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Blogger Relations has become as important (and sometimes even more important, depending on the brand and audience and how much time they spend online) as traditional media relations. From time to time we host “best practices” speakers at 360. On Friday, Susan Getgood, a Society of New Communications Research Fellow and the voice of Marketing Roadmaps, led a discussion amongst 360 staff about getting beyond the “101″ of  working with bloggers.

It was an awesome discussion that ran over-time by about an hour!  We covered a lot of ground and I’ve summarized a handful of key takeaways below for your reading pleasure:

• “New to You” is Enough - A product/service doesn’t have to be brand “new” to be relevant to a blogger. Susan recently posted a blog entry with more detail about the concept of “New to You.”
• Add Value - When reaching out to bloggers, it is so important to add value. It is about much more than a quirky pitch. “That means putting your product or service into the blogger’s context, not talking at him from yours with a press release, list of features or carefully crafted message point.”
• Bad Pitches - Susan shared a number of examples of bad pitches that she and fellow bloggers have received. We have a no-blast policy at 360, but often bloggers do get blanket pitches from PR folks that, for example, are addressed generically, e.g., (”Hi!”), or include mixed fonts (a sure sign that the pitch was blasted out), or are geographically irrelevant. Susan has a bunch of examples of bad pitches on her blog - check them out!
• Being Reactive and Proactive - It is just as important to be reactive in the blogging community as it is to be proactive. Listening before you engage in the blogosphere is important, and only after you’ve listened should you choose to either pro-actively reach out to a blogger or react to something they’ve already said.
• Planning for Measurement - Incorporate measurement into your plan at the start of a campaign! Whether it be measuring visits to a websites or microsite, downloads of a file, blog views, etc., those metrics must be determined at the get-go.

Thanks to Susan for a wonderful discussion and a great way to kick off 360’s professional development series for 2009!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Pitch tips, Social Media by EliciaBasoli - 2 Comments →

Earlier today, Jennifer Van Grove posted an awesome entry on Mashable.com - “40 of the Best Twitter Brands and the People Behind Them.” What is different about this post compared to some other existing lists of Twittering companies is that she actually interviewed each of the people behind the Twitter accounts to get their perspective, which was interesting to read.

The use of Twitter spans a variety of industries, which is crystal clear in Jennifer’s post as she breaks the list down by industry - cars, travel, sports, entertainment, finance, retail, food and beverage, etc. Twitter may not be right for everyone, but it is certainly working well for these companies - from Marvel.com, The Home Depot, and Jet Blue, to Kodak and Rubbermaid. Check out the full post here.

Filed under: Digital PR, Internet, Social Media by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

A quick note:  The following article was published in The Publicity Club of New England’s January Newsletter.  If you’re local and not a member, the Pub Club is a great resource.

Just before the holidays, I had the pleasure of hearing Talbot’s CEO Trudy Sullivan speak about the company’s reinvention. Rather than more talk of belt-tightening and cutbacks, Sullivan remarked that marketing continued to be “priority spending” for Talbot’s.

Sullivan and many other executives recognize they need to continue to tell their brand story in a down economy. Budgets are tighter all over, but consumers, investors and others are still listening. A brand or organization that goes dark or curtails communication while competitors forge ahead can easily be forgotten, or at least set back.

Without knowing, the PR industry has been preparing for many years for what lies ahead in 2009. We are faster, smarter and more precise as an industry in pinpointing audiences and creating actionable awareness. Now, more than ever, PR has an opportunity to add value. Here are just a few thoughts on how:

Asking questions to leverage and amplify other marketing. CMOs know their budgets have to work harder, and PR should not operate independently. Is there a SEO campaign that PR can contribute to? Are there promotions PR can help fuel? Rather than creating a free-standing PR event, is there something already funded that PR can get behind? Thinking about PR more broadly can extend its value.

Redefining and repositioning to be relevant in a down economy. One could argue in this economy there is a need to step up communications, in order to ensure relevancy. How is your brand or organization relevant in a down economy? PR people are masters at positioning and storytelling and can help.

Creating a deeper connection. Consumers are still spending, though spending more thoughtfully. What value-added content can your brand or organization provide that will deepen the connection with your target audience? PR is accustomed to going beyond the tagline to tell a fuller story and create more context and that can result in a more meaningful connection.

Leveraging social media. PR firms are playing a lead role in helping clients navigate the social media waters, where there are seemingly endless opportunities for brands to reach and activate their targets. Social media is fundamentally about relationships. The “R” in PR has never been so important.

Being a resource to leaner editorial staffs. From The New York Times to Mashable, editorial staffs are significantly leaner heading into the new year, making a good PR person more valuable than ever.

Preparing for the worst. There is no time like the present to dust off that crisis plan or talk with your PR team about developing a plan if you do not already have one to communicate with stakeholders around financial or other issues.

Measuring - even when they are not asking. Of course, no one will know PR’s value if it goes unmeasured. Even if clients and internal teams are not asking, stay out in front with dogged measurement of results. Monitor Web traffic, downloads, key word searches, sales, reach, share of voice and more at key points throughout a campaign.

