Posted June 26th, 2012
by David Breg
In my last post, I analyzed the impact of traditional and social media on the Republican primary contest. Here, I’ll look at the issues that have had the most media traction since May 29, when Mitt Romney gained enough delegates to claim the Republican presidential nomination.
The dominant issue since late May has been jobs and employment. A key driver of coverage was the Department of Labor’s monthly jobs report, released on June 1. The release resulted in a large spike in coverage, as both President Obama and Romney commented on the report, and it’s likely that subsequent reports will draw significant pick-up during the rest of the campaign. A second spike in jobs coverage occurred during mid- June when both candidates visited the battleground state of Ohio to promote their visions for creating new jobs.
At the other end of the spectrum is the relatively light volume of coverage since late May for issues such as immigration, taxes and health care, which played central roles in recent presidential and congressional campaigns. The low volume of health care coverage has been particularly surprising, since the Affordable Care Act has been a much debated component of Obama’s legislative initiatives, and Romney’s health care program was a centerpiece of his term as governor of Massachusetts. It’s worth noting, however, that this issue will likely gain significant traction after the Supreme Court rules on key components of the Affordable Care Act this summer.
Social media results have generally mirrored traditional media for coverage of jobs, taxes and health care. This indicates that the candidates’ campaigns or the government’s scheduled economic reports are driving the discussions and setting the agenda for traditional media coverage and conversations in social media.
Traditional and Social Media Analysis of Presidential Campaign Issues: Jobs, Taxes and Health Care
Tags: elections, employment, Health Care, media analysis, Obama, Romney, Social Media
Posted in Contributors, David Breg, Elections, Measurement, Social Media
Posted June 18th, 2012
by Eva Rohrmann
At many companies, the corporate communications team is going beyond Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to bring their C-level executives into social media conversations. For perspective on how one corporate leader got started in social media, check out And Now a Tweet from Your CEO, a short WSJ.com Q&A with Mark T. Bertolini, chairman and chief executive of Aetna Inc. He talks about how he got going and his goals for using Twitter, including “re-establish(ing) the credibility of corporate leadership”.
Follow Mark T. Bertolini: @mtbert
Read the WSJ.com interview, And Now a Tweet from Your CEO.
Tags: Aetna, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Corporate Reputation, Social Media
Posted June 12th, 2012
by Dennis Daly
There is much that can be written about Facebook’s disastrous IPO last month. Prior to its May 18 launch on NASDAQ, there was excitement on both Wall Street and Main Street with almost everyone wanting a piece of the company thought to be valued at anywhere from $76- $95 billion just days before its IPO. Momentum clearly seemed to be building with newspaper headlines claiming just one day prior to the launch that the sale would create more millionaires and billionaires as well as regional spending booms.
So how did the sizzle turn into a fizzle? And should we have been surprised?
An ominous sign that the offering could be overvalued came on May 16 when The Wall Street Journal reported that General Motors planned to pull its paid advertisements from Facebook. But even before that there were signs that the company was struggling to convince advertisers that it is beneficial for them to advertise through Facebook. One story, which had largely gone underreported until too late, was the company’s failure to connect with the many Facebook users shifting their usage to mobile phones where the company had only just started to sell advertising. Although Facebook had taken efforts since March to advertise on its mobile website, the chart below (measuring the sentiment of all articles within Dow Jones Insight specifically regarding Facebook and mobile phone advertising) shows little unfavourable sentiment practically right up to the IPO even though Facebook itself realized the implications of reaching out to this market too late. Coverage was in fact occasionally positive during weeks in March and April with news articles showing Facebook competing well in mobile ads against Google.
Only ten days prior to the launch was there significant attention paid to Facebook’s struggle to make money from mobile devices. The number of unfavorable news articles rose steadily in the days prior, peaking the week after the IPO (as the value of the stock, which remained virtually the same on the opening day, began to decline) with the sentiment almost entirely negative as the second chart indicates.
So should we have been surprised by such a disappointing performance by Facebook on the day of its IPO? The charts above indicate last minute apprehension by investors regarding Facebook’s ability to generate advertising revenue among an increasing mobile telephone audience, so for users tracking this sentiment through Dow Jones Insight, there probably would have been less of a surprise.
For Facebook, the struggle will remain: the amount of time users spend on the mobile version has now surpassed the time spent on the browser version and advertisers are increasingly uncertain about the effectiveness in advertising through Facebook in any form. (A study indicated that four out of five Facebook users do not buy products or services through the site.) Convincing advertisers not to follow the route of General Motors will be Facebook’s greatest challenge in the months ahead.
For more background, watch the WSJ.com video Unfriended: The Facebook IPO Debacle
Tags: Facebook, General Motors, media analysis, media measurement, Social Media
Posted in Dennis Daly, Measurement, Mobile, Social Media
Posted June 11th, 2012
by Eva Rohrmann
Next week my colleague Martin Murtland will be participating in two sessions at PR News’ Social Media Summit and Taste of Tech event. In the first, How to Monitor Stakeholder Engagement With Your Brand, Martin and the panel will look at tools and platforms for identifying and building relationships with key influencers. The next day is Baker’s Dozen of Takeaways: 13 Smart Digital Tactics in 30 Minutes, when Martin and the panel will share ideas across digital platforms that can inspire social media strategy.
During both sessions Martin will be expanding on some of his points from Social IQ: Building Your Social Media Program, his presentation for the Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs at the Keizai Koho Center last month.
We hope to see you in New York next week!
Slide Share: Building Your Social Media Program
Learn More about PR News’ Social Media Summit & Taste of Tech
Tags: PR News, Social IQ, Social Media
Posted in Social Media
Posted May 24th, 2012
by Lusine Kodagolian
For the longest time, I pondered upon the question that many of us faced in the last few years: to Tweet or not to Tweet. More importantly, how would I use Twitter that would bring value to me and my followers?
Finally, I took the plunge. Little did I know that what started off as a casual update would become an important part of my morning routine: I can no longer imagine my morning coffee without my Twitter updates.
My Twitter stream is my “quick peek” into the day’s news and updates – a brief description is definitely easier to digest. To make it easier to follow, I group all my news updates under a List titled News, which is my first stop to get the scoop of the day.
Twitter also gave me an opportunity to connect with people in several areas of interest that I would not have connected otherwise. I find it particularly helpful in areas that are somewhat undefined and still open to interpretation, such as social media measurement. Again, Lists come in very handy here. I created several Lists that focus on social media, measurement, technology updates, and PR-related news.
Finally, I find that Twitter is a great platform to participate in regularly scheduled “chats” and a good way to meet your industry peers and contribute to relevant discussions. One of my personal favorites is #measurePR led by @Shonali. The chat happens biweekly and often invites interesting guests that discuss the latest and greatest in the measurement industry.
Twitter is, after all, a social media platform, and used right, it does just that: gives you an opportunity to follow, meet, and interact with your peers, friends, and coworkers, as well as find and engage with people who share your interests and passions.
Twitter: @lusine_koda
Tags: Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Lusine Kodagolian, Social Media
