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Plain talk without the agenda

• Posted by Leo Valiquette
• January 13, 2009
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By Leo Valiquette

How we communicate is just as important as what we communicate. And by “how” I don’t mean what tool should be drawn from the social media toolbox. I mean the language we use that either demonstrates frankness, sincerity and honesty, or obvious self-interest that will only push away your listeners. Timing is also key. It’s much easier to engage in dialogue with someone if they don’t feel your agenda is pressuring the conversation. If you only speak with someone when you expect or need something from them, you’ve conveyed the impression that this is nothing more than transactional relationship. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. Hardly the foundation for a long and fruitful association.

Today’s picks from the Blogosphere all touch on these points.

The first comes from Collective Conversation, where Kellie Major cites the example of a CEO who, in an address to his staff about cuts, demonstrates clearly and sincerely how he shares his employees’ pain.

In contrast, Joseph Thornley at Pro PR presents a somewhat different attempt at communication from the C-suite. In this case, it is RBC head honcho Gordon Nixon trying to reassure the bank’s customers that all is still right with the world and with the Canadian banking industry. Or is it really just a piece of self-promotional fluff that should have been distributed as a press release? You decide.

Lastly, we have words from the horse’s mouth about how to, and how not to, begin a dialogue with a journalist at Bulldog Reporter from Michael Singer, West Coast news editor for InformationWeek.com. And, no surprise here, he says waiting until you have a news release to peddle is not the best approach. He goes on to offer a number of other tips to keep in mind when chasing media on behalf of a client and how to make appropriate use of such avenues as Twitter.

Leo Valiquette

Posted in:

• Public and media relations
• Social media

Could recession spell the end for print?

• Posted by Danny Sullivan
• January 12, 2009
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By Danny Sullivan

“It is early days, but it’s already clear that 2009 will be a crucial year for news media.”

Cautionary words from the Financial Times’ chief exec, John Ridder, as Brand Republic reports today that the business newspaper giant is laying off 80 staff, while still intending to expand its online presence. Coupled with other recent news of woes at major newspapers, including the New York Times and Canada’s Globe and Mail, one wonders if the writing is finally on the wall for print-based media.

Okay, maybe it’s not that likely. Granted, there is still a significant demand from the public for a physical medium by which to consume the news, but the survival of news media depends on more than subscriptions. Advertising is the key, especially among the technology trade media, where the majority of print magazine titles are free to qualifying subscribers, but it seems that companies increasingly seem to prefer the online option when it comes to spending their advertising dollars in a downturn. Certainly, the consensus is that print advertising is set for significant decline this year.

Douglas McIntyre on 24/7 Wall Street seems to think there’s a good chance that 2009 could see the end of a host of big names, with a drop in advertising seen as the key factor. “At least a dozen major magazines had ad page decreases of more than 20 per cent last year,” he states.

Perhaps it’s too early to speak of the death of print but, without advertising to support it and little sign of when this might change, the prospect becomes more real every day.

Danny Sullivan

Posted in:

• Public and media relations
• Random thoughts

Twitterpated

• Posted by Leo Valiquette
• January 08, 2009
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By Leo Valiquette

Pondering the place of social media in the marketing and PR toolkit has been a familiar theme on this blog as the industry as a whole attempts to understand how best to approach and manage audience engagement with such a dynamic, informal and immediate variety of channels as those that fit under the general heading of Web 2.0. (Or maybe we’ve already moved on into Web 3.0. Who can keep track?)

Should you blog? Should you tweet? Should a company hang out its dirty laundry for all to see? To whom can companies turn for advice and how can they validate the credentials and experience of those who claim to be the gurus with the answers?

It’s a pickle, for certain, and one that will only weigh more and more on the minds of companies through 2009 as they struggle to build awareness of their brand and their value proposition as recessionary pressures nibble away at the bottom line.

I’ve come across an interesting array of perspectives and opinions on these matters over the past couple of days.

Beth Harte explores the question, Is social media the same as marketing? and reaffirms the most basic precept: Social media is best considered and approached as one part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. Her post also raises the quite valid concern about carpetbaggers who claim to be experts in the area.

