Scenes from the Free People Blogger Retreat

Here are some pictures from the Free People Blogger retreat I attended with Kaitlin on Friday! It was hard to act calm and collected since I had been anticipating this event since November. Needless to say it was more than I imagined it would be and above all such a great learning experience. This was my second time at URBN headquarters. I had visited before for a networking event and I also work for Urban Outfitters. I absolutely love coming to the Naval Yard in Philly. 

The retreat taught me so much! As a public relations and communications graduate I came in knowing what I was already taught for 4 years and left with even more new knowledge. It is always great to hear from those in the field and even better from a company you admire. The presenters brought an informative and reali life view on topics and answered all our questions. 

Needless to say I went back to work the next morning and was bombarded with questions about the event. I don't think my words were enough to explain my experience from the Free People folks. I simply had a fantastic time and left feeling more sure of myself and my future dreams and passion for writing. If I were to leave with only one thing in mind from the retreat it would be simply this from the editor Shani Silver:

"Blog for yourself don't lose yourself in blogging. If it's something you wouldn't say yourself don't write it and most of all if blogging ever seems like it's becoming a dread, take a break form it and reevaluate why you were blogging in the first place."

Some doodles and notes taken.

Beautiful seasonal display when you enter Free People offices.

Good grub is good.

For some reason the overcast of the day seemed perfect with the ships.

Kaitlin and I - prints on prints on prints on textures on textures

Wall of vases

Lounge time although it was too pretty to be wrinkled by my tired bum!

Facebook ‘Likes’ are Worth a Thousand Words, Literally

Have you ever ‘liked’ something on Facebook? Whether its a picture, status, product or service, ‘liking’ is a simple way to show an interest in something. As a generation saturated in social networking, we may take a lot of small things like Facebook’s ‘like’ application for granted, not thinking of its true potential, especially in creating awareness. Recently, Porsche became the quickest automaker to reach 1,000,000 fans on Facebook. How did they celebrate this social media achievement? Porsche printed the names of 27,000 fans who ‘liked’ their Facebook corporate fan page onto the body of their new hybrid 911 GT3 R racecar as a thank you to their million fans who made their social network success possible. The names were chosen at random from their fans and set to a Facebook-themed design with navy blue and white accents.

I don’t know about you but I can’t think of a better way to show fan appreciation than adorning their names on a car worth well over $250,000. From a public relations standpoint, Porsche’s use of social networking to gain publicity is a great initiative for them and other companies to start adopting. Porsche even created a separate “thank you” campaign and website for their fans to see the process of the car’s creation and search for their name on the car. Not only does this campaign portray the luxury automaker as a friendly and fan-loyal company, it brings awareness to the auto industry’s current eco-friendly car trend. By combining their fan loyalty with the popularity of hybrid vehicles, Porsche gets publicity, awareness, record setting and novelty points for releasing news in an unorthodox manner. For a company like Porsche, social responsibility to the environment and social interaction with their consumers and fans are connected. Porsche’s use of Facebook is an example of how the use of social networks can create more than just a digital and perceived connection between corporations and consumers but also a literal one.

What do you think about Porsche’s social network idea? Do you know any other companies that have used social media to connect with their fans in a creative way?

Become a fan of Porsche at http://www.facebook.com/porsche and check out their “A Million Thanks” campaign at: www.porsche.com/thankyou.

http://www.porsche.com/microsite/facebook/international.aspx

Original can be read here.

Ditch the Magazines and Hikes to the Mall and Just Get a Blog Already!

The PR fashion industry is always changing with the latest trends and yes, social media, of course. With the rise of instablogging sites such as Tumblr and Instagram, the publics' demand for instant user-friendly fashion is growing every day. Before, fashionistas and aspiring designers would turn to hard copy magazines to get their daily fix on the industry but now the content is free and shareable on blogging platforms, which have become a favorite of fashion PR agencies to see the ongoing atmosphere of their audiences. Top designers and industry gurus such as Rachel Roy, DKNY, Vogue, and Urban Outfitters have official Tumblr blogs where they not only share products and company news, but also draw out inspiration from other fashion bloggers and followers globally.

This has turned the fashion industry from an "insider only" view, when in order to be in on the latest trends, you had to either work in the industry and be connected to someone, to a more friendly and personal one where literally anyone with a unique style and love for fashion can share and be updated on content. According to PRcouture.com, fashion is no longer exclusive to only a privileged few but has "established a new way of experiencing and connecting to like-minded readers through style, outfit photos and DIY, carving out places online that made fashion personal and discoverable through weekly posts."

This surge of fashion blogs does not necessarily mean that print editorial, photography and the runway show aspect of the industry are dying, that will always be there, but it does mean that fashion is becoming more disseminated to the masses and that diversity and accessibility is a key measurement of business and success. The industry has simply figured out where a new untapped public of fashion inspiration lies and is not wasting time looking over its market and creative potential. More importantly, social media sites have started a new wave of jobs for fashion companies that are highly in need of bloggers and trendsetters to manage their social media accounts and update them on the latest street culture and style of everyone else - and what better way to hire these people than from your own pool of followers? The industry has overall become less exclusive and all together more inclusive of everyone.

