Why PR Doesn't Work and How to Fix It

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There have been a series of interesting posts, comments, and opinions regarding why PR doesn't work and why so many CEOs have a bad taste in their mouth at the mere mention of public relations.

Industry veteran, financier, and marketing evangelist Guy Kawasaki sparked the latest thread with his post, "The Top 10 Reasons Why PR Doesn't Work." Kawasaki then followed up with DIY PR, a guide to "do it yourself" PR penned by Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin.

With titles like that, you better believe it's going to ruffle some feathers and bruise egos with every new comment, link and blog post.

Truthfully, there are 1,000 reasons why PR doesn't work and there are also countless reasons why it does. There are also times where DIY works, to an extent, which eventually evolves to require an internal team or an agency - depending on the goals and reach of the campaign.

According to Guy's first post, who in turn is sourcing Zable Fisher of ThePRSite, here are the top 10 reasons why PR doesn't work:

1 - The client doesn’t understand the publicity process
2 - The scope of work is not detailed and agreed upon by both parties.
3 - The client has not been properly trained on how to communicate with the media
4 - The scope of work is not detailed and agreed upon by both parties.
5 - The client and the PR person or firm are not a good match.
6 - The client has not gotten results quickly enough and ends the relationship too soon.
7- PR people don’t explain the kind of publicity placements a client will most likely receive.
8 - Clients don’t realize that what happens after you get the publicity coverage is sometimes more important than the actual placement.
9 - Clients refuse to be flexible on their story angles.
Clients get upset when the media coverage is not 100% accurate or not the kind of coverage that they wanted.
10 - Clients won’t change their schedules for the media.

Well then, let's just hang up our hat trying to refine our client services or management brown-nosing, as we've finally figured out how to strip PR down to such a basic sense of parity, that if we could get these top 10 questions answered or figured out, that we could solve the industry-wide plague of bad PR.

This really seems to make sense to those that subscribe to the belief that there's no such thing as bad PR. Nevertheless, PR is not a commodity - but bad PR is available anytime, anywhere.

Good friend, Dave McClure, seemed to capture it more accurately - at least for those of us in a world that demands we prove value and worth using metrics outside of whether or not we get along with people, trained our spokespersons well, or explained the publicity process so that executives could have something other than running a business to worry about.

1 - The PR firm doesn't understand the product or technology.
2 - The PR firm is seen as a spinner, blocker, or gatekeeper to access the CEO/CTO/braintrust.
3 - The PR firm hasn't been properly trained on how to communicate with bloggers or social media. 4 - The PR firm prefers doing a few big traditional media over lots of smaller online media & online channels.
5 - The PR firm doesn't understand SEO, SEM, widgets, blogs, tags, social networks, pictures, video, or other online & viral methods, aka "all that Web 2.0 stuff".
6 - Most PR folks have no clue what the hell TechMeme is.

Ask anyone what's wrong with PR and you'll unintentionally draft the manifesto of varying top 10 lists that will form as the foundation for revolution in the communications business. Call Guinness while you're at it. I'm sure we'll break some records.

Rather than highlight what's wrong with PR or why it doesn't work, let's talk about how to fix it. (If you're in tech...please read this article first as it serves as the primer for PR in the face of new media. Web 2.0 marketing has generated many new lessons, strategies, and tools that benefit almost every industry.)

No matter what business you're in, there are a few things that can help you succeed in, manage, or measure PR. This list is a game changer and can serve as the foundation for improving PR and elevating its value among those who have been burned by previous experiences.

PR for PR People

1- Realize this as your number one priority...just because you show up to work and do your thing doesn't mean you kick ass in anything other than maybe, just maybe, deserving to keep your job.

2 - If you expect to represent anything, whether in an agency or in a company, spend a significant portion of your time figuring out why it matters to people - on your own time. This is the difference between PR and good PR.

3 - Figure out who your customers are and where they go for their information. This forces PR to mirror sales strategies in order to reach the people that could benefit from said product/service. Different people go to different places for information. First determine where you want to be and then work backwards from there.

4- Read the blogs, magazines, newspapers, forums, newsletters, etc., that reach them and understand how to translate what you do in a way that matters to them. This is the only way to be successful in running PR in the long tail. People within your target markets share experiences, pains, and wants that are unique to each group. By reading, you're participating. And by participating, you're better staged to engage more effectively than the rest of the flacks.

5 - Read # 4 again.

6 - Don't speak in messages, spark conversations based on the unique requirements of each market segment and the people within them. And please, don't spin. We all hate when politicians do it. If you find yourself consistently selling or spinning rather than evangelizing you might be in the wrong place in your career.

7 - Traditional PR still matters, but also embrace social media (after you've had a chance to participate as a person, and not as a marketer). This is the future of PR, understanding how it works and what it takes to participate will ensure that you're experience is relevant to the communications needs of businesses over the next decade.

8 - Attacking the "audience" with PR campaigns no longer works in new media. You have to engage with people through the diverse segments that represent your target market.

9 - When working with reporters, bloggers, analysts, and other influencers, spend a significant amount of time understanding what they write about, to whom, and why. Then take your story and align it accordingly. One story no longer applies to the masses.

