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Is PR Getting Short Shrift in Social Media?

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Back in the day when I was a whippersnapper in Chicago’s PR agencies, the lament was “we weren’t getting a seat at the boardroom table.”

Fast Company landed on my desk several days ago; I devoured the cover story, “Social Media Is Sexy (kinda).” It features “38 ironclad rules (sorta); 18 (uncomfortable) truths); and 6 can’t lose secrets (you wish).”

From the tone of the headers on the cover, insert tongue squarely in cheek.

Turn to “Insider’s Secret No. 5 — You Hired The Wrong People.” (The strange thing about these pieces is I can’t tell who wrote them; no bylines at top or bottom of articles.

At any rate, this writer says “To be a good social media person at a brand, you have to have a background not just in digital or marketing, but also in your product. There are so few people with that blend of experience.

And…

“People are always shoving social into marketing, or they’re shoving it into digital. It’s actually all this stuff: It’s marketing, it’s digital, it’s creative.”

AHEM!

Dear Mr./Ms. Fast Company Insider Secret No 5 Author:

Public relations practitioners are highly qualified to manage social media. We know the product inside and out (that’s how we promote it); we are content marketers with better than decent writing skills; we’re creative; we are strategists; we are also business people; and, we have a keen interest in the bottom line — you know the ROI and analytics of it all?

Kindly include PR in the future when writing about social media wherever your tongue is.

#ThatIsAll,

 A Credible PR and Social Media Marketing Practitioner

So, PR, are you getting a seat at the social marketing table? Or, are our sisters in related disciplines getting all the glory?

The PR Benefit of Visionary Patagonia

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Fast Company never disappoints. There’s more blog fodder in a single magazine than reading Mashable every day. In a tiny blurb in the May issue, The Rules of Good Business, the founder of Patagonia is interviewed.

After yesterday’s blog post about the C-suite executive for Chick fil-A and how his views caused horrific PR, look at how cool the Patagonia PR team must feel to be working with a visionary CEO the likes of Yvon Chouinard.

After reading the Fast Company story and my observations:

        • Buy Patagonia
        • Become a sustainabililty consumer
        • Start the learning curve about saving our planet simply by purchasing the right article of clothing

Did you know Patagonia is one of the greenest/cleanest and environmentally savvy companies around? Its founder, Yvon Chouinard, is a green-living pioneer who has put green squarely on corporate and consumer maps.

Patagonia lives and breathes love of our planet. Among its product suite, there are about 40 items the company follows every step of the supply chain to monitor how natural resources are used. The company knows exactly the type of water (i.e. well, irrigated) being used and its effect on the environment.

Chouinard introduced the sustainability index; Patagonia is working with 40 clothing companies, such as Walmart, to put green buying directly into the hands of consumers.

In the near future, smartphones can be pointed at an article of clothing and the shopper can see a clothing item’s sustainability index grade. A pair of jeans may have a score of 10 or 2 based on a variety of factors. How flippin’ cool is that?

Why Buy Patagonia?

When you think of founders of companies, you want to believe each has the best interest of a cause, an issue, Earth, natural resources, children, or something else in mind. With the Patagonia founder, it’s true. His vision for the future of Earth depends on consumers participating and making choices not to buy fabrics made in sweat shops where children are employed or from sheep’s wool or cotton in lands without environmental regulations. He wants our natural resources protected during the manufacturing process, and he’s all about water preservation. (How many people you know swimming in our lakes getting infected with flesh-eating bacteria and staph? Tons.)

Marketing and PR Opportunity

  • Is your company leader a visionary? Can you put that vision into action and develop strategic campaigns to positively influence a global issue?
  • With the top-down strategy, how can PR influence audiences who consume your company’s products or services?
  • When you consider thought leadership programs putting your visionary CEO on the frontlines with impactful messaging and use owned media to push that message, you’ll get your results with so many more benefits, too.

What a difference reading about Mr. Chouinard and Patagonia versus Dan Cathy and Chick fil-A. The former’s efforts toward sustainable consumerism have yet to be trendy, but somewhere the pendulum has to swing to the side of consumers’ green education more than just recycling PETE.

Want to work with a cool company the likes of Patagonia with an even cooler visionary? Then do your research ahead of time; it just may make a difference.

