In today’s marketing world, a number of CMOs, VPs of Marketing and Directors all have the same question – ‘where do we get more content and how do we stay ahead of our competitors?’ Good questions and ones that seem to have a large amount of potential answers. Well if you’re sitting within an organization – go to your marketing department and ask them who is creating our content? They may ask if you’re talking about the web site content, but correct them and say no, in general – who is talking on Acme’s behalf? Who is tracking the conversations about our new Widget and who is answering the questions about it?If you have a communications/PR/social media agency – is your account team pushing ideas over to you on a regular basis? Are they offering ideas and content and where is it going and who is seeing it once it has been created? Are you working together to pull the uniqueness out of your company and into the minds of your PR team?In order to stay ahead of the plethora of social media sites and news outlets – you need to be creating the written content, videos, podcasts and other viral components that get your message out to the masses while opening the door for commentary and feedback. It’s the way it is today and if we as marketers are going to stay ahead of our competition (and our clients) we had better become that content creator.More to come on this I am sure….

Yesterday, IDC bought Forrester (SageCircle takes credit for this), Starbucks decided to sell new sizes, Plenta (128 fl oz) and Micra (2 fl oz), Google changed its name to Topeka and tween start Justin Bieber took over FunnyorDie.com.

With all 1086 news articles on Google this morning just about technology and April Fool’s Day from yesterday alone, one has to think whether this was good publicity for companies. As you can see from Google and Starbucks, time, energy and resources were used for this one day prank. The Starbucks release took the form of a social media release, with multiple pictures of the oversize and mini cups staged in various locations. Google also used photos (see below) to demonstrate the change and posted an entire write-up on their blog of the changes and about Topeka. These jokes, fake press releases and funny photos got everyone talking about them.

Google's April Fools Day Joke

Sometimes it’s fun to poke at oneself and take a moment to be less serious. It’s a great way to connect with people and engage with the customer.  Today’s April 2nd and everything’s back to normal. It doesn’t hurt to laugh and could be great publicity for your clients.

Blogger ancestry.

Spring ahead to the golden age of news–from the time of the Civil War (when war photography really made its mark) to the age of the “muckrakers“, World War II, and then to Watergate and Vietnam. Journalism became a profession; and “citizen journalists” disappeared from the scene.  “Journalism” became a scholarly pursuit with the advent of “J-schools” and journalism degrees.  

And the then began the consolidation in the 80s, and finally, the beginning of the great newspaper extinction.  And the  journalist breed–the guy with the suspenders, rolled up sleeves, reporter notebook and hat with the piece of paper in it that said “press,” also disappeared…Right?  

They haven’t, of course. (though the medium of newsprint, I am fairly certain and happy to say, is going extinct–Mother Nature is happy.)

And we have blogs and citizen journalism to thank for this. Much like small mammals in the midst of the great dinosaurs,  blogs multiplied in the shadow of newspapers early in the 21st Century.  And as the fortunes of newspapers began to decline, the blogs and citizen journalists  have filled the void. 

And I’m glad to see the U.S. has returned to its roots as a land of citizen journalists. 

Many former journalists became bloggers too (and Tweeters, Facebookers, etc.).  But the best part about the growth of social media and blogs is the return of the “citizen journalist”–the Thomas Paines of the world.  People that have opinions and are not afraid to write about it.  I’m thrilled that bloggers consider themselves journalists. In my mind, they are one in the same.  (And, by the way, I think, The U.S. Courts, should extend freedom of the press to these citizen journalists. Citizen journalists, or bloggers, are the very best insurance against omnipotent government.) 

Bloggers, everwhere.

As a public relations agency and for company clients, the growth of bloggers has brought both challenge and opportunity. The media landscape is now more fractured, and it’s harder to persuade a “mass” that your product/company/service is “the shizznit.”  But as an American, and a lover of American history, I’m glad to hear that most bloggers consider themselves journalists (according to the PRWeek/PR Newswire study).  I’m glad because it makes me feel (Robert Duvall Apocolypse Now pause, please)…free.

I’m very excited about a benefit PAN is bringing back to its employees! With the realization that the Holidays are just around the corner and that each and every one of us lead busy lives, PAN is giving each employee an extra day off to shop, bake, decorate or participate in any holiday activity they choose! Each employee has been assigned to a (Friday) day off over the next three weeks to enjoy this benefit, and each has been carefully chosen so all our account teams are well balanced. PAN’s team of Directors decided to bring back this benefit as a token of their appreciation during the holiday season. Kudos to our awesome employees! And thank you to PAN for their generosity!

