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