Public relations is more than press releases and media relations efforts to pitch journalists stories about companies. Public relations also involves building thought leadership, social media engagement, content development, internal company communications and many more aspects of corporate communications that affect marketing.

Due to the shift of advertising and publications online, newsrooms have been dealing with limited resources due to job loss and budget cuts for several years. The recession has not improved that situation and creates even more pressure for journalists to produce more content with fewer resources. Public relations and media relations efforts help meet that need for content by delivering story ideas, research, subject matter experts and resources.

Digital public relations savvy agencies are making both traditional media relations, digital media relations and optimized news content work together as part of a Push Pull PR strategy. Public relations agencies work to partner with journalists to provide content via push delivery, but can also optimize (SEO) news content to make it easy for story researchers to find companies the public relations firms represent.

The trend in hard times is for companies to cut all marketing costs that are not tied to direct sales. Yet, some companies are shifting budgets to smart, creative online marketing and public relations efforts. When no one else is marketing, there’s even more opportunity to stand out to prospective buyers.

As companies decide where to invest their limited marketing resources, there is a distinct opportunity to focus on investing in relationships with their customers, prospects, employees and business partners.  

Companies that have been engaged in social Web participation long before the economy went into recession may already have an asset that new social media participants desire — better relationships with their customers. Digital public relations and social media efforts can facilitate the effectiveness of building those relationships — even for companies that are just now starting. The challenge is figuring out how to best use the resources available and what internal expertise or outside help will make best use of them.

Virtual Reality and 3D platforms not just a child’s game. “Second Life: The Dream Platform for PR Professionals,” was the last session I took while attending PRSA International 2008, but it was one of the most effective. Why you may ask? Because Second Life isn’t just about creating an avitar and playing in a virtual world it is about jumping on board to the future of interaction.

Second Life not just another social media site, and these statistics prove that:

• 14 Million Users
• 100 Countries represented
• 35 Million hours spent on Second Life a year
• $1.5 Million UDS earned per day on virtual goods
• 35 Median age of users on Second Life

What do these statistics say to us? They say that there is an untapped market that is not declining, but growing rapidly. 35 is the median age of the user, there are 14 million users in over100 countries, and $1.5 million dollars are made each day. This tells us that Second Life is not going anywhere but up. Vitrual worlds are now not only for children they are for adults.

People are interacting using Second Life, businesses are selling goods and networking, even presidential candidates are using Second Life to get to a wider audience a new audience why aren’t we? In this session there were tons of people that questioned why they should be on Second Life? It seems like a trend and it is so new what could it really do for them?

Answer: Over 10 years ago people were scared of a computer tool called the “internet”, now this is the most widely used computer tool in the world. Secondly, in 15 years when we are trying to hire new employees they are going to be from generation now. These employees are the generation that are growing up on mainly knowing these virtual worlds, if we are to progress in our industry and our field we need to adapt to change.

Virtual Reality and 3D Platforms are being used by hospitals, non-profits and even global businesses like Nokia to promote their products and services. A new way of interacting with our target audience, a new way of reaching new audiences and keeping true to what PRSA International 2008 has been trying to promote all weekend, point of connection. Connecting with people from all over in one.

I am excited to see where this leads PR and Media Relations. As scarey as it is to accept change the excitement of the unknown keeps me on the edge of my seat. I say embrace Second Life to give your company and your clients a “second life” at reaching a broader audience.

Listening and continued engagement. This is how Craig Newmark, creator of Craigslist, explained the success of his business during a PRSA International keynote address: “How Social Media Creates a More Democratic Society”. Newmark explained that you have to do what makes sense and continue to engage your community. By engaging you build a culture of trust where shared values are expressed and followed. Success is achieved.

Craigslist is almost 99% free, with only 1% being charged for a services. To be successful Craig Newmark realized that he didn’t need to overtly charge the public who viewed and used Craigslist, but instead offer services to help cultivate and aid in the public’s growth. By helping to shape your community you are helping people try to succeed. You are doing well. Craig Newmark beleives by doing well in his business strategy he is doing good in his community.