10 - Once you understand what it takes to make the story more compelling to the varying markets and the influencers that reach them, then and only then, think about press releases. One press release doesn't carry across the entire spectrum of customers any longer. Figure out the core value proposition and then write several different flavors based on the needs and pains of your target customers and how you help them do something better, easier, more cost effectively, that they couldn't do today.

11 - Set goals with the executive team of the company you represent. Based on the previous points, you have to ensure that your activities align with their business strategy. Ask them to define success month-to-month, so that you can all agree, in advance, what it takes to move forward. Create the PR program that will help you acheive those goals. If there is anything outside of your control that stands in your way of success, then do what it takes to fix it. If your spokesperson is horrible, then either train them or tell them that you need someone else. If the product/service isn't wowing people, find out why and what it takes to compell people to use it.

12 - Communicate progress regularly, document milestones, and showcase successes. PR often suffers from a lack of "PR for the PR." If you don't demonstrate success, who will. By communicating progress, status, and feedback, then you can consistently prove your value to those that underwrite the PR program.



Company Executives

1 - Understand first, what PR is and isn't. All too often, businesses expect PR to perform miracles simply because they confuse it with advertising, online marketing, media buying, search marketing, etc. PR can't guarantee legitimate coverage in industry publications - no matter how tight the relationship. If PR promises it, then they're lying. I leverage relationships daily to consider stories that I package in a way that's most relevant to them. Most of the time it works because I take the time to make it valuable to respective markets. If I took advantage of my contacts to force coverage whenever I needed to deliver on a promise, then it would mark the beginning of the end of my relationships.

While I won't compare PR to each branch of marketing, I will say that PR IS NOT ADVERTISING. Reporters and bloggers don't stop what they're doing to write about your company, just because we send them a press release. They're bombarded by PR people all over the world. Stories are cultivated. If we respect them, do our homework, and help highlight the value of a story, coverage is imminent. If you want guaranteed exposure, buy an ad.

2 - Don't under value PR. PR, when done right, is extremely valuable to company branding, which has immeasurable benefits in the long haul. Customers have choices and if you're not consistently vying for their attention, it's pretty easy to fall off their radar screen when they evaluate options. Too many companies nickle and dime PR to the point of absurdity. Don't get me wrong. Expensive PR doesn't equal success. But short changing PR is usually a first step in the wrong direction.

3 - PR is not a switch. It doesn't go off and on whenever you have the time or budget to throw at it. The market moves too quickly, and if you're not actively participating in it, you'll quickly find that company sales and site traffic will begin a downward spiral that may or may not recover.

4 - In most cases, coverage doesn't just happen. PR is like farming. The more seeds you plant, along with the time you spend watering, caring for, and feeding them, your crops will grow in the form of coverage over time. While some things such as news, etc., force information out quickly, other stories take time. And when they appear, they help raise brand visibility, drive some people to buy, and they also spark others to consider writing about it - which in turn also influences the cycle to replicate. Don't assume all of this coverage happens simply because you are a popular company.

5 - Just because you created the product doesn't mean you're the best person to sell it. I've worked with some of the most passionate executives that just don't click with the people they're trying to engage - no matter how hard they try. Suck it up and get a spokesperson who can help tell the story to the people that will help grow your business.

6 - Understand that PR is only an umbrella for the specific communications initiatives that will help you reach complementary, simultaneous goals. For example, corporate branding and product marketing require different campaigns.

7 - No matter what industry you're in, realize that the most popular blogs, newspapers, or magazines are only one part of the process. Your market is divided by adoption and buying behavior and documented through a bell curve rich with chasms, pyramids that further divide and classify them, quadrants that demonstrate competitive advantages, ladders that represent the technology that people can use to reach customers in different ways, a cluetrain that shows how people carry it through the long tail, and hopefully reflected by a hockey stick that forces you to evaluate what to do from Inside the Tornado. Yes, of course this was meant to be funny...but it does show that one program no longer serves the masses when you deconstruct it by the markets and the people that comprise it.

This means that you have to embrace both new media and traditional media in PR. For example, in the tech space, TechCrunch, Mashable, Venture Beat, Read/Write Web, et al, will yield measurable traffic so great that most of the time it will knock out company servers. Every executive wants them. CEOs cry if they can't get coverage on them. But, by no means, do they carry your value proposition to the entire collective of people that will embrace your product and help sustain your business for the whole game.

They represent the early adopters and pragmatists. However, there are other worlds of global microcommunities rich with horizontal and vertical publications and blogs that will carry your story to the more conservative groups of people that collectively converge as the primary base of recurring revenue.

In this case, it's less about traffic and hits as metrics for success and more about quality, registrations, purchases, referrals, etc. that define business growth.

8 - Engage in social media. We live in a "social" economy and the only way to succeed in it, is to participate.

Blog about industry-relevant topics, not just company accomplishments. It's not a new tool in the marketing belt. It is a new opportunity to engage customers and cultivate relationships. Simply put, be a resource for your community.

Embrace online video and watch how creative, genuine, and cool content becomes incredibly viral. Words can carry the message so far, but video is also an opportunity to showcase the product while entertaining viewers.

Podcast new updates, customer successes, ideas for new product uses, etc.

Bookmark and share relevant links using the popular social tools available.

Cultivate user generated content.

Write social media releases.

If relevant, build transparent profiles in the social networks where your customers can find and support you.

Share images and behind the scenes footage using services such as flickr, zooomr, and YouTube.

