Why is SDSU senior and classical guitarist Pauline France serenading the (W)right On team? Call it a quid pro quo.
I spent the morning of Oct. 29 sharing my passion for PR with Pauline through the "Taste of PR" program organized by the local PRSA New Pros committee. The program matched seasoned professionals as mentors with young, promising professionals just starting their careers. In exchange, after lunch, she rocked our world with a taste of her passion for music.
Pauline was an excellent candidate for this kind of program. She shared in advance what she hoped to get out of the experience so that we could do our best to deliver. And she asked terrific questions. Best of all, she captured the experience in a great blog post of her own. She seems to have taken away some of the key principles of agency life and, possibly even more impressive to this agency president, knows how to use the plural possessive (*swoon*):
"Some of the things I learned at the firm include time management, managing conflicting priorities, managing clients’ expectations and developing PR proposals. A topic that was often brought up was keeping a healthy balance between your personal and professional life, something that Julie does admirably well!"
Not sure where she got the idea I've figured out how to balance the agency with having a life. Let's just say I try...
Having her job shadow me and lunch with Chance Shay, Heather Hinman and I was a pleasure. Kudos to the New Pros committee for this program, and I encourage other agency executives to consider supporting it next year. You'll get as much as you give!
P.S. Shout out to Sandy Young for the push I needed to participate.
Oh Google! So creative and always pushing the envelope. But also protective. If you click through to YouTube where this video is hosted, you'll see the number of views has been disabled.
Today I helped launch the San Diego Union-Tribune's "Social Media Monday" column in its business section by authoring its first weekly installment. (I shared tips for local businesses trying to grow their following on Twitter.)
But how did I get such an opportunity? After all, authoring a social media column in the market's major news daily is pretty sweet.
The opportunity was all the result of my social network, and I thought it would be fun to show how that worked:
June 2008: Get on Twitter. Figure out how it works. Make friends.
March 2009: When Twitter friend @tawnypress in Orange County offers up her ticket to hear @chrisbrogan speak at @bryanelliott's SoCal Action Sports Network event, I go. I enjoy meeting and learning from Chris Brogan as well as hanging out IRL with another OC Twitter friend @kirstenwright. But I also meet @ronploof. Ron is an author, blogger, storyteller, and speaker who helps executives understand the business of new and social media. I stay connected with Ron through Twitter but also subscribe to his blog. Ron shares great insights and advice, which I often ReTweet or post to Facebook to share with my network. It's really good stuff.
May 2010: Ron suggests I take his place on a social media panel at Cal State Long Beach's Journalism Day since he has a conflict. It's a fun experience, and I enjoy meeting the other folks on the panel including OC Tweeter and blogger @tednguyen. A former Orange County Register reporter, @mcdiana a.k.a. Diana McCabe, is auditing the panel, and we connect after the event on Twitter.
June 2010: @mcdiana becomes a business editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune, with a focus on the interactive side of the paper's business reporting. We share advice and observations on running in San Diego, among other local tips.
When it's time to kick off her idea for a "Social Media Monday" column, I come to mind. Why? Because in 2009, @tawnypress Tweeted that she had an extra ticket to an event, and I went. Because @kirstenwright Tweeted that she would be there too so I wasn't going alone. Because @ronploof and I connected there and then stayed connected via our shared social networks. This led to a shared mutual respect which resulted in a speaking opportunity that led to a column opportunity.
See how that works? It might sound like a lot of work or a long time to work, but it's just one example of the many great connections and opportunities that social networking activities have produced for me and my business.
If you missed it, here's the column:
How to grow your Twitter network
Welcome to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s first installment of Social Media Monday, a new weekly feature that helps businesses and consumers understand how to use social media tools to their best advantage. This week's tips come from Julie Wright, president of (W)right On Communications, a San Diego public relations agency. She frequently speaks and consults on social media best practices. (Find her on Twitter at @juliewright).
SOCIAL MEDIA MONDAY: Building quality connections
The social networking site Twitter has allowed me to make new connections at a pace that I could not possibly have achieved in person or, as they say on Twitter, IRL (in real life).
Have you hit 'reply all' by mistake? Sent a nasty response and then regretted it? Or simply sent a message and then remembered some piece of information or a question you left out?
(The last one happens to me several times a day!)
