Social Media Tips and Success Stories for PR Pros

Cover Slide

National Capital Chapter

Social Media Tips and Success Stories for PR Pros

May 10, 2012

Presented by the PRSA-NCCProfessional Development Committee

Live Tweet this event with #PRSANCC

Panelists

Cappy Surette, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, @capster9

Chris Brooks, Manager, Hilton Worldwide, @Chrisobrooks

Julie A. Weckerlein, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, @julies_tweets or @hhsnewmedia

Gloria Huang, American Red Cross, @riaglo

Jennifer Mitchell, BRG Communications, @jenmitch or @BRGLiving

Moderator – Debbie Friez, BurrellesLuce, @dfriez

Hashtag: #PRSANCC

Leveraging Social Media in Internal Communication

Campaigns

May 2012

Captain Cappy SurettePublic Affairs Officer

U.S. Navy Medical Department@capster9 @NavyMedicine

U.S. Navy Medicine

• $6 Billion global healthcare network

• 63,000 people worldwide• Healthcare to U.S. Navy, Marine

Corps, families & veterans.• Expeditionary healthcare

on/above/under the water & on battlefields worldwide

• Cornerstone of Soft Power mission

Information Consumption Has Changed

"Social media is a powerful communication tool when used

appropriately and in concert with traditional channels. By using all our

communication assets together and for a common purpose, we have the great

opportunity to communicate with greater effect to a wider and more

diverse audience than we can through use of traditional means alone."

Power of Internal Power of Internal CommunicationsCommunications

JFK to janitor during 1960’s NASA visit:

Kennedy : "And what's your job?“

Janitor: "Mr. President, I'm helping to put a man on the moon."

Social Media Enhances Ability to Communicate

• Increases sphere of influence (“cocktail party” effect)

• Creates opportunities for employee conversation in new areas

• Creates opportunity for employee participation/collaboration

• Opportunity to find advocates

Adapt traditional internal tools

• Content can be many things, release, blogs, quotes, tips, leadership events, etc.

• Traditional communications must still be maintained (newsletter, etc) but breakdown these products to smaller nuggets first and aggregate later

• Blur lines between internal/external• Get all the juice you can squeeze from your

content

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Communicating Health Effects of Spice

Case Study

http://spicegold.biz/photo/genie-3g.jpg

http://spicegold.biz/photo/yucatan-fire-2g.jpg

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/108511409/Voodoo_Spice_Herbal_Incense.jpg

http://pepspiceusa.com/product.sc;jsessionid=282851AF0772F82D09822826E4FBBE7B.qscstrfrnt02?productId=1&categoryId=1

Navy Surgeon General Warns of Health Effects of Spice

Blogs = Breadcrumbs

Social Media Enabled Participation

• Increase in focus on issue highlighting Navy as leading voice on topic of Synthetic drugs

• Feedback on Spice from Twitterverse• Tips, support and feedback• Requests to help share the word

Metrics• Social media provides opportunity for

immediate feedback & Metrics

Lessons Learned

• Social media is valuable when part of overall communications • Social media empowers employees to participate• Social media enables real time feedback• It’s never too late to start your social media program• Quality over Quantity (Start slowly)• Authentic, credible, responsive voices legitimately humanize

bureaucracies• You can’t control the sea of public opinion, but you can at least

navigate it• Content is KING. Keep it coming.

Panelists

Chris Brooks, Hilton Worldwide, @Chrisobrooks

Hashtag: #PRSANCC

Hilton Worldwide Corporate Social Media

PRSA – National Capital Chapter

Chris BrooksManager, Social Engagement@chrisobrooks

© 2012 Hilton Worldwide Confidential and Proprietary

93 Year History in One Minute

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Global Corporate Social Media

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Goal

Communicate the value of Hilton Worldwide to key audiences and provide a platform for two-way communication with the company.

Target Audiences


Why Should Hilton Worldwide Participate?

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• Engage target audiences already communicating in this space

• Optimize search engine traffic to expand the reach of key messages

• Differentiate Hilton Worldwide from competitors

• Hedge negative publicity by building community during peacetime to leverage during crisis

• Provide a transparent look at the “inside” of the corporation

• Position Hilton Worldwide’s team members as preeminent global hospitality thought leaders

• Support Hilton Worldwide’s growth efforts by showcasing the proven value of its brands

• Highlight existing partnerships to augment impact & attract new partnerships

• Build awareness for corporate responsibility successes


Keep in Mind...

