Social Media

Recently, we at AHA have been working with several clients to develop communications strategies that include social media and issue and crisis components. The clients are in diverse industry sectors and have very different stakeholder groups. For each organization, we had to define what engagement meant for their specific “community” when it comes to traditional public relations outreach and for social media.

That’s an important definition to make – what engagement means to your stakeholders or community. For some, engagement is truly a verb and they are very active in participating – responding and creating opportunities for conversation, discussion and, yes, even discourse. In fact, for some stakeholder groups, discourse, disagreement and even conflict drive them. It doesn’t necessarily mean that their organization or brand is perceived negatively. It does mean that they live in an active world, where ongoing communication is key.  In this type of environment, it is crucial for an organization to be proactive in keeping stakeholders up-to-date. It is important to participate in online and real world conversations about their industry, field of expertise or what their organization is doing in areas of concern or importance.

There are many ways that people participate online. Some are more active – like content creators (there can be a real opportunity for your organization to effectively engage with this group), some comment or participate, and some just consume.

Not every organization has a stakeholder group that falls into a nice, neat demographic range. (In fact, with a few exceptions, I can say that for the most part, AHA clients have external communities that are incredibly diverse.) It’s important to have an overall communications strategy, and it’s equally important when you are working out the tactics and tools that you look at the groups and subgroups within your stakeholder group. Facebook contests may work to move some of your community to participate, but others may just be following along and not participating at all.

If a campaign that you recently ran didn’t hit the participation numbers you were expecting, it may be because some of your stakeholders are not participants.  Defining what segments of your stakeholder group are likely to participate fully, to comment or respond, or whether they may be following along – even sharing information and telling people about the campaign, contest or event – without “joining in” before you launch is important for measurement. Asking yourself what segment of your stakeholder group you want to connect with and can realistically expect to connect with – and how that will happen – is an important component of the planning process.

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AHA Blog Post ImageIn a communicator’s life there is always talk about what works and what doesn’t. What’s hot and what’s not. And recently, we’ve heard lots and lots of chatter about how blogs are dead. We, at AHA, don’t believe that they are. We don’t believe everyone should blog; but in our experience there are many opportunities for an organization to have a blog and to have it be effective.

Not all blogs are alike. For example, we rarely get comments on our blog here at AHA, but we have a strong number of people that read our AHA blog post every day. The objectives of our blog are to share some valuable information, to engage with stakeholders, to showcase our knowledge and the AHA culture, and to help those interested in working with a PR agency find us.

We review our objectives on a regular basis to make sure our blog posts are supporting our goals.

For many organizations, a blog provides an opportunity to showcase the people behind the brand, to engage and connect with stakeholders and to further explain ideas, services and products in a non-commercial way. While attention spans are shorter these days, you can still say a lot in two to four paragraphs and if someone is interested (and you have provided engaging, valuable content), they’ll read it.

Producing a good blog takes time and effort. The content needs to flow; it needs to be informative, relevant and interesting. A good blog isn’t about you; it’s about your readers and providing them with what they want to know from your organization.

At our Vancouver PR agency, we often work with clients to review their current communications vehicles – to see what’s working and what’s not. We develop blog policies and processes, which includes editorial schedules (especially if there is more than one blogger) and we assist clients in reaching out and building a community that engages through the blog. Understanding the blog community is at the heart of it all. Knowing what conversations are important to your stakeholders is key. It is where it all begins.

I recently read a great piece in Inc.com on blogging mistakes that small businesses make. I think this piece translates to any organization that wants to or is blogging. It’s worth a read.

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We, at AHA Creative Strategies, are participating in #Blog4NZ. A campaign developed by a group of travel bloggers to showcase the country of New Zealand and to encourage travel there.

Since we provide a range of travel public relations services at our Vancouver PR agency and Tourism New Zealand is one of our favourite clients, we wanted to participate in this excellent initiative.

