Deirdre Breakenridge : PR 2.0 Strategies

I had a meeting last Thursday with my PR team and one of my clients. Unfortunately, I had to jump out of the meeting a little early to handle a personal matter. When I got back to the office, and after my client had left, I learned that he asked my PR manager about Twitter. He said, “What is this thing called Twitter. I just don’t get why you would want to tell everyone what you are doing.” My PR manager who is not a Twitter user immediately told my client, “You need to speak with Deirdre. She’s always on Twitter. She thinks it’s great.”

My PR manager’s assessment of my use of Twitter was absolutely correct. I really enjoy Twitter and sometimes I think I’m addicted to tweets in Twitter land. Let’s face it, there are far worse addictions. I guess when I first started I was a little hesitant to jump right in and say what I was doing. But, now, it’s the first thing I do every day, even before I have my coffee or check my email.

If you’re not on Twitter or heavily involved in some type of social network, then you’re probably thinking that I’m either a tech geek (which I’m definitely not) or I have no life (well with the amount of time I spend running my business and writing my books for Pearson Education, you may be right). I will sum up my fascination with Twitter and then invite you to try it (but you have to stick with it for a while) before you pass judgment on why people find it enjoyable, valuable, fun, entertaining, etc.

Here’s why I like Twitter and why I can’t wait to tweet and review tweets all day:

• I find myself lost in the abundance of information from the people I follow. I learn a tremendous amount about technology and what are the hottest topics, tools, and news of the day.

• I have met some amazing people. They are all different; I can’t think of two who are the same. If you enjoy meeting people and experiencing everything from happiness and joy to frustration and sometimes sadness through new acquaintances, then Twitter will let you have these first hand interactions.

• I’m a PR person and I want to listen and learn from people. I could read tweets all day because the people are genuine and provide firsthand experience and knowledge that interests me.

• I’ve made some awesome networking contacts. I will continue to grow my networking base.

• Twitter allows me to let everyone know the things that are important to me; everything from my family to my books and my business.

• I feel like I’m a part of a large community that is friendly and rarely has the pretentiousness that you often find in the physical business setting. On Twitter, we are all stripped of our titles and we’re basically all created equal.

• Twitter allows me to release emotions, anxiety, excitement, and happiness quickly and serves as a release mechanism for a stressed out business person; this really helps to get me through the day.

• I never feel alone when I’m on Twitter. In fact the opposite is true. I feel incredibly connected to so many people, especially people who I don’t think I would have ever met without this micro blog.

I know that everyone is different; some people will gravitate to other types of social networking forums rather than a micro blog. Twitter takes some time to get used to, but if you can be yourself and share information openly then you join a community that offers valuable and meaningful communication. My advice is to engage and you too will understand and experience the Twitter fascination.

I have found some of the best information, insight and advice on blogs.  In most cases from new friends, not even the people I’ve known for years.  I’m starting to think that anyone who says blogs are just ranting diaries of meaningless information, simply don’t take the time to really read blogs.  They are not taking the time to find the people who can make a difference in their lives and enjoy the conversations along the way.

That’s only one piece of the blogosphere puzzle.  Through blogs and social networking, you have the incredible ability to meet people.  No, I mean really meet people.  When I first started social networking, I felt a little like a fish out of water.  It took me a really long time to participate on my favorite blogs and let people know what I was thinking.  As a matter of fact, there are still many (and I mean many) blogs that I read and still don’t feel comfortable commenting.  And, then there are my favorites: Brian Solis’ PR 2.0, Web Strategy by Jeremiah Owyang and Steve Crescenzo’s Corporate Hallucinations.  I also admire Shel Holtz’s blog and Guy Kawasaki’s How to Change the World from a far.  I also really love micro blogging on Twitter (www.twitter.com).   Since my earlier experiences, I have met social networking “friends” in person for coffee and lunches, and have corresponded outside of the blogosphere.

Let me just focus on Twitter for a moment. I never thought that I would encounter the interactions that I’m experiencing on Twitter.  For a micro blog that only allows you to enter 140 characters per post – how do you make friends and meet people?  It just comes with the territory.  Similar to traditional networking, the more information you give about yourself, the more that people are attracted to your personality and want to continue to interact with you on a daily basis.

