasing from you. If they don't win your product, they move onto the next giveaway.

ARM yourself with knowledge: Ask, Research, Monitor.

If you’re involved with media or technology in any capacity and are unaware of who/what Mashable is, I suggest taking a step out from the rock you’ve been living under.

Founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005, Mashable has since grown to be the top source for social media, tech, and web culture. The blog gained attention rapidly: it was quickly named one of the top 10 blogs in the world and is now followed by professionals in almost every capacity, from marketing and PR enthusiasts to bloggers and entrepreneurs.

Why is Mashable so popular? What has set this blog apart from all other industry blogs? For one, the blog has unmatchable name-brand recognition. Mashable has become a power brand, with a reputation that precedes its content – readers know that information from Mashable is trustworthy, and are thus more likely to read and pass on information to other industry professionals and media enthusiasts. It’s incredibly easy to share Mashable content – the interface encourages readers to tweet or share articles via Twitter and Facebook, and keeps a running tally of how many users have shared each piece.

It looks like brands aren't the only companies drinking the social media kool aid lately, we've especially noticed this at Pierce Mattie PR. Investment firms, like J.P.Morgan, are also looking towards social media as a new means of revenue. And I don't mean the folks at J.P.Morgan will be tweeting about investment portfolios, but instead they'll be looking for those interested in getting involved in a fund that backs privately held technology companies before they go public.

It makes sense. Most people have been talking about the dotcom bubble bursting for a while now, and others talk about social media peaking...but all we've witnessed is an evolution of the digital space that is not only remaining strong and moving forward, but proving its profitability. And after a recession that left the stock market in a shambles, and many companies picking up the pieces of losing it all, "new media" (which really is the "right now media") only seems to be gaining momentum and spawning new breeds of companies capturing consumer interest left and right. (See: Groupon, Gilt Groupe, Foursquare, etc.)

So now that both Goldman Sach's and J.P.Morgan have set up funds for investment into social media companies, can we finally say that if your company has not yet entered the social media space, you are truly living in the stone age? Yes, I think so. Tell us what you think via our Twitter page at @PierceMattiePR

It looks like brands aren't the only companies drinking the social media kool aid lately, we've especially noticed this at Pierce Mattie PR. Investment firms, like J.P.Morgan, are also looking towards social media as a new means of revenue. And I don't mean the folks at J.P.Morgan will be tweeting about investment portfolios, but instead they'll be looking for those interested in getting involved in a fund that backs privately held technology companies before they go public.

It makes sense. Most people have been talking about the dotcom bubble bursting for a while now, and others talk about social media peaking...but all we've witnessed is an evolution of the digital space that is not only remaining strong and moving forward, but proving its profitability. And after a recession that left the stock market in a shambles, and many companies picking up the pieces of losing it all, "new media" (which really is the "right now media") only seems to be gaining momentum and spawning new breeds of companies capturing consumer interest left and right. (See: Groupon, Gilt Groupe, Foursquare, etc.)

So now that both Goldman Sach's and J.P.Morgan have set up funds for investment into social media companies, can we finally say that if your company has not yet entered the social media space, you are truly living in the stone age? Yes, I think so. Tell us what you think via our Twitter page at @PierceMattiePR

It looks like brands aren't the only companies drinking the social media kool aid lately, we've especially noticed this at Pierce Mattie PR. Investment firms, like J.P.Morgan, are also looking towards social media as a new means of revenue. And I don't mean the folks at J.P.Morgan will be tweeting about investment portfolios, but instead they'll be looking for those interested in getting involved in a fund that backs privately held technology companies before they go public.

It makes sense. Most people have been talking about the dotcom bubble bursting for a while now, and others talk about social media peaking...but all we've witnessed is an evolution of the digital space that is not only remaining strong and moving forward, but proving its profitability. And after a recession that left the stock market in a shambles, and many companies picking up the pieces of losing it all, "new media" (which really is the "right now media") only seems to be gaining momentum and spawning new breeds of companies capturing consumer interest left and right. (See: Groupon, Gilt Groupe, Foursquare, etc.)

So now that both Goldman Sach's and J.P.Morgan have set up funds for investment into social media companies, can we finally say that if your company has not yet entered the social media space, you are truly living in the stone age? Yes, I think so. Tell us what you think via our Twitter page at @PierceMattiePR

How to Attract and Retain Customers Worldwide

The power of social media is undeniable. It’s a driving force in almost every aspect of our society -- from fashion to technology, virtually every company is diving into the worlds of media and microblogging. This new territory can be hard to navigate, and many companies are enlisting the help of professionals to create social media plans to grow their business.