“To do well in business by doing good,” is the simple business philosophy of Craigslist. PR and Social Media has a bad rap as not being a service for anyone but ourselves, as not being honest, but we are doing well in business, we help promote small businesses, we encourage growth of communities. Aren’t we doing good for society.

Transparency and accountability: PR and Social Media are made up of people who get “stuff” done and get results. We are transparent in what we do and we are held accountable for how we got there. We open doors for people to blog about what they like, what they don’t we give a voice to those that were not heard before.

PR and media relations does a service, we help create a personal brand for our clients and the public. We listen to what they want and we give it to them. Craigslist  listens to their public and as they have stated they do not want Craiglist to change, they want the site simple and easy. Craig Newmark and his staff listened and this is what they have given. Craigslist gives its public democracy, the power to flag an unwanted site, to rate what works and what doesn’t. Most importantly Craigslist continues to engage its community, shouldn’t we?

If Craigslist can become so well known and successful by giving a voice to it’s public and by doing good by them can’t we in PR and Social Media do the same? “Do well in business by doing good.” PRSA International 2008 is a way we are doing good by people, we are fostering each other’s creativity and shaping they way we each view our industry. Democracy at its finest, wouldn’t you say?

PRSA International 2008 brings with it a new found respect for our industry and how we are helping shape our communities. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow’s sessions have will bring.

Be sure to check out the posts on PRSA International 2008 over at Online Marketing Blog’s Public Relations Conference category and the official PRSA ComPRehension blog.

Tuesday’s with Morrie, the bestselling memoir by Mitch Albom speaks of the influence that we all possess as individuals. How we all have a certain power to cultivate the people we encounter. Morrie Schwartz was a professor of Mitch Albom’s when he was an undergrad. Morrie helped shape the way Mitch thought and the way that Mitch viewed his future. One man influenced another and from that a great journalist, sportscaster and motivational speaker emerged.

As PR and Media Relations Professionals we have influence on people. Every day we are shaping the way people view our clients and their products/services. We have the honor of cultivating the way people view what we have to say. We can impact society. Mitch Albom’s question as keynote speaker for the PRSA International 2008’s last day conference was, “Are you impacting people in a positive way? Are you learning from people as you are influencing them?”

Now more than ever it is important that we are influencing our audience in a positive way, that we are giving valuable information and promoting valuable messages to not only the media but consumers as well. PR and Media Relations professionals have an opportunity to reach hundreds of people, to shape the way they think and to shape their actions. We may be a small part of someone’s day but we have a global effect and sometimes we forget that.

As I sat in this morning’s keynote address I wondered how we as professionals try to impact our audience in a positive way. Mitch Albom was right in saying that we have to realize who influences us, who we influence and how we can use that to impact others.

PR and Media Relations are professions that have an opportunity to do something great; we are able to impact people on a global level. With the new technologies and tools such as:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Second Life

PRSA International 2008 has impacted the way that over 3,000 people view themselves and their profession. We each are taking away some nugget of information, we have made connections professional and personal, and we have learned to challenge ourselves in our jobs and most importantly learned to look at where our profession has been and where we are going.

We are now connecting to people all over the world. We are able to spread messages globally, but what messages are we wanting to spread? Mitch Albom says that of giving and learning, Jeff Julin, PRSA Chair says that of connecting with one another. I believe that Mitch and Jeff are both correct we as professionals learn and give back, and by doing this we connect with our communities locally, nationally and globally.

After all this is what PRSA and PRSSA are all about.

New influencers are creating new sources of media, who are these new influencers? You, me and even Joe the plumber. How is this possible? We are now publishers we are able to report, comment and even create news content, we have the news and the media is now coming to us.

Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers, states that there are Ten Secrets to Success of Social Media. But to understand these we must first realize that traditional media is declining and that search is the new circulation. Once we understand this we as PR professionals will be able to understand how each person is an influencer of media marketing and will become more successful in our marketing and media strategies.

Secret # 1- Don’t Fear Negativity. We must learn to accept that we cannot control what people say, but that we can contain negativity to a certain degree. There are always going to people that may disagree with what you say or what you do, but the trick is to realize it and accept it. If you make a mistake fess up to it. After all if you don’t and it is proven that you were in the wrong you are just adding fuel to the fire.

