Tornados are top of mind in Ontario these days after one ripped through Goderich this week and the threat of severe storms earlier tonight. This fact was evident for a few hours on Twitter. #tornadowatch, Southern Ontario and Weather Network, where I work, all trended in the Canadian top nine.
Ontarians, including a couple talented people at The Weather Network, live tweeted about the storm so that I could virtually see it moving east across the south part of the province while also reading about conditions elsewhere in Ontario.
As I said in a note to the writer, “I think you set some kind of national or international weather live tweeting record.” And more importantly, people got the news they needed about the storm’s severity.
TV and web can’t match this pace. Sure their reach is far greater with millions more people tuning into our on-air broadcast and web site. But if you wanted to know what was happening every few seconds in different areas, these live streams provided nice little chunks of easy to digest news. Which greatly complimented information on our other platforms including Facebook. As evident by the tweets referring to our TV reports and web radar models.
It’s common for Canadians to need their weather news. Tonight’s weather reinforced this fact while also highlighting Twitter’s information sharing strength.
Not as strong as the thunder and lightning, high winds and violent rain just experienced, but impressive all the same.
It’s been a hot summer up at the cottage in the near north of Ontario and the lake is warmer than usual.
I love the combination of new and old here. We have Wi-Fi and an outdoor shower under the trees, a very modern kitchen and fire pit on the rocks by the water. In this home surrounded by forest by a lake, renovated rustic meets 21st century technology…. and 20th century technology in the form of a VHF radio.
The marine transceiver, which we never turn off, is the most immediate way to broadcast to everyone on water and land up here. We get updates from the lake association and can talk to other cottagers and boaters, although anyone with a radio can listen in. It’s like an old party phone line except you don’t need to pick up the receiver to hear what’s said.
I suppose this older communications device has similarities to Facebook, Google+ and other emerging media: it connects us to individuals and communities. Perhaps it’s closest to Twitter, though, since we primarily have short conversations about things that need to be done soon and about news that matters.
Such as the today’s weather forecast, which predicted that this morning’s rain will make way for sun.
Hope the sun’s shining and the water’s nice for you as well.
I’ve recently completed the fiscal year 2012 corporate communications plan for The Weather Network / MétéoMédia where I work. With help from my team, we’re working to increasingly participate in weather-related conversations, online and off. This may seem like an easy task given that Canadians love talking about the weather and TWN/MM are popular brands.
However, the task of managing our social media presence, working with the news media and generally keeping our fans happy is challenging. So how do I stay ahead?
I work with a great team that is integrated across research, social, PR, customer relations and marketing. The researchers help benchmark and confirm success and customer relations respond to and manage external feedback. I highlight the research and customer relations functions since it’s rare that they work this closely with communications. Their proximity, CR reports into me and I’m part of the marketing team that includes research, gives me access to data, insights and feedback that helps build and sustain strategies.
Success looks a lot different these days in light of changing media which have altered how marketing works. Good thing I work with a team that’s immersed in the mix and understands how to demonstrate success.
We just soft-launched our brand new set and HD signal earlier this week. It’s currently available to MTS subscribers in Manitoba and will roll out later this month, and year, in other Canadian markets. We’ll promote the rollout later this month.
Until then, check out the following videos made by our talented and creative programmer and production teams.
It’s hard to blog when you’ve started a new job. Actually, consistent blogging is challenging, period. But enough excuses.
The Weather Network (MétéoMédia in Québec), where I started last month, has done something smart with its marketing communications department. It has linked PR, marketing, research and social together to engage and inform the millions of people who connect with this popular brand.
Canadians like talking about the rain, snow and temperatures, as you’ll see in our very active Facebook communities here and here. People also like our:
And then there`s our regional and national television broadcasts, examples of mainstream media`s continued dominance over digital. Social media is increasingly important but TV still attracts much of our attention and delivers big impressions, unique users, referrals, activation and growth. The metrics are clear and the opportunity is great to do interesting work at this media company.
As my learning curve levels out, I plan to post here more frequently.
Does text colour matter? Specifically, online, is black print on a white page easier to read than white print on a black page? Yes it is because it’s easier on your eyes. We’re also accustomed to this colour scheme based on all the newspapers and books we’ve read.
