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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My company, Geben Communication, is a boutique PR firm in Columbus, Ohio. Along the way, I’ve made decisions to ensure that we can work with small- to mid-sized businesses, startups and nonprofits — organizations that typically can’t afford the rates of the larger agencies. As a result, we’re typically charged to “do more with less.” (A challenge we LOVE, by the way!)

So, when we discovered this morning that our client, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon, was selected as a finalist for the PR Daily Awards, we were thrilled. But, we were ecstatic when we realized the other finalists include Major League Baseball, American Airlines and GE — operations whose budgets are far larger than what we work with.

Normally, this isn’t the type of thing I’d share here on prTini.com, but I do think it makes an important point:

You do NOT need a massive budget to excel in today’s social world.

I’ve blogged about some pieces of our work with the Columbus Marathon before (here | here). We don’t need an award to tell us that we’re doing good work. (After all, we track how our efforts sync up with measurable outcomes.) But, it’s nice to be reminded that the quality of work and the ability to deliver results isn’t always dependent on budget.

Congratulations to all the finalists and thanks to PR Daily for including us in such amazing company!

People who know me well know where I stand politically. My career began in public affairs and political consulting, so it’s something I used to talk A LOT about. However, as my career has shifted, I’ve found myself talking about political issues and candidates less and less. I’m not sure if I like that or not (after all, I am the person who once declared that “Everyday should be Election Day”), but that’s the way it is.

So, I’m going to go on a bit of a rant right now, but I’d like to preface it by saying it’s not intended to be political.

Via email and on his Facebook page, Mitt Romney launched a new campaign: Donate to his presidential campaign to receive a “Moms Drive the Economy” bumper sticker. This campaign was inspired by a misguided Democratic pundit declaring that Ann Romney, a stay-at-home-mom, had never “worked a day in her life.” President Obama and his campaign staff quickly responded to distance themselves from that comment and line of thinking.

As political season heats up, candidates will try to cultivate female voters. We’ll undoubtedly see both parties trying to score political points (some cheap, some valid) to strengthen their position with this critical block of voters.

However, as a women-business owner who doesn’t have children (yet), I find this statement to be offensive. Women play a critical role in the economy. The University of North Carolina’s online MBA program recently released an infographic compiling data about women in the workplace. Some highlights:

• Women are founding businesses at 1.5 times the national average.
• Women owned 20% more businesses in 2007 than they did in 2001.
• Women own 28.7% of non-farm businesses.
• Women-owned, venture-backed companies have 12% higher revenues.
• Companies with more equal gender distribution in leadership garnered 30% better results from IPOs.

The common thread? Women. Women are doing these things that are spurring economic growth. And these are accomplishments that should be celebrated — not used as a cheap trick to score political points.

Amazing, high-profile women like Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, SPANX’s Sara Blakey (the youngest self-made billionaire, according to Forbes’ most recent list), and even Bethenny Frankel are leading by example — showing women that you can, in fact, have a successful career and a family. But, let’s be clear: Women — moms and those without children — are contributing meaningfully to the economy. Being a mother isn’t a prerequisite to “driving the economy.”

As I’ve written before, though it’s 2012, women still need to fight against ingrained societal norms that diminish the ability, capacity and potential of women. But, why are moms and “non-moms” being pit against each other? To score political points.

Women, I implore you: Don’t get sucked into the “mommy wars” and similar unproductive fights. Instead, display leadership. Let’s start a real discussion about opportunities for women to help grow the economy. Then we’ll really be driving the economy. Kids or not.

Earlier this week, a PR student asked which PR/social media-related people I closely follow on Twitter. She didn’t mean “follow” in the Twitter sense. Instead, she wanted to know who are the people that I really pay attention to … don’t miss their updates … seek out information from them. Interesting question, right?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve identified a few people on Twitter that you really admire, learn from or appreciate their business acumen. Maybe you’ve connected with these people in person … or not. Sometimes, skimming updates from these go-to people provide that extra bit of advice, motivation, reassurance or even a spark of creativity.

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Sound good? My list:

• @AmyJoMartin — Amy Jo’s firm, Digital Royalty, is always testing and experimenting with new ways to add the “human element” to brands, whether she’s working with a company or an individual. Her clients include athletes, celebrities, sports teams and leagues — totally different than the type of clients my firm works with. But, I love checking out what she’s doing and “remixing” the ideas in ways that are applicable to our own clients.
• @DKNY — I think DKNY’s approach to Twitter is brilliant. The company’s PR person’s tweets provide a glimpse at the brand, as well as life as a PR person for a major fashion house in New York City. She’s interesting and engaging, whether she’s talking about fashion, offering advice for young PR pros, or opining on her favorite TV shows. I love her creativity and approach to social media. Her tumblr, dknyPRgirl.com, is also a must-read.
• @JasonFalls — Jason recently became a client of mine, but I started following his tweets and blog long before we officially worked together. He shares a wealth of links and resources on Twitter, plus he’s funny and realistic. He lives up to the name of his book: No BS Social Media.
• @TDefren — I had the pleasure of being on a panel with Todd Defren not long after I started Geben and he offered me a piece of invaluable advice. Since then, he’s evolved into something like a “virtual mentor” for me. He’s on the forefront of digital PR, plus he helped me think about how to grow my business, so I pay close attention to any and all advice he offers.
• I also have a Twitter list of smart PR people, including @prsarahevans, @arikhanson, @dbreakenridge, @KellyeCraneand @jgoldsborough, that I follow pretty closely.

