A Twitter case study
...in Twitter format:
We launch ZeeVee. John Dvorak tweets "What's this about?" 900 followers flood the website. The #3 traffic referrer that week.
Will expound more in followup post.
PR gurus who make PR programs great
I’ve collaborated with over 1,000 PR professionals in my career and can count the number of PR gurus on two hands.
When I say “PR gurus,” I’m thinking about professionals responsible for public relations within their companies. While they might be VP, Director or Manager level, these individuals are responsible for driving their departments – large or small – on a daily basis. They are typically the most highly ranked PR professionals within their companies and report to a CEO, CMO or Vice President of Communications.
So what are the particular attributes, characteristics, approaches and philosophies that set these PR gurus apart? Here’s some flavor from five of my all-time favorites:
Mr. Communicate is exceptional because he isn’t afraid to tell his department, C-level higher-ups and other key stakeholders what’s going on with the PR program. He doesn’t over-communicate or under-communicate, it’s always the right message at the right moment. Mr. Communicate gives people a heads-up when something relevant happened. He asks for help when he needs it, then keeps these folks updated. He closes the loop, spotlights final outcomes and credibly sells ROI back to senior management. He manages expectations and issues along the way, pushing back and/or falling on his sword when he needs to. He has the ability to nudge people in the right direction to get the best outcomes. Mr. Communicate makes PR programs great by being amazingly intuitive, proactive and responsible, all at the same time.
Ms. Confident has earned the respect of all within her company. The CEO regularly seeks out her opinion and intently listens to her perspective. People trust and feel comfortable with her. Her style isn’t brash and aggressive, but charming in a way only the naturally confident attain. Lurking behind this quiet confidence is a lightning brain, and direct interpersonal style. She’s a doer; getting the right things done day-in-day-out makes her highly valued. Ms. Confident takes PR programs to the next level by making her PR firm an equal partner and giving them uninhibited access to all within the company, including her CEO.
Mr. Creativity brings interesting perspective to the PR program because he’s more of a corporate communications pro than a public relations guru. He is particularly knowledgeable about branding, advertising, market research, direct marketing and events. While he’s comfortable in the PR zone, it isn’t his first love. Instead of being defensive about this, as some might be, he leverages his unique perspective. Mr. Creativity makes the PR program better by adding fresh and clever perspective — and new possibilities — to the effort.
When I say “PR gurus,” I’m thinking about professionals responsible for public relations within their companies. While they might be VP, Director or Manager level, these individuals are responsible for driving their departments – large or small – on a daily basis. They are typically the most highly ranked PR professionals within their companies and report to a CEO, CMO or Vice President of Communications.
So what are the particular attributes, characteristics, approaches and philosophies that set these PR gurus apart? Here’s some flavor from five of my all-time favorites:Mr. Communicate is exceptional because he isn’t afraid to tell his department, C-level higher-ups and other key stakeholders what’s going on with the PR program. He doesn’t over-communicate or under-communicate, it’s always the right message at the right moment. Mr. Communicate gives people a heads-up when something relevant happened. He asks for help when he needs it, then keeps these folks updated. He closes the loop, spotlights final outcomes and credibly sells ROI back to senior management. He manages expectations and issues along the way, pushing back and/or falling on his sword when he needs to. He has the ability to nudge people in the right direction to get the best outcomes. Mr. Communicate makes PR programs great by being amazingly intuitive, proactive and responsible, all at the same time.
Ms. Confident has earned the respect of all within her company. The CEO regularly seeks out her opinion and intently listens to her perspective. People trust and feel comfortable with her. Her style isn’t brash and aggressive, but charming in a way only the naturally confident attain. Lurking behind this quiet confidence is a lightning brain, and direct interpersonal style. She’s a doer; getting the right things done day-in-day-out makes her highly valued. Ms. Confident takes PR programs to the next level by making her PR firm an equal partner and giving them uninhibited access to all within the company, including her CEO.
Mr. Creativity brings interesting perspective to the PR program because he’s more of a corporate communications pro than a public relations guru. He is particularly knowledgeable about branding, advertising, market research, direct marketing and events. While he’s comfortable in the PR zone, it isn’t his first love. Instead of being defensive about this, as some might be, he leverages his unique perspective. Mr. Creativity makes the PR program better by adding fresh and clever perspective — and new possibilities — to the effort.
