The new influencers and PR’s role

Interesting interview with Social Media Maven Paul Gillin (via Judy Gombita) which picks up on two of the themes that emerged during the MIPAA New Media workshop last week.

One of the fictional case studies we considered related to advising an eager senior exec who wanted to blog, be active in social media, etc.  One the one hand, we had participants who felt the recommendation was not to get involved - but others felt more optimistic about the opportunity. 

Unfortunately most of the good examples (as cited by Gillin such as Google and Southwest Airline) are the major global brands out of their head offices (mainly US-based).  This presents a challenge for national PR teams - should they press for country-specific social media or is a global resource sufficient?  Obviously we can’t play a language card from the UK, but there are cultural differences that may not be reflected by a single centralised resource.  And, when the point of social media is to engage, isn’t some local connection preferable?

The one example of a good UK corporate blog - Avis We Try Harder - raises the second issue.  That of where responsibility for social media should lie.  In the Avis example, the blog is run by the customer relations team.  Gillin believes:

the PR function should own it [social media], and has the opportunity to own it because they are the story tellers. They are the relationship experts and these really are about relationships.

But he notes:

That said, in most companies it is falling under the aegis of marketing. For some reason PR people seem to be kind of timid about this whole thing and marketers are more aggressive about seizing the initiative.

This tends to echo my own observations as PR practitioners are definitely interesting, but I’ve not seen many who’ve really grabbed the opportunity within their own organisations yet.

Gillin clarifies the need to have wider organisational empowerment in respect of social media, including senior execs.  This was emphasised by one of our participants who has recently taken up the new role of new media public relations manager at BMW (UK).  His view was that such responsibility requires an ability to build bridges and support initiatives throughout the organisation.

Girl power

Having the confidence to try new things and stretch yourself further than you think possible is a core aspect of the Greenbanana philosophy of continuous improvement (ie if you’re green, you’re growing).

Putting this into practice, today my mum and I are demonstrating ‘girl power’ (well middle-aged woman and old lady power!!) .  We spent this morning putting the roof cover on the gazebo in the garden here in France - which took lateral thinking, some brute force and teamwork. 

My mum is now destroying documents - her first use of the shredder.  And our job for the afternoon is to map out a heart-shaped flowerbed in the garden where my father’s ashes will be scattered.  This is a more complicated task than you might think as we are incorporating five shrubs that have been planted already in honour of departed pets (it’s okay we’re not frightened of recreating a Stephen King novel).

Of course, the shrubs weren’t placed originally with this goal in mind, so I’m flexing my mathematical abilities to map out an appropriate shape, that is geometrically sound and fits the previous planting. 

[We're leaving the digging to my brother and nephew who are coming out in a couple of weeks though, as girl power also means we're not stupid.]

Today is actually my dad’s birthday, so I suppose we’re partly demonstrating that we can do things without him.  My mum has been a star over the past two weeks - even mowing the lawn with stripes and putting up a fence.

So if as a newly-widowed, 5ft tall, 67-and-three-quarters-year old granny, she can stretch herself with new things - what’s stopping you for doing something challenging today?

Now is when Boris may really need public relations

The Guardian prints the full speech of the new London mayor, Boris Johnson (wikipedia entry already updated), whilst there is video available at The Telegraph.  This seems to have gone down well with the media, but it seems media relations minders have been controlling Boris’s communications very closely so far.

Australian election strategist, Lynton Crosby is “credited” with the tight management of the normally gaff-prone Boris during the campaign. 

Interestingly at the start of the year, former CIPR president, Lionel Zetter awarded Boris the CIPR President’s Medal - to some criticism. 

But to avoid the problematic pronouncements, Boris has been curtailed - so if someone is being so controlled can they be considered an effective communicator? 

Online, Boris’s blog hasn’t been updated for sometime and the posts were largely attributed to the Boris Office.  Whereas the unofficial Boriswatch reports a lot of increased traffic today.

Ellee Seymour offers another PR angle on the Boris victory, questioning why few PR agencies backed old blondie.