While 2009 may not be a banner year for the PR industry, there is plenty potential for a silver lining.

Filed under: Industry Organizations, PR Industry by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

As many non-profits operate with limited budgets in such a tough economy, to take advantage of social media is a no-brainer.  Many of these tools (Twitter, FaceBook, etc.) are absolutely FREE to use and can be a huge help to non-profits looking to spread the word, interact and gather feedback from various audiences.

This point was made crystal clear during “Thriving and Surviving in Uncertain Times: Digital Marketing Techniques for Non-profits” (#NGOSM09), an event that was hosted by the Council of PR Firms and held at the (awesome) Boston Museum of Science yesterday. A few of us at 360 attended and the speaker line-up included agency execs like 360’s own Laura Tomasetti, Carol Cone of Cone, David Almacy of Waggener Edstrom and local non-profits including The Museum of Science, The Boston Center for Adult Education, and Everybody Wins! USA.

I pulled together a handful of key tid-bits from the session that I thought were worth calling out:

[Read more →]

Filed under: Cause-Related, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, Social Media by EliciaBasoli - 3 Comments →

So says Kel Kelly of Kel & Partners, who moderated a PubClub of New England panel on the topic last evening a couple doors down from 360 HQ.  Kel, who is absolutely hilarious, made arguments against the notion that Web 2.0 is a passing fad.

Here are a couple of quick examples from the panel of marketing/PR success stories in the Web 2.0 world that we live in:

1) Timberland’s online campaign that helped to plant more than 585,000 trees since kickoff.

2) The winning entry to an online video contest held by Kronos, an expert in workforce and employee management.

3) Finally, have you ever had this talk with your DENTIST??!!

As social media continue to grow, let’s see what marketers will do next.  While I wait, I will be planning which 10 of my friends will fall victim to the Whopper Sacrifice.

Filed under: Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations by JohnLeRoy - 2 Comments →

There are some bright spots in the marketing sphere in 2009, according to Ad Age.  PR is one of them.  Sure, they focus on crisis PR and public affairs (it’s a good time to dust off that crisis plan, or get one if you don’t have one).

But the article also suggests that some marketers may favor PR in 2009 over traditional advertising.  PR has a real opportunity in the area of social media, in particular.  Let’s face it, social media is about relationships, so who better than PR people to manage a brand’s foray into social media?

In any case, nice to read about the “bright spots” for a change.

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

I was catching up on reading over the holidays (which seem like forever ago), and came across this really useful post from CopyBlogger:  27 Common Misused Words.  I got the first few right…and read on hopefully (I hope I’ve used hopefully correctly).

CopyBlogger adeptly clarifies for us when to use farther and not further, premier and not premiere, who and whom…and the list goes on.  While I fared pretty well, I’m not telling which blog posts I’m going back to edit.  Thankfully I can correct the past online.  I’d never make it as a print journalist.  Just think of the finality of your words - oh, the pressure!

“I’m a good writer” is the phrase I’ve heard most often in interviews with candidates embarking on (or continuing) their PR career.  But CopyBlogger’s post is a reminder of how often words are misused.  You can’t rely on spellcheck for everything, and in PR words count.

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

I’m optimistic about 2009.  I’m encouraged by the number of clients, some of whom have been with us several years and others new, who are asking how they can best leverage PR moving into 2009.  I don’t see PR budgets going away, but I do see those dollars having to work harder and smarter.

New Year’s Resolution #1:  Know the full scope of marketing for your clients.  If you’re not part of cross-functional planning already, ask what promotions are planned, what’s happening online, in the channel, etc.   What are the key periods Sales is focusing on and what are the potential pain points?

While agencies have talked a good “integrated marketing” game for years, PR still often seems to be siloed.  CMOs can’t afford that right now - they need all marketing streams to come together and to amplify and leverage each other.  I’m not suggesting that every promotion is PR-able, or that in every ad or SEO campaign lives a potentially broader campaign with implications for PR, but if you don’t ask you can’t add value - and opportunities could be missed.

New Year’s Resolution #2:  Make PR actionable.  Awareness has to convert to action at some point, immediately or as part of a stepped approach - driving traffic online or to retail, getting consumers to download a coupon or join a community or make a recommendation to a friend (just a few examples).

New Year’s Resolution #3:  Be accountable.  Now more than ever, there’s a need to measure PR’s impact, and there are a growing suite of tools to help.  We’ve been very pleased with Radian6, for example, which enables us to measure social media activity (including the number of comments about a brand or topic in a given period).  That’s just one example.  Beyond the tools, the key is dedicating staffing resources at the start of a campaign to measure every step of the way - not just as a wind-up, when the campaign is wrapping.

It’s going to be some time before we see an economic turnaround.  In the meantime, we can focus on what we can control - making sure PR operates smarter, asking the right questions, and is both actionable and accountable.  Those are the three resolutions I’m starting with (the list of personal ones is much longer and I’m not sure as achievable).  I’d love to hear others.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, Measurement, PR Industry by LauraTomasetti - 3 Comments →