CustomScoop's PR Blog Jots

Ignore the Big News Hook, but Not the Risks of Social Media (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Ignore the Big Hook

PR Squared

In light of the upcoming Superbowl, which will no doubt have public relations agencies and marketing firms scrambling to tie their clients’ campaigns to such a large national event, Todd Defren suggests stepping back from the “big” news meme of the day in order to get ahead.  He notes that at times of large national stories, journalists and media outlets are already receiving more pitches than they can sort through.  Defren argues that pitching stories during slower news cycles is a better way to build media relationships. “Provide information and content (whether related to clients or not) in the quieter times, when the media could really use a helping hand, and they'll not only reward you with more in-depth coverage when things are quiet --- they'll also remember you more fondly when you come up with a "touchdown!"-level pitch about the Big Game.”

Do Not Ignore the Risks of Social Media

Canuckflack

Colin McKay lays out a risk/benefit scenario for social media that he feels should be standard when an agency launches any campaign in such a new medium.  He points to several of the risk factors of a social media campaign, and lays out methods to prepare for and respond to those risks.  “A capable counsellor always tempers their pie-in-the-sky projections with a dose of reality. For example: our blogger relations program could help influence online opinion of our new program - or it could really irritate one particularly influential commentator. Preparing the groundwork before launching your new communications strategy will insulate it from unintended consequences.”

Vista Hits Shelves - And Blogosphere

901am

Thord Hedengren links to a Blogger's Blog list of in-depth online coverage of the launch of Microsoft’s Windows Vista.  He notes that because of Microsoft’s grip on the OS market in the U.S., they will always be a hot topic of blogosphere conversation, and a hot target for criticism.  He calls for bloggers to criticize where necessary, but not to go over the top merely because of resentment for the company’s overwhelming success.  “It’s no surprise that the launch of Windows Vista is hitting the blogosphere big time. Most major Microsoft launches and projects affect our work since so many people are running their software. It doesn’t get much bigger than a new version of Windows though, and with the recent debate on the evilness of the OS, and Microsoft itself (an always living topic), Vista is a bomb in the blogosphere.”

New Virtual Community for Kids

BL Ochman

BL Ochman tours Webkinz, a Myspace and Second Life mash-up that has become all the rage for young children. Webkinz are small stuffed animals that come with a unique code for children to enter online, granting them access to their animals virtual world, where they must maintain their new pet and have the potential to interact with others and play games.  She notes that children growing up today will be the most technologically savvy generation in history. “Take a look at it and you'll begin to realize how soon the kindergarten through junior high generation will leapfrog over adults in their ability to use the Internet, their understanding of e-commerce, their acceptance of online community, and the idea that one's social life can be centered in a virtual world. Publishers, this is how kids will learn instead of with already obsolete text books. Fashion, music, art and commerce online will be as natural a part of young digital native's lives as TV was to baby boomers.”

PR Tips for 2007, Tracking Online Trends, and Other PR Blog Jots

PR Advice from 5W Founder

Strumpette

Ronn Torossian, CEO and founder of 5W Public Relations, writes a guest column for Amanda Chapel praising the PR industry’s successes as of late and offering some guidance for the upcoming year. Torossian advises agencies to take a more active role with clients, rather than merely serving as “yes men” ready to blindly follow wishes.  He further notes that the key to influencing the media is not just pitching the media themselves, but the influencers and “tastemakers” with the ability to promote brands and attract media attention on their own. “In the end, it is not accepting mediocrity that differentiates winning firms from the firms that consistently are stuck in the past and are doing just enough not to get fired. The days of “PR” standing merely for “press releases” are antiquated—we are carrying the torch for major brands and bringing their message directly into the lives of consumers.”

Tips for Tracking Internet Trends

Lifehack

In an extremely useful post for anyone new to monitoring topics of interest online, Leon Ho posts seven different ways to track online trends.  By being savvy, anyone can stay on top of mainstream media and even the bigger bloggers when following certain stories.  He argues for watching Alexa statistics, setting up search topics in blog-monitoring and search sites such as Technorati and Digg, and using feed readers to monitor topics on dozens of blogs at a time.  “As this is your own selections, I recommend to keep down the number of subscriptions, or at least categorize your feed into two areas. A trend watching area which is an area you read often, and Others which is a folder with less important feeds. Keep the noise vs signal ratio low.”