Hire a community manager. In the new world of social media, new PR can be complemented through the efforts of someone who can actively represent the company in all things social so that they can provide proactive information and support to people looking for guidance in the communities they frequent. Don't market to them, have conversations.

Note, this is a ultra-simplified list of how to jump into the world of social media.

9 - Support your PR program and feed it as you do any other branch of the company. Respect it when it works and let your team share in the success. Don't focus on the shortcomings. Extend congratulations as goals are acheived.

10 - If you find a PR person that truly lives and breathes the company and the product, never let them go. They are a rare breed and deserve support and promotion.

11 - Meet with your PR team regularly to communicate realistic goals and measure progress. Paint a real world picture of what success looks like each month and listen to the reports to see if they are indeed attainable. You get out of PR what you put into it.

12 - Agree upon metrics in advance. All too often executives lose sight of what PR is designed to do. The right coverage is invaluable, even when it doesn't translate into visible hits, traffic spikes, or sales. Super Bowl ads, for example, rarely pay for themselves in the short run.

Realize that a proactive, intelligent and consistent PR program will contribute to the bottomline. It shouldn't be solely responsible for company success or failure.

Metrics can be in the form of specific targets every month, registrations, lead generation, links, and now, conversations.

Additional stories:

Jeremiah Owyang update - thanks Jeremiah for the kind words!

Andy Lark's incredible response - Yes PR works!

The New Marketing 1 & 2

Chip Griffen - Should a company try DIY or a PR team? (the answer is in my post)

JournaMarketing - The real reasons why PR doesn't work

Matthew Stibbe on Why PR doesn't work and also on DIY

Hugh McLeod also on Why PR doesn't work

Gary Reid

Publicity for small business growth

Mike Manuel

Global Nerdy

Jeremiah Owyang

Dave Donohue

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PR in the Face of Web 2.0 and Social Media - Part II

PR Stereotype

In Part I, I stated that all things 2 dot oh were now the cattle call heard round the world for marketers to update their service menu, increase prices, and start offering a brand new, shiny set of new media services - most at the expense of the companies they represent.

With Web 2.0 attracting mainstream attention, PR 2.0 (and everything 2.0) has become the holy grail. Suddenly almost every marketer now offers new media services trying to cash in on PR two dot oh, social media, and even PR 3.0 (bleh) - when in fact, they are further contributing to the perception of why PR, in general, just doesn't get it.

The game is changing and it's survival of not only the fittest, but the most capable. PR in the era of social media requires a fusion of traditional PR, Internet marketing, HTML, and the ability to listen and engage in conversations - without speaking in messaging. And, contrary to popular belief, PR is not a commodity - but bad PR is available anywhere and everywhere.

Again, PR 2.0 is not because of Web 2.0. It is not about simple blogger relations. Nor is it about corporate blogging, wikis and communities. These, my friends, are simply the tools we use, and tools change - while people, more often than not, remain the same.

The concept of PR 2.0 as I defined it, is the evolution of industry practices forced by the shift, and the process, of influence in a social economy that has created a new layer of influencers. I'm not a proponent of labels, but for the time being, it is different and requires explanation.

New PR is a milestone that documents the shift of PR from a broadcast machine to community participation. It is a chance to not only work with traditional journalists, but also engage directly with a new set of accidental influencers. It is also our ability (and opportunity) to talk with customers directly so they can, in turn, spark additional conversations. This is the new live Web (as coined by Doc Searls).

It is no longer about audiences. It is now about people (as so eloquently introduced by Jay Rosen). And, most notably, it's not about technology. This time it's about sociology and the interaction with people. Whereas content was king in Web 1.0, conversations are now king - as is community and the participation therein.

Let's just take out the BS and hype, and let's start understanding what it is we represent and why it matters to those we're hoping to reach. And, while we're at it, let's also take some time to read the publications and blogs that reach our customers. This is about an understanding of markets, the needs of people, and how to reach them.

This is PR for the mass market as well as the people that comprise the long tail - reaching out the disparate markets that collectively represent your customer base. And no steps can be taken, without first listening.

It's the difference between sending press releases and engaging with communities.

It's the difference between spin and relevance.

It's also the difference between speaking in messages versus genuine conversations.

At the end of the day, PR can not exist if we don't carry the confidence of those who trust us with the brand of the company we represent.

This was the foundation for the panel which I moderated recently at the Web 2.0 Expo.

PR, regardless of revision numbers, is evolving, and in order to survive, we have a lot of learning and listening ahead of us. And, we also have quite a bit of PR for the PR to embrace, as it was obvious that CEOs, investors, and business leaders at the event felt less than confident that PR actually brought value to the table.

I opened up the session with a series of questions.

I first asked how many PR people were in the audience. I wasn't surprised to see about 1/2 raise their hands.

I then asked how many company representatives, developers or founders were in attendance. It seemed that they represented the other half.

So the next natural question was how many people felt that PR brings value to the table...of course the PR side raised their hands.

The next question was how many attendees actually believe that PR people should? It was, of course, tipped in the direction of 2.0 company representatives.

The last question was how many 2.0 leaders believed that PR could actually "get it?" You could hear crickets.

With that, I thought it would be a good idea to provide some perspective for the panel, so that we could help narrow the gap between the existing perception of company leaders and the PR's misperception of its true standing. social media.

