What is PR?

• OK this is late (from last February) but worth a listen.  It’s a podcast from the BBC World Service program The Bottom Line, with some well known PR executives having a lively discussion on what Public Relations is. Recommended.

Traditional Media…

• I love this column, it is a great summary of the changing worlds of traditional and social media, do yourself a favor and read it: Gene Weingarten column mentions Lady Gaga.

• Interesting article on the present and future of journalism from the BBC.

Issues Management…

• Shel Holtz regularly talks a lot of sense about handling issues effectively.  He has an interesting take on the recent mobile phone antenna issue and I’d strongly recommend a read of his post on crisis communication fundamentals. [@shelholtz]

PR Skills…

• Liam Fitzpatrick has generated a lot of discussion with his suggestion that writing skills shouldn’t be prioritized over other communications skills. 

I’m not suggesting that a communicator should be allowed to get away with bad writing. All I’m saying is that it doesn’t make sense to prioritise writing over any other skill – if a single skill is all that matters why shouldn’t it be film-making, web design or spamming twitter?

Dave Fleet [@davefleet] and Shel Holtz don’t agree.

PR thinking….

You should listen to this interesting CIPR interview with Seth Godin for this quote alone:

“PR is a human form of spam”

 

[@andismit]

Great Storytelling…

Changing face of PR….

• If you’re working in PR, you really should spend some time on the PR on Facebook page. No really. You should.

• Neville Hobson reports that the press release isn’t dead. And so say all of us.  It isn’t, it still serves a purpose.

• Really interesting research from a HP study on Twitter and influence that found that the number of followers on Twitter doesn’t necessarily translate into influence.

• Josh Bernoff proposes a new model for PR and influencers. The problem of course is that people who would avail of this model are probably already doing a great job of reaching and engaging with folks.  The muppets sending irrelevant spam, well they’ll keep doing it.

An antidote for social media twaddle…

• If like me you get grumpy reading the twaddle many of our self styled social media gurus peddle on Twitter as expertise, then this is the site for you.  The URL isn’t for the faint hearted.

• This has to be my favorite t-shirt idea at the moment.  It’s from Despair.com via @johnkerrnz.

You also have to love these modern retro posters, via BuzzFeed.

Struggling with LinkedIn?

• Here’s a great intro from @krishnade.

Finally…

Have pity on those of us with a stationary problem.  For us this is real innovation.

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However, they do.

Each have fallen foul to knee jerk commentary from people who haven’t taken the time to analyze, contemplate or find out the facts before casting “informed” judgment.

It’s something we’ll all have to get used to, and it creates an ‘interesting’ environment for public relations practitioners who must deal with the aftermath of this whiplash analysis.

For the record:

• Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign after a blogger posted an edited YouTube video that took a talk she gave on racial reconciliation completely out of context.
• The recent Old Spice social media campaign – maybe because it was high profile -  attracted all kinds of “commentary” from people who said it was a failure in terms of sales after only a week online.  A ridiculously short period of time – oh and sales are up!
• Uniball is a little more obscure, but the company was lambasted for pointing people to their Facebook site rather than the corporate web site as part of a high profile promotion.

In all three cases, commentators didn’t let analysis or even the facts get in the way of a good rant. Instead they took partial information and just jumped right in to give their “valued” opinion.

You see this increasingly on Twitter, with people erupting about some issue or other, only to tweet later that they were mistaken or it wasn’t true – and of course that’s the 2% that actually bother to correct it.

I posted about Old Spice last week, because I thought it was smart both in terms of its traditional, and more especially its social media execution.  It was a subjective post.

Although it shouldn’t, it does amaze me, in the case of Old Spice and Uniball, that people can call a campaign a failure without any knowledge of the objectives or the results.

Clearly this is the outcome of our always-on media environment and I’m far too old and grumpy to expect it to change.

Instead we can all expect to see a lot more of it and from a Public Relations standpoint expect to be fighting a lot more fires as a result.

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Regardless of the emergence of social media, and your views on traditional media, training remains important.

Media training is useful not only to people facing journalists or bloggers, but in fact anyone in the business of communicating – which these days means pretty much everyone.

The basic tenets of media training are constant.

• You need to prepare.
• You need to know your audience.
• You need to listen.
• You need to think.
• You need to stick to the facts.

These may sound pretty obvious, but it’s amazing how often people communicate without thinking, preparing, listening or talking about what they actually know.

My favorite media training team was always David Tebbutt and Martin Banks.  They brought great common sense, humor and a strong methodology to help countless people communicate effectively.

David recently pointed back to a series of posts he published in 2005 on how to handle the press.

I strongly recommend you click here and go and have a read. It’s always good to refresh the basics.

