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Online Addiction, Me? Surely not…

A few months back, I wrote a blog about the importance of ‘switching off’ from work in this 24/7 online environment that we now live in.

Online addiction is an issue which I feel strongly about, and one which has become a real contributor towards mental health issues in our society and workplaces.

On a recent (much-needed) holiday, I found myself reflecting on my ability to take an online hiatus (also much-needed). It occurred to me that it was reasonably easy to make the decision to ‘switch off’ from work. If we’re lucky enough to have a separate work mobile, we can switch it off. We can choose not to log into our work emails, or to check our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. It’s not an impossible feat.

What is becoming increasing impossible, is the ability to ‘switch off’ from an everyday perspective. There is little doubt, no matter what our age, most of us are becoming increasingly dependent on the online world in our day to day lives – be it death notices, current affairs, or match fixtures – it’s all there at the click of a button.

Take my father, who is in his sixties (early sixties – important to distinguish or I may risk losing the coveted ‘favourite off-spring’ title). He was the generation who lived by the daily newspaper, maybe even two or three different titles on a Sunday. Like most of us, he has abandoned his beloved newspaper and now gets his news online.

Some statistics would indicate this online reliance is not an unusual trend for those his age with the fastest growing Twitter demographic in Ireland the over 55s. It represents an interesting shift. Traditionally, those with online addictions were often portrayed as sulky teenagers glued to the couch taking copious pouting selfies. Not anymore.

Social media addicts are now as likely to be those of us in our late 30s, and upwards. We may not be snap chatting our buys from Pennys, or Instagramming with the latest hashtags (I said MAY not – ahem), but we are using social media, for all types of reasons, all the time.

As I work in social media, I made a very conscientious decision to try to switch off my Wi-Fi as much as possible during this year’s holiday. I’ll put my hands up and admit – I failed miserably. Why? I’m just too reliant on the web. I logged on every day. I checked the weather in France (mostly raining), weather at home (mostly sunny), I googled tourist attractions in our area, I logged onto the wine depot website to see what treats I’d stock up on to bring home (well worth a visit if you find yourself touring Brittany). I googled, and then I googled some more.

It wasn’t all holiday and cheap wine related, of course. Even though we were cocooned in our holiday hideaway, the world was still turning, and tragedies still happening. While we were away the terrible and senseless shooting took place of 49 innocent souls at an Orlando nightclub. It was shocking and unbelievable, and we wanted to know Why? How? Who? So, we logged online to help us understand. What else could we do?

On reflection, I feel disappointed in myself that I couldn’t ‘switch off’ for two short weeks. I wonder what it says about me and my dependency on the online world. I wonder if I’m becoming (or perhaps already am) an addict. With 46% of the world’s population now logging onto the World Wide Web every day, it would seem I may not be alone.

Karen Twomey is a freelance PR and Online Communications Consultant with Communications Hub Tel: 0877642576

Why Your Business Needs to be on LinkedIn

When it comes to LinkedIn, I’ll admit I’m a relative newcomer…but like most people who discover things later in life that they enjoy, I’ve taken to it with gusto.

In fact, it’s swiftly becoming one of my favorite social media platforms. And, I’m not alone. According to IPSOS MRBI Social Networking Quarterly, LinkedIn registered a 5% increase in Irish users from September 2015 to January 2016.

With almost 30% of Irish professionals now having accounts, LinkedIn is becoming the social network of choice for those looking to build professional connections and showcase their skills. And where the online masses venture…businesses quickly follow.

The benefits of LinkedIn in business are multi-faceted. Not only is it the natural place to attract and headhunt for top class staff, but it also provides invaluable opportunities for B2C and B2B networking. Best of all, it offers companies an opportunity to grow their brands in an affordable, flexible and interesting way.

Still not convinced?

Here are even more benefits of having a company profile on LinkedIn:

Makes a brand more credible.
Improves SEO.
Helps personalise a brand.
Showcases products and services.
Targets specific audiences.
Allows for customer interaction.

While Facebook and Twitter may still be the more popular social media platforms in Ireland, those on LinkedIn (over 300 million worldwide) are there for a completely different reason – to grow and promote themselves and their business.

To really impact online, LinkedIn must form part of a social media strategy for Irish companies. Regardless to the size of your business, maintaining a well-managed LinkedIn page will boost your company’s profile and ultimately, your business will reap the benefits.