 

(Photo Credit: Jayme Soulati, iPhone 4S)

 

Brand Loyalty And Chick Fil-A User Experience

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Customer service is dead. Right? Well, that’s what everyone says about blogging, and MySpace and Instagram and everything else that’s been taken over or gobbled up.

This post is a mash up of customer service, brand loyalty, personal perspective and a mom’s conundrum

Guess where customer service isn’t dead? At Chick fil-A. I should know because kidlet and I eat there once weekly during the school  year because select soccer and taekwando do not allow a sit-down dinner at home.

 

On Chick fil-A

Here’s what happens at the Chick fil-A restaurant we frequent in Centerville the most:

  • They greet you with a smile every time.
  • They come to your table to ask if you need a refill and if everything is OK.
  • They come to your table to clear refuse even though patrons do it themselves.
  • They say bye when you leave and thanks for coming (when it’s not too busy).
  • There’s a coupon for a free this or that twice monthly, and they text me with deals, too.

All age groups frequent the establishment, and it caters to sports teams, school clubs, senior citizens, fund-raisers, and more. The bathroom is always clean, and so too is the facility.

Differences of Opinion

This is why I’ve had a hard time. By now, everyone and their brother knows the President and COO Dan Cathy has views that may or may not mesh with mainstream America. While I don’t agree with Mr. Cathy on a number of perspectives, his philosophy on a variety of core societal issues is alive and present in today’s divisiveness. But, that’s  his and my business, and I refuse to debate that on my blog or anyone else’s.

Because my user experience is so positive at Chick fil-A, and oh yes, the food is excellent for fast food (how could I fail to mention that minor detail?), I will continue to go there in spite of my disagreement over Chick fil-A leadership. (You know they’re closed on Sunday even in food courts, right?)

Those who have never been to a Chick fil-A more than a few times are hard pressed to form the opinion I have. When my choice as a mom is McDonalds, Taco Bell or Chick fil-A in a pinch, you can guess what I’m choosing.

 Blog Comments

Every blogger has been enraptured with the PR debacle of Chick fil-A. As is my wont, I am not the first mover when it comes to new apps, channels, or breaking news (well, I do sometimes break a story). I let the other guys pave my way, and oh boy, did Gini Dietrich’s blog do a yeoman’s job. 

(I’ll write about the highjacking, not good old blog jack, Kaarina, of Spin Sucks in comments another time.)

And, so, I’m a tad disappointed with myself for not supporting my own standards; does this make me a  hypocrite? I don’t know; I’ve not come out and  forcefully stated my opinions publicly like the founder of Chick fil-A. Was that a PR stunt? Lesser things have happened.

Visionary CEOs

Tomorrow, I’ll write about another CEO who does have vision and is trying to support Earth with his eco green actions.

So, my brand loyalty to Chick Fil-A has been tarnished. But, my brand loyalty will soon begin for Patagonia (until tomorrow, dear readers!).

 

Meanwhile, what say you on this issue? When customer service and food excellence outshine the shenanigans of the C-suite, what do you do?

What Is Owned Media And Why Publish?

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Credit: Juicy Agency blog

Everywhere the terms owned media, earned media and paid media are popping up. If you’re not familiar with these as a b-to-b marketer, it’s time to understand why these types of media are a necessary part of your strategy.

Earned Media

As a public relations practitioner with media relations expertise, we get coverage or stories for businesses in media. This is called earned media. For business-to-business marketing, PR is a critical strategy for campaign results. If you’d like to learn why, please ask in comments.

Paid Media

This is the coverage and ink you buy, like advertising. Everyone knows the value this brings, especially when larger budgets are available.

Owned Media

When you create and publish your own content, you own it. It’s called owned media. Think of the blog you write for your company, client or yourself. The words are yours, and you publish them on a self-hosted website (hopefully). The ideation to create these inspiring words is yours, too.

Ownership of your words; it sounds so pizzazzy and smart.

In the chaotic world that is social business and social marketing today, there is one pathway tried and true – owned media. No one says it’s easy street to publish content, but it’s a surefire way to garner attention for your smart words.

And, with a consistent publishing schedule, you can develop a rich archive of owned media – stories you’ve written with your byline.

 For Small-to-Medium Business

Owned media for small business is a way to level the playing field. You have a chance to differentiate your products and services in a nimble and expedient way. You can take an industry issue and get out front with counsel to clients and peers. You can become a thought leader with refreshed content that can only boost your presence, brand and positioning.

