“Tech is becoming a hits business.” As noted in this month’s Fast Company, if a startup doesn’t catapult to success — a la Instagram or Draw Something — it’s deemed a failure.

In the article, Path’s founder Dave Morin explains that “There’s a subsection of people in the Valley who think the only way to be successful is to create a viral overnight hit.”

Fail fast is the mantra, right?

Not so fast.

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We see this mentality of needing the big hit in PR, too. I get it. After all, who doesn’t want a front-page New York Times story? But, that isn’t always possible — nor is that a placement that will necessarily help you accomplish your specific business goals. As a PR person, part of my job is to help manage clients’ expectations.

Here’s the brutal truth: Not every company, or every launch, is deserving of major media coverage. But, you don’t necessarily need major media coverage to be successful.

Your PR person should be working really hard to line up major media hits — but the definition of “major media” depends on your industry, your product and your goals. A big win could include a profile in your industry’s leading trade publication, an article on a blog read by your target audience, or a placement on the Today Show, just for starters. But, don’t get so consumed by that one placement that you overlook the other meaningful PR opportunities right in front of you.

Instead of pining away for a New York Times profile, create a smart PR plan. Start by asking some tough questions:

• Why do you need PR?
• What does PR success look like to you?
• How can a PR strategy support your big-picture goals?

If you’re doing something innovative, starting a new trend, or doing something else that you honestly think is worthy of national media attention, then by all means, go for the homerun. But, make sure you’re also focusing on the other important PR elements. As the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in that one basket. Media relations is one piece of the puzzle, but you also need to be smart about messaging, relationship management, events, digital PR, online monitoring and responsiveness, creating content (traditional and digital), blogger outreach, social media, and so on.

A quick anecdote: Last week, we helped a client launch a new company. It looked like a massive success, with media coverage in everything from Mashable and TechCrunch, to Inc, BetaKit, The Next Web and more (lots more). And, more importantly, that media coverage led to a spike in web traffic and new users. But, that didn’t happen overnight. The company’s founders had been working on the product since the fall and we’d been working with them for a month or so, laying the groundwork to ensure a high-profile launch. But, that’s just the beginning. Building momentum is Step 1. Sustaining the momentum delivers long-term results.

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If Apple had lived by today’s “go big or go home” mentality, we probably wouldn’t have the iPhone, iPad or multiple version of the iPod. To refresh your memory, “No one waited in line to buy the first iPod. It took a year and a half for Apple’s shiny, pricey music player to hit its millionth sale, and nothing about its trajectory (2002 sales, for example, were a Zune-like 40,000 a month) suggested that success lay ahead.” But, Apple persevered, understanding that they were in for a marathon, not a sprint. changing habits doesn’t happen overnight.

The technology and PR industries are suffering from blockbuster-itis. But, keep this in mind: Building and launching something that matters, or changing habits isn’t a fast process. In fact, overnight success rarely happens overnight.

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I don’t know much about stocks and investing, but I do listen when my financial advisor tells me not to look at the day-to-day market fluctuations. Investing is a marathon, not a sprint, right? Yet, everyone — from actual Wall Street analysts to armchair commentators — feels the need to broadcast their opinions on the Facebook IPO.

I think they’re missing the bigger picture … and bigger opportunity.

None of us actually know how the Facebook IPO will play out. Instead of obsessing over Wall Street, we should double down on Facebook itself. As Zaarly’s Bo Fishback noted in this recent Inc.com article:

“While everyone is talking about Facebook’s IPO and the future of the company as a newly introduced financial instrument, the world of start-ups is busy leveraging Facebook to build new companies–and hopefully create new value.”

Just yesterday, Fifth & Pacific — parent company of Lucky Brand, Kate Spade and Juicy Coutoure – announced that they’re launching “a customer-stock-ownership plan with startup Loyal3 that will allow consumers to buy fractions of shares in $10 increments and then share that transaction on Facebook.” Or, as AdAge put it, “from brand loyalty to brand ownership in three clicks.”

Now, that’s innovative. And disruptive. And far more interesting than debating IPO outcomes.