For more information on social media strategies for your business, contact Communications Hub today.

Local Enterprise Offices (Cork) CIT Prize for Innovation

There has been a record number of entrants for this year’s Local Enterprise Offices (Cork) CIT Prize for Innovation, which awards €10,000 in cash prizes to inventions and business ideas judged most creative, novel, innovative, and likely to succeed in the workplace

The prize forms part of Cork Institute of Technology’s Innovation Week 2016 taking place all this week across CIT’s five campus locations with a series of events and activities promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.

The applications for this year’s prize offer proposals from a wide variety of disciplines. The field of technology features strongly with entrants such as Touch – a digital alternative to tradition notice boards, and Flashbox – a combined USB flash drive, battery pack and Bluetooth locator for mobile devices, just some of the creative proposals.

Mental health was also a popular focus this year with the promotion of a holistic approach to coaching, mentoring, nutritional advice and mindfulness for women forming one business idea, while various APPs supporting and promoting positive mental well-being were also submitted.

Last year’s first prize winner was sole trader and founder of the Roll Out Vegetable Garden Company, Cara Tremayne from Dunmanway, Co Cork. Cara, who was a fourth year Horticulture student at CIT, picked up a cheque for €4,000 and the title of CIT Entrepreneur of the Year for her roll out coco coir woven matting impregnated with vegetable seeds.

“To finish fourth year after winning the Prize for Innovation made me feel so positive and driven towards making my own business a success and becoming self-employed. It gave me huge hopes for my future,” said Cara, who was the first ever female winner of the prize.

Other prize categories awarded as part of the Prize for Innovation include Most Innovative Award, Best Business Plan, Best Presentation Pitch and Best Exhibition Stand.

The CIT Prize for Innovation is sponsored by Local Enterprise Offices (Cork). Further details available from www.cit.ie/innovationweek.

CIT Innovation Week 2016

Cork Institute of Technology’s Innovation Week 2016 will kick off on Monday 7^th March with an official launch taking place around a supersized box in the main Atrium of the CIT Bishopstown campus.

The launch sees the unveiling of the larger than life CIT Innovation Week 2016 box which promotes all aspects of innovation and creativity, as well as paying homage to past winners of the Local Enterprise Office (Cork) sponsored CIT Prize for Innovation.

The week-long event includes a wide range of seminars, exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations. The highlight of the week is the Local Enterprise Offices (Cork) CIT Prize for Innovation which awards €10,000 in cash prizes to those whose inventions and business ideas are judged most creative, novel, innovative, and likely to succeed in the workplace.

“Innovation Week is a celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship across the many disciplines and campuses of CIT. Throughout the week we will be showcasing seasoned entrepreneurs, many of whom are trading internationally, as well as students who have come up with business and App ideas” says Carole O’Leary, Industry Liaison Manager, CIT.

Other prize categories during the week include NIMBUS Product Development Prize, The Apprentice, Bank of Ireland Business Canvass Wall, CIT CodorDojo Competition and Build Your Own Rocket Workshop. The competitions are open to all students registered at CIT during the academic year.

CIT Innovation Week 2016, which is now in its 6^th year, will take place from 7^th – 11^th March across CIT’s five campus locations. Further details available from www.cit.ie/innovationweek

Online Crisis Management – Be Prepared!

In this era of social media and mobile devices, news spreads faster than ever before. The web has removed control from those who create content and a crisis can develop in seconds.

This is why it is vital that companies have an on-line crisis management strategy in place – long before it is ever needed.

When developing an online strategy, we must understand the ethics and rules of digital media and how crisis management on-line may differ from that off-line.

According to Chris Norton online crisis management can be separated into three stages – pre-crisis, crisis response and post-crisis evaluation. An online crisis typically creates a spike in comments, shares and engagement, the conversations around which are generally negative. During this crisis, it is essential to monitor and track what is being said and respond immediately.

An online crisis typically creates a spike in comments, shares and engagement, the conversations around which are generally negative. During this crisis, it is essential to monitor and track what is being said and respond immediately.

When putting together a strategy to deal with on-line crisis, the following should be included:

Those who will form part of the crisis management team.
Pre-draft templates for on-line content – these can be pre-approved by legal teams to speed up their delivery.
The communication channels to be used.
An outline of how people can and can’t behave across on-line communication channels.

