Chip Griffin: Pardon the Disruption

Should We Throw Out the Social Media Rulebook?

That's what I argue in a commentary today on Media Bullseye.  It has sparked a bit of discussion already, with Amanda Chapel weighing in to laud my views, which can only mean that it's a polarizing piece!

Jim Turner sums up when many others seem to be thinking: "                              This post is somewhat like a shotgun blast.  Some of the pellets hit there mark and some not so much..."

Or Doug Haslam who noted, "The best rule is that rules are made to be broken.  Should I agree with every little thing you said? I know better than that."

Read my commentary and tell me what YOU think.

PR Pros Enthusiastic About Social Media

PRSA's Technology Section and its New York Chapter put on a great event in NYC yesterday at the T3 Conference.  I spoke on a panel moderated by Don Bates accompanied by David Parmet of Marketing Begins at Home and Tony Sapienza of Topaz Partners.  Tony gave on overview of the tools in social media relevant to PR pros, including wikis, podcasts, blogs, social networks, and more.  David discussed SNCR's best practices for corporate blogging.  And I talked about 7 sins in 7 minutes.

What struck me most was the sea change that has occurred since last year's event by the same sponsors.  A significant percentage of people in the audience are now writing blogs and virtually all read them regularly.  That's a far cry from the last one where "what's a blog?" was a common question.

It was a great opportunity to meet new people and also catch up with some old faces.  For instance, I finally met Constantin Basturea in person and saw Steve Rubel for the first time in many months.  Speaking of those two, they were on a lively panel discussing the future of PR moderated by Richard Laermer.

(Photo of me here taken by David Parmet with his Nikon D80.  Check out more of his photos from the event on Flickr.)

Technorati tags: PRSA, public relations, T3, David Parmet, Tony Sapienza, Constantin Basturea, Steve Rubel, Topaz Partners, Marketing Begins at Home, Nikon D80, Don Bates, Richard Laermer

Should a Startup Entrepreneur Choose DIY PR or an Agency?

Guy Kawasaki today has a guest post from Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin, arguing that startup entrepreneurs should follow the DIY PR route

Nobody knows if Charlemagne could read because an advisor always read aloud for him. It was considered humbling for the king to do anything himself. The same fears drive the most captivating, articulate entrepreneurs to hire publicists. Who wants to risk looking like a fool? As a result, hardly anyone in technology ever tries to talk to a journalist by herself—except Guy, of course.

That’s too bad. Just the other day a newspaper’s technology editor told me, “It’s just so hard to meet entrepreneurs these days. You always get their PR people.” A dozen entrepreneurs sprang to mind who would kill to tell their stories. All have agencies. So what I am recommending is not howto manage an agency, but something more radical: not hiring an agency at all.

Kelman goes on to offer 10 reasons why and does a lot to take the mystery out of startup PR.  There's no question in my mind that agencies and sole practitioners offer real value.  The question for the startup entrepreneur really becomes when is it appropriate to spend precious dollars on PR versus the DIY approach? 

It's a constant battle for entrepreneurs to make these types of decisions -- when do you hire a bookkeeper or someone to do payroll?  What functions should you outsource and which ones should you keep in-house?  When does the dollar spent on a vendor provide more value than the time spent internally?  Like Justice Potter Stewart said of obscenity (paraphrasing), "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it."  Ultimately, many decisions for the startup entrepreneur are gut calls based on the best information, advice, and experience available.

Certainly, however, entrepreneurs shouldn't be afraid to do PR on their own, especially in the early stages.  If the choice is between investing in the product or investing in PR, it's a no-brainer.

I'd be interested to hear what the "wizard" (Dick Costolo of FeedBurner) thinks since he does Q&A for founders on his blog.  For that matter, Ask the VC might take this on as well to see what Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson think from the VC perspective.  And, of course, thoughts from Shel Holtz, Shel Israel, or others who have helped provide PR to entrepreneurs in the past would be interesting as well.

UPDATE: Shel Israel weighs in on this topic. Speaking of Kelman's post, he writes: "In my opinion, it's the best piece yet written on the subject."

Technorati tags: DIY PR, public relations, PR agency, PR consultant, Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Dick Costolo, Guy Kawasaki, Glenn Kelman

Come Learn About Social Media

On May 15, Doug Haslam of Topaz Partners and I will present a Social Media Skills Workshop for the PRSA Yankee Chapter.  The event will be held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH from 1-5 PM.  Cost is $35 for PRSA Yankee Chapter members and $45 for non-members.

