Unilever announced a new policy which aims to reduce fraud and increase transparency to improve integrity within influencer marketing.
Continue reading “Unilever pledges to stop advertising with influencers that buy followers”
For once I have something in common with Kylie Jenner. I’ve stopped using Snapchat.
The difference is that when she tweeted about it her post it caused mass panic with investors and stock market analysts which knocked $1.3 billion off of the market value.
When I posted about not using Snapchat anymore the only person that liked the tweet was my Mum. 😂😂😂Hi Mum! 👋👋👋 Continue reading “The power of influencers – Kylie Jenner wipes $1.3 billion off of Snapchat’s market value”
Bloggers, vloggers, influencers and YouTube stars have a responsibility to their audience. How can you redeem a reputation if and when things go too far?
Continue reading “Social media pranksters that go too far”
Tesco has become the first retailer to cut the tampon tax for women by paying it for you. What a clever PR campaign! Continue reading “Creative Campaigns #15 – #TescoTamponTaxoff”
The battle brands face with a looming sugar tax is a growing one. This week Lucozade unveiled it’s new reformulated energy drink that has cut the sugar content by 50 per cent. The reviews so far aren’t great. Continue reading “Consumers vs campaigners – low-sugar Lucozade”
A great crisis management statement from BrewDog was released on 27 March 2017. It announced their decision to back down over the Lone Wolf trademark dispute with a family run pub in Birmingham.
Continue reading “Crisis management the BrewDog way”
Facebook has recently responded to the surge of fake news circulating on its pages. The algorithms that populate the platform have been changed to downgrade false news and clickbait. Continue reading “Facebook downgrades fake news”
The Retail Solent Initiative, RE:SO, hosted a special blogger preview event for the launch of the new SHED vintage clothing in Southampton.
Continue reading “RE:SO SHED vintage clothing launch – the benefits of hosting a blogging event”
If you’re looking for an event with a spark in Southampton then look no further.
Continue reading “Launching with a Spark! A new event venue for Southampton”
In The Times yesterday I couldn’t help but be grabbed by the article by @ROSAPRINCEUK with the headline ‘Social media monster could devour Corbyn‘.
It backed up the point I often make that online public relations for a divisive entity or to support a cause or for ‘online activism’ can be a double edged sword. It either is destructive force or a driving motivation for change.
Social media can be used to make a point. Rosa uses the example of Corbyn encouraging people to take to Twitter to share their heart warming stories about junior doctors. It’s a clever move given the current climate but, let’s leave the politics out of this and focus on the powerful use of PR for change.
The #theyarethedoctorswho hashtag was used over 20,000 times and almost overtook the insane ramblings of hip-hop rapper Kanye West. This surge of support is powerful, people have actively gone online to take part, engage and share. It’s obviously a topic close to so many people’s hearts and it’s well timed on Corbyn’s part as he’s called for this ‘online activism’ at a time when emotions are still running high.
As you can see people were tweeting some very powerful and emotive messages.
For Corbyn this is another strategic step in getting people on side and motivated enough to actually vote. It worked in the run up to his vote for the Labour Party leadership and now this is being used in a wider application to make him relatable, show him as sympathetic and fighting for the average hard working Brit on the street. Who can’t relate to that?
With this sort of endeavour though you run the gauntlet between social media being a force for bad or good. Again Rosa brings an excellent topical example to the fold, Stephen Fry. Even Fry, a national treasure, dramatically quit the Twittersphere after he made an inappropriate comment at the BAFTAS and received unprecedented backlash. It only takes one comment, or action, which doesn’t have to be online to make or break someone’s reputation. Ah, there we go PR fans, we’ve reached the heart of the matter, it’s all down to reputation again!
Now it’s already blown past as yesterdays news and I am sure it won’t be long until Stephen Fry will be back to brandish 140 characters with the best of them. But, the point to make here is that, even for the popular people of the universe, the online world can be a dangerous place. Reputation is fragile and not easily repaired as we already know. It is in these situations that PR is absolutely crucial.
At present Corbyn is harnessing social media but he’s never that far from the edge. Those that have opposed Corbyn online in the lead up to his Labour Party election have found themselves trolled and he had to make a public call for more ‘civility online’.  As you can see, it may not even be your own actions that bring you close to the edge online but those who support you too.
At the end of the day all Corbyn cares about is whether this online support gets people off their bums and to the polling station come the time that matters. If this kind of PR by social media works and becomes a motivation factor for voters then it could be a very powerful force for political change. Can social media, if harnessed in the right way, be the persuasion tool that sparks people to vote? It certainly helped Obama.
Whether Corbyn being voted in is a good force for change or a bad force for change, well that’s a different topic and debate altogether. I am not attacking either political party, I am merely using it to make a point about PR. This blog is about public relations not politics.
I also have to point out here that what Corbyn is doing here is a form of PR piggybacking, a topic I wrote about in my last blog. Corbyn is capitalising on the junior doctors strikes by engaging the public by encouraging to share their emotive experiences about junior doctors. Like many strategic political PR campaigns, he is rubbing salt in the wound of the current Government’s inability to resolve the junior doctors situation and trying to turn it in his favour to get more votes for his party. This sort of political activity is nothing new, it’s just being done through a different medium.
Online activism is the a great way to engage debate, talk and discussion on difficult topics which I hope is then harnessed to encourage positive change. However, activism in its very nature can also bring negativity, so I believe that honesty, transparency and being considerate are all key in maintaining reputation online and in most real-world situations. Social media need not be a monstrous place as long as we all take a little responsibility and think about our actions.