Now the campaigning has stopped, undoubtedly it will prove harder to control the messages around Boris.  That has to be a good thing though as real public relations should be more about building positive relationships.  Whether the Boris camp, including his media and PR advisors, will be able to walk the talk remains to be seen. 

Google image promotes artist themes

I’ve always thought the way Google changes its logo to connect with a particular event is a really nice touch.  It doesn’t necessarily serve a purpose, but I find you always stop to check what the graphics indicate.

Today’s image is by Jeff Koons and serves to promote the new artist themes you can use to personalise your iGoogle homepage.  The 70 themes can be viewed geographically - for example Australian artists.

A time limited cafe was set up in Japan earlier in April to promote Artist iGoogle, although not everyone thinks the brand should seek a real world presence.

Apparently:

The goal, said Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, is to give people a chance to connect with artists they like. Few artists turned down Google’s offer to participate, which offers an opportunity to reach a giant audience that isn’t necessarily plugged in to the gallery, rock and catwalk scenes.

Google didn’t pay the artists. It made a contribution to a charity in each of their names.

I’m not quite sure of the value of the themes, but I’ve opted for the Lance Armstrong one (I know he’s a cyclist not an artist) because the Tour de France this year is passing through Lavelanet which is near to my mum’s house.

Why should you trust me?

I know that I often argue for robust research, but I’ve also presented an argument many times that online ain’t that different to “the real world”.  That’s my reaction to all the fuss on the topic of who people trust. [Link via Judy Gombita]

I’m surprised that bloggers seem surprised by recent studies indicating most people trust people they know and friends and family are key influencers on attitudes and decisions. 

Source credibility theory has long proposed a number of dimensions of influence:

1. trustworthiness
2. competence
3. objectivity
4. dynamism
5. expertise
6. physical attractiveness
7. similarity

Trust is a key factor.  But it has been publicly seen to have been abused in recent years by traditional “expert” influencers, such as journalists, corporations, scientists, politicians, doctors, lawyers, banks, celebrities, etc etc. 

We are less and less impressed by those claiming expertise or status in society.  We’ve few real role models in public figures to look up to.  We question objectivity knowing that corporate cheque books often buy endorsement.

Trust is something that has to be earned, and this involves a consistent believability that is established over time.  So no wonder we look to those we have built genuine relationships with when making important decisions.

Whether bloggers and virtual social media friends are influential will similarly depend on the relationships and trust that is established. 

The rules that public relations practitioners need to reflect when counselling organisations in the area of credibility, trust and influence are pretty basic.  I’ve written about it before - do as you would be done by.

That means that big businesses, such as oil companies, are unlikely to be trusted when they report record profits, while motorists struggle to afford petrol at £5 a gallon.  Banks are bailed out and pay big bonuses, yet many ordinary people face the threat of losing their homes. 

Politicians lie, scientists twist figures to suit their cause, celebrities are vacuous and self-interested.  Hardly the characteristics of people who should be trusted.  So why all the surprise?

Deciding what’s useful for PR online

The MIPAA new media workshop is taking place on Friday, our 3rd year of focusing on developments in the online arena.  I’m looking forward to hearing the latest thoughts of Antony Mayfield of iCrossing whose presentation at our first event in 2006 stimulated my plans to launch the Greenbanana blog.

This year, I’ve also devised some case studies on PR and new media as a group exercise.  Drawing on real life PR disasters - or opportunities to learn - I’ve identified typical situations practitioners may face in order for the workshop attendees to develop effective solutions. 

Often the new media focus in PR, and marketing, is on using various tools; setting up Facebook groups, getting a presence in SecondLife or establishing a blog.  But the real challenges are in deciding if these are relevant, likely to generate interest, or if they could create more problems than they solve.

The final element of our course is an expert panel with media representatives from The Car Enthusiast, Parkers and Auto Express.  The debate will no doubt range from  how PR practitioners should best interact with media sites to issues of evaluation - how do you decide which are the best sites to engage.

