Tag Archives: PR 2.0

Just over six months ago [in April 2009], I wrote my first blog post with the announced intention to aim for “A-List status.”

Four months later I wrote an article about the “day I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven” — it was actually a report of a panel discussion headlining Steve Rubel among other social media thought leaders discussing a Roadmap for the future.

How very exciting it had been to introduce myself to Steve, who’s been a role model.

I told Steve of the lofty goal I was working towards, and he said,

“You might want to reconsider, Shari. Blogs are losing their status, and you might aim, instead, to be an A-List Thought Leader,” he advised me.

During the panel discussion Steve elaborated on this view:

I do subscribe to Steve’s Posterous stream, but that’s in addition to more than a dozen other blogs I keep up with pretty regularly. [Check my blogroll on the right hand sidebar.]

So . . . every time I read a headline like Brian Solis’ “Rumors of the Death of the Blog are Greatly Exaggerated,” I am encouraged to keep on “keepin’ on,” i.e., BLOGGING towards the A List.

Commentary on the PR 2.0 summary of Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere report

Technorati is a search engine for blogs, and it catalogs more than 112 million blogs. Every year the site comes out with a State of the Blogosphere Report and this year’s findings include information about these topics: professional blogging activities, brands in the blogosphere, monetization, twitter & micro-blogging and bloggers’ impact on US and World events.

The report also includes interviews with more than a dozen well-known, well-respected, and well-read bloggers including Steve Rubel.

Brian Solis’ blog PR 2.0 featured an indepth view of the report

This article will pick out and share pieces of the report that I found interesting and helpful to me as a fairly new blogger.

Brian’s post included color-coded charts recording responses from four categories of bloggers: (a) hobbiests; (b) part-timers; (c) corporate; and (d) self-employed.

1) About 70% of all bloggers felt that “Blogs are getting taken more seriously as sources of information” while 60% agreed that “More people will be getting their news and entertainment from blogs than from traditional media in the next three years.”

HOWEVER

2) Fewer than 40% agreed with the following two statements:

a) “Newspapers will not be able to survive in the next ten years.”

b) “Blogs are often better written than traditional media.”

Re: “Prolificness”

Brian wrote that “those bloggers who rank among the highest according to Technorati Authority post nearly 300 times more than the lower ranked bloggers.”

One Technorati survey question asked “How frequently do you update your blog?

20% post once or twice a day
27% post 2-3 times per week
33% post at least once a week
Interestingly, 3% of self-employed bloggers post 10 times a day or more! AND 7% post 5-9 times a day.

Why do bloggers blog?

“Self expression and sharing expertise are among the primary motivations for bloggers,” Brian wrote.

To measure the “success” of their blogs, survey respondents chose from the following ten factors, ranked from the most popularly selected to the least:

1) Personal satisfaction

2) Number of unique visitors

3) Number of posts or comments on the blog

4) Number of links to my blog from other blogs

5) Number of RSS subscribers

6) Accolades from other media

7) Number of people favoriting you

8) Blogger’s Technorati authority number

9) Number and quality of new business leads

10) and, finally, in last place for hobbiests/corporate bloggers was revenue; HOWEVER, 39% of part-timers admitted that revenue was an important measure of their success.

What activities do bloggers participate in to attract visitors?

The four most popular activities included (a) Listing the blog on Technorati; (b) Tagging blog posts; (c) Commenting on other blogs; (d) Listing the blog on Google.

Other activities were the following [from more popular to least popular]: (e) Getting listed on a blog directory; (f) Produce content for other blogs or websites; (g) Create a blog on a broader blog network; (h) Attend conferences for bloggers; (i) Pay for online advertising.

The future of Blogging

Here are the eleven blog ideas and tactics proposed for the coming year [from most popular to least]:

1) Blog more frequently

2) Expand some of the topics already blogged about

3) Publish a book

4) Begin using the blog to get speaking engagements

5) Add advertising

6) Begin guest blogging

7) Add video

8) Blog through mobile device

9) Start a new, independent blog

10) Start a new blog on a blog network

11) Blog less frequently.

According to Brian:

“Technorati believes that the next generation of blogs will be more action oriented, not just documenting real time happenings, but driving actual events.”

If you’re a blogger, how would you have answered any of the Technorati questions?