Web 2.0 has created a new channel of online influencers - forcing an evolution in the practice of PR - dubbed PR 2.0.

I would say the Web in general forced this, 2.0 is only its evolution.

PR 2.0, like everything 2.0, is the new buzz word, but does that make it legitimate?

Traditional PR is not PR 2.0.

It’s the difference between sending press releases and engaging with communities and storytelling vs. evangelism

Is PR 2.0 dead or does it represent a new, more effective platform and methodology for successful PR in a new tech/social economy?

As evil (or lame) as PR is perceived to be, it (meaning good PR) actually works regardless of the rev number. However, you first have to participate as a person - not as a marketer - in order to truly understands what it takes to engage today.



Panelists included:

Tom Biro, Title, Sr. Director, New Media Strategies, MWW Group

Jeremy Pepper, Director, Social Media Strategist, Weber Shandwick Worldwide.

Michael Pranikoff is the Director of Emerging Media for PR Newswire.

Donna Sokolsky, Co-founder, Spark PR.
--

What is PR 2.0 and What's the Difference Between Traditional PR and New PR?

Tom: Essentially it’s working with a larger community than just the traditional media we’re used to working with, down to the individual members of any online community. It’s also about treating all media less like a place for our news to be published because we want it to be and more about all media being interested parties in what our clients have to offer.

Michael: PR 2.0 is the next evolution of PR. Today it isn't just about what the media is reporting, but it's about all of the encompassing conversations. PR 2.0 is still very much like traditional PR, it's just that there are new tools and practices that can help PR people reach and be a part of new audiences and new conversations. It's more participatory than ever before.

Jeremy: PR 2.0 is the rebranding of PR to showcase the industry's understanding of social media. The paradigm shift - and it is a paradigm shift, in the way that it is revolutionizing PR - is that people PR is being forced to go back to its past, and be part of the conversation beyond media (the P in PR is public). It means being less a goal-keeper, and more a bridge maker to a bunch of new and old audiences.

Donna: In the 2.0 era, if everyone is a self-publisher then they are an influencer. And by definition, if they’re an influencer, then to some degree they’re a PR person. Today anyone is able to promote or influence their communities so PR 2.0 is about publicity becoming more prominent, immediate and dispersed. The difference is that control has shifted from corporations to consumers. Companies can’t hide from their issues anymore – they are forced to lean into the conversation and communicate with their customers.


Is PR 2.0 Dead?

Tom: Plenty still alive, but I’m not sure if we’re not just in the infancy stage of the “gets it” vs. the “doesn’t get it” groups as far as agencies go.

Michael: Definitely still alive - and more important than ever before.

Jeremy: Still alive. PR always adapts to new technologies and new thinking. It may be slow on the uptake, but it will adapt.

Donna: PR is still alive but it needs to morph. PR 2.0 is less about being ‘corporate’ and more about being real. In the old days, a few folks acted as the gatekeeper to a company’s brand and were able to control how the media portrayed them. Today, there’s less control and more to manage. I think that presents a huge opportunity and a learning curve for PR. Also increasingly, people want to be influenced by people just like them, so PR firms will have to come up with ways to deliver the message from the people themselves. Firefox is an example of a company that did an amazing job engaging the community to spread Firefox.


Does traditional media matter to Web 2.0?

Tom: Absolutely. Take a look at what Web 2.0 communities and individuals are still linking to and writing about – traditional media, for a significant amount of their content development and building. TechMeme is probably a prime example of how valuable traditional media is to those who make their bones in the Web 2.0 world.

Michael: Traditional media is still the norm with the vast amount of the country. There are so many blogs today, but still most of them are very niche. Traditional media still controls much of the influence and credibility with the majority of the public.

Jeremy: It does - even though Web 2.0 does not realize it. The blog reading audience is growing, but the mainstream media audience is still huge and has influence on the economy. The Web 2.0 companies that ignore traditional media do to their detriment, and likely, their death.

Donna: I think Web 2.0 recognizes that traditional media is important. Many traditional brands like The Economist include blogs and podcasts already. They are becoming part of the fiber. Also if you saw Technorati’s keynote yesterday, predominantly the top online news sites are the traditional media. A lot of Web 2 companies are great about promoting themselves on new media, but few companies are great at both.


How Does Traditional PR Add Value in a the Web 2.0 World?

Tom: Traditional PR can offer access and other things previously only offered to “big media,” and can add the most value by staying out of where it doesn’t belong, and becoming *part* of the community rather than trying to co-opt the community.

Michael: It's all about the content and the conversation. PR professionals can now take the practices and tools that they've been using for a long time and adapt them to new conversations with new audiences. It's not re-inventing the wheel, it's building upon the foundation that's already been set....with possibly some new nuances.

Jeremy: Through relationships that Web 2.0 world is not likely to have. PR can help move companies into new conversations, mainstream conversations.

Donna: PR is on the front lines figuring out the new rules and taking risks. There are more mediums to get your message to and we’re helping a lot of companies innovate with their communications. But fundamentally on the flip side traditional PR is still used every day. We still analyze how to enter a market and at what decibel; decide what will resonate and what won’t. We do the same things but have layered new tactics on top of what we were already doing.


There was a CEO of a well known Web 2.0 startup who was quoted, "I would rather have a blog post about my company in Scoble's blog than an article in the WSJ by Mossberg."

