Writing like you Talk (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Conversational Writing
Social Media Marketing
Scott Monty discusses a well-written e-newsletter he received and enjoyed, noting its conversational tone and light touch (technically, it was a blog post, so it makes sense that it would have this style). He believes that in a time when we are all flooded with a ton of information, emails, blogs clogging our RSS readers, and other forms of written messages, writing in this style will be the key to marketing. Write how people talk to each other, and you will be able to get through to potential customers. “When you're preparing the copy for your blog, corporate website, brochure or direct mail piece, what style do you typically effect? Having worked in the b2b space previously, I can tell you there's a lot of dry, dull and seemingly overused copy out there. Corporate standards must be upheld, you know.  But what if you took that website or brochure and really made it sing? What if you wrote it the way people would listen to it? What if - just for a moment - you did something that was completely unexpected and out of the ordinary?”

Early Adopter Regret?
Online Public Relations Thoughts
After an article wondering if businesses are wasting time building communities in Second Life, Jim Horton wonders if early adoption of the latest fad in technology can cause companies to lose their edge. Jumping on a bandwagon isn’t always the best thing for all brands, he argues, and can result in wasted time and money. “Practitioners forget there is gear-up time with all technologies and unless they have experimented with them, they are facing learning time that slows use. On the other hand, there are also judgment calls about which technologies to investigate. Second Life has struck me as a waste of time, so I have avoided using it. Perhaps I'm a Luddite about gaming.”

Post Facto Reputation Management
Neville Hobson
After last week’s Skype outage, which left users completely without service for two days, Neville Hobson disagrees with arguments that the company should have done a better job communicating during the down days. He argues that the lines of communication were open and information readily available on the problem. It’s now that service is back up and running, that he feels is an appropriate time for Skype executives to chime in with some information that may boost user confidence in the product. “That was the most effective means of communication at the time - regular updates via an appropriate channel, which was picked up and further communicated (or commented on) throughout the mainstream media, online and print, and the blogosphere. It wasn’t the moment for the C-suite to be issuing statements. Perhaps that moment is now. The immediate technical problem is fixed, which leaves an immediate business problem to address - confidence in the service and the company’s reputation.”

Will Red Cross Suit Hurt Johnson&Johnson?
Common Sense PR
As Johnson&Johnson continues its trademark suit against the Red Cross, Eric Eggerston points out that the entire thing is probably not even necessary—after all, there is a federal mandate banning any other companies from using the famed red cross logo. He further questions whether or not going up against a venerated volunteer agency in the courts will come back to bite the corporate giant in the court of public opinion, deciding that outcome is unlikely. “I’d like to think this lawsuit will boomerang on Johnson & Johnson, sullying its otherwise bland reputation, but that’s a long shot. By engaging in a PR battle, the Red Cross is no doubt hoping to shame Johnson & Johnson into easing up on their restrictions of the logo use. But the courts (or a pre-trial settlement) will resolve this situation eventually, and probably not in favor of unfettered fund-raising sales by the Red Cross.”