In the social media bubble, it’s trendy to hate on Facebook. But, just look at the data to recall why it’s the center of so much discussion:

• Facebook.com received 9% of all US Internet visits in April 2012
• Facebook.com received more than 1.6 billion visits a week and averaged more than 229 million US visits a day for the year-to-date
• 1 in every 5 page views in the US occurred on Facebook.com
• The average visit time on Facebook.com is 20 minutes
• The Facebook.com audience skews more female (56%) than male
• Facebook.com became the #1 ranked website in the US on March 9, 2010
• The term ‘Facebook’ is the most searched term in the US and has been for the past three years, starting the week ending July 18, 2009
• Facebook-related terms account for 6% of the top searched terms in the US and Facebook-related terms made up 4 of the top 10 US searches (among the top 100 search terms for the 4 weeks ending May 12, 2012)
• Facebook.com users are highly loyal to the website; 96% of visitors to Facebook.com were returning (defined as visited within past 30 days) visitors in April 2012

Whether you’re a startup building a better product by leveraging Facebook’s massive amount of data, or a marketer creating and activating a community of fans, don’t get sidetracked by the IPO gossip. Instead, focus on discovering new ways Facebook can help you excel in today’s social world.

This is a guest post from Danny Brown.

A couple of weeks ago, Heather shared the story of Nationwide and how they responded to what could have been a very difficult situation.

While there was still come criticism about the response possibly being less “human” than it could have been from the various Nationwide accounts, it was still a great example of reacting quickly to douse potential flames.

It was also a great reminder that social media needn’t be scary for businesses worried about negative statements posted about them online (one of the biggest stumbling blocks for any business owner when it comes to social media).

This is especially true, given the low-cost entry to monitoring your brand and effectively responding to both criticism as well as praise. And yet companies still have a fear factor around social media – so how can they overcome that?

Cost of Involvement versus Cost of Silence

One of the early phrases that came out of social media’s ubiquity was “the conversation is happening whether you like it or not”.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons companies got scared to start with – talk about a statement to put the fear of God in you!

The thing is, it should be the complete opposite – conversations about brands have always happened. In the supermarket shopping with friends; over a beer in the local bar; chatting on the telephone; picking the kids up from school and talking with other parents.

These are the conversations brands should be afraid of, because they’re the ones they don’t get to see.

Social media, on the other hand, is so open and searchable that smart businesses can create searches based around their brand or products, and see exactly what’s being said; when it’s being said; and what the impact on the brand might be.

And it doesn’t need to break the bank, either, but can save the reputation of the brand in return, which has to worth any investment, no?

Consolidating to Keep Cost and Time Investment Down

Perhaps one of the bigger reasons that many businesses are still staying away from social media is due to the investment costs. Not just financial, but time investment too.

After all, while the tools – for the most part – may be free, it still costs money to set up a team (or monitor the platforms yourself). Add to that the fact you usually need to have multiple windows open to have all your networks covered, and it can become overpowering pretty quickly.

Yet it doesn’t need to be.

The rise of social media dashboards in the last couple of years have helped to consolidate several accounts into one area, which helps with the time suck factor.

Additionally, there have been great advances in the way online conversations are filtered, to ensure only the information you want is displayed, versus the blabber that may or may not be about you.

With social media dashboards, you can:

• Link multiple social media accounts to keep track off.
• Display full social feeds – Twitter, Facebook, etc. – to negate the need for separate windows for each account.
• Track sentiment – negative and positive – about your brand so you can respond quickly (like Nationwide did).
• Monitor keywords around your business, product and customer pain points to really connect with your consumers or users.
• Track analytics to see where business campaigns are working and where they need more work.

Once you have all that information, you can begin to take control of your brand’s perception again, and grab the advantage needed over your competitor to stay both competitive and effective.

Throw in a social media dashboard that not only gives you all of the above, but lets you create Facebook promotions and marketing videos from within the admin area, and you couldn’t ask for anything more.

Just as well there’s a dashboard that does that, eh?

About the author:

Danny Brown is VP, Product Intelligence at Jugnoo, Inc., whose social media dashboard JugnooMe is currently in open beta. Offering an all-in-one option to consolidate your social media accounts and create campaigns, videos and promotions, as well as track success and brand sentiment, JugnooMe aims to make the social web simple, accessible and monetizable for all. You can read more from Danny at his award-winning marketing blog, or follow him on Twitter at @DannyBrown.

If you work in PR, you probably aren’t surprised to learn that it’s one of the most stressful careers. But, that doesn’t mean you have to adhere to “the way it’s always been done.” I spend a lot of time with startups that are focused on disrupting the status quo. Apply that mentality to your day, too. Design your own life to avoid burnout.