This will be an information packed afternoon with time for hands-on learning. Below is the official description, or you can download the event flyer with tentative agenda and registration form in PDF format.  If you're interested in learning more about blogs, podcasts, and other forms of social media, I encourage you to register now. 

SOCIAL MEDIA SKILLS WORKSHOP
presented by Yankee Chapter/PRSA and sponsored by Southern NH University

Spend a half-day (1-5pm) learning all about social media, including blogs and podcasts.  By the end of this seminar, you will have learned how to:

• Pitch your company or client successfully!
• Build relationships through commenting on blogs and podcasts!
• Communicate your message unfiltered through your own blog or podcast!
• Assess your social media coverage using free or paid services! 

In addition, part of the workshop will include hands-on training where you will actually help create a simple blog and podcast.

Technorati tags: PRSA Yankee, PRSA, social media, professional development, public relations

Church of the Absurd

I was stunned this morning when I read Shel Holtz's post about Ben McConnell of the Church of the Customer blog arguing that PR pros should "stop pitching bloggers you don't know." 

Ben and sidekick Jackie Huba are smart people.  They're also very influential in the online marketing realm and have an increased profile of late as they tour to promote their Citizen Marketers book (which they've managed to get me to cite in two posts already today!).  To see one of them make such an absurd argument is startling to say the least.

Not all of what Ben says is bad advice.  He does argue that you shouldn't add bloggers to your latest blast email touting your announcement.  That's absolutely correct.  But as Shel points out in his post and as I do in my 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers white paper, there are good ways to reach out to bloggers you don't already know.

Sticking your head in the sand and dealing only with friends in the blogosphere makes no sense. In this case, the Church of the Customer seems to be worshiping a false prophet.

Technorati tags: Ben McConnell, blogger outreach, Shel Holtz, blog pitching

Online Engagement

Jim Horton has written a thoughtful paper on "engagement" in the blogosphere.  No, not the precursor to marital bliss, this is an analysis of what the term means for blogosphere bliss for PR practitioners and marketers.  He includes descriptions of the ranges of people involved in writing and reading blogs (Engaged, Information Seekers, Aware, and Uninvolved).  In some respects, his descriptions are similar to what Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell discuss in Citizen Marketers.

He includes tips on how companies should get involved in the blogosphere along with suggestions for specific techniques to join the conversation.  Worth a read for anyone interested in thinking about this issue.

Technorati tags: Jim Horton, engagement, Citizen Marketers, blogs, online marketing, public relations

Boston Area PR Scholarship Available

Mark McClennan of PRSA Boston asked me to mention a scholarship they're offering, and I'm more than happy to do so.  If you're an "undergraduate or graduate college student studying in the Boston area" and interested in PR, you should check out this $2,000 scholarship. 

Technorati tags: PRSA Boston, PRSA, Mark McClennan, scholarship, Boston

You Can Go from Hell to Heaven with a Blogger

Good news for anyone who has crossed swords with a blogger.  It is possible to recover.  In a week in which we see Chris Locke and Kathy Sierra smiling and laughing together just days after serious accusations, including death threats, got tossed around, we now see Jeff Jarvis making nice with Dell.

I'm not sure which one is harder to believe, but I do know it is the latter that really interests me. 

For those unfamiliar, here's the short version from Jeff:

I had a rather infamous run-in with Dell here at Buzzmachine when I complained about a bad machine and service. They ignored me, but thousands of similarly frustrated customers did not.

This became known as "Dell Hell" and generated massively bad publicity for the company.  In recent months, however, Michael Dell has reasserted control over the company.  Dell has now gone to great lengths to join the online conversation, including starting a blog as well as an online suggestion site that has drawn incredible community interest.

Indeed, Dell is now going to offer Linux based computers because of the results of this online outreach.  For a company that resisted this sort of offering in the past, this is a major about-face.

Just as big was the outreach the company did to Jarvis recently:

When I blogged that I was headed down to Austin and the University of Texas last week, I got email out of the blue from Dell’s chief blogger, Lionel Menchaca, inviting me to meet him and his colleagues over drinks or out at Dell HQ. I said I hadn’t been planning to pack my flak jacket and he replied, “Even though it is Texas, there will be no guns involved.”

The meeting went so well that Jeff now says he wants to go back and talk with the company some more to learn about their transformation.  And rather than lambasting the company as a bunch of people who don't understand their customers, he now writes:

And so it was a delight to sit down with three guys from Dell and look at the new world from the same side. These guys get it.

This story clearly demonstrates that if a company gets in hot water in the blogosphere, all hope is not lost.  By changing practices and -- more importantly -- communicating more effectively with the social media community, reputations can be recovered.  It's not a slow process, and for Dell it clearly isn't over (for many in the blogosphere, they will likely remain, at a minimum, on probation for quite some time). 

