I recently finished reading Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Deirdre Breakenridge and Brian Solis. If you’re working in PR (or just want to) and haven’t read this book yet, you’re behind, plain and simple. Deirdre and Brian set forth a vision for where I believe our industry is headed. It’s a dramatic shift (in fact, shift might be too soft of a word), but I also believe it’s a positive change.

As I read the book, I found myself wanting to discuss some points with the authors, and Deirdre was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. My questions, and her insightful answers, are below.

A special thank you to Deirdre for taking the time to continue the discussion with me. You can also read more from Deirdre on her blog.

Enjoy!

Doyle Albee: What one common PR practice would you like to see stopped immediately?

Deirdre Breakenridge: For too long, public relations professionals have been accepting corporate broadcast messages that are pushed from the top down.  We’ve also contributed to taking these messages and crafting news releases riddled with hype, spin and industry jargon that doesn’t make sense to anyone except for the executives who approved them.

There’s a much better approach; it’s a bottom up strategy that consists of listening to customers and other stakeholders in their web communities and then providing the story and information that is customized to their needs.  Today, PR professionals must help brands to see that they can have direct conversations with their customers, if and only if they stay away from the meaningless broadcast messages.  Brands must focus on helping people to gather, share and organize information to make informed purchases.  I would like to see PR professionals put the public back in public relations and that means abandoning a broadcast message mentality and truly taking a one-on-one approach that lets you listen and engage with people to build a strong relationship.

DA: What positive practice do you see many practitioners still doing too little of?

DB: There are PR professionals who are solely relying on Internet and social media communications rather than picking up the telephone to talk to the media or other important influencers.  Technology makes it so easy to forget about the human voice connection.  However, it’s critical to take all of the digital connections and turn the virtual into physical reality.  After all, the best outcome of social networking is a meeting with a blogger or influencer, whether it’s on the telephone or in person.

Human interaction will always be the most important means to truly build a relationship, which takes time and commitment.  Sure, a lot of progress can be made via the Internet.  For example, Brian Solis and I wrote our entire book without ever meeting in person.  There was a lot of email and IM back and forth as well as social networking.  But, the bottom line… when we met in person that’s when the relationship grew and reached new heights.  Today, Brian and I are on the telephone, at conferences presenting together and working both online and offline to promote our book.

So, as practitioners, although we have to keep up with our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, it’s imperative that we move these interactions forward.  Pick up the phone or meet in person; that’s the point where the friendship is validated and it becomes even stronger.

(DA: This answer really struck a chord with me. We have a saying here at Metzger: To make something happen, you have to pick up the phone. As Deirdre notes, much can happen through e-mail, IM, etc., but practitioners that won’t pick up the phone — or meet in person — and have a conversation will be less successful than those who use all the tools.)

DA: Many studies show consumers prefer reviews by peers over professionals. As a result, the number of “reporters” we need to communicate with just increased 1,000-fold or more. What are some ways to both identify likely reviewers and also to provide them with services formerly reserved for members of the media, especially given the sheer potential volume?

DB: Consumer behavior has shifted; news gathering habits have changed so that consumers are finding new ways to get their information, more from new influencers and less frequently from mainstream media.  This poses an interesting challenge for a brand that has relied on PR professionals to spearhead their media relations programs.  Because the influence of a blogger often trumps traditional media authority, brands must find the right influencers to connect with in order to reach and build relationships with groups of people in web communities.  A great tool to start your search for influencers is the Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas.  The Conversation Prism breaks down the entire social media landscape and groups different social networks together.  Through keyword searches in the different networks, a brand can listen, observe and identify conversations related to its brand and to its target world.  After listening and dissecting the conversations, it’s easy to see where there is frequency, relevance and a reason to engage with the right influencers.  Through participation with bloggers you can become a helpful resource and provide meaningful information that can be shared by these individuals to other members of the community.  Ultimately, you are taking a one-to-one approach to building a relationship so that your brand communication can be shared one-to-many.

