New Media and YOU – Farewell

Alas, our class is coming to its semester end, and sadly, so is our blog But fear not! We will not leave you hanging. Over the course of the semester, our blog has featured various social media platforms and how your business/organization can use them to connect with your audience. Before we go, let’s go over some of the key points that similarily spanned across our posts. These are good things to keep in mind no matter what platforms you are using.

Social Media Tips Recap

1. Be in dialogue with your audience
   The Web 2.0 is all about user-generated content. People like to be part of the process, so always show them that you’re open to that. Respond to comments as best you can, hold contests, and show you’re listening.
2. Use tags
   Whether it’s hashtags, keywords, or @mentions, use the platform’s tagging capabilities. It makes you more searchable and increases chances of popularity and reach.
3. Choose platforms wisely
   Finite resources makes everything a challenge. We have so much to do in limited time with limited money and limited people. Make sure the platforms you’re using to reach your audience has matching demographics and psychographics. For example, a small motorcycle accessories business might have a tough time on Wanelo, but Facebook and Instagram would probably have better results.
4. Be transparent
   Many of our tips have suggested to do things like featuring employees or showing how a product is made. It brings the audience to the other side, and they feel included. Let them in on what your organization is about. Trust from your audience and the feeling of belonging goes a long way.

Blogs To Follow

We don’t want your knowledge of social media to end with this blog. So, here are some other blogs and sites we think will serve you well:

• Ad Age
• Bill Crosby
• Social Mouths
• Spin Sucks
• Dave Fleet

Personally, we really suggest Bill Crosby and Social Mouths – they’re fun blogs and full of great information. All of the above sites are great though.

Thank you to everyone who has followed, reposted, liked, and commented on our blog. We appreciate interacting with you and receiving your support.

~ Katie, Amy, Myah, Carley, Staci

Wanelo and YOU

Courtesy of Tech Crunch

Have you or anyone you know said “I found this cool shirt on Pinterest, but I have no idea where to find it!” Well, yeah that’s probably Pinterest’s biggest weakness in a nutshell – people don’t know where to buy what’s on the post or if it’s even for sale. Pinterest is awesome in generating buzz about your business. But Wanelo (which comes from the line WAnt, NEed, LOve) takes it one step further and makes it so users can buy your product online. It turns the idea of Pinterest directly into a revenue model.

Before we go any further, it’s important to know that Wanelo doesn’t help sell everything – it does have a strong focus on monstly fashion and clothing. Keep that in mind if you’re considering using Wanelo to help with online sales. Yahoo! best describes the typical Wanelo user to be 14-30 years old, a woman, and a bit of a hipster.

So why use Wanelo? Why not just sell through your online store alone or use Facebook? Well just think of how Pinterest works – it’s fantastic for browsing…and discovery. It can boost your sales in a way normal e-commerce can’t:

It is quite different from normal e-commerce Internet shopping; it is much more like virtual window shopping. Rather, discovery commerce is much like browsing through a magazine catalog and discovering things that you didn’t realize you wanted to buy until you saw them, hence, “discovered” them. Education PR

To fully understand what Wanelo is, visit their “About” page. Here are some tips on how to use Wanelo to boost your online sales:

Wanelo Tips

1. Use “Save” Buttons
   If you use Wanelo’s “Save It” buttons on your Wanelos product pages, it helps increase its popularity. The button is a lot like Pinterest’s “Pins.” (Wanelo)
2. Keep Product Pages Up
   Even if the product is sold out or no longer being made, keep the page up. Have a friendly message directing the user to another similar item or simply that the item is out. This will help keep the traffic heading your way and boost sales of other products.
3. #Hashtag #With #Meaning #And #Creativity
   If you’re getting sick of us talking about hashtags, blame Twitter. But how else are people going to find your stuff? When you post a product, use meaningful hashtags that people would use to search for your item. You can also @tag other people based on their Wanelo username – great way to network.
4. Be Creative and Fun
   The social media platforms we’ve talked about in the past weeks all have a strong sense of creativity to them. Wanelo is the same. Use fun (but meaningful) hashtags, display fun products or display the product in a cool way. Maybe Wanelo will help you spice up the products themselves!

