Online PR blogs by LEON Bailey Green

Online PR firm onlinefire hosted The Voscars (Virgin Mobile Oscars) to find the best viral campaign.

Bloggers, social media commentators and journalists were asked for their favourite viral campaign and my submission was this Jeans Jumping video which came 17th.

You’re not a full member of celebdom until you’ve had a dedicated thread that spans at least three pages on the Digital Spy forums.

The boards are awash with scathing, mindless and often hate fuelled comments that would leave celebrities, with the thickest of skins, incandescent with rage.

I did have a bit of a chuckle (albeit little) at a comment made by Rob22 in response to a post by Imogen M…

Imogen M said…

“I detest Cheryl Cole. You can’t polish a turd. This “nation’s sweetheart” nonsense is an absolute joke and she’s becoming hideously over-exposed. She has no personality and only got as famous as she is now because her footballer bloke cheated on her.”

To which Rob22 replied…

Read my article ‘Simon Cowell to choose new X Factor judge via social media?’ on E-Consultancy.

A couple of weeks ago at the launch night for RAW at London nightclub Jalouse (in support of Cancer Research UK), I saw an example of an established profession using the internet to generate revenue.

On arrival at the private members club, frequented by celebs including Sienna Miller, Ronan Keating and Leonardo DiCaprio, attendees were photographed red carpet style by Pictures Inc, and given the option to purchase the print outs on site; just like when you get off the Log Flume at Alton Towers.

But if you didn’t want to run the risk of losing your print out on the way home, you could always log on to the Pictures Inc website the next morning and purchase the photo online as an A4 print out or get it made into a key ring.

The internet means photographers can generate revenue after an event.

Last week Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation posed the question “I know about traditional PR – it’s all about getting myself in the press/on radio/on TV but what is online PR and how do I go about being good at it?”

See my response on the Enterprise Nation website.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) is the trade association for online advertising.

They recently published a Social Media Handbook which contains a contribution from me titled ‘Using social media to increase paid-search marketing effectiveness’.

- Read my contribution here
- Read the full Social Media Handbook online
- Download a PDF copy of the Social Media Handbook

I was lucky enough to attend a listening event of Alesha Dixon’s new album at Volstead club in London with fellow blogger and friend Michele Obi of MYFASHIONLIFE.

The album sounds brilliant (can’t wait to get my hands on it) – I’m no music critic, music journalist or music blogger but I’ll use my blog as an opportunity to describe it as perfect infectious British pop.

The event invite actually came as a surprise. Arriving in my inbox two days prior to the event apparently I had won the tickets? I didn’t realise but weeks ago when I entered my email address to download a free Alesha Dixon track I also entered a competition to attend a listening event.

Behind every new look, new launch or new advert there has been thought as to how it will affect the industry, press and most importantly the end consumer.

Rebrands get planned months, if not years ahead. To make sure they’re right.

What does our new brand need to reflect? How will our current consumers/customers feel about it? Who are we trying to speak to with our rebrand? 

Product launches take years to master. To make sure they’re right.

Who would buy this? Why would they buy it? Where would they buy it?

And a lot of effort, by a lot of people goes into creating TV adverts, to make sure they’re right too.

How can we make impact? What times and which channels will it be on? Do we need a celeb in it?

Many will present a rebrand, product launch or advert and tell those in charge of their online – “this is what we’re doing, make our online fit”.

The wrong way round? I think so.

According to consultancy firm Intangible Business the value of Bernard Matthews has dropped £20m in the past year.

Unsurprising news after the Jamie Oliver led Turkey Twizzler bashings and the uncontrollable Avian Flu disaster.

But when a brand is down, the only way is down even further or up, up and up.

Bernard Matthews has chosen the up path, with a new name in tow, adding Farms to the brand name to become Bernard Matthews Farms.

Some websites make money by selling products.

Some websites make money by selling advertising.

Some websites make money by referring customers to other websites.

Some websites make money by collecting customer data which is sold on.

This week I was sent a link to a ‘SEO in 15 minutes’ chart. It’s great checklist for anyone who wants to understand on page SEO techniques. But a potentially dangerous tool for those who think studying these points makes them an SEO expert.

Visit the Glasses Direct blog to see my blog post ‘Will you join Glasses Direct’s online fan base?’.

Read my article ‘How else can Google ascertain relevancy?’ on E-Consultancy.

This week on E-Consultancy I asked the question ‘Is the role of the SEO dead and should PRs own natural search?’.

This week on my Drapers blog you can read my views on celebrity fashion brands analysing online conversations.