Category: Blog

Facebook’s Change: Now What?

Cherith AndesBlog, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , ,

Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s head of news feed, described Facebook’s newest change as “bigger than the average tweak … It’s not a tweak.”

Michael Stelzner, founder of Social Media Examiner, dubbed it “Facebook Zero,” and Contently described it as the “Facebook apocalypse.”

It might just be all three.

In mid-January, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled an overhaul to Facebook’s algorithm, one that possibly spells disaster for business pages. Rather than pontificate on death’s door, here are the CliffsNotes:

The Main Shift

Previously, Facebook aimed to connect users with relevant content. Now, the algorithm will prioritize meaningful interactions between people, not between pages and people. Think … posts by people who ask for recommendations or who share personal stories that spark heartfelt responses.

Who Matters? People. Real, actual people, not businesses or news sources. This overhaul places a premium on people who are in your network as well.

What Matters? Previously, the Facebook algorithm evaluated successful posts by the amount of time spent and the number of likes. The new system values post engagement in the form of comments. Lengthy, meaningful comments that require time and effort score far higher than short, monosyllabic quips.

(Facebook spells it out in its short video.)

The Effects

Straight from Marky Mark (Zuckerberg) himself — content from pages will increasingly disappear from news feeds. Reach, views and referral traffic will decrease to pages, including the Facebook content darling itself: video. Facebook will view this as a passive media type. (Note: video is not disappearing or becoming obsolete; we’ll need to adjust how we utilize it!) Overall time on Facebook will decrease while, Facebook predicts, quality of interaction will increase. And while the shift will start in the news feed, it will eventually infiltrate the entire platform.

Why the Change?

Facebook adopts a psychological stance on this one. Passive scrolling and empty interaction on Facebook, it says, decreases quality life. Meaningful, engaged interaction that requires effort and time investment add value and boost positive feelings. Hence, it seems that Facebook is striving to bolster our quality of life.

But back to business … now what?

First and foremost, don’t panic. Here’s what we see as promising grounds so far.

1. Ad Campaigns. There’s little chance that Facebook will hamstring its revenue source: ads. Begin to beef up your ad strategy, solidifying campaigns and goals to increase website traffic and nurture conversions. While many predict that costs for campaigns will rise as supply and demand adjusts, ads are currently still a firm method to connect with your consumers. (P.S. Check out a few tips here.)

2. Live Videos (and others). Live videos seem to be a slight exception to Facebook’s new rules. It encourages viewers to actively engage with both the content creator and with other viewers. Video, in general, is not dying, especially with recently launched features like Facebook Watch. So don’t ditch your cameras yet! Just stay tuned for ways to create “thumb stopping” content that will illicit comments and shares.

3. Encourage “See First.” For now, train your followers to mark your page as “See First,” affording your business content some priority in their news feeds.

4. Explore Using Messenger Bots. These “behind-the-scenes” bots can deliver ad content, answer questions and help streamline the sales process beyond standard news feed content or ads. Jon Loomer shares tips on leveraging Facebook Messenger ads.

5. Avoid Engagement Baiting. Facebook has made it clear that they will demote pages and posts that use engagement baiting to artificially increase post engagement. Asking fans to like, share, comment or tag friends are examples of engagement baiting. It’s a no-no.

6. Diversify. Psssst. Don’t forget; Facebook isn’t the only platform to nurture your fan base and gain customers. Now is the time to revisit your content marketing and broad social media strategy.

As marketers, we now need to consider how to create conversations between people, not between our followers and the page. Also evaluate how investing time in this Facebook shift supports — if at all — your core business goals.

In essence, Facebook has transformed from a broadcast platform into a coffee house table for thoughtful conversation. Pour a cup of joe and chat.

