InsidEPR

The Sky is Falling

By Megan Atiyeh

So, the inevitable has finally happened.  AT&T has thrown down the gauntlet and put an end to the smorgasbord that is mobile data plans.  But why is everyone so surprised?  The rumors of this move have been circulating for some time now, and one need only look at operator revenues versus traffic growth to know this party couldn’t last forever.  The wild success of devices like the iPhone and iPad have created significant capacity and performance issues on mobile networks, but will tiered pricing plans solve the problem?

AT&T has certainly benefited from the popularity of these “smart” devices, but the company has also had the lonely and painful job of learning first-hand how they are affecting the network.  Just last night, I saw a commercial with Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, touting the company’s commitment to its all-you-can-eat plans for all services including voice, SMS and data.  A short-term attempt to win frustrated AT&T customers, perhaps, but this strategy can’t work for Sprint in the long term.

As an AT&T customer, I am concerned about my ability to monitor my own usage. After all, how much bandwidth am I using letting my two-year-old daughter watch an Elmo video on YouTube over and over again?  With the new tiered pricing plans, AT&T claims things won’t change much for the vast majority of its customers. AT&T has put measures in place to deliver advance notifications to a subscriber when they are nearing the cap of their particular tier.  At some point in the future, perhaps this notification will also include a prompt that says, “You are nearing your data usage limits, but if you’d like to upgrade to the next service level, click yes,” which offers enhanced service options for subscribers and additional revenue opportunities for the operator.

On the plus side, maybe this moves brings us a fraction closer to capabilities we have been talking about for years—the ability to control and manage services in real-time. It gives subscribers access to the applications and services they want and operators the opportunity to become more than just a delivery mechanism for services like YouTube, Facebook and others.

If AT&T’s exclusivity contract with Apple ends in 2012, as some have speculated, other operators will soon get the chance to do more or do better.  Until then, AT&T will continue to navigate unchartered territory and be the test case for all to evaluate.

If you are an AT&T customer, how do you feel about the pricing structure?

Get More Bang for your Buck with PR versus Marketing

 By Jeannette Bitz

I recently met with a veteran CEO who was evaluating PR firms to help raise visibility for his company.  While the CEO has been in the high-tech sector for several years, he admitted that he never really understood the value of PR–especially when he could take the money he would otherwise pay an agency and use it for another marketing resource.  His perception about the role of PR was that an agency would write releases and schedule meetings for executives when they attend trade shows. 

I can tell you that he’s not alone in this perception since I’ve had similar conversations with many other CEOs on this topic –although this particular CEO was more candid and curious about the process. I appreciated his openness and instead of pitching the value of Engage PR over another agency, it was an opportunity to dig into his business; to understand what keeps him up at night and finally to educate him on how consistent and thoughtful PR can enhance his business better than most other marketing resource. If you’re a CEO or marketing executive pondering the value of PR, here are a few thoughts to consider: 

• It’s always about the bottom line: For most companies, whether you’re a start-up or a publicly-traded company, it’s almost always about driving the bottom line and that usually means sales (more than driving the value of a stock price, especially in these times). In the case of this company, they know who their customers are and were able to customer trials without doing any PR. The CEO admitted that they had gotten in the door through a relationship at the operations level; but, the company had not been successful in getting the attention of the executives who make buying decisions. In this situation, consistent PR can help elevate a company’s message to reach higher-level decision makers and increase visibility with prospects and customers. I often hear from clients that they received a call from a customer or partner because of an article we secured for them.

• Do you treat sales activity as one-time event?Chances are no, but many executives are under the impression that the buzz garnered from an initial company or product launch will carry them through the next 12 months. They believe they can put PR on “cruise control” by issuing a few press releases without driving thought leadership in the media. Focusing PR efforts on news-driven events or other low-level tactical activity usually yields few results. Companies are generally better off spending their resources on establishing thought leadership by working with their agency partners to build relationships with influential media and analysts and drive trends in the blogosphere.

