The PR Warrior

Is PeerIndex the Next Big Thing for PR Pros?

The PR profession has long been in the game of identifying and developing 'mutually beneficial relationships with' key influencers in targeted industries relevant to the companies we represent (whether as in-house counsel or as an agency client).

However, as the social web continues to increase in terms of numbers and usage, the process of identifying influencers can be quite daunting.

From a public relations standpoint, numbers of connections are fine but they do not necessarily determine 'influence'. 

In other words, someone might have thousands and thousands of followers on Twitter, for instance, but very little actual influence, while others with smaller followings might wield considerable sway.

There are dozens of monitoring tools around that are useful to varying degrees depending on what you're after, but as far as I'm aware none have really taken the PR industry by storm. 

Maybe that's about to change?

Introducing PeerIndex...

 

So it's with interest I note the beta launch yesterday of PeerIndex, a Twitter-centric application that, according to Fast Company, measures a person's social network standing and influence on the web.

Fast Company describes PeerIndex as the "140-character version of the Google vanity search". 

Yes indeed I think that's an apt description and no doubt many tweeters will use the app for that very reason, but for PR people I'm tipping it can offer a lot more than that.

PeerIndex claims to be "the first company ranking individual social authority" across the social web.

Opinion leaders Vs merely opinionated

According to the company's news release: "PeerIndex can identify from millions of users the opinion leaders from the merely opinionated." 

"PeerIndex currently indexes 1.7m of the most salient users on Twitter, and adds an additional 10 to 20,000 per day. Any user can add their own Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or blog profile directly and ensure that all their social content is plugged into the system to be analysed," the news release reads.

"By engaging in the ranking process this ensures that the value of every individual's authority is recognised globally by bloggers, media, brands, employers and other followers."

According to PeerIndex's website, PeerIndex was founded in 2009 by Azeem Azhar, an Internet entrepreneur and investor who previously worked at the Economist and Guardian; Bill Emmott, former editor-in-chief of The Economist; and Ditlev Schwanenflugel, formerly of McKinsey & Co.

Early days...

It's still early days yet (the project is in beta) but PeerIndex may well be worth keeping an eye on.

Let's face it, being able to measure an individual's influence and authority on a particular subject, if you can get it right, is 'gold' as far as PR intelligence is concerned!

Give it a go, let us know your thoughts!

Further reading: 

PeerIndex: Ranking Your Online Influence? (The Guardian UK).

PeerIndex Tries Ranking Opinion Formers With Social Crawling (paidcontent:UK).

Conversation Vs Carpet Bombing

Building conversation around your brand has long been an important and effective marketing communications strategy, especially in today’s hyper-connected environment where ‘white noise’ is at a peak as is the public’s ability to screen out advertising messages.

That said, it’s not exactly an easy strategy – it takes time, effort and considerable thought to consistently develop and surround your brand with interesting ‘talking points’ that resonate with key audiences.

This is what PR people have been doing for decades. As a profession we’re very adept at creating stories and engaging an audience whether directly or via journalists and media producers.

For many years the channels used for brand talking points included broadcast and print media, web, printed materials and face-to-face/live forums. These channels continue to exist today of course but you can now add a vast interactive layer called the social web.

The myriad channels available to imbed your brand story in the public consciousness is at once complex and dazzling.

Content exclusive to Marketing Magazine.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS POST

 

60 Digital Thought Leaders You Must Check Out!

 

Welcome to The Influencer Project.

The concept was intriguing - The Shortest Marketing Conference Ever.

And the pitch was tight - 60 Speakers. 60 Seconds Each. 60 Ways to Increase Your Influence Online.

This terrific online event, presented by ThoughtLead, was held last week and the MP3 audio recording and accompanying transcript are now available.

Bite-Sized Chunks

I've just devoured the transcript. WOW!

So much practical advice. So many divergent views. So many different insights, all in easily digestible bite-sized chunks.

It doesn't matter if you're an entrepreneur, a marketer or PR professional, corporate executive or an expert of some kind - if you want to learn how to extend your digital influence, this is the best thing you'll read (or listen to) this year. Seriously. 

Why? Because the views, hints, tips and advice are provided by 60 different experts, giving you a broad range of things to think about.

But if you're REALLY SERIOUS about giving your brand the 'edge', then you'll take things a step further!

If you want to better understand social media and how to connect more effectively in today's networked marketplace...if you genuinely are interested in becoming a smarter marketer and influencer, then you must check out all of the featured experts, speakers and thought leaders individually.

You won't be disappointed.

These digitally savvy men and women have got plenty to offer. Collectively they're generous with their knowledge and regularly and openly share thoughts, opinions and ideas through their respective blogs, books, videos and podcasts.

Here are all the links - you have no excuses :)

Enjoy!!