I’m constantly amazed at the people that I “follow” on Twitter.  They are very intelligent, passionate, funny, and the best part of all, caring.  For instance, I was having a hellish day at work and didn’t even have time to go on Twitter to post what I was doing.  I’m usually on every day, all day.  Things were hectic and frankly explosive at my company.  I had posted an early morning message stating I was excited to go to Rhode Island for the weekend.  Then, for the first time, I went silent for many hours.  When I finally posted again late in the day, one of my followers replied to me, “You were so quiet today, I thought you were already on the interstate…. :)”  It always feels good when someone takes the time to notice…..I really felt like a member of a community.

So what can you find blogging that goes beyond ranting and raving?  I think a great deal.  But, don’t take my word for it, you should find out for yourself.

I know I’m not the only person out there who has a true appreciation for the traditional values of Public Relations. And, at the same time, I have high admiration and believe in the practices of newer social media communication and PR 2.0. It’s easy to see how traditional PR people view the profession and preserve an industry that has done so much good for many businesses and organizations globally. However, as we witness how our markets change right before our eyes, we realize that businesses can’t control communication. We learn to shift our thinking and be flexible; these markets move us to converse directly with customers and other stakeholders in a different way; in a manner that these groups want to receive communication. It’s a transition in PR and even if it’s slow it’s an important one.

So why is there a struggle to accept a natural progression of communication? There’s so much information available that says PR 2.0 and social media applications are the way that we should be communicating in Web communities. In my opinion, I think many traditional PR folks, who have been around for years and serving different industries (perhaps outside of high tech) realize that there are alternative methods to reaching groups beyond the newer direct to consumer methods or blogger relations. For example, they still want to keep their media contacts close. They know the media influences the talk in the blogosphere just as the blogosphere influences the media and how they report their stories. I think issues surface when groups of PR people (from opposite ends of the spectrum) are talking at each other and not talking to each other. When this happens, no one is really listening.

Why do we have to be so black and white? I think there’s a grey area that many people (whether it’s the traditional or futurist) are missing. This grey area, as simplistic as it sounds, can make everyone happy. It takes what we know from the past, using those tactics when appropriate, and also incorporates the best advice and use of social media applications to speak to people directly in their web communities or to converse with influential bloggers who can reach other people for you. I think that whether you are communicating and building relationships whether it’s face-to -face, with the media, bloggers or directly with your customers online, it’s PR. We should all take the best of the profession and work together to educate how all industry sectors can benefit from the experience of both worlds.

I think we can meet in the middle, what do you think?

I woke up yesterday thinking about this topic and it’s still on my mind. The other day, my PR team met to brainstorm on media angles for a client that helps large pharmaceutical companies market one-on-one to doctors to increase the prescribing of brand pharmaceutical products. The subject of social responsibility in marketing surfaced.

Sure, pharma companies need to be socially responsible. They have an obligation to be good corporate citizens. With that said, of course, what immediately comes to mind is the subject of “Going Green.” As companies look for ways to reduce energy costs, one obvious way for pharma would be to reduce the amount of gas used by sales forces trying to reach doctors. There are other ways to target physicians with precision accuracy without the use of fuel. Pharma companies can also show social responsibility in marketing by not wasting a doctor’s time with strategies he doesn’t want and materials he’s not going to read.

My thinking then goes beyond pharmaceuticals to my own marketing company. I asked the question, “Is PFS Marketwyse socially responsible.” In the traditional sense, yes, we are very responsible when it comes to marketing initiatives. We target and limit the amount of materials we send and mostly do marketing through the Web.

But, what about in the social media sense? Is PFS a social media responsible company? I would like to think so. Today I had a conversation with our CEO and creative director. We’re developing a website for a broadcast client who attends NAB each year. The site has to provide information on announcements, presentations, demonstrations, etc. This year we’re pitching the idea of a blog to capture conversations with dealers and product end-users on the client’s site. Our CEO suggested a MyPod proprietary video networking site (which is still in development here at PFS). However, after further explanation, it really wasn’t what the client was trying to achieve with its NAB website. Had we pitched this idea and the client accepted it, then we would not have been acting as a social media responsible company.