• A new approach for reaching and moving your influencers: Take advantage of social media and digital media tools to create thought leadership in your company’s market. For example, video is becoming a powerful tool to have in your PR/marketing arsenal. Over the past few years, tech companies, including larger organizations like Cisco, are effectively using video to talk about their company, technology and their customers. A good agency will understand what type of video is appropriate for your company, will have the skills and resources to “shoot” and edit the video and use resources such as YouTube to drive traffic to your web site.

5 Social Networking Sites You've (Probably) Never Heard Of

By Valerie Creque

By now, everyone – including my technologically challenged mother – is at least familiar with the Holy Trinity of social media: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. These networking powerhouses are constantly in the news, and now, with smartphones, these sites are literally in our pockets. If you’re like me and you tend to forgo what “everyone else” is doing and find something that better suits your needs, here are five other social networking sites that you probably haven’t heard of:

• Vox – If you’d like to express yourself in more than 140 characters, try Vox. It’s a blogging site that claims to be “simple, sexy and smart.” Vox users can create a profile, host a blog, join groups, share photos and explore topics including technology, entertainment, culture, life, music and news. Vox is also compatible with YouTube and Flickr. With hundreds of design options available, users can personalize the look of their site. Check out other people’s profiles by scrolling down to “Who’s on Vox” on the homepage.

• bigsight– bigsight allows users to post a bio, share links, and share education and work history. bigsight users can search by name, company, interests or school to make connections. A note on the homepage says it’s “a great addition to your core Facebook account,” but a bigsight profile can also stand alone.

• Naymz – This one is more professional than social. The site is a networking platform that uses a scoring system or RepScore to rate users based on profile completion and account activity. According to Naymz, users with higher RepScores are eligible for various perks, including a higher Google ranking. A basic profile is free, but Naymz also offers a premium service with additional perks.

• Professional on the Web –As its name implies, this site is centered on making business connections and operates as a directory. The site, likely a godsend for freelancers, allows members to post a profile and show off their talent (or lack thereof) with an online portfolio.

• BrightFuse –The BrightFuse homepage boasts the site’s identity as a “talent community.” Like Professional on the Web, BrightFuse allows members to present their portfolios. This site is focused on building a community and encourages users to ask questions, connect to peers and build a reputation.

The only difference between these sites and the “Holy” sites is that these sites are simply less popular -- but are by no means inferior. Among the networking and socializing, users should be mindful of what they post. Social profiles can bring business opportunities and friends, among other things, so don’t be afraid to engage the community. Privacy settings for each of these sites vary across the board – but that’s a whole other issue. Proceed with enthusiasm – and caution.

Facebook Privacy: Is there really such a thing?

By Suzanne Panoplos

For quite some time, Facebook has been under fire because its privacy policy is too vague, privacy settings are too complicated and let’s face it, it all seems to be changing quite frequently. There have also been people calling for Mark Zuckerberg’s resignation based on claims that Facebook has been abusing its members’ personal data. 

Facebook privacy – to me, those two words together are an oxymoron. Facebook by its very nature is a social community. Although you are free to choose who is in your community, you do not have a lot of control about how information passes through your group of “friends”.

Take for example your own social circles – you may tell something to a friend or colleague in confidence with the expectation that they will not pass this information on. This person may in turn tell their one “trusted source” and so on and so on. In fairly short order, that secret that you have entrusted with a good friend is being communicated outside your social circle.

I view Facebook the same way – anything posted on your page or in your informational tabs will be passed on in some way. I know people that have actually called in sick to work and then posted pictures of their fabulous day at a museum or sporting event on a Facebook page. Sure, your manager may not be connected to you on Facebook or you may have restricted him/her from your updates but chances are someone will eventually see your post and pictures and potentially make a comment to your manager. I am a strong believer in the seven degrees of separation theory – we are all connected in some way.

For me it all boils down to one simple rule – if you don’t want it out there, don’t put it up there.