On the 26th and 27th of March the Media Communications department of Webster University Geneva will hold it’s third annual conference on its campus in Bellevue, Geneva. In collaboration with the Institute for Media and Global Governance, the theme of the conference is ‘New media tools and human rights’.
At times it feels like Facebook has been part of our lives forever, yet its business pages are only three years old. A new study by Buddy Media reveals which posts by companies attract the most response giving some useful information for businesses wanting to drive Facebook Fan engagement.
Here is a summary of the report’s findings:
Best time to post: 20.00-07.00 – out of work hours, people take more time to ‘like’ and comment.
Post on Wednesdays – Wednesday, followed by Sunday, came out as the best days to post for engagement.
Limit daily posts – one or two posts a day results in a 40 percent higher engagement rate compared with posting more than three times a day.
Post one to four times a week – for retail brands, posting one to four times a week produces 71 percent higher user engagement than five or more posts.
Short posts work best – posts with less than 80 characters receive 66 percent higher engagement than longer posts, with those with between one and 40 characters prompting the most activity (86% more!).
Questions get fans talking – questions generate more than double the amount of comments than non-question posts.
Best structure: fill in the blank – brand posts employing a fill in the blank strategy (e.g. I like…) generate comment rates nine times higher than other posts, yet less than 1 percent of retail brands use this tactic.
Money speaks – when posting about a special offers, even small amounts of money off generates more interest than percentage discounts.
Text only posts are best – Status posts that contain only words receive 94 percent higher engagement than average. The next best post is a single photo with simple text.
What to know more? Download the full report from the Buddy Media website >
Melitta
A new book released last week promises to help those in Internal Communications to ‘Rock their Comms’ by sharing 98 killer tips from seasoned professionals (including GCN members) that all answer the question: “What’s the single, most important thing that you’ve learned in internal communication?”
Proceeds from the book go to ‘Make a Wish’, a charity that makes the dreams of terminally ill children come true, so it also supports a very worthwhile cause.
To know more or order your copy, visit the Rockstar Comms website.
Melitta
New job opportunities have been posted on our Careers page:
Senior Associate, Press and Media, GAIN, Geneva
Meta-data Officer, ICRC, Geneva
Good luck!
A new workshop offered by a GCN member and featuring a past GCN guest speaker Maria Wilhelmsson. Further information:
Your Powerful Voice – Discovery Workshop
Tuesday 28th February, 2012, 18:30-21:00
Have you ever wanted to change anything in the way you sound? Or are you simply curious to learn more about your voice and how to use it to its full capacity?
This Discovery Workshop has been designed for individuals who want to get an idea of how to work their voice to make themselves heard, understood and believed.
In this energizing workshop you will:
– Understand how your voice works and what it is capable of.
– Identify unhelpful speaking habits – and learn what to do instead.
– Learn to align your body for air, energy and sound to flow freely.
– Reconnect with natural, profound breathing for a more dynamic voice.
– Practice techniques for clear and assertive speech.
With a focus on the physiological and acoustic aspects of the voice, you will be guided through exercises aiming at finding the posture, breathing technique and resonance that will help you project a loud and vibrant voice.
You will also learn how to speak with more clarity and assertiveness through diction and intonation.
CHF 150, incl. refreshments and workbook
Tuesday 28th February, 2012, 18:30-21:00
Contact: maria.wilhelmsson@voximpact.com
Place: Dare to Glow Center
21bis, rue de la Navigation
Genève
Group size: 12 people.
For more information about our workshops on Image and Presence please visit the website>>
After asking members of the Internal Communications Community how they would explain what they do to a nine year-old, UK based Employee Engagement agency, Involve, produced a short film featuring a nine year-old girl explaining what her father does all day and the difference that a ‘lady with shiny shoes’ (a new internal communications manager), has made to his company.
It’s a fun yet clear look at what communications professionals do all day.
You can view the animation on You Tube: ‘What do people do all day?’ >
Melitta
‘Online video combined with smart strategy reaches people’s emotions, builds your brand and increases your credibility.’
That’s the strap line of a free workshop taking place at @FER in Geneva on 22 February from 09:30-12:00.
The event aims to show how video can be used to grow your business as two companies, So Money and 23 Video, share their international experience of using online video to support organisations in transforming their communications. There will also be a case study from Genève Servette Hockey Club which has used online video in the Swiss market.
For more details of the event or to register, click here >
The third annual ‘Professional Development in Internal Communications’ study by the VMA Group, highlights the core skills and qualities that managers look for when recruiting IC professionals today.
According to the report, the top five skills are:
Interestingly, the first three points highlight the continuing evolution of internal communications from a function that churns out news, to one that has a real impact on the success of a company. While the last two points highlight that traditional communication skills still have an important place in the function.
By contrast, the top five skills as perceived by the IC community are:
While survey respondents felt that they are an integral part of the senior leadership team, disappointingly the results showed that advocacy for internal communications amonsgst senior leaders remained unchanged from 2010.
On a more encouraging note, the results did testify to the resilience of the discipline despite the economic climate, with 74% of internal communications functions remaining the same or increased in size over the last year.
You can download a copy of the full report via the VMA website >
Melitta
When the video of a deliveryman tossing a fragile package over a gate went viral at the end of last year, FedEx didn’t recoil – it responded. Giving a great example of how to overturn a PR disaster.
Rather than ignore the unfortunate incident, Matthew Thornton, III, senior VP of FedEx Express U.S. Operations, released a blog post and YouTube video of his own expressing his personal disappointment and embarrassment before explaining what the company has done for the customer since and the steps they are taking to avoid such incidents in the future.
To watch both videos, read the full story on PRDaily >
Melitta
Back in May 2011, three-and-a-half-year-old Lily Robinson wrote a letter to UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, asking why its Tiger Bread was called that when it actually looks much more like a Giraffe.
The supermarket took the time to write back to Lily with a very personal response to her request, prompting her mother to post both letters on her blog. Through the power of social networking, Lily’s story went viral – even reaching my Facebook feed last week. In response, to the feedback Sainsbury’s has received following this, the supermarket has today announced that it’s actually changing the name of its bread to giraffe!
This story not only shows the power of social networks, but also the difference that the human touch can make. If Chris King, the customer service advisor that wrote the note, had not taken a few extra minutes to put together such a thoughtful and personal message, then this story would never have happened. The fact that the mother posted it on her blog shows just how rare these small details are in today’s communications.
If you would like to read more about this story or see the original exchange that lead to this development, click here.
Melitta