Thursday, October 10, 2013

Are You Ready for Mobile

When we think of technology Apple is always in the top sellers.  According to Apple press release they sold 47.8 million iPhones in their last quarter.  Not to mention iPads and iPods. They also sold about 4.1 million Mac's.  If you look at the numbers you can see a huge difference in the number of mobile devices versus the number of computers that are sold.

This fact alone tells us that more people than ever are accessing the web through mobile devices.  Not only do webpages need to have a nice mobile design but social media pages as well.  

The newest data shows that most people access their Facebook page via a mobile device.  How does your page stack up. Take a look at your page and make sure that it has an appealing mobile view.  Think about the benefits of having a great mobile page. Consider having a check in feature so that mobile users can find you quickly when they are outside of the home.




Thursday, September 19, 2013

Facebook Insights


If you monitor your Facebook page you may have noticed a section called insights. This is a great tool to help you get more out of your business page.  

 For example, if what you have been posting is not getting any likes or shares then you should probably try something different.  You can look at your insights page and determine which posts your customers responded to more often. If posts with videos get more likes then consider posting more videos.  If posts with daily quotes don't have any likes or shares then don't waste your time putting up daily quotes.  Make it interesting to your customers.  Make it worth their time to stop and read or look at what you post. It is probably a good ideal to check these once a week to see how your posts are doing and make appropriate adjustments.  

Facebook insights also offers detailed information about your fans. Some of the things you can learn are the ages of the people that interact with you, the days and times they are on facebook, and where they live.  Use this information to target your posts to your audience or to change your posts to build a new audience. 

Also consider the time of day you are posting.  If your fans are all on facebook in the morning you may want to consider posting in the morning as well. (you can find this information in the insights) The chances of them actually reading your posts are better if they don't have to scroll through an entire day's worth of news feed to find it. 


Take a few minutes this week to look at your Facebook insights and see what you can learn about your customers. Think about what changes you can make to get your page noticed more often. 

If you don't have a Facebook page consider making one for your business. They are simple to create and help you get closer to your customers, and you can link to your website.  You can start one here: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/?ref_type=sitefooter


Monday, August 19, 2013

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram......


There are new social media sites popping up everyday. How do you know which social media site is the right one for your business?  The best way to determine where to start is to find out what sites your clients use the most!  If all your clients use LinkedIn then a Facebook page isn't going to help you reach your target audience.  

There are several ways to do this but the best way is to ask.  Ask your clients which social media site they use the most.  Chances are that if your target audience is in the same general age range then they are going to use the same social media site.  There are many other studies and ways to find out which site your business should be on but this is a good beginning!  

Please leave a comment letting me know which social media sites do you currently spend the most time on?