CNET Requring Journalists to Engage in Online Conversation

Micro Persuasion

Steve Rubel reports that popular news website CNET is requiring its journalists to respond to all comments or questions posted to their blogs on the website.  Rubel notes this may be a coup for PR professionals hoping to engage reporters in conversation about issues important to their clients, but notes that some less ethical actors in the industry may abuse the new requirement, generating false comments from sympathetic third parties. “Also, why stop at blog posts? CNET allows readers to comment on news stories too. They should go all the way here. Unfortunately, I also worry that this will be used unethically. It's possible that less than scrupulous PR people will solicit "friendlies" to post questions and concerns in an effort to stir up a debate. This is basically astroturfing.”

The Second Life Embassy, Social Media Instructions, and Other PR Blog Jots

Who Wins the Trust Wars?

A Shel of my Former Self

Shel Holtz discusses several recent studies regarding the trust level of Americans and Europeans for various news sources—television, print media, online media, blogs, etc. Citing several surveys and studies, including the recently released Edelman Trust Barometer, Holtz concludes that while trust in traditional mainstream media is dropping, it is still the primary source of information for most people, and continues to be the most trusted. New media—such as blogs and other online sources—continues to grow but has not yet completely taken over. “What that means to organizations communicating those things they need to communicate, though, will probably continue to be a source of disagreement. I still believe professional communicators need to use the channels that are most credible. That is not the web alone...or even, to date, primarily.”

Study Up Before Making Pitches

The Bad Pitch Blog

Reporting on a trade show that was especially successful for one of his clients, Kevin Dugan offers advice on becoming a good source for media, rather than merely a “pest.”  He points out that the more you know about your clients’ industry, the more likely you are going to be able to share good information with the media outlets with whom you hope to get placements. “The ability to establish yourself as a source with the media is simple if you keep up with all the industry reading you’re supposed to be doing…Being well-read on current events gives you insight into what the competition’s doing, what the industry’s saying and it helps you identify the issues and trends to which your client can speak.”

Social Media How-To

PR 2.0

In continuing efforts to promote the value of the Social Media Release (SMR), Brian Solis points out that while most PR bloggers are well schooled on the aspects of social media, most average people are not.  He points out, however, that social media, particularly the SMR, has much in common with mainstream forms of communication, particularly that writing clearly and well is the key to success. Solis thinks the best releases read like pitch letters, and should be clear and to the point. “Get to the hook and the relevance ASAP. The process forces you to distill what really is important, why, and to whom it impacts. The end result should be a compelling, SMPR which bloggers — and honestly, traditional reporters, too — will appreciate.”

Assessing the Value of Corporate Blogging

PR Communications

John Cass continues the discussion on the recent research from Forrester that breaks down the possible return-on-investment a company could see from a corporate blog, using GM’s “Fastlane” blog as example.  Cass advises any company to assess the potential value of blogging and to research other blogs in their industry before taking the plunge.  He especially stresses the need for blogs to be truly interactive, and address questions in the comments section, something he notes that GM’s blog fails to achieve. “In the case of General Motors, the company does not appear to be answering blog reader comments directly in the blog, this gives the appearance to the public that the company is not interested in conversation. When the opposite may be the case, my advice to General Motors has been to change this situation, either answer more questions, or set expectations in every comment post that you will not answer questions.”

Second Life to be Home to Diplomacy?

Neville Hobson

Neville Hobson reports that Sweden will become the first country to open an embassy in virtual community Second Life.  They will be re-creating a virtual replica of the Swedish embassy in Washington, D.C.  It appears that the online embassy will serve in no official capacity, but will be a marketing tool for the European country. “However the virtual embassy starts out, it won’t be possible to seek asylum, get a passport and those other more formal things an embassy does. More of a marketing initiative, Fredrik says, so it’s a matter of definition if it’ll be a real embassy or not.”