What do you think about this position?

Tom: It all depends. If that company were only concerned about getting 20-somethings to visit a site and sign up for something, then Mossberg probably isn’t the highest target for you to aim at. If you’re trying to get VC funding or be bought, then that’s a different story. At the same time, Mossberg reaches a lot more of what could be considered a “mass” audience that isn’t necessarily in a top percentage of readers in any one group – Robert Scoble doesn’t necessarily have mass appeal with the general population, but there are other bloggers/podcasters who might replace him in that way.

Michael: Well, the CEO doesn't understand PR fully. That's why a company has a PR person and a CFO - different people have different knowledge and different skills. Scoble is a great hit, but Mossberg has a greater readership.

Jeremy: And, where is his company now? And, he sure did pitch his version 2 of the software to mainstream press, instead of just concentrating on bloggers. 'Nuff Said.

Donna: It really depends on the company. We have clients like Moo cards who garner more sales from a blog writeup than a traditional media story. But conversely, it’s foolish to underestimate the power that Walt Mossberg wields. A positive review can bring even the hardiest website down and a negative one can bring a company to its knees.


There are Social Networks, Blogs, How Does Social Media Change the Landscape?

Tom: If anything, it forces everyone to be more vigilant in keeping track of what’s being said about your brand, products, or executives. You can’t respond to everything, and not everything is a crisis, but there’s now an opportunity to see the story “form” whereas a few years ago that “buzz” was only generated by local, regional or national media. Now, one person could theoretically push a button that creates an issue for your company.

Michael: The more avenues that a PR professional has to reach audiences the better. All of these new mediums add to the importance of the PR person to use all of their skills to reach multiple audiences. If anything, PR 2.0 is not for the lazy.

Jeremy: It changes it by showcasing new audiences, and a new way to reach the audiences. At the end of the day, PR is supposed to be about reaching the public. This only helps us - if it is done smart.

Donna: A bunch of ways and they all empower and benefit consumers.

First: The conversation is now interactive and more transparent – there’s nowhere to hide and everyone is able to comment on it.

Second: We have to move at the speed of blogs and that means crystallizing and executing a strategy with oftentimes only a few hours notice. Embargoes are painful because secrets have become inefficient.

Third: Social media is a democratization of sorts which means PR needs to adapt and innovate or die. Dave Sifry of Technorati mentioned that many of the top blogs this year weren’t on the list last year. It’s the same for PR – social media is weeding out the bad PR.


Does SEO Matter in PR?

Tom: SEO is obviously important to PR 2.0, as everyone is concerned about it for their press releases, etc. That being said, it’s about being smart with SEO tactics, not gaming the system.

Michael: SEO is a tool - but it's not the end all be all. It definitely has a role in public relations, but it's just one skill in the toolbox.

Jeremy: Social Media does have an impact on SEO, but SEO is a bigger part of the marketing and communication mix.

Donna: SEO is driven largely by the number and nature of stories about a company so PR and social media does help here.


How Do you Measure / Quantify / Justify the Overall Impact?

Tom: There are lots of ways to measure overall impact of social media. Tonality, volume, links. What we have to go away from is the “old way” of looking purely at ad value or readership. In a world where Google and Technorati can put a random blogger just as high as a so-called “A-list” blogger, who’s to say what a good item on your client is, or more valuable item anymore?

Michael: That's a good question. Measurement is a difficult thing to do, but there are a lot of good tools that can help people do that - and depending on how much time someone has to do the research, there are many free tools to help them. It's all about getting your information out there and trying to track and understand the conversation that you've hopefully begun. I agree with Jeremy that you have to be a part of the conversation.

Jeremy: That is the golden ticket, but how do you measure word-of-mouth campaigns? It comes down to taking current measurement tools, and expanding. The best clients, though, understand the need to be part of the conversation(s).

Donna: We always try to measure our impact on our clients’ business objectives. But I also agree with Jeremy that the real holy grail for marketers now is about owning the conversation and attaching your brand to it. We have metrics to measure page views, impressions and blog traffic but these are new marketing practices that are really important to Web 2 companies and it will be interesting to see how they evolve. I thought it was fascinating that YouTube overtook Yahoo and Google in six weeks – they owned the conversation even though VideoEgg, Grouper and others were already out there.

Is the Press Release Dead?

Tom: Absolutely not. It might be evolving a bit and be used a little differently depending on your company, but it’s not dead.

Michael: No, but then again, I am a little biased there. The press release is a living document that is adapting to a new age and new technology. It's been adapting for the last 20 years, and it will continue to happen. There is an need for companies to put information out and the press release is one of the best secure, credible, and most adaptable way to do that.

Jeremy: No. The press release hits a different audience that will always be interested. It can be the investing community, the smaller newspapers, the various Web sites that are subscribers and use the wires to get basic information.

Donna: I can’t wait until it is. Press releases have devolved into legal documents. We have some clients that refuse to issue press releases but when it’s time to fill their Dun & Bradstreet file, there’s no other way to chronicle a company’s major milestones. They are largely unnatural and today’s reporters need to see pitches and news on one screen of their Blackberry. As a culture we have shorter attention spans so we’re modifying the way we get our messages out.

---

Thanks to Donna, Jeremy, Tom and Michael for contributing to the evolution.

