Postrank: A Master Metric For Engagement

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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It seems that there is a large amount of optimism around about social media ROI this year. However, I remember a colleague of mine saying that there is not, nor ever will be, a holy grail for social media evaluation. I agree that while attempts will be made, it’s unlikely we’ll ever find a figure that equates to the inaccurate AVE value that was adopted by PR industry to measure editorial coverage.
Instead, we should be looking at a selection of metrics from across the board that are tied to business objectives. If you want to drive more traffic to your website, look at click throughs from social media sources and strengthen those that are working. If building your network is important, look at engagement metrics including retweets or comments. Factor in key messages and you’ve a strong analysis model for your  business or client.
That’s where Postrank comes in. They provide a variety of tools across data services, analytics and for consumers. But my word it’s so simple it’s fun. Let’s take the consumer tools which they state are:
a variety of free tools for publishers and online information consumers to discover the best blogs, news, and articles by topic; to perform comparisons of engagement performance among a group of sites by topic; or to analyze their own site’s content for audience engagement in real-time and over time.  
Quite simply Postrank is a master metric for engagement. It tracks posts and scores them against others on the same blog or against other blog posts within the same topic. This isn’t just about number of subscribers but about who interacts with the blog and comments, retweets, bookmarks etc. The sheer wealth of sites tracked means a picture can be built and graded.
As bloggers looking to improve levels of engagement or PRs searching for influential bloggers, Postrank is a powerful tool to use and one that should not be ignored. In fact the AdAge Power 150 league table already gives greater weighting to Postrank and other topic specific blog tables such as the Tots100 also incorporate it into their rankings.
Of course tomorrow is a big day as Postrank themselves announce the Top Blogs of 2009 according to their algorithm and rankings so it’s going to be interesting to see how this differs from other tables now that engagement is the key factor. 

 

Augmented Reality Suffers Due To International Mobile Data Costs

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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I’ve just returned from another trip to St Petersburg which, as always, was simply fantastic. I’ve seen many of the typical tourist sites now with the help of a Lonely Planet guide on my original trip but I’m now finding it more appealing to visit local cafes or bars and experience the places that the residents enjoy. Here in the UK, I could take a look at Foursquare for tips or even use Yelp‘s augmented reality app, Monocle, to guide me to the best places. However, I’m too scared to turn on the web on my iPhone. I’ve been stung by O2 before as I’ve accessed data oversees only to be greeted by a huge telephone bill on my return.

While hype around augmented reality or AR has grown over the last year thanks to the innovative work of companies such as Total Immersion, I don’t believe that the true potential of this technology for exploring new locations will ever be realised until we can freely access the information overseas. 

The two killer apps I remember seeing a couple of years ago as AR began to appear were location-based guidance or tour guides that directed you to attractions while providing you further information and language translation. Both of these are only really of use in foreign countries and I can only imagine how expensive it would be to download the wealth of data needed by an AR app.

Of course, they’ll be other applications for this technology, some will be marketing led while others will prove genuinely useful. Sadly we’re going to have to wait for the mobile phone operators to get their act together on reducing overseas data costs before we can travel and use this innovative technology on our mobile devices without fear.

Tweetie 2.0 Breaks The Rules Of Perceived Value

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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Let me start by saying that I’m a huge fan of Tweetie. It’s a superb app for using Twitter on my iPhone and I soon migrated across from Tweetdeck to the Mac desktop version thanks to it’s simple, yet beautiful interface. The news that Tweetie is launching version 2.0 is very exciting especially considering the introduction of features such as draft manager or synching with the iPhone address book.

But here’s the flip side. Tweetie 2.0 will cost £1.79. Now that’s not a huge amount but we have to consider that the majority of Tweetie users have already paid to download the original application. Surely it’s our right, as original users, to qualify for a free upgrade to the latest software isn’t it? Well if that’s our perception, Apple has a lot to answer for.