The PR Super Bowl (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Using Social Media to Create Super Bowl Ad Buzz

Pop! PR Jots

Jeremy Pepper discusses the upcoming advertising showcase also known as the Super Bowl, where 30-second ads are selling for $2.6 million.  Pepper notes that smart marketers are using social media to create buzz about their ads (and therefore their products) long before kick-off, as they are posting snippets of their ads online and sending clips to prominent bloggers. By posting on social media sites like YouTube and Diggnation, marketers are wisely using new PR technologies to ensure the largest possible audience for their spots come game time. “Yes, the Super Bowl is a big day for advertising, but the reality is that it's a bigger day for PR. PR runs with the ball (ha! football pun!) and gets the clips out there, works with the vertical trades prior to the game, and works with the mainstream press after the game. The PR component is huge, and the opportunities are huge.”

More on Blog ROI

Twopointouch

Ian Delaney weighs in on the new research released by Forrester that measures ROI for a corporate blog.  Delaney thinks the project was a very good idea, but wonders if the metrics it uses are similar enough to make the comparisons and resulting calculations accurate. In other words, while supportive of corporate blogs, Delaney does not think they can be accurately compared to advertising or marketing costs. “It’s pretty hard to measure the returns on something that’s actually very different to its alternatives by costing up those supposed equivalents. Having a business blog is not the same thing as doing some PR, some advertising and some focus groups. It can allow you to achieve some of the same aims, but it also has its own unique benefits that aren’t easily achieved in any other way.”

The SMNR Audience

PR Squared

In light of the recent flap over the social media news release (SMNR), Todd Defren examines the nature of the SMNR audience—assuming that for the most part it is not solely made up of journalists, as is the case with traditional news releases.  He stresses that the point of the SMNR is not to reach out to journalists, but to reach anyone and everyone looking for content or information, as SMNRs can be found via search engines, “digged” and used as a person sees fit. “In terms of their potential influence on the fate of a company, these Web authors can be as important as any mainstream news reporter.  The Social Media News Release provides these authors with Web-based content that they can readily find, cut & paste into their own content efforts.  Just like the traditional reporter can.”

Microsoft vs. Wikipedia (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Microsoft Irks Wikipedia

Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog

Microsoft caused a stir in the blogosphere this week by offering cash to a blogger in exchange for updates to the Microsoft section on the popular community encyclopedia Wikipedia.  Wikipedia bars anyone with a potential conflict of interest (including PR firms) from updating their articles, and balked at Microsoft’s efforts to correct what they claim were inaccuracies in an article about open source document standards.  “[Microsoft spokesperson Catherine] Brooker said Microsoft had gotten nowhere in trying to flag the purported mistakes to Wikipedia's volunteer editors, so it sought an independent expert who could determine whether changes were necessary and enter them on Wikipedia. Brooker said Microsoft believed that having an independent source would be key in getting the changes to stick—that is, to not have them just overruled by other Wikipedia writers.”

Boyd Still Thinks the Press Release is Dead

/Message

In the ongoing debate over the social media press release vs. the blog, Stowe Boyd responds to Kyle Flaherty's post from yesterday, which insists that a traditional (or social media) press release is still needed even if a company decides to begin communicating through a blog.  Boyd claims that public relations professionals are simply reluctant to move on to something new, and that the press release is indeed dead. “If companies want to converse with people about their plans, announced products, whatever -- the stuff now packaged as press releases -- they will have to adopt a conversational manner, which includes dropping most of the crap associated with press releases. So, no, you really don't need the old "press release": you need something else, altogether.”

New Research Demonstrates ROI for Blogging

Micro Persuasion

Steve Rubel examines new research from Forrester which studies the return on investment a given company may see from setting up a blog. Forrester spoke to several Fortune 500 companies with blogs to determine the benefits and applied a crisis management level of thinking to assess the risks and determine how much value companies see from joining the blogosphere. “When measuring impact they advise using metrics that everyone is familiar with and then to associate each with a dollar value that quantifies the benefit. One idea that they outline, which I like a lot, is to estimate how much the company would have to pay to achieve a similar outcome. So, for example, they suggest benchmarking a blog against services like Buzz Agent.”

