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Observations and Ponderings in Marketing Public Relations

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Sometimes the trivia and inanity pile up. Here are some observations I need to share. Anything goes — marketing, public relations, social media, and just plain old stuff. What can you add?

  • “Tectonic shift” is the new popular, overdone phrase. Where was the last place you read it?
  • Who is using mobile apps enough to warrant the price tag to develop and market them? Mashable says there are some 200,000+ mobile apps.  Kinda hard to find the exact data, but this story provides some healthy competitive info from Apple v. Android.
  • Are there any law firms developing mobile applications? I’d like to know!
  • Do the unemployed consist of people truly seeking work or waiting for the next government extension because the job market stinks?
  • Will alternative fee arrangements hit public relations firms just as it is doing in law firms?
  • Who understands health care reform well?
  • Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had a typo in a sub-headline “plan vanilla” versus “plain vanilla,” and then it also spelled button as “buttom.”  Now the latter is not a word, and spell check ought to have caught that, right?
  • Social media automaters are hot and vying for business. The prey – SMBs in need of social media assistance to leverage new media for new revenue streams.
  • September 27, 2010 is the Advertising Age Media 2011 issue. It will explore all the channels and complicated distribution of content. It will address how agencies and media are struggling as companies and marketers aggregate their own audiences.
  • Love the UK campaign by Damian Barr, a journalist and cultural entrepreneur, who engaged with Volvo to park 25 Volvos at the Starlite Urban Drive-In in London. Tickets at $40 each sold out in 30 seconds online for showings of “Grease” and “Dirty Dancing.” If that’s not lifestyle marketing, behavioral/emotional marketing and public relations, what is??!

Donation Plug to be a Good Citizen

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Donations come in all shapes, sizes and dollar amounts. Charitable giving is something all of us need to do, and I don’t mean donating our junk to AmVets or Goodwill. What I mean is actually donating hard-earned cash to charities and not-for-profits and those they serve who need the money now more than ever to stay afloat.

I was so thrilled with myself when I got the call from the police federation, or fraternal order of police or firefighters, etc. The guy, always persistent and ticked off when I say “take me off the list,” opened the call with “Hi, Jayme, this is a paid fund-raiser for the blah, blah. Can we count on your donation today just like last time and is your address blah, blah?”

And, I said to his mouthful, “How much of my donation goes to the charitable organization you’re fund-raising for?” When he said 20 percent, I said, “thanks, but NO thanks.” We need to consider that more…where does our dollar go when donating to not-for-profits?

There are more than 1.5 million not-for-profits in the U.S. according to Foundation Center. There are ways to check on the ratio of operations dollars to services dollars. I like this site, Charity Navigator.  It offers plenty of resources for donors.

Think about the last time you made a charitable donation. Was it for Haiti? Was it for the Gulf vicitims of the oil spill? Was it for Hurricane Katrina? Are you merely a crisis giver? Or, perhaps you have a list of organizations you give to each year who appreciate your donation because they’re managing on a shoe-string budget. Maybe you’re a micro donor and text $10 when the call to action comes in or use Kiva or other fair-trade organization to share your wealth. I found Danny Brown’s 12for12K.org on Twitter and was happy to donate to its causes in 2009. There was a familiar and trustable face doing the soft ask.

Whatever your style of sharing money with those less fortunate, please ensure you have a style.

  • Start small with $10 given somewhere, but please start!
  • G to Kiva and give it as a gift (that’s how I was turned on to it; as a birthday gift to me).
  • Answer the invitation by a fund-raising committee of a local not-for-profit with $25, or go all out and donate $100.

It’s all tax-deductible, too, although speak with your accountant to ensure you follow federal guidelines about that.

Need a little push? Clothes That Work, Victoria Theater, League of Women Voters, Health For Peace, American Red Cross…no need to continue, is there?

Pull Sales to Push Social Media

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The July 12, 2010 Advertising Age features an interview with LG’s CMO Kwan Sup Lee. He is formerly of P&G and also worked pizza in Korea. LG owns a broad portfolio of consumer electronics products including microwaves and TVs. It is branding itself as a lifestyle company.