1. David Meerman Scott - author, The New Rules of Marketing & PR
2. Anne Holland - Which Test Won
3. Mike Volpe - VP of inbound marketing, HubSpot
4. Michael Port - author, Book Yourself Solid
5. Liz Strauss - Successful-Blog.com
6. Robert Scoble - veteran blogger, Scobleizer
7. Carol Roth - business strategist
8. Scott Porad - Cheezburger Network
9. Joe Pulizzi - Junta42 & Content Marketing Institute
10. Laurel Touby - Mediabistro.com
11. Hugh MacLeod - cartoonist, GapingVoid
12. Chris Guillebeau - The Art of Non-Conformity
13. Laura Roeder - social media marketing expert
14. Michael Margolis - GetStoried.com
15. Dave Navarro - LaunchCoach.com
16. Loren Feldman - 1938 Media
17. Ann Handley - MarketingProfs
18. Jim Kukral - author, This Book Will Make You Money
19. Joselin Mane - internet marketing consultant
20. John Jantsch - Duct Tape Marketing
21. Marshall Kirkpatrick - ReadWriteWeb.com
22. Shama Kabani - author, The Zen of Social Media Marketing
23. Terry Starbucker - SOBcon
24. Johnny B. Truant - blogger/entrepreneur
25. Jason Falls - PR & social media expert
26. Robbin Phillips - Brains on Fire
27. Yaro Starak - Entrepreneurs-Journey.com
28. Michael Stelzner - SocialMediaExaminer.com
29. Erica O'Grady - ReinventingErica.com
30. Gary Vaynerchuk - Wine Library TV, author of Crush It
31. Nathan Hangen - blogger + digital entrepreneur
32. Danielle LaPorte - strategic business adviser
33. Guy Kawasaki - author, entrepreneur, venture capitalist
34. David Bullock - profit engineer
35. Vanessa Fox - author, Marketing in the Age of Google
36. Lewis Howes - author, speaker, entrepreneur
37. Valeria Maltoni - Conversation Agent
38. Sergio Balegno - research director, Marketing Sherpa
39. Hank Wasiak - communications thinker, author, entrepreneur
40. Mitch Joel - blogger/author/podcaster, Six Pixels of Separation
41. Tamsen McMahon - communications + branding strategist
42. Justin Levy - author, Facebook Marketing
43. Chris Garrett - professional blogger + new media consultant
44. Cathy Brooks - founder, Other Than That
45. Todd Defren - blogger + principal, SHIFT Communications
46. Brian Clark - Copyblogger.com
47. Scott Belsky - founder/CEO, Behance.com
48. Wendy Piersall - new media entrepreneur + speaker
49. Mark Silver - founder, Heart of Business
50. Dan Schawbel - personal branding expert
51. Shashi Bellamkonda - social media  swami, Network Solutions
52. Gretchen Rubin - author, The Happiness Project
53. Muhammad Saleem - social media consultant
54. Aaron Kahlow - CEO, OnlineMarketingConnect.com
55. Alexandra Levit - career + workplace author/speaker
56. Steve Woodruff - social media marketer + networker
57. David Siteman Garlan - founder, The Rise to the Top
58. Amber Naslund - communications + business strategist
59. Julien Smith - consultant + co-author, Trust Agents
60. Brian Solis - new media thought leader + author, Engage

Hat-tip to ThoughtLead for putting on the event and collating all the above names!

What Celebrities Can Learn From Dannii Minogue

Can't say I ever thought I'd write a post like this, but here you go...

In one fell swoop, Dannii Minogue - sister of singing star Kylie and a recording and TV personality in her own right - has managed to change public perceptions of her 'brand'.

Unless you've been living in a cave, you'd know that Dannii and boyfriend Kris Smith have just had a child, a little boy named Ethan.

Now, Dannii has always been a bit of a publicity junkie and is no stranger to the tabloid press or women's glossies. 

We quite rightly could have expected her to do what most other celebrities seem to do after giving birth - keep the bub under wraps before emerging several weeks later in some lowbrow glossy rag. 

The story would be an exclusive, of course, complete with airbrushed photos of the couple gushing about the new addition to their family. 

Often, money has changed hands. Celebrities and their babies are popular with readers so the glossies don't mind spreading the cash to get the 'behind-the-scenes' story.

Refreshing Tweetphoto

Thus it was refreshing for Dannii and Kris to take a Tweetphoto of their happy moment and share it with the world via Twitter. No exclusives, no fashion spreads, no airbrushing.

Just an 'real-life' shot of the happy couple. Now, I don't know about you but I reckon Dannii looks the best she has like, forever! Glowing, happy, authentic...real.

By eschewing the exclusive in a women's glossy and instead sharing the special moment with her fans, Dannii's image has not only received a credibility boost but she may well have won herself a slew of extra admirers. Oh, and the rest of the media probably loves her that little bit more 'cos they got the pic the same time as everyone else.

Other celebrities - especially the B-graders - take note. You could do a lot worse than what Dannii Minogue did this week.

 
Here are a couple of comments made to the story on The Age website:

Good on you Danni - nice to see a celebrity who is just happy to share with her fans. You've gone to the top in my estimation!!

Congrats Danni and Kris......and thanks for sharing your precious moment with us....for nothing. You have certainly gone up many MANY notches for this act..

Best practice celebrity PR in action!