DA: What are some strategies for dealing with some of the problems social media can bring. For example, what if one of my competitors is putting false negative reviews on Yelp? Sometimes the community will take care of things, but not always. What kinds of tactics would you recommend?

DB: Brands are approaching this challenge in different ways.  I personally don’t think it’s a good idea to go into Yelp or Get Satisfaction to comment, if someone leaves a negative review.  The reaction by the brand may be seen as a defensive strategy, rather than a helpful way to clear the air or a means to give the right information.  Some companies prefer to monitor the information and then allow people who post negative reviews to contact them directly, but privately.  Most companies are learning from the information that is shared on these customer service sites and take it back to their own service teams or to other areas of the company, which is probably the best approach.  It’s really important that you do something with the information.  That is the key to moving forward to make sure that the issue or concern does not affect more customers.  You’re also sending a strong message to your community that actions speak a lot louder than words.

DA: Finally, who do we know to trust with information? TMZ was first with Michael Jackson’s death, but many didn’t really believe it until the LA Times reported the story. While the mainstream media certainly has faults, as a public, we at least knew there were professional journalists, editors and even attorneys reviewing stories. Now, it can be just a guy in his basement. He may get it right, but how do we know? What are some ways you validate voices?

DB: There has been a tremendous shift in trust, from traditional media to new influencers.  However, I think we started to see a shift on the traditional media side years ago when large news outlets, whether they were highly regarded newspapers or TV network news anchors, did not report stories accurately. And, because the media certainly has faults, since then, I’ve relied on several media sources for accuracy in reporting.

Now that social media communications has taken a prominent stage, I guess the same could be said about evaluating the authority of the blogger, identifying which parties are the ones you can trust most for accurate information.  Blog search engines, including Technorati and IceRocket, allow you to see a blogger’s influence, ranking and authority based on his or her posts and the reaction from their communities. However, it is important to realize that there is a difference between the way a journalist is trained and the journalist’s Code of Ethics vs. how a blogger reports on news and information.  Here’s a brief excerpt from my and Brian’s book, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, that discusses the differences:

“Many bloggers are now privy to valuable information that was once the sole domain of traditional news media. That access, combined with the ability to instantly publish information, means bloggers are scooping reporters more often than not. Let’s be fair, though. As we pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, the best journalists are in a completely differently league than most bloggers. They’re trained in the art and science of journalism, they adhere to values and ethics that bloggers are only starting to think about, and they understand the differences between fact and opinion and the value of sources and fact checking. Although many journalists have successfully crossed over to blogging, citizen media has blindsided newspapers, magazines, broadcast journalists, and the parent media companies and networks, causing them to lose mindshare.”

I think, moving forward, we will see a combination of sources when it comes to accuracy in reporting.  Of course, it’s a matter of personal preference if you check to see what your favorite bloggers are saying first and then check out how mainstream media is reporting an event, or vice versa.

As a profession, PR seems to be late adapters to pretty much everything Web 2.0. So I hope this time around we get our acts together when it comes to mobile social networks or Where 2.0.

One of my personal favorites is Foursquare, created by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. You check in when you’re having drinks at a bar, perusing a museum or grabbing dinner, and can also see if your friends are checked into anywhere close by. What makes this one sticky is that you get points based on how often and where you check in. If you check in somewhere new, you get more points. If you check in after 5 pm, you get more points. Each city they’re currently based in also ranks you amongst your friends and the rest of the city. You also earn badges based on where and how frequently you’re checking in. It sounds lame until you’ve earned the Playa, Please badge. Or maybe even after you’ve won the Playa, Please badge. Plus, you can also be named Mayor based on the number of check ins you have. There is something about being named Mayor that makes it fun, there is something about stealing Mayor from one of your friends that makes it even more fun.

As a marketer, you have two great opportunities here. You can check to see if Foursquare would let you sponsor a badge. Or even better, you can honor your Mayor with free stuff and incentives. Think of mobile social networks as the new electronic card. Your check-ins equate your loyalty. Here in Boulder, it now seems like all the restaurants and bars are on Twitter but using Foursquare is a chance for these companies to reach early adopters. Metzger Associates did a contest for one of our clients where we offered a free meal to the mayor. Dennis and his team are actively looking for places to reward their mayors so send them an e-mail at team at playfoursquare.com if you’re interested.