In the past I have lamented the fact that the Blog Mob style of justice often used throughout the blogosphere scares companies away from joining the online conversation.  As bloggers and podcasters, we want those companies here with us, not on the outside looking in.  Hopefully the Jeff Jarvis and Dell story will now become a case study in how to recover, and not merely how to do things wrong.

Technorati tags: Jeff Jarvis, Dell Hell, Dell, social media, reputation, blog mob

7 Deadly Sins Featured in Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog

Bulldog Reporter ran a column from me today that details my 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers that I have written about in this space before. 

• Download the complete white paper for free
• Listen to a special 15 minute podcast version of the 7 Deadly Sins

Technorati tags: PR, Bulldog Reporter, pitching bloggers, 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers, Chip Griffin

Wired, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, and the Ethics of Interview Prep

I was prepared to write up a post today disputing the criticism of Microsoft and Waggener Edstrom for their preparation for an interview with Wired. But Joseph Thornley beat me to it and did a better job than I would have.  Go read his post instead.

Technorati tags: Wired, Microsoft, Waggener Edstrom, PR, ethics

Getting Your PR Industry News Online

I thought now would be a good time to review the web sites of the major PR industry trade publications.  Since PR Week recently announced that much of their content would be available online for free, the whole marketplace deserves a closer look.  I decided to focus this roundup on what is freely available from each site, although I do subscribe to most and there is additional content behind the "pay wall" for many of them.

Here are the five industry leading web sites I have identified in alphabetical order.  Let me know if I'm overlooking any you'd like to see included.

Bulldog Reporter

The first thing you notice when you visit the home page of Bulldog is that it focuses heavily on promoting events and training.  The only apparent way to get to any free content is to click on the "Daily Dog" link on the left hand menu bar.  This is unfortunate because the Daily Dog provides some of the best regular content from any of the online PR publications, and in fact is the one I read most religiously.  The Daily Dog is available by email or RSS delivery (not surprisingly, I favor the latter).  It includes a good mix of new account news, product announcements, commentary & opinion, and sound advice columns.

Holmes Report

This site provides headlines and a teaser paragraph for much of its subscription content, but if you're looking for free news you're mostly out of luck.  They do have a blog, but as of this update it hasn't been updated in six weeks (February 6 was the last post).  Ironically, the site indicates that they used to provide content for free but have recently moved to a subscription model.  The online subscription content appears to be focused mostly on personnel changes and account wins, as well as case studies.

O'Dwyer's

Jack O'Dwyer's longtime -- and often controversial -- coverage of the PR industry is legendary.  The web site itself is heavy on free resources, but not on news or commentary.  If you're looking for agency rankings, services databases, job boards, or useful links, this site is for you.  The newsletter itself requires a subscription (which many would argue is worth the price), but you won't find any of that legendary reporting and analysis on the web site for free.

PR News

The PR News web site features primarily teaser content designed to encourage people to subscribe to their full suite of content. Much of their home page is devoted to house ads of one sort or another, some featuring events, others various publications, and of course several imploring visitors to subscribe.  I couldn't even find a place on the web site to find out the content of the current issue without a username and password.  Overall this site offers very little for those interested in industry news but unwilling to pay for it. 

PR Week

First, these comments apply to the US edition of PR Week.  That's the one I am most familiar with, so I am sticking with it.  With the new direction PR Week is taking online, the site now serves as a valuable resource for PR pros.  It has a wealth of regularly updated information.  It tends to be fairly heavy on who won which contract and a little lighter on techniques and professional development.  The publication has a number of companion blogs to provide more up-to-date information than the print version could have.  The site does pitch subscriptions, but in a relatively restrained manner.  Overall the design seems focused on content over promotion.  PR Week does offer regular email newsletters to keep pros updated and RSS feeds make news more accessible for the more tech savvy readers.  The primary content that remains protected for subscriber access only are "features" from the print edition.  While it would be nice to see those made freely available as well, the amount of free content on this site is still impressive.

Conclusion

If you're looking for free news and commentary about the PR industry and prefer to rely on trade press rather than blogs, your best bets today are probably Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog or the newly unshackled PR Week web site.  But perhaps you know of some publications that I'm overlooking, so be sure to let me know if you have other sites that you would include in this roundup.