The best example of this is Dell Computers, in 2007 a former employee wrote an article for the Consumerist titles, ” 22 Confessions of A Former Dell Employee.” Dell was not happy about this not that the article was attacking Dell, but that they felt the Consumerist had no right to post the article without Dell’s consent. Dell emailed the Consumerist telling them to take down the post. Well, the Consumerist did not like this demand and posted the email from Dell on their site. Needless to say Dell realized they were wrong for asking to take down the post and offered an apology. Unfortunately, there was some damage done to Dell’s reputation. All Dell had to do was realize this was out of there control, and that there was no negativity regarding the Dell brand.

Secret # 2 – Start with the Goal Not the Tool. Always remember to keep your audience in mind when you decide to implement your strategy. Using a blog as a way to inform and display your product, but if you want to really communicate look at what tool would be more effective.

• Podcasts
• Online Videos

Match the tool you use to the audience that you are trying to connect to.

Secret # 3 – Embrace Niche Markets. Niche markets are:

• Knowledgeable
• Engaged
• Responsive
• Helpful
• Spenders

Once you inform these niche market audiences of what you have to offer then the information can reach specific groups, you connect to people from all over.

Secret # 4 – Empower Your People to Speak for Your Company. If you do not give the opportunity for your employees to speak for your organization and to learn how to talk about your organization you are setting yourself up to fail. If someone ask your employee what your company is about and they cannot answer you lose credibility. Let your people blog about who your company is, this is a great way to get inbound links and awareness of your brand.

Secret # 5 – Master Search. Educate yourself and your company how to use search engines and analytic sites to measure your popularity. Do you know how your consumers are finding you? By leveraging sites that give you results you drive your brand awareness and find out who your target market really is.

Secret # 6 – Think Like a Publisher. How do you do this? Get your brand out there, learn how to leverage all sources of media and communications.

• Twitter
• Blogs postings
• Newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts

If you don’t publish yourself and you wait for someone else to, then you won’t get the recognition you want.

Secret # 7 – Ditch the 13 Week Campaign. Using social media takes longer than traditional campaigns. You must build trust, engage the community and respond accordingly before you see results. Once the results start to come in  they are lasting, your brand is trusted in your community which you have built and your community will spread the word of how great you are.

Secret # 8 – Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New. Once you feel your marketing strategy is starting to flatten out reinvent your approach. This is what PR and Media Relations is all about reinvention. Blogging for a client may payoff more than an email campaign. Evaluate who your target is has it changed? If so, a new approach is probably the best.

Secret # 9 – Use It Straight. What this means is do not be afraid of feedback. If you blog you must enable comments, this is how you find out what is working and what is not. If you are meeting your audiences needs or if you are not. Take comments with optimism, it is hard for someone to be angry with people who are nice to them and who listen to what they have to say.

Finally secret # 10 – Give to Get. Offer value to your audience. Give your audience a chance to create your marketing strategy. Why is this so important? This tells your audience that you value them, you are here for them and want to help them succeed.

By following these Ten Secrets to Success of Social Media you are giving yourself and your clients a chance to succeed and more importantly you become the influencer you shape how you are preceived.

Dr.Pepper and Guns N’ Roses, two things that couldn’t be further from each other -  yet Ketchum – has found a way to connect these. On behalf of Dr. Pepper, Ketchum launched a promotion, if Guns N’ Roses finally released their album Chinese Democracy, then Dr. Pepper would give everyone in the United States a free Dr. Pepper.

Guess what? Next month, Guns N’ Roses is releasing their much anticipated album. So what does this have to do with PR and Media Relations? Joanne Puckett, Vice President of Global Research for Ketchum and presenter of “Deriving ROI for Interactive Communications,” believes it relates due to the platform on which the promotion was sent. Ketchum realized that mass media is slowly declining, and that to create buzz around their client there needed to be an embrace of a new platform of communication enter Social Media.

By using social media to connect with an audience that may have never drank Dr. Pepper, Ketchum did something amazing. They connected two brands that probably would have never joined together, but by doing this they connected to a wider audience. This is proof that those who use social media are not just generation Y, but also generation X, baby boomers and everyone else in between. Dr. Peppers awareness has increased and they are now seeing an increase of 15% on their ROI. Ketchum embraced social media to derive a greater ROI for Dr. Pepper.