I know that there are many occasions when the social media application is so cool, and we think that it would be great to incorporate something that’s the latest and greatest in technology. But I believe, and I know many others will agree, that in order to be social media responsible the application has to make sense for the client and enable them to accomplish their goals. In the case of the MyPod site, goals would not have been successfully accomplished. Many people may have talked about the site, but it would have lacked certain required features and functionality.

So, I leave you with this question, no matter what industry you represent, are you socially responsible in marketing and are you also social media responsible?

I work directly with senior level executives on their communications programs.  On a telephone conference call with two VPs, I suggested that as a part of their thought leadership program either one or both of them should be social networking (by setting up a blog, commenting on trade magazine blogs, creating a Facebook profile, joining linked in, etc.).  It’s a relatively small investment of their time and can lead to some great interactive conversations. 

As expected, the suggestion was met with resistance.  The first question from the executives is always, “Why should we be blogging and how are we going to reach C-level decision makers and other professionals to sell our programs?”  It’s a valid question.  After answering this question numerous times for other senior level executives I felt confident about my answer.  I explained, “Blogging and social networking are about conversations and it’s a great way to reveal your expertise and thought leadership.  As you network in communities, you will come across C-level and senior level executives because they are out there having conversations, with or without you.  You definitely won’t be pitching anyone through a blog because that’s not what blogging is about.  However, you will have interesting, in-depth conversations with people who share like interests, which can lead to relationships.  Let’s face it – the best relationships can turn into business for your company.  Blogging is also a great way to reach the influencers, those bloggers who have captured the attention of many people who may be interested in what you have to say.  You can reach people that you may not have been able to reach before. 

Sometimes I think business professionals should just take the leap leaving all of their questions and concerns in the back of their minds.   If they would just experiment with different social media applications that made sense in their PR programs, they would realize the benefits of blogging and social networking a lot quicker.  And, chances are if they searched right now on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc., they would see their competitors having conversations and building relationships.  Unfortunately, if you ignore the blogosphere and disregard the conversations, then you do this at your own risk.

Although everything you read today is about social media strategy, it’s o.k. if your company and leadership team are not completely ready to dive in headfirst to social networking and have your company’s training videos uploaded on YouTube. Maybe your communications team needs to test the waters a little more. Your brand might not be ready for a MySpace PR 2.0 debut, however, you’d be surprised at some of the things that marketers are already thinking about and implementing that involve social media as a part of their traditional PR planning.

I interviewed Scott Delea, from Zeta Interactive (formerly Adverb Media) for my book, regarding his company’s participation at the 2007 ad:tech conference in New York City. I wanted to see if his marketing team was using any interesting 2.0 strategies at the conference. Scott was the moderator of the panel session called “Thriving in the New Digital Marketing Ecosystem,” which had leading marketers in attendance with the latest thinking on how they can best leverage the Internet to stay ahead of the competition. Scott openly admitted that he was sick of the typical “show up and throw up” PowerPoint presentation that occurs all too often at conferences. He didn’t want his session to be the same old “talk about some slides and call it day” panel. Because all of the topics for the session were complex (certainly more than a simple hour’s worth of discussion), Scott came up with the idea to start the conversation long before the November 2007.

Scott thought it would be much more powerful and relevant if the panel group leveraged Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate a dialogue before the event. By setting up a Facebook group and announcing the event, months before the show, Scott was able to create early interest in his session and pinpoint what the audience wanted to know.

“Interested parties were able to get to know the panel members, view their bios and ask questions that they want answered even prior to the event,” Scott told me. After the conclusion of the event, he wanted the discussion on Facebook to continue. Even more interested parties became engaged in the marketing conversation. What a great idea! It was simple to implement and cost effective. The best part of all, the social media strategy created dialogue that engaged many interested participants who wanted to share their thoughts and challenges on how to thrive in a digital ecosystem.

Communications professionals are faced with the concern/issue of how to maintain control of communication when implementing social media strategies. It’s a challenge in a Web 2.0 world. As professionals learn to use the various 2.0 tools to reach and interact in social communities with citizen journalists, they will also need to learn the best practices of monitoring in an effort to be aware of positive/negative communication as it spreads quickly online. It’s not as difficult as you think.

There are PR service providers that are raising the bar to meet the needs and expectations of communications professionals who are introducing their brands to social media applications. I had so many interesting discussions with executives from Cision, Marketwire, PR Newswire, Business Wire, and Delahaye (also now a Cision company). You’d be surprised at the monitoring and measurement that is available today.