Technorati tags: PR, public relations, PR publications, Bulldog Reporter, Daily Dog, Holmes Report, PR News, PR Week, O'Dwyer's, trade press

How to Blog Creatively

Mark McClennan of PRSA Boston offers a great post today where he compares PR to the children's television show, Dora the Explorer.  As a parent of young kids myself, I was actually familiar with the characters he mentions.  But even if I weren't, this style of blog post is an excellent example of how to get outside of the rut of simple commentary that appears frequently on most blogs (including this one).

Obviously, it would be nearly impossible to come up with something that creative or thought-provoking for every post, but trying to do so periodically helps break things up for the blogger as a writer and for the audience as a reader. 

So check out "What Dora the Explorer can Teach us about PR" not just for what it says about PR, but also for what it can do to help you blog better.

Technorati tags: Mark McClennan, PRSA Boston, Dora, blogging, Schwartz Communications

The 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers

My latest white paper has been published and describes common mistakes companies make when pitching bloggers -- and how to do avoid those pitfalls.  I've talked about most of these individually on my blog before, but the paper has examples and strategies for doing a better job at getting your message out online.

1 Failing to Be Transparent

2. Appearing to Bribe

3. Lacking Your Own Blog

4. Making a Bad Pitch

5. Being Scripted

6. Forgetting Everything is “On the Record”

7. Making Claims That Can Be Easily Disproved

Ultimately, the point of the paper is to encourage companies to open a dialogue with bloggers.  By joining the conversation and communicating effectively, companies can benefit from this great medium.

Hopefully you will find this interesting.  And, as always, I welcome your feedback.  Did I miss any sins? 

You can download the paper here for free without having to register.

Technorati tags: blogs, PR, pitching bloggers, whitepaper, white paper

Control vs. Influence

Jim Horton wrote today about the lack of control that companies have, especially over product announcements, in the new media era we live in.  That got me thinking to the question of control vs. influence.

The mantra of the blogosphere tends to be that companies cannot and should not attempt to control the conversation.  In reading countless blogs and having conversations with a lot of companies interested in, but leery of, online media, I find that many are confusing the issues of control and influence.

Controlling the conversation is not possible in the blogosphere, or for that matter in any word-of-mouth environment or even the traditional mainstream media.  Even the most powerful and influential media operation in the world, the one run by the White House, can't control the conversation, no matter the occupant of the Oval Office.  All try and all fail.

But just because you can't control what is being said doesn't mean you shouldn't try and influence it.   Some argue that companies should merely participate in the conversation honestly and allow it to follow its natural course. 

To which I say: "baloney." 

Companies, individuals, and organizations with a stake in online conversations should not only join them, but view them strategically and tactically.  To communicate effectively, you must understand what you are communicating, how you are doing it, and what your ultimate goal may be. 

Unfortunately, for many this causes a devolution into "corporate speak," which does not help the cause.  Certainly it is a delicate balancing act, but one must walk that tightrope in order to effectively communicate online.

Don't try to control the online conversation; you can't.  But do be smart about trying to influence it effectively.

Technorati tags: influence, control, blogs, blogosphere

PR Crises Occur at Broadband Speeds

The timing on this one couldn't be better.  As JetBlue works to dig itself out of Snow Crisis 2007, they might want to join you in checking out "How to Make Crisis Communications More Effective with Media Monitoring" published today by CustomScoop and written by yours truly. The publication is available to download for free as a PDF. 

Here's the premise:

Managing your brand’s reputation in a crisis becomes more challenging every day, given the explosion of information sources accessed by consumers and key constituencies. With reporters, columnists, producers, bloggers, and even average citizens writing or broadcasting about a crisis within minutes of becoming aware of it, the spigot of information you must be aware of can seem never-ending. Worse, these individuals may even be the cause of the crisis in the first place if they jump on incorrect or misleading information and use the media megaphone to trumpet it to the masses.

Effective crisis communications depends on timely and accurate media monitoring efforts to understand the messages being communicated to the public. By arming yourself with the knowledge of how information is being interpreted – and what friends and foe alike are saying – you can be better prepared to respond rapidly and proactively communicate your own messages.

 And here's a thumbnail sketch of the solutions discussed:

Key elements of your pre-crisis media monitoring plan should include:

• Detecting signs of a crisis before it occurs
• Identifying key media outlets likely to write about your company
• Understanding the tone of existing coverage
• Establishing a trusted dialogue with reporters and bloggers

During a crisis, you should seek timely awareness of:

• Stories in key targeted publications
• The evolution of online conversations
• Patterns of message travel
• Tone and content of stories

You can take a deep breath when the crisis concludes. You can even probably go home and get a good night’s sleep for the first time since the crisis began. What you can’t do is stop monitoring.  Instead you should:

• Watch for a rebirth of the last crisis
• Learn from your experience
• Return to your pre-crisis monitoring plan

Go ahead and read this 12 page report for yourself and then feel free to come back here and share your feedback.

