This week’s top PR and social media picks:

• Obviously big news today, Facebook hits the stock market. According to Time magazine, “Facebook’s IPO represents the triumph of hype and hope over financial analysis.”
• …and how Twitter will make money. The company now has 10 million users in the UK.
• I thought we’d stopped talking about this but it’s reappeared again on Mashable. The best and worst times to share on Facebook and Twitter.
• 10 mandatory ingredients of online video content.
• Has Guinness come up with the best QR code ever? (In all seriousness though QR codes are mostly rubbish).

• How time stands still in women’s magazines.
• Are newspapers the new Yahoo!? Does this even make sense? It’s what Google’s head of news Richard Gingras said. Ask him.
• Something I’ve thought about *a lot* recently: will we ever stop using the floppy disk image as a save icon? Use that down the pub tonight (thank me later). Here are some other icons that don’t make sense any more.
• Now for something about sexting. Snapchat is a new iPhone app that allows users to send others photos and control how long receivers can see them. These photos last for up to 10 seconds, before they disappear forever. Sounds brilliant.
• Here’s a cheery little image: The Newspaper Extinction Timeline (click for full report)

• Meanwhile, in Columbia… Two men are facing a stretch in the Big House after robbing an Internet cafe and forgetting to log out of Facebook.
• What people want versus what they share on social media.
• Fiat pulled the fast one over Volkswagen by trailing the Google Street View car. Clevs.
• The Twitter news map of Britain.
• How Yahoo! killed Flickr and lost the Internet. Great work guys!
• Can a graph of a news article’s words tell you more than reading it? New insights from InArticle.

SEO Corner:

• Project management for SEO.
• SEOs are from Mars, PRs are from Venus. If that needs further explanation check out the SlideShare.

Infographic of the week: The F*ckyeah! Tumblr trend

Recent findings have shown that public confidence in both paid-for and traditional media is declining, but our trust in social media is on the up. Why are consumers choosing to trust social media sites over traditional press, and what can be done by companies to use social media to increase trust in their brand?

Why has trust in traditional owned and paid media declined?

The uncovering of the phone-hacking scandal last year has been a key factor in the public’s decline in trust in traditional media. A YouGov survey at the time the story broke found that 58% of UK adults said that the scandal had made them trust the British press less, with 51% saying that they were now less likely to trust any domestic news organisations as a result.
A more recent Nielsen poll has shown corresponding results with paid-for traditional media; with only 47% of those surveyed stating that they trusted TV, press and magazine adverts.

Consumers are turning to social media instead

In contrast, the Nielsen poll found that 92% of those surveyed trusted shared media sources, including forum and online shopper reviews, which is an increase of 18% from 2007.
Due to increased mistrust of mainstream media institutions, consumers are more readily turning to their peers for what they consider to be reliable information. Our own Gorkana Pulse research at Metrica follows the same trend:

• 47% of all UK adults would make their decision on brands of products to buy based upon information from a friend/relative. 27% (the next most frequent preference) would go on advice or comments on a consumer forum (based on earned or shared media advice).
• This compares to 25% basing their decision on an article in a magazine or newspaper, 20% on an advert in said traditional media (paid-for media).
• Perhaps surprisingly, considering how heavily celebrity endorsement is relied upon by advertisers, the rich and famous don’t seem to influence our buying decisions either; 76% of us say that celebrity/magazine endorsement does not inform our buying choices. My colleague Anna made the same observation in her previous post on influence, observing that ‘Celebrities generate reach, Not Trust’.

So how does a social media marketing strategy fit within peer recommendation?

Social media is peer recommendation. Allowing your customers to interact with you online gives them an opportunity to either recommend, or disapprove of your product in public. It is this brand-consumer collaboration in social media which lets brands turn peer recommendation into part of their marketing strategy.
A successful social media strategy consists of getting your customers onboard, and recommending your product to each other.
Here are some tips to build this trust:

• Always answer negative feedback on Facebook and Twitter. If a customer complains about you through a social media channel, always get back to them. If you initiate solving the problem through social media, chances are that the customer will thank you through the same channel.
• Identify and target your brand advocates – those who are likely to be interested in your product/area of interest, and who have access too, and are trusted by your target audience. It’s also worth noting that high numbers of followers are not always useful. It’s likely to be much more fruitful engaging with a person with a small following comprising largely of those who you want to reach. (see another of Anna’s posts on identifying influence).
• Never underestimate the reach of a single tweet. We’ve seen countless examples of how one unfortunate tweet can snowball and result in a social media crisis for an organisation. Recent examples of this include QPR footballer Joey Barton’s Twitter rant against Alan Shearer, and Florida Panthers COO Mike Yormack’s attack on a critical tweeter by belittling their number of followers. To avoid a social media disaster and mass alienation of your customers, keep all social media comments positive, unassuming and customer-centric.