How do I avoid sending multiple emails on the same topic when that happens? Easy: I've configured my email to send and receive every five minutes.
That's five minutes to realize I might have hit 'reply all.' Or a five-minute cooling down period. (Some folks might need 10 minute intervals!) And it's five minutes for 'oh yeah, I needed to ask about XYZ too.'
How many of your emails need to be sent immediately? I'll bet they're the exception and not the rule. Therefore, it's no big deal to manually hit 'Send/Receive' in Microsoft Outlook from time to time when you need to send a message right away.
Change your email options in Outlook by clicking the 'Tools' menu. Select 'Options' and then click the 'Mail Setup' tab. You'll have to unclick the 'Send immediately when connected' button--that's actually the default setting for Outlook. Then click the 'Send/Receive' button to the right to specify how frequently you want your email sent.
I've been doing this for years and just told a few of my colleagues who loved the idea. I thought I'd share it here, because in my opinion, it's a 'best practice' when it comes to email. Do you have any tips for email communication to share?
With fewer employees doing more of the work, the economy has really put the squeeze on workers during the last 12 to 18 months. For those fortunate enough to be consideredin the employed rather than the unemployed category, they’ve stepped up, done more with less, and the statistics show it. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, productivity has increased more in the last year than it has in the last 48 years. Read that again: the productivity of American workers has increased so dramatically over the last 12 months that 1962 was the last time the workforce saw such an increase. Specifically, from the first quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2010, productivity increased 6.3 percent.
Can this rate continue? Or is this a cause-effect relationship that will be a mere blip on the radar a year from now? Is your business prepared to make this a long-term trend? Businesses today don’t need sprinters, they need marathoners. It is foolish for employers to do nothing and expect that this trend will continue. It is more important than ever to have a strategic employee communications program in place. Whether your company consists of 5 or 50,000 – employees must feel connected, engaged.
If they are not already, have your corporate communications team work closely with human resources. Make sure employees are getting the need to know information as well as the nice to know.
At (W)right On, we’re leading internal communications programs for small businesses as well as for large, international businesses with tens of thousands of employees in hundreds of locations spread across the world. Don’t let language barriers, multiple time zones or diverse cultures be excuses. If you’re a small business, don’t just assume employees feel connected. Make the effort to communicate, it builds employee morale which will help keep productivity on the upswing.
Paraphrasing our favorite character from "The Office," Dwight Schrute. "Would I ever leave this company? Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they value loyalty the most."
If you have the greatest company in the world, the best finance team, great IT support, well-respected managers, the whole nine yards - that’s fantastic. You should be proud. However, none of that matters if you have poor customer service representatives (CSRs). To the customer, those CSRs are your company. They make or break the sale. They leave the customer satisfied and likely to return or they leave them unhappy and likely to tell everyone they know not to buy your products or services.
Think about it. If Peyton Manning is your quarterback, you’re not going to surround him with a bunch of bush league offensive linemen. No, you want the best.
In a survey, the National Association of Retail Marketing Services found that companies lose 10 customers for every one that complains and 90% of unhappy clients will not do business with the same company again. Considering how much it costs to attract a customer, it makes no sense at all not to invest in a service program and satisfy and keep those hard-won customers.
This isn’t a new concept. It’s one that holds true through the evolution of customer service from face to face, to phone, to online interactions.
The person managing your Twitter and Facebook accounts is one of the most important CSRs there is. Is the person behind those social network accounts familiar with all aspects of your company? Have they been properly trained to respond to customer complaints? Do they follow through with people who connect to them, whether it’s a neutral, good or bad comment? It’s not enough to just be: you must become an engaged and active presence.
Consider this person an extension of your front line, because they’re not just picking up the phone and dealing with 50 customers a day, they’re online dealing with thousands – or more. Without a solid front line…the rest won’t matter.
Why do I call social media the ultimate marketing platform? A couple of reasons:
1. It allows customers to find you and saves you the expense of finding them.
2. It facilitates a real connection with your customers.
3. It leverages word of mouth which is the cheapest form of marketing and the most effective. (WARNING: It can also spread negative word of mouth so don't suck.)
Let's look at how three clever, risk-taking marketers made the most of these social media campaign attributes:
Last year, Tourism Queensland launched a campaign asking for candidates for what they billed as the "Best Job in the World," spending six months on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef, being paid $140,000 and promoting tourism to the region. The campaign generated tens of millions in publicity as well as many social media conversations where candidates were competing for the opportunity.