Go More In Depth

Here’s a video from Tech Crunch that gives a good overview of Wanelo and how you can make it work for your business online.

Next Week

We’re going to be honest that we don’t know what platform we want to talk about next! We kind of what to hear what you want. Do you have one that you’d like us to talk about? If so, make a note below and we’ll post some stuff next Friday 🙂

Pinterest and YOU

Photo from:
http://goo.gl/0Zmey

With 25 million unique visitors a month, Pinterest is quite the specimen. It’s a more niched social platform, yet it has massive traffic. Users can post links, recipes, and pictures on Pinterest, and it’s represented with a photo. Pretty unique social platform, huh?

Pinterest isn’t for every business. Motorcycle dealer?…maybe not the best place. But if you are a freelance photographer, this is probably a good site to use. Take a look at Pinterest’s infographic that better explains the user demographics of the site.

Tips for Pinterest

1. Use AWESOME Photos
   How does Pinterest display its posts? With PICTURES! Users can decide in a split second to pass over your pin or click on it, and there is high competition for their clicks. No matter what content the link posts to, lead them to it with a high quality and captivating photo (Social Media Today). Get creative – use memes, infographics, panoramas, close ups, high-quality cameras, and color effects.
2. Interact with People
   One of the best ways to get traffic to you is to follow, re-pin, and like. Just like other social media sites, people return the favor. It’s quite the symbiotic relationship (yes, we’re bringing science into this post). Be efficient with your time and focus on people in your target audience.
3. Make a Good Title
   Pinterest doesn’t have a complex algorithm like Google – it’s very straightforward. So, if you’re photo has a picture of a black lab in it, it’s probably a good idea to have “black lab” somewhere in the title. Anything is better than IMG_325.


Credit to Tech Crunch
http://goo.gl/gw2lY

4. Use Analytics
   Feedback on your marketing campaigns are important. No one wants to advertise to thin air – it wastes time and money. According to Tech Crunch, Pinterest offers a free feature for businesses that allow them to track the statistics of follows from Pinterest to their website.
5. Be Positive
   Have you taken a look at the differences in attitude when comparing Pinterest to Twitter and Facebook? The latter two tend to have some snarky posts and tweets. Pinterest tends to stay away from that, so you should too. Be positive and profound; avoid the dark and gloomy. If you have to go down that avenue, use another platform.

Go More In Depth…

We don’t want you to feel limited by what we presented, so here’s a couple more links you can follow:

• E-book for Pinterest Business Users
• Best Time to Pin

Next Week

Ever wish you could buy that adorable dress from that pin last week? Well, Wanelo makes it so you can. It’s Pinterest for shoppers! Check back next week to read about it.

In the meantime – do you think Pinterest will ever bring in more men? They make up for only 1/3 of the visitors. Think that will change?

Vine and YOU

Credit to Tech Crunch http://goo.gl/eJDnt

Do you find yourself lying in bed at night wondering how else you can get connected? Lucky for you, Twitter’s new standalone app, Vine, is the latest media craze. Users can create six-second videos by holding their finger on the screen. When you lift your finger off, it stops recording; leaving you with the ability to record any sequence of six seconds into a video (Pocket-Lint).
These videos can then be shared on the Vine app, as well as be embedded into Facebook and Twitter posts. You can follow other users, “like” videos, and comment on them just like any other social media site. Vine is essentially Instagram with sound and motion, unfiltered.

Uses:
As great as Vine seems for just killing time and expressing some creativity, it can also uniquely be used to build/promote your business. This app gives you the ability to show 360 degree views (a boutique could circle around a new pair of shoes); you can use stop motion (a restaurant could show the progression of a dish being made); or you could show before and after pictures (a stylist could show a client before and after their treatment). (Steam Feed).

