Can We Do It? Yes We Can.

In a recent marketing survey in PR Week, I came across an interesting quote. Clark Caywood, professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University, said he’s skeptical as to whether the PR industry can capitalize on the new media that has emerged in the last few years.

Caywood doesn’t believe that the “PR industry will be able to demonstrate some form of thought leadership on blogs, how to measure blogs, or even the integration of video and blogs,” according to the PR Week article.

“To a lot of my friends in PR, [new media] is like another press release vehicle, and that’s not what it’s all about,” said Caywood.

Respectfully, I disagree. Just because new media may not make for an easy ROI formula, does not mean that we underestimate its value or mistake it for another vehicle for distributing press releases.

To the contrary, Furia Rubel and many of our colleagues encourage clients to blog, not just when they have press release-worthy news to report, but when they come across an article and want to comment or share important and relevant information with their target audiences. We also encourage new clients to embrace Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and other social media opportunities when it makes sense to reach their target audiences. Certainly a press release wouldn’t jive with any of those forums.

Perhaps the industry can take this skepticism as a call to arms and rise to the challenge of utilizing new media.

Your PR Firm and Marketers Shouldn't Blog for You

I just read an excellent blog post by Kevin O'Keefe of LexBlog. Kevin says, and I agree, that "Blogs are not meant to be published by a PR agency or law firm communication folks. By their very nature, blogs are written by the lawyers participating in an online conversation on their niche area of expertise." He's right.

Interestingly enough, Kevin quotes Steve Rubel, (no relation to me as far as I know - but for we share the same last name and love of public relations) as saying:

Communities like Facebook, the blogosphere and digg are becoming even more
influential than certain traditional media outlets. Their relevance to PR pros
is rising and the industry is responding by wisely trying to beef up its new
media acumen.

Unfortunately, the biz is not evolving quickly enough. Many in PR seem to be treating Web 2.0 as simply an extension of the traditional media - another venue for buzz. They are pumping thousands of email pitches into the community every day.

.....Journalists are accustomed to the PR mating dance. They know that as soon as they get a desk, a phone and an email address they're going to get bombed with inquires from PR pros. Some of these will be helpful, others won't be. Journalists know that PR inbound is an occupational hazard that comes with the territory.

Online social networks and communities are completely different. Bloggers, social networkers, diggers, social bookmakers and Wikipedians don't want to be pitched. They're collaborating on these sites for a reason - to share, be entertained, to become informed, to connect, etc. They place value on people who contribute regularly and selflessly.

Kevin goes on to say:

Unfortunately, most PR agencies and communications professionals working with
law firms do not understand PR by participation. Worse yet are the agencies that
belittle blogs and social media when law firms bring them up.

Although this is true, I have found it just as daunting and common to counsel law firms regarding their need to reach their target audiences via strategic and well planned social media programs only to be told, "all we need is a brochure. . . . "

The time has come for communicators and lawyers alike to embrace social media, to learn how to use it strategically, and not to throw caution to the wind when it comes to communicating within the bounds of legal ethics.

What's Your Number One Song?

Okay, so for a fun bit of trivia, do you know what song was number one on the day you were born.? I didn't until my friend Suzanne sent me this link: http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm.

If you're going to be hosting an anniversary event, this is a great site to look to for theme ideas tied to the number one song on the day you incorporated . . .

Food for thought.

Blogging is so 15 Minutes Ago

Just when you finally got the hang of blogging via your computer, a new trend has hit the blogging scene.

According to PR News, the new trend is “Cell blogging,” from your mobile phone or Blackberry device. Apparently, in the instantaneous age in which we live, waiting until you can get back to your PC is the equivalent of blogging next week.

Until LG finds a way to attach a full-sized keyboard to my cell phone, I don’t think I’ll be trying it any time soon, but maybe this new trend will save time for the more cell phone savvy while tailoring to the short, concise postings that readers want.