I was interested to see the Daily Telegraph has published a list of the 20 most useful car websites.  Equally interesting is the press release from 4Car, claiming to have topped the list.

The Daily Telegraph list does not appear to have any scientific basis - and doesn’t actually (on the website at least) present a ranking of “most useful” or “best”. 

Okay, being first listed might technically enable 4Car to state it topped the list - but was it the intention of the unnamed author of the article to rank the sites? 

And, what exactly does “most useful” mean?  It is lazy journalism, in my view, to simply come up with a list without any attempt to have a methodical approach of analysing the sites.  In this case we can’t even say it is a personal choice, as the author isn’t identified.

There are a lot of questions facing PR practitioners in deciding which online tools to use and which bloggers, websites, etc to target. Of course as individual readers/consumers we might comprise our own top 20 lists, which may be idiosyncratic to us.  But as professionals, our approach ought to be more robust - so I hope there aren’t too many taking the Daily Telegraph list as having any great relevance.  Despite 4Car seeking to use it as endorsement.

Another year older

Yesterday was my birthday, so technically, I am a year older today.  Of course, like most changes in life, the process is not a discrete change, but more continuous - we age second by second, rather than year by year.

So older, yes.  But am I any wiser?  The process of gaining wisdom does require discrete change in many aspects as we gain new knowledge or change our understanding.  Although at the same time, skills can be gradually improved - in the spirit of kaizen, continually improving.

Unfortunately as you get older, everything isn’t about improvement and there’s a huge PR and marketing effort focusing on “anti-aging” or as the Dove campaign puts it more positively, Pro-age - who they define as “women in their best years”.

Although encouraged to embrace wrinkles, curves and other demonstration of the aging process, this is within the context of cosmetics and products to make us feel better, even if we can’t turn back the hands of time.

Or there’s the likes of Nintendo eager to keep my little grey brain cells active with their pointless “brain training” games. 

Whilst the government is promising health tests in the over 40s to detect “killer diseases“, apparently, there is a baby-boom among such “older” women.  Does this coincide with the higher incidence of binge-drinking in the age group too?

Are we now just another market segmentation?  Must we accept the marketing pressure, grab our fat pants and fight the signs of aging?  Can we really have it all in being older, and wiser?

Are PR graduates ready to be their own boss?

On his PR Placements site Richard Bailey kindly features a communications job that I’d been asked to promote by Honda Motorcycles. 

What interested me about this opportunity is that it is a full-time job, but available in a freelance capacity.  It is increasingly common in my experience of the motor industry PR world for in-house headcount restrictions to result in the use of “embedded” consultancy staff.  Indeed, I used to manage a team of 19 of “contractors” undertaking PR roles within Ford when I worked at a PR agency some ten years ago.

Here though, the contract is open to a graduate recruit as it could “potentially be a great role for early professional development”.

Are graduates open to the idea of freelance work - or do they feel they need the security of being employed either in-house or within a consultancy? 

I’ve been self-employed for nearly eight years, having made a millennium decision to stop being a wage slave.  But working for yourself wasn’t unfamiliar to me, as my parents ran a small hotel in Great Yarmouth (as did my mother’s parents before her) and my dad’s parents worked as independent upholsterers.  I was prepared for the downsides as well as looking forward to the upside - which for me is primarily the flexibility to control what I do in life.

Many PR practitioners seem to come to freelance employment as a lifestage decision, particularly those who need to combine work with caring for a family.  For example, via Strive PR I read Sally Whittle’s post on WorkLife balance - where some of the difficulties are evident.

I’m not sure if graduates are being prepared for the option of self-employment by careers services.  One of the things we focus on in the final teaching session of the CIPR Advanced Certificate course is the idea of managing your personal reputation - brand me. 

Regardless of whether you are working for someone else or are your own boss, it is vital that you maximise your “brand value”.  In PR, we are often the commodity being sold - our skills and contacts are the true assets being sought by clients. 

Having an excellent reputation also offers security whether in employment or with clients as a freelancer.  I would recommend the opportunity offered by Honda as a good career move - not only for the experience and its excellent brand name. 