These are just a few ways in which you can improve your brand reputation through social media, which could help you to make brand advocates of your customers, and capitalise on the growing consumer trust in peer recommendation.

As I was reading through the April Gorkana Charity Barometer, it really hit me how much of this month’s social media coverage was driven by the outpouring of human emotion in response to events both big and small. The death of Claire Squires was a prime example of how a small ripple of grief very quickly grew into a global tsunami of compassion with blogs, forums and Twitter feeds overwhelmed with people expressing condolences. And it wasn’t just emotion that was shared, we saw a real impact on her fundraising efforts for the Samaritans with totals rising from £250,000 to almost £1million in only three days.

While my heart was breaking for her family and friends, I loved watching this story develop and grow around the global community’s response to this tragedy.

By studying people’s response to events via their social media interactions, we have a real chance to see the impact of these on their lives – and what changes or actions they are taking as a result. Have they been inspired to give money to a cause, run their own fundraising event, participate in a charity event, lobby the government or become a volunteer? Many people simply express a new awareness for an issue, but isn’t that half the battle sometimes?

It’s an exciting time for charities who are looking for ways to understand the impact of their activities beyond the quantitative (e.g. number of Facebook likes, Twitter followers).  As we increasingly share our opinions, emotions and actions over the social media airwaves, it’s not hard to see that there is a very rich qualitative data source just sitting there for the mining.

And I think it’s nice to be able to catch a glimpse of the real humans behind our new social media online world.

If you want to find out more about the Gorkana Charity Barometer, drop us a line at getintouch@gorkana.com or to subscribe and/or download a sample of the monthly report.

This week’s top PR and social media picks:

•  Firstly, RIP Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Darling of all twenty to thirtysomething, arrested development, media manboys. Like me.
• …and much in the same vein, Goldie Lookin Chain rapper Rhys Hutchings was voted in as Labour councillor in Newport.
• Can social media make journalism better?
• Top tweeters revealed their favourite follows to The Guardian.
• Facebook acquired mobile app Glancee, which “makes it easy to discover the hidden connections around you, and to meet interesting people”.
• Sky News launched its 24-hour Arabic news channel

Can’t see the video? Click here.

• Property consultants Knight Frank know how to use Pinterest for business.
• Twitter quashes a court order requesting information on of its political activist users.
• How to get the biggest marketing bang out of SlideShare.
• The three or four character traits it takes to create a sucessful startup.
• Why nobody reads agency blogs. Hello? Is anyone here?
• Facebook social readers are all collapsing. Is this the end of “frictionless” social reader apps?
• Fashion retailer C&A introduced live Facebook ‘Likes on clothes hangers.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

• Can tech companies continue to innovate with no women at the table?
• Facebook is a ‘major force’ in mobile business, says AT&T CEO.
• Money can buy you Facebook friends, but can it buy you customers?
• Obama’s same-sex marriage tweet generated 50,000 Retweets in seven hours.

SEO Corner:

• The N00b guide to link building.
• Discover links using Google Analytics new backlink URL report.
• Is your optimization meaningful or mechanical?

There are people who think Pinterest hype is going to die down. There are also those who are excited about the possibilities the portal brings. I’m in the latter group.  Even if Pinterest is not for everyone (hey, Twitter is not for everyone either), it offers a wide range of opportunities to marketing and PR professionals.

Many brands have begun using Pinterest to attract new audiences and spread the word (or image) about their products. As Gorkana Group prepares to publish its first Automotive Barometer, I will focus on how car manufacturers are using this channel.

 Who Is Your Target Audience?

Following the news that the majority of the site users in the US are women, brands like Honda have grasped the opportunity to engage with them. The CR-V model is the focus of Honda’s Pinterest activity, aimed primarily at the female demographic; a nice and simple approach.