Apple has, for the past two years, allowed iPhone users to upgrade to subsequent versions of their iPhone software for no extra cost (iPod Touch owners have to pay for the upgrade). The chief reason for this has to be related to the perceived value of what is an incredibly expensive phone. Traditionally phone software was clunky and anything but a pleasure to use but the iPhone changed all that. By updating the software at no cost, they are able to add new features to the expensive hardware, extending the life of the product. Effectively this gives users a brand new phone every year – 2.0 introduced apps (can you believe how much love we gave the phone when all we could do was go online, via edge if you were lucky!) while 3.0 added the long awaited basic functions of cut & paste and MMS. Only when the software is limited by the hardware (eg. no video recording, slow internet connection) do users feel the necessity upgrade.

In terms of software development, this goes completely against the grain, especially in a world where new operating systems are released every couple of years by Microsoft or Apple. At least that software is discounted for upgraders. No such luck for Tweetie users.

Intially I shared the sentiments of PatrickJ as I was outraged at the thought of parting with more cash for what is ‘just another Twitter app’ especially considering other quality apps such as Twitterific are available for free. But then Tweetie 2.0 is being built from the ground up. And it’s packed full of new features. And if Loren Brichter really is working so hard, he deserves my cash for what is, quite simply, a delighful product and a joy to use.

UPDATE: I conceded after plenty of debate and bought Tweetie 2. It’s worth every penny.

Blog From The Dead

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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I’m delighted that Robert Scoble didn’t back up his blog. If it wasn’t for him, I never would have realised that Google Reader is one of the greatest archives ever created. As previously posted, I lost all my posts that originally appeared on the PR Media Blog. Thankfully Google Reader has preserved my words of wisdom dating back to March 2008.

I’m looking forward to reading those again, comparing my thoughts to how the world has moved on and  posting them here for all to see. Hope you enjoy reading them (again if you read them first time around). 

Hope you can join me in a retrospective look back which will indicate how social media has moved on and look forward to hearing your comments.

You Can’t Own Social Media

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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I spent this weekend camping in Wales and while there I went with friends to visit the caves hosting the King Arthur Labyrinth. What’s all this got to do with social media and online PR?

Well on site there were a number of small shops, each specialising in different materials – wood, glass, jewellery, crafts, leather, candles etc. In each there was huge selection of gifts you would typically find including clocks, ornaments and necklaces, all made out of different materials.

Customers were treated to a vast display of clocks made out of glass, wood or leather. Not one of these gifts could be considered better than any other. It really was a matter of taste. What does the customer want? What suits there needs? What would look better on their living room wall?

Walking around those shops was like walking around the marketing industry with many different types of ‘shops’ out there – PR, digital, SEO, media buying, advertising, social media – the list goes on. Right now each of these shops is fiercely selling social media, with many claiming to be ‘experts’. Each version of this packaged ‘social media’ is slightly different but, just like the clock, not one of them can claim to be better than another. It’s really a matter of taste. 

Back in February, I followed a debate on Twitter between a number of people about which type of agency is better placed to manage reputation online. Subsequent posts by Stuart Bruce and Pete Young looked at the issue from different view points and both posts are worth a read. Personally I agreed with both parties. I firmly believe that PR is all about reputation yet by not acknowledging the importance of SEO, PR agencies are losing out. Quite simply, it doesn’t matter what is written about your client if it can’t be found through search.

This is just one debate highlighting what has become a crowded battlefield in the war to win social media. All kinds of agencies are claiming to ‘own’ social media, explaining why they are best placed to carry out work in this emerging field. Well no-one today can own the concept of a ‘clock’. Neither can they own ‘social media’. Just like TV, radio or print, social media is a platform where we can conduct our marketing business on behalf of our clients using the skills we’ve developed within out respective industries. Some clients will prefer to focus on the SEO aspect of social media to drive them up search rankings, some will prefer to place a targeted and personalised advert on Facebook while others recognise that managing online reputation is more important to them and so look to PR. 

