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They Will Eat the Communicators First

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English: Zombies

English: Zombies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am convinced that if aliens invaded the earth, they would eat the communicators first. This belief has been shaped by years of watching PR and Marketing functions get cut when organizations are looking to save money. I watched the slash and re-staff cycle throughout my career and as an independent have seen the same logic applied when companies slash budgets or eliminate outsourced partners entirely.

So if the zombies show up, forgive me if I leap over your head to scramble to safety.

 

Often, when companies are faced with a need to trim their expenses, they view PR and Marketing as the fat of the company. In the heat of the battle, all of the hard work done by these communication pros is reduced to press releases and pretty brochures. Ugh. I could successfully argue that this is a big mistake. I could even provide examples of how cutting these departments actually hurt the bottom line, but today I want to focus on a different perspective. We get treated like the fat that can be trimmed away because we hide our true value under muumuus. It’s time we wear form fitting clothes that show organizations that we’re not fat, but muscle.

 

Communication pros often do a rotten job of communicating our true value. We serve others beautifully crafting messages, positioning brands and rising to the challenge in the face of crisis. Yet, we are quiet about what we do and how it ties into the priorities of the C-suite.

 

At the heart of all PR and Marketing tactics is strategy. While others may focus on tactics and output, we know that those things are secondary to a solid strategic plan. To develop this strategy, we have to know the business, understand the big picture vision, know the market, be ahead of industry shifts and know the competition. We do all this but we don’t articulate it and worse we fail to fight for our seat at the executive table where our voices can be heard.

 

As a result, executives see us as those with creative intelligence but may miss or devalue our broader insight and it’s our fault.

 

It pains me to admit it but I have made this mistake. A client wants to cut their budget (code for we don’t get why we’re paying you) or is questioning what PR/Marketing is really doing for them. All of your metrics and charts and case studies dissolve into nothingness when you have failed to make it clear not only what you do but how you do it and how that integrates into what the company cares about. Ouch.

 

As communicators we must lean in and take our seat at the strategy table. Have the business discussions and make sure that you are aligning what you do with what matters to the company (Hint: It’s money – making it, saving it- but it is always money). More importantly learn to talk about it in a way that matters to those who are listening.

 

Yes, there will always be clients/employers who simply do not get what we do but we can do our part to make sure that we do not get eaten first.

 

I want to hear from you, how do you communicate your value to clients/employers? What can we do better?

 

Madness, Monsters and the Misnomer of Content

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content beast

The content beast

I am beginning to loathe the term “content.” I have no memories of being dropped on my head as a baby while someone shouted “Content!” so I am chalking my disdain up to an occupational hazard. I do in fact spend an inordinate amount of time in the inner echelons of industries that provide “content.” It could be that I bump into the word so often that familiarity has bred contempt. Or maybe it is something more.

I’m not a content hater. We have a history – we go way back to the days of coloring books where I added content to my pretty pictures. And yes, I also use the word on this very site to describe a subset of my offerings. But content is not quite cutting it for me.

Too many people focus on the buzzword and lose sight that content is all about communicating with other people. Content does not adequately describe the enormous opportunity we have to talk, connect, activate, inspire and crowd source in words, pictures and videos.

The current term makes it all seem so mechanical and devoid of passion and interaction. We have systems and tools to help us “feed the content machine.” We can forget that the content beast is actually a body of hearts and minds that have the capacity to think, feel and most importantly talk back.

Don’t get me wrong. Having a strategy is important, as is measurement. However let’s infuse our purposeful, intentional conversations with a bit of humanity.

Have you ever had a great teacher that made you excited about learning the subject matter? Or have you ever listened to a speaker that had you leaning forward in your seat? You may have been entertained but more importantly you were engaged. Imagine if we approached content with the same passion for imparting ideas, teaching and inspiring discussion? And yes, even entertain – make them laugh, cry or feel something deeply. What if the intent was to get people to lean forward in interest?

In other words what if we focused on people with the same fervor we seek thought leadership, visibility and optimization? How much more successful would we be if went all in allowing our passion for what we do to shine through?

You want to be a real thought leader or content rock star? Give a darn about what you do and who you serve! Get passionate about teaching, inspiring, and pulling back the curtain to bring people into your world. Let how well you are reaching people be the measurement that drives what you do.

I realize that to some this will sound like hippie peace and love talk but make no mistake I am in business to win for me and my clients. But we can’t win if we’re chasing numbers alone. All of us in some way are in the people business. People buy what we produce and without them we are just hanging out talking amongst ourselves.

