“Google+ is like Twitter on steroids and Facebook on a diet,” proclaimed Mana Ionescu, president of Lightspan Digital.

And so began Orbit Media’s Wine & Web event in Chicago, where Ionescu dissected the social network, shared her tried-and-true advice, and kept us laughing with cat videos & one-liners.

Ionescu – whose company specializes in social media, digital marketing and email marketing – shared these Google+ tips with a packed room of listeners:

More Networking=More Relationships=More Leads
Although social media is fun in and of itself, the end goal for most brands is to generate more leads. “Google+ is like CRM,” she says. “You can organize contacts by target so you can easily connect with them.” She’s quick to point out the ‘bullhorn approach’ doesn’t work in social media, reminding attendees that social is “not instant business; relationships take time.”

“People don’t buy from brands, they buy from people they like and trust.”
The nature of social networks is real and unedited. Make sure you’re taking off your brand hat and being transparent and helpful. “Figure out what your story is,” Ionescu recommends. And then build your Google+ page around that story.

Read it all..

Electronic Media Manager Beth Blanchard contributed to this post.

Graphic by: Cision Staff

It’s National Pet Month and what better way to celebrate than post pictures of Cision staff’s four-legged family members.

If you can’t get enough of the above pictures of our adorable furballs, we compiled a list below using Cision’s Media Database which features Five Pet Publications on Pinterest. There you will find boards titled, ‘Cute Overload,’ ‘For the Pampered Pooch,’ ‘Animals that Look Like Justin Bieber,’ ‘Animal News,’ and even ‘Yawn,’ which is a Pinterest board entirely dedicated to animals yawning. Without further ado:

Five Pet Publications on Pinterest

Bonus treat: Reasons Shibas Are the Pet to Rule All Pets via Buzzfeed

Find Cision on Pinterest at CisionGlobal!

Photo courtesy of Johnson & Johnson

Brands are taking a more seamless approach when bringing mobile apps into their strategy, and instead of focusing on their products and services, they’re focusing on elements that entertain the user. Here are some examples of mobile apps recently launched by brands that focus on the end-user:

Johnson & Johnson’s Donate A Photo - Simply put: “You take a photo, we make it a way to do good.” Users upload a photo and for every photo shared, Johnson & Johnson donates $1 to a cause picked by the user. As of today at 11 a.m. CT, 11,693 photos have been donated to six causes. Users can share one photo per day, which will become part of the Donate a Photo gallery. Photos may be used to promote Donate a Photo, but will never be used to sell products or for any commercial purposes, according to Johnson & Johnson. To download the app, search for Donate A Photo in iPhone or Android app store.

Toys ‘R’ Us’ Geoffrey’s Jungle app – The toy-store giant launched its popular mobile application on iPad and Android tablets and also launched a new island within the app. Geoffrey’s Jungle follows Geoffrey the Giraffe on a safari adventure which takes him through different islands full of games and surprises. Consumers also can add their favorite toys to their Toys ‘R’ Us wish list using the app.

USA Today’s Broadway’s Best - The Tony Awards are set to air on June 9 and USA Today wants to ensure its readers are ready. They launched a mobile app available on iPhone, iPad and iTouch devices that provides reviews of Broadway plays, presents the nominees for the Tony Awards, and features photos and videos. It also aggregates tweets and allows consumers to buy tickets to their favorite Broadway shows.

Budweiser’s Track Your Bud - This app isn’t extremely new, but it is new to me. I saw the commercial for it this weekend and loved the transparency it represents. After downloading the app, users enter the Born On Date found on their product, which takes them on a guided tour of the creation of their beverage by the brewmaster responsible for it. Users also can collect badges and name batches of beer.

What are some of your favorite brand apps? Share below!

Here is our roundup of new talent, account wins and other PR and marketing industry news. Read below to find out about your competitors and friends, and be sure to share comments and discussion points!

- On May 29, more than 40 Boston PR firms are coming together to host Boston PRoud - an evening to raise money for The One Fund Boston. The event will take place from 5-8 p.m. ET with a cash bar, raffle prizes and hors d’oeuvres.

- Ketchum hired three new team members based in New York and one in Atlanta. Phil Swire has joined as SVP, digital strategy & technology; Amy Andrieux, VP, multimedia content & strategy; Kristen Massaro, VP, digital strategy, New York; and Matt Browher, SVP, digital strategy, Atlanta.

- Marina Maher Communications received four nods at The Holmes Report’s SABRE Awards. The agency won a Gold SABRE in consumer marketing, Platinum for best public relations campaign of 2012, Diamond award in brand building and a silver award of excellence.

- Burson-Marsteller announced a new executive leadership team for its Asia-Pacific region, including Patrick Ford as chairman; Christine Jones as Australia CEO and market leader; Korea market leader Margaret Key; Genesis Burson-Marsteller principal and founder Prema Sagar; and Hong Kong market leader Matt Stafford.

- Securities analyst Brian Rayle joined Dix & Eaton as a VP specializing in investor relations. Rayle is a Chartered Financial Analyst and regular guest host and contributor to several media outlets.

If you have content for PR & Marketing Wins, Moves & Other News, e-mail prwins.us (at) cision.com.

No one wants to be the office dinosaur. In addition to keeping up with industry-specific changes, we must understand the new ways people communicate. From phone calls to text messages, emails to tweets, blogs and Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest, there are a lot of places to talk and share.