One of the serious contenders for this job was an editor from a Vancouver daily newspaper that I follow on Twitter.
This year, an Irish travel agency launched a contest to find two honeymoon testers to travel the world and be paid to review its most romantic destinations. The contest is still ongoing and is generating a ton of buzz on social networks and in traditional media too.
A friend sent me a link today to this article in Canada's Financial Post newspaper detailing how an upscale mall used a similar social media campaign on a regional scale. The 10 winners of the "Yorkdale is Me" campaign would be featured in its spring advertising campaign, get $1,000 to spend at the mall and park in their own dedicated spot at the mall for a year.
But the real winner was the Yorkdale mall which saw visits from its social media, fashion savvy new friends generate 49% greater sales per person. The campaign attracted 1,400 applicants and generated 100 Facebook fan pages created by contestants with 4,500 fans among them.
There are many more examples of creative social media campaigns that generated brand awareness and direct ROI from sales and earned media.
If you're considering such a campaign, you'll need a fresh and creative approach that captures people's imaginations and is worth talking about and competing for. Lastly, make sure the program ties back to your brand and creates stronger connections with your core customers because ultimately that is the point.
UPDATE: (4/5/10 7:05 a.m.): Uncle Julio's has changed its Facebook settings so no fan posts are visible and continues to delete posts from people opposed to its choice to serve frog legs. Save the Frogs is mounting protests at all Uncle Julio's locations on April 30 Save the Frogs day. By the way, Save the Frogs has more Facebook fans than Uncle Julio's.
UPDATE (4/4/10 3:55 p.m.): The original blog post below was from 1 p.m. on Sunday. By 3:50 p.m. the Uncle Julio's Facebook admin had simply 'deleted' all of the posts.
ORIGINAL POST (4/4/10 1:00 p.m.): Uncle Julio's restaurant, with 14 locations in five states, has a Facebook page for fans of its border-style Mexican food. But there's an item on its menu that has Save the Frogs fans on Facebook hopping mad.
These frog fans have hopped on over to Uncle Julio's fan page this Easter weekend, while Uncle Julio's staff are off celebrating the holiday, to leave the restaurant chain a message about frog legs.
Amphibians are currently undergoing what scientists have identified as the earth's sixth mass extinction event in its history. In addition to other environmental causes, a pathogenic fungus is spreading across global frog populations and wiping them out. Frogs raised in India and China for the global frog leg trade are loosely regulated and at risk of spreading this highly virulent fungus.
Now a global environmental crisis is becoming a local PR crisis for this business.
And it's facilitated by the company's own Facebook fan page. Last month, the Nestle company fan page was the target of a Greenpeace-stoked campaign, but Uncle Julio's vs Save the Frogs this Easter weekend shows that you don't have to be a multi-national corporation to be on the receiving end of a very public outcry.
It's what you do with the criticisms that count. Uncle Julio's needs to understand that a large group of people are trying to start a conversation with their chain.
If the restaurant's management listens to these voices, it has an excellent opportunity before it.
It can join this conversation, keep it civil and respectful, and extend the conversation to its loyal patrons who will most likely follow its example of civility and respect.
It can let people know that it has recently been made aware of amphibian extinction rates across the globe. It can share some of the statistics it has learned with its customers. If it can show that its frogs clearly do not contribute to the degradation of other frog habitats or spread disease, it can communicate this to customers. Although, no restaurants serving this product have much of a leg to stand on.
Scientific evidence shows that the trade in frog legs may contribute to the spread of diseases that are a major cause of this mass extinction event. When you consider the risks against the benefits, serving frog legs just doesn't make sense. They're a delicacy and not a staple, are imported from long distances, and don't support a local industry that creates employment.
If Uncle Julio's were (W)right On's client, we'd have them primed to answer tough questions about their choice to serve this product and ready with a plan to announce a change.
Assuming Uncle Julio's took our counsel, we would make this announcement before Save the Frogs Day on April 30; educate loyal patrons about the change through point of sale materials in the restaurant, talking points for servers and online communications via its website and Facebook page; engage directly with those who criticized the practice to build new relationships; and develop a program and promotion to raise funds for amphibian protection and engage patrons in making the world a better place for frogs to strengthen their relationship with the Uncle Julio's brand.