Monday, August 12, 2013

Apple, Inc.’s Public Relations

            Apple, Inc. is a multinational corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics and computers.  They are well known for many of their products such as Macintosh computers or the iMac, the iPod, the iPad, and services such as iTunes.  They also create and market software such as the Mac operating system and the iTunes browser and offer iLife and iWork which are types of creative multimedia software suites. Other products include Aperture and Final Cut Studio and photography and video software products.  Logic Studio is a suite of music production tools.  Safari internet browser is used on the Mac computers and iPhone.  Apple has retail stores in at least ten countries and they sell their products on an online store as well. 
According to CNBC Apple is the most valuable company on the planet and is one of the few corporations that has eclipsed the $500 billion mark. Apple was established in April of 1976 in Cupertino, California.  They were originally known as Apple Computer until 2007 when the corporation dropped the word “Computer” because of their expansion into other areas of consumer electronics.  Apple has established a unique reputation in the business world.  They are well-known for various reasons including their comprehensive aesthetic designs and their distinctive advertising campaigns.
            According to the article “How Many U.S. Jobs Does Apple Really Create” by C. Arnold, “Apple has about 47,000 workers in the U.S.” (2012). They also create jobs for support services such as glass manufacturers, FedEx, UPS, and application creators.   Apple employees must go through an intensive training program before they are hired.  They train their employees uniquely in an intensive two week training program.  They train employees how to talk and  how not to talk to customers. Certain words are key words for employees and certain words are taboo. They are taught to use empathy and make customers feel good. They are trained to read body language and to notice how their body language is viewed by potential customers.  Employee’s actions have a direct reflection on a company. According to Green, “No matter how well-crafted or superbly presented your message, its communications value is defined by its context. The spread of information and ideas is dependent on the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur(2006, p. 167).” Hence, Apple employees are trained to effectively communicate with customers and enhance the company’s public image.   According to their sales they are certainly doing something right.
Apple has long promoted the anti-corporate image.   Rothman notes about Apple, “Its introductory commercial, one of the most famous advertisements ever made, was designed to definitively drive the computer-buying public into either Apple or IBM camps. And its message remains as obvious today as it did on that 1984 Super Bowl Sunday, when the gritty vision of a monotheistic future— a blatant warning against a Big Blue-dominated computer world— was bashed by a freedom-loving young woman with a sledge hammer”(2001, Pg.30). Steve Jobs one of the founders of Apple even flew the Jolly Rogers that promoted his rebel attitude.
Apple portrays an aura of innovation and that is one of the core values defined by Steve Jobs for Apple and its products. The company also uses empathy as one of its key selling points.  In Apple retail stores, employees are helpful and not pushy.  Customer service is a key point in selling their products.  In fact, Apple has built its core around commitment to their users.
Apple’s branding strategy focused largely on the emotions of its customers.  They have tried to create an “Apple” personality that emphasizes creativity.  The theme that is created by Apple is based on dreams, passions, and aspirations achieved through technology.  They focus on making their customers lives simpler with the use of their products.  Our text states that “A symbol should be unique, memorable, widely recognized, and appropriate. Organizations spend significant time and energy searching for unique symbols that convey the essence of what they are or what they hope to be. Considerable amounts of money are then spent on publicizing the symbols and creating meanings for them” (Cameron, 2008, Pg. 150). Apple promotes an image of freedom and an attitude of “power to the people,” and those attributes appeal to the freedom-loving patriotic public.  Apple prides itself on being a heartfelt company that has a connection to their customers.  They have created a symbol that their consumers relate to. Apple has an almost cult following and a definite air of community among its consumers.  
            The Apple brand is recognized throughout the world. They have used the simplicity of their products to promote their brand.  Philip Kolter says “Brand missions do not have to be complicated and sophisticated. In fact, they should be simple to allow for flexible business scoping. Look how visionary leaders pursue different strategies to fulfill their mission. Steve Jobs did it with the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone, each influencing a different industry” (2010, Pg. 59).  Apple has long been known for making their products easy to use for the technologically challenged and for new users of new technology.  It seems as if Apple’s strategy has worked.  As pointed out earlier in this paper Apple is one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, company on the planet. Their stock prices passed $500.00 per share in 2012. 
            Since 2006 Apple has used the Mac vs. PC ad campaign. The campaign is very simple. The PC is represented by a suit and tie type character.  The PC image portrays a frazzled corporate image.  The Mac is portrayed by a young, hip laid back character.  The Mac character is always dressed casually usually in jeans and sneakers.  This ad has contributed to the brand image of Apple.  It portrays the Mac as an easy to use computer versus the frazzled PC user who is having problems and not such an easy time. Apple also pushes the fun parts of its Mac such as iLife, iPhoto, and iTunes.  They further show the failings of the PC’s operating systems through their commercials.
Apple’s public relations team maximizes their opportunities for publicity on television programs and movies wisely.  Our text notes that “Television’s drama and comedy shows, as well as the film industry, are good vehicles for promoting a company’s products and services” (Cameron, 2008, Pg. 323).  One example of product placement is when Tom Cruise uses an Apple Computer in “Mission Impossible”.  In fact, Daniel Dilger writes in the Apple Insider “Apple product placements appeared 30 percent of the top films of 2010, more than any other brand, including Nike, Chevrolet and Ford, which all tied for second place with placement in 24 percent of the top movies” (2011). Apple has long used product placement even as far back as 1986.
