Spotted: Twitchiker and the Feats of Tweet
Earlier this year, a freelance journalist by the name of Paul Smith (no relation to Paul Smith from the AFR), embarked on an adventure to get from Newcastle to New Zealand in just 30 days.
He put in place a few rules for his journey and unless these were followed, the whole adventure is over and he goes home:
- He’ll only accept help (lifts, a place to stay and food) from other people on Twitter
- He can’t make any plans further than three days in advance
- He can only spend money on food, drink and anything that might fit in his suitcase
- If there’s more than one offer on the table, he gets to choose which he takes. If there’s only one, he has to take it within 48 hours
- If he’s unable to find a way to move on from a location within 48 hours, the challenge is over and he goes home
Fast forward to September, he’s halfway across the globe in much more interesting places than NZ (…sorry Kiwis) and with a whole heap of amazing stories to tell about his travel adventures.
He has also recently embarked on a new project, Feats of Tweet, with an aim of using social media to change the world – one tweet at a time.
These are both great example of social media – used the way that social media is supposed to!
Having Tweeties for Breakfast
The key, according to Ogilvy’s digital influence expert Brian Giesen, is this: If you want to use Twitter, the newest of the new media, for public relations or business then it is imperative that you follow the rules.
And just what are those rules? Well, it’s all pretty simple. After setting up a Twitter account (the essence here is to be completely transparent in identifying yourself or your brand) there are basically three steps to engaging with and through Twitter: 1) Follow, 2) Create and 3) Engage.
Giesen, speaking to a 100-strong crowd at a Frocomm breakfast conference held on Wednesday at Ogilvy House, said the first stage, follow, meant that a business searched Twitter to discover what people were saying about their brand or their market.
After a time, the business could then enter the create phase, Twittering interesting messages relevant to the conversation and gathering followers.
Only after going through those steps, Giesen stressed, should a company start engaging with other tweeters, responding to people who mention the brand, offering advice and assistance where necessary so that people who may have been critical before may now have the chance to be brand evangelists through the positive contact.
Twitter’s growth in Australia this year has been extraordinary. Traffic has surged more than sixfold, the fastest growth in the world, while there are almost 4 million registered users, rating us fifth behind the US, Japan, the UK and Canada.
Giesen said businesses could use Twitter to meet real business objectives in a number of ways: customer relations; product promotion and sales; crisis and reputation management; event coverage; issues advocacy; and, internal communications. All, however, utilise the three steps: follow, create and engage. And, he stressed, all must use the code of ethics for social media which includes being transparent, respecting other Twitterers by knowing when to participate and when to listen, thinking before messaging (will it be seen as helpful or intrusive), making sure your message is relevant, and providing value to your followers.
Another of the speakers, Strath Gordon, the Director of Public Affairs at NSW Police, related how he had to deal with a company which was Twittering under the name NSW Police. After trying unsuccessfully to contact the through Twitter Gordon was forced to go to the media. A prominent newspaper story and subsequent radio interviews soon had the company coming forward (It was a marketing company trying to build the NSW Police Twitter profile so they could go to the police and show what a powerful tool it was).
The police have now taken over the name, together with 2000 followers, and are using it to Twitter information. At times the responses from the public regarding matters such as speeding fines were ‘’in language not usually used’’ in communication with the police. Gordon said the police see Twitter, and other social media, as valuable tools to help report crime, issue general warnings and to inform people of the real level of crime.
Gordon also said that there was no doubt terrorists and criminals were using social media to communicate with each other, using codes words, and revealed the ‘’secret’’ parts of the force were developing ways to counter that.
Giesen provided a list of do’s and dont’s for Twitter users.
Do:
- See what other businesses are doing on Twitter;
- Use Twitter search engines for keyword searches around brands, products and topics of interest;
- Follow Twitterers with similar interests to establish a brand presence;
- Use twitter to start a conversation;
- Be dedicated to Twitter, with more than one employee on Twitter to ensure an ongoing presence;
- Ask questions and get feedback from followers;
- Engage consumers in co-creation and get constructive insights for future products etc;
- Follow the blogger code of ethics;
- Spread the word about your participation by including your Twitter handle in your email signature.
Don’t:
- Push ads or brand messaging;
- Talk about your everyday tasks. Make your Tweets entertaining and/or valuable;
- Tweet anything about clients, co-workers friends etc that you would not want them to read.
Brian Giesen joins Ogilvy PR Australia as digital director
Ogilvy Public Relations Australia (Ogilvy PR) announced today that Brian Giesen, current vice-president and senior strategist with Ogilvy PR’s 360° Digital Influence Group in Washington, DC, has joined Ogilvy PR Australia in the position of Digital Strategist.