To gain the attention of Pinterest veterans, Honda identified top pinners and encouraged them to join the Pintermission, a new campaign enabling the carmaker to build relationships with potential influencers and brand advocates. Lauren Ebner, assistant manager of social media at American Honda Motor Co. told Ad Age that the network seems to be “a really good, different, creative outlet […] and a chance to use a visual medium to promote cars”. The company representative also noticed that the portal is an excellent way to drive people to Honda’s website to find out more about specific models.

Peugeot Panama has taken a creative approach to the site, taking full advantage of what the platform is known for – organising and reorganising pin boards. The company has launched a competition in which it asks users to complete puzzles by repinning images of its cars (details here).

Known for its innovative and creative advertising campaigns, Volkswagen is taking a different approach. Rather than focusing on its latest products, VW uses the portal to celebrate the company’s heritage and values. A refreshing take, seeing as so many companies are trying to use social media channels as another sales tool. Have a look at the VW US site here.

It’s still early days for Pinterest and it is difficult to predict where it is going to take us. You now know my opinion on the site, what’s yours? Is your company on Pinterest? Do you think it matters?

H&M’s CEO Karl Johan Persson was frequently quoted and the new range was well received on Twitter: “Sustainable fashion hits the high street. H&M goes green with their new #hmconscious collection. Love this…#summer“ and “Loving the new H&M conscious collection, looks good on my mannequins and on me hehe, if you’re into pastels & lace have a look”.

Following the Olympics discussion in March, April saw increased buzz around the other big UK event for the summer – The Diamond Jubilee. Coverage spiked as retailers sought to capitalise on the occasion with special items and ranges. John Lewis harnessed the current fashion for bunting, offering free craft classes in its haberdashery department. This idea was widely welcomed, with The Daily Telegraph proclaiming: “better to spend money on the party food and make your own ornamental flagging”.

Conflicting reports about the state of the British high street continued to drive general retail chatter this month. Whilst warm weather in March appeared to boost sales, news of further store closings were prolific. The collapse of Aquascutum was a key driver of coverage: “Fall of a fashion icon as Aquascutum goes bust” (Daily Mail).

Tesco remained at the top of the league table for both media landscapes due to discussion surrounding it’s £1bn revival plans. The consensus was that new chairman Sir Richard Broadbent faces a challenging, but not insurmountable, task.

This week’s top PR and social media picks:

• A British court ruled that UK ISPs must block torrent sharing site The Pirate Bay.
• Why Google and Facebook might completely disappear in the next five years.
• Facebook announced that users can now share their organ donor status.
• How a social network can help families cope with autism.
• Still measuring your influence on Klout? Are you some sort of asshat?

• Kraft sent a personal thank you to thousands of Facebook Fans (see video below).
• Has the Internet run out of ideas already?
• Can an algorithm write a better news story than a human reporter?
• YouGov found that one in four Brits now watch the majority of their TV ‘on-demand’.
• …and do television apps have a bright future?
• A new app called TriggerHappy launched, turning your iPhone into a DSLR camera remote.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

• Meet Signal, the Instagram of citizen journalism.
• 30 specialist (and super smart) search engines.
• Why you can’t trust tech press to teach you about the tech industry.
• Tony Blair’s back #FFS.
• Nando’s rises to the challenge in South Africa, resulting in a massive PR win. Catch the back story here.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

• How not to interact on Twitter.
• …and why Twitter needs better filters.
• New start-up BrandYourself launched, allowing users to find out who Googled them, and to improve their personal Google search results.
• What advertising can learn from PR.
• …and how to break up with your ad agency.
• Lastly, Pepsi launched it’s ‘Pulse‘ digital dashboard for pop culture.

Infographic of the week: Interest in Pinterest

This week’s top PR and social media picks:

• This week we saw the power of online donation with the tragic story of Claire Squires who collapsed and died while running the London Marathon. People flocked to her JustGiving page and pledged donations to her chosen charity, the Samaritans. At the time of writing, the total topped £780,000.
• JustGiving announced that they would be waiving their usual 5% fee for donations made through Claire’s page
• LinkedIn (finally) released an iPad app this week to generally positive reviews
• The New York Times has unveiled a new social-media advertising program as they attempt to increase revenue from content shared through social media.
• Why holding the Bahrain Grand Prix turned into a PR disaster for Formula 1

• The Daily Telegraph reports that Tumblr is to start allowing brands to advertise on the social network. 
• StumbleUpon announced that it has reached the 25 million user mark – and that they are gaining a million additional users per month.
• Simply Zesty provided a list of 10 of the best Pinterest tools and apps.
• Are Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr leading the way in a content censorship wave?
• Are we witnessing the rise of the niche social network?