More on the StoweMeme, Longtail PR, and Other PR Blog Jots

Blogs Not Widespread Enough to Replace the SMPR

Phil’s Blogservations

Edelman’s Phil Gomes joins the fray responding to Stowe Boyd's calls to replace the social media press release (SMPR) with company blogs.  Gomes argues that not enough companies have come around to embracing the blog as a valid form of communication.  He calls the SMPR one of the many “transitional” tools that PR execs are using to guide their clients into the social media world, and notes that dismissing even traditional news releases is not the best way to encourage change in the industry. “As I've said before, the news release is a communications metaphor that nearly every communicator understands. Efforts to improve and modernize the news release — even *gasp* imbue it with social-media-friendly elements — is a step that slow-to-move companies could be willing to accept. It's certainly more commensurate with established practice than a blog would be. Further, the two aren't mutually exclusive.”

Broadcasters Slow to Adopt RSS

Micro Persuasion

Steve Rubel speculates today that broadcast journalists are not using RSS or newsreaders to stay on top of stories, but rather scanning major newspapers to decide what topics to cover in televised news. He argues the situation is probably quite different for print journalists, however. “I suspect that for online, print and newspaper journalists, the situation is completely the opposite. There's much more pressure on them to avoid getting scooped. So with that they're going to make sure the scan blogs and RSS goes a long way to helping them.”

PR's Ethical Questions Explored

The Flack

Peter Himler links to a review on Slate of the new book Unspeak, which examines how public relations and spin use words and messages to confuse people into going along with a particular idea or campaign.  Himler uses the opportunity to argue that PR should not be about deception, and that practitioners should try to increase their standards, just as journalists should try to hold those spinning the truth accountable for their manipulations.  “From the perspective of PR practitioners, e.g., those typically accused of creating unspeak, PRSA or some other industry organization should also lay down the gauntlet...to distance the industry from the Beltway spinmeisters who have increasingly tainted the profession. Honest advocacy does not have to be an oxymoron.”

PR Without Media?

PR 2.0

Brian Solis links to an explanation of "Long Tail PR", conducted without dealing with the mainstream media and only through social networks, blogs, news aggregator websites and other tools of “new PR.”  Solis points out that by spreading the right message through the right channels, it is certainly possible to run a public relations campaign entirely free of the mainstream press, but that one should take the audience of their message into consideration beforehand.  “By sparking conversations using a well constructed, on target SMR, blogs, video, etc., will hopefully entice the first rank of bloggers to help carry the message, which will in turn ignite conversations in the long tail. But, we all need to keep in mind that one umbrella message doesn’t work across the spectrum. The longtail is comprised of groups which require individual attention to specifically address the unique needs of different people.”

The Trust Barometer (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Press Release Necessary on the Local Level

Pop! PR Jots

Jeremy Pepper responds to yesterday’s flap over social media press releases by pointing out that the traditional press release is still necessary for most public relations campaigns, as most public relations campaigns are run locally.  Pepper rightly notes that the debate over the importance of social media in PR is largely over the heads of most of PR’s true audience, and that while blogs, RSS, and the SMPR will continue to change the industry, traditional tools cannot be cast aside.  “What people don't get - especially non-PR people - is that, oh, the majority of PR is done at the local level, where people don't care about blogs or RSS. The local level is done with a press release - sometimes sent over the wire, often not sent over the wire - and done with one-on-one contact.”

Bloggers Rate Low on the Edelman Trust Barometer

Simonsays

Simon Collister reports on the launch of the Edelman Trust Barometer, announced with both traditional and social media news releases.  Of those surveyed, only 6 percent of respondents claimed to trust bloggers, while 45 percent claim to trust “someone like me.”  Collister wonders what the difference is; as citizen media is run by “someone like me.” “What the findings reinforce is that we no longer live in an age of deference but one of reference. People want to be talked to, not shouted at. The faster busiensses/NGOs etc recognise that and adapt their worldvew the faster a) they will adopt to social media and b) they will find they're running in step with the vast majority of the public.”