What at first appears to be a crisis can often become an opportunity, but with social media giving a platform for these kinds of communications, a company has to be ready to engage.
If you work with the media, you need to pay close attention to by-lines.
By-lines tell you who wrote the story you are reading. The Economist has a policy of no by-lines, but that's the exception to the rule and is supposed to reflect that every article in that magazine is the work of the entire masthead.
A PR professional has to make note of what kind of stories each reporter follows or produces. We approach the Sunday morning paper a little differently than the average reader.
While this practice seems so obvious to me, a number of times I've been in conversation with a journalist and brought up a story they wrote that I remembered and found interesting.
Their reaction is often surprise. They so rarely get direct feedback from their readers. Most feedback these days appears to be via online comments--and much of that is ranting, complaining or name-calling.
So the next time you read an article and appreciate the content, information, angle or the writing style, drop the author a note. Their emails are usually at the end of each story. He or she will surely appreciate the feedback, and it may lead to a relationship with that writer too.
A long-time client with business on both sides of Canada-U.S. border was telling me how much he enjoyed the Vancouver 2010 games. And then he threw down a great and fun challenge.
Dave is a proud American, but he found himself pulling for Canada during the Olympics while he was in Vancouver on business during the games.
He could not bring himself to audibly cheer for the Canadian athletes, however, and not for the reason you think! His problem? Canada's chant of 'Go Canada Go' was just too goofy.
My challenge, with your help, is to draft a new Team Canada chant that Americans can comfortably use. Let me know if you have a favorite or an alternate suggestion:
1. Apology Chant: This is a 'when in Rome' strategy and can be country-specific such as "Sorry Sweden! Sorry Sweden!" (Note: it's 'sore-ry,' not 'sahr-ry.') Or, it can be generic and fit all occasions: "Pardon us! Pardon us!"
2. Anthem Chant: "O Canada O!" While Canadians are famously polite, their national anthem carries a more-in-your-face message: Canada is "the true North strong and free." (The civility thing is just a facade. Don't believe me? Consider the brawling nature of Canada's national sport. This hommage to the anthem is all about the subtext.)
3. Obama Chant: "Yes we Canada!" About 45% of Americans will either love or hate this chant. The other 10% are undecided and could swing either way. 4. U-S-A Chant: "Ca-Na-Da!" (Chant and repeat).
5. Bilingual Chant: "Allez Canada! Go Canada!" or "Vive la Canada! Long live Canada!" If you're the guest of a Canadian government official, this is the recommended chant.
What a great excuse to write about my favorite grammar gaffes! This blog post is intended as a friendly refresher to all who email, text, type, blog, post or copywrite for a living. (However, like good table manners, good grammar is an asset no matter what you do for a living.)
1. It's or Its
This has to be the most common grammatical error. It's just too easy to slip up. The only solution is to carefully proof every its/it's in your writing and ask your colleagues to do the same when they proof it. (You do have a second set of eyes to review your writing, don't you?)
2. Commas
Here's the deal. When two independent clauses (i.e. clauses that stand on their own as sentences) are joined with a conjuction (and, but, so, etc.), a comma is required before the conjunction.
However, if you're connecting an independent clause and a phrase, no matter how sorely tempted you are, don't use a comma. E.g.:
(W)right On Communications is up for an InfluenceSD Agency of the Year award, and our team would be honored with your vote. (correct)
(W)right On Communications is up for an InfluenceSD Agency of the Year award, and would be honored with your vote. (incorrect)
3. Possessive or Plural?
The possessive s, like it's and its, is something to proof very closely. Most often, I find that the possessive is omitted. E.g.:
The cars horn blared. (incorrect) vs. The car's horn blared. (correct)
Neither fear nor forget the possessive plural. Approach it as a thing of beauty and a sign of your awesomeness every time you get it right: The cars' horns blared. (I'm awesome.)
4. Compliment vs. Complement
This is another common grammatical challenge, especially for people who write restaurant menu descriptions, apparently.
The cabernet reduction compliments the beef. (incorrect, unless the sauce can talk)
The cabernet reduction complements the beef. (correct)
The waiter compliments your good grammar. (correct)
Complement means to go well with something. E.g. Julie, blue complements yours eyes. If you were to say this to me, you would be paying me a compliment. (By the way, feel free.)