As you stumble through Twitter and other social networking sites, you’re bound to come across self-proclaimed “experts” and “social media gurus” offering advice on how to max out on your social media potential. Before you haphazardly enlist the help of an unknown twitter friend, take a look at The Power of Real Time Social Media Marketing by Beverly Macy and Teri Thompson.

Macy and Thompson don’t just claim to be social media experts, they have the credentials to prove it. The duo has combined their award-winning experience in marketing strategy with their knowledge of “real time” media to create a book that is both practical and sophisticated. The Power of RTM is a media model: it provides stories, strategies, and practices of companies who are utilizing real time social media the right way.

Have you ever dreamed of interning in New York for a beauty fashion PR firm but are not able to get off your college campus, which isn’t located in NY? Now you can!

Pierce Mattie PR is actively seeking Spring/Summer Social Media Interns to work remotely from their dorms. In years past our interns have gone on to be published authors, featured in the New York Times, received college credit and most importantly learned the ropes of beauty fashion social media from our in-house experts.

Social Media strategy gurus Jay Baer and Amber Naslund understand how to help companies prepare for real time business communication. Their new book, The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social (Wiley; 9780470923276; Hardcover; February 2011; $24.95) not only gives readers a detailed outline on how to react to the impact of real-time business through organizational structure and process, it includes Microsoft Tag application.

Throughout the book, readers can find electronic symbols. These symbols are gateways to supplemental material and examples, powered by Microsoft Tag technology. To use them, readers simply visit gettag.mobi to download the free Tag Reader on any smartphone. This new technology allows readers to scan the symbol using a phone camera. Immediately they are transported to additional book related information.

In The NOW Revolution, Jay Baer and Amber Naslund explain what it means to be social, “Social media isn’t a conversation; it’s where the conversation takes place. Companies need to focus first on how to “be” social, and then on how to “do” social.”

Marketers and advertisers are increasingly focusing on building engagement – rather than generating impressions – when planning promotional campaigns. However, delivering engagement on a larger scale poses many challenges. Today on Beyond PR we look more closely at this trend and consider the implications for all advertising, marketing and public relations professionals as more communicators target the social layer.  

The Beyond PR blog highlights communications tactics and trends in public relations, investor relations, social media, SEO and content marketing.  

We live in a competitive world. Why is it that some people forge ahead while others still struggle to make it? The answer simply lies in the supply and demand theory! What many businesses do not realize is in today’s world, customers have the power to make or break your business...via social media Today, the most important thing for success in any industry is to learn what people like and need, and to give them exactly that! Marketing and research is not just for starting up a business, but is also very important to make changes and ensure your place in your industry.

In Listen First!: Turning Social Media Conversations Into Business Advantage, Stephen Rappaport delivers advice backed up by research about how to use listening to give your business a competitive advantage.

This step-by-step guide for adopting a listening strategy in your business will help take it to another level. It starts out by telling you how to get organized to listen, then how to listen, understand what you have got, and finally what to do with what youve gotten from listening. This advice will help you gain a competitive advantage in many business areas including customer service, production, research and development, and advertising. If you already have an established business this method will help you understand what people think about your brand, whether that is what you had envisioned for the business, and whether you should make any changes to your brand to allow it to hold the image you want for it. Listening can also help you understand what people think about your competitors and whether they are a true threat to your business or not.

Whether you'll find yourself in the audience or backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week or simply having to get your updates from afar (we know at Pierce Mattie PR a great beauty blog to get it from--shameless plug), there are ways you can be part of fashion week thanks in part to social media.

Here are 5 ways we at Pierce Mattie PR suggest you can stay connected:

1. Live From the Runway YouTube channel. As reported by NYMag, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will have at least 30 designers this season who will be livestreaming their shows to YouTube. The channel will also give backstage access to beauty recaps and trend forecasting (which we here at Pierce Mattie PR love!)

2. Fashion's Night Out SCVNGR: No one has set up a challenge yet, but I think it would be a great way to get more interactive FNO activities going! (If you haven't heard of SCVNGR yet, do check them out!)

3.Foursquare Checkins: Back in February, designers like Marc Jacobs were getting involved with this location based social media platform by offering a Marc Jacobs Fashion Victim 2011 badge to those who check in at least once, then 4 of those people would be chosen to attend his show. This next go-round, I'm sure there will be more of the same.

4. Stylesight: Missed a show or want a sneak peek at the look books from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week designers? Stylesight and MBFW have collaborated to give buyers and the press access digitally to everything just by registering for free. Stylesight also has a great trend forecasting blog!

5.Tumblr: Just as this did this past February, Tumblr is once again hosting fashion bloggers to contribute imagery to Tumblr blogs to capture all things #NYFW.

How will you be staying connected to the fashion shows, parties and activities this season? Tweet us @PierceMattiePR.