Technorati tags: CustomScoop, crisis communications, media monitoring, blogs, crisis, JetBlue, whitepaper, white paper, PR

A $30 Million Problem

I promise to leave the JetBlue thing alone after this.  Probably.  I've already whacked them and praised them.  And now I'm simply sharing what Bulldog Reporter says:

The chief executive of JetBlue Airways said this week that reimbursing passengers stuck on about 1,000 delayed flights and updating its operations to prevent further problems could cost the airline $30 million or more, MSNBC reports.

"It's going to be very expensive," CEO David Neeleman said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show. "I don't have the final number, but it's going to be maybe $20 million or $30 million and maybe a little bit higher."

This clearly demonstrates the importance of solid and timely crisis communications.

Technorati tags: JetBlue, crisis, crisis communications, Bulldog Reporter

8 Ways to Maximize Media Monitoring ROI

I recently wrote "8 Ways to Maximize Media Monitoring ROI" that we're distributing for free on behalf of CustomScoop.  The subtitle is "How PR and Marketing Pros Can Go Beyond Tracking Company Mentions and Press Release Coverage to Improve ROI." And that's really what the guide is all about. 

In the 7 years that I have been working with clients at CustomScoop, I have found that many think very narrowly about what a clipping service can do.  But when you actually engage them in conversation and help them explore other ideas for how to get greater benefits -- and thus higher ROI -- on their media monitoring program, their eyes light up with the possibilities.

The complete document is available as a free download without having to register.  We decided that while most companies make whitepapers like these available only in exchange for a sales pitch, we wanted to create a real resource for the PR and marketing community.  You won't find sales-speak in this white paper, and in fact I mention a number of our competitors, because like this blog I want it to be a useful tool.

With the advances in online news clipping services today, clients can really gather a lot of information and process it quickly.  Even better, the tools to do at least basic measurement and analysis are now available from many providers.  And with many services offering unlimited search terms and clips for one flat fee, there's really no excuse not to track all the information you want.

I go into a fair amount of detail in the paper to show how to implement these ideas, but as a quick summary, here are the 8 ways I describe:

1. Discover New, Earned Media Opportunities
2. Detect Early Warning Signs
3. Uncover New Markets and Customers
4. Listen to Conversations
5. Solidify Stakeholder Relationships
6. Track Trends
7. Examine How the Competition Stacks Up
8. Learn More About Your Industry

If you're interested in learning more, download the full paper here.  I look forward to any feedback you may have so that future publications can be even more valuable.

 

Technorati tags: CustomScoop, ROI, media monitoring, clipping service, PR, marketing

Steve Jobs Proves The Power of Perception

Chris Thilk opines on the Steve Jobs call for DRM-free music from the major music labels.  In his post, he underscores the significance of public perception and the role past performance plays in current and future results:

I applaud Jobs calling the record labels out like this but wish that more people would apply the same natural skepticism toward his big pronouncement and announcements that they would if, say, Bill Gates had said all this.

He correctly argues that Jobs' intentions likely are not as noble as they may first appear:

If the music labels were to drop their DRM requirements in not only the iTunes Store but others as well, more people will buy iPods since they won't be locked into competing players that only work with competing stores.

And Chris is right.  The main reason I switched from an iPod to another MP3 device was because I wanted to take advantage of MTV's Urge subscription music service.  That's not to say I'd definitely switch back, but I sure as heck would give it serious consideration, whereas so long as Apple remains wed to its pay-per-song DRM model, I'm not going anywhere near it again.

It is worth considering what the reaction would have been if Bill Gates had made a similar declaration yesterday.  Would he be praised for joining the blogosphere's conversation (even though what Jobs posted hardly qualifies as a blog entry)?  Or would he be skewered for trying to once again perpetuate a Microsoft monopoly? 

Often the facts matter far less than perception.  That's why it is so important for companies to have a comprehensive understanding of how they are perceived and to prepare for that as they make announcements or handle crises.

 

Technorati tags: PR, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Chris Thilk, Microsoft, Apple, DRM, MTV, MTV Urge, perception

CustomScoop PR Blog Jots

Some of you may have noticed that I stopped posting the PR Blog Jots in this space.  That's because CustomScoop has launched this as its own blog, available at www.prblogjots.com.  It continues to be a work in progress, but I know that I find it to be a very useful summary of the day's blog posts in the PR space and I learn quite a bit from reading it.