5. Creative Prose vs. Gobbledygook
Grammar is the difference between creativity and gobbledygook, in this blogger's humble opinion. Rules are meant to be broken, of course. But it's only creative genius if you're breaking the rules intentionally. Otherwise, it's wreaking havoc.
Trying to write creative, colorful copy without a basic understanding of the fundamental building blocks of the English language is like auditioning on American Idol when your only singing experience is in the shower or for your mom. You might think it sounds good...
Respect the rules, but experiment.
Two Questions for Others
Where do you stand on commas before "and" in a list? I had a client early in my career who insisted on using one, so I adopted that practice for her and hung on to it by habit. Since that time, I've had another client who prefers no comma before "and." I have two rules of thumb: 1) whatever you choose to do, be consistent, and b) if you're writing for a client and he or she has a strong preference, adopt it and be consistent.
I proofed this post as best as I could, but if I made any typos, misplaced commas, etc. please let me know so that I can improve. Thanks!!
Curiosity is a very useful, if not essential, character trait in great PR consultants. If you’re not naturally curious about a wide range of subjects, you’ll struggle to get up to speed on your clients’ businesses and industries. You’ll also be less likely to muster a contagious enthusiasm for the subject you’re communicating.
Curiosity is helpful if you’re an in-house practitioner, of course. But for agency consultants, natural curiosity has some other major career benefits. Let’s break them down:
1. Curious consultants dive into topics and, thus, acquire an impressive knowledge of their clients’ subjects. This makes them an invaluable media resource as well as a credible spokesperson, advisor and strategist.
2. The curious are driven to follow through. Once they sink their teeth into a story, they have to know how it ends. So, they follow up with clients, media, partners, vendors, colleagues and other stakeholders to see through the story or project.
3. When you’re naturally curious, your mind likes to turn over a topic and you’ll think about it in the car, shower or post office line up. And that process is often when the best ideas magically materialize.
4. Curiosity fuels an inquisitive nature too. Curious people ask questions. And asking good questions is critical to developing a good strategy. Good question often lead to tough questions, and a good practitioner must get the tough questions on the table with the client before the media or other stakeholders do.
5. Curiosity can also help build relationships with clients. What does it say to a client when a consultant thinks to ask “how is the Australia expansion going?” or “has your son picked a college yet?” It shows them that you care about their business or about them as people, and that’s invaluable to the relationship. It has an added benefit in that you might learn something about the client’s business that gives you a broader perspective. It helps position you as a collaborator and helps take you out of the box that clients can sometimes put their subject matter experts in. Lastly, it’s helpful to understand what’s happening in your client’s personal life so you can take that into consideration.
The benefits above are tough to achieve if you have to fake or force curiosity, but if you foster it and encourage it in yourself, you’ll be rewarded.
What do you think? What are the benefits of curiosity that I missed here? Share below or on our Facebook page.
Is curiosity always good? Curiosity can have its pitfalls such as miring client discussions in trivial questions or nice-to-know tangents. You don’t want to be that kid on the grade school field trip who won’t stop asking questions. So, keep the questions on point.
It’s also important not to assume that your clients’ audiences have the same level of curiosity (a.k.a. interest) in the subject. As a rule, never underestimate their total apathy to your clients’ subjects, and work hard to find ways to drive and encourage curiosity and interest. Without either, there’s no basis for engagement.
So, ask why, how much, when, where and how. Ask them early, and ask them often. But remember that the question good practitioners really need to be curious about is this one: so what?
Be curious and pursue the answer to that question relentlessly on behalf of your clients’ audiences, and you’ll be at the top of your game.
If you’ve always thought that PR is just putting out press releases, think again. The press release is the least of it, folks. That said, it’s where clients often put the bulk of their attention.
Clients want coverage, of course. That’s how they most often measure the return on their investment, but when they don’t take the media’s needs into account and emphasize press releases over targeted story pitches or newswires instead of exclusives, they are putting their PR professionals into a box and, therefore, confining the reach and results of their own campaigns.
As your agency, we work on media relationships continually, we study the media landscape, and we identify coverage trends to ensure we’re able to be most effective for you. We understand the need to do more with less, but we cannot afford to shortchange any of our relationships or cut corners on best practices in our interactions with others on your behalf.