Another favorite mobile social network is BrightKite. It doesn’t have the badges or competitive spirit of Foursquare, but does afford you the opportunity to keep track of your friends and people nearby. Users can also post pictures. If you’re a company, say Home Depot, don’t you want to know when customers post messages like this? Same thing as Twitter. You need to monitor and pay attention.

Other sites like Whirrl offer companies the chance to tell stories like that of the Yim Gnome.

So this time, start paying attention early to mobile social networks.

Mike Arrington of TechCrunch and Dave Taylor of the Business Blog at Intuitive.com have again launched the “is PR dying/does PR just suck?” discussion (TechCrunch here and Intuitive here).

In the end, I think both say the same thing in different ways: Bad PR is bad (some of it, to quote the late, great Michael Jackson, is “really, really bad!”), and quality communications counsel is more valuable than ever.

TechCrunch in general, and Arrington in particular, likes nothing more than to point out the worst in the PR industry. While I’d like to see TechCrunch point out some good PR people they work with from time to time (have to believe there are a few… Michael?), but for the most part, I can’t really argue with the gripes that Michael and the staff put forward. Dave’s issue is well taken, in that Michael’s most recent post indicts the entire industry for what he seems to be some reasonably isolated poor counsel.

I’m happy that Dave and Michael have continued this conversation, as it’s an important one to have. There’s been a fundamental shift in the “hack and flack” relationship with the rise of social media. Put simply, reporters now can — and clearly will — point out mistakes. Ten years ago, that just didn’t happen. No matter how irritated a reporter may have been with a PR person, no editor was going to give him/her six column inches to call the PR person out. Today, however, that’s just the kind of content that keeps blogs interesting.

A PR person called out often enough for legitimate issues will soon have a scarlet letter with other bloggers, other reporters and eventually clients or corporate colleagues. This kind of communication, when used effectively, can elevate the conversation between the two camps. It can also be abused, so both sides should exercise caution.

The need to communicate with bloggers, members of the media, etc., is a critical skill, and one that I believe is become more, not less, valuable. Maybe the problem is the term “PR.” I’d like to think my company offers effective communications strategies and tactics, not just PR.

Thoughts?

It’s no secret that the landscape is changing significantly in the news industry - and that newspapers across the country have been affected by the economic times. Denver became a one-paper town after the Rocky Mountain News closed after almost 150 years in print. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer turned exclusively online operation and has  reduced staff significantly. The number of respected newspapers is shrinking drastically and it appears another one may bite the dust - but, this time it seems to be at the hand of its own accord.

A few days ago, news that The Washington Post was planning a private “salon” style meetings at the private home of their publisher, Katharine Weymouth. The kicker: The Post was charging lobbyists between $25,000 and $250,000 to have exclusive, off-the-record access to some of Obama’s administrators, Congress members, as well as some of the Post’s top editors and writers. I guess we can now say the Post WAS planning on having these events, since in light of the overwhelming response and coverage of said plans, the Post has opted to cancel the dinners moving forward. Surprise, surprise.

In an era where reporters can’t even accept a cup of coffee or lunch courtesy of a source, PR person, etc., how would it ever be legit for a lobbyist to pay up to a quarter of a million dollars (potentially) to speak privately with a reporter? Can we say newspaper prostitution? The Post is pimping out access to staff to the highest bidder with promise of “off-the-record, non-confrontational conversation,” according to the New York Times.

Although the reported flier that was sent to lobbyists to pimp out these events is now being called just a “draft” that was yet to be approved for distribution, I would imagine this is simply a reactive PR tactic. The damage has already been done. The Post just shamed itself and removed itself from a small circle of reliable publications.

