Category

Communications

Jul 26
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Burgers and Fries Don’t Lie, and Neither Do Poor Communications

By Communications, Public Relations

I’m borrowing from a conversation I had with my friend Drew yesterday. He said, “I can be your personal trainer, but if you stop at McDonald’s after every workout, I can’t help you.”

Let me clarify: Drew is not my personal trainer. And I don’t go to McDonald’s.

We were talking about business counsel, marketing plans, social strategy and the advice we provide to businesses trying to be successful. Drew is right; our firm can provide good counsel, a solid marketing plan and sound advice but if our clients have a bad product, or get distracted from their mission and the purpose of their business, we’re not going to be successful. How frustrating it must be for personal trainers who realize their clients are loading up on burgers and fries as soon as they step off the treadmill. Fortunately, the burgers and fries don’t lie; you can’t hide the lack of commitment to your business and its communications efforts any more than you can hide extra pounds.

It astounds me that businesses (or people hiring personal trainers, for that matter) are willing to spend money on counsel they ignore . . . but then I look at all the industries that are based on helping people who refuse to help themselves and I think, baby steps are sometimes all businesses can take. If we can make a difference in your internal understanding and communications and that helps your business learn to focus enough on the inside, it will affect your external communications for the better. If we can help you get your messaging solidified, nailed down and agreed upon, then consistency of your brand will be created. If we can tackle just 30 minutes on that treadmill and you ordering a salad at McDonald’s once in awhile, we’ll call it success in progress.

Businesses, like people, don’t change overnight.

Jul 25
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Social Media Fatigue: Why Communications Professionals Should Pay Attention to the Overwhelmed

By Communications, Public Relations, Social Media

Rusty SpeidelToday’s post is from Rusty Speidel, vice president of marketing at Encell Technologies. Rusty is a 20-year veteran of the internet/online marketing space, specializing in alternative energy marketing and user experiences.

I’m a one-man Marketing department for an alternative energy startup. As such, I rely on a lot of consulting assistance to set and execute against my company’s marketing objectives. We use services from all types of vendors; IT consultants, software developers, web design firms, PR firms, even procurement and manufacturing firms. It’s part of being a startup and I actually relish the freedom it gives us to act quickly on ideas. I come from a user-experience background, so I like staying connected to the latest trends in marketing from the customer’s point of view, including social media tools, customer-controlled communication and transparency. In a former life I actually built an entire social network about auto racing, so I appreciate the philosophies and processes of connection and sharing.

But lately, I’ve been feeling a little fatigued. OK, a LOT fatigued. Suddenly everywhere I go there are “opportunities to connect.” Whether it’s loyalty programs like the CVS Card, Cardagin, and Groupon, location –based social tools like Foursquare or Places, any one of thousands of social media “experts” that claim to have all the answers for this new marketing paradigm (like Google+), or the hair-trigger salesmen that react to any request for online information with four phone calls and seven emails within 30 minutes, it’s all just getting exhausting. It feels like if I don’t react to all these “opportunities” it’s me that’s missing out, not plugged in, not up to speed. I can’t even order lunch or buy a quart of oil without being asked if I’ve joined this or that rewards program, or if I’ll go online to take a survey. I’m actually starting to get angry with these poor cashiers.

At work, it’s not a lot better. We make batteries. Large batteries. We are not a consumer brand, we are a large-scale energy wholesaler. While I agree that using the social platforms to create thought leadership in the alternative energy space online is appropriate, I am not particularly worried about reaching fans on Facebook. I don’t need a Twitter-based customer service department yet. And yet every PR and marketing assistance proposal I receive suggests I need just that. Everyone’s climbing on the social media bandwagon so aggressively that I just shut down.

Everyone just STOP. Stop now.

I don’t WANT to find my service station on Facebook. I don’t NEED a rewards program for toothpaste. I don’t feel particularly stressed over the fact that our company is not completely plugged in to every social network available RIGHT NOW. I do not need to share every little detail of my personal or professional life on YouTube. I DEFINITELY don’t need another lecture on “how to create a social presence online.” What I NEED is expertise in mapping my company’s needs to strategies that reach my customers where they are, not where the expertise is headed. None of our competitors rely much on social platforms and 70% of our customers still make buying decisions at trade shows. Why doesn’t that matter?