Strangely, Apple Inc. does not use the current social media trends for public relations.  They do have a Twitter and Facebook account for some of their sub-brands. They never reply to customers but mainly show marketing messages.  That being said fans of Apple have a very large presence on social media sites and blogs.  Ironically, much of Apple’s marketing takes place on social media as its fans create buzz around new product launches on blogs and Twitter, yet Apple apparently does nothing to get involved with or influence the discussion.
Apple’s presence on the social media scene was supposed to be Ping. Ping is connected to Apple’s iTunes. According to Ian Paul’s article in PC World, “Ping was supposed to be Apple's big push into social with a music-based network built into iTunes on the desktop and iOS devices. Ping allowed you to follow updates from your favorite artists, broadcast your iTunes purchases to friends, share samples of songs you like, and find concert information about artists you follow” (2012).  Ping was not the success that Apple hoped it would be. 
Apple has added apps to their iPhone, iPad, and iMac to allow for ease of use with the social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  However, the company is still not interactive with their followers.  There is also talk that Apple is considering purchasing The Fancy.  The Fancy is much like Pinterest in that users can flag things they like.  (Paul, 2012)
Apple has had their share of ups and downs as a company. Steve Jobs was ousted from the company in 1985.  A former Pepsi executive came into the company to try and change their image on Wall Street. Apple changed executives several times but continued to falter in their growth until 1997 when Steve Jobs was brought back into the company (Rothman, 2001, Pg. 30).   During this time Apple did not flourish well as a company.  When Steve Jobs came back to Apple one of the first things that happened was the release of the iMac.  Our text says “Most public relations personnel rarely find themselves framing the issues of an international conflict, but they do exercise framing or positioning strategies for any number of products and services. For example, when Edelman was considering strategy for the launch of Apple’s iMac computer, one of the strong themes (or frames) they developed was that Apple was on the way back to prosperity after several years of massive losses and erosion of customer support. Indeed, one headline in a daily newspaper proclaimed, “Apple Regains Its Stride.” Such framing obviously bolsters investor and consumer confidence in the company” (Cameron, 2008, Pg. 180). Apple used the return of Steve Jobs and the release of the iMac to bolster public relations.
Apple has faced some public relations crisis along the way.  One such crisis was with the antenna issues on their iPhone 4.  The crisis could have damaged Apple’s reputation in a big way.  If you held the iPhone in a certain way then the signal strength would lesson causing dropped calls.   It was a big issue for several weeks but Apple actually handled this crisis by breaking some of the tried and true public relations rules.  First Apple did not apologize or admit to making any kind of mistake.  They told iPhone users to get cases or hold the phone differently.  They went on to hold a press conference and admitted that phones were not perfect and offered free cases to users although they would not admit there was a problem.
            Apple also faced another crisis not long after the Antenna crisis: The iPhone tracking issue.   Apple did not follow the rules of public relations and release a statement at the very beginning of a crisis.  Instead they remained silent until they had gathered the necessary data to offer a full explanation and solution. In both of these cases Apple broke other PR rules in that it involved other competitors in the phone industry into the fray.  Apple showed videos of how other cell phones dropped calls due to antenna issues as well as tracking issues.  
            Apple also faced a public relations crisis when allegations were made about unfair and unsafe working condition in a Chinese manufacturer.  They allowed investigators inside of the facility to interview workers.  Apple enlisted the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to conduct an audit of the Foxconn facilities.  Apple has countered this with positive PR and is continuing to list their practices on their website. 
            Certainly Apple has its own unique style of public relations crisis management.  They are slow to respond and take their time to make sure they have all of the information before responding.  Although this may be considered a risky public relations tactic, there is something to be said for being well-informed and well-armed with information and plans before confronting a crisis. It has worked for Apple in the past and seems to still be working in the present situations.
            Apple, Inc. is a for profit company. It has been said even, the most profitable company on the planet right now.  Their advertising and PR are effective however, their public relations and advertising tactics would not work well in a non-profit organization such as the SPCA.  Although both organizations appeal to emotions with their advertising, the SPCA appeals to different emotions. 
            The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a highly successful non-profit organization.  Like Apple they utilize television as their media for commercials to solicit donations.  Their commercials are also widely known as well.  Unlike Apple’s advertisements that people like to watch because they are witty and fun, the SPCA’s spots tend to be heartfelt and sad.  In fact, many people have a hard time watching them because of the emotions they elicit.  The images of puppies coming from horribly abusive situations and puppy mills will break hearts. The hope is that the commercials will induce emotion that will cause people to give donations to stop this abuse.
            Unlike Apple, Inc. the SPCA is very active in the social media venue.  They have a huge social media campaign.  Local chapters of the SPCA have set up individual Facebook and Twitter pages with huge followings.  More of the agonizing tear jerker videos can be seen on YouTube. 
            One example of a public relations crisis encountered by the British Columbia chapter of the SPCA was when they responded to the brutal killings of 100 sled dogs.  Unlike Apple, Inc.’s crisis management style they did respond right away.  They were however, unprepared for the entire backlash they received from the crisis.  They were honest and admitted to the public that the dogs would have likely been euthanized anyway.  Although the BC SPCA admitted that they knew about the situation, like Apple Inc. has done in round about ways with some of their situations, they hurt themselves by the tone they responded in.  They were defensive and blamed others. 
            The SPCA has lost many of its supporters because of recent public relations crises.  Most people who donate to the SPCA do so to save animals.  However, consumers are much smarter than some agencies give them credit for.  The recent articles about Houston SPCA being awarded by the BBB for excellence in service raised a huge uprising because of the Houston SPCA’s policy of killing pit bulls.  Many people who were not aware that the SPCA euthanizes animals are now realizing that the ad campaigns are phony. 