How can you design your own day to alleviate some unnecessary stress? A few ideas:

• Work away from the office. We recently instituted the “Work Away” policy at Geben: Each week, you’re required to work a 1/2 day from your most productive place. Working outside the office — at your favorite coffee shop, park, library or even from your bed — can be a productive way to shake things up and refocus on what needs to be accomplished. A change of scenery can work wonders.
• Abandon the 9-5 mentality. PR is not an 8-5 job. We sometimes have to work weekends or evenings — particularly if you’re acting as a client’s community manager … or helping at all with social media. But, if you’re working late or on Saturday, there should be a tradeoff. Who says the work day has to start at 8? What if you’re like me and sometimes do your best writing at 3 am? If I work a few hours in the middle of the night, I shouldn’t feel bad about cutting out before 5p on Friday or running an errand during the “workday.” 8-5 is an antiquated work construct. Get your work done when and where you want to. Producing high-quality work is far more important than being chained to your desk for a specified 8-hour period of the day.
• Find a “cruise director.” The office cruise director is the person who infuses some fun into the team. In my office, that’s Jeana Harrington. She plans monthly happy hours and frequent lunch outings, sends links to hilarious videos, offers some levity to the day. Currently, she’s in the midst of organizing a segue tour of downtown Columbus for our team. What’s the point of working hard if you can’t enjoy it? I maintain high standards for my team, which requires them to work really hard, but it’s equally important that they enjoy what they’re doing. When I launched Geben, I wanted to build a company that companies wanted to work with and people wanted to work for. Potential employees want to join our team because we do good work, but also because it’s a fun environment with a group of people who genuinely like each other. Who’s your team’s cruise director?
• Let your team call the shots (sometimes). Speaking of Jeana … for a while, she’d been suggesting that Geben host an event to thank our local clients and show appreciation to our supporters, referral sources and friends. She was right, but, I explained to her that I didn’t really have the bandwidth to plan the party myself. I agreed to host a holiday party (and pay the bills) if she and Megumi took the lead in organizing it. They totally took the reins and planned a fantastic event. I listened to what they wanted to do and gave them ownership of an important project, and they rose to the occasion. This provided a win-win for everyone, and made sure that we took some time during the holiday season to appreciate how far we’d come and the people who helped us get here.
• Know when and how to disconnect. Remember what I said about PR being super stressful? Part of that is because we feel like we’re never off the clock … never allowed to turn our brains off. But, you need that time to recharge. You have to figure out how to set those boundaries and what you need to stay energized. Whether it’s reading a (non-work) book, watching your favorite TV show or going for a run — you need to make disconnecting a habit.

How do you avoid burnout? Share your secrets!

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Cause-marketers face a serious problem: “Slacktivism.” As noted on Huffington Post:

Slacktivism, usually the signing of online internet petitions, Facebook and social media campaigns, and often commercial efforts including T-shirt, bracelet or ribbons sales, is often defined as merely a feel-good measure that requires little personal effort or sacrifice on the part of an individual that has little practical impact in actually helping the involved cause. That common perception perhaps does a disservice to online activism, which is about grassroots communications. After all, the Arab Spring that was celebrated a year ago was created by the same technologies of Facebook, Twitter and the tools of traditional slacktivism.

If we agree that the tools aren’t the problem, then what is?

My dad always told me that the right action leads to the right result. Apply that theory to marketing and it starts with making the right ask.

Some PR pros, social media strategists, cause-marketers and others integrating online tools into their communication toolbox still struggle to show value. It’s hard to measure changes in behavior, a frequent cause-marketing goal. So, campaigns are judged on metrics more easily quantified, including likes, retweets, and clicks, etc. If these “engagement metrics” determine a campaign’s perceived success or failure, then the campaign’s strongest call to action will focus on driving online engagement. And, that’s the problem … which brings us back to slacktivism.

Instead of complaining about lazy slacktivists and a generation of people who aren’t willing to do more than “like” or retweet something, marketers need to look in the mirror: If we’re not providing a strong call to action equipping online audiences to contribute in a more meaningful way, then aren’t we to blame?