I believe future career strategies, particularly in professions such as public relations, will require greater independence - so starting your career in the driving seat has to be a good move.

Corporate copy lacks compassion

I heard today news that the sister of a motoring journalist contact was killed in a terrible train accident last week.  As the Guardian reported, this was the third such fatality in two days.  Although unrelated, naturally, the tragedies become connected by their proximity in time.

For many of us these incidents are just news.  Something we hear about whilst going about our lives, a story we may discuss with others or that maybe makes us stop and think for a minute.

Like Teresa Mansell, I regularly walk my dogs across a railway line near my house.  It is frightening as you check there are no trains coming, but still have to negotiate over the tracks, knowing there is a real risk to your life.

Such tragedies may help communicate safety messages, making the possible a reality whilst accidents remain newsworthy.  Real life cases communicate very powerfully.

Those involved in communications at Network Rail have a message that “level crossings are safe if used correctly”, but their words seem insensitive in the face of a series of fatalities:

Every year, over 1,800 pedestrians and motorists are reported to have misused a crossing. Tragically some people are injured or killed primarily because they have made an error, deliberately made a violation or have become complacent about using the crossing.

In the past few days, words have been important to me, with friends and strangers equally expressing their condolences with kindness and empathy.  Many people say they don’t know what to say, or simply, state, I’m sorry. 

The words quoted above lack any compassion - they are a cold presentation of statistics and blame avoidance.  They do not reflect any sense of corporate responsibility from Network Rail, with its action all about awareness raising, understanding of correct use and “user behaviour” change. 

Of course, the issue of railway crossing safety is difficult, sensitive, and hard to solve - but producing copy for the website shouldn’t have just been another writing task, just words to be uploaded, a corporate reputation to be protected.  

Writing is a human task, conveying meaning through words and so we should always put thought into their construction. 

A private tragedy

“This was not the plan; it was not supposed to be like this” my dad said when he went into hospital on 3 February.  He loved the life that he had with my mum in France, but despite fighting complication after complication following a supposedly routine operation to remove a tumour from his colon, he died at 3.10am on Monday, 21 April, 2008.

Last week, the plan was that he could possibly go home this week, so I’d travelled out on Saturday, not expecting to be told there was no hope.  His death was our private tragedy, as mum and I spent the last precious hours, playing special songs, and just giving my dad every last ounce of love.  In return, he did his best to keep his heart beating until he simply couldn’t suck any more life into his lungs.

It is an honour to share someone’s final moments - and the nurses bestowed respect and dignity.  They deal with such private tragedies every day - on Saturday a young couple had lost their baby at the 6th month of pregnancy and been told they could not have more children.  Another heart-breaking life story.  My mum and the baby’s father had held each other and cried together.

You won’t read about our stories in the news - my dad was not famous, did not make history, was not involved in a public tragedy worthy of reporting.  There’s no press release, no questions to answer - except the biggest of all - why?

But there are many people who have wept since hearing that Richard Liddiment has died.  The church bells are ringing in Roquefeuil, the tiny village where my parents have lived for the last six years.  This is a French honour, for a true English gentleman.  The villagers asked if they could start a book to pay their respects, and within minutes, so many had expressed their sorrow.  They did not share a common language, but my parents were taken to heart. 

My dad was a quiet man, a kind man.  A man who has passed with a light soul - because he has left so many people with a good feeling when they think of him.  Many happy memories and laughter.

My parents had been together since they were fifteen, over fifty years ago.  We had a perfect childhood and were so loved.  We wanted to be like him, my brother and I.  And, we were not alone in looking up to him, idolising him - I can see him also in Winston and Rick.  Young men who will carry forward a legacy of my father.

Everywhere I look, I feel my dad’s presence - in the millions of little things he did for me, in my manner, my skills, my outlook on life.  These are ripples in the pond of life.

When we left the hospital, nurses cried and hugged my mum as if their own father had died.  They had seen how much he was loved and how he fought so hard to live - they came to love him too. 

I’ll miss him so much - je suis désolé