New Media Morsels Published April - May 2008 Social Media insights revealed in new study A new report ‘Harnessing Influence - How savvy brands are unleashing the new power of Blogs and social media’ gives one of the best insights yet into how marketers around the world are using - and reacting to - social media. A qualitative survey undertaken in December 2007 by TNS media intelligence/Cymfony over four countries, it is significant because of the insights it provides through quoting executive comments. Most of those interviewed believe that social media is not a passing fad. Some of the statistics the survey quotes are: 50% believe social media is a vital component of corporate communications that should be monitored at the executive level and allocated significant resources, 30% see social media as an unconventional new opportunity that businesses must grasp with a sense of urgency, 65% believe that reading and analysing social media to understand unfiltered consumer perceptions would have the most impact on the future of their businesses. “Marketers have grasped social media’s significance as a source of real-time consumer insight, yet they cling to the mass-marketing model of social media as another media channel”, said Jim Nail, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer of TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony. The survey breaks marketers into two broad groups -Revolutionaries’, (early adopters) who are the most advanced users of social media, and ‘Wait-and-sees’ who are only at the learning stage. The influence of gossip A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US and reported on www.livescience.com says that individuals sometimes place so much stock in gossip that they accept it as true even if there own observations and experiences suggest otherwise. “Gossip has a strong manipulative potential that could be used by cheaters to change the reputation of others or even change their own," lead author Ralf Sommerfeld of the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology and his colleagues write. "This finding suggests that humans are used to basing their decisions on gossip, rumors or other spoken information." Does your organisation have G Cred? You’ve probably heard of “Street Cred” - having credibility or popularity among your peers (especially if you are young).  It was ‘in vogue’ around 2005. But an even newer term is “G Cred” - G stands for Google and term literally means having Google credibility. According to www.adweek.com G Cred began to emerge in early 2007. G Cred refers to what someone sees when they Google your name, business or product. The ranking that you obtain on Google (largely where you are placed in the natural search column) confers a degree of legitimacy and credibility. Market communications strategist and author of the book ‘The Credibility Factor’ John Follis is quoted in AdWeek as saying says that G Cred is the “cred of the next decade”. “While there are multiple forms of credibility found within a company or product, Google is playing an increasingly important role in the perception puzzle. The bottom line is: Credibility fosters trust and Google is here to stay as a measure of that credibility”. Local Australian endorsement of the importance of your Google ranking comes from Melbourne caterer Oron Raviv who runs ‘Catering on the Move’ and who claims to have been ranked in the top three listings in its category for the past two years. In ‘BRW’ (April 3-9, 2008) he is quoted as saying that high rankings on Google lends an unusual level of credibility and authority to small businesses. “Suppliers offer you better terms of trade. Suddenly, big food companies are soliciting my business, sending me samples, and if I take one of their products on board they use my being ranked number one on Google as a testimonial”, he says. Note: Rankings in the natural search section of Google are obtained through publishing strong content and employing search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques. As both ‘PR Influences’ and its publisher Network PR appear on the first Australian Google page of more than 50 search phrases relating to public relations and related communication topics both appear have a strong G Cred! W(i)erd terminology and sayings Want some light relief - and the chance to laugh at all the stupid phrases that marketing and advertising people come up with? Then go to www.addictionary.org a central repository for all the advertising-centric terms and phrases that are made up on a regular basis.  It’s a small wiki-type site where you view what others have created- or you can add your own. Examples are: resumaybe - A short, mostly fictitious account of one's career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position he/she is woefully unqualified for. perkatory - The minutes spent waiting for your first cup of coffee in the morning. cereal offender - A  person who takes an item off the shelf in a grocery store, then later decides they don't want it and places it on some random shelf elsewhere in the store. photox - Using Photoshop to clone out wrinkles, blemishes and other imperfections. Network PR, publishers of PR Influences, is the first Australian pr agency to provide online pr, including search engine optimisation. Contact Network PR to find out how you can integrate online pr into your communications mix by starting with an Online Health Assessment.

Network PR, publisher of PR Influences, specialises in Online PR including both social media and search engine optimisation. To read more about their services click here. To make a no-obligation enquiry click here.