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Talk about “Up in the Air” – What’s your take on Social Media ROI?

tallulah — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:19:04 +0000

Having come out of the Great Recession Lay Off Sweep of ’09, this cover was a bit reassuring and depressing at the same time. Congested job hunting created record US rates of unemployment and underemployment, which gave rise to hired guns. But this cover paints a not so bright future for those who turned lone wolf.

I just watched “Up In the Air”, and by now most know the film’s back story: a guy, whose job requires him to travel throughout the U.S. to terminate company’s expendable workforce, finds love on the road. Funny how I watched it with two young friends who had gotten – as they said in the film – “let go” within this past year (both terminations occurring right before Christmas…coincidence?).

PR and Marketing industries got hit hard this past year, especially since recessions prompt most companies to trim “the fat” – and for some reason PR and Marketing are considered part of the high-cholesterol, expendable-luxury diet. However, I challenge, wouldn’t a company benefit from strengthened awareness and publicity efforts at this very moment? If the consensus is to pull back the reigns, why not make more meaningful PR and marketing campaigns when most are hushing up. I believe Social Media campaigns done right in this era of conservative spending are worth experimenting. They are (if planned right) relatively low-cost, and will give excellent feedback about one’s target customers. Today, Brian Solis post shared findings published by Ad-ology, which found that lead generation was cited as the biggest benefit in online networking.

Brian applies the “fallen tree” idea to the whole conversation.

But, if a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear it, did it actually happen?

Of course it did…and it continues – with or without you.

The “I” in ROI does not stand for ignorance. It does however stand for investment and in cases where new media is “new,” it also stands for intelligence. We’re learning together and that’s both an opportunity and an impediment. We need guidance to better understand the promise and also how to reap its reward.

I want to take that line The “I” in ROI does not stand for ignorance and make it into a shirt. ROI is the big question when I suggest social media options to clients. There have been a couple of ROI discussions swarming about in the blogosphere lately, the most prominent one being David Meerman Scott’s ROI Rant. DMS is a big proponent for “letting go of your marketing” which is so hard for many PR agencies to follow because their clients have their own board of executives to convince and impress. Another place Social Media ROI popped up this week is on Todd Defren’s site, a post which I actually commented on and Defren responded to.

To be “Up in the Air” – in the era of uncertainty, in an industry where even the adoption of what you support – Social Media – is an investment concern – we SMedia Lone Wolves have our challenges lined up for us. How do you explain the ROI to your clients? How have you successfully aided the adoption of SMedia techniques to your small – mid-size business? Will crowdsourcing on this particular topic really help us on a macro level as consultants and business owners? Or is the ROI discussion one to tackle case by case?

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Todd Defren Post- Bad Apples in PR

tallulah — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:28:13 +0000

Bad Apples in PR

Last week Next Fifteen’s Tim Dyson blogged about “Why companies should use PR agencies,” echoing many of the points I had also raised last year (and which have been solid justifications all along, in good times and bad). In the comments of Tim’s post, he wryly noted, “funny how this issue keeps coming up.”

Except it’s not funny. And before you suggest that the issue wouldn’t be raised if PR had a better way to demonstrate ROI, let me assure you — it’s not about ROI.

Let me say that again: the reason PR agencies feel the need to continually justify their ROI has nothing to do with Return on Investment or other forms of measurement.

No, the reason that PR agencies must continually defend their value is because there are a lot of shitty PR people.

Look at the legal profession. “First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” right? Yet lawyers are an important, valuable resource for those who have legitimate grievances. And for every lawyer that loses a case, there’s a winning attorney, too — so the legal profession has a built-in 50/50 track record of success. Any baseball fan will tell you, “batting .500” is pretty darned good.

Yet we hate lawyers, because there are a lot of shitty, ambulance-chasing attorneys out there, giving a bad name to the perfectly nice, helpful, talented professionals trying to earn a decent living as legal eagles.

It’s both better and worse for PR pros.

It’s better for us (i.e., we are not despised nearly so much as lawyers) because our role in society rarely leaves a lasting mark. PR pros are not going to impact case law, a.k.a. people’s lives, whereas a landmark legal case can have huge impacts on the populace.