I’ve always believed black-on-white is better and a quick search found general agreement. Apparently the white-on-black colour scheme, or inverted text, decreases readership by 50%.
So if you think your website or blog should have a black or dark background because it will be cool and stand out; think again. And if your site currently uses an inverted text colour scheme, ask your community what they think.
I’m one of the more than 14.7 million Canadians reading newspapers. Many of whom likely didn’t know that the newspaper industry is thriving.
Prior to seeing this Toronto Star story about this surprisingly robust medium, I thought I might be out of touch and wasting time on broadsheets visa vis digital information sources. You see, I enjoy the feel of daily papers and I think there’s a physiological advantage to reading hard copy. I process the offline info differently; I might even retain it better.
That said, I of course get most of my news digitally and have learned to efficiently (mostly) embrace the rich, fragmented, hyperlinked reality of social media. There are, after all, many credible, purely digital news sources, some of them led by talented ex-journalists, who will ensure that online media continues to grow.
However, old media will also continue to thrive because newspapers have far more trained journalists skilled at researching and writing interesting stories. These writers and their papers are trusted. Also, many of these old media companies are effectively embracing the new. The result: even if people aren’t reading offline, they’re paying attention online.
After reading the survey results in this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer, in addition to media coverage, I wonder if the survey confirms that mixed messages dilute trust. In the US, where trust is down across the board according to the survey, the well-coordinated messages from the Republicans, Tea Party and conservative pundits contradict everything stated by the Obama administration and his supporters in the media.
For instance, the arguments for creating an affordable healthcare system for all were rejected by people who don’t want their tax dollars to pay for someone else’s well-being. Canada’s public healthcare system was also falsely presented as irreparably broken and used as a negative example of exactly what Americans want to avoid.
So did this contentious debate in addition to other partisan messages make it harder for Americans to trust anyone? Maybe.
And what about China? Trust in government increased from 74% to 88%. As far as I know, this emerging world leader’s state-controlled media helps the government deliver consistent messages. There aren’t as many mixed political statements, I imagine.
So why is trust in Russia so low at 39% this year versus 38% in 2010? After all, the Russian government also controls the media for the most part. Perhaps it has to do with Vladimir Putin’s self-appointed role as Prime Minister which dilutes President Dmitry Medvedev’s authority. Maybe Russians aren’t sure who’s in charge or maybe they don’t trust a political system that allows self-appointments.
As any communications pro will tell you, message consistency is key. Keep it simple and ensure you understand the needs of your clients, customers, etc. before you say and do anything.
Honest transparency and credibility also help. But apparently even consistent messaging can overcome the lack of these two things, at least when it comes to governments.
Interesting Globe and Mail article by Tara Perkins about a progressive idea for non-profits to issue bonds and start businesses. This so-called social impact bond resembles an equity investment and could provide investors with returns based on the successful work of the non-profit.
For instance, in the UK, money raised by a bond goes to a prison program to rehabilitate short-term prisoners. “If, as a result, re-offending drops by more than 7.5 per cent within six years, investors will receive a proportion of the money saved by keeping people out of jail, to a maximum return of 13 per cent,” writes Ms Perkins.
In Canada a task force that includes former prime minister Paul Martin is lobbying for changes that would allow this type of social investing.
While this is a good idea, socially inclined investment that helps people while creating profit isn’t new in Canada. Social Capital Partners, a past client, has successfully provided social finance for 10 years.
Ideally, Paul Martin’s group is consulting with SCP and other social investment leaders. A united front would likely produce better results, especially when it comes to getting the Canada Revenue Agency to change. The CRA, some will say, is exceptionally out-of-date in terms of the rules it applies to non-profits.
One other piece of advice: build in regulations and controls to prevent social impact bonds from becoming financial tools overwhelmed by the self-interest of investment managers. JP Morgan reported last year that social investing is, “emerging as an alternative asset class in the same way that hedge funds and emerging markets did.” Depending on priorities, I’m not sure it’s good to mention social investing and hedge funds in the same sentence.
It’s great to see that social finance continues to grow. The social and financial returns of the double bottom line benefit a lot of people.