Happy Holidays!

It’s no secret the PR and marketing industries are rapidly changing with the proliferation of social media and networking sites.  With this change come opportunities as well as challenges that we, as PR professionals, are embracing.

While some businesses (and industries) still approach social media, Twitter, and the blogosphere with reservation and sometimes trepidation (just think Mommy bloggers and the headache over the Motrin ad controversy), these outlets and forums are actually terrific ways to gauge customer interest, satisfaction, and engage with target audiences closely. 

And now, Forrester Research is out with its Interactive Marketing Forecast for the next five years, confirming the growth and monetary backing we can expect to see in social media marketing.  Forrester is estimating social media marketing to grow at an annual rate of 34 percent – faster than any other form of online marketing and double the average growth rate of 17 percent for all online mediums. 

With this burgeoning interest comes the need to understand the impact of all this money being spent on social media marketing.  Did the messages resonate? Were consumers and customers engaged? Excited? Or even angry?  With so much opportunity to engage with the “right” audiences online and so much information being published, businesses are having a tough time grasping the real information from the fleeting comments. 

This is where social media monitoring technologies, like Lexalytics (one of our clients at PAN), comes in.  These technologies can help companies ensure that their business’ reputation isn’t in jeopardy because of what is being written online. And now these technologies can be easily integrated with PR and marketing campaigns to measure success – and areas for improvement.  

This technology, which is more accurate and comprehensive than human analysis, can help businesses analyze blog and Twitter content, etiquette for responding to stories, and how to best leverage the information that is already out there.  Because human analysis is still essential to the process, the technology is enhancing it and allowing PR and marketing pros to decipher the areas for improvement as well as outreach faster, with more accuracy, and with greater analysis.

Within online networks and communities are individuals who will not all feel exactly the same way, so having the ability to extract meaning from all the noise — especially in a crisis situation — and measure extremes of opinion makes a critical difference in important business decisions.  After all, being equipped with information and analysis about what sentiment is living inside tweets, blog posts, and more, is crucial in being able to make sense of all the feedback and live conversations.

And this isn’t just for crisis situations. Being able to determine what areas of market education might be lacking in one area will help companies proactively engage with the right audiences to share information and interact.

As we become a nation of over 20 million bloggers, social media enthusiasts, and citizen journalists, being able to make sense of all the information and online engagement will quickly become a bigger task than human tracking and analysis can handle, so being equipped with the know-how and technology to bring this task down to size for PR and marketing purposes will quickly become most important.

 Well, I am not planning on traveling to Europe soon, I have no interest in instant messaging or blasting music from my phone and browsing the web from a two inch screen makes me dizzy- that’s just me.  So, here I am back at square one with a laundry list of contradicting recommendations from unqualified sources.

A recent Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey indicates that consumers trust recommendations from “known people” first and foremost.  Well, that’s true.  Anywhere from Doctor Referrals to counsel on the best Local Italian restaurant, your list of “known people” is your first source.  But is it always the best?  Asking a handful of family and friends for tips and suggestions might get you the most biased answers of all, each based off of single experiences with relatively little or no expertise.   Although something has to be said for “in-the-trenches” consumer opinions, where do we go when we’re looking for knowledgeable, firsthand, impartial, targeted answers? When advice from your boldly opinionated friends and family leave with even more questions than with which you started, where do you turn?

 As The Nielsen study shows, when we look for answers outside our personal networks, we put trust in faceless consumers on the web.  What is notable about the 70% of respondents trusting online consumer posts is the other sources that the percentage beats out. Over formal advertising, a multibillion dollar industry, we put our trust in the words of complete strangers.  With consumer opinions posted online as the number two source of trusted advertising, it’s clear that the power of social media continues to grow and the term “word of mouth” is no longer to be taken literally. 

The online consumer dialogue consists of industry experts and newcomers alike, giving us the ability to either immerse ourselves in a larger industry-wide conversation or pickup quick, simple answers.  Sifting through blog posts and various responses, pros and cons, multiple experiences etc. force us to become more informed consumers. The ability to seek out fellow consumers who are also considered “experts” on any desired topic, is also what makes social media an extremely powerful tool in terms of consumer decision making.

No offense to Dad or the folks over at Heavenly Hair, but I’m taking my smartphone questions to the web.  I’ll consult the consumer experts, get involved in the online dialogue and make an informed confident decision about the device that’s right for me.  

