Blog Spamming, Micro-Marketing, and Other PR Blog Jots

Qorvis Exec Offers Advice to PR Industry

Strumpette

Amanda Chapel invites Michael Petruzzello, managing partner of prominent D.C. firm Qorvis Communications, to pen a guest blog with his advice to the public relations industry in the age of new media. Petruzzello claims that while the industry may be experiencing some growing pains at the moment, they have not been caused by new media. Blogs, viral videos, social media, etc. have only contributed new methods and tactics for PR pros to use.  “While these have given us new ways of doing our job – of telling stories – I wouldn’t say they’ve directly changed the nature of our business. If anything, they’ve opened our eyes to the fact that public relations can be about more than a press release. And, as a result of this realization, we’ve been forced to take a closer look at our clients’ needs.” 

New Company to Sell Blog URLs for Pitching

Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz reports on Umbria Connect, a new venture promising to collect URLs of blogs relevant to companies for marketing purposes. Holtz dismisses the notion, pointing out that the practice of selling blog URLs will be no different than handing out emails or telephone numbers to spammers and telemarketing companies.  “I can just imagine companies utterly clueless about blogs—and mercenary organizations that just don’t give a damn about blogging etiquette—jumping all over this offer, grabbing up URLs and sending out bazillions of terrible pitches without ever reading the blogs whose URLs they’ve bought.”

"Micro"-marketing Cannot Rely on Traffic Stats

Micro Persuasion

Steve Rubel examines the need for a new metric in measuring website traffic to determine PR and marketing successes. He argues that page-views alone are not enough to spread a message, and that communications professionals today should be focusing on small demographics, not necessarily big numbers. “Marketers want to build sustained relationships with small groups that will hopefully create a multiplier effect. That my friends means death to all traffic stats. They're irrelevant in this new era. Do I expect this to shift anytime soon? Probably not. The advertising economy is built on reach.”

Media Culpa's Dire PR Predictions for 2007

Media Culpa

Hans Kullin offers a humorous, tongue-in-cheek look at the possibilities for public relations in the coming year.  Among his predictions are that the blogging trend will spread so far that mainstream media journalists will begin quitting their jobs to blog from home, fearing that is the only way to actually see their names in print.  He also suspects that a new blog will be “ launched in which a couple report about how they travel across the US in an RV and camp in parking lots of the PR agency Edelman PR's offices. The blog, "Edelmaneuvering Across America," turns out to be a publicity stunt by Wal-Mart with the purpose of enhancing the damaged reputation of its PR agency.”