To view the Word version of this post, click here (Courtesy of ThinkFree Docs)

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Twitter Down Again, Sparks Adoption for Jaiku

Yes, it's true. We are a fickle impatient bunch of early adopters looking for things to be there when we need them and work like we want them to. We do have patience with cool, new technologies and apps, but that patience quickly thins when it is tested too frequently.

Yes I am a fan of Twitter. But, using Twitter can be frustrating at times. All too often, I'm forced to wait, sometimes without satisfaction, in order to hit the site when I'm away from text or IM updates.

Twitter isn't a mission-critical application, so reading the updates from the community or sending information to them isn't going to make or break business per se. But the frequency of server issues with Twitter is starting to make the LOL Cats less and less cute and funny, and more annoying, error by error.

But don't get me wrong. Twitter is still a relevant app and I will continue to use it. The purpose of this post is to show you what happens when your errors, hiccups, trip-ups, start to fuel customer adoption for your perceived competition.

In this case, Jaiku is inadvertently benefiting from Twitter's little stumbles. While I personally believe that Twitter and Jaiku are only similar in their ability to channel life streams and truly represent two unique market opportunities, they are perceived competitors.

Earlier, I noticed several new "friends" (within minutes of each other) in my Jaiku list, which caused me to question what was different about today than any other day.

Then I found an article by Duncan Riley of TechCrunch, which instantly solved the mystery. It was not so discreet in its positioning and intent simply by judging the title, "Making The Switch From Twitter to Jaiku."

Riley cleverly and passionately claims, "I thought I saw a putty tat. I did, I did see a putty tat! These famous words were never the last from Tweety Bird, but for a growing number of Twitter users they will be. The last thing they will see before giving up on Twitter will be the Twitter server cat, the default screen when the service is completely down."


Photo Credit: TechCrunch

In the TechCrunch comments however, Michael Arrington added his voice to the conversation, "I’m actually a loyal twitter user and won’t be leaving. The downtime is more charming than anything else. This isn’t exactly a mission critical app. "

Shortly thereafter, Calacanis posted, "Twitter is how I stay in touch with my core, most dedicated, peoples.... that last week has been really hard for me. Please let me pay you...please."

They're right. For some of us (well others more so), Twitter represents the vein in which the IV of business and personal relationships are fed. However, there will be some who don't care. What can't be underestimated however, there will also be those who simply give up. And, therefore, that represents a tremendous marketing challenge for the folks over at Twitter. Our attention spans are simply finite and they grow thinner everyday.

And let us not forget the last exodus sparked by Leo Laporte's departure to Jaiku over potential copyright issues.



While again, Jaiku is a more elaborate application, it can at its minimum, serve as a Twitter alternative. At its full capability however, Jaiku serves as a complete microblogging platform that can aggregate disparate streams, while also faciliating social threads around relevant topics that you post.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Twitter is simple and it's beautiful that way. And its community is well established and some of the most amazing people thrive from reading and sharing information through the Web, mobile text, IM, etc.

Jaiku is a bit more involved. For one, it's almost a profile aggregator of sorts, allowing you to bring in feeds from other sources, including Twitter, blogs, del.icio.us, flickr, etc., so that your updates traverse across your multiple online personae through one social, integrated personal stream (or flow). It also allows comments on individual posts to continue threaded conversations, which is better suited to those seeking more meaningful engagements and conversations - well as deep as a nanoblogging platform would allow (and promote).

Either way, the community is agitated. And somewhere down the line, there will be a boiling point. The key for Twitter is to either diffuse that scenario or to continue its customer service strategy of using cute cat pictures with funny LOL Cats captions.

Here are a several interesting comments straight from Twitter.
jowyang Twitter = too many cat images. (jeremiah owyang)

sarahmeyers ARGGG to twitter's server! Makes me mad!

lanehartwell boy twitter sucks lately.

caseymckinnon Aw fuck... Twitter is waning again, got a server error a second ago.

Veronica Twitter vs. Jaiku Prizefight on CNET (Veronica Belmont)

caseymckinnon The problem with Jaiku is that I never remember the name! It takes me a hesitation of about 5 seconds before I can type in the URL!

JasonLBaptiste twitter is just a ploy to make icanhascheezburger even more popular. they never meant to build a scalable web application

JasonCalacanis omg this is great... veronica rocks!

Oh, and for additional updates, follow me on Twitter and Jaiku ;)

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PR Online Convergence in Los Angeles

This Thursday, I'm joining Mr. Phil Gomes for a session on Social Media and how to raise public awareness using social networks at the PR Online Convergence conference in Los Angeles.

I'll be joining other PR and Web marketing leaders including, Eric Schwartzman, Jamie O'Donnell, KD Paine, Linda Zimmer, Sally Falkow, Mike Manuel, and none other than Jason Calacanis.

This should be an interesting discussion because, as you know, I believe many PR people aren't ready to jump into the social category of marketing. However, it is the primary reason why I'm flying to L.A. to speak on this topic. I'm trying to help those who want to learn, understand where to start, without insulting the people they're hoping to reach or jeopardizing the brands they may represent.

If you have any suggestions on points you or other people within the PR industry (either agency or corporate) would like me to cover, please leave a comment here.

For the agenda, click here.

You can register for the event here.