PR Needs to Join the Conversation

/Message

Stowe Boyd reacts to the flurry of posts in response to his recent condemnation of the press release.  He argues that he still believes the traditional press release is on its way out, and claims to be arguing for the increased use of corporate blogs because public relations is meant to be a conversation.  He urges PR practitioners to not only engage in conversation instead of merely pushing messages, but also realize that social media is going to change the industry, and the way public relations currently operates. “I really do believe that they should stop what they are doing and join the open conversation that is going on out here, at the edge. They should stop pushing information that they know to be false, like phoney quotes, overdone product claims, and news flashes of dubious importance. They should stop crafting "messages" to broadcast through various "channels" to their various "audiences".”

The Social Media “Audience” (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Who is the True Audience of Social Media?

/Message

Following a Third Thursday panel of several prominent PR bloggers in San Francisco, Stowe Boyd whether a social media press release is truly necessary when a company could just as easily write its own blog.  Igniting quite a blogosphere debate, Boyd further challenges many PR bloggers and practitioners on their knowledge of what social media truly is, and offers his own explanation of the medium, arguing that its audience is made up of participants in the blogosphere and that much more than simply a new form of the standard press release is necessary to keep up with the times. “For example, seeing the bloggers acknowledge on one hand that CEOs don't actually provide those quotes that are stuck into press releases while on the other hand promoting transparency and openness in corporate communications was more than painful. We should simply state, unequivocally, that such things are not social media: they are old style, push marketing crap. They are exactly the things that lead us to question the motives, influence, and truthfulness of stupid, old line companies who just don't get it.”

More Changes Necessary

PR 2.0

Brian Solis follows up his post from last week and responds to Boyd’s posting (read responses from Tom Murphy, Mike Manuel, Stuart Bruce, and Shel Holtz as well) calling for more improvements to PR than just a re-vamp of the traditional press release.  Solis agrees with Boyd to a point, but defends PR bloggers as doing more than just repackaging old PR techniques.  He argues that PR will continue to need to evolve as the audience grows more sophisticated, and that the goals of communications are not going to be to spread information, but to generate a conversation with the public. “Look, it all starts with the need to tell a better story in a way that means something to someone. One release no longer serves everyone. With wire services and savvy web marketers placing them in search engines as well as news desks, it's now more important than ever, to improve the foundation. Garbage generates garbage. Benefits and relevance specific to individual needs produces interest and ignites dialogue.”

Traditional News Release Still Effective

Common Sense PR

Eric Eggertson reacts to the debate following Boyd’s post by arguing the merits of traditional public relations tools, mainly the news release. Acknowledging that it could use an update in light of Web 2.0, Eggertson points out that the press release still has juice as a communications technique and should not be, as some are calling for, discarded entirely.  “As happy as it would make many communications people to permanently eliminate news releases and staged photo opportunities, the fact that these PR tools have survived is a testament to their effectiveness at getting information into the hands of people who need it - journalists, analysts, and others who read and write the news either through news wires, or through the media.”

Avoid the Bubble

Online Public Relations Thoughts

In a brief but interesting post, Jim Horton notes there is often, especially in communications, a lack of rational thought.  Irrationality, he claims, often trumps common sense in public relations.  Horton argues that instead of being swept up in PR trends that may prove to be merely bubbles, practitioners should attempt to stand back and take a rational, objective approach—something he acknowledges is often truly difficult when clients are making demands.  “PR practitioners should cultivate the art of standing to the side and observing human action without getting swept up in it. Our credibility is fact that we bring to persuasive argument and not hype. When something like ethanol is generating hundreds of stories, and one is sure it is a bubble, stay away from the bubble. Preserve client reputation.”

Consumer Anarchy (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Pay-For-Performance Not Always Best

Online Public Relations

Jim Horton responds to yesterday’s Bulldog Reporter blog post from David Oates, who argues for public relations agencies to change their revenue models to a pay-for-performance system.  Horton likes this idea in theory, but claims it is not necessarily the best strategy for certain kinds of PR.  He points out that crisis communications and corporate positioning aren’t areas where a pay-for-performance revenue model would be appropriate. “Mr. Oates is thinking, of course, of marketing PR in which gaining awareness is the goal. Most PR activity today is marketing, but not all of it. I happen to work in a part of the field that appears to be an exception to Mr. Oates' point of view.”