The possibilities are endless.

Vine is also a very nice, non-pressured way of getting into video. It holds a little more artistic class than YouTube by the very nature of the way that it’s shot and the six-second limit is a good ceiling to channel your ideas about what you can do with it. You also don’t need any video editing skills whatsoever. ~Pocket-Lint

If you’re thinking of giving this whole Vine thing a try, keep these tips in mind…

Vine Tips

1. Visual Simplicity
   You want to be able to reach your whole audience, right? Try to avoid trying to send a complex message in a six second window.
2. Integrate Customers
   By making contact with your customers, you’ll be able to create a community by generating more activity. By integrating DIY videos, creating contests, and allowing other users to send their ideas to you, you’ll be able to get feedback while showing your appreciation to your customers.
3. Niche Market
   Show your customers who you are, humanize yourself a little! You can share videos of employees so the community can get to know them, tell stories through your videos; give them a reason to come back.
4. Easy Discovery
   Just like Instagram and Twitter, you can add hashtags to help other users find your material. By incorporating tags, you are giving the community the opportunity to search keywords and find videos based on their interests; which, in this case, is hopefully you! (Red Rokk)

As with any social network, remember to be creative. It’s easy to get lost in the media blunder, but by having a unique/quirky edge, you are sure to find an interested market.

Additional Tips

If you are interested in using Vine for your business/organization, itech224 has a pretty good YouTube video that can get you started.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

• Twitter Announces Vine Release
• Vine as a Video Sharing App
• Vine as a Social Media Marketing Strategy

Next Week

We’ll look into Pinterest. For this week, what do you think about Vine? Have you used it or seen it in use?

Instagram and YOU

Credit to Idea Verse: http://goo.gl/AJi1M

Instagram, acquired recently by Facebook, is one the most popular photo apps to download for Apple and Android users – boasting more than 100 million users. It’s as easy as open, snap (or choose from photo library), and filter. The app currently offers 17 different filters to help transform your photo, everything from black and white to “kelvin”. This app is like heaven for hipsters and trendy social media lovers alike. After choosing your filter, you can post your photo to Instagram where it can be seen on the feed of other users who follow you, or by users who find you in searches using tags.

What’s also cool about Instagram is the outreach to other platforms. Once you upload the photo to Instagram, you can also upload or embedded a link to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, or email . You can tag a location to your “photo map” and add names of venues or locations. Instagram has a social nature set up much like Facebook, where users can “like” and comment on your photos (About.com).

Instagram Filters: http://goo.gl/e87Sb

How to Rock Instagram

Instagram is a more niche platform than we’ve talked about before, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away. It is owned by Facebook, after all. People love seeing what’s going on with your business, and Instagram is a great way to stand out from the sea of photos out there.

You have to be smart and sneaky in order to catch the eyeballs and interests of social media users. They are no longer just a bunch of curios people trying to find their way… The best promotion is the promotion that doesn’t look like promotion. ~Bit Rebels

Using Instagram allows you to showcase your brand, target specific customers with tags, and interact visually and text based with customers. You will be able to show users the qualities your company possesses. Many users probably haven’t even heard of your brand. So try these tips (and add a little creativity) to boost your business’ exposure and create a following.

Instagram Tips:

1. Engage your customers
   Feature customers using your products- appeal to their vanity. Ask them questions, respond to their comments, let them know they are valued.
2. Snap behind the scenes
   People like to feel intimate with your business or your brand. Show how a product is made, what the raw materials look like, and what can be done with the finished product.
3. Hold contests to generate engagement
   Photos attract users, but conversations engage them. Provide a close up and ask them what they think the product is. Another way to engage them is a photo submission contest – have the users submit a picture on Instram of them using the product. You’ll be surprised how creative some people can be…
4. Showcase Employees
   Social Media Today suggests you should give your customers an idea of who they’re working with. By putting a face to your brand, you’re giving them someone to trust.
5. USE TAGS!!
   As with many other social outlets, tags are the number one way to attract users to your product/brand, to help them find it, and to help promote you. Instagram tags are similar to Twitter – the hashtag (#). Use creative and descriptive tags so people can search for you, just like you would with a website and Google.

