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| Dave and digital strategy |
| 02-Dec-2009 12:48 PM |
| Dialling up the ‘Media’ in Social Media Dave Bathur has joined the ranks of MercerBell as Digital Strategist. Dave has eleven years of experience in digital marketing and public relations, and has just returned from a stint in the UK. Dave will be working with Digital Director, Micah Howard, to further bolster our digital offering – particularly in the Social Media area. On the morning of 29 September a massive earthquake off the coast of Samoa triggered 2m waves and tsunamis that swept over the coastlines of Samoa and Tonga. (If you have a few bucks to spare, do have a serious think about throwing them towards UNICEF’s reconstruction effort.) How the news got out was interesting. An hour after it happened, I flicked through the cable channels. CNN had the only video coverage – and the reason was due to their excellent social media strategy. Almost all news agencies ask their readers to send in news tips and photos. However, CNN doesn’t just rely on bystanders having the proactive moxy to send in their pics. Their CNN iReport program is a regular feature, taking reports from stammering iPhone wielding amateurs. While these iReports might occasionally make for second-rate TV, it makes for a first-rate social strategy. For when a hard-to-cover event happens, such as an earthquake in remote Samoa – the CNN audience: 1. Have been primed as a contributing community 2. Have been drilled with the clear call to action – Contact CNN via the iReport website. 3. Have had their expectations of reward already proven – CNN seems to gratefully accept contributions, and in return gives a moment of fame and adrenalin on international TV. As a result, CNN activates citizen journos regularly and pretty effectively, whilst meeting their business objective of beating out the competing stations. These are difficult days for news organisations, and citizen journos do have real issues with production standards. But with formalised programming like iReport, combined with a bit of media education, this could be extended to the wilds of the vid-blogosphere to turn potential competitors for share-of-voice, into assets. For more information about the earthquake and the reconstruction in Samoa and Tonga, visit UNICEF’s website. |