Need some help revamping your Facebook strategy? We’re here to help.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Briar Chapel’s Spicy App

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , , ,

More exposure and higher attendance were the goals of the Briar Chapel marketing team as it planned its 9th Annual Pepper Festival to support North Carolina agriculture. Briar Chapel is one of the largest master-planned green communities in Raleigh-Durham and part of Newland Communities, the country’s largest private residential real estate developer. It turned to Clairemont Communications to reengage past festival participants and grab the attention of new audiences.

Strategy

Clairemont spiced up Briar Chapel’s approach with a creative social media personality quiz designed to promote the Pepper Festival to Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill residents. Clairemont had two objectives in mind: to increase visibility for the Pepper Festival and build third-party credibility for the event.

Execution

Spark Social Sharing

Clairemont wanted to expand the event’s social media strategy to incorporate a fun, interactive approach that would attract audiences untapped by traditional efforts. We researched the most effective types of personality quizzes and crafted a short online experience that would encourage users to share with a network of friends across multiple platforms, hence organically expanding the festival’s visibility.

“How Spicy Is Your Personality?” Quiz!

Rather than settle for traditional promotions, Clairemont turned up the heat to design an interactive social media quiz that piqued viewers’ interest with a play on words: “How Spicy is Your Personality?” For an unexpected twist, we crafted seven short questions that had little connection with festivals, food, peppers or Briar Chapel. Instead, the quiz featured queries like “What’s your getaway vehicle?” or “Pick Your Poison” – a question followed by four beverage choices ranging from wine to milk with cookies. The quiz posed other clever questions like “If your pants were on fire, you would …” and “your favorite hot spot is …” to emphasize the heat theme of the event. Clairemont peppered the content with twists of wit and humor along with themed verbiage connected to spice, fire and heat commensurate with the Pepper Festival.

The Spicy Personality Results

Once users took the quiz, they found results that stretched beyond the expected, standard “mild, medium or hot” descriptions. Instead, Clairemont crafted five positive personality types that featured popular phrases or song lyrics related to heat, fire and smoke. These descriptions told people if they were a Mild Child, a Sweet Heat, a Spiced Just Right, a Firecracker or a Flamethrower, which contributed to our goal of unexpected and quirky content.

Participants could then share their prescription and accompanying image on Facebook, encouraging friends to take the quiz as well. The quiz also included an opportunity for viewers to enter for a chance to win tickets to the 2016 Pepper Festival, along with details and links to the festival.

Results

Clairemont exceeded each of its objectives of quiz shares, visits and entries, boosted attendance by 10 percent and rolled out the largest festival to date.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Briar Chapel earned an Award of Excellence for Creative Tactics and an Honorable Mention for Social Media from the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America. We are proud that this campaign represents two of the 175 awards we’ve received since starting Clairemont in 2010.

To read more about the work we do with clients, please visit the case study section of our blog.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Wendell Falls Busts Real Estate Myths

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , ,

Newland Communities, the country’s most prominent privately held residential developer, launched its newest master-planned community – Wendell Falls – in May 2015. Newland turned to Clairemont Communications to showcase the strengths of eastern Wake County and unveil the community as the conveniently located living destination that it is.

Strategy

Clairemont crafted a strategy that incorporated media relations, special events and community partnerships. Since research showed that buyers valued a sense of community, our methods highlighted the fun, relational atmosphere at Wendell Falls and provided opportunities for audiences to interact with the brand, whether through online campaigns or in-person events. 

Method

The Hoedown Showdown: Clairemont worked with Wendell Falls to plan a barn-raising themed celebration to commemorate the community’s first anniversary. Clairemont created the Wendell Falls Hoedown Showdown, a celebrity square-dancing competition hosted at the anniversary event. We invited TV, print and online personalities to do-si-do for a little dough ($1,000) to donate to a charity of his or her choice. Media received creative invitations that included a “wanted” poster and a cowboy hat, which one TV reporter even sported on her morning show! Clairemont successfully recruited nine media representatives to compete and another three influencers to judge the competition, resulting in print and television coverage as well as influencer posts to approximately 52,200 followers on Twitter alone.

