By Chris Johnson
This year, public relations professionals will have to revolutionize the way we approach and influence new media. The year of 2009 will be defined by our ability to adapt to new media opportunities even when we lack the resources we had in 2008. We must learn to treat social media PR and blogger messaging with a new level of tenacity and dedication. Earned media takes on new meaning. Becoming part of the "conversation" is our new domain.
I suggest we add some public relations resolutions to our New Year's Resolutions list:
Resolution 1: This year, I will keep in touch with reporters on a more personal level, reaching them on social networking sites, not just "calling down" another spreadsheet.
The best part of social networking sites is that they make it possible to transform a business relationship into an authentic, more comfortable friendship. Resolve to use these platforms regularly to stay in touch with existing partners, not just to add another name or business card. Also, they cost nothing. The conversation becomes peer-to-peer. The media placement is really permission based, with the citizen journalist asking you for sourcing materials.
There is no reason not to reach out to bloggers and social media experts. All of these programs should by now be recognizable to the PR professional. Here are some of the best connector tools on the Web:
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LinkedIn: Reputation management 101--You build your reputation based on the relationships you have already developed in real life. This is a great way to add clients and follow up with notoriously absent reporters in a new way.
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Twitter: Ideal for perfecting the written sound bite, the call to action and responses to fast questions. This is an exercise in clean, crisp writing and staying in contact with other people who are on deadlines.
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Facebook: Key for the relationships with other professionals that are becoming friendships. Most PR professionals still use Facebook as a personal networking site, and that's fair. But for those of us who depend on developing relationships with people that evolve outside this office, Facebook cannot be ignored.
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Google Share: An excellent way to share information among existing contacts, particularly those who already subscribe to your Google Share feeder. You can also program your RSS Feeds through Google.
Resolution 2: This year, I'll make an agency or corporate blog something people can actually read without laughing.
Change the corporate blog. Create connections and conversations--don't just use it as a podium. Take the latest Forrester study, for example, which reports that only 16% of people surveyed say they trust corporate blogs. That makes them the lowest-rated source of reliable information among the 18 categories Forrester tested, including Web portals, print newspapers, radio and personal blogs. "Everybody thinks their blog is an exception," according to Josh Bernoff, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. "The blogs that people do trust are the ones where people say: 'Oh, but I don't think of it as a company blog.'"
The best way to transform a corporate blog is to modify its purpose. The blog is relatively ineffective as advertising space. Instead, create a dialogue between consumers and company representatives to illustrate that your corporation is open to outside ideas and is listening.
A few other hints for corporate blog posts:
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No blog post should ever be more than 250 words.
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The blog should be updated at least once a week.
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Create a faithful customer base with the blog. Answer questions from consumers about products and break the latest news that will affect consumers directly.
Resolution 3: I will customize and target my reporters and analysts.
It's just not as effective as it used to be to send form e-mails or blanket the world with wire releases. Personal relationships with reporters are key, and it's significantly more dangerous for PR professionals to get on the bad side of a blogger than it is to anger a reporter via snail mail.
Instead, use these tips to contact the bloggers and reporters who want your story:
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The art of the pitch e-mail: The key is to personalize e-mails to every blogger. Use their name and mention one of their previous pieces (if applicable) that ties into your press release. Use humor and casual, friendly language in e-mails. Prove that your information will help them personally to do a better job or find resources.
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HARO (Help a Reporter Out): New media is about generating trust; this listserv helps reporters network with PR professionals based on stories with which the reporter needs help. As long as you "play nice" (stay on the reporter's topic instead of pushing a different one), you can develop lasting relationships with reporters who see you as help, not an annoyance. ProfNet is also an effective tool to reach reporters.
Resolution 4: I will make my life simpler.
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Use one enterprise system: Most public relations professionals fall behind because they don't have all of their information in one place. The key is to find an enterprise system that works and use it diligently, particularly when taking on new media opportunities.
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Social media releases: SMRs will be used more widely in 2009. PR professionals will want to learn more and tag releases to video links, testimonials, tiny URLs or your own social networks.
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Read what your media bloggers write: You can use Mediabistro to track changes or sites like "Journalisted" that track your favorite beat reporter.
As you prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the upcoming year, I wish you the best of luck, success and continued motivation as you take on the social media world. And, unlike dieting or other New Year's resolutions, social media monitoring really does get easier over time. PRN
CONTACT:
Chris Johnson is founder and CEO of dna13 in Ottawa, Ontario, and a former PR practitioner in the telecomm industry in Canada. He can be reached at [email protected].