The more I study the influence of social media on sales, the more I realize the missing link IS sales. Just like public relations has yet to influence sales directly (we’re on peripheral vision), social media is not touching frontline sales, either.

The story listed five marketing challenges LG faces:

1. Focus on creating great products and then let marketing showcase them.

2. Forget about “one upmanship game” of tech features.

3. Use a broad product portfolio as a strength.

4. …understand your business, your consumers and your brand.

5. Don’t be intimidated by the competition.

Pretty basic and areas of concern by all companies, right? What’s blatantly missing is any mention of sales. The first challenge above is where I paused longest. How I’d like to edit #1 is:

Create great products supported by even greater marketing strategy and arm frontline sales with marketing tools and education about public relations and social media to influence a buy.

Public relations strategy provides a conduit to the customer, and social media channels allow direct, outside-in customer communication. The sales team, however, is WITH the customer face-t0-face whether B2B or B2C!

This strength of position by sales can help influence consumers to:

1. “Like” a Facebook page and subscribe to RSS feeds.

2.  Comment on a blog post or YouTube video with positive product feedback.

3. Ask for a Yelp comment.

4. Eliminate the blasted surveys with evey transaction we make and instead drive traffic to social media networks.

A flexible and nimble sales and management culture can make this happen and positively influence consumers’ buys. What do you think? Does this resonate with your thinking about what’s possible?

Automating Social Media?

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The “bots” are at it in force, and their victims are the industries nascent in adoption of social media. In a social-media presentation I gave recently to a group of 20 executives who own auto repair facilities nation-wide, someone announced they were doing a three-month trial with a supplier who is going to automate social media.

The man was excited about just approving content – to be written by another company, and watching them publish it on the various sites for him.

Why this is a bad idea is akin to allowing companies to access your bank account for a regularly scheduled debit.

No one, especially those starting out in social media should deliver the entire execution to an outside company. Message, tone, relationship, and content are at risk.

It was only a matter of time before this became the next trend for suppliers to pounce on. I am enduring the very same with those companies who write press releases and distribute them “free” on the Internet.

Executives and business leaders need to understand that social media strategy is part of integrated marketing. Social media is another powerful channel with which to communicate with audiences. Left to the automaters…that’s an absolute dead end.

I say no way to social media automation. What do you say?

Social Media Tips & Auto Repair

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We in social media often forget there are numerous industries and businessess nascent in social media adoption. While we continue to learn the intricacies about new channels, back-end tools, and amplifying our own brands, there are business leaders who still don’t know what Twitter is or why they need a Yelp profile to push local revenue.

This week, I gave a two-hour presentation in Chicago to a 20 group in the auto-repair industry on social media and amplifying brand. To the business leaders who are owners of five to 10 local collision-repair shops throughout the country, I provided the following recommendations to introduce social media and help them tie it in with the core marketing foundation:

  • Engage, for if you’re not engaged you cannot create community, control the message, or build reputation.
  • Re-trench the foundation that includes the brand, the Web site and the core communications strategy aligned with business goals.
  • Execute public relations as part of that core strategy so powerful content can be developed.
  • Cross pollinate all social networking sites with the Web site to drive search engine marketing.
  • Develop a corporate social media policy and select and train a front-line team to help build community, trust, transparency, and reputation.
  • Start slowly; do not tackle all social media channels at the same time. It’s not an all-or-nothing engagement, either.
  • Yelp is a must for local businesses, and a breadth of opportunity exists to take the lead in a region and vertical.
  • Because women 55-65 are the fastest-growing segment on Facebook, create a business page and begin a marketing thrust to create community and a new revenue stream among that demographic.
  • Managing “grudge” emotion is critical to diffuse from becoming an actual complaint or negative comment.
  • Leave Internet marketing to the professionals. It’s too complex to attempt on your own.
  • Respond to social media interactions within 12 hours max. If you wait 2.5 days to respond, you’re losing your community.

In your company and to your clients, are there other tips you might offer to those who are late to the party? We who lead have a ton of opportunity to help executives educate and navigate new media before the online world migrates to Web. 3.0.