I will not abandon my use of the word content (not yet anyway) but I will continue to remind myself of the “why” behind all the words. Will you join me?

Communicating in a Crisis

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The tragic events of April 15, 2013 at the Boston Marathon will forever be embedded in our memory. As we struggled to process the senseless tragedy, we also faced the reality of doing business in a real time world.

To keep up with the demand for content generation, many businesses use scheduling services. In normal times, these tools allow us to maximize productivity and efficiently use our resources. However, the afternoon of April 15 was not normal and “business as usual” status updates on social media networks were quickly called out by fans and followers.

Communication failures were in abundance as automated posts, tweets, newsletters and updates quickly became ill-timed and insensitive. While fans and followers knew that the updates were pre-scheduled, they held little tolerance for not taking action to stop them.

While many business owners have crisis communication plans in place, few have a policy for handling communications when the crisis is external to their business. Whether you have a team of one or 100, a documented policy can help you avoid social media backlash when events beyond your control interrupt regularly scheduled programming. Below are 7 tips that can help you protect your brand during and after a crisis.

Know where and how your content is published. This may seem obvious but today we may employ a bevy of content management services. In a crisis we may overlook things that are on autopilot such as services like paper.li or automatic feed services such as Twitterfeed. Having a checklist will help you or a designated representative quickly take action when needed.
Stay in touch. In order to respond to a crisis you have to know that it is happening. Set up alerts on your mobile devices or email services so that you are in the loop in the event of breaking news. This can be as simple as allowing push notifications from a news app or subscribing to breaking news alerts from a media channel.
Have a plan. Whether you run a solo business or large enterprise, it is important to have a documented policy for handling communications during and post-crisis. Solo and small businesses can tap virtual admins or outsourced vendors to help manage the process.

Evaluate your services. In search of that one service that does it all, many of us are guilty of using multiple services to accomplish our goals. I personally use multiple services to distribute social communications. I balance programmed messages with real time sharing. When you need to bulk pause programming however, simplicity can make you rethink your strategy. For example, bufferapp made it easy to simply pause an entire day with one click, while other services required editing individual messages one by one. Review the services you use with an eye on not only how they work day to day but how they will serve you in the event of a crisis.
Take a pause. During a crisis, interrupt your regular programming. Pause automated posts, updates and e-communications. You do not want to risk the backlash of your audience during a time when emotions and awareness are running high. It is far better to adjust your scheduling and assess when it is appropriate to resume normal communications.

Acknowledge. When a major event happens like the Boston Marathon bombing, a simple acknowledgement shows that you are human. If you continue to participate in the conversation surrounding the tragedy, be careful to offer relevant information. For example, if you are a child psychologist it would be appropriate and helpful to share information on how to talk to your children about the tragedy. Remember, however, that it is not the time to be self-promotional, offer help if you can and if not don’t be afraid to acknowledge the tragedy and go dark.

Do a post-crisis review. Before resuming your normal communication review your message and language carefully. A tragedy has a way of changing the way we receive certain words and phrases. Make sure that your messaging aligns with the new reality. In the hours and even days following a crisis, monitor your audience. Have they resumed normal communications? Your audience will tell you when it is okay to go back to business as usual.

Bonus Tip: There is never an appropriate time for an off topic, irrelevant or plain insensitive pitch or communication. Resist the urge to use tragedy to pimp your irrelevant messaging.

Do you have any tips to add to the list? Feel free to share them in the comments!

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue and Money is Green

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Valentine's Day Chocolates

Valentine’s Day Chocolates (Photo credit: SimonQ錫濛譙)

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the last minute stress of finding the perfect gift begins to slowly creep into our brains…and our wallets. A holiday born from the unwavering dedication of St. Valentine to marry Roman soldiers and preserve the tradition of love has somehow been transformed into a celebration of love through the purchase of goods. Huh? If St. Valentine knew how misconstrued his intentions have become, his heart would break…

Love it or hate it, there is no avoiding Valentine’s Day. More than half of the U.S. population observes Valentine’s Day; making it extremely valuable to any business seeking to make it a holiday to remember. The restaurant, hotel, flower, online dating, card, jewelry and chocolate industries all bank on consumers wanting to express their love and impress their sweeties. To accommodate the surge in product demand, these industries adjust their costs and edit their services. The price inflation of goods for the occasion doesn’t seem to distract love addicts from participating. In fact, Valentine’s Day sees steady to increasing profits annually and comes in second to Christmas as the most expensive holiday. This year’s holiday is estimated to contribute around $18.6 billion dollars to the economy; which is about $1 billion more than 2012’s spending and to date the highest projected revenue on record.