Technology has the power to scale social good. We saw it with the Arab Spring and Japan earthquake. I experienced it in Haiti and with a homeless shelter. But, for us to realize the potential of technology as a real driver of change, we must be smarter. Marketers need to think beyond likes. If we’re limiting our ask to something as generic as “Please Share,” we shouldn’t expect impactful action.

Marketers: To excel in the social wold, understand that better asks will lead to better action. Give it a try and see how technology can scale social good.

A couple months ago, I was drafting a bylined article for a client. I’d tried to work on it at various times throughout the week, and it just wasn’t happening. Then, on Sunday morning, the writer’s block evaporated and I finished the article in under an hour — in my pajamas … on my living room couch. And, if I do say so myself, the article was really well written. In fact, I’m convinced  that I couldn’t have written that article that well in the office. Phone calls, interruptions, distractions — all concentration killers.

Realizing that there are some projects that require uninterrupted concentration, I decided to institute “Work Away” at Geben. For at least half a day, once a week, each person is required to work from somewhere other than the office. Coffee shop, library, park, home — wherever they’ll be most productive. Each person can decide when to “Work Away” and what they’ll accomplish during that time. For some, they set aside that time for writing. Others use that time to plow through the “stragglers” on their to-do list. Sometimes, it’s when they brainstorm creative content strategy ideas for clients.

Where are you most productive? Imagine if you were encouraged to regularly work from there. Thanks to technology, there are few jobs that require you to be chained to your desk. Escape the office to discover a new sense of productivity.

Work Away … away from the office.

Who wants to test my theory? Let me know if “Work Away” helps you get more accomplished. And, what else do you do to improve your productivity?

From blogging and pinning … to creating videos, tweets, status updates, ebooks, enewsletters and white papers — content marketing has become a catch-all term that encompasses all kinds of information marketers are creating, disseminating and tying to objectives.

But, how do you know what kind of content to share? And, is it actually working?

Jason Falls offers the “Holy Smokes” test:

He says the idea is anytime you are engaged in marketing, you want your audience to consume the message and think, “’holy smokes,’ this message is: incredible, sad, awesome, beautiful, intelligent, informative or some other declarative response.”

More often than not, brands are so focused on posting X tweets a day, or updating Facebook X times a week that they get sucked into the day-to-day minutia and lose track of the strategy driving content. That’s why you end up reading post after post about the latest product development, or some totally random quote or photo. That’s not effective content marketing.

“Look at This” vs “Look at Me”

I find myself spending more time on Instagram lately than Facebook. Why? Huffington Post’s Bianca Bosker summed it up when she wrote this about Pinterest (which I think also applies to Instagram):

Twitter and Foursquare screams, “Look at me,” Pinterest posts urge, “Look at this.” At least for now, the site offers a refreshing haven away from the boosterism and boasting that plague so many sites.

If people are craving less “look at me” updates (hence the popularity of Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and similar sites), why not apply the “Look at This” approach to your company’s content strategy? It will attract people to your brand’s online presence, while piquing  their interest in ways that can’t be accomplished with the narrower “Look at Me” focus.

If you commit to the “Look at This” approach to content creation, then you have to figure out how to incorporate that into the right kind of content — content that makes people say “Holy Smokes” that still strengthens your brand’s positioning, conveys key messages, drives engagement, and syncs up with your overall communication goals (whether that’s changing behavior, shaping perception, driving sales, generating leads, etc.). That’s when the magic (read: results) happen.

Time spent online needs to be time well spent. By committing the extra resources and creativity to develop “look at this” content that aligns with your big-picture goals, organizations can establish a more compelling, effective online presence.

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Headquartered in Columbus, OH, Nationwide Insurance does a lot of good for my home city, but that doesn’t mean they’re protected from online backlash. This week, The Candle Lab posted a photo on Facebook with the following caption:

So…it was brought to our attention today that Nationwide Insurance took an image of our candle with our logo/label on it, removed the text, and dropped in new text to use on a coaster advertisement. I try to not to be too sensitive about this stuff, but this is so clearly a rip-off of our logo and trademark and a shot at our scented candles that its hard not to be pissed. Its not too much to expect that one Columbus-based big company wouldn’t steal a likeness and take a cheap shot at a small Columbus-based company.

93 comments and 27 shares later (of just that original image), this had the potential to turn into a David vs Goliath battle. However, Nationwide acted quickly — responding to comments on The Candle Lab’s Facebook page, as well as other Facebook pages from the Nationwide corporate account. Additionally, the VP of Corporate Communication responded from his personal Facebook page.