It’s worse for PR in that any schmuck can call themselves a PR pro. At least lawyers need to pass the bar exam to join the ranks; there is no need for APR accreditation to join an agency. There is no enforceable code of ethics, either. So while PR’s rapscallions are less odious in terms of their ability to hurt people, they are also too easily minted, and have little incentive to mend their ways.

There are plenty of fantastic PR agencies whose clients rarely question the value they receive. Their clients know that their agency provides much-needed counsel, relationship-building expertise, and unique resources. But, most corporations get burned once or twice by bad agencies along the way. Similarly, members of the media and blogosphere are pummelled by bad pitches, which far outweigh the good.

Is it getting better for PR? I think so, actually. As I noted back in April 2007:

“(Thanks to Social Media), PR pros lose the luxury of working behind the scenes. More and more often, in these early days of the blogosphere, a bone-headed pitch will be instantly revealed/reviled. The crappy PR firms, the dialers-for-dollars, will get smart or get out. Those that remain will likely have faced up to the fact that more and more of their agency’s work will be disinfected by the sunlight.”

We are in an era now in which Public Relations is increasingly talked about as the core driver of Social Media — which as we know is a huge game changer for culture in general, and Marketing in particular. We couldn’t be reasonably expected to rise to this challenge if there weren’t enough good (or rehabilitated!) PR practitioners slogging their way — through smart & successful work — to improving our industry’s own reputation…

So maybe someday we’ll see fewer of these “justification” posts. Maybe.

My Response:

Great points all over this article, Todd.

I’d add that one root for bad pitches that get PR peeps in trouble is poor management of client expectations. I’ve exchanged battle stories with colleagues who claim that they pitched Oprah/Time/Economist because their client demanded to. Instead of managing that (ridiculous) expectation, some PR managers even assure them, “Will do, I think they’ll love it!”

I’ve seen and heard this time and again, and it’s never a good way to build relationships in this business. It’s hard to bite the hand that feeds you, but bad pitches (and pitching strategies) are biting the entire PR industry in the can.

Thanks for the topic. It had to be said.

Todd’s Reply:

January 11, 2010 at 7:10 pm

Oh, man, yea, Tallulah – you’re right about Expectation Setting. It is the agency’s responsibility.

The Killer Pitch? – When PR Agencies Can Do This – Look Out! – SVW

tallulah — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:00:25 +0000

The Killer Pitch? – When PR Agencies Can Do This – Look Out! – SVW

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One Question That’s Got PR Pros Dizzy

tallulah — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:25:23 +0000

One Question That Get's PR Pros Dizzy

After reading Chris Brogan’s “Trust Agents” this winter (also found on my Required Holiday Reading List for the Inspired Hustler) I’ve been making a daily visit to his blog and reading his and his readers’ comments, and finally jumped into the conversation on a topic that has some PR folks in constant wonder: How do I reach out Bloggers?

Here’s Brogan’s post that got a lot of responses, please read if you haven’t already:

You can find my response in the comment thread below the post, but here is my exchange with Chris Brogan who responded to my initial comment. What are your thoughts?

My Initial Post:

I’m so very glad you attacked this topic, Chris. I do have to add however that a lot of the guidelines you listed are applicable when approaching even traditional media. I’m in PR myself, and a lot of journalists I meet complain the most about the “pushing” and the endless emails from PR pros, so being the 3 C’s – concise, clear, and courteous should remain as a guiding rule, so thank you for pointing it out.

But with that said, there are some differences with reaching out to traditional media and with bloggers that I would love discussed. For instance – Is the Social Media Release relevant? SMR’s are usually a webpage of a release wherein social media associated with the announcement (such as youtube videos, flickr albums, or podcasts assisting the campaign/news) are included all in one page. SMR’s are supposedly geared towards bloggers, but i’m wondering, do they really catch your attention? Would they help distinguish the announcement from any other plain old press release?