We have had a great deal of success in having travel articles that we’ve written about New Zealand published in both traditional and online media. We thought we would share one of those articles with you today. It’s about Auckland, which is where you initially land when you travel to New Zealand from Canada. I love Auckland. There is so much to do there – in the city itself and just a short drive or ferry ride away. It is a fabulous place – and I am hoping this piece inspires you to spend some time there when you visit New Zealand!

 

WHY AUCKLAND IS MORE THAN A JET LAG CURE

For many North American travellers, Auckland is a place to recover from any jet lag and to get their bearings for their New Zealand vacation. However, visitors soon discover that the beautiful city on the bay is so much more than a stopover to the rest of the country.

Positioned on a narrow piece of land between two magnificent harbours – Waitemata and Manukau – Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city with a population of 1.5 million. While it has a big city feel, when it comes to culture and sophistication, Auckland also gives off a comfortable, down-home vibe. People are friendly, the streets are safe and whether you want a city experience or would like to get a little closer to nature, you can find it either in the city itself or in just a short drive or ferry ride away.

Food

Auckland is a foodie heaven. No matter where you turn, there are incredible restaurants ranging from little hole-in-the-wall local spots to prestigious eateries run by world famous chefs. Want to know where to go for lunch or dinner? Ask a local. They will happily give you a rundown and directions to their favourite spots. Knowing how friendly Kiwis are, they might even join you!

Wine

The Auckland region is known for its wine and is home to some of New Zealand’s oldest established vineyards. In fact, just a short 40-minute ferry or water taxi ride from the city’s harbour is Waiheke Island, which boasts about 100 wineries. Quaint and beautiful, Waiheke Island is home to a range of boutique wineries that produce unique, high-quality wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc grape varieties. Some of the more well-known vineyards include Kennedy Point, Mudbrick and Man O’ War. Waiheke Island is also known for its olive oil and the island has a range of artists who sell their work at local shops and boutiques throughout the community.

Fun

No matter what your idea of fun is, chances are you can find it in Auckland. Activities range from sailing on Auckland Harbour, to shopping the boutiques on High Street; or you can check out the view from Sky Tower where, on a clear day, you can see about 81 km of the volcanic landscape. Just a short drive north of Auckland, visitors can also walk the black sand of Karekare Beach (made famous in the film The Piano), horseback ride at Pakiri Beach or surf at Piha. And, of course, with New Zealand playing host to the Rugby World Cup 2011, checking out a rugby match at Auckland’s Eden Park is a truly Kiwi experience.

Air New Zealand has direct non-stop flights from Vancouver to Auckland and also offers flights from many other North American cities. Visit www.airnewzealand.ca for more information. Qantas (www.qantas.com) also offers flights from many North American cities.

For more information on Auckland, please visit www.NewZealand.com.

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AHA - Typewriter imageI spent a great deal of time with some of the best journalists in the world when I worked at Maclean’s and I am thankful everyday as a communicator that I had that opportunity. Creating engaging, interesting and informative content isn’t easy – and writing clearly and concisely adds additional challenge to the craft.

We have heard for many years that content is king. Your stakeholders visit your website, your blog, Facebook page, Twitter page or other social networking sites to learn, to connect, to join a conversation and to either learn something or to tell you something. What you provide is important and it either leads to the person to return to your site because you provided value, created an opportunity to participate in a dialogue or offered something they want or need – or they don’t return.

While your organization may have valuable information that you want to share, it is important to approach content creation understanding what your stakeholders expect from you. It’s not always the same thing. This doesn’t mean you can’t provide the information that you feel is important. It does mean you need to find a different way to package it or put if forward and that you need to also focus on what stakeholders are interested in, relevant to what your organization does or provides to them. It’s all about them – not all about you. If you remember that, you will be ahead of the pack.

Mitch Joel of Twist Image has a great blog post about what type of content you should produce. We’re big fans of Mitch. If you are a communicator, his blog is a regular must read!

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