If you don’t blog yet, has any of this information convinced you to “dive in” and start expressing yourself?

FURTHER READING:

Blogging Basics

Twitter

Media Relations — by the Book

November 2, 2009 Shari Weiss 2 Comments

Let’s continue chatting about some of the tips from David E. Henderson’s “Making News in the Digital Era.” [overview of David’s book provided in previous post]

“The practice of influential communications with the media comes from realistic knowledge of what makes appealing news, what is and is not a story identifying the best news outlet to reach your audiences, finding a reporter to develop a story with which you will be pleased. The goal is to reach and engage audiences.” [p. 7]

Just what is news anyway?

“News” is more than whatever information an organization or individual wants to share.

In journalism classes, we teach about “newsworthiness,” i.e., the elements that make facts into a story: (a) timeliness and (b) local relevance are two helpful elements, but more compelling components would be stories about (c) important topics that affect peoples’ lives; (d) well known people; (e) competing sides [as in sports]; and (f) human interest subjects that tug at the heart strings.

David emphasizes two key “newsworthy” points throughout the book: ** Tell stories **Make those stories about how readers will benefit — NOT about how great your company/product/service is.

“If you want to achieve outstanding coverage by the media — whether a daily newspaper, cable news, blog, or online news service — it only makes sense to speak their language and understand what they need.” [p. 158]

A primary tenet of information distribution in this new media world is that you “narrowcast” rather than “broadcast.” In other words, mass distribution of press releases is a waste of time.

What do you do instead?

First you find out where your audience is, i.e., where do they get their information?

If offline in traditional media, you will need to cultivate personal relationships with the reporters and writers who cover your industry.
If online, you will need to listen & engage with customers/clients/employees on the sites and platforms they prefer AND read & comment on the blogs they read.

David’s tips and rules for media interviews

Never guess when you don’t know.
Always tell the truth.
Know when to stop talking and just listen.
Strive to communicate three clear messages and use facts and statistics to back them up.
Answer questions that are asked.
Remember that eye contact and how you say things is as important as what you say.
Never say anything you do not want to see in print; media interviews are not conversations.

WHEN ON CAMERA: Look straight into the lens — and be as natural and friendly as you can be.

“Audiences do not care to hear an organization talk about itself. People only want to know how an organization’s products or services benefit them and bring value to their lives.” [p. 170 – last page of the book]

FURTHER READING:

Creating messages for the media

Core values to build trust and value

Sharisax Is Out There

Handbook to guide your success in social media and more effective Public Relations efforts

November 1, 2009 Shari Weiss 2 Comments

As both a PR teacher and professional journalist for many years,

I was blown away when I found the perfect new text:

Making News in the Digital Era

by David E. Henderson

If elections were held today for Social Media Expert, David gets my vote. His 2009 narrative/guidebook is perfect for helping learners on all levels understand — and properly apply — Best Communication Practices in this whole new social media world of ours.

Technology is changing our lifestyles on a daily basis . . .

so many would agree that claiming “Expert” status has to be “qualified,” i.e., conditional based on the newest data.

But let’s consider “qualified” in its other sense as well.

If anyone has built the chops to thoroughly discuss the news business, journalism, public relations, and social media marketing, then David Henderson qualifies:

Emmy Award–winning CBS News correspondent and public relations executive for dozens of years, David has been online with his blog www.DavidHenderson.com since 2003.

Some of David’s best advice:

Let go of Old Ways and embrace Change.
Present ideas for developing a company’s reputation with communication approaches that underscore transparency, openness, and credibility.
Messages need to focus on audience benefits, not talking about the greatness of an organization.
Avoid jargon and “gobbledygook” and use clear, direct, easy-to-understand language.
Key communication practices: Listening, engaging, story-telling, and always speaking the truth.
Today’s executives must be involved in online strategies that require inspiration, passion, purpose, and focus.
Forego Mission Statements and carefully create a concise and appropriate Positioning Statement.

“Strategic communications in today’s fiercely competitive world mandates clever positioning, understanding audience needs and knowing how to craft timely and meaningful messages that excite people and create results” [p. 23]

My opinion: This is a book that ought to be used both in university public relations/communications courses as well as in the offices of every public relations organization and department.

