Spielberg, Lonelygirl15 and the Entertaining of PR
| posted by Marc HausmanIf I could
hire any two people in the world to join my public relations consultancy who would
it be?
The answer
today sure is different than a mere 18 months ago. I would have most likely rattled off the name
of a well respected technology trade journalist, industry analyst or agency
executive. The state of public relations
is now dramatically different. My top
choices: award-winning movie
producer/director Steven Spielberg and YouTube sensation turned actress Lonelygirl15.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonelygirl15)
Public
relations has traditionally been defined by education and engagement. Communications
executives excel at forming meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships with
an organization’s key stakeholders.
Often mischaracterized as spin or influence peddling, public relations
practiced ethically presents a perspective, opinion or corporate story, and
then encourages dialogue and debate.
That's how relationships are formed.
The requirements
of PR professionals have changed more rapidly in the past year and a half than
at any time during my nearly 20-year career.
In addition to education and engagement, we need to add a third
"e" to the public relations skill set -- entertainment. The ability to capture and hold an audience's
attention in unique and innovative ways is a must for any communications
program to achieve its benchmarks. It's
comparable to the creative spirit that permeates Hollywood,
Broadway or the Web 2.0 start-ups in Silicon Valley.
Drivers of the PR Sea-Change
To
understand this dramatic shift in communications it is important to first
explore why. It's no secret the business
model employed by traditional media has suffered. From broadcast and cable to newspapers,
consumer magazines and trade journals, media is under all-consuming
stress. Advertising budgets have rapidly
shifted online where there is a greater level of measurability and accountability. Moreover, consumers have come to expect editorial
content delivered via the Web be offered at no charge, further eroding the
revenue base.
In turn,
broadcasters and publishers have slashed payrolls while taking stabs at a
sustainable, Web-based business model.
Journalists are asked to carry a heavier load by producing more content,
more quickly while continuing to adhere to the standards and principles that
have long shaped their profession. The
media and publishing industries have grown so desperate that the idea of a
government-backed financial scenario has gained a following in the blogosphere.
The
meteoric rise of social media is the second (yet related) catalyst of this
dramatic change in the public relations world.
Consumers and corporate audiences alike now bypass traditional PR
channels to communicate, educate, collaborate, network and cultivate relationships. Social networks, Web-based video, and
blogging and micro-blogging platforms have enthralled and empowered individuals. Today, a person can exist online as both a
consumer and publisher of media.
The trend
of social media innovation will continue to accelerate as the barriers to entry
for technology start-ups remain low.
Historically, it's taken an army of software engineers, a pile of
venture capital and years of development time to bring a product to
market. That's no longer the case. Exciting new applications such as Twitter and
FriendFeed are rapidly introduced and vetted by a passionate online community.
How One PR Shop has Evolved
Strategic
Communications Group (Strategic) was by no means an early adopter of social
media. Our initial efforts included forays
into blogging, as well as the occasional comment in an online industry
forum.
The vast
majority of our activities on a client's behalf continued to be traditional
media relations and industry analyst communications in support of corporate and
product initiatives. The lack of a peer
review process and the inherent unpredictable nature of social media tempered
our enthusiasm for this new channel to the market.
Personally,
I was turned off by the cavalier and cliquish attitude of social media
champions. Those who didn't sprint
full-speed to embrace these new offerings simply didn't "get it" or
worse, would be relegated to the sidelines.
I experienced
this bravado once before in my career.
It was at the height of the dot com bubble when anyone who failed to
rush their business to the Web was considered a dinosaur. The market correction in March 2001 and the
resulting pain colored my view of the value of being a trailblazer.
About a
year ago the senior team at Strategic openly embraced social media tactics as
on-par and, in many instances, preferred over traditional media and analyst
outreach. What changed for us? For starters, we became more comfortable with
the business ROI delivered via social media and more capable of articulating it
to a client.
In addition
to thought leadership and executive visibility, our social media efforts are
designed to enhance a client's organic search engine optimization. We consistently monitor Web traffic and
online advertising buys for a client and its competitors, and then shape
content and messaging accordingly.
Second,
among our clients we now see a willingness to fund social media campaigns. We have moved past the education phase of
market adoption and, while many efforts remain pilot programs, social media tactics
are no longer viewed as a nice to have if there is a bit of money left in the
budget.
For instance,
this past quarter Strategic was selected by one of the world's largest telecommunications
providers to spearhead a social media initiative that promotes a suite of
technical services, as well as their stance on corporate social
responsibility. We also introduced the
first-ever executive blog in the government services space (http://altroninc.blogspot.com/) to
help a provider of program management and administrative services differentiate
itself.
The Entertainment Conundrum
What now
keeps me awake at night is the challenge public relations professionals face to
adopt an element of entertainment to social media campaigns. The Web is a prickly medium. Consumers, business buyers, investors,
partners and employees will turn away from content that fails to educate,
engage and entertain.
Recently, a
client lamented that the 20 minute corporate presentation uploaded to YouTube
and Insight 24 failed to garner much interest.
Our idea: turn that presentation into a series of shorter video
vignettes that tell a story by focusing on the personalities of the executive
team.
High-value
content has always been the calling of PR.
We're now presented with the opportunity to help our clients experiment,
explore and derive value from participating in social media. Will we get hip to the need to
entertain? Quick...someone get me Steven
Spielberg on the line. I want to talk to
him about a career in public relations.
Marc Hausman is president/CEO of
Strategic Communications Group, a public relations consultancy based in Silver Spring, MD.
Read more at: http://www.strategicguy.blogspot.com/.