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Social Media Killed the Video News Release Star

Source

With Social Media Releases (New Media Releases) in the spotlight again, I felt this was the ideal timing to introduce you to the Video News Release (VNR) redux. Ready or not, start brushing up on flash, screencasting, video production, online video networks, and Web marketing.

Online video is the next frontier for the communications industry adding a new layer of engagement to any existing PR, marketing and web initiative. In my opinion social media has reinvented the VNR, putting the power of creation and distribution in the hands of those with a camera, PC, and a broadband connection - well, and a little marketing savvy and an understanding of the pains and needs of the people they're trying to reach...

What the social media press release is to traditional releases, amateur video, screencasts, and demos are to traditional video news releases (VNRs).

For those who may not have direct experience with VNRs, they are an age-old, somewhat effective tool for telling a story visually and are directly related to many of the stories that you see on traditional broadcast news networks. While effective, they are incredibly expensive - especially in the Web 2.0 genre. Production segments, b-roll, satellite transmission, and not to mention the legwork associated with calling attention to the distribution time of transmitting the feed, easily hits the $20k mark for one story.

I've long said that for the right marketers, Youtube, and the other video networks out there, represent what could be constituted as the new broadcast channel for social video news releases. And with the technology barriers of entry are so low (in terms of expertise required and cost of equipment), there's never been a better time to experiment with video.

However, like all forms of social media, it requires a level of understanding, ethics, and transparency that can only be possible with hands-on experience - not as a marketer, but as a participant of all forms of social media.

While many readers of PR 2.0 are in the tech industry, the entire concept of social media VNRs can benefit any business.

At the very least, social video allows companies to demonstrate their product in a way that is consumable, shareable, and also much more interesting than reading collateral.

Let's take a look at a few of the more popular videos online (keep in mind, it's less about quality and more about participating and contributing):







Aside from video, screencasts are also viral and effective. Here are a couple of examples:

SiteKreator

Ning


Robert Scoble encourages PR and corporate marketing to engage by saying that we should worry less about trying to have broadcast quality production and focus more on the uniqueness of a product when pursuing campaigns through online video. Even Michael Arrington of TechCrunch supports the use of corporate marketing through video and often runs the more creative shorts on his personal blog, CrunchNotes.

However, it's not just about getting the attention of bloggers and traditional media. It's also a way of reaching the markets, and more importantly, the people that can benefit from the product/service. That's the beauty of a social network.

According to a past issue of PRWeek, Nuance scored 35,000 views on YouTube from a very targeted audience and MultiVu’s work for NVIDIA earned 65,000 viewers off Metacafe.

Here's the Nuance video:



There are several ingredients to consider when developing a video or screencast, and the choices you make for their implementation will determine the success or failure of the campaign.

1 - Be genuine. This isn't yet another opportunity for PR to spam the world

2 - Know your targets, their pain points, and why your product will help them. And please don't use the word audience. Viewers today are considered the people formally known as the audience. This ensures that we engage by conversing with, not marketing to, people. This is Jay Rosen's philosophy, which many social media purists hold sacred when discussing how to participate through social media.

3 - Keep it focused on what's unique, interesting, and compelling.

4 - Experiment. Don't just stop at one...keep the line of communication open through video much in the same way you would with blogs, marketing collateral, newsletters, and press releases.

5 - Place the videos on the company site and offer RSS feeds for them.

6 - Ensure that the videos are placed in the social networks where the people you want to reach search for new and interesting content.

7 - Simply placing videos online isn't enough. Just because you place in social networks doesn't mean it will be viewed and shared. You have to do "PR" for it through the folksonomy of strategic tagging, linking, and having others point to it and republish it to spark the viral potential of your content.

8 - Be creative.

9 - Worry less about polish and more about content.

10 - Listen to feedback

While social video represents a new opportunity for marketing and PR, I can not emphasize enough the importance of maintaining traditional programs and fostering relationships with analysts, reporters, bloggers, and customers. Video can only enhance a proactive and all-encompassing marketing and PR campaign.

Social media is indeed breathing new life into Video News Releases and with that, it continues to reinvent PR for the new Web.

Lights. Camera. Action.

Update: Marshall Kirkpatrick documents how video and social media helped SplashCast rise above the noise.

Also, thank you to videographer Mikko Wilson for the artwork used in the original post.

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Social Media Releases - Everything You Ever Wanted to (or Should) Know

The social media news release is rallying support. And more importantly, examples and discussions of usage are percolating throughout the blogsphere among PR practitioners and bloggers alike.

It’s no longer a matter of if, nor when, but now a matter of practice and evolution in order to determine success and failure.

As a recap, the Social Media Release has been pushed by many influencers, including Tom Foremski’s public outcry for the death of crappy press releases; Todd Defren who offered the first template and remains an authoritative champion; Chris Heuer who helped lead an effort to propose a standard for their construction and distribution; Stowe Boyd who reminds disingenuous, lazy or opportunistic PR people that they’re not invited to participate in Social Media (and rightfully so); Shel Holtz who hosted the original NMRcast, and continues to demonstrate the value of new releases; Shannon Whitley's work to help PR "get it;" and the many others who continue to carry the flag forward.

I joined Heuer from the onset of the Working Group and have since spent most of my free time defending the reasons for their existence in blog posts and at conferences while also practicing what I preach.