Yes, there have been many scandals in recent years, at a variety of newspapers, including some of the top guns. Some have bounced back the no worse for wear, but at a time when newspaper readership is down so significantly and the number of well-respected newspapers is shrinking, the Post should have known better when they sent out that flier.  I, for one, am not inclined to read a newspaper that was about to jump into bed with politicians and lobbyists at $25K to $250K a pop. Good luck getting yourself out of this one, folks.

You can read more about this story here.

In case you missed it, more and more of us are relying on the Internet and mobile devices for information and communication (yes, I’m being sarcastic). A couple of recent events have me a little spooked, however.

iPhone users were unable to use their phones during this year’s South by Southwest due simply to too many users and too little capacity from AT&T. More recently, Michael Jackson’s death nearly broke the tubes we’ve all come to rely on. Google even thought they were under attack at one point.

Should we be concerned? I think so.

Many of us have come to rely on these devices for everything from basic communication to news and information. My iPhone is my alarm clock, primary telephone, best way to reach my kids (IM), newspaper and, in some cases, my television. But there are 10 million iPhones in use today, and there were zero just more than two years ago. Even thought that’s not 10 million new phones, I certainly use far more data on my iPhone than any device I’ve had in the past. The infrastructure is straining to keep up. And if a geek fest in Austin and a dead celebrity can tax the system to the point of nearly breaking, what will happen during the next 9/11 kind of event?

The problem is one of two-way communication. No matter how many people tune their televisions or radios to a given station, it doesn’t change the signal requirements — it’s the same whether one person or 100 million people are tuned in. Internet connections and cellular networks, however, are two way, so every additional call, stream, etc., requires bandwidth to serve it.

Clearly, it would be economically unfeasible to build and operate a network that can handle every possible connection at all times. Nevertheless, as more of us turn to the Internet and our mobile devices to both get information, then pass it along, how long before we break the Internet?

Do we need some kind of emergency broadcast system for the new broadcast systems we now all rely upon?

Coffee and a light breakfast will be served courtesy of Safeway and free parking is available. More details are below or visit PRSA Colorado for more information and to register.

Details:

DATE: July 8

TIME: 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

LOCATION: Metzger Associates, 5733 Central Ave., Boulder, CO 80301

COST: $30

by Nate Warren

So you’re in charge of content for your corporate blog. If you’re at a small company, that blank text field in the WYSIWYG editor can be a big bucket to fill. You have an acute compulsion to be brilliant, a gut full of passion, and no time to think of something cool to write about. The same way, every time I walk into a Blockbuster, I can suddenly remember none of the thousands of movies I was dying to see.

The first step: make buckets. Think like an editor. This blog is your news channel, and the “buckets,” or categories, are your departments. As a business owner, three natural buckets appear pretty organically to help you channel your thoughts: insight, commentary, or thought leadership pieces; news and announcements for your company; and “around the industry” links that pertain to your company’s niche. The latter is a valuable way to keep your post frequency up without a lot of brain damage. Make a monthly posting schedule that lets you mix it up. Generating an original post of even 250 words every week can become a real grind, especially if you’re wearing a lot of hats.

The second step is to make sure and get your target keywords into your categories. Being an incurable copywriter, I had to wean myself off of crafting clever category names and think about the quickest way possible to tell Google what the category is about. Actually, the same goes for naming the blog itself.

The third? Keep the notebook handy. Even a fragment of a thought, the name of a website, an anecdote, can be the backbone for a good post. Keep those and throw them in the right bucket, and you’ll soon have good posts on backlog.

This is a good quick-start way to get an editorial schedule organized. You can, and should, add more granular categories as needed along the way. But starting with your three buckets can help you tackle the “What do we write about?” question in short order.

Today was Bike to Work Day, a popular day to encourage everyone to get out and ride their bikes. Breakfast stations lined up all over the Front Range for everyone who stopped by on a bike. Free food and helping our environment is always a good thing. Two other people are doing their best to raise awareness for biking to work. Two cyclists, Carlos and Joe, who are also geeks are biking their way across the country  and “they hope to inspire (or potentially force) other geeks to change their commuting habits.” They’re behind Real Geeks Ride.

