Journalism At The Crossroads – To Evolve Or Not

August 18, 2008 at 6:56 am | Posted in Blogging, Business, Communication, Marketing, Online marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 9 Comments
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Courtesy of jbhill via Flickr

Courtesy of jbhill via Flickr

Journalism is at a crossroads, with two distinct groups voicing their opinions.

On one side, many journalists don’t buy the trend toward social media and have their heads firmly entrenched in the sand. They believe in their readership’s loyalty and claim that social media is a passing fad.

One the other side, other journalists have fully embraced the social media tools at their disposal and go so far as to trumpet the death of journalism. They expect newspapers to close up shop; the death knell of print news is a symphony of tweets.

Aren’t the two views mutually exclusive? Which one is correct?

Personally, I believe they are both wrong. Some newspapers will outlast social media and some have already been taken down by it. The basic truth is that some people love getting their news from social media like Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed, while others will never replace their tangible newspaper-with-coffee routine.

This post will explain, however, that newspapers and journalists who use social media – in effect integrate these two seemingly opposing ideas – will likely be the long-term winners. There is no doubt that the old ways are changing. Journalists who refuse to accept that should begin cleaning up their resumes.

But major news networks need not shutter the windows quite yet. Embracing this change could be the key to stopping the newspaper industry’s slow (and recently not so slow) slide into irrelevance.

Continue Reading Journalism At The Crossroads – To Evolve Or Not…

Sometimes Breasts Aren’t Enough, Julia Allison

July 28, 2008 at 6:25 am | Posted in Blogging, Business, Communication, Facebook, Marketing, Online marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 11 Comments
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Courtesy of jbhill via Flickr

Courtesy of jbhill via Flickr

I have been trying to figure out why WIRED’s cover story on Julia Allison incensed me so much.

You won’t find me bashing Paris Hilton or her ilk on this blog. As someone who barely watches TV, her brand of reality-show insta-celebs barely register on my consciousness. However, I do dwell in the PR world, the internet world, the social media world…and when you screw around in that world, I consider you fair game.

I don’t normally do hit pieces. I am usually positive about how marketing/PR/advertising can make the world a better place (no small task, believe me). But the Julia Allison story deserves some response on this blog because it illustrates:

1. How not to do PR

2. How not to use web 2.0 social media tools

3. How not to run a magazine

Here’s a quick recap of the article: WIRED portrays the piece as a “how-to,” giving advice on the art of online self-promotion. It details how a woman in her mid-20s weaseled into the digital pages of Gawker, Valleywag, and (now) WIRED.

On the splash page before the article, WIRED writes, “She can’t act. She can’t sing. She’s not rich…[S]he’s an internet celebrity.” In case you missed the underlying message, it’s that WIRED just gave a cover story to someone devoid of talent. Here is why Julia Allison is a terrible example of self-promotion, a warning of the missteps of public relations, and why WIRED ought to be ashamed.

Continue Reading Sometimes Breasts Aren’t Enough, Julia Allison…

Are You Outsourcing Your Best Asset?

July 2, 2008 at 6:39 am | Posted in Communication, Companies, Marketing, Online marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Web 2.0 | 2 Comments
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Are you outsourcing the most valuable aspect of your business? Or worse yet, not paying attention to it at all?

Technology has been replacing humans at work for many years. And recently the remaining humans in American and elsewhere have been replaced by other humans in areas that pay lower wages. The result has been a significant deemphasis in the value of human capital in business in America.

Here’s The Equation

Web 2.0 amplifies the voices of dissatisfied consumers. And yet, most companies have been subtracting the number of humans period (technology) or humans housed at the corporate office (out-sourcing). Finally, another increasing trend is the face-to-face contact consumers expect from companies (ComcastCares, anyone?).

Increase in personal interaction – humans equipped to handle that interaction + web 2.0 vehicles to spread word of dissatisfaction = potential major headache for companies.

The Good News

Some companies, however, understand the increasing importance of the customer experience. H&R Block set up a Second Life avatar to answer tax questions during scheduled meeting times, in addition to their efforts on Twitter and Facebook. They understood that they were required to go to where their customers were, instead of expecting customers to come to them.

This outreach isn’t easy though. The Social Media podcast spoke with Paula Drum, VP of Marketing for H&R Block about this outreach:

“The other big surprise is how much time you have to put in from a human capital standpoint. And we knew that going in, that the trade-off between buying media is going to be the human capital side, but really understanding that human capital side of it and thinking about it from [the perspective that] ‘if this is successful, how do you scale it to make sure you can still deliver the same experience.'”

Continue Reading Are You Outsourcing Your Best Asset?…

Pitching To Bloggers Done Wrong

June 18, 2008 at 6:59 am | Posted in Blogging, Communication, Email, Marketing, Online marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Web 2.0 | 4 Comments
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Last week, I gave an example of the correct way to pitch to bloggers. In this post, I will show the wrong way to pitch to bloggers – learn from this person’s mistakes and do not repeat them.

Bees and Honey

I believe in positive posting – attracting more bees with honey and all that. Anyone can be smarmy and abusive, but if you are going to do a hit piece, I think you need to have a good reason and do your research.

The thing that really grinds my gears is that I laid out a perfect plan for pitching on Thursday. So when I got this email – not 24 hours later – I was shocked at how poorly virtually every element was handled. Click the picture to the right to read the email.

I thought I was clear the first time at the way to successfully pitch bloggers. But I guess some folks can only learn from “Do Not” instructions.

  • No introduction: If she was able to get my email address, she certainly could have gotten my name.
  • Wrong information: My “Clearcast Digital Media blog”? Does she mean “Comcast” or was she referring to these guys? Who knows? But clearly she does not know me.
  • Marketese: If she’d read my white paper, she would have known that marketese is death. But I’m given a full serving in this email, from start to finish.
  • Bad writing: In addition to the marketese, she’s inconsistent with her italics, occasionally writes the authors name’s in capital letters FOR NO APPARENT REASON, and also capitalizes words haphazardly. Here’s a tip: If you are writing to a blogger who writes about writing, know how to write. ‘Nuff said.

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Pitching To Bloggers Done Right

June 12, 2008 at 6:26 am | Posted in Blogging, Coke, Email, Facebook, Marketing, Online marketing, Public Relations | 9 Comments
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There’s been a lot of hubbub around pitching to bloggers. The Chris Andersons and Gina Trapanis of the world don’t want to be solicited to by PR companies. They have some good points – including explicit warnings not to email them – and I don’t fault them for their actions.

However, PR does serve a valuable purpose in business and it’s certainly not going to disappear in the new media landscape. In this post, I will describe essential elements of a stellar PR pitch to a blogger.

The Right Pitch

I received a great email yesterday from Christina at The Advance Guard for Coke’s new Facebook widget. Here are the good things about it that too many journalists and PR folks forget:

  • Short: The total email was 130 words long. Already, this sends the message that she respects my time.
  • Introduction: In one sentence, she explains who she is, who the client is, and why she’s writing to me.
  • Description: Again in one sentence, she sums up the product with a minimum of the adjectives that decrease believability (“best,” “great,” “unique,” etc).
  • Seduction: I would have made the mistake of describing at least one feature or benefit. Instead, Christina piques my interest just enough and then leaves me two links from which to garner the specs. I had clicked these links before I even finished reading the email.

    • Continue Reading Pitching To Bloggers Done Right…

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