Mr. Connected is unusually participative in offline and online media relations. This is an uncommon pedigree for an internal PR guru. Most rely on outside PR firms to deliver the media connections, forge messaging and secure editorial coverage. But Mr. Connected has his own superb digital Rolodex and knows how to score results. Despite an impeccable track record, he never rests on past performances and constantly seeks new levels of achievement. Mr. Connected makes public relations stronger by forming an intense partnership with his PR firm, being extremely detail oriented and relentlessly measuring improvement on three key metrics: relationship-building, credibility enhancement and brand reputation improvement.
Ms. Clarity builds credibility with internal stakeholders by being able to walk-the-walk. She’s deeply familiar with her company, its products, customers, services and competition. Because she can delve into any topic, she builds bridges for the PR program. Ms. Clarity makes PR programs great by uncovering and shaping interesting leverage points — often from a sea of technical complexity — that might otherwise never see the light of day.
These five PR gurus have one thing in common: they all earned the respect of senior management and elevated the public relations function to a position of undisputed respect within their companies. Not too shabby a legacy for any of us.
Still not sure Twitter chatter matters, but...
The microblogging platform, Twitter, remains my Godot. I'm still waiting for someone to show me how it can be a useful PR and marketing tool. To that end, Jeff Jarvis has done a better job than most in making the case in a recent post on his blog.
I'm still not buying it...yet. I'm still in the same camp as Getting To First Base authors, Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo: maybe I'll change my tune in 6 months, but right now Twitter is primarily an ego distillery.
Yet Jarvis' argument that Twitter's cut-to-chase format is ideal for things like real-time political reporting, as well as the interesting new apps being built with its open API, has tempered my skepticism.
Now if someone could only point me to a decent, measurable case study...
Sharper Image dulled: bad review breaks a company
Think product reviews don't matter much? Try telling that to gizmo retailer Sharper Image, who filed for bankruptcy today due largely to a crippling review of its Ionic Breeze air purifiers in Consumer Reports magazine.
Suckers like me fell for the company's hyper-advertised clean air wonder. But the review showed that the Ionic Breeze not only didn't clean the air, it released harmful ozone, triggering an avalanche of consumer lawsuits.
Don't get me wrong; reviews are an important piece of a successful product launch strategy. No, strike that: they are an absolute must. A recent study from the e-tailing group found that nearly nine out of 10 US online consumers surveyed in February 2008 were influenced by reviews before making a purchase.
Just make sure your product works as designed and doesn't trigger childrens' asthma attacks first.
Can journalists and bloggers play nice in the same room?
In his recent blog entry , veteran CAD journalist Roopinder Tara addresses the “blogger vs. reporter” debate. This post is based on his first person experience of “co-mingling” with bloggers at an industry event. Roopinder intends to write a series of postings on this very issue. Many of us in the PR community are wrestling with the very same topic.
Traditional journalists have a code of ethics to abide by, while many bloggers post what they want when they want. Can the two happily co-exist? Will bloggers become more like journalists, and journalists become more like bloggers?
The answer lies somewhere in between, I’d guess. We’re already seeing crossover, as “traditional” reporters are turning into bloggers, including Om Malik and Paul Gillin. The blogging community has a voice, and that voice seems to be getting louder. PR practitioners would be foolish to ignore it.
CNN Diggs it
Mediaweek is reporting that CNN is jumping on the social news bandwagon with a new site called iReport.com in which any citizen journalists can publish content unvetted by CNN editors. It will function much like other popular community-governed news sites like Digg, Reddit and Mixx, though more YouTube-like video centric.
So is CNN finally crying uncle to the unfettered social news onslaught that has eroded its web readership? After all, it's been dabbling with user-generated content since 2006 through its iReport submission site, though with strict editorial oversight. According to the report:
CNN executives acknowledge that iReport.com’s openness is something of a departure for a news organization that prides itself on accuracy and editorial judgment. But iReports have become increasingly popular, and in many cases have even proved beneficial in the reporting of breaking news. Some of the most compelling footage from last April’s shootings on the Virginia Tech campus came from the 420 user-gen video clips CNN received, while last year’s California wildfires yielded more than 11,000 submissions.
PR’s Super Bowl contrasts
Eight hours of mind-numbing Super Bowl ads reminded me how true public relations is different from hype.