Finally, a crisis management strategy should have a strong focus on internal communications. Those associated with the party will need to know what happened, what they should do and how the crisis will affect them.

All information regarding the crisis should be shared and updated regularly with all those who communication on behalf of the company to ensure all outward communication is consistent.

It may be impossible to pre-empt every online crisis, but we can certainly make sure we’re prepared for when one does occur and that the right procedure is followed.

Contact Communications Hub now and let us help you put together an effective crisis management strategy.

Creative Digital Network Cork

I have had the great pleasure over the last few months of working with Cork Institute of Technology as group facilitator with the Creative Digital Network Cork (CDNC).

The CDNC enables networking opportunities among companies, start-ups and academics engaged in the digital industry in Cork. It is an output of the Interreg IVC Medi@tic project and is supported in the region by Cork Institute of Technology and Irish Design 2015.

The group was officially launched by Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD, in February 2015. Since then it has continuously grown and now has almost 60 members from throughout Cork City and County.

CDNC members come from a variety of digital backgrounds, including web development and design, TV and film production, video game design and development, animation, motion graphics, apps design and development, and PR and Journalism.

The ethos of the group is to facilitate the sharing of ideas, research and business opportunities through organised industry events, as well as across its online platforms – CDNC Website, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

As part of my work with the group I had the please of meeting many of the members, hearing about their businesses and helping them to connect with other members and relevant industry influencers. I also attended the Startup Gathering and Digital Week Skibbereen on behalf of the group.

Through the CDNC we hope to promote Cork as a digital hub and an attractive region in which to do business. From this perspective, we have connected with Enterprise Ireland, Cork Innovates and Cork Smart Gateway and hope to work together in securing our vision for Cork.

My tenure as group facilitator is, unfortunately, coming to an end. I will, however, remain an enthusiastic member of the group and I look forward to being part of the future success of the Creative Digital Network Cork.

Further details on the CDNC is available from its website www.cdnc.ie or email mediatic@cit.ie

Why Facebook Marketing Matters

Despite the fact that 70% of Irish businesses are now on Facebook, many still don’t take it seriously as a valuable marketing tool.

It’s an accepted fact that newspaper readership is on the decrease, yet many businesses are still investing enormous amounts of their marketing budgets on print advertising. It often seems more acceptable to some marketers to spend hundreds on a one-off advert in a weekly paper, then to invest that money into a long-term Facebook marketing strategy.

Why is that?

It’s hard to say. Some companies still view social media as a ‘kids game’. That may have been true some years ago, but now, those kids are the very customers these companies are so desperate to reach. So whether we want to accept it or not, from here until eternity, all of those leaving college and entering the workforce will be digital natives. A generation who live their lives through the world wide web – be it researching products, booking services or purchasing goods – it all happens online.

In Ireland Facebook is still the most popular social media platform, with 60% of the population having accounts. To put that into context – 2.4 million people use Facebook in Ireland each month. That’s a lot of potential customers. The largest Facebook demographic is 18 – 24-year-olds, who make up 29% of the Irish audience, while women tend to be more active on the platform then men.

Although Facebook has experienced a slight decrease in users over the last year or so, it is still the most used social media platform in the world. So despite the decrease in popularity, it’s hard to see Facebook becoming any less relevant in marketing terms over the coming few years. In fact, in Ireland 70% of social media users follow brands and businesses online. Talk about leading the horse to water….but of course, we all know the next line to that old saying….

So, the simple truth is – If you’re not investing time and money into marketing your business on Facebook, you’re quickly becoming irrelevant. Call Communications Hub today and let us put together a successful social media strategy for you.

Stay relevant online

Digital Week Skibbereen

As I set off for Skibbereen early last Wednesday morning I was unsure of what to expect. I had followed the growing lineup of speakers for National Digital Week with interest and was very much looking forward to attending some of the events. As bad luck would have it the only day I was free to attend was Wednesday, Digital Week’s opening day. That left me with a choice of two events – Future of Digital Education and STEM, or Farming 2030. Having no connection or real interest (sorry!) in farming, except for being married to a farmer’s son – the non-farming one – I quickly opted to attend the educational conference.

