'Checking-in' to PR Opportunity

It would be fair to say that Foursquare has experienced something of a slump in popularity in recent months as the interest surrounding its initial release has ebbed away. However an updated version (Foursquare 3.0), released last week, has propelled the application back into the consciousness of social media users. Should public relations practitioners be taking the application more seriously as its popularity begins to grow?

Foursquare is a social networking service which allows users to check-in at locations using smartphones, sharing information with friends through Facebook and Twitter. One of the main aims of the application is to encourage users to explore their surroundings; recommendations from friends and other users enable the discovery of venues and organisations which may have otherwise been bypassed.

As well as allowing users to check-in at physical locations, Foursquare can also be used to promote brands. Hundreds of brands have 'brand pages' to which users can sign up to receive tips and customised information. From a public relations perspective this provides a unique way to connect and interact with customers and fans.

Users who connect with Windows Live Photo Gallery are challenged to find the best location in their city to take pictures, and share the information with others through Foursquare. The application enables fans and customers to pursue their interest in photography, and encourages them to use Windows Live Photo Gallery to edit, organise and share the photographs that they have taken. Through their brand page Windows Live Photo Gallery are collecting like-minded people, creating a network surrounding their brand; providing the opportunity for brand monitoring and promotion.

“Giving merchants the ability to reach out to targeted customers is a big opportunity for us.”

Dennis Crowley – co-founder of Foursquare

Another example of brands using Foursquare is Louis Vuitton, who use the application to provide fans with tips and information for attractions around London. Users can comment and 'like' the information posted by the brand, providing Louis Vuitton with information on locations frequented by their fans and customers: information which could be exploited by the forward thinking practitioner. Louis Vuitton could, for example, create a 'buzz' by offering an exclusive reward to the user who checks-in to certain locations at specific times throughout the day. An opportunity to use digital media to generate coverage in traditional media outlets.

Foursquare could also be seamlessly incorporated into a PR event, adding a fun and interactive dimension. This could include, for example, special offers for visitors who check in at certain areas of the event.

Although it would appear that Foursquare still has some work to do in capturing the imagination of British users, it seems that an application which provides such potential for creativity, and customer interaction, should not be ignored by PR practitioners.

Content in Motion: Engaging Through Video

The presence and consumption of video content online is growing at an exponential rate. Public relations practitioners are rapidly facing the reality that they must master video creation; or miss out on seemingly limitless opportunity.

IT and Networking giant Cisco have produced a white paper, entitled Cisco Visual Networking Index, which outlines the pervasion of video into everyday internet consumption. According to Cisco, by 2014 video (TV, video on demand, internet, and P2P) will account for 91% of global consumer traffic; internet video alone will account for 46%.

“It would take over two years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks every second in 2014.”

If these figures aren't enough to convince you to immediately immerse yourself in video content generation, then consider this: the global internet video community has already surpassed one billion users. In terms of population, this makes the community the equivalent of the third largest country in the world. Surely no PR practitioner, or brand, can afford to miss out on an opportunity like that.

Population of China, India, and the Global Online Video Community

The growth in online video is undoubtedly due to transformations in the way that media is consumed; smart phones and tablets, plus the introduction of Apple TV and Google TV, have increased consumer call for video content. These platforms offer the opportunity for internet video to infiltrate homes across the world, and should be capitalised on by PR practitioners.

What can Video do for Public Relations?

As can be seen, video has the potential to transport content around the world; providing PR practitioners with a vast and diverse audience, something which is not possible through traditional media channels.

Broadcast consultancy markettiers4dc describe video on online and digital media as;

“... living breathing interconnecting networks of channels that can be taken advantage of to take your message to your audience, or drive your audience to you.”

In addition to its ability to span the globe, video can also reach audiences who are reluctant to engage with traditional media outlets, such as newspapers, and promote engagement.

One example of a brand using an online video is La Senza's Christmas lingerie showcase, created by Karmarama and Kaper. The aim of the campaign was to promote the La Senza lingerie range to a male audience in the run up to Christmas. As well as the video (below), which aimed to help men who can't tell a cup size B from a DD, a story was run highlighting the fact that £22 million worth of lingerie is returned straight after Christmas every year due to being the wrong size or style. This demonstrates how digital and traditional media can be combined successfully to support a campaign.

As well as being hosted on the La Senza website, the video was featured on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and a standalone micro-site; demonstrating the mobility of video content. The video was viewed on YouTube 2.7 million times – becoming the ninety-fourth most viewed video on the site in the run up to Christmas 2010. Following the campaign, La Senza's market share increased to 6.7%.

Click here for a guide on producing your own video content from PR Week.

NOTE: As a follow up to my previous post 'Quora: A PR Tool?' I posted the question 'How can video content be used effectively in public relations?' on Quora. Click here to follow the question.