So if you're in need of your daily fashion fix or just want to share your diverse style then get a blog, follow your favorite designers and get inspired! Remember, you never know what designer could be using your style as an inspiration for their new Fall/Winter 2012 line someday!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Original post can be read here.

Battle of the Tweets – Why Corporations Can’t Just Talk It Out

Make your way around the tech blogs and you’ll find yourself reading about a “he said, she said” Twitter war involving three of technology’s giants – Microsoft, Google and Apple. No good fight is complete without an unlikely team of rivals - Apple and Microsoft, against Google in a war of words.

The dispute started when David Drummond, Google’s Senior Vice President wrote on Google’s official blog alleging that Microsoft secured winning bids on new mobile technology patents for “anti-competitive means” and that the Justice Department would look into the matter, according to eweek.com. No surprise that that this was shortly after Microsoft far outbid Google for the same patents which could give the Android, one of the leading mobile operating systems in the mobile market, a run for its money.

In an effort to save face, Microsoft fired back at Google’s “unfairness” claim with a tweet from their General Counsel, Brad Smith, saying:

“Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.”

The defensive hits didn’t end there. Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of corporate communications fired back by also tweeting:

“Free advice for David Drummond—next time check with Kent Walker before you blog.”

Shaw’s tweet included a link to a prior e-mail sent to Brad Smith by Kent Walker, Google's General Counsel, saying that Google did not find it necessary to bid jointly on the patents. Perhaps in a last attempt to avoid embarrassment from Microsoft’s retaliation, Drummond updated his blog post defending Google by stating that Google didn’t bid jointly on the patents because it would generate anti-competitive attacks from Microsoft and Apple partners against the Android market which shares a platform with Google.

Bravo if you’ve managed to follow this petty melo-drama without being confused. This back and forth banter over social media begs questions like “Is social media the appropriate platform to air corporate differences?” and “Why can’t these corporations just sit down and talk?" If we’ve learned anything about the role social media plays in corporate discord it’s that some things are better left unsaid or rather un-tweeted. Take for example Chrysler’s Twitter faux pas where an inappropriate word was used in a tweet referring to Detroit motorists from Chrysler’s social media team.

Corporations, celebrities, and anyone using social media should know that Twitter rivalries and tweets with TMI (too much info) never play out well. In Microsoft and Google’s case, had the dispute been discussed the old fashioned way with live one on one interaction, the temptation to be sarcastic would have been eliminated. The opportunity for an audience, that’s to Twitter derailed any opportunity for meaningful discourse as would be expected from such large corporations.

What we definitely can learn from all of this is that the use of social media to communicate between competitors can easily degenerate into a free for all, in which real progress will struggle to be met. Social media is a powerful tool for corporate communications, but it should never be used to air petty differences.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez

Original post can be read here.

Could Twitter Save Tiger?

“What’s up everyone? Finally decided to try out Twitter!” was Tiger Woods’ first tweet on his new twitter account. With only four tweets this month, his twitter account has reached over 250,000 followers and substantial media buzz. Of course we all remember the consequences of his scandal – losing million dollar endorsements, pulling out of tournaments, tainted public image, etc. – but it’s been a year. Has his bad publicity gone away? Will his re-emergence into social media help his image?

According to Mashable.com on Wednesday, November 17, “Tiger’s account — which is verified by Twitter — appears to be adding hundreds of new followers per minute since his first tweet was published at around 11:00 a.m. ET.”

One thing I’ve learned from my public relations classes and textbooks is that a high number of followers, hits, and views on social media means virtually nothing because what we really care about is who the followers are, not how many there are. In Tiger’s case, it may seem that his Twitter stats are impressive and helping his public image but we don’t know this for sure. It could simply mean that he has gained a surge of followers and attention because he was out of the media’s scope for months.

What’s interesting is that Tiger’s tweets have been fairly sociable and open: “Yep, it’s me. I think I like this twitter thing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the love” and “The best part about phone interviews is getting to wear shorts.” This is a major difference from his previous attitude towards the media. Following his scandal, it took nearly three months for him to speak to the public about it. Perhaps Tiger’s publicity team is looking towards Twitter to reach new audiences and re-build his image. To know if Twitter is helping Tiger, we, as fellow Twitter users and social media boomers should ask ourselves these questions:

• Who are the main audiences targeted by Tiger’s messages?
• What is his audience reach?
• How are the messages received: are they received in the way they are intended
to be received?
• Has overall opinion, attitude and behavior towards Tiger changed since he began tweeting?

What do you think about Tiger Woods emerging on the Twitter scene? Will this help his image? You can follow Tiger Woods at: Twitter.com/tigerwoods

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Original post can be read here.