That’s my list of people I “stalk” on Twitter. (Not really … but I do follow them pretty closely.) Who do you keep tabs on?

Today’s guest post is from Lisa Grimm (@lulugrimm on Twitter). As social media strategist for Mall of America, Lisa has to have one of the coolest jobs. And, just watch the creative digital ideas Mall of America is implementing (like this Snap+Win on Black Friday), and it’s easy to see that Lisa knows her stuff. I’ve had the chance to meet Lisa a couple times, and every time I see her, I think, “Gosh, I really need to get to find a way to talk to her more!” She’s the perfect balance of smart, funny and nice (a rarer combination than you’d think!). Before you go follow Lisa, take a few minutes to read her Follow Friday guest post. My favorite line? “Call the kettle and trailblaze.”

The lovely Heather Whaling, who I don’t see or talk to enough, asked me to contribute here more than a month ago. Due to what has been a relentlessly insane schedule, I agreed that I could get her something several weeks out. As I sit down to write this it’s Thursday night at 8 p.m. and this post is scheduled for tomorrow. I’m exhausted and plagued by a long to-do list on my desk, a weekend away to prepare for, personal and family commitments and a general layer of grumpiness and stress about it all. Just having acknowledged it in writing makes me breathe easier and feel better. And that’s what I want to talk a bit about here – how recognizing [you]rself is what matters most in PR and business today – not Pinterest, Path or how Google is making glasses that will require us to take one or two less actions to navigate through life – and how it somehow relates to PR.

I’ve had a slew of alarming conversations as of late. People unhappy, unfulfilled, passionless, miserable, lacking curiosity and just plain lost. They lack confidence in themselves and are so concerned about doing things the “right way” based on what someone told them instead of the way that best suits them (and just to clarify, I’m speaking generally, not about work assignments). Folks who are so busy seeking answers to other people’s questions, they forget about the questions they have of the world and themselves. People who are terrified to admit they don’t have it all together because they think it looks better than asking for help or just saying no. All of these are learned behaviors. They’ve learned them from their parents, school, from working in a sick culture or being an active participant in an environment where they never questioned what they were told. It seems with all of the holes we’re able to fall in across our personal and professional lives, the need for taking good care of ourselves and finding balance between home and work is more important than ever.

A prime example of this came yesterday when COO of Facebook, mom, wife and all around wicked cool gal Sheryl Sandberg, was “brave enough” to go public about going home at 5:30 each night so she can eat dinner with her children. If you don’t know who she is, what she does and represents, you should look into it.

“I walk out of this office every day at 5:30 so I’m home for dinner with my kids at 6:00, and interestingly, I’ve been doing that since I had kids,” Sandberg said in a new video for Makers.com. ”I did that when I was at Google, I did that here, and I would say it’s not until the last year, two years that I’m brave enough to talk about it publicly. Now I certainly wouldn’t lie, but I wasn’t running around giving speeches on it.”

The first thought that came to mind is, “how sad that this is even a conversation in our society.” The second thought that came to mind was, “thanks for using your platform to combat crap like this, Sheryl!”

The reality for the PR pro of today (and several other business professionals) is an unrealistic pressure and expectation to perform at an unsustainable level that has a really high burn out rate. The levels of burn out vary. Most of us are expected to fulfill an insane amount of functions across our respective organizations. PR is responsible for full-blown content creation and several digital functions not traditionally infused into agencies or corporate teams. This creates not just a higher volume of work, but also the bureaucracy and political struggles with movement of practice areas within organizations.

A few anecdotes I’ve dolled out lately…

Understanding what’s important. Whether you have a roommate, spouse, live at home or on your own, the relationships of substance in our lives are paramount to everything else. Without them (and everyone has at least one – hopefully), doing anything else well for a sustained period is difficult. Few people defy this.

Physical, mental and spiritual health. Everyone approaches their physical, mental and spiritual health differently, but as far as I can tell, many of us should be more concerned about ourselves first so we have the opportunities to be better employees, spouses, parents, or whatever roles make up your life. These are personal things and everyone seeks fulfillment in these areas differently. I find that if my spiritual life is sound, my relationships and body are much easier to take care of. I’m not a religious person by any means, but I pray and mediate and find it extremely powerful and beneficial. I do yoga and walk, which give me nice chunks of time to be with me.

Introspection and Communication. It never fails to blow my mind how poor professional communicators can be at communicating with themselves and those closest what’s going on and what is needed. DO THIS. It is vital. I did it (in essence) at the beginning of this post [I’ve got too much on my plate and I need to acknowledge it so it doesn’t become something totally unmanageable].  It’s really helpful to humanize yourself a bit. I run a million miles a minute, which is semi-natural for me but has limits, especially because I have several personal responsibilities to balance it with.

Call the kettle and trailblaze. I’m a big advocate for speaking up when you feel the need, whether praise or seeking to solve injustice. If enough of us do it, eventually things will morph into something better. Sheryl stood up and said she leaves at 5:30, which sets a different tone for women and men juggling a lot at work and a lot at home. I mean, what’s so scary about speaking up anyway? At the end of the day if we don’t we run the risk of watching what we believe in and value get crushed by someone else.

What would you add?

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