Robert Geller writes about how pervasive social media tools such as Twitter have become, emphasizing his point with the example of how it is being used by the Israeli government as a communications tactic in its latest flare up with Hamas and the Palestinians.

But a social media tool’s popularity can pose problems, even security risks, for those who use it. As we have seen this week, Twitter’s success has attracted the attention of those with malicious intent. Terry Sweeney writes about how “the public nature of Twitter — like Facebook or web mail or P2P file-sharing sites — means it offers a rich petri dish for online mischief,” which has left the service scrambling to save face. And while this may not be sufficient reason to abandon the service, Terry suggests it warrants a hard look at what benefit can be derived from Twitter before jumping on board.

All that matters in the end is understanding your business, the audience you are trying to reach and using only those tools or tactics that make sense as an effective means to achieve your business development and customer service objectives. What’s hot is irrelevant.

Leo Valiquette

Posted in:

• Public and media relations
• Social media

Back up the message with a good story

• Posted by Leo Valiquette
• January 05, 2009
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By Leo Valiquette

Well here we are, heading into this brave new world of doom and gloom that is 2009. While countless others have expounded on the year that was and the year that will be with reviews, predictions and every top-10 list imaginable, I thought I would start the new year by repeating the most basic consideration that should guide our efforts for the next 12 months — content is king.

Mass layoffs in the media business across North America made headlines throughout 2008, from major television networks to the most weighty names in the daily newspaper business. I came across an interesting post over the holidays at the Fusion PR Forum which reflects on the apparent inability of big newspapers to understand they are in the information business, rather than the print business, and adapt accordingly.

Horizontal media outlets are going through the kind of pruning that over the past decade already hit many of the trade and industry titles that are typically the focus of our efforts here at inmedia. Resources are tight on all fronts, emphasizing the need to bring to the media compelling stories that clearly demonstrate why a particular company, and its product or service, merits coverage instead of any number of others.

“Why should I cover this?” asked one gruff journalist when I rang him up with my best pitch on behalf of a client before Christmas. A valid question to be sure and one for which I had a ready answer. But articulating the benefits of my client’s offering, its uniqueness in the market, only served to keep him on the phone. Securing a story opportunity depended on coming back with a strong reference customer willing and able to discuss the value and ROI of the client’s offering.

Before Christmas I executed a launch exercise for another client. In the process of speaking with what we had determined were the Tier One media targets for this new client, one theme quickly emerged, the value of being able to offer up reference customers to validate the technology and demonstrate uptake in the market. Most media outlets didn’t care to hear the company praise itself. They wanted the real-world perspective of customers that saw the value of opening up their wallets for the product.

Media want a good story, not a sales pitch better suited as advertising copy. Beyond being able to offer up references who can speak for your product or service, the principle also applies to how one deals with the media when they have agreed to an interview.

Eric Bergman of Bergman & Associates reinforced the point last week on Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog that reporters don’t want to be spoon fed key marketing messages that have been crafted ahead of time. They’re in the business of asking the questions that provide them and their readers with insight and understanding. Corporate messaging may serve one well in the context of a news release, but it hardly fosters a positive relationship with the media if it is regularly used to avoid direct answers to direct questions. Check out Eric’s example of the used-car salesman and you’ll get the point.

Leo Valiquette

Posted in:

• Marketing strategy
• Public and media relations

December Roundup: Yes, Virginia, PR really does pay off

• Posted by inmedia
• January 05, 2009
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By inmedia

In case you missed them, here’s a roundup of our posts from December.

(Francis’s note: December was, clearly, a thin month for our blog. We pledge to be more faithful with our posts in this new year. In the meantime, belated best wishes for the holidays and to all our readers, we wish you a peaceful and prosperous 2009. Thank you for reading our blog.)

Francis
Dec. 1: A Christmas gift for Lesotho
Dec. 18: Attention software company CEOs: Boost your PR investment to survive downturn

Leo
Dec. 4: The best laid plans …
Dec. 8: Plain talk and hard numbers about PR
Dec. 12: Naughty or nice a matter of circumstance

Danny
Dec. 31: Embargos: What’s all the fuss about?

inmedia

Posted in:

• Marketing strategy
• Public and media relations
• Random thoughts
• Technology marketing