Online Letters-to-the-Editor Bring New Groups to Blogosphere

BusinessWeek Blogspotting

Steven Baker notes a Colorado paper’s decision to allow letters-to-the-editor to be entered online in a blog format, giving readers the opportunity for instant feedback and to respond to LTEs via a comments section.  He applauds the trend as bringing a whole new demographic into the blogosphere, and hopes that other papers will join in the idea.  “And Daily Camera appears to be an innovator in opening up its editorial processes. The paper has a feature called Virtual Editorial Board, in which they solicit views on a subject and then mold them into the paper's editorial.”

Pitching in the Blogosphere

Blogging for Business

Capital PR links today to an interesting post from Ted Demopoulos on “How to Pitch a Blogger.”  Demopoulos simplifies the idea using the same tactics a PR pro would use to pitch a mainstream journalist, and prints an example of an especially effective pitch he received.  When pitching journalists, PR pros learn the topics they like to write about and personalize their pitches as much as possible.  It is the same for bloggers, according to Demopoulos. “So, how to pitch me or other bloggers? Address us by name. Make it clear you've read our blog. Be ON…target! (I don’t write about weight loss!)”

Blogging = Consumer Anarchy?

PR Squared

In light of recent blog chatter regarding a consumer using a camera phone to document the poor condition of a popular retail store, Todd Defren wonders if blogging has led to a new culture of “anarchy” among consumers.  He notes that in the world of new media, big brand names need to beware the spiteful consumer who may blog about their poor customer service experiences. He also notes that this trend may result in positive changes from some of the larger companies as they realize they need to show a “human” side.  “Of course, there's a flip-side to all this.  I've mused before about the scalability challenge that marketers and PR pros will face in addressing quajillions of empowered consumers.  In those previous posts I was wondering about how to do a GOOD JOB.  Now I am growing equally concerned about Marketing's ability to simply KEEP UP!  We must not only find all these posts, we must not only respond, but we must also respond promptly & well!?”

Newspaper Blogs Booming (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Print Media Successfully Moves to Blogs

Micro Persuasion

Readership of newspaper blogs has grown rapidly in the last year, as reported by Steve Rubel and many other PR bloggers today.  Rubel links to a Yahoo! News story that reports that visits to newspapers’ blogs accounted for 13 percent of visits to their websites in December, a 9 percent jump from the previous year.  Rubel applauds the mainstream media embrace of the blogosphere and hopes that PR professionals will take note that this is yet another sign their jobs are changing. “Now, as journalism moves to a two-way modality it's going to force a lot of PR professionals to change their game plan. Stories won't be written and "put to bed." They will be co-written and re-written by journalists and readers together. This will either take place within a journalist's blog or over the ether as a conversation that travels across many of them.”

Publicity Stunt or Legitimate Undertaking?

901am

Thord Daniel Hedengren questions the legitimacy of the 59 Smartest Orgs Online project being promoted by fellow PR blogger Seth Godin.  Hedegren accuses the project, which ranks non-profit organizations on their creativity and web-savvy, as a mere publicity stunt for the project’s sponsors.  “Sure, there’s nothing wrong with profiling non-profit organizations online, or letting visitors rate them Digg style. However, to me this is just a publicity stunt with the hopes of some viral spin by other websites blogging about it, and even putting the list in their sidebars widget-style.”

Retainer vs. Pay-for-Performance

Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog

PR exec David Oates questions the traditional revenue system used by PR agencies, wondering why public relations is not on a “pay-for-performance” system.  Oates argues that by capping billable hours and basing the revenue structure on measurable performance, client retention rates will increase and clients will see a greater return on investment.  “PR firms will need to consider operating on a "Pay-for-Performance" rate structure as our industry continues to evolve. This model is one that aligns a significant portion of a client's fees to actual results, such as securing article placement or speaking opportunities, industry award recognition or sales lead generation.”