To understand the pressures of PR in 2010, we’ve collected below, in their own words, what journalists expect from PR professionals today. With thousands of pitches coming at them every week, trust us when we say that you cannot succeed with cookie cutter approaches, un-researched pitches or weak news angles.
And if you haven’t already, we also suggest you read Part 1 of this two-part post on the challenges journalists are facing today as well as our previous post about what makes a good story. After you’ve read through these comments, please share with us below whether this re-affirms what you already knew about PR or if it has caused you to adjust your perceptions.
NATIONAL BUSINESS NEWSPAPER: "If you're pitching a small startup that's not publicly traded, tell me why it's part of a bigger trend. Product pitches aren't likely to succeed. I don't really care for press releases announcing a new product debut at a conference or trade show.”
"It must be something done by a big company or an action of a small firm that affects the bigger players. I don't want product announcements or minor management activity."
REGIONAL BUSINESS: "The best PR pros are candid. In these difficult economic times, I still expect truthful answers to questions about a lack of funding or other problems. Don't be overly aggressive and keep trying to pitch deals I am not interested in."
NATIONAL NEWSWIRE: "I never do a story based on a single pitch about a company, person or product. The best PR pros frame their pitch as part of a trend."
"I would cover a show that a celebrity is appearing in, but I wouldn't write about a charity that person is promoting. I prefer exclusive pitches, but they don't have to be just for me. However, I don't want something that's already been exclusive to someone else."
NATIONAL TV NEWS BUREAU: "I look for character-driven topics with really amazing people. I want exclusives. Don't pitch my show if you're also trying to be on other networks too. Links to video of your client is very helpful. I can also use b-roll."
NATIONAL NEWS MAGAZINE: "The best PR people provide exclusive information and a unique angle to the story. We'd never write about a particular product and sometimes get those types of pitches. It's obvious when PR people don't read the publication and suggest things we'd never cover."
NATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWSWIRE: "Give me a unique insight into what you do and give us access to people who aren't normally available for interviews. If we won't use the pitch, we'll let you know quickly, so you can offer it elsewhere. Don't include us in shotgun blasts that go out to everyone.”
MAJOR MARKET DAILY NEWSPAPER:“"I don't do stories about individuals hired to run a company. I want to be connected with experts who have knowledge of a specific issue in the news. Don't be cute. Be succinct. Tell me in the pitch what the news is. Don't pitch me ‘Joe Blow' who can talk about the economy or the markets."
The last 18 months have been hell on journalists and, therefore, to a lesser degree, on media relations professionals too. To adequately explain what late 2008 and 2009 have been like in our field, we’ve got to start with the journalist’s view. Hence the two part approach to this post.
In 2008 and 2009:
• Journalists feared for their jobs. Therefore, they wanted only to cover the most compelling stories. (To understand what a compelling story is, see our last post.)
• Journalists were forced to cover more beats. One columnist we work with had his column frequency and coverage area doubled, was assigned obituaries and asked to contribute regular human interest profiles. Another had to produce streaming video product reviews for the paper's website while blogging and producing daily business news coverage.
• Journalists had less space to cover stories. Page counts shrunk in print publications and with them coverage opportunities became tighter too. A story that might have merited coverage two years ago now literally had nowhere to run.
• And, of course, journalists did lose their jobs in layoff rounds and many of the press contacts we'd made over the years were downsized.
In this environment, (W)right On Communications simply worked harder and smarter to give our clients' stories the edge.
In 2008, we began adopting more social media strategies to find additional avenues to deliver client messages and help our clients engage with their audiences and stakeholders. We watched as traditional reporters and columnists joined Twitter and Facebook and news media began to embrace real-time social media tools to break news and encourage reader participation and commentary. (In that regard, the trends weren’t all bad – given a different set of circumstances, this would have been pretty cool. But the triple threat of Craigslist, media fragmentation and decimated advertising budgets took a lot of the fun out of it.)
Our support of traditional media relations continued, however, with a greater than ever emphasis on best practices.
What are these best practices you ask? At their heart, they’re consuming traditional and social media in frequent and large doses. We read a lot! That means blogs, newspapers, and magazines as well as journalists on Twitter and Facebook. This is how we know who’s writing what, what’s new with who (or, er, with whom), and what they’ve been writing about lately as well as what they are likely to write about in the future. In addition to this, we’ve had to stay on top of trends in our own industry, first and foremost, but our clients’ industries as well.