Barack Obama and Facebook is another example of how thinking outside the box and approaching PR and Media Relations in new light has proven successful. Obama has increased his awareness significantly by being on Facebook, using blog sites, emails and other social media sites to get his message out. By looking at behavior of his target audience and how they perceive the presidential campaign Obama has been able to customize his marketing strategy and tactics. We will not know what his ROI is until November 5th, but we can only speculate that he has done himself a huge advantage by embracing social media to get his message out.

What’s my point? Social Media drives brand awareness. From new drinkers of a soda pop, to a presidential candidate social media is playing a huge part in gaining new audiences. In the PR field if we do not pay attention to this meme of social media we are not doing our jobs as communicators.

“The Point of Connection,” this years theme for PRSA International 2008. If we do not embrace social media we are not touching all the points of connection. Without connecting to new audiences we cannot continue to derive greater ROI’s. Like Obama says, “It’s time for a change!” PRSA International 2008 is helping PR and Media Relations embrace change.

What are other ways PR and Media Relations Professionals can embrace change to derive greater ROI?

• Read what competitors are doing
• Listen to what your target market is saying
• Research the latest trends in your specific category
• Challenge yourself and your organization to take chances
• Reinvent your marketing strategy if it seems like it is flattening out

Embrace change and learn how to use social media for your advantage. It is not going anywhere and it will certainly play a critical role in your organizations and clients goals.

What are the most commonly used marketing objectives? What variables are used when planning a marketing strategy? What is the most influential contact point? These questions were the opening of, “Marketing, Media and Word of Mouth.”  We know the answer to all these questions right?

• Awareness
• Target
• Word of Mouth

Presenter Jeffrey Graham, executive director, customer insight, The New York Times, stated that, ” there is a huge disconnect when it comes to word of mouth and context.”

What does this mean? For a person just starting out in PR and Media Relations it means we may be overlooking a significant part of our target market. By not paying attention to where information and opinions about our clients or their services are coming from we are missing what could be a either fatal or significant loss or win for out clients. How does this really effect us and our clients? Gabriel Tarde stated, “Conversation is the strongest agent of imitation, of the propagation of sentiment.”

People talk, people talk about what they do like as much as they talk about what they don’t like. Who do they talk to? Their neighbors, their friends, their family and their community. Graham stated that Tarde was right in the concept that conversation truly reveals what people are feeling. Since starting with the New York Times last year Jeffrey has helped conduct a study of over 3900 affluent women. These women were asked a series of questions on a rage of categories from automobiles to fashion advice.

Remarkably enough, these women stated that they depended on what their friends opinions were when making a decision on what restaurant to eat at to what type of car to buy.

So what? It turns out that in all of the categories surveyed there was always a women who stood out, who was the affluent influencer of the group. These women had more influence in what type of nail polish one women should buy to what was the best place to eat on the lower side of Manhattan. If one women can influence about 3 people per week, 12 people a month and 144 people a year think about what that can do to clients sales.

Why is this important? Recognizing that word of mouth helps sell our clients and their products is key to unlocking what our audience really wants. By listening to what is being said, how it is being said and most importantly who is saying it aids us in getting a greater ROI.

Another part to understanding who the influencer is, is understanding why they are doing what they do. The New York Times survey found that the top reasons many of the women took roles as the influencer were:

• Being knowledgeable
• Being helpful
• Nostalgia

Being knowledgeable in the areas that their friends and family members were questioning made them feel smart and important. By being helpful these women were getting a sense of satisfaction of giving back and just helping someone else out. Finally the nostalgic feeling that a person gets when they recommend something or someone they used or visited before. It lets these women relive that experience and brings them back to a happy place.

Feeling smart, helpful and happy this what our influencers want and when they get it they spread the word of how great a certain brand of toothpaste was or how great the New York Times medical section was. Influencers are promoting brand awareness, are we? Word of mouth drives purchase decisions and who should be at the center of them. This requires that there be a transfer in the way we think about what is effective when it comes to communication and where does communication between consumers take place?