Jam with Us! – Community Events: To attract prospective homebuyers, Clairemont ditched standard home tours and helped to launch a series of creative on-site events. Since the information center is called the “Farmhouse,” the team rolled out Farmhouse Jams, an outdoor summer concert series featuring local bands and Grounds Café’s “brews and brews,” the on-site café’s beer and coffee. Holiday Sip and Shops attracted home shoppers to peruse Raleigh’s finest hand-crafted gifts, and open-house weekends were transformed into themed celebrations highlighting unexpected home features.

Hand-in-Hand – Partnerships: Clairemont aligned Wendell Falls with key local organizations to increase visibility and connection with the community. For example, during the Eastern Carolina Farm Tour, Wendell Falls launched a family friendly party bus to chauffeur families to tour local farms while they enjoyed, food, beverages and activities.

And…action! – Videos: To combat the perception that Wendell Falls is remotely located, Clairemont conceptualized a “Faster Than” video challenge. Team members “raced” in their cars from a starting point in downtown Raleigh to several prominent suburbs, including Wendell Falls. The contest, captured via mounted GoPro cameras, revealed that drivers can get to Wendell Falls from downtown Raleigh faster than to other surrounding areas. Clairemont also created a video – titled “Our Coffee Cares” – to unveil the story of the Guatemalan family that selects and sources the coffee for Grounds, the on-site café at Wendell Falls.

Beyond the Books – School Campaign: Clairemont did a little homework to bust the myth that the area’s education was subpar. Based on extensive tours and interviews, we first developed a resource to “unveil your child’s future.” This brochure, webpage and blog series highlighted Wendell’s “hidden gem” – a surprising variety of academic options, programs and tracks. The campaign prompted the marketing manager to dub it “the best school tool we’ve had to date!”

Creative Media Pitches: Clairemont brainstormed creative angles beyond home construction to pique the interest of reporters. Our pitches showcased Wendell Falls’ commitment to green building along with the vibrant community lifestyle.

Results

In direct correlation with our stated objectives above, we met every goal, exceeded expectations and produced the following results:

  1. Clairemont secured a total of 13 news stories and blogs.
  2. Special events drew an aditional 1,800 people on-site.
  3. Home sales increased by 250 percent in 2016.

Clairemont successfully positioned Wendell Falls as one of the top places to live in Wake County, efforts that have helped Wendell Falls meet its annual sales goal and earned the community the title as Best Master Planned Community in East Wake County by The News & Observer.

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Wendell Falls earned a Platinum Award in Organizational Identity/Promotion from the Raleigh Public Relations Society. We are proud that this campaign represents two of the 175 awards we’ve received since starting Clairemont in 2010.

To read more about the work we do with clients, please visit the case study section of our blog.

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Maximize Your 2018 Marketing

Cherith AndesBlog, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , ,

What’s hot? Ringing in the new year doesn’t necessarily require a revamp of current strategies. But it does call for a closer look at burgeoning digital and social media trends along with new tools on the horizon. Where do you need to place your focus to maximize your marketing efforts and boost business success?

A New Definition of Evergreen Content

In the past, social media platforms catered to snack-sized, temporary content forms designed to be consumed at brief intervals. Recently, there has been a gradual shift toward permanent content. Unlike traditional “evergreen” content, however, the M.O. of social media is still real-time posts that can be specific to one moment, event or experience. (e.g. Snaps from a one-time conference or a Insta story about your lunch burger.)

Platforms are now creating ways to make the content permanently available. For example, Instagram recently launched Stories Archives, allowing users to save and repurpose their stories, along with Highlights that showcases “permanent” video compilations on the user’s profile. So much for the 24-hour lifespan. Businesses should leverage this opportunity to create content with consideration to future repurposing. Not only does this alleviate hefty content planning, it also can add credibility by reconnecting the audience with past successes, products and appearances.