Additional Tips

This video does a pretty good job covering all the bases of how to use Instragram best for your business. Check it out.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

• 10 Way to Make Instagram Your Secret Weapon

Next Week

We’ll look into Twitter’s new app Vine. For this week, what are your thoughts on Instagram? Do you like it or not? Will Facebook’s ownership of Instagram affect its future positively or negatively?

Google+ and YOU

When you think of advertising, Google+ might not be the first thing that comes to your mind. Facebook and Twitter have such a stronghold on this notion. However, there are people on Google+, and they just might the kind of people you need to be targeting. According to Mashable’s infographic, the primary users of Google+ are single male students. If your target market is along those lines, then consider these tactics.

Google+ Tips

1. The Ultimate SEO
   Every smart business knows importance of being searchable on the internet – Search Engine Optimization. Naturally, Google is looking out for its own social network. Randfish has an excellent video talking about why every marketer needs a Google+ strategy. In his video, Randfish points out that if you have a G+ account and someone linked to you on G+ searches you on Google, your G+ profile will list above all other content. Imagine how much that will help your SEO endeavors!

   To show an example, I searched “Paul Levinson,” a book author I am connected to on G+, and a snippet of his profile showed on a majority of my results page. Watch Randfish’s video for more information on how your profile can improve SEO for your business.

2. Create Circles with Meaning
   G+ circles improves the quality of your audience. By choosing people relevant to your business (based on demographics, topic, and income) to be in your circles, you can increase the power of your network. Set up a criteria for each circle and follow it. Unbounce has a great infographic on how to use G+ effectively (seems like G+ is the hot topic for infographics).
3. Hangout with your Audience
   “Hangout” is probably G+’s standout feature that allows multiple people to video chat at once. Roger Friedensen, president and CEO of Forge Communications points out how Hangout can help a business:

   Hangouts offer an amazing opportunity for businesses to engage in a highly personal way with clients, customers and industry-thought leaders. Plus, employees in remote locations can hold team meetings to brainstorm with one another from an interface that affords them immediate and easy access to share and collaborate on most of the information materials they might need, such as documents and spreadsheets.

   A drawback of Hangout is the technical limitation. Video chats take up more bandwidth than normal internet usage, so someone who has a bad connection can miss out on the Hangout or have a bad experience.

4. Brand your Name

   Branding is crucial for a business/organization, and Google+ can fuel that. Social Media Online has 64 branding strategies that you may want to consider implementing. No, not all 64 – but pick and choose some strategies you think your business can manage.

   

Getting Started

If you haven’t created a page for your business and you want to, use WikiHow to take you through setting up a profile.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

• Google+ Educational Use
• Google Open for Business
• Why Google Will Be Critical for Your Blog’s Success

Next Week

We’ll look into YouTube next week. If you have any opinions or questions about G+ and advertising, feel free to comment.

Twitter and YOU

For the next couple weeks, we’re going to talk about how businesses can effectively use various new/social media for public relations and advertising. Mastering new media perfectly is like being able to answer the secrets of the universe – it’s just not possible. When the consumer is involved in the message, the company doesn’t have total control over every little thing. However, there are trends and habits that are good to follow and can help guide successful advertising in the new media world.

So let’s start with Twitter.

One of the best methods of promotion is word-of-mouth. People trust what other people say about your organization. Funny that they are hesitant to trust you…

As Lessons from TV says, “when you talk to one person, you’re talking to a thousand.” The networking power of Twitter is great, so harness its strength. There are a lot of tips available for good tweeting, but we want to highlight the big ones.

