Blog « Robin Leedy & Associates

Like the Facebook IPO?

January 31st, 2012

By Robin Russo

Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge proponent of Facebook, but this little thing called an IPO is starting to bug me – a lot. And I doubt I’m alone in this. “Fans” of Facebook – expected to reach a billion this year – can’t possibly “Like” the Facebook IPO, rumored to happen sometime in the next few months. That’s because those of us loyal Facebook users – who helped make Facebook a success – will not have a chance to take part in what is being called the largest public offering – ever (it already is the largest Internet offering).

So who will get to take part in this record breaking IPO – which stands for “initial public offering” – a term that technically might not apply to Facebook, since it’s been heavily traded for some time in the secondary markets where “private” shares are bought and sold (by the big investment firms that push it toward their own big clients, many of which are foreigners)? In addition to these and other investors in the company, Facebook employees who’ve been anxiously awaiting a chance to sell their shares on the open market will also benefit from the IPO. The “public,” the rest of us, won’t have a prayer of getting our hands on this IPO.

Many of these people will become millionaires from this IPO and don’t get me wrong – I’m all for capitalism and I understand that this is the way it’s done. But something smells fishy to me, and it isn’t just that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg went on national TV and said to the world that he had no intentions of going public – I get it. Facebook has just gotten so big that it’s taken on a life of its own and even he can’t stop it from its true potential. And I know I shouldn’t be surprised, that it was inevitable that this multi-billion dollar innovation would become a public company.

Maybe I’m just a bit naïve, but what’s really bothering me is that this IPO was very calculated – it wasn’t just “Oops, we have more than 500 investors now” – the way it’s being reported. If Facebook goes public by the end of May – as is being reported – early shareholders will be able to sell some shares before the end of the year and, notably, before the expiration of tax cuts instituted during the George W. Bush administration. Now isn’t that a coincidence.

Tags: Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, social media PR
Posted in Chit Chatter, Facebook, Talking PR, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Who’s Talking?

January 18th, 2012

by Alyson O’Mahoney

Here at RL&A, we are a bit obsessed with social media marketing reporting, tracking, monitoring – ultimately, gauging the daily impact of a conversation started, commented responded to, etc. So when Facebook launched a new interactive marketing metric – “Talking About This” – not so long ago, and made it an incredibly prominent feature directly under a page’s fan number, we were a bit like babies staring a shiny object…mesmerized. However, over time, we have grown a bit disenchanted with this number and by telling you this, we hope you will, too (and ultimately, we hope Facebook does away with it!).

From what I have read, this figure is supposed to gauge the past week of a page’s activity related to conversation and interactions, including:

• liking a brand page
• posting to a page’s wall
• liking, commenting on or sharing a page post (or photos, video or album)
• answering a question on a page’s wall
• RSVPing to an event
• mentioning a page in a post
• tagging a page
• liking or sharing a check-in deal
• checking in at a place.

I don’t see advertising mentioned in this list…..but it seems to be the most influential in raising/lowering this number based on our experience. Here’s our own example: two client pages – one has been around for about six months (red box) and has had nice, ongoing organic daily interaction, growth, etc.; the other is a brand new page (blue box) that has invested a modest amount of spending on CPC social ads for its first week of its launch. You can see the existing page has a much smaller percentage of “Talking About This” compared to the page spending advertising dollars in Facebook. You would think the larger fan base would have a higher “Talking About This” figure, but the fact is, this particular week, that brand, though a much larger fan base, had no CPC spending…so is that the key difference here?

A social network, to us, should be measured mostly by organic interaction…and the success of a true social media marketing campaign should reflect this. Based on our own experience, the “Talking About This” snapshot, frankly, seems to be more of a measure of a brand’s cost-per-click (CPC) paid social ad efforts in Facebook and not really the brand’s social conversation prowess. CPC on a social network is not social media, it is advertising in a social media setting, which we highly recommend, but it should not be a number used and displayed second only in importance to total fan base.

Tags: Facebook, Marketing, PR, Social Media, social media PR
Posted in Chit Chatter, Facebook, Social Networks, Talking PR | No Comments »

RL&A at Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out Event for Beauty Brands

November 28th, 2011

A couple of weeks ago, a few of the RL&A beauty brands PR team hit the town at Shecky’s Girls Night Out in NYC! We were there on behalf of our client Softlips, which recently won “Best Lip Treatment” for the Shecky’s Beauty at Its Best Awards! Work mixed with play as we hosted fans at the Softlips table, discussed Softlips with both longtime loyalists and people new to the brand and shot some video footage with attendees. Shecky’s attendees also received samples of Softlips in the Shecky’s goodie bags. We took great photos and video that we shared on the Softlips Facebook page; check out our fun on-the-scene video from the event: Click to view

Posted in Chit Chatter | No Comments »

RL&A Meets Bloggers Face-to-Face at SheStreams ‘11

October 5th, 2011

By Brittany Oat

We have a network of more than 4,000 bloggers here at RL&A, so it always amazes me that I remember so many details about the bloggers we work with. I can easily match a name with a blog, and tell you how many kids they have without blinking an eye. Despite the fact that the majority of our contact is through email, we get to know the bloggers we work with extremely well. Some of them even feel like close friends…close friends I’ve never met in person!