Such research has always been necessary to produce results for our clients, but never more so. It’s not just the current economic environment. It’s also the low barriers to entry in the PR profession--from easy leads via HARO to easy and cheap press release distribution via PRWeb. These tools as well as more expensive but convenient databases like Vocus and Cision that allow people to send thousands of emails with the push a button mean that journalists are receiving 400 emails or more a day—and many to most of them are either completely outside of the journalist's beat or perhaps in their beat but containing no real news.
So, yes, sticking to best practices is, unfortunately, the way to stand out and serve the last journalists standing.
And, no, 2009 was not an easy year for media or PR professionals and 2010 may see some small improvement, but for those who haven’t cut corners and have kept their skills, knowledge and relationships fresh, the outlook is much brighter.
Stay tuned for our part two post, in which we acknowledge more of the perils of our industry.
Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers surveyed recently reported that half used Twitter to monitor for PR problems, but only 22.4% actually contacted Twitter users who posted negative Tweets.
Monitoring is fairly easy--if time-consuming--but it's also reported to be the most effective use of Twitter for these brands. This makes it even more surprising that 1 in 2 brands is not monitoring its image via Twitter at all. That's too bad. Twitter's beauty is giving you a real-time window into what people are saying and thinking about your business or industry.
Only one in four brands on Twitter actually reported using it to reach out and engage people directly when they had a complaint or criticism. Monitoring or listening is important, but reaching out and dialoguing is what really make a difference. Yet, going that extra mile appears to be a little more difficult for brands.
Is this a classic case of activity (monitoring) over productivity (acting on the information)? What do you think?
Here's a little advice for organizations that are monitoring but not responding:
+ Have a social media policy that makes it clear what scenarios are important to respond to. + Develop key messages, FAQs and some tough Q&A so that your employees have the tools to respond accurately, confidently and on message. + Assign responsibility and accountability to an individual or team of individuals (in-house or agency or both) to manage these social media interactions (not just Twitter but blogs, Facebook, and more.) + Now track and evalute this outreach to learn what works and continuously improve your online image management
The media's idea of a good story and the client's idea of a good story are rarely in perfect sync.
That's the job of a good PR team: to find the client's news value (e.g. what the media wants) while crafting key messages that the coverage can deliver (e.g. what the client wants).
"Man bites dog" is the quintessential news hook because it's out of the ordinary. It also conveys many news values such as peril, conflict, controversy and human interest. These factors contribute to a good story. (If the dog is particularly cute, even better.)
By contrast, "dog bites man" is not a story unless its Paris Hilton's chihuahua biting David Letterman. The notion of celebrity is another important news value. If it's a name that everyone knows, then it's news (or gossip masquerading as news). This is why the 'red carpet' is a go-to feature at every club opening. Celebrities create news value where there otherwise isn't any--e.g. appearances at fundraisers, being 'spotted' at a restaurant, or being the spokesperson for a cause. How long until celebrity appearances become "dog bites man?" Or are we there already--particularly with reality TV pumping out celebrities faster than the Octomom?
In the world of business communications, "entrepreneur starts and grows successful business" is not a news hook. That's exactly what enterpreneurs are supposed to do--so it's a "dog bites man" pitch.
Did the enterpreneur overcome some adversity to achieve success? What makes this enterpreneur or company's success extraordinary? Is there some peril that threatens the hard-won success?
Just this morning, I read this post from a business magazine feature writer which perfectly illustrates the point: "I look for pitches about intriguing, controversial characters who are challenging the status quo. If you're going to pitch these people, I expect to get access to them for several days—over a period of time. Pitches should be thoughtful. There also has to be some tension. The best pitches make the client a little uncomfortable." [Emphasis added.]
When a great story comes together with strong messaging and a client that understands what it takes to earn the media's attention, it's a heavenly match and one of the real joys of our profession.
In the spirit of the season, here are five back-to-basics resolutions for organizations working with agencies. We hope these are common sense to most people, but sometimes the easiest things are the first to be forgotten.
Please feel free to contribute your suggestions. And it goes both ways. Resolutions for agencies are welcome too!