Further posts from David E. Henderson’s book will feature tips, best practices, and insights on the following topics:

A) Media relations

B) CEO blogging

C) Online newsrooms and other PR 2.0 strategies

Thanks, David, we need this handbook. Lots of PR and business execs don’t know where to start, and your book will surely help them.

Change is never, never easy: The Old PR Pitch must evolve to PR 2.0 Dialogue

September 20, 2009 Shari Weiss 5 Comments

“PR 2.0: A Promising Future” — Part 4 of Putting the Public BACK in PR is quite an ambitious undertaking

I covered the first section, ch. 15 on Community Managers in an earlier post. And today’s article only begins to summarize some of the key points in the three very diverse chapters remaining in Part 4.

You’ll find many resources referred to but much deeper explanations are offered in links below, and, of course, the book itself.

Notes from Ch. 16: Socialization of Communication and Service

One of the true values of our technological capabilities is an opportunity — and a responsibility — to “become experts in the markets, products, and services we represent.”

Do not fear negative comments as they can help organizations improve their processes and offerings.

One goal: pull your company into online conversations to help influencers, customers, and prospects gather the information they need. Also empower people to help one another.

MONITORING TIP — Use Google Alerts and “search.twitter.com” –You receive email notifications through Google Alerts for key words that you sign up for. If you use a desktop application like Tweetdeck, then you can set up columns to regularly stream mentions of your keyword from search.twitter.com. You could be receiving regular updates about your company, your products, and your competitors.

NING.COM: A new one for me, but I tried it and like it. Here you can set up YOUR OWN social network. For example, in my fledgling social media consulting business, I can offer SM Newbies a “comfortable” place to gather online and ask me and my interns questions about social media in a Newbie forum.

Finding WHICH communities your customers participate in is critical if you want to engage them where they are.

“Feel the pain and deliver the painkiller.”

If you are listening to problems, you can address them before your customers go elsewhere for solutions.

REVERSE ENGINEERING [one of my favorite concepts to (a) deliberate over and (b) put to USE

Here is the PPBPR 3-step reverse-engineering model:

Determine Who, Where, How — prospects are communicating.
Listen.
Adapt to their needs.

Notes from Ch 17 – The Rules for Breaking News

Concept of embargo: When PR people distribute news to those who will write about it [e.g., reporters, bloggers], the “embargo” sets a time WHEN the news may be broadcast.

Some bloggers are now saying that . . .

“PR agencies are no longer necessary”

Do you agree? Who does — and why? Who doesn’t — and why?

Here’s an opinion on the topic from Steve Rubel – thought leader, lifestreamer, and top PR guy for top international PR firm:

“Does the thrill of the chase make PR obsolete? It’s our view that increasingly, bloggers (and maybe journalists too) simply don’t want our help. Many bloggers — particularly those who cover tech — love to discover new things and experience them on their own.”

Key difference between bloggers and journalists: many bloggers want the news way before the story — because, in many cases, They are the Innovators and Early Adopters.

One key similarity: RELATIONSHIPS are All Important, no matter the medium or the writer/broadcaster.

Ch 18 – A New guide to metrics

The whole idea behind PR 2.0 is that the Old Ways of PR no longer work with today’s audiences OR the people who influence them. Same goes for Old Measurements: Organizations should NOT determine the ROI of their PR campaigns by the number of stories written in newspapers or broadcast on TV.

“PR 2.0 favors engagement more than hits, referrals more than eyeballs, activity more than ad value, sales more than mentions, and market and behavioral influences more than the weight and girth of clip books.”

People = Power

Perception = sum of all the conversations on the Social Web

Measuring the frequency and tone of conversations is the new measure of effectiveness, and here are some tracking tools to check out:

Google Alerts [mentioned above]
Radian6
BuzzLogic
Neilsen BuzzMetrics
Blogpulse Conversation
and a host of social networks from Facebook to YouTube.

Tracking conversations finds you WHAT?

