Pizza Hut has generated quite the buzz in the last month with its hiring of a 22-year-old college grad as a “Twintern”. For those who aren’t familiar with the idea, a Twintern is an intern hired by a company to enhance its social media presence, or to simply Tweet and monitor a Twitter account. With all the attention Pizza Hut has been getting lately, one can expect that more companies will consider adding Twinterns to their staff. Is it a good idea to let an intern be the face of your brand?

Many businesses hire college grads as Twinterns because they believe younger generations are the most familiar with social media. This might be true, but most college students have only used social media for personal reasons, not for business. Gini Dietrich, a Chicago PR manager, said it best when she spoke to bigmoney.com about this issue, “You’re putting your brand and reputation in the hands of someone who has no experience.” The main problem with Pizza Hut’s approach is that it’s allowing a Twintern to speak for its brand, but it’s not monitoring her posts. This is a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

 London home-furnishing retailer Habitat provides a good example of what can happen when Twintern’s post are unmonitored. Habitat has recently been battling an onslaught of bad press after its Twintern included ‘hashtags’ containing popular search terms for the protests in Iran in the company’s tweets. This means that when people on Twitter searched for information on the protests, Habitat’s ads showed up instead. Yes tweets can be deleted, but in a medium that operates in real time, there is no telling how many people will see (and retweet) a tweet before it is deleted. The damage can be done the minute the tweet is posted.

Don’t get me wrong, social media is a fantastic way to connect to consumers and other business professionals, as long as it is managed correctly. Starbucks recently hired one of their baristas to act as the voice for its Twitter account. I like this approach for many reasons.

·         Maintains a consistent voice for the Twitter account (not changing every three months when new interns take over)

·         Ensures better brand representation by utilizing someone who has been trusted to be the face of the brand in the past and by someone who truly understands the brand

·         Leverages the barista’s understanding of  customers’ wants/expectations because he or she has experience interacting with them on a daily basis

·         Utilizes the barista’s experience dealing with consumer complaints because he or she has been trained how to respond appropriately

·         Frees up executives

What do you think about the Twintern craze? Follow Bolt on Twitter @boltbuzz108. But be forewarned, you

won’t find any Twinterns there.

By: Ashley Margo, ashley@boltpr.com

I received a Facebook message from an old colleague today asking me how to get more hits on a Website.  She already tried using Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Buzz and consumer reports, but was curious if I had any ideas to quickly increase traffic.

[Excuse while I press pause.]  Sure, there are some ways to get a spike in traffic to your Website.  Why is this important?  Social networking is a great way to build your credibility, increase awareness and get found in searches because you are producing more content, which all lead to more traffic to your site.  And the visitors will be more qualified leads that are familiar with what you offer. Then, if your Website is good, and you know how to convert leads into sales, you can Twitter your way to the bank.  Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen overnight.  It takes time and consistency (I am tempted to use a garden metaphor – like how you have to sow the seeds, water, hoe and weed, then it will sprout and grow into a giving tree – but I’ll spare you the cheese and save myself from being labeled as cliché).

[Ok, un-pause.]  This is not the first time someone has asked me about how to increase website traffic; in fact, I am often asking the same question and testing new ideas.  While there is not a one-size-fits-all answer, here are a few strategies we implement at Bolt that consistently produce results for our clients:

1. Blogging and micro-blogging.  The search engine crawlers are more likely to find you when update content on your Website.  A company blog not only keep your content fresh, it also allows your customers or prospects to get to know you.  Pair the blog with Twitter (a micro-blog) to let others know about your blog by posting links to it.  Just make sure you utilize Twitter to engage with others and share helpful information to establish your credibility.  Each tweet is searchable; so incorporate your key words in tweets to be found by your target audience.
2. Public Relations.  The more articles and blogs that mention your business’ name, the more likely it is that you will be found.  Plus editorial coverage lends third party credibility.  People are more likely to believe someone else saying how great you are, than when you toot your own horn.  Through Twitter, you can let your followers know about the article.  If you are a brand new business, launching a new product, or relatively unknown, public relations is the solution to credible exposure.
3. E-zines, wikis, Squidoo. By publishing your own content that is informative and of some value to your audience, you can be a respected resource.  Sharing your knowledge ultimately helps sell your business.  Good previews always make me want to pay the $12 to see the whole movie.  Readers will want to click on your Website to find out more.  Also, the more content you produce, increases the amount of positive information available online about you.
4. YouTube.  Video is highly searchable and more entertaining than an article (depending on the quality and content).  If you are targeting Generation Y or anyone with Y-like tendencies, YouTube videos are a must.  The site, now owned by Google, is the go-to search engine for many.  Need ideas for videos? Interview your customers (testimonials), give a quick tip (portrays expertise) or do a virtual tour of your company and let employees say their favorite parts of their jobs (show positive work environment).

There are, of course, many other ways to bolster Website visitors (I’ve discussed a few in previous posts), but these are four strategies that I have experience implementing and feel confident recommending.  If you are hungry for more information or want to share your best practices, feel free to leave a comment here, send me an email to anne@boltpr.com, or tweet me @boltbuzz108.

Who do the leaders of tomorrow see as the best public relations leaders of today? I just read an article by Bruce Berger, who often writes about PR students and young professionals, in which he surveyed 172 PR students at two different universities asking who they believed were the best PR leaders today, among other questions.  Their answers might surprise you.

Most students responded that Oprah is the best PR leader followed by Barack Obama and other politicians. Some listed their teachers but very few named PR professionals. Berger was surprised by this. At the end of the article Berger requested feedback from his readers and lists questions for them to respond to. Well Mr. Berger, happy to oblige:

Q. Why celebrities and politicians?
A. Because they saturate the media outlets students access regularly. Students are exposed to celebrities and politicians much more than PR practitioners (even if they are PR students). I can see when asked “who are good PR leaders,” how students could respond with Oprah or Barack Obama because they are probably the first people that come to mind to many when they think of good leaders in general.

Q. Are PR leaders invisible because they work behind the scenes for Oprah and other celebrities?
A. I think to people outside of the industry, they definitely are, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If people see messages from the celebrity and immediately think of the PR professionals, something is wrong. Students who are new to the idea of PR may not discern who is responsible for the crafting of celebrity messages. I believe when the students who were surveyed have more experience in the industry, they will answer the question differently.

Q. Do students lack access to, or information about role models in PR?
A. I think they do. I know in my own education, actual PR role models were overshadowed by theories and writing mechanics. With all the concepts and theories students are given, it doesn’t surprise me that knowledge of industry role models falls at the wayside. The reason is simple; students aren’t being tested on it. Many of the students said their teachers were their PR role models, which seems natural because their teachers have been their only exposure to PR (especially if they haven’t had a job or internship in the industry).

Do the students’ responses surprise you? Let us know your thoughts.

By: Ashley Margo, ashley@boltpr.com