Public Relations Tactics

Posts Tagged ‘Public Relations Tactics’

Public Relations Tactics | Minimizing the Impact of Negatice WOM (Word of Mouth)

Ashley | Thursday, February 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

The PublicRelationsBlogger.com glossary defines word of mouth as: “The advertising of a product or brand that takes place between customers. This is promoted through ‘people networks’, referring to WOM as word of mouse as well. There is no outside influence or management from the company or brand.”

Normally, the last sentence in that definition is true. When it comes to astroturfing, companies are very much involved in creating that false WOM, though that is the extreme end of a company partaking in the WOM creation process. Companies can be involved in other ways that are not so bad and do not carry such a negative connotation as astrotrufing. That can include being actively aware of the WOM being generated about your company or client’s company, and responding when necessary. Doing these things can really help t alleviate the minimize the impact and repercussions of negative WOM. Negative WOM can include negative comments, false statements, and customer complaints. These things all need to be taken seriously and given the appropriate attention. Responding to these things can make or break your company’s success and online reputation and brand identity.

Companies do tend to respond to negative WOM, and according to a recent study done by by Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia, “direct engagement is the number one method of rectifying issues and addressing not-so-positive response.” (eMarketer)

negfeedback Public Relations Tactics | Minimizing the Impact of Negatice WOM (Word of Mouth)

Negative comments and false statements about brands can spread fast. Because consumers have the ability to create, publish and distribute their own content—as well as comment, debate, recommend and share their opinions—marketers and their brands are more vulnerable than ever. For instance, brands can be damaged by people who use Twitter to post false information. And they can just as easily be affected for the worse by employees who post prank videos on YouTube. (eMarketer)

Being a responsive PR professional takes tact and prompt action. Though the above tactics found in the study are all viable options to fight negative comments and WOM online, they may not work for your company, or there may may be one method that works better than others. Knowing which ones to use requires a great understanding of your target audiences, buyers, and your own company. Having that understanding can help you to ensure that you respond correctly and are able to respond in a manner that your customers/buyers will appreciate.

Do your homework, and be sure to allow yourself to find what works best by simply trying something; you won’t know if it works well for you unless you try it. Creating a PR or marketing plan is all about implementing tactics and strategies with educated reasoning and being able to evaluate how they are working for you and your company.

Tags: Minimizing Word of Mouth, Public Relations, Public Relations Tactics, WOM, word of mouth
Posted in Business, Public Relations

Public Relations : Brand Names, The Physical World, & The Internet

admin | Monday, September 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

I read an interesting book a few weeks ago, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” & “The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding”. The concept that I’d like to share is that of their 3rd Internet Branding Law, “The Law of The Common Name”.

Recently, in driving around looking for a nail salon or for a dry cleaners, this law became much more real. I don’t know the name of any of the salons or dry cleaners (unless it was a salon I’d gone to more than once, and really enjoyed). The generic name of ‘salon’ or ‘dry cleaner’ works really well in the physical world. These companies don’t need specific, brand names for a physical bricks-and-mortar company who’s location really helps to differentiate them. “I dropped off your jacket at the cleaners on Hall.” How convenient!

The story for an online business is far different. How can you differentiate one brand from another if the names online businesses use are generic? For instance, a company named “Shoes.com” dosen’t say much about them that would make me visit them over “Heels.com”, and I really only know that they sell a generic product of shoes or heels. On the other hand, I know what to find at the DSW or Zappos website, because I know the store and I know the brand.

Another reason website names are crucial to an online business is that, standing alone, away from advertising, marketing, or PR, a website is simply an address, usually comprised of a few words. This means that businesses can no longer rely on their logo, the look of their website or product, or really any other visual characteristic. The website address needs to capture the attention first, and then the logo and other aesthetic aspects come into play. (What pressure!)

So, while a generic name may work on Hall St., remember that there needs to be a way for your customers to distinguish you and your brand, and your brand name ought to instill some sort of desire and wonder, whereas Flowers.com doesn’t give off much excitement. It may tell me what is offered there, but that is the extent of the utility the name offers. (In fact, in looking for a website that sells flowers that I could contrast to Flowers.com, my search resulted in other generic flower sites. I suppose, then, that having a generic flower website or brand name won’t hurt your business much, but it would definitely benefit you to have a unique name among a sea of generics!)

Having an ‘uncommon’ name will help you to be more recognizable in the end. If a customer of ThePetShop.com is asked where they got their pet medications, and their answer, “The Pet Store”, prospective customers may be confused, and inquire, “Yes, but which pet store?”

It can be beneficial to have a name that helps to bring a new identity to your company. Petco, though a big brand offline, probably does well online, simply because their name is something other than a common name.

Tags: Brand Names, Brand Names in the Physical World, Brands on the Internet, Public Relations, Public Relations Tactics
Posted in Public Relations

Public Relations Videos | Tactics and Strategies

admin | Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 | No Comments »

Here are a few videos on Public Relations about the future of PR, social media tactics PR professionals can utilize, and a video on some techniques to use in the PR industry.