At SpeakerBox, we often get asked about creative ways to elevate a message beyond traditional media relations efforts. While there are several ways to do this, one method many of our clients choose to engage in paid campaigns through social media channels. One of the biggest...
Eight months ago today, it happened. I became one of the few. The odd. The faceless. On November 9, 2016, I officially – finally! – quit Facebook. This wasn’t something I took lightly. Nor was it something that happened overnight. It had been brewing in me for...
I don’t know about you, but it seems like every time I turn around there is a new tool on social media. These developments are exciting for a PR person because they open doors for new ways we can help our clients get their message...
As I’m sure you’ve heard, President Obama gave his final State of the Union address this week. There’s a lot we could talk about from the President’s optimistic speech about the state and future of our country, but as we’re a tech PR blog with...
As an avid FitBit user, I was somewhat interested in Facebook’s recent acquisition of the app “Moves”. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Moves is an activity diary that automatically tracks activities like running, biking, etc. and that helps keep people like me accountable...
This free blog content is made possible by a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and because we're stealing your credit card information. This is part three of our Emmy-nominated* series -- so if you're just tuning in, here's what you've missed: Part 1:...
We’ve all heard the clichés – business is constantly changing, companies need to be agile, technology is rapidly evolving, etc. etc. etc. But there’s a funny thing about clichés – most of them have at least a grain of truth to them. Just look at the...
Continuing on the theme of my last two blog posts – a beginner’s guide to LinkedIn and a beginner’s guide to Twitter -- this time I’m back to explore Facebook. Let’s dive right in. The basics: Taken from their very own website: “Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission...
We’ve gone viral! It’s a phrase every organization wants to hear when they are trying to spread a marketing campaign through social media and I've written about it before - here. So, I’m sure you’ve seen your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds filled with the...
This summer ING released a study entitled, “Impact of Social Media on the News: An International Study into the Impact of Social Media on the Activities of PR Professionals & Journalists, News, and News Dissemination.” This study, conducted by Social Embassy on behalf of ING, asked...
So, I think we all know by now that Facebook has made many of its users feel violated by conducting a secret study of more than 700,000 users. On the off chance you didn’t see it or just need a refresh, here is the scoop...
While the U.S. still may not necessarily be a “soccer country” in comparison to the rest of the world, we sure do love to talk about it on social media. With the 2014 FIFA World Cup currently underway (and the U.S. still alive!) the tournament...
It's my favorite time of year again...
(This wondeful Image via SocialCandy) If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ll know that I’m a huge advocate for social media in business. I think it can be a great asset for measurement and an invaluable tool for brand managers to interact directly with...
Yesterday, Facebook announced the roll out of a new update for iOS apps that will change the way users see their newsfeeds. The new “context cards” will hover over your newsfeed with posts from friends that are relevant to what you’re doing or posting. For...
Monday kicked off baseball season, and one social media platform was locked and loaded with some fun data for the occasion. Facebook pulled information from its 1.11 billion users to create the chart below, which shows the most popular baseball teams by U.S. county, according...
With the rise of social media there has been a correlating rise in targeted advertising. Every day more people are signing on to new social networking sites and mobile usage has increased exponentially. Social media platforms have access to incredible amounts of user data. With this...
When is the last time you went an entire day without checking Facebook? In the last 10 years Mark Zuckerberg's creation has infiltrated our daily lives. We use it for fun, for work, to brag, to kill time, to get news, and for a myriad of...
We’ve been seeing the convergence of traditional news and social media taking place for sometime now. Often it’s hard – some might say pointless -- to try and differentiate between things like Twitter and LinkedIn, and blogs and sites such as The New York Times,...
Our friends at iStrategy Labs dug into Facebook's advertising platform again this year (they also did it in 2011) and the findings, while focused on the decline of teenagers, may just be a good thing for B-to-B marketers. While Facebook's teen users are declining by the...
I’m a visual person. If you’re like me, all of the articles in the world won’t add up to one captivating picture that sums up a message. Over the past several years social media has started to play a major role in brand strategies and slowly...
October is the month of pink. From the hot pink accessories on NFL players to iconic pink ribbons incorporated in logos, the October trend amongst organizations seems to be designing unique campaigns to support breast cancer awareness. In recent years, the incorporation of social media in...
As my inaugural blog post, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite topics – social media marketing. I was in college when MySpace and Facebook were founded, back when only certain colleges were allowed Facebook accounts, and I had just graduated when Twitter was...
I am something of an anomaly in the public relations world: I hate Facebook on a personal level. I’m not some anti-social network troll, though – I use Google+ religiously and monitor (though rarely participate on) Twitter like an indebted daytrader watches a ticker. So...
Back in December, I listened to a talk at MoDev East by “Chief Doer” for Savvy Apps, Ken Yarmosh, who spoke to the crowd about the impending death of the home screen. His main prediction was that the home screen would soon be a thing...
In scrolling through my new RSS reader I came across quite a few stories this month about Facebook updates. While the company doesn’t seem to be doing a huge site redesign as it has in the past, there are a couple changes that marketers and...
Social media can have a large impact for small businesses, but only if they make the time to engage. Small business owners, marketers and other employees are often tasked with many things at once so social media engagement sometimes falls off the radar. While putting social...
As companies everywhere dive headfirst into their 2013 marketing plans, I’m sure a social program is included on everyone’s agenda. How do you get your message out effectively, via which social platforms and how do you get your audience engaged in conversation? What should you...
Last week I wrote about how Oreo dominated social media during the Super Bowl blackout and touched a bit on how powerful social media can be when used correctly. However, if you’re reading our blog most likely your company doesn’t fall into the packaged sweets category....
So, it’s already December 18th, and I’ve only received three Christmas cards. I thought that maybe it was because all of my friends had newborns last year and didn’t feel the need to resend photos of their children dressed in Santa hats. That, or dogs...
I came across the infographic below the other day and thought it was kind of interesting but also kind of told us what we already know - Facebook is the king of social media. As the infographic, courtesy of the Socially Aware Blog shows, people spend...
Yesterday, Potomac Tech Wire held their Social Media Outlook 2013 at the Gannett/USA TODAY Corporate Headquarters in McLean, VA. The event consisted of a keynote, panel and three speaker presentations all focused on bringing us expert viewpoints and analysis of where things stand with social...
Someone recently asked me what Google+ was (mind you, this person is not an active social media user by any means), and I found myself stumbling in my explanation. I’m on the channel, but couldn’t tell you the last time I logged in, let alone...
Ni hao ma, friends. Katzo Polo here, back from the Orient to teach you fine folks about the magic of Far Eastern advertising. So let's dive right in, shall we? The first thing you should know is that almost all Chinese advertisements look like this: Yes, I realize...
Last month SalesForce put together an infographic on what the perfect Facebook post looks like (see it larger here). It got me thinking about how companies interact with fans on Facebook and how some leave completely different impressions. If the point of brands posting on Facebook...
So, we’ve all heard it before… the press release is dead. Guess what? It’s really not – we use it all the time. While how it’s used has changed, it’s certainly still used – often. It seems that for the past few years, experts have been very quick...
Whether you were waiting for it or dreading it, Facebook has started rolling out its new Timeline feature for brand pages. Up until now brands and people have been able to opt out of switching to Timeline, but as of March 30 this new profile...