David has also recently published an interactive version of the methodology diagram he uses in his media training.

Take a look.

Posted by Tom Murphy

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Rather than go the usual route, they took an alternative approach, which certainly appears to be working for them.

Funny, smart ads that don’t involved scantily clad females, and still appeal to the target demographic.

But what’s really smart is how they’re embracing social media creating bespoke videos for people who have tweeted or commented on other social media channels about the ads and about the brand.  There are of course some videos made especially for the ‘great’ and the ‘good’ (not to mention Starbucks), but there are even more for people like you and me.

Smart. Very smart.

Update:

Interesting piece in AdWeek questioning the commercial return from award winning advertising.  To quote:

For instance, P&G picked up the Film Grand Prix this year for Old Spice’s "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" spot from Wieden + Kennedy. Launched in February, it’s racked up nearly 12.2 million YouTube views. But in the 52 weeks ended June 13, sales of the featured product, Red Zone After Hours Body Wash, have dropped 7 percent, per SymphonyIRI (this excludes those sold at Walmart). P&G execs were not available to comment.

This is very interesting.  On a personal level I would say my perception of the Old Spice brand has moved in a favorable direction. I’d be interested in finding out has the campaign had a positive impact on brand perception.  Of course the bottom line impact is pretty critical, it’ll be interesting to see how it performs in the medium term.  As we all know the return on investment remains paramount – and the real measure of success.

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Follow the PRSA Code of Ethics whether you’re a member of not. Mentor up-and-coming practitioners and interns, encouraging them to act professionally. Support a “professional organization” that attempts to elevate the status of the field. And do the right thing, because “true” professionals act autonomously, always placing the public interest ahead of client interest.

This is a thorny subject. 

From time to time PR people raise the issue of the profession’s (or not) poor perception.  Normally this results in a passionate call to action, a web site, a plan, a petition.  The one common result of these efforts is nothing.  Nothing changes. Last week we had the latest effort from Keith Trivitt and PR Cog*. (*Not to be grumpy but is it ironic that someone writing under a pseudonym is giving out about PR’s perception problems? Really?)

Of course there are very good reasons why PR has a perception issue. First and foremost there’s a lot of very poor practice out there. Some of it is due to laziness, some of it is due to a lack of professional pride or competence and unfortunately some of it is due to a serious lack of ethics. However, it all adds up to a huge reputational challenge.

We are not helped that the barriers to entry into this line of work are at best low and at worst non-existent.

Let’s also not forget that the level of membership of our professional bodies is incredibly low.

I welcome people’s passion and their attempt at affirmative action.  But in my opinion it’s a waste of time, energy and resources.

If you are a PR practitioner and you are serious about addressing our collective perception issues, then the first thing you should do is join your local professional body, adhere to well accepted (global) code of ethics and invest your energy in evangelizing the need for professional membership.

When I lived in Ireland I was a long-time member of the PRII and was lucky enough to spend a few years on the Board.  There I saw firsthand the hard work underway around the world to agree standard codes and evangelize their importance.

The challenge is that while the professional bodies can provide a collective voice for practitioners, their validity is proportional to their membership.  If PR people don’t sign up then their impact and mandate is reduced.

Now I am well aware that these bodies have their limitations, however the fact remains they are already doing a lot of work to address these issues and the more people who sign up, the greater impact they can have.  If you want to make a positive contribution sign up and get involved.

So, put away your new wiki or website. Instead pay a visit to your local professional body, sign up for membership, read and embrace the code of ethics and start educating people about them.

Addressing PR’s perception issues is a complex and some would say impossible task.  However, supporting our professional bodies will help this issue far more than any website or amateur plan.

Share your thoughts in the comments below or let me know on Twitter.

Disclaimer: I was a long time member of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland, though my membership has lapsed since my move to the United States last year.  The PRSA and IABC are on my to-do list.  Add your local professional body to yours .

Update: Judy Gombita over at PR Conversations penned a post on a similar topic a while back: Industry, trade or profession? Some observations on PR associations, present and future

Posted by Tom Murphy

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Well a story in the UK Daily Telegraph over the weekend caught my eye. It details leaked civil service memos that were prepared to brief civil servants ahead of the arrival of the newly elected government:

The documents, instructing senior officials at the Department of Communities and Local Government how to woo their new bosses, give a checklist of what are called “hot button”, Tory-friendly words, to be dropped into conversation whenever possible. These include “families,” “radical,” “neighbourhoods” and “progressive.”

and the advice continues:

civil servants are told to “talk of efficiencies / value for money without prompting” and advised to deploy blatant flattery, with suggested phrases including: “Congratulations! I had so much confidence in you, I might get complacent!”