Instead of being a spectator however (like many of the critics out there), I’ve been a player on the field helping to define the opportunities, landscape, best practices, and also, when to use restraint.

The social media release, aka SMR, aka social media press release, aka new media release, aka hrelease, is not a miracle pill to cure the ills of poorly written press releases. It is merely a tool that is most effective when combined with a strategic arsenal of relevant company blog posts, traditional releases, relationships, and an emerging category of press releases that tell a story (written by people for people using SEO to reach them).

What? There's more than one way to tell a story?

YES! Why be so foolish to believe that one message matters to all who read it? Nowadays, different markets require information specifically tailored for them, and not one tool works across the spectrum.


Defining SMRs

Social media releases are designed to get the conversation going, providing readers with the ability to disseminate information and multimedia, bookmark and share the content, and in turn, spark threads. They also serve a purpose of providing new media influencers with the information they need, in one package, in order to write a full story, their way – without having to carve out the BS of a traditional release or pitch.

But just because it sounds cool, doesn’t mean PR should start folding new media releases into their day-to-day PR toolkit. And just because Social Media is a popular "buzz word" these days doesn't mean that PR should even participate.

Why? Because we're still battling the "used car sales" reputation that the industry has rightfully earned for itself by selling rather than talking, spinning rather than explaining, blasting instead of focusing, and most importantly, not understanding the venues, publications, blogs, sites, etc. or who they reach, before spamming them.

Social media is about respect, engagement, and transparency – critical traits that most PR is guilty of not practicing or embracing.

The only way to evaluate the potential for new media releases is to first participate in the communities you find interesting, and not as a PR person, but as a genuine enthusiast. This is the first step that will separate the PR people of today versus the communications professionals of tomorrow.

New media releases aren’t only written for journalists or bloggers. They can have the same impact with people they’re written to engage, appealing to an entirely new generation of influencers.


Clarifying Social Media Releases

While the SMR represents an exciting mechanism to socialize news, let’s recap what the Social Media Release is not…

It does not fix what’s wrong with most press releases nor is it designed to replace them

It’s not exclusively for journalists or bloggers

It was not created for PR to create new value for itself (that goes for social media in general)

Social Media Releases advertised by wire services are not true SMRs and neither are the multimedia releases they offer (although they do have value)

Even though a great template exists, SMRs can take many forms and include a variety of content plus social tools.

SMRs are not about BULLSHIT or SPIN or controlling the message.

New media releases represent the opportunity to share news in way that reaches people with the information that matters to them, in the ways that they use to digest and in turn share with others through text, links, images, video, bookmarks, tags, etc., while also giving them the ability interact with you directly or indirectly.



SMR Style Alternatives

While we’re familiar with the benefits of the existing template, there are other options for those looking to engage progressively without having to fully embrace an entirely new format – yet.

One option is to write a concise, compelling release as if it was the story you'd want to read in the press. You should also include new media elements, such as integrated resource links, video, images, etc. (and lite social elements such as del. icio .us and Digg ). This will enjoy greater success with journalists and readers in general and will most likely cost no more than what you already do today in terms of official wire distribution. Plus, it will carry valuable SEO benefits.

Another option (or in addition to) releases is to create a dedicated blog-like platform for distributing information in a way that’s designed to reach journalists, bloggers, and customers. Blog platforms, by nature, are already socially-enabled, and feature integrated comments, RSS feeds, social bookmarking, trackbacks, tags, etc. It shouldn't resemble a press release, nor a traditional blog, but it should provide what's new in a conversational, informative and resourceful format – with disclosures of course.

This does require an entirely new approach, but unlike traditional releases, these new approaches can engage readers in a way never before possible. But first, you have to know what you’re talking about and why it matters to those you’re trying to reach.

I guarantee you this, by just thinking about what you want to say, what you should say, distilling it in a way that matters to the people who read it, and provide links, resources, and other forms of relevant media to help tell the story, you will have greater traction with reporters, bloggers, and customers, regardless of the tools you use.


Recent Discussions and Examples of SMRs in the Field

Shel Holtz's new media agency, Crayon, recently led a social media campaign for Coca Cola's Virtual Coke program. Todd Defren covered it here. You can see the press release below (click on the pictures to enlarge them).





Deep Jive Interests hosted a very relevant discussion on how SMRs and Social Media Newsrooms could have helped Adobe with its recent Flex announcement. Read it here.


Social Media, What’s Next?

Social Media doesn’t just impact press releases or conversations (blog comments, forums, Twitters, etc.) It is also enabling smart, social media aware people to embrace the world of video.

Active social networks such as YouTube, Veoh, GoFish, etc., provide a new broadcast channel that drives popularity and encourages sharing of clever and meaningful videos. Social media/video-savvy marketers can now also reach people in ways never before possible. It represents the VNR (video news release) Redux.

Stay tuned for my next post, “Social Media Killed the VNR Star.”


Relevant Social Media Release Discussions on PR2.0

How To an Write SMR Template (and what it looks like on the wire)

Social Media Killed the Press Release Star

How to Write a Social Media Press Release, Why, and What It All Means

How to Write a Social Media Press Release - Part II

Enough Already: Getting the Social Media Release All Wrong

Don’t Kill the Press Release, Shoot the Messenger

PR in the Long Tail

The Evolution of Social Media Press Release Distribution and Technorati Tags
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