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

Interested to see our short list of who Pierce Mattie loves to chat with on Twitter

1. @21drops
2. @alfaparf 
3. @comfortzone_spa 
4. @drhauschka_usa 
5. @nuskinnews 
6. @PaulasChoice
7. @pravana
8. @sheamoisture4u
9. @sothysusa
10. @RejuveMD
11. @RevivogenHair
12. @NoNoByRadiancy
13. @SothysSpa
14. @NubianHeritage

According to a recent press release by Newtek Business Services, they tallied a poll of approximately 2,200 respondents in regards to their use and sentiment of social media to find that nearly 60% of independent business owners utilized social media tools in order to attract new customers and communicate with existing ones.

The results were not necessarily surprising to me, as they still showed almost an even split when it came to using social media and its effectiveness overall. However, I'd be curious to know that of the 45% of brands who didn't find social media a significant means of sales growth (55% said they did), exactly the way in which they were using these tools to communicate with their customers. One, because so many brands are afraid to ask for the sale to begin with (so simple conversation that dances around without being direct goes nowhere) and two, because often brands go to the other extreme of always giving it away (which results in the question, what reason are you giving them to buy if you've become a freebie brand?)

Case in point, this past July while speaking at Cosmoprof North America I had a bath and body brand approach me to get my opinion regarding their social media tactics. They first were very proud to tell me that they had 17K fans on Facebook and when I asked how that was working out for them (because I had a feeling it wasn't), they told me that they had not generated a single sale from their fan base. I asked them to tell me about their content generation, in which they told me that every.single.day they held a contest and gave away product.

Well, then. There's your answer.

They had a captive audience, but they weren't understanding how to effectively use Facebook to communicate with them...so in order to retain them, they simply gave their product away. I will say this time and time again, please don't measure your success in utilizing social media simply based on how many followers or fans you have. Base it on the conversions you can create, the brand loyalists you empower to tweet/share/like and so on, and your overall retention. Because who cares if you have 17K fans and NOTHING happens? I'd much rather have 1K fans where 30% are making regular purchases, sharing links to product with a friend, and making recommendations on both the fan page and actual product page.

I'd like to hear what you think. If 60% of brands are using social media for business...just how many are actually effective? Tweet us @PierceMattiePR.

Have you ever dreamed of interning in New York for a beauty fashion PR firm but are not able to get off your college campus, which isn’t located in NY? Now you can!

Pierce Mattie PR is actively seeking Winter/Spring Social Media Interns to work remotely from their dorms. In years past our interns have gone on to be published authors, featured in the New York Times, received college credit and most importantly learned the ropes of jewelry social media from our in-house experts.

Have you ever dreamed of interning in New York for a beauty fashion PR firm but are not able to get off your college campus, which isn’t located in NY? Now you can!

Pierce Mattie PR is actively seeking Winter/Spring Social Media Interns to work remotely from their dorms. In years past our interns have gone on to be published authors, featured in the New York Times, received college credit and most importantly learned the ropes of jewelry social media from our in-house experts.

I'll be honest, it's not really news when someone joins Twitter. Even if you are Rupert Murdoch. Newsflash Mr. Murdoch: You could've avoided phone hacking by joining the social networking site years ago. Celebrities tend to overindulge here and there are no shortages of newsworthy tweets. And PS. They are all public, so it's all free game.

However, Murdoch may be using Twitter to draw up publicity or to give insight into the human side of the media mogul, rather than the ruthless businessman some consider him to be. While, Twitter has Murdoch's account verified, it certainly doesn't mean all the tweets are his own. And in the few short days his profile has been live, there has been some debate on that. If it is indeed Murdoch (and his wife, @Wendi_Deng, as well), this could be the PR-revamp he needs as 2011 saw the demise of News of the World, one of his most profittable newspapers.

What do you think? Will Murdoch being seen as a human being help play a part in some positive publicity? Or is this PR stunt doomed to fail? Tweet us @PierceMattiePR. 

Update: It appears Wendi's Twitter has now been unverified by Twitter and it is confirmed that it was a spoof. No word on if Murdoch's Twitter is real or not. 

A few weeks ago at a Papa John's store in New York, a woman was issued a receipt that contained a racial slur directed at her. Later that evening Minhee Cho posted a photo of the receipt on Twitter and sent a tweet to Papa John's. The story was picked up nationally and the photo now has over 213,000 views. We have to ask ourselves, in today’s marketplace, how does this keep happening?

Although things like this should never happen, when they do they provide a valuable lesson from a public relations standpoint. Papa John's promptly issued an apology on their website and several social media outlets. They said that they were “extremely concerned” about the incident and the matter went against company values. The public was then informed that they had taken care of the problem by firing the employee that issued the receipt. Papa John's recognized the problem, said it was against policy, said how they were going to fix the problem and apologized. That should be enough right? The answer is maybe.