Tweeting Tips

1. Hashtag the right way
   The hashtag (#) is a fundamental feature of Twitter, so use it! They’re used for tagging, joining a conversation, and oftentimes humor. But don’t be reckless. Hashtags can go oh-so wrong if you don’t think about what you’re doing. McDonalds started the hashtag #McDStories, but that just led to the sharing of horrible nasty customer experiences.

   

   Oops.

   Don’t overdo hashtags too. Overkill will lose attention. Yeah, your post will be more searchable, but if there’s no real content in the tweet, no one will want to read it. Also, make them easy to remember – whether it’s catchy, short, or simple.

   A good tactic to utilize is hopping on board with already known hashtags. #firstworldproblems, #NDSUproblems, and #ftw are popular ones around here. They may be different where you are, but use those! During the blackout at the Super Bowl, the smart advertisers used #blackout to join consumers’ conversations. Management Today has a more in-depth article on hashtagging as well.

2. Target your market
   Just like any other marketing campaign, a business has to focus their efforts toward their target audience. Talk in a way that resonates with them. Tweet about stuff they care about – no point in tweeting pointless information to the universe. Audi talks about how they target consumers on Twitter.
3. Build a relationship
   Twitter encourages dialogue, so a good relationship is a two-way street. @reply to followers and pay attention to what people are saying about you on Twitter. It shows that you’re listening, and if you listen…they’ll be more likely to listen. A relationship with your audience is a lot like a relationship with a friend – be honest and transparent, and remember that trust takes a long time to build but can be destroyed in an instant.
4. Do more than inform
   We don’t talk to our friends, co-workers, and family like information-spewing robots. We joke, we motivate, we share stories. Twitter is useful for informing followers, but strive to educate, entertain, and inspire too. Make the audience feel like they’re in a conversation and not broadcasted to.
5. Use links and multi-media
   We love clicking on anything linkable, there’s just something about those blue little words. Give followers something enticing in the tweet so they want to follow the link. Twitter also has great picture and video sharing features that makes for better tweets.

   Jeff Bullas gives a couple more tips that are good to read.

The main key to follow in Twitter is a lot like all other new media – be genuine. Consumers can tell when you’re just trying to burn a hole in their wallet. Build a relationship, be conversational, be relational, and be transparent.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

• 60 Do’s and Dont’s for Twitter Noobs
• Twitter Tips

Next Week

We’ll look into the social networking giant, Facebook, next week. If you have any opinions or questions about Twitter and advertising, feel free to comment.

Superbowl Ad Recap

Ads and Social Media

Well, the 49ers almost made it. Ugh, so close. I could hardly sit still watching the 4th quarter. However, it’s fair to say the first half of the game was rather dull. Luckily, I was preoccupied playing “ad bingo” until things picked up.

This week is going to have a little less structure and a little more free-form talk. We just want to pull out some things we noticed this year with the Super Bowl ads. There were some funny ads, some grandeur, and others just icky (yes, Go Daddy). Also, Dodge’s “God Made a Farmer” ad had us Midwesterners all up in a nostalgic tizzy.

But what separated this year’s Super Bowl ads from the past? The emphasis on social media, the interaction between consumers and the companies, the attempt to connect – that’s what was different.

Twitter was King

According to Marketing Land, there were 52 national TV commercials during the Super Bowl. Of those 52 ads, 26 mentioned Twitter – that’s 50 percent! Facebook only got 4 mentions, and Google+ was left in the dust with none. But isn’t G+ reportedly the No. 2 social network in the world? Hm, interesting.

Let’s take a look into Twitter then, since it was the hot topic.

Hashtags

While 26 ads featured Twitter, did their hashtags actually work? Did Subway’s clunky hashtag “#15yrwinningstreak” find its way into onto our home feeds?

^^Those are pretty good numbers for Doritos and CK, and as Sysomos mentions, the two ads that used their own name as a hashtag had better results.