While I certainly have an interest in digital education and STEM, in truth there were other talks that held more appeal – Empowering a Billion Women 2020 & Social Entrepreneurship, and IOT Reimagining a Connected World, being but two. But so it was on Wednesday morning, after a long two hour drive through commuter tail backs and twisty rural roads, I eventually arrived at the West Cork Hotel for my taste of Digital Week.

With no time for a much needed caffeine hit, I was ushered straight through to the function room where Dr Laurence O’Rourke of the European Space Agency was just about to take the stage. As I settled into my seat my focus was drawn to those surrounding me. They were young, very young. They sat, packed into the room like sardines, with every bit of free space – seats, floor, stage – all occupied. I felt a bit of panic gurgle up from my coffee craving stomach. Was I in the wrong event? Had I misread the program? I quickly started looking towards the exit doors. Maybe if I moved quickly I could get out before the speaker began and take my chances with the farming after all. Alas, right at that point my panic was interrupted by the host inviting us to put our hands together for Dr Laurence O’Rourke. I was trapped.

After a few minutes something very strange started to occur. The natural hustle and bustle, to be expected when a couple of hundred school children are in a room, started to subside and before long the room fell silent. That spell of silence remained cast for Susanne Thompson from Discovery, and later in the evening for Stephen Howell from Microsoft Ireland. The young attendees, including myself (not so young), were entranced by the great speakers, interesting props and eye-catching visuals. These energetic and enthusiastic speakers did what so many other speakers fail to do, they connected. They were professionals who judged their audience and adjusted their content and delivery accordingly. To do this with with adults is one thing, but to hold the attention of a room full of young students for over an hour, is nothing short of impressive.

After the event I set off on my long journey back home. I left not only enlightened as to how important STEM and digital education is in this country, but truly in awe of my fellow conference goers. They were respectful, confident young people, with a real interest in their futures. They listened, they partook in live surveys and they asked intelligent questions. What a great indication of the future of this small island and the exciting opportunities available to our graduates. What a credit to their schools, teachers and to their parents. And what a great event to be part of #DigitalWeekSkibb

The Importance of Online Monitoring

The rise in citizen journalism means that organisations need to constantly monitor what is being said about them on-line. Public relations professionals need to be the ‘ears’ and ‘eyes’ of an organisation and seek out what is being said about the brand.

Here at Communications Hub we use many free tools to monitor what is being said about our clients online – Twitter advanced search, Google alerts andsocialmention.com.

And while it is possible to mostly control what appears on a company’s own social media news feeds using word filters and administrative pre-approval of comments, it is impossible to control hashtags associated with an organisation.

McDonalds learned this the hard way when in 2012 they created the hashtag #McDStories in the hope of inspiring people to share their memories and happy experiences associated with the fast food chain. The company soon discovered that it is the public who control the meaning of hashtags, and theirs was quickly hijacked to become the hashtag for horror stories involving McDonalds.

Burger King suffered a different kind of social media crisis when in 2013 its Twitter account with 82,000 followers was hacked. The hacker changed their logo and twitter handle to that of McDonalds and tweeted a huge number of tweets containing inappropriate contents and images. The hack went unnoticed for hours, by which time the incident had gone viral. The company not only learned an important lesson about password security and the need for moderators, it also experienced first-hand what happens when you are not constantly listening on-line. On the plus side, the food chain gained thousands of new followers because of the incident.

Despite often having ‘expert’ social media teams, some of the biggest and most tech-savvy organisations continue to suffer social media fails. Last year The Guardian published an article on The top five corporate Twitter fails and it makes for some very uncomfortable reading.

The moral of the story is, it’s no longer just your P’s and Q’s you need to mind, watch your Hashtags too…make sure your company is monitoring its online profile.

What’s the story with content?

Ok I’ll admit it, I’m a little obsessed on content. And when people hear me rattling on about it, most glaze over or politely smile while steadily reversing. So what’s the story with content you may ask? Why is it so important?

While content has always been important when communicating through the traditional channels, like radio, television and newspapers, it was never really vital. These ‘old media’ methods of advertising were one-way communications, they were broadcasts and press releases. People listened to them because they pretty much hadn’t a choice. These were the days before the World Wide Web, when the channels through which people got their news and entertainment were limited. They were the days before sky plus and podcasts. The days before we could pick and choose what information was relevant or interesting to us, and fast forward through the boring ads. Continue reading “What’s the story with content?”