The documents order mandarins to “smile!… Lean forward!… Be interesting!” They are told to engage in “supportive listening,” and “take cues from the Secretary of State.” Officials are advised that “eye contact [is] the real currency.”

Yes, life is stranger than fiction.

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I had the privilege of participating in two sessions on the emergence of new media. The panels included Dianna O’Neill from Fedex and Jennifer Tower from Ernst & Young and were ably moderated by Ken Frietas from Boston College.

It was great to get insight into how Fedex and Ernst & Young are thinking about social media, but as usual at these events, the real highlight was the lively discussion and Q&A. (You can find a summary of the session by Meghan Baldelli here.)

It became clear to me (again) that there’s a clear a disconnect between the social media high-church and the challenges facing people in the real world. Before exploring some of the themes from the panel I wanted to call out some common sense that’s emerging around the discussion on social media.  First up, Jeremy Pepper’s thoughtful post titled It’s About Why, Not How.

I recommend it.

His central thesis is that there’s a lot of experts online who talk about the tools but a lot less about why a company would use the tools and how they will have a real tangible impact.

The issue for corporations right now is you have a ton of social media speakers – many who have no public relations or marketing backgrounds, but have (for some odd reason) been labeled social media and community geniuses – that come in full guns blazing about how to do social media. That is worthless, and does not help companies. Ask them why, and see if they can talk about any past successes – real successes that point to an agreed upon ROI and results – and then judge if what they are talking about would work for your business.

If you read this blog semi-regularly.  You’ll know this is a subject close to my heart. As someone who monitors Twitter and reads blogs and online commentary it’s a constant source of frustration that there’s too much talk and supposition about social media without any context or understanding of the real world challenges that businesses and individuals face. (Rob Key has also written an interesting post on this subject: Why we need to kill “social media”.)

The real questions are how does social media fit in terms of reaching real organizational goals? How do I deal with internal issues and balancing the resources I need to focus on traditional programs (that remain effective) while somehow integrating social media programs?

I’ve worked in communications for a long time. I am painfully aware of the pressure people are under to deliver against these challenges.  There is far too little discussion of this online and far too much blue sky hypothesizing about the latest widget – with no context, and no reality.

The real world – real people, real challenges

Back to the Boston College conference. The panel sessions I participated in addressed the changes we’re seeing in communication.  They were very well attended and it was great to hear the concerns of people who are working in real companies and trying to achieve actual business objectives.  While some of the areas we discussed were CSR-specific, the majority of the discussion was applicable everywhere.

Here were some of my takeaways:

• Many people still don’t understand the social media tools and channels.  I think the major reason for this is that people continue to struggle to cope with existing workloads and there’s confusion on how to balance that workload and the resources.
• People are still struggling how and where social media fits in with all the existing programs and campaigns they are running. Many view it as a separate rather than integrated set of activities.
• There remains a lot of concern from senior management about the risk of losing control and creating risk by actively participating online.
• People are challenged with how to mobilize and engage their co-workers around social media.
• There are questions on how you successfully manage the social media process. This ranges from specific publishing processes to legal and HR issues.
• Those who see opportunity are confused about how to get their social media programs started.

So here are some high level thoughts:

• Start with your objectives - When you begin to think about potential social media campaigns, the starting point must be your business and marketing objectives.  Think about how social media can positively support the achievement of those objectives
• Integrate social media – Integrate social media tools and programs with your traditional marketing and PR programs.  It should not be an isolated or one off activity. If you’re working with a large company, make sure that your social media efforts and properties are aligned and integrated with other efforts taking place at your company.
• Start small – You don’t need to launch a blog a Twitter feed, a Facebook page all at one time.  Dianna O’Neill recommends a Twitter feed as a good, low-maintenance way to get started. Just remember to set some goals, measure your results and experiment!
• Less is more – Often every division, department and group wants their own Twitter feed, their own blog etc.  Sometimes it makes sense, but often it doesn’t.  Don’t be left with a large number of underperforming online properties when focusing efforts and resources on a small number would be far more effective.
• Social media isn’t free –   This is a fallacy, unless you have lots of free labor.  There is a cost and it requires resources.  Think through the implications of kick starting your social media program and make sure you have sufficient resources to sustain it.
• Control is subjective – The issue of control can often be a difficult one.  Sometimes the issue is a concern about legal implications or regulations.  Sometimes it’s based on management’s fears.  However, the reality is that people are probably already discussing your brand and products online. From a legal standpoint (see no shortcuts below) you must ensure that your social media assets meet all relevant legal requirements.  In terms of addressing management’s fears, start in a controlled manner, use sensible policies and test them.
• There are no shortcuts – Building successful social media programs takes time and resources.  That’s the reality.  Social media is also subject to the same issues as traditional marketing. This includes legal considerations.  Treat social media as you would any other marketing program or tool.
• Content is king – Social media helps you to tell stories in new and engaging ways. Sometimes you can share content from elsewhere in the marketing mix, but often you need to think in new ways about how you create content.  Be creative. Be relevant. Add value. Do it.
• Converse and broadcast – Although some may disagree a lot of social media channels are effectively online broadcast tools.  That’s OK.  But there is also the opportunity to engage people on relevant issues and topics. Fedex’s Dianna O’Neill used a phrase I loved: intimate conversations.  Work on getting your experts engaging online – even in limited ways – make sure that you are adding value, not noise to the conversation.
• Future proof – As social media continues to evolve there are new services emerging all the time and people are now consuming and connecting across more devices and in more locations that ever before.  Think about the impact of these trends and how you can use different approaches to extend your reach and effectiveness.