I don’t bike to work. I don’t even own a bike. So I might not be the best person to talk about this. But what I love is that they’re not avid cyclists. Their geeks with bikes riding across the country to encourage people like me to get bikes and ride.

My friend and all-around favorite, Tara Anderson of Lijit, asked me to assist with getting the word out as they’ll be doing a Boulder stop. We’ll be hosting them on Friday, July 3 at 4 to 6 pm at the Draft House. So come by and bring your bike. Or if you’re like me, park and get inspired by two people biking along the country in places ranging from York, PA to Griswold, IA to Boulder, CO.

See you on July 3rd!

Trying to manage an online forum, as my colleague Nate Warren noted earlier this month, is like herding cats. It’s no wonder some marketers still hesitate to recommend social media to clients. Under the cover of anonymity, some people will say unbelievable things.

Years of hosting conversations at the two-decade-old online community The Well have given me some insight. Well members post under their real names, but bad behavior still ranges from low-level cluelessness to shocking verbal abuse.

In 2001, I co-hosted a forum (on The Well they’re called conferences) about the 9/11 attacks. It turned into the personal toxic waste dump of a guy I’ll call Sludge, whose capacity to hate people on the Left made Rush Limbaugh look like Mister Rogers.

It looked to us like he spent the whole day flaming people in dozens, if not hundreds, of topics. He could get as ugly talking chiles in the Cooking conference as he did about terrorist-coddling liberals. If you crossed him, he would track you all over the system and, within minutes, spew venom after everything you posted: weather reports, birthday greetings, the cute thing your baby did.

Whole conferences went silent as people took their discussions private to get away from him.

Sludge held particular contempt for women, so I volunteered to draw his fire in the hopes that he would violate the Terms of Service badly enough to get him kicked out. I deleted something of his and came back to a long screed about “Lisa, the Town Skank.” He finally got booted for using his wife’s account to read women-only conferences, looking for dirt about me.

If you still believe what your mom said about names never hurting you, you’ve never read an email so hateful that your hands shake too much to type for a while.

Because I love online community, I’m a firm believer in active forum moderation to control the jerks and keep the conversation beneficial for the greatest number. Here are some recurring problem posters and what to do about them.

The Debate Club President: This person loves a good argument and doesn’t mind a bad one. They sometimes will take a contradictory position that they personally don’t believe, just for sport.
The Problem: Skilled Debate Clubbers keep conversations lively, but clumsy or overtalkative ones can kill a discussion, especially if they turn into Bomb-Throwers or Broken Records (see below).
Manage by: Hosting online discussion like you would a cocktail party, circulating to make sure everyone’s drink is topped off and no one feels left out. If forum participants are used to the moderator chiming in, you will be able to control topic drift or those who monopolize the conversation without looking heavy-handed. As longtime Well host David Gans – who made his bones wrangling Deadheads, never the easiest cats to herd – told me when I started, just be a good host. Create a pleasant space to hang out. Refill the pretzels and empty the ashtrays. Make sure people know you’re there and a lot of little issues will work themselves out.

The Bomb-Thrower: Will lob something incendiary into a discussion just for the fun of it. Truly virulent Bomb-Throwers will slam “breeders” on a parenting forum, refer to prayer on a Christian website as “talking to your invisible friends,” or rant about idiot Boulder liberals on the Daily Camera’s comment threads. They’re like trolls, only they come out from under the bridge more often.
The Problem: Bomb-Throwers are often the first to scream “Censorship!” when moderators try to mitigate the damage they do to a conversation. Classic control freaks, they divert attention by attempting to make you the problem.
Manage by: Setting rules and expectations up front, and enforcing them publicly and fairly. This give you the track record and tools you need to shut these guys down. Start with zero tolerance for name-calling, attacks or slurs, and an eagle eye for topic drift. For the sake of a healthy online community, you may have to remove posts or block users. Brace yourself for the inevitable abuse and just do it. Your rational readers will thank you.