So what are people buying? A survey was conducted that showed on average consumers would spend around $131, with men spending more than women. Typically, married couples spend less money to woo their honeys, spending around $74 per spouse. Popular purchases such as flowers are projected to bring in around $13.19 billion while its yummy counterpart chocolate holds its ground at $1.6 billion. Jewelry is not the most popular gift, as only 1 in 5 are looking to splurge on the shiny presents. However few those shoppers are, big ticket price tags result in big time sales – contributing $4.4 billion to the jewelry industry. On average, most consumers indulge in practical gifts such as clothing and the least chosen Valentine’s Day gift option is gift cards, coming in at a lowly $1.5 billion.

Judging by numbers, it seems as if consumers are wildly spending. In reality, more people are discount shopping this year as compared to last year’s budget. Fewer purchases are being made in department stores. Instead, customers are bargain hunting and shopping around for the best deals within a myriad of retailers. Helping shoppers find deals is use of tables and smartphones. Discount apps and mobile websites allow for consumers to peruse online inventory, redeem coupons and bid for items all without stepping foot in a retail store.

Even in the midst of economic rehabilitation in America, Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday and a multi-billion dollar business that continues to see growth with no signs of decline. As long as there are new couples, secret admirers or spouses looking to keep the love flame burning, there will be Valentine’s Day gifts. Who says money can’t buy love?

The Pure and Simple Guide to Social Media and Marketing

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Ivory Soap has a new ad campaign When Dirt Changes.

The ad reads: When Dirt Changes Its Formula, So Will We, Pure and Simple. The ad does a nice job of positioning a long standing brand as relevant today even in the face of so many new soap products.

The Pure and Simple tagline resonated with me. Unlike Ivory, so many of us change the foundation of what we do to keep up with the bright and shiny objects that occupy our space. What if we approached our social media tactics with a pure and simple mindset? Or our marketing? What would happen if we focused less on gadgets and numbers and more on the pure and simple formula of building relationships?

Having a pure and simple formula does not limit you to a single approach but provides you with a foundation that can be applied consistently. While there are specific marketing and social media tactics that can and should be applied, your foundation should acknowledge that the formula for developing relationships with people remains unchanged.

We can over complicate when we focus more on tactics, gadgets and tools  than on people. The pure and simple approach keeps us on track and the focus on what is truly important.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think pure and simple has a place in today’s world? How do you stay on track with your efforts?

 

 

Can’t Buy My Love in 140 Characters – Like, Friend and Trust in the Online World

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facebook like button

Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr

Relationships were a topic of discussion on this weeks #solopr chat. From how we define friends and vet subcontractors to determining the right circles on Google Plus, there is clearly a need for constant evaluation and clarity about our online interactions. At the core of any discussion about relationships is trust. How much I trust you will not only determine the breadth of our relationship but what and how much I share with you. I may “like” you but not “friend” you, and I may +1 you but not add you to a trusted list of people I refer to clients.

Trust is not freely given but earned. In our fast moving world of tweets and shares, many have fallen into the trap of believing that this path has a shortcut in a digitally connected world. Let me assure you that there is no shortcut to earning trust and building real relationships. To earn trust you have to show yourself trustworthy and that is not accomplished in a single 140 character missive or Facebook update.

As professionals, we should work to earn trust and guard it passionately once earned. After all, trust directly impacts our credibility, reputation and influence, and that ultimately impacts the trajectory of our businesses and careers. Trust can earn you a seat at the table and treating it lightly can lose it just as quickly. So, it’s puzzling to me why many are squandering the opportunity to earn trust and build sustainable relationships.

The seeds of a relationship are planted from the very first impression. Online we don’t have the benefit of a full presentation of body language to aid a first impression so we are left with our words and actions. Consider then how critical it is that we are mindful and purposeful with both, especially in the course of doing business.

There are those who dismiss the “small talk” that perpetuates social media preferring to get to the point and short circuit the unessential. Yet it is often the small talk that holds clues that allow you to thoughtfully develop relationships. Admittedly, it may not be sexy or fast paced but human relationships cannot be automated.

You want to get your news covered or your expert client quoted? Pay attention to the details and don’t treat the people who can get you to your goal like interchangeable tokens on a monopoly board. Put the work in to discover who they are, what they cover and how YOU can help them. Spend the time to craft a personalized, targeted pitch rather than resorting to a “quantity” mentality that has you blasting out your news to a random list.

Earning trust is well worth the effort and will reward you with richer personal and professional relationships that will yield bountiful results. Isn’t it worth it to take time to show and prove that you are a professional?

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