Level of difficulty? For sure, you need to know what you’re doing before you launch. Blogging, publishing regular newsletters and becoming a thought leader is not for the faint of heart – being consistent with content marketing is critical to success.

Larger Business

There are a variety of social marketing channels to engage with customers; as a larger business, you’re likely aware and already engaging.

If you’re not already owning content and pushing it on a blog or news center on your site, then you’re missing an opportunity to be an authority. There are many, many blog posts written “proving” blogs are dead. Heck, everything dies and comes back to life with inspiration and creativity. Look at bell bottom jeans, for goodness sake!

Marketing departments are often hard pressed to publish consistently; yet, when it happens, brands benefit. This type of strategic approach to owned media and content marketing is exactly what the doctor orders.

Your business-to-business marketing strategy is incomplete without it. Ask me why.

 

In Social Media Chaos, Remember Traditional PR

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From www.honesttea.com

I never, ever thought I’d write a post about the value of traditional (I don’t put PR in my title much any more; I prefer the business-to-business social media marketing moniker.) I was all up in arms over a he got from a PR firm about a new buzz word its trying to create, called “PRkting.”

That threw me into a tailspin, and here’s why:

Public relations is its own discipline. Yes, now more than ever with marketing.

Ergo WE DO NOT NEED TO CALL OURSELVES A CUTESY B.S. DESCRIPTOR.

Maybe the ergo was supposed to swing the other way; in this instance it swung…directly into the quagmire of bad ideas.

Public relations practitioners have gotten, get and will always earn a bad rap; especially if they’re behind the . If you’ve been following any posts , at , at or at , then you’ll know how bad it’s been for we in PR.

Putting a stupid, trendy buzz word moniker on what public relations should be to disguise all the bad and to tap the good from marketing is not the answer. What is the answer is doing good, traditional PR to earn respect. That way people in marketing and business and the C-suite and corner office can understand the value of public relations.

Good Old Traditional PR

An , cofounder & TeaEO of Honest Tea, July 23, 2012 is a perfect example of traditional public relations at its finest.

Mr. Goldman, to be sure, did not pick up the phone and pitch the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal all by his lonesome. After all, he’s “TeaEO” and that’s his title, no lie.

The TeaEO of wouldn’t have thought of aligning a current business issue in an op-ed based on a proposal by NYC Mayor Bloomberg to ban sugar-sweetened drinks in containers larger than 16 oz. After all, Mr. Goldman is in a corner office running his business.

Mr. Goldman, TeaEO of , is likely not the brilliant writer depicted in the Wall Street Journal op-ed, although one cannot be sure. His smarts are more than likely attributed to solid business sense to “launch Honest Tea 14 years ago with five thermoses and a belief that consumers were thirsty for a lower-calorie natural and organic beverage.”

And, so, I bring you three solid reasons why traditional public relations is squarely behind 75 percent of op-eds you read in national newspapers (that stat is totally unsubstantiated).

Do you think the TeaEO (I bet you’re tired of hearing that title, eh?) of an entrepreneurial company knew innately how to land an op-ed in a national print daily business newspaper or did he perhaps rely upon professionally trained, strategic public relations practitioners who knew to:

  1. Seize Mayor Bloomberg’s timely proposal about anti-sugar drinks in large containers and make a case for Honest Tea which already has made a sizeable capital investment to conform to current New York City regulations?
  2. Challenge the NYC mayor to consider and reverse his expensive business proposition that would wreak havoc on a business that provides tea in 16.9 oz bottles to city restaurants.
  3. Write a coherent and thoughtful op-ed with action orientation that has readers siding with the TeaEO.
  4. Pitch the piece to a department in the Wall Street Journal typically so absolutely unapproachable AND get it accepted for publication.

Eh?

Perhaps you hadn’t thought of what goes on behind an op-ed until now. Trust me when I tell you, that public relations by strategic practitioners make these elements happen on a daily basis; it’s just that you don’t know it. And, trust me when I tell you this…when you see a PR person trying to appear on the frontlines and earn credit for this type of work, run the other way; fast.

Our role is to make our clients and company spokespeople look good on the frontlines; we’re never in the limelight ourselves.