Both companies acted like grownups. Posting his email and phone number in the comments, The Candle Lab’s owner invited Nationwide to contact him directly to come up with a fair solution. Then, he continued to share updates on Facebook to let people know that Nationwide reached out to him and apologized. This morning, The Candle Lab posted that Nationwide has offered to donate $500 to a charity of their choice.

When an online controversy starts to bubble to the surface, a company’s poor response can escalate a “situation” to a crisis. After all, in crisis, if you’re not quick, you’re not relevant; however, the swift response needs to make sense for situation. As Elissa Freeman wrote, brands should consider these three filters when facing an online outcry:

1. Consider the demographic. Do they affect my business? Are they an organized entity?
2. Prevent knee-jerk reactions. Do we need to respond? Now or later?
3. Implement good crisis communications. The rules still apply depending on the severity of the situation.

The speed at which people can mobilize can catch companies off-guard, which sometimes leads to questionable decisions. The blogosphere likes to mock companies that #fail at crisis communication; however, in this case, Nationwide should be applauded for responding quickly — and,  just as importantly, responding in a manner befitting the situation.

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This week’s Follow Friday guest post comes from my friend and Kellye Crane. Kellye created a successful online community for independent pros. In fact, when I was launching Geben, Kellye offered a wealth of guidance — always willing to answer my questions or provide advice. Fortunately, I’ve met Kellye in “real life” a few times and just think the world of her. If you’re contemplating starting your own PR consultancy — or want to learn ways to increase your existing business — connect with Kellye and the SoloPR community.

Psst… Have you heard? Many businesses and organizations have found their PR secret weapon: independent public relations agencies and consultants.

What are the biggest advantages of working with indies?

Expertise-for-Hire

As we all know, the media continues to fragment and niche influencers have increased in importance. In this environment, nimble, independent PR pros can offer a strategic advantage by providing specific expertise – from strategy and planning to execution – and can hit the ground running immediately. Why wait for internal staff to learn a new industry, market or specialized skill, when a qualified indie practitioner can deliver better results today?

While large PR agencies remain the best choice in many instances, both agencies and in-house PR teams are recognizing that the challenges of scaling up to build influencer relationships in new industries can often more efficiently – and effectively – be addressed by partnering with qualified independent PR consultants and boutique firms.

Managing Feast or Famine

Though many signs are (hopefully) pointing toward economic recovery, most organizations continue to be cautious in their spending, which often leads to budget limbo and “hurry up and wait” scenarios for PR and marketing programs. Trying to staff appropriately in these situations is nearly impossible – not to mention the additional burdens if a hiring freeze is in place.

Independent PR contractors can be the key to surviving the stop-and-go, feast or famine climate of a jump-starting economy. The U.S. Department of Labor confirms this, noting that “firms [will] hire contractors to provide public relations services, rather than support more full-time staff when additional work is needed.”

With expected response times shrinking and real-time public relations – both planned, or in the case of a crisis, unforeseen – becoming the norm, many have realized that partnering with independent contractors can be the most effective way to manage workflow without sacrificing quality.

What do you think – what have been your experiences working with solo and independent PR practitioners?  And if you’re looking for an indie PR pro, you may want to check out Solo PR Pros’ free Find a PR Consultant feature.

Kellye Crane is the principal of Solo PR Pro, the leading resource for those interested in independent PR consulting. Solo PR Pro’s community features include a Premium membership site, a LinkedIn group, the flagship blog, a weekly Twitter chat, Facebook page, and more.

Already dubbed by some as the breakout social network of 2012, Pinterest seems to be everywhere — which inevitably leads marketers to wonder if and how they can (should?) market amongst the avid pinning crowd. (But, remember, before infiltrating any niche network, brands should start by asking themselves these three questions.)

Whether you need a Pinterest 101 to get your boss up to speed on the pinning phenomenon … or if you’re wondering what all the fuss is about — I hope you’ll find this Pinterest introduction helpful. We’ve included a general overview, recent stats, and links to 10+ articles and resources. Feel free to download the document, share with your colleagues, or “borrow” from it to assemble a Pinterest briefing document of your own.

On Pinterest? Let’s connect there, too. Here are my “Reminds me of Team Geben” and “Meat-Free Food Ideas” boards. Happy Pinning!

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