How to Become a Winner with Vine

I am not a betting woman, but I am willing to make a wager you have probably heard about the latest and greatest social media platform—Vine. The fact that you have six seconds to provide relevant content to your brand’s fan base possesses both an upside and a downside.

On the up:

With all of the mumbo jumbo that surrounds us in this crazy world, it is no secret we have short attention spans, which I like to call the Squirrel Syndrome. Vine challenges us to provide a message and engage the intended target audience quickly rather than creating a five-minute-plus video that drags on and on.
Who doesn’t love a good how-to tutorial, behind-the-scenes sneak peek, or a before-and-after transformation? It all goes back to show and tell—we, as consumers, would rather be shown something versus being told something. Check out a few Vine videos from Lowe’s—every bit of awesome!

For all of you sweating over the challenge of creating relevant content in six seconds, do yourself a favor and relax. Lo and behold the Vine description section. Use this to your advantage by offering a brief recap about the video. This also gives you a chance to reinforce your key messages.

On the down:

If you do not have a clear vision of what you want to say, your message will never resonate with your key audience. There is a reason why I keep using the word relevant in this post: You have to offer pertinent content based on your brand’s image and your target audience’s interests. If they do not benefit from your message, you’re good as gone. General Electric does a fabulous job of providing great, relevantcontent to its followers on Vine. Take a look:
It’s OK to have surpluses of shoes, nail polish colors and pieces of pizza; however, you can have too much of a good thing. Some brands try to do too much in one six-second video, flashing what seems like a million images at once. If consumers cannot process what they are being shown, you leave them questioning what they just viewed. Sometimes simple is better.
You wouldn’t purchase a vehicle that did not fit your lifestyle needs, so why would you adopt a social media platform that doesn’t provide value to your brand? Before you make the grand dive into this new outlet, test the waters to see if Vine is right for your brand.

If you embrace all that Vine has to offer and do your best to avoid the common mistakes, there is no doubt you will hit the jackpot!

The Power of Community

I’m in love and it’s time the world knows about it. Fasten your seatbelts and please meet the Archbishop Hoban High School Lip Dub. (Did you really think I’d broadcast my personal life like an episode of The Bachelor?) Yes, I am an alumna of Hoban, but I promise you I’m not being biased here—at least not entirely. Read on.

“What the flip is a Lip Dub?” you may ask. Well, here’s the 411: A Lip Dub is, for lack of a better term, a lip synching, audio dubbed music video. Video creators and Hoban seniors Mario Micale, Jimmy Martter and Joey Clark took three songs (“What I Like About You,” The Romantics; “Beauty and a Beat,” Justin Bieber; and “Magic,” B.O.B.), meshed them together and invited all students, faculty, staff and alumni to participate in the video. Crazy outfits were worn, dancing talents were revealed and Blue and Gold spirit took center stage as the Lip Dub took us all on a tour of Hoban High and a walk down memory lane. Oh, and did I mention this was filmed in one take? Impressive.

While I’d love to sit here and go on and on about the video and why it makes my heart skip a beat, I totally want to go the geek route and share why this is simply amazing from a public relations point of view. (Check out this blog post if you’re looking for a more colorful, in-depth review of the Lip Dub and why Hoban is one of a kind.)

Here are the reasons why this video captures the power of community:

The people: The number of times I have watched this Lip Dub could very well be considered borderline unhealthy. Regardless of the diagnosis, there is good reason for this slight obsession: Every time you watch the Lip Dub video you discover a new academic department, club, or sport team. It is those people and organizations that make Hoban, Hoban, and what better way to demonstrate this aura of school pride and unity than with a fun, engaging video that shows you what Hoban is all about, rather than tell?
The media relations push: Holy moly! If there is anything I am amazed with in addition to the video, it is the students’ media relations efforts via social media. Do yourself a favor and search ‘Hoban Lip Dub’ in Twitter and you’ll be amazed by the online buzz. If that doesn’t amaze you, then let’s discuss the media pitches taking place left and right on Twitter. Even my main weatherman Mark Johnson from WEWS has taken part in the fun. A few media hits Hoban has received include NBCnews.com, News Channel 5, FOX 8, 96.5 KISS FM, and even a shout out tweet from Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots. Think of all of the followers, posts, retweets, favorites and shares—that’s a pretty incredible reach if you ask me and it’s not an easy task to accomplish. The students’ next goal consists of landing a hit or mention on Good Morning America and/or The Ellen Show. You can do it, Knights!
The outside response: In just a little more than a week (originally published on March 28), Hoban’s Lip Dub video has collected more than 55,000 views on YouTube and has generated tons of positive feedback. I have also come across tweets and posts from proud students and alums who have shared how they have sported their Hoban gear in public and been approach by complete strangers about the video. Cool? I think yes! I also stumbled upon a YouTube comment that reads:
That, my friends, is the power of community!

This power of community has resulted in positive media coverage and word of mouth buzz which, in the end, captures the identity of Hoban. For any school, brand or organization, you are defined by your reputation and identity. Does this mean you all should go and run to film the next Lip Dub video? No. However, the next time you wish to demonstrate what your brand is all about, remember it’s about believing in your identity and engaging those who believe in it.

*Side note: Just so we’re clear (family and friends), I am not the lady referred to in the above tweet. You have my word.

What we can learn from the 1 Million ‘Likes’ Phenomenon

The word ‘Like’ has never meant more in today’s world than it does right now. Just ask the daughters of the Cordell family whose help-us-get-one-million-likes-for-a-puppy photo post on Facebook got them… (drum roll, please)… a puppy!

What started out as a fun, inventive family challenge has transformed into a 1 Million ‘Likes’ Facebook phenomenon. Since the Cordell’s one million ‘Likes’ photo success, everyone and their brother has jumped on the viral photo bandwagon. I’ve seen everything from a child asking others for one million ‘Likes’ for a trip to Disney, to a request for one million ‘Likes’ for a man to persuade his wife to have another child.

So what does all of this mean for PR and marketing pros? “Going viral” is a lot like Northeast Ohio weather; it’s not something that can be planned, it just happens. And although the idea for one million ‘Likes’ was a grand slam to begin with, it’s losing flavor and quickly becoming all too vanilla. When we play copy-cat to these types of tactics, we are adding to the white noise of the digital sphere and will quickly lose that thing we greatly cherish with our audience(s), aka engagement, all going downhill from there.

The last thing you want is for someone to say “Oh, there’s another one of those one million ‘Likes’” photos or whatever the digital campaign may be. Word to the wise: Be unique, keep it fresh, stay true to you, and always think before you jump onto the bandwagon.

What we’ve learned in a year about the REAL WORLD of PR

‘Tis the season to celebrate and we are not talking about the big fat man in the red suit. It’s hard to believe, but it’s been one year since Allison and I have graduated from Kent State, and the best part—we made it!

Though it’s great you’ll sleep better now knowing “we made it,” we do want to share the many lasting, wonderful lessons and skills we’ve learned over what seems like a “in-a-blink-of-an-eye” year with you.

Allison, take it away…

Agency life: One thing I’ve learned working at True is that no day ever goes as planned. For those of you who know me, you know I’m super organized and have my days planned out. That being said, when you work at an agency, phone calls, impromptu meetings and the occasional laptop malfunction can definitely deter you from your schedule. It’s definitely a balancing act that you have to maintain.
No two days are the same: People always ask me what a typical day is like for me. When I think about the answer, it’s difficult to explain because no two days ever follow the same routine. This may seem chaotic, but it keeps me on my toes and allows me to broaden my skillset every day.
Stay connected: Now that I’m a year out of school, I find myself missing my time at Kent State University. That’s why it’s so important to stay connected with friends and professors-whether that be through email, a quick lunch or a coffee date. It’s just enough to keep you connected to your past and is a great way to continue networking.
Don’t be afraid to speak up: I’ll admit: I’m never one to keep things to myself. But I realized during the early part of the year that I kept to myself during client meetings because I was afraid I’d be seen as “the young one.” It took a wake-up call from a co-worker who told me that I couldn’t think that way, and that I offer a fresh perspective and have a right to be heard. I began to bring up ideas to my clients and I’m now seen as a trusted advisor because of it. And that, is a great feeling.
It’s OK to not know the right answer: Over the past year, I would secretly worry that a client, media contact or co-worker would ask me a question that I didn’t know the answer to. It’s taken me about a year, but I’ve finally been able to accept the fact that I don’t have all the answers. And better yet, I’m not expected to. The fact that I don’t know an answer, but am more than willing to figure it out is exactly how young professionals grow.