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• Hilton Worldwide channels launched in August 2011

• Our brands have been active for years reaching guests in social

• Channels reflect the global nature of the company – 24/7/365

• Networks are rapidly evolving and tactics change constantly

• The audience is much broader than “just kids”


First Steps

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• Direct integration with guest assistance to manage guest issues

• Social media policy integrated w/ communications policy – “How TO” not “Dos & DON’Ts”

>How to protect yourself & the company when communicating online.

• Listen first – daily online monitoring integrated into media clips

• Maintain consistent look & feel, voice and channel names (HiltonWorldwide)

• Mission control is hiltonworldwide.com


Management Process

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Content

• Weekly content calendar

• Contribution from across the enterprise (global and departmental diversity)

• Most content is repurposed from existing public communications •Digital efforts support and amplify traditional comms

Measurement

• Weekly/Monthly reporting

• Measuring engagement & growth

• Tracking web traffic referrals from social


Driving Awareness Internally & Externally

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✔ Executive communication

✔ Email signatures

✔ Printed collateral

✔ Digital productions

✔ Interactive video displays

✔ Promotional materials

✔ Media boilerplate


Integration Across Owned Channels: Corporate Website

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✔ Permanent links in the website footer ✔ Network specific links for content pages


Integration Across Owned Channels: Media Center

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✔ Embedded sharing

✔ Channel cross promotion

✔ Embedded media


Integration Across Owned Channels: Press Release

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✔ Embedded Flickr album

✔ Embedded YouTube video

✔ Embedded Tweet

© 2012 Hilton Worldwide Confidential and Proprietary 30

linkedin.com/company/Hilton-Worldwide

✔ Company status updates

✔ Up to two posts/day

✔ Career or industry related content


twitter.com/HiltonWorldwide

✔ 10 – 20 posts/day

✔ Mixture of engagement & “static” content

✔ Relevant to time and place

✔ Real-time conversations #HWchat


facebook.com/HiltonWorldwide

✔ Company status updates

✔ Up to two posts/day

✔ Varied content emphasis on images

✔ Cross promote - #HWchat tab


youtube.com/HiltonWorldwide

✔ Public video library

✔ Highlight brand channels

✔ Favorite HW related content


flickr.com/HiltonWorldwide

✔ Extended photo sets

✔ Titles, tags & descriptions for SEO

✔ HQ download options for media


@chrisobrooks

[email protected]

Questions?

35

“To accomplish big things I am convinced you must first dream big dreams.”

-Conrad Hilton

Panelists

Julie A. Weckerlein, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

@julies_tweets or @hhsnewmedia

Hashtag: #PRSANCC

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSEHow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention breathed life into a

dead topic

The Backstory•Hurricane season was fast

approaching.

•The content was already posted online from previous hurricane seasons.

•The public affairs team wanted to reach more people.

The Great Idea•The PA team kept tabs on latest

social media trends.

•Realizing that “zombie apocalypse” was trending worldwide, they decided to connect their info to the current social conversation.

Timing Is Everything•Draft was approved on a Friday.

•The post was published Monday with fingers crossed.

•Got a few hits and positive feedback Tuesday.

•They tweeted the link on Wednesday. Crashed the servers within minutes.

The Results•Although only $87 was spent, the

campaign achieved an estimated 3.6 billion impressions and had an estimated marketing value of $3.4 million. The success of the initial blog post has spurred many other products and partnerships, allowing CDC to reach a broad section of the population with an engaging and important topic.

The Results•This campaign increased

awareness of preparedness activities. The success of this campaign demonstrates the importance of listening to your audience and harnessing the power of social media to deliver your message globally

•Public Affairs team earned the HHS Innovates Award from the Secretary of Health.

The Lessons•Content is key. Your content MUST be

engaging.

•Know your audience.

•Establish a strong, trusting relationship with your leadership.

•Timing is everything.

•Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks.

Panelists

Gloria Huang, American Red Cross, @riaglo

Hashtag: #PRSANCC

Giving the Public a Seat at Our Table:Social Engagement as an Agent of Organizational Change

The Fundamental Shift

Social sites are not another media channel

A fundamental shift in the way people communicate

Changing expectations from the public

Our Social Engagement Goals

1. Carry out the organization’s mission online.

2. Give the public a seat at our operational table.

The Social Engagement Team

3 person national social engagement team

Responsible for: Devising and implementing social strategy on

the national level Providing strategic support for chapters and

lines of business Creating content for online audiences Reading and responding to thousands of posts

every day

The Red Cross Social Community

Local chapters Volunteers Donors Students Enthusiasts

How do we empower our community?