            Although Apple, Inc.’s public relations crisis management is not the mainstream variety they still adhere to many of the public relation guidelines when marketing their products.  They also use smart public relation tactics with their customer base and advertising campaigns.   Apple has always been outside the box and not considered mainstream.  Although some of the rules that Apple breaks works for Apple, does not mean those tactics will work for other companies.  It may be in the best interest of an organization to study what Apple does and realize that it may not work for that organization because their brand image is not Apple. 

References:

Arnold, C.,  March 2012, “How Many U.S. Jobs Does Apple Really Create?”

Rothman, H. 50 Companies That Changed the World : Incisive Profiles of the 50 Organizations - Large and Small - That Have Shaped the Course of Modern Business. Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA: Career Press, Incorporated, 2001. p 30. Retrieved from:  http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10006969&ppg=30

Green, A. Effective Communication Skills for Public Relations.
London, GBR: Kogan Page Ltd., 2006. p 167. Retrieved from:

            Aaker, D. Brand Relevance : Making Competitors Irrelevant.
Hoboken, NJ, USA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. p 28., Retrieved from:

            Cameron, Glen T., Reber, Bryan H., Shin, Jae-Hwa, Wilcox, Dennis L. Public Relations Today: Managing Competition and Conflict (2008). Pearson Education, Inc; Boston, MA. Retrieved from: Retrieved from:
Kotler, P. Marketing 3.0 : From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2010. p 59. Retrieved from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10381059&ppg=77

Paul, I. PCWorld,Apple's Ping Social Network to Shutter, Report”. Jun 13, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.pcworld.com/article/257520/apples_ping_social_network_to_shutter_report.html






Monday, August 5, 2013

Delivering Bad News Effectively and Tactfully


To run a successful business you must not only communicate well with your customers you must also have good communication with your employers as well.   When managing others it is very important to consider the best ways to deal with conflict.   Eric Brahm tells us that, “The potential for conflict exists whenever people have different needs, values, or interests” (2003).  So this boils down to almost every situation. 
For this post I was asked to consider a certain scenario and how to deal with it effectively and tactfully.

“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services.  You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service.  One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers.  In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment.  You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”

There are a few things to consider beforehand to prepare for your meeting.  Think about the location of the meeting.  It is not wise to confront employees in front of others or where others can overhear.  Pick a quite location that is conductive to a good outcome.    Consider creating a nurturing environment.  Abigail and Cahn put it like this,  “If we feel safe enough to assert our interests, needs, and goals; listen to others; and collaborate in interpersonal conflicts, we are more likely to achieve mutually satisfying outcomes” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 117).

Although many people delay and procrastinate in delivering bad news because of the fear of confrontation it is not a good idea.  By avoiding the situation you can cause even more harm to your business as well as making the confrontation worse by surprising the employee if they had no prior warning as to the issues.  So resolve issues early!

In any situation that there is potential for conflict it is best to be well informed to before the confrontation begins.  In this case it would be imperative to have all the complaints that have been received documented.  In addition to this types of confrontational behavior that has been displayed in the past should be well documented and available as well.   This statement deserves to be repeated, document, document, document.  In some circles otherwise known as CYB  (Cover Your Business… )

Whenever you must deliver bad news it is a very good idea to also emphasize the positive.  The above employee has been at the company for two years.  You may consider starting the conversation with a positive note on the employees length of employment, maybe they are always on time, never miss work, answer more phone calls that every other employee in the company.  Find some positive attribute to emphasize in the conversation.  When delivering this news have a solution to the problem in hand.   Of course we know there is the one solution listed, fix it or get the boot!  Consider other ways that the employee can fix the problem.   The most important thing to remember is that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.


References:

Abigail, R.A. and Cahn, D.D. (2011). Managing Conflict Through      
     Communication, P. 117

Brahm, Eric. "Conflict Stages." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy

     Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information 

     Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. September 

     2003, retrieved from: 
     
     www.beyondintractablitiy.org/bi-essay/conflict-stages 

   .

Monday, July 29, 2013

How can you communicate with your customers?



There are many forms of media that can be used to communicate with your target audience.  

