Thumbs Up to Richard Branson's Blog

Richard Branson needs no introduction. But for people who don’t know him, well, he is the founder of the renowned Virgin group. And like every other jetsetter he lives life king size!

This is how he perceives himself

His blog mirrors his personality as described above and manages to strike a balance between being extraordinarily adventurous and being sane. One would think that a person like him wouldn’t have much to say to us mere mortals. But then, clearly he had a top notch PR team that guided him in putting together his blog.

Once you get past his page’s awesome design, you would definitely get caught up with his blog posts. The posts were fun, motivating, informative and inspiring, while keeping alive his zest for adventure throughout.

His blog has something for everybody.

For the adventurers 

For the philosophers 

For the activists 

For the sentimentalists 

And for the vain

What stood out about his blog was that he did not just keep singing the Virgin song over and over again, instead he wrote about interesting topics that a normal person would relate to. Also, what I found smart was that he posted questions and kept his followers engaged always. There is always something going on.

If I could change one aspect of his blog, it would be the overuse of “Richard Branson” pictures. Every post would have his picture integrated into it, and it felt like he was throwing himself at the followers to reinforce his presence. It is good to build your brand, but then, not so blatantly. 

Yes, that's right! It is a Richard Branson cake.

The tone of the blog is very enthusiastic and lively, and it is a breath of fresh air when you compare it to blogs of other CEOs. The fact that he has been consistent with his posts and the large number of shares it has garnered indicate that he is doing it right. Though his blog may not appeal to a certain demographic, I feel that he has successfully used it as a tool to enhance his presence in social media. 

A pat on the back for his PR team!

Obama and Putin – Who had the better PR team?

We have been reading more and more about the situation in Syria, and the Russian and American take on it. With the issue at hand being analyzed and reanalyzed by innumerable experts there is nothing I can say that has not been said before. But from a public relations standpoint there is definitely something I can contribute that may put some things in new perspective.

Obama addressed the issue by doing what he does best, orating. And Putin reached out to the Americans through an unconventional op-ed in The New York Times. Both ideas worked by gaining the attention of the people but the effect it had on them is debatable.

Obama's speech conveyed to the audience what they already knew. He did not give them a clear cut solution nor did he take a stance, which he should have done. It sounded more like he was trying to justify his previous stance of going on a military strike and at the same time convince the public that the new peaceful solution was indeed for the better. If I were in Obama's PR team, I would have made complete use of his oratory power and would have crafted a message that would state clearly the future course of action while explicitly stating why. Though Obama's quotes and facts were exemplarily put forward, it could not hide or make up for the lack of decisiveness. It is disappointing that the PR team did not use this opportunity to Obama's best advantage.

On the other hand, Putin's piece was well crafted but came across as being very rigid and inflexible. It sounded more like an ultimatum rather than the plea that it was supposed to be. While addressing another nation on a sensitive matter it is always best not to sound dictatorial, especially when peace is being propagated. But it was a very smart PR move to run the op-ed and make people aware of Russia's peaceful stance as opposed to Obama's less-than-peaceful proposition.

The purpose of both the messages was to convince the people. Putin knew that more than 60 percent of the American population preferred a peaceful solution and his PR team made use of that while addressing the people. According to me, Putin's PR team did a better job than Obama's. Though it had its fair share of foot-in-the-mouth moments, it accomplished its goal of sending out a strong message. As future PR practitioners we are expected to leverage facts that would benefit our client and that is what Putin's PR team did.

I am not taking sides nor am I criticizing people. All I am doing is exercising my First Amendment rights for the benefit of PR.

Social Media A Force for Good – The Boston Bombings

Facebook and Twitter were swamped with messages, posts, status updates and pictures of the Boston bombings. That was how I, and millions of others were exposed to the two blasts that scarred the legendary Boston marathon forever.

The whole world then turned to social media to get instant updates on the tragedy. With all the pandemonium that surrounded an incident of this magnitude, it wasn't a fatal fault that the media misinformed the public on various aspects of the bombings. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with exaggerated and absurd posts. But, are we ignoring the bigger picture here?

As a social media advocate, I am forced to point out to you that the glaringly obvious “bigger picture” is indeed being overlooked. I consider social media a separate entity independent of the people who use it. It is a force for good that has been proving its worth time and again, especially during difficult times like the Boston bombings. To think about what could have happened if social media did not exist is plain scary, and I hope the criticism would cease.

Because,

It was social media that informed.

It was social media that connected families.

It was social media that created a support group.

It was social media that helped in identifying the suspects.

It was social media that made it easier to overcome the tragedy. But ironically, it is the same social media that is still being blamed for the mistakes of few ignorant people!

There is always a flip side to everything. It ultimately depends on whether or not you would see a glass half full or half empty. I agree that there were irreparable damages, but the benefits certainly outweighed it. I just hope that social media eventually gets the credit it duly deserves.

Yours truly,
A social media advocate

How to Have an Effective Social Media Presence?

Social media! Well, hasn't our world been revolving around that for quite sometime? Being a potential PR practitioner I must agree with the fact that social media is the reigning queen of the digital age, and its time to embrace the power she wields over technology at large. 

When it comes down to using social media to your best advantage, we need to call in the experts. Kelly Lux, director of social media at Syracuse University iSchool, shared her expertise on how to use social media wisely. It made me revamp my twitter account immediately, and yes, my tweets did receive a bit more attention after that. So I thought that it would be unfair to you if I did not share these easy and effective tips that she passed on.

So here are 5 quick tips that would take you closer to conquering the world through social media, well, at least the world of PR.

1. Relate to your audience – Post things that your audience would enjoy or find interesting rather than retweeting or reposting the same thing over and over. Be more conversational and save the formality for later.
   
   
2. Use visual elements – Sadly, people still judge a book by its cover. So spruce up your Facebook posts, tweets and blogs by adding some high resolution pictures and fancy videos.
   
   
3. Build relations – Public relations is all about building relationships with people who can help you tell your story. Reach out to your audience and form a bond with them because loyalty is too scarce a commodity now.
   
   
4. Be quick to respond – Always respond as quick as you can, especially when you are amidst a crisis. Prolonging the wait will only makes things worse.
   
   
5. Use searchable key words – Though we all would like to sound smart through our posts or tweets, remember that it is important to use popular key words or existing hashtags that people frequently search for. It puts you on the map.

I hope that these five tactics added some value to you. But keep in mind that you have just taken baby steps towards building an effective social media presence and need to give it more time if you want to be dazzled by its awesome-ness!

Stay tuned for more!