SEO Corner:

• Google continues clampdown on webspam by refining SEO Algorithm

Infographic of the week: social media & the Olympics

This week’s top PR and social media picks:

• PR budgets hit hardest in Q1 2012, according to Bellwether report.
• Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg leaves the office at 5.30pm. How many PR professionals can say that?
• How Facebook pipped its biggest rival to the post to buy Instagram.
• But could Instagram have become a successful, independent business? And what does it mean to your brand?

• Why you could soon be buying from your favourite brands via your Facebook news feed.
• And in light of the above, Google co-founder Sergey Brin expressed his fear of Facebook’s dominance of the web.

“There are very powerful forces that have lined up against the open internet on all sides and around the world. I am more worried than I have been in the past. It’s scary.”
- Google co-founder Sergey Brin

• From Ashley Young to Carlos Tevez to Hillsborough: how Twitter has transformed football.
• Why calling someone a see-you-next-Tuesday on Twitter is now a crime.
• …and so also is tweeting exit poll results from the upcoming French presidential election.
• Tumblr is to start selling ad units next month.
• Physical media is dead — long live the app!
• Now for some inexplicable photos of cats.

• The incredible story of an Indian boy who lost his mother in 1986 and found her 25 years later with a little help from Google Earth.
• The London Olympics unveiled its social media hub to connect athletes and fans.
• Why the future of media will consist of “many small pieces, loosely joined”.
• Should brands feature price tags on their products on Pinterest?
• How The Huffington Post ate the Internet.
• The dating site that finds you a mate based on your Klout score.

SEO Corner:

• A case for analytics: If you’re not measuring, you’re not marketing.
• Why big brands get all the breaks.

Infographic of the week: The Google Diet

Put a notorious Ugandan war criminal, a Liverpudlian comedian and…um…Kim Kardashian in a room and you’d expect to witness the odd tumbleweed yet the unlikely trio shared a common bond when they took social media by storm in March. The controversial Kony 2012 campaign epitomised ‘viral video’ and provoked a national outcry against child abuse worldwide. This secured a prominent position for Save the Children in social media as Twitter users urged others to donate to the charity.

Swapping talk for action, John Bishop left us all feeling a little lazy as he undertook a gruelling 295 mile cycle, row and run from Paris to London in five days in aid of Sport Relief. His “Week of Hell” featured on Comic Relief’s “Night of Telly” and triggered 34,816 Twitter mentions, dominating social media in the humanitarian sector.

PETA were also thrust into the social media spotlight when Khloe Kardashian denounced support for the animal charity, believing it to be linked to a flour bomb attack on her sister Kim. A testament to the power of celebrity, this set social media channels buzzing, and was by far the biggest talking point among animal charities.

Groundbreaking research saw charities such as the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Amnesty International being brought to the attention of mainstream media. English Heritage uncovered worrying statistics that showed more than 70,000 protected sites are damaged by crime each year. Proving that social media isn’t always a weapon for good, one vandal was reported as spray-painting his Twitter account details onto Clifford’s Tower, one of York’s most historic landmarks.

In the disability sector, David Cameron managed to give the UK some good news this month as he vowed to double funding into dementia, a move welcomed by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society whose hard work and research efforts were highlighted in the media.

Here’s a quick look at the charities who took the lead in mainstream/social media in a few key sectors:

• Animals – RSPCA /PETA
• Children – NSPCC /Save the Children
• Environment and Conservation– National Trust /Greenpeace
• Disability – Scope /Multiple Sclerosis Society

Overall, it’s certainly been an action-packed month for the charity sector so make sure you’re in the know when we report on all of April’s news and views.

Gorkana’s Charity Barometer tracks mainstream alongside social media content, allowing for competitor benchmarking and providing greater insight into local and global fundraising issues.

If you want to find out more about the Charity Barometer Reports drop us a line at getintouch@gorkana.com or to subscribe and/or download a sample of the monthly report click here.