PR isn’t advertising. I joked about this a couple weeks ago in my “What do you do for work?” blog. Advertising exists to sell. Advertisers can communicate whatever they want (within reason) because they pay for it. They can decide what to say, where to say it and how often they want to repeat themselves. It’s a controlled process. PR is more uncontrolled, but highly personal and believable. Here's an interesting exercise: think of the top five Super Bowl ads you liked, try to remember the advertiser name and reflect on whether any of them motivated you to take action.
PR isn’t best at awareness building. There are lots of ways to build awareness. Advertising does a great job with this. So does direct marketing, events, paid sponsorships, newsletters, RSS feeds and product placements. While PR is excellent at building awareness, its secret sauce is building credibility.
PR isn’t narrow, it’s broad. It’s in the name; PR is all about relationships. Properly practiced, PR takes into account every single stakeholder (or “public” as the PR industry calls it) your organization deals with in its daily life. Employees (your brand ambassadors); local communities; partners; stockholders; local/state/federal government; analysts; consumers; reporters; analysts; customers and prospects.
PR isn’t self-serving, it’s serving others – An organization earns a trusted reputation with each stakeholder by acting in their best interests – not just for its own myopic agenda. When you listen, care, are transparent and consistently deliver value, your company’s reputation grows.
PR isn’t sales, but it influences sales. Think about the process of buying a new car. Which is more persuasive – (A) a flashy TV ad and sales circular or (B) a test ride editorial review and word-of-mouth from a friend? Nearly everyone would choose (B) because it’s more objective and trustworthy.
PR isn’t one-way, it’s two-way. When you push out an email blitz, hang sponsorship banners or issue a news release, these are examples of one-way communication. Your company has something to say, and you say it. By contrast, PR is an open-loop system. The goal isn’t simply to communicate, but rather to be understood and believed. You want to engage in a conversation, not just shout from the mountaintop.
PR is less about mind and more about heart - When two parties trust and respect each other, something special happens. Caring breeds understanding. Understanding fosters believability. Believability yields a positive reputation. A positive reputation feeds brand loyalty. Brand loyalty blossoms business success.
PR isn’t fabricated, it’s real. The technology industry learned a valuable lesson with the dot com bust. If you spin stories that aren’t true, this fabric doesn’t survive many wash cycles. Effective PR isn’t rooted in hype. People eventually figure out untrue, unfounded claims. And when they do, it comes back to haunt a company’s reputation.
PR isn’t about me, it’s about you. People become loyal over time when a positive experience is consistently repeated. To become a valued brand, a company/product/ service must become a personal thing – an individual experience – that feeds their own needs. Great PR thoughtfully triggers this kind of attitudinal transformation.
PR isn’t publicity. Yes, it can generate wonderful levels of media visibility, but PR is de-positioning itself if solely focused on media coverage. C-level execs care about their ultimate strategic business endgame. Their view of PR increases exponentially - from a tactic to a highly positive, critical corporate need – when it helps them measurably improve business relationships and get them where they really want to go.
7 PR lessons from the Patriots
If the Patriots are successful in winning their fourth Super Bowl in seven years, the team will cement its legacy as one of the true dynasties in the National Football League. Nobody has gone 18-0 in one season, and if they go 19-0, they will likely be remembered as the best team of all time.But the Patriots aren’t just successful a football team … they’re also a great PR machine. Here are seven things PR pros can learn from the Patriots:
- Stay on message – Everybody has a different style, but the bottom line is to stick to your core message. For the Patriots, the message is “one game at a time.”
- Keep your cool under pressure – Witness any of Tom Brady’s media interviews and he’s as cool in front of the camera as he is in the pocket.
- We’re a team – With the Patriots, it’s always “we” and never “I.”
- Trust your management – Bill Belichick has earned the respect of his players and sets the tone in the locker room and on the field.
- Keep your sense of humor – Plaxico Burress guarantees a 23-17 Giant win? Tom Brady jokingly acts dumbfounded that Plax thinks the Pats will only score 17.
- Address issues head on with confidence, then move on – Spygate? It happened and it’s behind us. Rodney Harrison using steroids? He admitted it, served his suspension and moved on.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate – Every Patriot player knows his role because the coaches effectively communicate their expectations and demand high performance.
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Many players have come and gone in the past seven years, but the management and the team philosophy has remained consistent. We can all learn from the Patriots run for perfection.
Go Pats!!!