If we look at those numbers on their own, thousands of tweets for Doritos looks great, but if you consider the millions of tweets in America every day, that’s actually a pretty small number. While many tweets were about the Super Bowl or the advertisements, few people actually used the designated hashtags.

That doesn’t mean people did tweet about the Super Bowl ads. Taco Bell received 215,000 tweets after their funny “Viva Young” commercial – and they didn’t use a hashtag.

So maybe the mentions of Twitter in the ads didn’t quite work, but Twitter mentioning the ads sure did.

Power Outage

Forbes had a clever line about the power outage – “Call it the Super Bowl of real-time marketing.” Usually viewers are wrapped up in the game and ads, but the power outage slowed things down. Since there were no commercials during the outage, people grew bored, pulled out their smartphones, and started chatting on social media – about the game, the ads, and who pulled the plug.

Smart advertisers knew what to do with the outage with a spike of tweeters online. Companies like Walgreens, Oreo, Tide, and Audi hit the Twittersphere and capitalized the opportunity by tweeting clever lines about their product and the outage.

The power outage was the epitome of real-time marketing.

Wrap Up

Maybe Twitter was more popular this Super Bowl because of its immediacy and simplicity. A consumer can tweet without talking too much attention away from the game. But why did Facebook lose so much attention? And why did Google+ receive no love for the second year in a row? Let us know what you think, and we can toss around ideas.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

• Super Bowl 2013 Commercials are a Disappointment
• Ad drama at the Super Bowl

The World at Our Fingertips

Apps, Ads, and the Mobile World

Mobile devices are clearly the reason new media has exploded in today’s society. Users can do almost everything with the swipe of their finger, no matter where they are. iPhones have countless apps available for fun, business, and everything in between. Tablets now come cell-service ready for constant Internet access. Society is going mobile, and advertisers are catching on.

We’re Not All That Different

All traditional media rely primarily on advertising to make money, whether it’s for profit or just to cover costs. Television, magazines, newspapers – they all need advertisers. Well, unless they have insanely generous donators. New media runs the same way. Websites cost money to built, host, and maintain. Apps require time to develop. They need money.

Advertisers are starting to go beyond basic Web ads and looking at mobile devices and apps. But just like every other aspect of life, there are pros and cons. If you are considering whether or not to pursue mobile advertising, then keep reading.

Pros and Cons of Mobile Ads

Pros

• Ads don’t have as much competition
  Because mobile web pages and apps are designed to be more simple, a lot of the distracting extras are left out. Facebook advertisers have found that more people will actually click on the ads in the app because they stand out more.
• More people are going mobile every day
  604 million. Yup, that’s a lot of Facebook users on the mobile app or mobile website. That number grows every day. While not every advertiser can afford a place on Facebook, it at least illustrates the growth. The number of app downloads is expected to grow to 32 billion. Facebook is just one example. Check out this video from Google that explains just how mobile we really are:

• Free apps sell more
  Everyone loves Angry Birds. Well, I don’t personally, but I know a lot of people do. One reason so many people love it (beyond its normal awesomeness) is that it’s free. As a broke college student, there are few words more valuable than “FREE.” Many users are willing to put up with interrupting ads if it means having a free experience.

Cons

• Information overload
  Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Always remember that “content is king,” and too many ads can be overbearing and unappealing. While mobile ads are so quickly on the rise, there eventually is a limit – but advertisers may not know the limit until it’s too late.
• No cookies
  On a desktop PC, advertisers can narrowly target its audience. How? Well, the Internet uses cookies to collect information about the users. Using a fancy algorithm, advertisers can use that information to advertise to exactly who they want.
  

  Apple said “no no” to this. Their devices don’t allow third-party cookies, so it’s harder to pinpoint an audience. But put it into perspective. All traditional media advertising operate on “best guess” research, and it works pretty well. It’s just not pin-point accurate.