Switching gears over to Erin now…

Every day is a different day: Our professors at Kent were not lying when they said the PR world is ever-changing every second of every day. At True, I have learned to embrace skills of all sorts—from creating content calendars to basic analytics knowledge—and be able to adapt to client needs and, mostly importantly, deliver on those requests.
Know your client: Long story short, it is crucial to understand everything about your client, your client’s audience(s) and the opinion leaders within your client’s industry. The more you know, the more you can help your client. Plus, by immersing yourself into the pool of knowledge, you become that much more valuable to the team overall.
MEDIA LISTS, EDITORIAL CALENDARS, MEDIA LISTS: Do I really need to elaborate? OK, maybe for a hot second. As mentioned before, take the time to understand your client and their industry. By doing so, this has helped me with compiling media lists and editorial calendars as well as pitching different story angles to media. I have learned that media relations is super important to any client and it’s a skill you have to develop one pitch at a time.
Don’t be afraid to explore the Web: At True, we are encouraged to explore the Web. Why? By exploring and “playing with purpose” on the Web, I not only learn about new tools and programs, but I am ultimately helping my client become an early adopter of “the next big thing” in the digital world by bringing something new and valuable to the table.
When in doubt, pick up the phone: Client service is huge in the PR world. I have always known creating rapport with colleagues is important; however, it makes all the difference in the world to pick up the phone, chat it out and create relationships that don’t involve the process of using a keyboard. This applies to not only clients, but media, co-workers and others you may meet along the way. After all, we are in the communications field.

It’s pretty blatant to see that even though we clinched out beloved diplomas a year ago, the learning has not stopped for us. With that said, we cannot wait to see what the next year has in store for us and hope for nothing but A+ results. #TrueApproved

How to Get in Tune with Branding (With a Little Help From T. Swift)

In life, there are those things you can always count on like that one creepy uncle you try to avoid during family events, or A Christmas Story airing for 24 hours straight on TBS every Christmas, or even that one girl who takes the bouquet-toss a little too seriously at a wedding reception.

Call me crazy, but the Taylor Swift brand is no different – and that’s certainly not a bad thing. (Respect to T. Swift—she’s my girl!) When a new Taylor Swift album or single is released, we kind of have an idea of what to expect. There will be heartbreak. There will be new beginnings. There will be love. There will be fun. And, there will be (sweet) revenge. That’s exactly what we expected when her latest album, Red, hit stores a few weeks ago. Regardless of what the songs encompass, we can count on Taylor to give us those songs… even if you don’t listen to her music. This, my friends, is called successful branding.

Taylor’s songs are only half of it. I went to Target the other day only to find a whole Taylor Swift Red display accompanied by Taylor-inspired greeting cards about friendship and love. Tell me the last time you’ve seen that by a musical artist? SO her, and so genius!

She doesn’t stop there. Taylor’s on-screen presence falls right in line with everything she is: sweet, spunky, fun and simply down to earth. Just check out her guest appearances on The Ellen Show for proof and a good great laugh!

Though she stays true to her brand, Taylor brings something new to the table to keep it fresh—every time—whether that is releasing a new song about a past flame, hosting an event for fans or changing those blonde locks we are all secretly envious of.

When it comes to your brand, keep it fresh but stay in tune to who you are and what you represent. Taylor is confirmation how important it is to find your brand identity, embrace it and build upon it. When you have that, you can expect to have a hit on your hands!