We host a weekly Public Relations and Social Media Webinar series to discuss these topics with the PR and Marketing industries, and have a very engaged and active audience. We answer audience questions in real-time and wanted to share some of the most-asked Q&As with you:

Q: Do you have numbers for how many people use Facebook on a desktop vs. a cell phone?
A: Ironically, Shift Communications wrote a post on this exact topic last week. According to Facebook’s most recent SEC filing (and Shift Communications’ post), more than two-thirds of Facebook users access the service via a mobile device at least some of the time and 1 in 6 people use ONLY a mobile device to access Facebook’s services.

Read it all..

Here is our roundup of new talent, account wins and other PR and marketing industry news. Read below to find out about your competitors and friends, and be sure to share comments and discussion points!

- 2013 has started off well for SHIFT Communications. The employee-owned firm was selected by Toyota as its primary PR agency in the northeast region in February, brought on Karl Scholz as vice president in March and took home the award for Americas region Small Agency of the Year from The Holmes Report’s SABRE  Awards.

- GolinHarris also was honored by The Holmes Report’s SABRE Awards and was named Americas region Large Agency of the Year. In addition, The Holmes Report named GolinHarris 2013 UK Consultancy of the Year and Virgo Health, which Golin acquired last year, 2013 Healthcare Consultancy of the  Year.

- Miller PR won three Bulldog Awards for campaign excellence. The agency, which specializes in entertainment, media and technology PR, received Gold for Arts & Entertainment Campaign of the Year; Gold for Best Campaign Under $10,000; and Silver for Best Campaign Under $25,000.

Read it all..

Social media community manager Gina Joseph also contributed to this post.

This week we’re doing a 180 and giving you a glimpse at the other side of the industry! Instead of talking with fashion journalists, we’re getting the scoop from some of the top PR pros in the business. We were excited to chat with Adrianna and Meg of nyc PR girls, and share some of their tricks of the trade. Enjoy!

Q: Your blog says glamour to us. What is glamorous about lifestyle PR?
A: That’s so flattering! There are many glamorous perks to lifestyle PR including access to events and working with celebrities. The glamour is what’s exciting and alluring about working in PR and part of why we love what we do. 

Read it all..

Do you have an internal communications plan?

As communicators, we know the importance of honestly and transparently sharing ideas, opinions and information. In our high-technology world, this is especially essential, as it is easier to see gaps in efficiency and breaks in information.

From online newsrooms to press releases, social media and email marketing, sharing information externally is big business and rarely overlooked, but can you say the same for internal communication at your organization?

When I joined Cision more than five years ago, Twitter was a baby, Facebook was a toddler and LinkedIn a preschooler. Since then, these networks have matured and grown, and to ensure that your company does the same, an internal communication plan needs to be developed and maintained.

Before starting this journey, you need to take an honest look at your organization, its strengths and weaknesses. I’ve always known Cision valued its employees – and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased and on a public forum, I swear – but when some of its high-level business objectives revolved around the happiness of its employees, I knew I found not only a job, but a career.

Here are some of the practices Cision has implemented to ensure its employees can deliver the ultimate technology to power your story:

Vision and Values: In How Cision’s Vision and Values can Translate to a Successful Brand Strategy, Laurie Mahoney outlined the Vision and Values that drive Cision and its employees. It is similar to a mission statement, but it offers direction for employees and helps us ensure we are aware of the path the company is taking and where to devote our attention.

Read it all..

Photo courtesy of Chandra Ramey.

Fashion is great, indeed, and Chandra Ramey is sharing her love for it in written form on her blog, the aptly titled Fashion is Great. We talked to her about her blog inspiration, pitching preferences, and the biggest influence on her style.

Q: What inspired you to start blogging?
A: In 2008 I had just graduated design school and was thinking whats next?  At the time I hated my job and had always liked writing so when I heard the website Fashionshanty was hiring I jumped at the opportunity and dove head first into fashion blogging.

Q: What was the biggest influence for your love of fashion?
A: Old Movies! Growing up I was exposed to a lot of old musicals and movies from the 1930s and on. All of those glittering dresses and fantasy storylines  planted the seeds of fashion love in my brain. I still watch a lot of older movies now, theyre like a visual breath of fresh air.

Read it all..

Notes from 2008 presentation by Amber Naslund at Cision.

The year was 2008. Barack Obama was named president, Apple launched its app store and Google announced Google Chrome.

Flash forward to today, when a memento from 2008 surfaced in my desk drawer: notes from Amber Naslund’s social media presentation at Cision. Her passion for social media is the reason I joined Twitter.

Let’s take a look at some of her advice and recommendations, and see how it compares to the social media scene four years later.

Books Amber recommended:

• The Cluetrain Manifesto
• Marketing in the Groundswell
• Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message

Popular Books Launched Since Then: 

• Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust
• Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (& Other Social Networks)
• The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social
• Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends & Friends into Customers
• To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others
• Return on Influence: The Revolutionary Power of Klout, Social Scoring and Influence Marketing

Advice, circa 2008, from Amber Naslund:
“Look where the audience is; follow them.”

“Package [information] for individuals, not groups.”

“Listen. Learn. Connect. Cultivate.”

Advice, 2013-style:
The above advice still applies to social media, which enforces that it is indeed about the message and not the medium. Here are a few more wise words that have been spoken since 2008:

“Your Customers Are Listening in Social Media. And So Are Search Engines.”
- Li Evans

“Quit counting fans, followers and blog subscribers like bottle caps. Think, instead, about what you’re hoping to achieve with and through the community that actually cares about what you’re doing.”
- Amber Naslund

“Creating content isn’t the last step. You have to promote your content to amplify it.”
- Heidi Sullivan

What differences have you noticed in social media since 2008?