So, it’s always exciting to attend a blogger event and meet these friends face-to-face! Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the SheStreams ’11 event in NYC. About 200 of bloggers— some new faces and some old faces— attended the event to take part in informative and engaging sessions intended to catapult women and brands into the future of social technology.

While they were there, bloggers had the opportunity to talk with us about the brands we work with in a way they just can’t through email. I was able to sprinkle Lady Anti Monkey Butt Powder into bloggers’ hands, so they could feel how silky it was. And, my colleague Laura was able to actually demonstrate the new dosing features on PediaCare products.

At the event, I also had the opportunity to interview several bloggers for our new “Behind The Blog” video series. We’ll have the first video up soon on the RL&A blog and Facebook page, so stay tuned!

Tags: Beauty PR, Blogger Outreach, Marketing, PR, Social Media, social media PR
Posted in Agency News, Blog Outreach, Chit Chatter, Picture of The Week | No Comments »

Print Placements Still Deliver on Excitement

September 29th, 2011

By Nicole Egan

After securing many print placements over the years, I never get tired of seeing the fruits of my labors in major consumer magazines. It’s like unwrapping a shiny present…you’re not quite sure what it will look like. There is an indescribable excitement to seeing the name and/or picture of the products that were pitched. Recently, our client Certain Dri was featured in the September issue of Women’s Health magazine in a beauty article as the WH antiperspirant “pick.” Definitely a surprise that I loved!

Tags: Beauty PR, Marketing, PR, Traditional Media
Posted in Clients in the News, Talking PR | No Comments »

Facebook Fan Abandonment Should Be Considered as Measurement of Success

August 26th, 2011

Facebook Fan Abandonment Should Be Considered as Measurement of Success

Anyone who has a brand page on Facebook wants to create a robust brand community and watch those “likes” grow, but building a fan base should be a strategic exercise focused on quality not quantity. If you are too focused on a quick spike in fan numbers with flashy giveaways that bribe potential consumers to like your page (to enter a contest with a big prize, get some type of big freebie, etc.) as opposed to maintaining a long-term, engaged fan base, you will end up losing those fans fast when the promo ends. Once you begin to really converse with them about what the page is about…not the contest or the promo…but the brand, many of these new fans will likely leave because they got what they came for (the giveaway). This is called fan abandonment.

In fact, a recent stat from ExactTarget, a targeted email marketing supplier, indicates that 26% of consumers say they have “liked” a company because they were interested in a one-time offer, and then “unliked” the brand after getting what they wanted, which means the brand lost that consumer’s attention for continued conversation. In addition, we have seen fan abandonment rate stats reported upwards of 30%…that means 1/3 of the page fans have cycled out!

Behavior such as this is exactly what RL&A wants to avoid for our client pages. We avoid this by not participating in “like” bribery; instead we give fans, new and old, brand content they can engage with that keeps them at the page. This may grow the page a bit slower than the page with the $1 million offer, but it means we attract fans that are more likely to stick to and with the brand. In fact, our average fan abandonment rate for the approximately 15 Facebook pages we manage is less than 9%…in some cases, less than 5%, which is significantly lower than the industry’s averages. If you are going to invest time and money into creating a community, do so strategically for the long-term…and don’t abandon this approach for the quick spikes, because over the course, these fans will abandon you.

Tags: Beauty PR, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, social media PR
Posted in Chit Chatter, Facebook, Social Networks, Talking PR | No Comments »

Social Media Spotlight: Twitter For Your Brand

April 30th, 2011

By: Brittany Oat

It seems like there’s a new feature on Facebook or Twitter every week. Now, rumor has it that Twitter will soon roll out brand pages similar to those on Facebook. Regardless of whether or not these brand pages come to fruition, there’s already a lot we are doing to build our clients’ brand image on Twitter in efficient ways:

• TwitPics is a Twitter app that let’s us share photos and video on Twitter in real time. Followers appreciate that they have a gallery right on Twitter where they can view a brand’s photos and video without having to leave where they are . It’s come in handy for tweeting where a visual – product shot, video, etc. – is integral in the message, be it to consumers or even media outlets.
• Parties are especially popular among the mom bloggers on Twitter. Often, a brand will fit in perfectly with a themed Twitter Party that some of these bloggers are hosting, or we develop creative parties with them. The product will be discussed during the event, and offered as a giveaway to some participants.
• Hashtags are a great way to make your brand “trendy” on Twitter because people search specifically for these hashtags on Twitter. For example, right now #weneedacurefor is a popular hashtag. We can take advantage of trends like these and include popular hashtags in relevant Tweets from our brands that help cure things from nausea and joint pain, to butt chaffing and chapped lips.
• Conversation…and, frankly, there’s nothing fancy about it…it is just proactively tracking and responding, where appropriate, to people who Tweet about your brand, be it to/on your Twitter page (including your Twitter handle in their Tweet) or on their own pages (without links to yours). You might be surprised to find out how many people are talking about your brand already if you stop to listen….

Posted in Social Networks, Talking PR | No Comments »

Pic Of The Week: Clients Win Beauty Awards!

April 15th, 2011

We’re excited that our clients Softlips and Conair won the 2011 TotalBeauty.com Awards for Readers’ Choice of Best Lip Balm, Best Blow Dryer, and Best Curling Tool!

Posted in Clients in the News, Picture of The Week | No Comments »

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