An award-winning global expert, Giesen brings more than ten years of experience developing, managing and executing a range of digital marketing and social media campaigns for brands such as Lenovo, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, DuPont, Yum!, National Institutes of Health and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Working from Ogilvy PR Australia’s Sydney office for the next 12 months, he will provide senior counsel on crisis and issues management from a digital perspective, educate employees on the fundamental parts of digital influence strategy and educate on a range of digital tools to help build further understanding on the power of digital influence among both existing and new clients.
“This is a well timed appointment and provides all the Ogilvy PR companies in Australia the opportunity to further grow our digital influence skills as they become increasingly important to our client’s communications campaigns,” Ogilvy PR’s Managing Director John Studdert said. “Brian will also boost our leadership position in the Australian market across each of the areas of specialisation, while maintaining a high-level global role based out of Sydney.”
Giesen will also work with other Australian-based STW Group and Ogilvy Group companies, including Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, OgilvyOne, OgilvyInteractive, and Neo@Ogilvy.
“The Australian Ogilvy PR companies have already established themselves as leaders, having executed a number of digital campaigns for their clients,” Giesen said. “I’m excited at the prospect of now working alongside them in person, to merge our international experience from our overseas campaigns, with local and regional clients.
“With the explosive growth of online media, consumer word of mouth and new technologies springing up every day, we now have to create comprehensive digital strategies for clients who want to engage customers or constituents in direct conversation. We’ve spent several years developing our methodology for identifying and engaging these new influencers in a way they find valuable, and it is this discipline we call digital influence.”
Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Giesen worked as a legislative assistant for US Congressman Jay W. Johnson, where he lead an effort to promote the federal E-Rate program, connecting Wisconsin schools and libraries to the Internet. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is an active member of the Social Media Club of Washington, DC.
Brian’s arrival in Australia follows the appointment last month of Thomas Crampton. Thomas is a veteran, award-winning journalist and digital media specialist and was named Asia Pacific Regional Director of 360° Digital Influence at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. In addition to his Australian responsibilities, Brian will support Thomas and the region.
Brian will be speaking at The Insight Exchange’s launch event, The Power of Influence, on 19 May 2009, where he will give an overview of how influence impacts the success of businesses.
Visit www.theinsightexchange.com for more information.
Thomas Crampton appointed regional director of digital
Thomas Crampton, veteran, award-winning journalist and digital media specialist has been named Asia Pacific Regional Director of 360° Digital Influence at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.
Tom started his career in journalism 18 years ago with the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times, reporting from Asia, the US and Europe. He has worked in Asia for more than a decade as a reporter, serving as president of the both the Foreign Correspondents Clubs in Bangkok and in Hong Kong. Most recently, Crampton worked as Director of New Media and Business Development at Next Media, the publisher of Apple Daily newspaper.
The World Economic Forum named Thomas as a “Young Global Leader,” a prestigious title offered to very few worldwide, and Crampton leads sessions at the annual Davos event. Tom is also a much sought-after speaker on social media around the world.
Tom is also well-followed Twitter poster and a very popular blogger (www.thomascrampton.com). Appropriately, word of his joining Ogilvy PR made it to Twitter first and he confirmed it on his blog, saying his new job is to “Build Community… Build Business… Build Profile.” Tom also confessed “Why am I so excited about this job? This role combines my two great passions: Asia and digital. I spent more than a decade reporting on Asia and the last five years immersed in digital.”
“Tom attracts brilliant, interesting people on the cutting edge and connects them in ways that generate electricity and new ideas,” observed Ogilvy PR Asia Pacific CEO Christopher Graves. “He lives, works on, and deeply understands digital and social media– as well as the fundamental changes they are driving in media consumption and influence– and what that means for our clients.”
Four years ago, Ogilvy PR launched its 360° Digital Influence Group out of the US (see: www.360digitalinfluence.com) led by Managing Director John Bell. Since then, the 360° Digital Influence team has worked with clients such as: Lenovo; Johnson & Johnson; Ford; Adidas and dozens of others.
In Asia Pacific, Ogilvy PR has been building its community of digital specialists city by city over the past four years. “This completes our global leadership,” said Graves. “Now we have an inspirational leader in Thomas Crampton to lead this group in Asia Pacific and connect with his counterparts in North America and Europe and bring huge value to our clients looking to learn about and leverage emerging digital and social media.”
Thomas Crampton graduated from the University of Virginia, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin and at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. He speaks English, French, Thai and is learning Mandarin Chinese.
Follow Tom’s blog at: www.thomascrampton.com
Follow Tom on Twitter: twitter.com/ThomasCrampton
Join the Ogilvy PR team of bloggers: www.360digitalinfluence.com