Relationship building on individual level

Helping make connections

Building tools to help them share and mobilize

Social Engagement Certification

Digital volunteerism

Case Study:

Social Engagement and Disaster Relief

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Social Media Becoming an Integral Part of Disaster Response

Growing trend in U.S. and across the world in disasters to use social media to seek help.

Survey finds more people using social media, mobile technology and online news outlets in emergencies.

Trying to learn more about the disaster

Asking for help

Sharing information about well-being with family and friends

2

Requests from the public (Alabama Tornadoes 2011)

Red Cross Digital Operations Center

Visualizes information from social sites

Coordination center for social engagement with the public during disasters

Helps us better manage data so it will be useful for decision makers

Engaging during the Midwest Tornadoes 2012

Results and the Path Forward Since Jan. 2010, we’ve increased our Twitter following from

30k to 689k. Facebook following has increased at a similar rate.

Increase from roughly 400 mentions of Red Cross online a day to 4,000.

Nearly 280 local chapters are active on Twitter. Internal enthusiasm and interest has greatly increased. 20 trained staff members in various departments who can

use software to monitor, deal with day to day issues. Established as leader in nonprofit sector when it comes to

using social engagement to change humanitarian services. Committed to embracing social engagement at all levels

and using it to improve Red Cross services.

Thank you

Gloria Huang@riaglo

[email protected]

Panelists

Jennifer Mitchell, BRG Communications, @jenmitch or @BRGLiving

Hashtag: #PRSANCC

Social Media Tips and Success Stories for PR Pros

BRG Communications Case Studies: Walmart and Pure Matters

About BRG Communications

About BRG:

Public Relations agency focused on safety, health and wellness. We believe in

communicating for better living.

ACB

Social media is a lot like Fight Club:1. First rule: You don’t talk about Fight Club

2. Second rule: You don’t talk about Fight Club

Brands succeed when they engage with customers in addition to promoting the brandPeople still read the news; where news is read is evolving

Social media is a new platform for communication; not a replacement for ‘old’ platforms

Personal relationships are more important than ever; people do business with people

Walmart: Fighting Hunger Together Holiday Giving Campaign

Objective:

Generate ongoing visibility for Walmart’s $2 billion commitment to fight hunger and

empower Americans to take actions together to fight hunger during the holiday season.

Facebook campaign:

Take the fight against hunger beyond an announcement

Activate the public to get involved

Create mass visibility about the issue of hunger in America

ACB

ACB


How the Facebook campaign worked:

Facebook users were encouraged to vote to help their community of choice to win a $1 million (grand prize) for hunger relief grants. Five runner up communities received $100,000 each.

Didn’t need to be a Walmart Facebook fan to vote

Chose from 100 communities with the highest rates of food hardship

“Like” to vote

Walmart encouraged participation via traditional media coverage, Facebook wall posts and Tweets

ACB


Results:

More than 10 million Facebook votes

Traditional media coverage

– More than 250 million media

impressions

– More than 3,500 placements in

national, local and print publications

Increased awareness about the

issue of hunger; positive

differentiation from other holiday

giving initiatives

Pure Matters: Facebook Engagement

Objective: Increase Facebook engagement

As one tactic to create brand awareness, Pure Matters has focused on increasing engagement

on Facebook. The short term goal for Pure Matters is to create brand awareness and buzz.

The long term goal is to increase traffic and conversion.

How:

Craft messages with EdgeRank in mind

– Encourage fans to communicate with the brand

– Consider the weight of each interaction

– Stay current

Engage with fans in real-time

ACB

1. Enable fans to interact with promotional content

– Example: “LIKE if you love this deal!”

2. Ask customers what they want to know

3. Provide customer service

– Respond within 24 hours

– Don’t forget to say thank you

4. Ask fans to do something

– Like

– Comment

– Share

– Click

Food for thought: You get what you ask for.

– If you ask fans to “like” they often will

– To increase “shares” ask them to share

ACB

Pure Matters: Facebook Engagement

ACB

Pure Matters: Facebook Results

Pair traditional public relations with social media campaigns– Pitch national media– Pitch local media– Consider drafting press releases and/or media alerts that teach fans

on to vote and share on social networks Develop a social media release to accompany your

news release– Written in English, not business-speak– Includes some piece of information not contained in the news

release– Media rich: Images and videos– Links– Sharable

ACB

Tips

Connect with us!

Website:

http://www.brgcommunications.com

BRG Communications on Twitter

@BRGLiving

Jennifer Mitchell on Twitter

@JenMitch

Meet the Assignment Editors

Questions?

#PRSANCC

Meet the Assignment Editors

Thank you!We’ll see you at “Pitching

Reporters on Twitter”

on June 12!

Business

Social Media Tips and Success Stories for PR Pros