In our remote work, social distancing, quarantined coronavirus existence, tech tools can help us be proactive in our messaging to a constantly evolving audience.
Working in quarantine poses unique challenges for communicators. What videoconference tools should you be using? Can you air a video news conference or statement from your CEO remotely?
Recently, PRNEWS hosted a webinar on COVID-19 communications that explored these questions.
To probe further, PRNEWS surveyed the PR industry for fave internal and external digital communication tools in the midst of the crisis. Bottom line, Zoom dominated!
Zoom
The ease of use of the videoconferencing app makes it a strong contender for internal team meetings and external communications. The Spin Cycle has become the go to Zoom trainer for my family, namely my parents, opening them to a virtual world that I have been using with clients for more than five years. With larger groups, be sure to state and re-state the “mute if you’re not talking” rule and designate a moderator for the duration.
Finn Partners’ director of social media Justin Buchbinder suggests breaking up the monotony of video conferences with Zoom’s playful custom backgrounds, some of which are branded (e.g., Disney). Manu Muraro, founder of Instagram training group Your Social Team, has even created some branded backgrounds of her own for added levity (and for hiding “less-than-ideal” home office environments). Muraro, who uses Zoom for online live classes and client calls, also likes that Zoom allows for recording and sending out video sessions after the fact.
Everywhere Agency CEO Danica Kombol has high praise for the platform so far: “Zoom has never failed us once we made the transition,” she said. The agency is using Zoom for a (projected) 500-attendee virtual fundraiser for YWCA of Atlanta. “Zoom checked all the boxes when it came to our ability to stage a major event, show videos, feature multiple honorees and allow as many people to join as possible,” Kombol told PRNEWS. She predicts the tool will come to be regarded as a “true savior” for professional communicators in quarantine.
Vimeo
Video-streaming service Vimeo has been a popular choice among communicators for thought leadership. The platform excels at storing and streaming high-quality, pre-recorded videos, and can be posted to social media (depending on privacy settings). For example, Todd Simmons, CEO of Arkansas-based pet foot supplier Simmons Foods Inc., thanked employees via a Vimeo video posted to LinkedIn.
The platform offers a free option, as well as several paid tiers. Many churches, nonprofits and community groups have dived into this to reach its stay-at-home audiences.
GoToMeeting
Like the other videoconferencing tools, GoToMeeting has both paid and unpaid tiers, but – anecdotally, at least – it has its share of bugs and mishaps. “GoToMeeting had serious challenges and on some days completely crashed” as quarantine measures went into effect, Kombol said. This could indicate the platform isn’t an ideal choice for external-facing streams.
Google Hangouts/Google Meet
If your company is a Google shop making heavy use of the company’s enterprise storage and email client offerings, Google Hangouts or Google Meet could offer a relatively seamless transition to videoconferencing. The enterprise version of Google Meet has a 250-person limit. Garruto says he reluctantly made the switch from Hangouts to Zoom but was happy with the decision once he learned the latter tool.
Facebook pledges $100 Million to aid media outlets
Facebook is donating $100 million to help news outlets that are taking a revenue hit during the coronavirus crisis.
The tech giant recently announced a plan to offer $25 million in emergency grant funding for local news outlets through its Facebook Journalism Project. The remaining $75 million will be funneled to publishers globally through Facebook ad spending.
The move comes as advertisers cut back on spending in the age of COVID-19. Advertising is a critical revenue stream for news media in the U.S.
“The news industry is working under extraordinary conditions to keep people informed during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Facebook said in a statement. “At a time when journalism is needed more than ever, ad revenues are declining due to the economic impact of the virus.”
Facebook’s grants are going to publishers that need them the most in the hardest-hit countries in the world, the first round of which went to 50 local newsrooms in the U.S. and Canada.
Advertising revenue for news outlets has been falling for years, and tech giants like Facebook and Google are often credited with causing the shift as they divert money from publishers to themselves.
Google is responding to the coronavirus crisis by donating $340 million in ad credits to support small and medium-sized businesses, the search giant recently announced.
Silenced Mic: John Prine, poet of modern songwriting, dies from Coronavirus
Oh Boy! The coronavirus continues to silence legendary country crooners. First it was Joe Diffie. Now it’s John Prine!
Prine – the Mark Twain of modern country and Americana songwriting and singing – died recently from COVID-19 complications in Nashville.
A master storyteller who rose from the 1970s Chicago folk scene to become one of a generation’s most celebrated and prolific songwriters, was 73.
Prine penned a five-decade legacy with gut-wrenching lyrics, honesty, grit and timeless wit. He was the plain folk poet that awed everyone from Bob Dylan to Kris Kristofferson, and scores of other icons of the music world.
He was widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in country and folk music. His turn of phrase elevated simple talk and basic melodies into profound and soul-wrenching statements about love, life, culture and society.
Prine courageously battled and beat cancer. Twice. He couldn’t take down an invisible and silent enemy.
His songbook transcended era and genre, earning him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Prine’s showmanship and biting humor captivated audiences from Bonnaroo to the Grand Ole Opry to the Library of Congress and other hallowed halls across the land.
An admitted “terrible student in high school,” Prine picked up the guitar at age 14, learning a few chords from his brother. He headed to Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music to see if he could find success there.
Prine’s underground reputation grew alongside Chicago’s folk revival as he performed across the city’s clubs. After being discovered by Kristofferson, his debut self-titled album was released with Atlantic Records in 1971, including enduring classics “Illegal Smile,” “Sam Stone,” “Angel From Montgomery,” “Paradise” and “Hello in There,” a staple of his live performances.
After releasing three more albums with Atlantic, and a subsequent three with Asylum Records, he went in a new direction. Fed up with the stifling culture of the major label – which he felt exploited artists – he launched his own independent record company Oh Boy Records in Nashville. That was decades before the notion of artists owning their work became normalized with the digital era. The rest of Prine’s albums – another 12, starting with “Aimless Love” and ending with “The Tree of Forgiveness” in 2018 – plus three live albums, were released on the label, which remains independent, and the stuff of Nashville legend.
Though Prine never had a commercial hit, his songs have been recorded and covered by a who’s who of country, folk and rock: the Highwaymen, Johnny Cash, Bette Midler, Paul Westerberg, John Denver and Bonnie Raitt among them.
Before the coronavirus pandemic attacked the world, Prine had a theater tour scheduled for May through February from Kentucky to England. His wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, was diagnosed with the virus in early March, and the couple had been self-quarantining and isolated from one another.
His wife recovered from the virus. John wasn’t as lucky. He leaves behind sons Tommy and Jack, stepson Jody Whelan and brothers David and Billy. And an adoring world yearning for the song poet that defined a simpler, folksier, more down-to-earth time.
Perhaps the virus that robbed us of our quirky, hope-filled crooner, will somehow get us back to that cherished, bygone era. Oh boy!
Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic! And remember … Amplify Your Brand!