       
 Television

Television is one of the traditional mass media forms of communication that we enjoy in our society.  Although, the history of television is not as old as it may seem to most considering that television only became a popular medium in the 1950’s.  The television viewing audience is quite diverse.  Television programing and advertising target different sectors of the public depending on the timing and geographical area.  Romaniuk, Beal, & Uncles, simplify the matter by saying “Reaching consumers in the target audience with a brand message is the key goal of media placement” (2013).  Studying the history of television one must be reminded of the very successful marketing and advertising strategies of soap operas aptly named because of the target audience of homemakers who buy cleaning materials for the home.  Television advertising is one of the biggest expenses that many companies encounter.   We have all heard about the cost of advertising at prime opportunities like the Super Bowl. 


Print
The media of print is certainly a diverse one and utilizes many platforms for its delivery.  Print has been around as early as the cave drawings in prehistoric times.  Dhanshri M. Patil  talks about how print media has changed and  talks about how the media of print is “…still dramatically changing” (Patil, 2011).  Of course we know that the media of print is one of the most important in conveying our ideas and information to others.  And almost every form of media that is not visual media utilizes print.  The platforms used to deliver media have come a long way and evolved with technology.  We can now read e-books, web pages, blogs, as well as the traditional media of newspapers, magazines, flyers, and other written material.  There has been a big drop in most newspaper circulations and although newspaper advertising is not as expensive as television advertising the potential number of people that will actually encounter your advertisement is limited to the newspaper’s circulation.



Radio

Although we may consider radio a traditional media it is still a valid technology.  Using radio to communicate is somewhat different than pre-television era however; it is still a source of knowledge to many.  If you consider the amount of time that we spend every day just traveling to and from work or running errands the time we spend listening to the radio is significant.  Radio is of course a source of entertainment for music we like but also a source of hearing the news, as well as a legitimate advertising venue.


Internet
  
This leads to another form of media we all know and love which is the wonderful internet where we can find many types of communication.  There is print media, television, social media, and a many other forms to communicate incorporated on the internet.  The internet utilizes such media technologies as social media, rich-media, search, mobile and many more.  According to the US Census in 2011, 71.7% of every household accessed the internet.  Communication on the web allows almost unlimited access to information.  The best thing about this new technological media is that it is a wonderful means of free communication!  The amount of time that the population spends online is astounding if you consider not only are we accessing the web at home on personal computers but we are also accessing the internet at work.  Lastly let’s not forget how many people access the internet on their mobile phones. 


References

Romaniuk, J., Beal, V., & Uncles, M. (2013). Achieving Reach in a Multi-Media Environment How a Marketer's First Step       Provides the Direction for the Second. Journal Of Advertising Research, 53(2), 221-230. doi:10.2501/JAR-53-2-221-230

Patil, D. M. (2011). Recent Trends of Print Media in Development Communication. Global Media Journal: Indian Edition, 2(2), 1-20.


U.S. Census, (May, 2013) Computer and Internet Use in the United States, Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov/hhes/computer/publications/2011.html

Monday, July 22, 2013

Evirtual Branding

Evirtual Branding



Why your business should have an online presence above and beyond your website.

The number one reason that you should have an online presence is that 3 out of 4 people find local business by searching online.  For example if someone is searching for a dentist the chances are high that they will first begin their search by looking on Google.  Not only does having a Google+ page help people to find you it also boost your webpage higher on the search engine. 

 As businesses grow more competitive one of the biggest challenges that they face is growing and building their brand.  Customers need to not only see but to experience this to believe them.  If customers can find you online it offers an extension of your brand.   By setting up a social media platform you can provide valuable information to your clients while building your brand.  This is a great way to build your business brand as well as get to know your customers.   Once you have established an online presence then you can quickly and easily showcase specials and promotions to your clients and new perspective clients as well.  Using social media to promote your business and specials is much more effective than placing an ad in the local newspaper.  Your message can spread from 1 to 1000 in a matter of 24 hours because of the viral-ness of the web.   


Ok, so you get the point your company needs to be online and you already have a website for your customers.  You don’t have the time to update a blog, and social media every day and you don’t want to hire a social media consultant to work full time.  That’s where Evirtual Branding can help.  For less than the cost of running a traditional newspaper ad we can set you up on the major social media sites, and provide weekly updates.  Building your brand through social media and allowing your presence on the web to grow while you run your business.   By hiring Evirtual Branding you don’t have the added expense of hiring a Social Media consultant to take up valuable space in your office.