Last question – and this is a little personal to me. I have this long-held ideal that social media could be very beneficial for not only PR clients but PR agencies and pros themselves. PR isn’t the most glamorous job, as I’ve said: we’re notorious for certain practices, primarily those you listed above. I think social media could be helpful for PR agencies and professionals to get to know THEIR audience more – journalist and bloggers. Like you said – to make that connection before we need it. I think the best connections and friendships I’ve made with journalists were very organic, grown because we talked beyond the client, beyond the work – usually about common interests, their favorite online games, or music. I would then begin getting requests from journalists for my clients’ news. I also began sending those reporters news or facts that had nothing to do with my client but everything to do with their beat, and they would sometimes write about it, thanking me for the tip.

So the question — Would you be more attentive to pr pros you meet who engage in your blog, who may have a genuine blog or podcast of their own? Do you think this ideal that I speak of can exist? Is social media a good way to humanize even the PR biz?

Thanks in advance for your feedback, and for anyone who jumps into the discussion. Really appreciate it.

Tallulah

Chris Brogan Responded:

Everything I do has more than one audience. : )

I think SMR’s are useful. Not sure if they’re a requirement. I prefer them myself, but that might just be because I’m a blogger turd. They don’t catch my attention, though (to your second point). PEOPLE catch my attention.

PR people need to live their stories. See also @tdefren, @missusp, @briansolis, and several amazing examples of PR people who live as people between the stories.

I’m thinking if more PR pros were already in our space (One of Us in Trust Agents), then yes.

My Response:

Thanks for a direct reply to the SMR question. I prefer writing SMRs myself, so glad to know they please some folks. Although…”blogger turd”? I think you just coined a term some bitter PR folks can use. However, I doubt it would apply to you. : )

Thanks for the references too. I follow @briansolis, but wasn’t familiar with the others. I’ll check them out. I was going to add @dmscott, but I see from the comment thread that David Meerman Scott is following YOU. I’ve been learning loads from him, and I suddenly feel like I’m in esteemed company.

Lastly, I actually just finished reading Trust Agents, and that “One of Us” concept stuck with me throughout the entire read. I find it such a paradox that PR is based in soliciting trust, and yet a lot of traditional PR is thought to be synonymous with “spin”. I think Social Media is changing that, urging PR people to, as Mr. Scott says, “lose control of their own marketing” and render “messaging” obsolete.

Thanks again for such a great chat. Love getting blogger-related questions answered by actual bloggers.

Tallulah

New Year = Quest for the Perfect Calendar

tallulah — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:39:30 +0000

I'm a bit ritualistic with New Years. I tend to crave for a new calendar or journal every start of the year to plan plan plan. I am like the Monica Geller of planning – which can be a good or bad thing. Good because I tend to never procrastinate. Bad, because I sometimes spend so much time planning, and less time actually executing. That 80/20 Pareto's law really does hold true in this case.

This is a great time to assess what worked this past year, what didn't and how to redirect your energies. What is that 20% of your work that produces 80% of the results in your life or business?

Here's a radical approach to planning that I want to share as you evaluate:

I recently ran across an old post from lifehacker that talked about Jerry Seinfeld's method for using his calendar to keep him faithful to his writing regimen. His method?:

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

"Don't break the chain," he said again for emphasis.

For plan-o-holics like me, failure is painful and constant. Painful because we plan too many steps or projects, and constant becuase…well..we plan too many steps or projects. Is planning just a form of procrastination? Rooted in the fear of failure or imperfection? If planners are so afraid of failure, maybe the "Don't break the chain," method is just what we need, or revise that…all that we need. If I see a red chain in my living room that's threatened to break because of my inconsistency – I would DO something.

What is it about your year you don't want to break? What's a practice, or skill' or material you don't want to lose? What habit do you want to form?

Much of PR is skills oriented – not much need for technical know how really – it's a people business. You are what you produce, network, and finesse. Here are some PR related habits I myself would like to cultivate, but I think the key is simplicity so I will probably start with just one of these, but feel free to hi jack any of these for your own practice.

– Read and comment on a blog related to PR Social Media everyday
- Touch one different person a day in my social and professional network
- Blog or Status Update at least once a day
- Read trade news in a new target industry

With that, do what Seinfeld says – Don't double dip, and don't break the chain.
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