The World’s Foremost Expert on Everything: There’s one of these in every crowd, isn’t there?
The Problem: They’re all on the Internet now, spreading misinformation. Worse: boring.
Manage by: Correct important errors of fact and let your users take care of the rest by either challenging or bozofiltering the World’s Foremost Expert. Some Bozos never understand why people don’t respond anymore. They just keep talking … to nobody. It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic.

The Broken Record: You’ll be talking about rose gardening until somebody announces that illegal immigrants take all the landscaping jobs. They pop up in a thread about stomach flu at a summer camp to posit that illegal immigrants in the kitchen spread disease. Talking about cars? They’re right there griping about Mexican drivers. It gets old.
Note the similarities between Bomb-Throwers and Broken Records. Every topic on the Internet, from laundry to astrophysics, becomes a referendum on their pet subject.
Manage them by: Routing around them. Turn that eagle eye on drift into a firm rein. “Back to roses, is anybody else having trouble with Japanese beetles?” Again, your clued-in users will reinforce the message by refusing to take the bait.

The Bully: You’ll recognize this guy the first time he responds to someone with, “Shut your piehole, you fat Irish moron.” They snark and call names, and that’s just to warm up. More toxic bullies will dig up personal info about people or stalk them – online and even in person.
The Problem: Testosterone. Anger management. Childhood abandonment issues. Whatever. You’re just an online host, not a psychotherapist.
Manage by: This is the place for heavy-handed hosting. Delete, suspend and ban. In extreme cases like Sludge, who was practiced at skating just inside the lines, you may have to provoke the Bully into violating the user agreement. It makes for an unpleasant couple of days, but it works. Call the police if the bullying moves into meatspace. Life is too short.

Last week I got to be on a panel at the Organic Trade Association’s All Things Organic Conference on using social media for marketing. Also on the panel were Nathan Rice of Haberman and Jennifer Rose of the Organic Trade Association. It was my first food conference, but hopefully not my last. Especially because attending the trade show floor is like attending a deluxe version of sample night at Whole Foods. Everywhere you went there was free food! Yes please. I got to sample Ezekiel’s cereal, this amazing brown sugar whipped cream, Salad Girl Dressing and Toats (a biscuit for you, your dog AND your horse), etc. Each product is unique with unique organic ingredients created by people committed to you putting better food in your mouth. There are serious stories behind these products, and social media presents an affordable way to tell the story about these products.

I wanted to share some of my favorite examples of organic companies using social media to tell a story.

• Monterey Bay Aquarium iPhone App - Built by volunteer programmers, this app lets you look up information about the fish you’re eating. Want to know if the fish is over-harvested? The app can tell you. It’s social media helping you making smart decisions about the food you put in your mouth.

• The Greensheets - My college roommate launched this blog recently to channel her passion for healthy food and wellness. Long committed to get others thinking about what they’re putting into their body, her blog serves as a way to educate others beyond family, friends and clients.

• Rick Levine of Seth Ellis Chocolates -Rick from a local Boulder, Colo., organic chocolatier, twitters about the chocolates as they are made. He includes pictures and tells snippets of a story on how his chocolates are made. Plus, he offers free samples to anyone who stops by. It makes the chocolate making process very open.

• Taza Chocolates - I’ve purchased these chocolates for my Godparents from Foodzie previously, and they were a huge hit. They are a true bean-to-bar chocolate maker, and the only maker of 100% stone ground chocolate in the United States. Unlike Hershey’s chocolates, they know exactly where their organic ingredients come from and use their blog to tell the story of their producers and product. They know the source of their chocolate in Mexico, and they know the source of their chiles. It makes for a more compelling read than if Hershey’s were to blog that they received a 1,000 pound bag of sugar shipment? Not exactly appetizing.

You can tell at booths who were the ones who were passionate about the food, and those who were just working. You can guess who elicited the stronger response. Just like booths, it is those who are passionate about the food that they’re creating who should be at the helm of blogs and social media.

Salad Girl Dressing