No one industry can win this battle. Each type of agency needs to focus on adapting the skills they’ve already developed, learn from other industries and recognise that integration is the key to delivering campaigns for clients that achieve remarkable results. We’re already seeing PR agencies bring in SEO experts and vice versa while other agencies from a variety of disciplines merge or buy each other out. There’s no doubt this will continue as agencies continue to explore the world of social media and attempt to incorporate as many skill sets as possible under one roof.

So if you are a client, you need to ask yourself: ‘what do you want your social media to be made out of?’

 

Come Here Often?

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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Welcome to my brand new blog. Now I know what you’re thinking.“He’s not a blogger. He doesn’t have posts from years ago. Why would I listen to him about online PR, social media and the digital future?” Well if I’m right and that is exactly what you are thinking I should either become a professional psychic or give you a little background on what brought me to this point. It’s a little late for such a dramatic career change so I’ll settle for the latter.

I started experimenting with blogging back in 2007 with a little blog called All About Image which was a combination of my thoughts on PR 2.0 (as it was known back in 2007) and photography. My photos rarely made it to the site but I was keen to voice my opinions so while working at my former PR agency, I became one of the co-founders of PR Media Blog which explored the ever-changing relationship between media and public relations. Sadly on leaving the agency, I had to leave the blog in some very capable hands which are still tapping away on keyboards, posting stories to this day. I urge you to go visit them and hear what they have to say. They’re the first in what will become a comprehensive list of ‘people you should listen to’. However, due to an accident in the space-time continuum, all my posts on that blog were wiped out leaving no trace that I ever existed there at all.

Going it alone, I’m now writing here on my new blog simple entitled michaeljcooper.co.uk. Let’s face it. All the good (and most of the bad) names have gone and keeping your name in the title didn’t do Chris Brogan or Seth Godin any harm.

And so standing on the shoulders (or should that be in the shadows) of giants, I’m taking a bold step with my brand new blog. Please let me know your thoughts on the design (which will change), my opinions (which will also no doubt change) and my passion for online PR, social media and the digital future (which I hope won’t).

I look forward to seeing you around these parts more often. Don’t be a stranger.

UPDATE: I’ve found all my previous blog posts through Google Reader and are all posted below. 

How Many People Does It Take To Change The World?

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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Google has launched probably its most ambitious project to date. As part of the Project 10 to the 100th, the search engine company (which is rapidly changing into a company that defies definition) is calling on everyone to submit ideas to change the world. Throwing in $10million to bring these ideas to life, Google is clearly putting other CRS campaigns to shame as only they could and living by their motto of ‘Don’t Be Evil’.

There are no rules aside from the fact that ideas must fall into one of the stipulated categories: Community, Opportunity, Energy, Environment, Health, Education, Shelter and Everything Else because ’sometimes the best ideas don’t fit into a category at all’.

As a PR, I’ve lost count the number of times truly great ideas from either a campaign or social responsibilty perspective have been rejected by senior figures and clients due to budget restrictions. Taking the over-used buzz of ‘blue sky thinking’ rarely comes without caveats that further down the line, the idea will be ’streamlined’ or just dropped.

So this is a call to all those marketeers out there who spend their days dreaming on behalf of their clients. You have a new client with a $10million budget and you can do anything you want, so long as it changes the world for the better. Now that’s what I call a brief!

 

Where Are We Going?

Posted on by Michael Cooper
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Sometimes it’s good to stop and daydream about exactly where we’re going. Social media is advancing at a fairly rapid pace and most people are still trying to get to grips with ‘web 2.0′. This has all come about with the advancement in technology and so the best way to get an indication of what we’ll be using in the future and how we’ll be interacting with it is to look to the current areas of growth in this field.

We’ve been priviledged to get our hands on some next generation technology on behalf of one of our clients, something that I personally believe will change how we see the world around us with this technology becoming an even more integral and useful part of our daily lives.

But if you’re lacking vision of the future but don’t have a crystal ball to hand, you could do worse than read the report from InfoWorld that looks ahead to the year 2018. Place your bets now on which of these predictions will come true.