Where does communication take place? All over, especially here at PRSA Internationl 2008. Communication is the key to conveying our messaging and word of mouth is the oldest form. Follow me as I continue the journey through PRSA International 2008.

TopRank speaks at PRSA International: Monday, Oct 27th TopRank CEO Lee Odden will be presenting a panel discussion on the future of PR and new media.

TopRank will also be blogging the conference here at Media Relations Blog and at Online Marketing Blog.

Constantly things are changing, communication itself is experiencing a renaissance of change, but can we handle it? Detroit, MI – once the center of the motorized world – is experiencing a rebirth from industrial motor plants to hosting international conferences like PRSA International 2008. If this once industrial city can evolve into a  robust and vibrant city of culture and information, then we can learn to adapt our methods of communication.

The programming of the 61st PRSA International conference demonstrates that once traditional approaches of PR are now giving way to a digital world.The first conference session that I will be attending is titled, “Word-Of-Mouth Online and Off: What’s the difference?” The session is going to examine how traditional word-of-mouth sells, the messaging is the same, but how we communicate that message is changing.

Example, in the 1920′s people found out how amazing automobiles were, this was done by talking to people that had one, had seen one or had heard about them from someone else. Now almost a hundred years later automobiles are advertised by word of mouth, on the radio, in newspapers, on social media sites, on television and on the internet. By learning how to evolve messaging we are able to influence our customer base and increase our clients ROI.

Once evolving our messaging is down it is now time to generate some buzz around our clients and their products and services. How do we do this? In “Generating Buzz: Strategies for the B2C and B2B Audience,” Daryl McCullough, CEO of PainePR, Chris Kuechenmeister, group director of PainePR and Craig Howe, president of RocketXL explain that PR pros must command a leadership role in creating buzz for clients. We will examine the success of outreach efforts in social media, social networks and online communities. Learning how to grab our audiences attention no matter where they are located creates brand awareness for our clients and again a greater ROI.

Generating a great ROI – This is something that all marketers are learning to do as the economy is in a slump,  and companies are not willing to spend more on marketing but are cutting their budgets when it comes to marketing. How can we learn to adapt to this new trend in “less is more?” In “How to Derive ROI for Interactive Communications,” David Rockland, Ph.D, partner and managing director, of Ketchum helps us to understand how to utilize interactive tools to generate and gain greater ROI for ourselves and most importantly our clients. This is all about learning to use less money but get more out of our efforts, again here we are learning to change and evolve from once large marketing budgets to small budget dollars.

These are just a few of the sessions I am attending some of the others include:

• Social Media Marketing: Where to begin?
• Digging Into New Tech Topics: Where and How to Maximize Web Research
• What’s the ROI on Your Press Release?

Do you see a trend in the sessions being offered? Learning how to evolve the way we communicate to get a greater ROI. Evolution – it is happening to communication and Detroit these both are intersecting at PRSA International. Join me as I learn first hand where both of these will lead the PR & Marketing field.

TopRank speaks at PRSA International: Saturday Oct 25th TopRank’s CEO will be presenting a pre-conference workshop on Search Engine Optimization for News Content as well as a panel discussion on the future of PR and new media Monday, Oct 27th. More information can be found on the PRSA International conference web site.

TopRank will also be blogging the conference here at Media Relations Blog and at Online Marketing Blog.

One of the most valuable resources at an event like the recent Media Relations Summit conference in San Francisco is the opportunity to listen to what journalists themselves have to say about how they interact with PR people. I attended several panels with reporters from publications ranging from the New York Times to CNET. The reporters were fairly candid about works and what does not. Here are some key tips I gleaned from the summit reporter sessions.

• Reporters STILL hate PR spam and irrelevant pitches. Such tactics are unlikely to generate coverage, it turns out. Shocking, I know.

• The press release is still important. With all the talk about new media, I was surprised to hear virtually every reporter sing the praises of the good old fashioned press release, which they use to ensure accuracy and to organize information.

• Print journalists are no longer breaking news. This is a major change that has happened over the last several years. Now, more than ever, journalists are looking for stories that analyze recent news trends. Online media, on the other hand, can be fiercely competitive for breaking stories.