It feels like the old snake oil days, when gypsies roamed the west on covered wagons hawking the latest solution to whatever ailed folks back then. Today’s sarsparilla is SEO, social media monitoring, blogging advice, video production services, reputation management, letting the customer tell you what he wants, etc. It’s totally, completely overwhelming. Sometimes I think the industry likes to keep it that way so they can make a living explaining it.

I am sure I am not alone. Communications professionals take note: there are other disciplines out there besides communications. They don’t all see the world the same way you do, and the overload is starting to hurt the head. Soon it will start to hurt your bottom line.

Jul 19
Love0

Crisis Planning: What Comes Before Blood on the Floor

By Crisis Communications

The Shark Attack photo by Kelsey Sparkle Rakes

My former colleagues at Standing Partnership have written some really good content on advising clients in a crisis. I particularly like Nick Sargent’s recent post providing tips for an effective crisis response video.

Another Standing alum, Mistie Thompson  has a saying about crisis work; it’s not a crisis unless there’s blood on the floor (or in the water, in the case of a shark attack).

Real PR professionals, the down in the ditches, get your hands dirty communicators love a good crisis; the messier the better. When Mistie talked about blood on the floor, it was simply that any other crisis was a cake walk; that the challenge of a situation where lives were at risk was the kind of communications challenge that really got our hearts pumping, our minds working overtime and our fingers flying across keyboards, crafting the right messages to alert, reassure and ultimately, restore order and reputations.

I freaking LOVE a good crisis.

That isn’t to say that I wish crisis situations on any client, ever . . . but when they do happen (and they will) the adrenaline rush coupled with my desire to think and move fast and accurately is the ultimate communications experience. It’s the PR person’s version of base jumping.

Crisis recovery doesn’t happen easily without prior planning; decisions can be made before any alarms sound. Messaging can be created well in advance of disaster. The communication contacts, stream and process can, and should be mapped in these, the quiet, uneventful days before the storm. Sure, it’s the less glamorous, decidedly less fun aspect of crisis communications, but seasoned professionals know that having these tools in place are what make the rush worthwhile. The planning process is the safety harness, the wire cage, the helmet and the flak jacket of public relations; critical for success, not to be neglected and the difference between business life and death when the blood hits the floor.

Jul 07
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Social Media Assignment #10: How to Smoosh Your Facebook Page and Twitter Together

By Communications

In certain situations, a Twitter feed is established as a method of publishing information. It’s not there to engage, and the people behind it are not tweeting conversationally at all. Some examples of this are the feeds from news organizations, some nonprofits or other institutions. There are often too many regulations placed on these institutions to allow them to engage in social media the way a business, individual or nonprofit would.

In this case, for an organization that wants to have a presence on Twitter integrating that account with an official Facebook page is probably the most efficient way to achieve their communications goals.

Hopefully, the organization has set up a Facebook page (not a group or a profile). If you’re an admin of that page (and I hope you are!) take the following steps:

  1. Login to Facebook and go to your page.
  2. Click on Edit Page in the upper left.
  3. Click on Resources in the right hand sidebar.
  4. Halfway down the page you will see Link your Page to Twitter.
  5. In a separate window, log in to the Twitter account you want to link to the Facebook page.
  6. Click on Link to Twitter.

If you manage more than one page and more than one Twitter account, take care that you’re linking the right Twitter account to the right Facebook page!

Now, updates on Facebook will cross publish to Twitter. I think it’s important to mention that users that choose to use this method of integration still need to log in to and monitor Twitter — there’s no excuse for not paying attention to replies, mentions and direct messages your Twitter account may have, regardless of your method of publishing there.

 

Jul 05
Love0

Bringing you a Bit of the Beach

By Communications

If you can’t see the video above, go here.

I spent last week recharging my mental batteries on a beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I asked my network on Facebook whether they take all their vacation time or not — I was surprised at how divided you all were. Some said, “What’s vacation?” which was my state for many years. Others are committed to taking the time off, realizing that it’s part of their compensation, and that they are better contributors when refreshed and rested.

I’m much better about taking time off — possibly a result of realizing I’ll never be on my deathbed wishing I’d worked more — and do make sure I unplug now and again.

I shot a bit of video one morning when we had the beach mostly to ourselves. Anytime I need to revisit the vacation frame of mind I can watch a couple of minutes of waves rolling in and remember how having sand between my toes is the most relaxing feeling there is. I’m happy to share a bit of my vacation view with you, in case you need a break any time.