• Lack of rich media
  Steve Jobs is just such a trendsetter, isn’t he? Well, since he gave the thumbs down to Adobe Flash Player, almost all mobile devices are phasing out support for it. While HTML5 and CSS3 are great, Flash has a few more tricks up its sleeves for design capabilities. Advertisers have to find a way to catch its audience’s eye without using Flash.
• Multiple platforms
  Just like desktop PCs, there are a million fish in the sea. iPhone 4, iPhone 5, Andriod, iPad, Windows tablets – there are many platforms that have different resolutions and setups. It can be a pain to satisfy all platforms, so decide if you’re up to the task.

Go More In-Depth…

We never want you to feel limited to only what we’ve posted. Here are a list of other articles you can check out:

• Tablet ad spending will crush smartphones
• Twitter might pass Facebook in mobile ad revenue
• Talk about digital advertising

Wrap Up

Remember that the purpose of this blog is to help you understand the new media world better through the eyes of PR/Advertising. Through dialogue, we can discuss and share what’s working, what’s not, and what to expect. New media is changing our world, and each week we want to explore it.

Stay tuned for next week’s post. If there’s something that interests you or you want us to talk about, let us know.

Basics of PR and New Media

Intro to PR/Advertising 2.0

The learning curve for new technology is huge. Developers push out new products and new media every day. Talk about information overload. For anyone who wants to publicize or advertise themselves, where do you start? What avenues do you use, and to what extent? Organizations, businesses, and individuals all have to consider how new media will play a role in their promotions.

At least in this day and age.

Before we start blogging in-depth about the latest in PR/Advertising and new media, it’s a good idea to start with the basics. If you’re considering new media in your promotions, think about the following:

• Target audience
• The industry are you involved in
• Budget $$
• Manpower and technology savvy

1. Target Audience

This should drive everything and anything you do. Your audience is responsible for your success, so why focus on them?

Look at the demographics and psychographics of your audience – compare it to what’s out there for new media. For examples, if your main customers are middle-aged mothers, then LinkedIn or Facebook is probably a better option than Twitter for social networking.

To save you some time, we found the social media demographics of 2012.

If you’re looking into advertising, consider algorithm-based advertising. Some smart techy guys found a way to gather info from Internet users so advertisers can reach only those they want to reach, no matter what website the user is on. Its methods aren’t perfect, but it’s a start of precise targeting.

2. Industry

Look at what other people are doing in your industry. Are they on the new media bandwagon yet? Are they the pioneers of what’s up and coming, or is everyone resisting change? We’re not saying you have to do they’re doing, but it’s smart to see what’s up.

Five industries are experiencing a huge shift in their business model because of new media. For them, it’s either change or get left in the dust:

• Travel
• Video rental
• Music
• Newspapers
• Bookstores

3. Budget

The main reason new media has blown up…it’s darn cheap. Many businesses and individuals have gained popularity through the Internet. Where would J-Biebs be without YouTube? And think of how apps have changed the mobile world for…well just about any business who took the time to develop one.

New media can be a great startup option for promotions on a low budget, but add a couple dollars and you can quickly have a very powerful advertising tool on your hand. Think of how many people see those ads in the free version of Words With Friends…

4. Manpower/Knowledge

Here’s the hard part. If you don’t know much about the “Interweb,” managing your new media can be difficult – timing tweets properly is important, conversational blogging can be hard to do, websites take a lot of maintenance, and building apps requires nerdy knowledge.

So just be careful to not get in over your head. Connecting to your audience through social media can be hard if you have too many irons in the fire, and using more technological methods like online ads, websites, and apps can take a lot of work. Match your manpower and new media savvy to your goals.

Next Week

Now that we’ve laid down the basic relationship between PR/Advertising and new media, we can really start getting our hands dirty. Check back next week to see what we talk about more specifically next. Comment below if you have anything to say, and follow us if you think we’re not boring (we like to think we’re pretty alright).