When you listen, you will likely hear seven different types of comments:

Asking for info or help
Answering questions related to your brand
Sharing opinions/observations
Offering suggestions
Expressing dissatisfaction
Promoting competition
Reposting relevant content and market data

“Through proactive and consistent listening, measurement, and refinement, PR will not only justify its role in social marketing, but also more effectively enhance relationships, build trust, cultivate communities, and increase sales . . .”

i.e. INCREASE ROI

What’s YOUR TAKE on the new methods and measurements of Public Relations? If you read this post BEFORE Tuesday, Sept 22 at 8pm EDT / 5pm PDT, you can join me and others for the social media book discussion on Tweetchat. Just put in the hashtag #smbookclub and comment OR just observe.

An archive will be available after the discussion, but you can always weigh in with a comment below.

No apologies from this PR 2.0 evangelist: Putting the PUBLIC Back in Public Relations

September 8, 2009 Shari Weiss 1 Comment

Many of us who have taught Shakespeare know that the Great Bard based his renowned plays on history or legend — in other words, his genius was not in the originality of plots, but in the art of his storytelling.

Art, imagination, creation are products of passion. Passion is the way we move forward. Passion is the way I, personally, am moving forward.

Book Review – Part One

This blog is a chronicle of my newly embraced career as a Social Media Evangelist. And one of the people most responsible is Brian Solis, who graciously and enthusiastically accepted an invitation to speak to two Public Relations classes at San Francisco State last spring — despite his hectic schedule advising clients, speaking at conferences, attending mashups, and promoting his most recent book Putting the PUBLIC Back in Public Relations.

To my mind, Brian’s book, co-written with Deirdre Breakenridge, is a conversation about a clash — the confrontation between old thinking and new realities.

Change is hard. People like the comfort of the Way it Was, and the Way They Know: but that is hardly a roadmap for progress.

How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR

Below is a listing of passages I particularly liked from Part I: THE TRUE VALUE OF THE NEW PR

Public Relations has always been about building relationships. It should never have been about spin.
The first thing a PR practitioner should learn is to uphold integrity and credibility at all times.
Listeners make the best conversationalists.
PR 2.0 is creating a new toolkit with which companies can share content with new influencers as well as customers.
PR has begun to look less like a typical broadcast machine and more like a living, breathing entity capable of also participating in conversations with publics.
The new goal for PR is to understand the communities of people we want to reach and how to engage them in conversation without marketing to them.
PR is rooted in democratized content, strengthened by enthusiasm and market intelligence, and powered by conversation.
We no longer Pitch — we Participate. We no longer Sell stories — we Tell them.
The New PR is all about 3 T’s: Transparency, Truth, and Trust.

The Social Media Book Club discussed Part I of the book last week, and here is an archive of the remarks. Tonight at 8pm EDT [5pm PDT] you can catch the discussion of part II: Facilitating Conversations: New Tools and Techniques on Twitter #smbookclub. Here is a Book Club calendar. For more info, contact @ready2spark

Archive, Business Communication, Sharisax Is Out There, Twitter

Press Releases and Advertising are Dead

April 24, 2009 Shari Weiss 7 Comments

Social Media is Pushing Dramatic Changes in Marketing

TGIF. We’ll make this blog-lite, just in case you haven’t read my first post.

Yesterday’s adventure along the SM Revolutionary Road was anything but “lite” – information-wise. Three Bay Area social media players: John Harper, Dean Guadagni, and Pat Kitano visited my SFSU advertising and PR classes to provide all of us with a host of on-scene strategies they are currently implementing for their clients.

A few of the social media insights we heard:

The 100-year-old press release, the Hard Sell, is dead.

After celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Ashton Kutcher joined the Twitter Universe, its population grew 1.2 million – including a 12% growth in One Day!

Twitter is the perfect medium for broadcasting today, especially when building brands.

Speaking of branding, the Internet is an outstanding way to create and develop a personal brand. Resumes are passé. The paradigm is shifting in job search.

Google Alerts allow you to get an email notification every time your name [or any key word of your choosing] is mentioned on the Internet.

Information is going to be like the air around us.

We will be making chips from man-made diamonds so computers will get lighter and lighter.

Advertising, as we have known it, i.e., Madison Avenue strategies developed for the “New” medium of TV in the Fifties, just doesn’t work anymore.

More on all of these topics coming soon. In the meantime, check out (1) John’s April 23 blog post [and on-the-spot interview with me]: (2) Dean’s views and tips: and (3) Pat’s web explanations of how social media converges with mass media.

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