 Now if only I could find a smartphone smart enough to make that decision for me…

I’m in PR; I’ll get that out right up front so there’s no misunderstanding about which side of this debate interests me more.  But, I also don’t presently represent any companies that have a stake in the audiences mommy bloggers’ attract, so I’m not part of the problem which has led to Momdot’s call it quits on posting reviews, give-aways, recommending something, etc. (unless I’m guilty by industry association).   I’m just fascinated by what does and doesn’t make good PR, and this PR Blackout business makes for good PR.

The Momdot appeal is not misguided; I think it was made with the best of intentions.  But what strikes me is the rationale:

Truthfully, I am waiting for the shit storm of social media suicide to hit. Meaning that women are so incredibly stressed with caring for their families, their friendships, and now their online reputations, blogs, companies and obligations, that they are at the edge, the brink, of a real disaster.

Hyperbole?  I find it hard to believe that successful (successful in any definition that suits your particular situation) women would be “on the edge of disaster” if they continue down some road dictated to them–which is the implication–by obligations they’ve made to people interested in getting in front of their blogs’ audiences.

Where’s the free will?  This sort of leaves you thinking these women aren’t in control of what goes up on their own blogs.  If you read through the comments as to who is and isn’t participating in the self-imposed blackout you’ll see some great, measured responses but also a fair amount of piling-on.  I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t make a special note to say just about all of the comments about PR folks are positive (with the exception of not wanting to talk to us for a week) .  The relationship can’t be so bad, can it?

It’s easy to say no to PR; it happens to us every…day…all…day.  Believe it.  Don’t get the impression there is a ton of pressure on you to do something nice for a company that would like to speak with your audience–it’s YOUR audience.  They read you because when you decided to put your thoughts down on a blog you struck a nerve and created a connection with the person on the other side of your monitor.  That’s your connection, mommy blogger, and you’re the gatekeeper.

If it makes sense for you to take a week and not answer any come-ons from PR people, great. But if, as a result of working with PR you’ve been offering things to your readers that they like and you feel rewarded by doing so, why would you stop?  That doesn’t benefit you – but all this talk about a blackout does benefit Momdot.  Will they take down the PR Contact link at the top of their homepage during the blackout?  I’ll be interested to see.  Momdot also hosts a lot of ads (probably not for free) which presumably pays some bills–will those disappear too?

Update: blogher.com weighs in and does a better job than us of articulating how weird and unnecessary this PR blackout thing is.

With Boston’s WHDH-TV Channel 7 refusing to air Leno’s new talk show this fall in the 10 p.m. slot, a battle is brewing between 7 and NBC Television Network. On the one hand, you’ve got 7’s Owner Ed Ansin complaining that Leno’s show won’t be effective in prime time. He’s also worried he’s going to lose a ton of money, and points out that his Miami Fox affiliate does great at the 10 p.m. slot. On the other hand, you’ve got NBC threatening to strip Channel 7 of its NBC affiliation.

The battle is far from over. And no doubt the lawyers are about to enter the fray, which will result in a protracted legal battle. While this is clearly an economic issue for Channel 7,  it also points out a larger truth:  There’s nothing like a pitched battle with big names to draw ratings for your own station. Picture this– Breathless Channel 7 hound dog Dan Hausle, live in the newsroom, reporting how his own station is thumbing its nose at the network. There would be report upon report stating how 7’s very existence is being threatened. Ratings, anyone?

We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out in the coming days and weeks.  But there’s another pressing question I’d ask Jay Leno himself. So, Jay, how does it feel to be dissed in your hometown?

Much of what makes us human- our gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, enunciation, etc.- are often lost or misunderstood through electronic communication. With the sense of anonymity we feel typing onto a screen, our words become depersonalized, misrepresented, and they can easily be misconstrued. We create virtual personalities that are often more recognizable to our peers than our true personality.

We can essentially live out our lives sitting in front of a computer screen; we can order our groceries online, communicate with friends, stay updated on world issues, sustain a job, learn a language, and virtually satisfy a dream by creating a Second Life. While the prevalence of these advances certainly has benefits, is it ever truly as genuine as the real thing? Where has face-to-face human interaction gone?

Even our emotions have become compilations of punctuation signs – , <3 , >:-(

How long before our soul, the core of what makes us distinctively human, becomes misplaced in a binary world of 0’s and 1’s?