Category: Public Relations

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?: A Guide to Twitter Business Etiquette

Josephine ButlerBlog, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , , , , , ,

As consumers of all things public relations, the Clairemont team can’t seem to get enough of Twitter. From managing our own personal accounts to strategizing for clients, we’re constantly on the social networking site, tweeting away. And when we’re not having conversations on Twitter, we’re researching the latest industry tips and trends, via sites like HubSpot, where we recently stumbled across this gem. Too good not to share, we hope you’ll find these Twitter etiquette for business tips as helpful as we do!

Tip #1: In lieu of time, don’t make it a habit of replying to every single Tweet. You should be replying to two types of tweets on an ongoing basis: questions and negative comments. And it pays off. Did you know that 64 percent of users are more likely to purchase from businesses that answer their questions on Twitter?

Tip #2: Follow back your followers! This way, if your followers end up with a question, they have the opportunity to DM (direct message) you, and you better believe it: this is especially ideal when it’s a complaint!

Tip #3: To allow for more time to monitor content, schedule tweets in advance. And now that you have all this extra time on your hands, have a colleague take a second look — you never know what might come off the wrong way.

With these three tips, you’re well on your way to becoming a Twitter pro! Still need a little help writing, scheduling or creating a strategy surrounding your tweets? Clairemont can help! Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Have more tips to share? Ditto!

Read More

NBC Loses Face in Clash With Ann Curry

Tracy LathanBlog, Professional Development, Public Relations, , 2 Comments on NBC Loses Face in Clash With Ann Curry

As a longtime Today Show viewer, I am still in shock about the manner in which Ann Curry was recently let go as co-anchor. In terms of professionalism, I believe most would agree NBC handled the situation poorly.

There is no question that Ann Curry was not the most magnetic co-host to ever sit in the chair, but who is to say if the ratings slump the show was experiencing was entirely her fault. Regardless of whether or not she was the right person for the job, after 15 years on the show she deserved more of a respectable send-off.

On the June 28th show, they gave her a few minutes at the end of the 8:00 a.m. hour to say her goodbyes. It was painful to watch and no doubt humiliating for Curry. And that was it. No week long celebration, no montage of memorable interviews, no farewell messages from old colleagues.

Of course we all understand NBC has a responsibility to put the right people in place to achieve top ratings, and this is certainly not the first time this has happened (think Conan O’Brien). But the truth is, all this latest stunt has done is make me want to tune into Good Morning America.

Always a true professional, Ann handled herself with grace and class as she delivered her farewell remarks. And on a positive note, she does have a new role at NBC that will actually enable her to cover real news stories again.

At the end of the day, it will be very interesting to see how things shake out for NBC and whether or not Savannah Guthrie can help get the show back to it’s number one ranking, or if this ordeal will have the opposite effect. We shall wait and see.

What do you think? Was the situation was handled poorly, or did NBC do what it needed to do to get back to the number one spot?

Read More

My First 30 Days at a Raleigh PR Agency: Day 26

Margot HorganBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Public Relations, , , , , , , , 1 Comment on My First 30 Days at a Raleigh PR Agency: Day 26

Why use an Excel spreadsheet when you could use an infographic instead? My blog earlier this week touched upon the power of using images, not words, to generate excitement and fan interaction on social media. The same idea can be applied to reports, presentations and meetings. The bottom line is this: images are easier to understand, more useful for explaining complicated data, and quite frankly, more fun to look at than a long list of numbers and words.

As PR people, we work in a creative industry and work on creative projects on a daily basis. When it comes to compiling a report of analytics, numbers, demographics and other data, why would we ditch all of our creative instincts and resort to the old standbys: Word documents and Excel spreadsheets? Yes, there is a time and a place for a neat, classic, black and white spreadsheet. But, for the remainder of the time, an infographic, word cloud or beautifully choreographed chart gets the job done just as well, and often even better.

Just this past week, I researched different infographic generators and other creative data compilers to use for a presentation, and I was amazed at the amount of easy to use websites and programs available. Don’t worry if you don’t have a background in design, because with these programs, it’s not necessary to be able to create a top of the line infographic. One of my favorite sites for infographics is Piktochart. Check out this video and see how easy it is to create your own. After all, we are creative people, so shouldn’t our work and presentations reflect what we are capable of doing?

Read More

My First 30 Days at a Raleigh PR Agency: Day 25

Margot HorganBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

You’ve seen me write about it before, and you’ll see me write about it again – Pinterest. I love it and can’t get enough of it. While this site has been invaluable to me in finding delicious recipes for food that I really shouldn’t eat, shopping for clothing that I never can afford and planning for a wedding that definitely does not exist, I’m obliged to acknowledge that Pinterest has many, many other uses as well – mainly the still raw potential for Pinterest for businesses.