It was different years ago pre- PR 2.0. Monitoring and measurement was through a clipping service. However, conversations on the Web advance marketers and their brands far beyond just simple clipping services (hundreds of people paid to read magazines, newspapers, trade journals and other niche publications). My book references how back in the day, a cut and pasted clip book was handed over the client. I remember those days. “Here’s your quarterly clip book,” we’d say to our clients. Big and bulky yet valuable, the clip book was tangible proof of the PR person’s performance – a measurement that can be judged. However, now, clients want proof for their social media investments.

PR service providers are right there at the forefront of technology providing the most advanced types of monitoring. I had an interesting discussion with Ted Skinner, Vice president of public relations products at PR Newswire. PR Newswire service is constantly under review depending on what medium needs to be tracked. Now, companies and their representative PR firms or IR firms are very interested in tracking what’s being said out there in more than the traditional areas. For instance, tracking blogs is different.

The tracking goes well beyond gross impressions, which was as in-depth as the interest went pre-Web 2.0. The Web universe is so sophisticated now that it requires you to go beyond the pure number or mentions or gross impressions. PR Newswire signed a deal with Technorati, one of the leaders in blog tracking, to provide more complete monitoring for the company’s clients. Technorati provides PR Newswire’s customers with the ability to track online conversations triggered by news releases. In the interview Skinner said, “One thing PR Newswire has always done is we’ve delivered the news to the media who can best take advantage of it and write stories and provide the publicity our clients are looking for.” He also added, “With the blogosphere, our clients are now very interested in saying, ‘Ok, what has the information in these news releases triggered? We’ve just launched a new product, we’ve sent out a news release. Who’s talking about it and what are they saying? Is our message resonating or do we need to modify it?’”

It’s amazing how monitoring and measurement has changed to meet the changing needs of brands that are involved in Web marketing conversations. Communications professionals need to embrace PR 2.0 and social media applications for their brands. Don’t let the challenge of monitoring stop you from engaging your brands from more frequent and better conversations with customers in their web communities.

Writing a book is an amazing experience. I spoke with over 100 professionals including agency executives, company marketing directors, media professionals and technology gurus. If I were to place a percentage on the number of people who answered the question in a B2C company, “Why would we want to be social (through social media applications)?” I would get a percentage pretty close to 100%. However, if were to ask professionals in the B2B space the same question, the answers are surprising and the percentage would be much lower. I remember speaking to one very intelligent marketing director at a large B2B organization, who said to me, “Why would we want to be social?” When I discussed with him that the Internet is one big conversation and social media applications allow you to talk directly to your customers (as if you were holding one big focus panel) he was excited to hear more. At first take, the idea of going beyond the traditional influencer that we rely on so much in PR was foreign to him. He was viewing PR in the traditional sense. Through my research, I realized that he is among a larger group that must learn to embrace the concept of “social.”

I know that among the PR professionals who read my book, the “traditionalists” will find a great deal of value. This book will help them to understand how the PR profession is changing and so is their role as communicators. I’ve been practicing PR for just about 20 years. I’ve watched the industry grow. It’s fascinating to see new and improved techniques everyday as a result of technology. If you are new to public relations and you grew up with the Web, it may be easier to embrace the concept of PR 2.0. You may have already realized that there are conversations on the Internet daily and you need to be reaching groups in their web communities. Today’s consumers want to gather, organize and share content. However, if you’ve been in the business for many years, sometimes it’s not as easy to embrace the change. PR 2.0 is the true convergence of public relations and the Internet and social media applications make conversations with people easy and more frequent.

My book, PR 2.0, guides the PR pro from the familiar territory of PR on the web (let’s call it PR 1.0), which enabled communications professionals to use the web for its functionality, timeliness and ease of communication to a journey into unfamiliar 2.0 territory. By the end of the book, after reviewing all of the expert commentary provided by the many savvy communications and social media professionals, you will be at the very least ready to personally engage in social media applications. Then there will be others who read my book and they will be ready to jump right in and get their brands conversing in Web communities through blogs, social networking, streaming video and podcasts. Get ready, because the question, “Why would we want to be social?” no longer exists, instead we have a new statement that’s going to be reinforced in the public relations community – We need to be social!