Hit Your Target (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Facebook and Blog Marketing
Copyblogger
Brian Clark examines the “segmentation” of the Facebook audience, and determines that the marketing value of the popular social networking site comes more from the ability to watch for trends and track what a certain demographic is interested in. He points out that the addition of third party widgets to Facebook allowed for the segmentation of users into “interest groups,” which benefited marketers looking for a specific audience. Brian believes the same concept can be applied to marketing through a blog, reaching out to specific demographics. “So, for example, if you’re trying to make money with your blog via affiliate marketing, don’t just write one post about a product you think will appeal to your audience and hope the search engine gods will bless you. Offer an educational marketing experience via your copywriting skills to those who are truly interested, and let the magic of repetition do the rest.”

Stunt PR May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Observations on Public Relations
Luke Armour comments on the Flickr set of “Sharpie tattoos” highlighted in a Brand Flakes for Breakfast post earlier this week. While someone claiming to represent Sharpie commented on Brand Flakes that the company hadn’t endorsed the idea due to legal reasons, Luke points out that if they had, they could have opened themselves up to some sticky PR issues. That is, should a company participate in a marketing stunt that, while “cool,” could also potentially harm its participants? Probably not, even if the stunt could generate some positive ink (pun intended). “Could it be problematic? Hard to say, but PR people should be in the business of a) avoiding bad press and legal problems b) dealing with bad press and legal problems others have created but not c) creating things that lead to bad press and legal problems. Lesson learned.”

Back to the Future
Murphy’s Law
Tom Murphy ponders the future of online communications, noting the seeming impossibility of knowing where social media and other web 2.0 applications (which crop up and drop off at an almost alarming rate) will lead communications professionals. Tom points out that the “hot” tools of today may be forgotten in mere weeks or months, and that to predict where it’s all heading is probably futile. He thinks the key is to engage with the audience your after now, using the tools they are using—regardless if those tools will be obsolete in the future. “or example: If you know your target audience is using Bebo, MySpace or Facebook then you can engage with them (carefully and respectfully) successfully now.  It doesn’t matter if these sites will disappear or morph into something else, strike while the iron is hot. Unlike traditional media we don’t have the luxury of just waiting to see what emerges at the end, we might be waiting for years, but if we know our audience we can start to engage today.”