1. Communicate
If you expect a busy quarter ahead or will be consumed with a project, let your agency partners know. Please don't go dark for weeks and even months at a time in the middle of projects. And avoid following such periods of silence with firedrills where everything is now needed all at once. Your agency prides itself on being responsive and making the impossible happen for you, but it can be done better and for less money with a little planning and communication. That's how everybody wins!
2. Don't box people in
Boxes are made for moving and jewelry (though I like the latter best). Neither is meant for people. The more you box in a person or team, the less you get from them. Stay open to ideas. Containing people contains results. 'Nuff said.
3. Help us help you
Think of your agency as an extension of your team. The same way you would tell internal employees of a new venture, product or hire, tell the agency. Even if it's just a quick FYI email or a simple cc or bcc. It will help the agency better understand and manage your communications needs and reach your goals. It will also save you time (a.k.a budget) down the road.
4. Choose the appropriate contact person
Designate a primary contact for your agency representative but be sure that individual is given at least some responsibility for decision making and accountability for agency communications and the PR program. If the designated contact is not made accountable or is not qualified to be so, we guarantee that items 1 through 3 above are not happening either.
5. Make time for face time
Your agency wants to meet with you. Email is an interim solution for agency-client communications and not the permanent solution. Your agency also wants to see the technology demonstrated, taste the new menu, and experience the new service. If you want the agency to sell the concept to your stakeholders, allow time for in-person and hands-on meetings.
Remember, a good agency is here to help you achieve your goals and help identify ones that you might not have thought of yet.
"How are you?" "How's it going?" "What's new?" Most of our conversations begin with such questions. But not so on social media sites. The traditional conversation is reversed on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare with the users posting statements. Comments and the occasional question will often follow. But is that really effective communication?
Here are some examples from my Twitter stream recently. They're typical social media ‘blurts:’
Blog Blurt: "How my Blog Landed Me a Book Deal: http://bit.ly/....”
Location Blurt: “I'm at Crunch Fitness (330 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn).”
Peeve Blurt: “Pet peeve #1: People who talk on the phone in bathroom. Stop it. Not only is it inconsiderate to your neighbors, but it's kinda gross.”
Quote Blurt: "'Like farmers we need to learn that we cannot sow and reap the same day.’ – Unknown” (Editor: gag.)
Each of these is meant to be a conversation starter. But, do they invite a conversation?
If the woman who Tweeted the inspirational quote above had uttered it in the supermarket as I passed, I’d give her shopping cart a very wide berth. If I met the blogger who Tweeted his blog title at a networking event and his first words were ‘my blog landed me a book deal,’ I’d offer my congratulations and move on.
For me, what makes starting a Twitter or Facebook conversation a little less socially awkward is falling back on a conversation classic: the question.
Blog Query: “How’d You Like your Blog to Land you a Book Deal?: http://bit.ly...”
Location Query: “Who else is at Crunch Fitness (330 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn)?”
Peeve Query: “Pet peeve #1: People who talk on the phone in the bathroom. It’s not just inconsiderate but don’t you think it’s kinda gross?”
Quote Query: “Need a lift? Like farmers we need to learn that we cannot sow and reap the same day. – Unknown” (Editor: still gag.)
Yestereday, I Tweeted the following question: “Who else finds inspirational quotes on Twitter a nice but annoying idea?” I had responses from eight Twitter followers. I enjoyed engaging with them because each response brought slightly different perspectives, felt like a conversation, and kept the social media experience fresh for me. Without such responses and interaction, I can understand why people abandon Twitter at such high rates and that's why I'm sharing this social media secret today. (By the way, thank you @slightlyserious, @cantondog, @evolutionfiles, @keithbooe, @sdtips, @cjsettles, @nicmcc, and @scerruti for the feedback on inspiration quotes.)
For businesses using Twitter, querying your followers instead of blurting your press release headlines, special events or promotions will also make the experience more rewarding. When you get responses, (a) you know people are reading and (b) that they're connecting with your content.
Sure you can use sites like Hootsuite and Bit.ly to track clickthroughs on your hyperlinks, but that only works if you've got a hyperlink or if you are more concerned with clickthroughs than conversations and engagement.
So, if you’re new to Twitter or have a Facebook account that has grown stale, think about the difference between a blurt and a question. And try querying your followers to get real, meaningful connections and results.
P.S. When you get answers or feedback, respond and acknowledge it if you want to reward that behavior.