• Embargoes are a source of frustration for journalists. Some media won’t even honor them, which makes me wonder why they are still in common use. In today’s media landscape, I think the embargo needs to go the way of the dodo, for the most part.

• Pitches with visuals go to the front of the line. But then, hi-res images often get caught in firewalls, which is probably why they don’t see them as often as they like.

• You are not my friend, you are my resource. This is old news but it bears repeating. The best PR professionals are not the ones who make friends with the reporter, but those who act as a resource. Your Rolodex is meaningless. Your ability to provide compelling, accurate information is your calling card.

• Multitasking reporters. Print reporters are increasingly arming themselves with video cameras, and training to take good video footage. So make sure your spokespeople comb their hair for an interview.

• Keep it simple. Reporters appreciate succinct information. They hate hyperbole. More than ever, I can understand this complaint. One of the reasons people are turning to new media is a perceived authenticity, and yet pitches seem to get louder and louder as the years go on. If a sentence requires an exclamation point, get rid of it.

• Keep in mind that layoffs are changing the face of newspapers. Calling for a reporter who was recently dismissed is a perfect way to make a reporter you actually reach, hate you. Of course, it’s also almost entirely unavoidable.

• Pitching more than one reporter at a publication is okay, so long as you cc all reporters you are including. However, the consensus seems to be that this practice deprives you of your right to follow up with a phone call, since your e-mail phishing is doing the work for you. I prefer to just target one reporter. If my pitch makes sense, they’ll gladly refer me to the right person, and then I have a reference.

• A few reporters address the 800 lb. gorilla in the room. Simply put, they are inundated with so much useless crap from PR professionals that they often miss the good, relevant pitches. PR shops respond to this in one of two ways: They shorten their lists and make a genuine effort to target the RIGHT reporters, or they simply send more crap in an effort to take more shots on goal, probably with more exclamation points.

Moran’s tone is optimistic, and not at all condescending, which is a refreshing change from many speakers on this topic, who seem to want to tsk-tsk us for not having discovered social networking years ago. Oh, and they are eager to inform you that whichever social media platform you have succeeded in engaging was obsolete in 1999. Moran eschews alarmism to good effect.

PR types tend to view new media as a sort of death knell for Public Relations. Moran sees them as an opportunity. The new model allows Public Relations to deliver hard results where we know we are making an impact on behalf of our clients. We can target more closely, measure results more accurately, and respond more quickly to customer feedback.

He cites the example of B2B companies, many of whom were shut out of media relations in the past, for lack of cost effective avenues. This is a perfect example. A small widget manufacturer can now afford to earn media by targeting only those people who like to buy widgets. That’s an almost entirely new market. If you’re afraid of it, and afraid of the new ways to solve problems, well, you always dreamed of opening a wine bar one day, right?

If we believe Moran (I do), new media opportunities play to our strong suit. We are story-tellers by nature, or at least we should be if we are any good at this stuff. And bloggers need stories, and so do their readers. And you need their readers. So it all works out.
He follows up this point with a disastrous example, in which bloggers discovered that Kryptonite locks could be picked by Bic pens. Company officials refused to even acknowledge bloggers, and the story festered (all the way to the New York Times).

Dell, on the other hand, responded to blogger critiques, and tailored their own corporate blog to address the complaints they introduced. Is this really anything new? Is this 2.0? Not so, says Moran. Again, I have to agree. This is simple crisis communications. It’s customer relations. It’s earned media. For us, it should be second nature.

Okay, so he engages in a bit of alarmism. The head of marketing at FTD was fired for poor search results. That’s pretty alarmist, but reasonably so. There are plenty of people who have no problem embracing the new paradigm, so why wouldn’t companies find them?

But change is hard. Why is that so? According to Moran, it is because change requires sacrifice. There are only so many hours in a day, and choosing to pursue social media means TAKING TIME AWAY from that which has been our bread and butter. Outreach to a blogger means a trade journal might not get a phone call. An act as simple as registering for Twitter means you won’t have time to do something else.

But, like Duncan Wardle, Moran tasks PR professionals with figuring it out. This is our job. We don’t get paid to be comfortable. We get paid to be good. So let’s be good, okay?

Read Lee’s coverage of the Mike Moran Keynote over at Online Marketing Blog