If you read my blog last week (or if you are an avid pinner), then you too know the ever-growing power of Pinterest. Here’s a little recap:

  • It was launched 25 months ago
  • There are now 10 million people pinning
  • There are roughly four million unique visits to the site each day
  • In February, Pinterest secured 10 million unique monthly visits faster than any other social network…ever. (Yes, that means Facebook too.)

Those are impressive statistics, especially when you start thinking about how to tap into this resource to benefit your brand. With Pinterest projected to account for 40 percent of all social media driven purchases, this site is especially beneficial for online retailers. And that’s exactly why we’ve been in discussions with several of our clients recently about incorporating Pinterest into an overall communications strategy. Just today our team brainstormed ideas about how to encourage a client’s customers to use Pinterest to help them become better educated shoppers while showcasing the company’s products.

Wondering if Pinterest is a viable social media channel for your brand? Check out Dana’s recent post How Pinterest Should Influence Your Marketing Spend: 3 Tips, and let us know if you have questions, We’d be happy to help!

Read More

What Does A PR Agency Do? Furniture Industry Social Media Campaign

Josephine ButlerAwards, Blog, Case Studies, Furniture PR, Marketing, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on What Does A PR Agency Do? Furniture Industry Social Media Campaign

People commonly ask us what a PR agency does. We thought the best way to answer that question would be to share case studies from our work that was recently recognized at the North Carolina chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s (NCPRSA) InSpire Awards. Clairemont won 14 InSpire Awards, and we hope that this “Award Winning Wednesday” blog series will inspire you, too!

Client: Thomasville Furniture, established in 1904 and a leading name in the home furnishings industry.

Objective:  Manage the Thomasville Facebook page. Based on our research and several meetings with Thomasville executives, the Clairemont team identified the following objectives:

  • Boost overall interactions on the Facebook page, with special emphasis on increasing interactions among 18 to 34-year-olds by 5 percent.
  • Increase the number of likes on the page by 100 percent

Execution: Research provided insights on existing customers and younger consumers, including media consumption preferences. Focus groups revealed that younger consumers often see Thomasville’s furniture as special occasion furnishings, while they seek everyday furniture (of course, we know that Thomasville is very fun and fashion-forward these days!). Clairemont also evaluated social media networks and confirmed Facebook’s significant potential as Thomasville’s primary customer engagement channel.

We focused creative content in the following areas:

  • Interior Design: To position Thomasville as the fashionable brand that we know it to be, we shared ideas from shelter magazines, such as Elle Décor and House Beautiful. We uploaded product photography featuring new collections designed for a young demographic and shared decorating tips via professionally produced videos. Our chatter posts got fans talking and sharing their own interior design ideas, too.
  • Sweepstakes: Recognizing the traffic-driving power of sweepstakes, Clairemont generated steady fan engagement with giveaways throughout the year. The Best Bridal Shower Gift Ever Giveaway targeted 18 to 34-year-olds by awarding a bedroom suite as a wedding gift to a young couple. Our Best Seat in the House Giveaway earned more than 1,900 content likes, posts and comments, as fans couldn’t resist the chance to show off photos of their beloved pets. With a prize of a new sofa, our 1 Sofa 4 Looks Giveaway increased page likes by 13,767 alone. Along with additional giveaways such as the Bright Idea; Backyard Barbeque; No Tricks, Just Treats; Thanksgiving Dinner Disasters (with many hilarious accounts of Thanksgiving dinners gone wrong); and Stocking Stuffer giveaways, the Clairemont team successfully raised the fan count and interactions on the page.
  • Customer Relations: Because it’s our policy to allow fans to have a voice, when questions or complaints were posted, we worked closely with Thomasville’s corporate customer service team to provide quick responses instead of deleting or ignoring negative posts.

Results: Thomasville’s fan base on Facebook increased from 11,249 to 31,256, approximately a 178 percent increase from 2010, and we boosted weekly interactions from 2,964 to 7,571, a 155 percent increase. Additionally, we increased the number of 18 to 34-year-old fans from 20 percent of the fan base to 30 percent, exceeding our goal of a 5 percent increase. Based on the success of 2011, Thomasville has retained Clairemont to continue to manage its page on Facebook in 2012.

What did you think of this social media case study? Was it helpful? Have questions? We’ve got answers!

Read More