Short Planning Periods

The days of the annual content calendars are bygone. Both technology and social media platforms introduce new products and features weekly, monthly and quarterly. Yes, create a content marketing game plan commensurate with sales and business goals. But devise an internal system that allows (and even requires) you to revisit and adjust strategy frequently. Create an arsenal of resources to stay updated on consumer behavior and social media trends.

Laser Focus on ROI

With the predicted downturn in the economy, businesses and consumers alike are watching budgets with a close eye. Although this should be nothing new, marketers need to continue to craft strategies based on detailed performance analytics that evaluate multi-faceted variables and KPIs. Fortunately, the digital landscape is replete with powerful tools and user-friendly platforms, like Simply Measured.

Video, Your (Not-So) Secret Weapon

Social video generates 1200 percent more shares than text and images combined. Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80 percent or more, and video can also drive a 157 percent increase in organic traffic from SERPs. Digital platforms evolve almost weekly to accommodate both instant and highly produced video, such as the good ‘ole Facebook cover photo (that can now be a video). Live Streaming claims center stage boosted by extra tools, like Facebook’s new Creator app that allows you to pre-create intro and outro segments for your live segments. Leverage easy editing tools, like Magisto or Animoto, to create and polish content straight from your phone.

Don’t miss these opportunities to maximize every inch of your strategy. Want to bounce around some ideas? Shoot us an email!

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What Does a PR Agency Do? A Taste of Italy at Il Palio

Clairemont InternAwards, Blog, Case Studies, , , , ,

Il Palio, Chapel Hill’s AAA-rated Four Diamond Italian restaurant, was in the midst of a $1 million renovation, featuring a fresh look and a revamped menu by its new chef, Teddy Diggs. Il Palio turned to Clairemont Communications to create a social media strategy that would refresh the restaurant’s image and win the hearts of young diners.

Social Media Strategy

Clairemont’s “Taste of Italy” campaign leveraged the clout of food and culinary influencers to generate awareness among the target demographic – millennial diners – and increase traffic to Il Palio. Clairemont chose to harness the broad reach of social media to efficiently and rapidly boost Il Palio’s image to a large audience.

Execution

VIP dinners at Il Palio.

Customized Experiences: Il Palio hosted a “Foodie Funday” dinner where Chef Teddy selected dishes for each blogger’s preferences. Who wouldn’t want the chef’s creation customized just for you? Chef Teddy also invited a prominent blogger into the kitchen to co-create a proprietary pizza that he named after her and featured on his menu. Chef Teddy handcrafted The Perfect Date Night Dinner for another blogger and his wife. The personalized touch struck home, producing a flurry of coverage on social media and blogs, and securing reservations.

Instagram Takeovers: To reach broader audiences, Clairemont crafted Instagram takeovers to share a visual “taste” of Teddy’s cooking. Chef Teddy helmed the Instagram of StarChefs – a culinary publication with more than 30,000 followers – during his annual trip to Italy, unveiling first his inspiration abroad and then the application back at Il Palio. In preparation for the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, he creatively shared “a day in the life of a man who plays with fire,” with the festival’s Instagram followers, showcasing his wood-fired grill dishes. These partnerships increased visibility and boost Il Palio’s own social media metrics.

Il Palio’s Instagram Takeover with StarChefs.

Results

Il Palio – boosted by diner reviews – earned a Gold Medal from food critics as a “2016 Best Restaurant in the Triangle.” Clairemont met every goal, exceeded expectations in addition to the following results:

  1. 10 media articles/posts, reaching a combined followership of more than 50,000 followers on Twitter alone
  2. Instagram takeovers in 2016 showcased the renovated restaurant, new menu and staff personality to approximately 45,000 followers

The work Clairemont Communications conducted in partnership with Il Palio earned a Best in Category in Social Media and an Award of Excellence in Social Media from the North Carolina Public Relations Society of America. It also earned a Platinum Award in Social Media from the Raleigh Public Relations Society. We are proud that this campaign represents two of the 175 awards we’ve received since starting Clairemont in 2010.

To read more about the work we do with clients, please visit the case study section of our blog.

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