We are now full swing in to the lead up to a federal election. A few weeks ago I was interviewed on ABC Radio about if it was too late for Julia Gillard to start tweeting. The answer was absolutely not.
She only joined Twitter on 4 July, and has only tweeted 21 times, but has the enviable number of 25,524 followers. After announcing the election she tweeted: “The election will be on 21 August. With your support I will move Australia forward.”
If used effectively, social media can make a significant difference to this election. Just look at US President Obama – social media won him the election by using it for communication, raising financial support and getting volunteers.
Like Obama, Gillard is using Facebook. Soon after announcing the election she filmed a short video which was placed on her Facebook page, on the Labor Party website, and YouTube. She reinforced her message of “Together, let’s move Australia forward”.
The internet has changed the way candidates communicate with their electorate.
A study on the recent British general election found social media helped political parties organise volunteers more efficiently, with party officials reporting three times more face-to-face contacts through tools such as virtual phone banks and online social networks.
With Twitter now mainstream will we see a ‘Twitter electorate’? Which could be described as the thousands of people on twitter that are technologically and democratically engaged that are not scared to state their opinion. Or will it be won as it usually is by TV ads, letterbox drops and smear campaigns on mainstream media.
I asked my Twitter followers if they thought social media would impact this election. Within minutes I had a mixed response. @AngelineDawson said “Hugely so. Gillard is taking a page out of Obama's book”, @BLKMGK01 said “Depends on how much American-like we are”, @martinwalsh said “It would if the OZ political parties had a strategy! Social Networking is not Social Media Marketing & hope not a strategy!”, and @nickhealy “Tweets will weigh in heavily to building opinion I think. Will be interesting to see how politicians manage it”.
I guess we are about to find out!
Pitching to a TV show
We were speaking to one of the producers of A Current Affair recently and asked them what they specifically look for in a pitch, because an idea that works brilliantly for print may never get picked up by TV and may leave you scratching your head as to why? Click here to sign up to receive the CP Communications newsletter directly in your inbox.
Here is some great advice on pitching to TV producers that might just get your business or client in the spotlight.
Images, images, images
Regardless of if it’s the evening news, a morning show or a current affairs program, if you want your story to get on TV you need to put some thought into the visuals. There is no point offering a media release on your great new product or survey results if there are no images to go with them.
Keep it topical
If you’re aiming at news programs obviously a strong news angle will be required. Even if you’re pitching to a morning show or current affair program you will have the best success if you link your pitch to something topical.
Case studies and interviews
Real people add real interest. Rather than offering dry information or statistics, try to provide interesting case studies with people who are happy to be interviewed and suggest some related visuals to go with these interviews. For the Macquarie University's Women, Management & Work Conference, we pitched in Telstra's Andrea Grant to The Circle because she had such an interesting story to tell.
To read the full article go to our blog Public Relations Sydney.
Using Twitter for business: Engaging your customers online
People are often sceptical when we explain engaging in Twitter can really benefit their business. Creating a Twitter account for your business opens up opportunities for communication and attracts new customers for businesses – when managed correctly.
Create a personality
If your tweets come across as marketing ploys or if they are really promotional, followers will see straight through you. If you display an honest and interesting personality, followers will recognise that there is a real person behind your tweets.
To create a Twitter personality for your business:
Hold two-way communication
A common mistake people often make when starting out on Twitter is to broadcast messages rather than watching conversations people are having and joining in where possible.
When people follow you, follow them back and engage with them. You can tweet questions or interesting ideas that encourages a response from your followers.
Don’t use your logo as your profile picture
People find it harder to relate to a company when they use their logo as their profile photo. You can show the ‘human-side’ of your business by featuring actual staff photos on your Twitter account’s profile picture.
Devise a strategy that aligns with your communications plan
Factor the following into your Twitter strategy:
Tweeting
Messages do not all need to be specific to your company, followers will respect your business more if you tweet about news and events within your specific industry.
Read the full article on our blog Public Relations Sydney.
Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
media140 Oz Politics
media140 #OzPolitics is a one day Canberra conference planned to explore the way the real time web is transforming politics in an election year. Speakers include individuals involved in party politics, the Canberra Press Gallery, the Blogosphere, public relations, academia and lobby groups.
29 July 2010
Women, Management and Work Conference
At this conference leading women speakers will discuss equal opportunity in the workplace and strategies to achieve higher levels of women in leadership roles throughout Australia. It will encourage and inspire women to succeed in the workforce.
29 - 30 July 2010
What's Your Business Really Worth?
This is the third of four Let’s Talk Business Seminars run by the City of Sydney. At this seminar the Director of Hayes Knight, Greg Hayes and Author of the Sensis Business Index 2010, Christena Singh will speak about what you can do to maximize the worth of your business.
3 August 2010
Public Relations & Corporate Communications Conference 2010
At this conference people involved in business communications can learn how to create a narrative for their organisation, how to pitch stories for all mediums, how to understand and manage a crisis, how to engage in the political process, and about the new trends in digital PR and the power of online social networks.
10 - 11 August 2010
Public Affairs Convention
The Walkley Foundation for Journalism will bring together journalists, communicators, and social media gurus as part of a large industry media event. The focus is on public affairs with speakers exploring the importance of organisational story-telling as a powerful way to capture attention, engage an audience, and motivate people to act.
12 August 2010
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