Should I communicate about our CSR programs?

Finally, one CSR-specific PR issue that comes up again and again is about whether it’s acceptable to promote or communicate around CSR. My personal view is that as long as you have a sustainable, commitment to social responsibility that is aligned with you business, then I believe it is completely acceptable for you to communicate in an appropriate manner. The reality today is that many audiences expect transparency from companies on their commitment to social responsibility, so we shouldn’t be afraid to discuss and communicate how our organizations are looking to help address societal challenges.

What do you think?

Leave a comment below or share your thoughts on Twitter: @tpemurphy.

Update: Thanks to the ever kind David Tebbutt who kindly pointed out a typo – now corrected

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Aside: My 5 (nearly 6) year old already refers to me as his “old man” – it’s very depressing.

Well I think social media has passed through the teenage years and is now getting a little flabby. 

Let me explain.

When “social media” first appeared (before it was called social media) it was all about the conversation, it was about connecting with people and it was about authentic communication.  That last one was my personal favorite.  We were going to move away from corporate-speak and instead write for people.  I love this.

However, the emergence of all our beloved social media gurus has stymied our progress.

You see there’s a lot of blog posts to write, a lot of tweets to tweet and let’s be honest limited content.  You can only talk about conversations, connections and authenticity so many times before you become repetitive or worse bore yourself.

So what do you do?

Well you do what marketers have done since the 1950s. You invent all these silly little words that mean nothing and you also overuse superlatives.

In effect, our social media gurus have left the world of plain speaking and morphed into the same old habits they decried five years ago.

I read a post this morning from a very fine man, who does a fantastic job evangelizing the importance of social media and after reading it three times I still couldn’t quite believe or understand what he was writing:

• attention economy
• social objects
• human network
• social exchange

What a load of rubbish (or trash).

Stay away from the light social media gurus.  Turn back.  Remember the old days (oh 3-4 years ago) when you railed against corporate-speak. Turn back.  Rediscover your roots.

Stop inventing silly words and trying to add science where it does not belong.

You remind me of my dad.

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If you’re planning on attending do let me know.  Rumor has it that they may even allow me to share some grumpy thoughts on CSR and social media. 

It’s only a rumor mind.

@tpemurphy

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Mr. Arringtron asks if – with the launch of these services, along with the growth of personal data online – we need to become more accepting of people’s indiscretions. It’s a worthy sentiment but of course the reality is different.

It’s already pretty easy to research people online whether using a search engine, Facebook, LinkedIn or one of the other many social services. In an environment like the internet where everyone has opinions and many aren’t shy of sharing them, managing a personal reputation becomes more difficult.

However it’s also true that managing a reputation has always been complex and it could be argued that the internet just makes it more so (Read Frank Shaw’s post: Reputation is more important than ever – some good common sense comments also). 

Valeria Maltoni had a related post over the weekend which looks at today’s reality where everyone is the “media” and everyone can share their views online.

So given it’s going to become more difficult to manage an online reputation.  What’s the answer?

Well as I wrote previously one of the ways you can manage your reputation online is by investing in it.  Be aware that before people meet you they’ll probably do some research online.  What are they finding? Engage with people online in a thoughtful manner, understand the privacy implications of your online presence.  Avoid the temptation to indulge in the knee jerk pontification that so many people seem to engage in online. (Have a read of Dave Fleet’s post today: Cut companies a break )

Yes, managing a reputation is hard.  But first and foremost you need to manage what is within your control.  The reality is that people disagree and accidents happen, but investing in yourself is a great start. Building a strong reputation has always taken time and with that investment you can deal with issues that will, no doubt, arise. This advice of course applies to organizations as well as individuals.

As always the best advice is to plan ahead.

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