COMMENTS FROM THE MARKETING FRONTLINE - news, views, soapbox observations and general riffs on all things public relations, marketing and communications, PR 2.0, social media, word-of-mouth and brand engagement.
To be more specific, the PR profession is "on the verge of a golden age" in terms of its role in the broader marketing communications mix.
Now was a wonderful time to be graduating from a PR and communications course, I told the audience.
Students coming into the workforce were in an enviable position in that they didn't have many old habits that required change.
Old Habits
The PR profession in many respects is very conservative and hates change (this is reflective of the business community generally). Old habits die hard, and change is scary.
And yet the world is undergoing tremendous upheaval.
Technology and the ever-evolving media landscape is changing forever the way in which we communicate with each other and connect with companies and organisations.
Needless to say, such change is having a profound effect on business, government, media and the nonprofit sector.
Era of Hyper-Connectivity
Of course this in turn presents the public relations industry with a tremendous opportunity to make sense of it all and help companies to better engage the public with their brand story.
Ditto for young practitioners: if you're willing to embrace this new era of hyper-connectivity and all that comes with it, you're going to be well-placed to help lead the profession into its golden age.
SEIZE THE DAY!
PICTURE: Swinburne PR students listen intently to the PR Warrior
In between 'New Rules' and 'Real-Time' Scott released a couple of interesting 'quick read' high-concept marketing books - World Wide Rave and Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead - but with this new release he has returned to form with a trend-defining book that documents the effect the ever-changing media landscape is having on the marketplace and how business can position itself to capitalise on the opportunities as they unfold in real-time.
Importantly, he addresses the situation the business world finds itself in ("the emerging real-time business environment", as he calls it) and the types of things companies, organisations and individuals can do in order gain a competitive advantage e.g.
developing a business culture that encourages speed over sloth;
reading buying signals as people interact with online information
crowdsourcing product development, naming, and even marketing materials such as online videos;
engaging reporters to shape stories as they are being written;
commanding premium prices by delivering products at speed;
deploying technology to listen in on millions of online discussions and instantly engaging with customers and buyers.
"Now, more than any time in history, speed and agility are decisive competitive advantages", writes Scott.
"Gone are the days when you could plan out your marketing and public relations programs well in advance and release them on your timetable. It’s a real-time world now, and if you’re not engaged, then you’re on your way to marketplace irrelevance."
Scott argues that brands need to engage in real-time with customers, media and other stakeholders, and supports his theory with case studies and up-to-the-minute examples.
Scott kicks off the book with the story of musician Dave Carroll whose Taylor guitar was broken by United Airlines baggage handlers. After getting no joy from United, Carroll wrote and performed a song ("United Breaks Guitars") and popped it on YouTube. Needless to say, it went viral in no time attracting literally millions of views while at the same time damaging United's reputation.
This story is well-worn and the PR industry would be well aware of it, particularly those involved in crisis and issues management practice.
However, Scott takes us further into the United saga and devotes nearly a whole chapter to how the story unfolded ('Evolution of a Real-Time Media Explosion'); he also examines how Taylor Guitars responded to Carroll's plight via YouTube and shows us the speed with which guitar case manufacturer Calton Cases pounced on the opportunity to create a special edition 'Dave Carroll Signature' case.
Interestingly, while Taylor and Calton responded in real-time, United stood by and did...nothing (can you believe that?).
Other examples include:
General Motors ran a campaign for the Chevrolet Volt using social media to leverage its sponsorship of the influential South-by-Southwest (SXSW) conference - the goal was to stimulate real-time conversation in advance of the release of the new electric car.
Chris Reimer's Rizzo Tees thrives on real-time interaction with customers and is big on tapping the crowd for their views on t-shirt designs.
H&R Block monitors Twitter in real-time enabling it to respond to customer questions (as well as 'nipping in the bud' potential issues caused by employees - more here).
Hewlett Packard and Heineken have both successfully run contests for young videomakers to create ads for their respective brands (for more detail see Scott's blog here).
Recruitment agency Hollister engages job candidates through multiple networking communities on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Punk rock cabaret solo artist Amanda Palmer (below) connects in real-time with her fan base via Twitter (she has some half a million followers) Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and her blog.
Telstra also cracks a mention for its creation of real-time communication guidelines - Telstra 3Rs of Social Media Engagement (of Telstra's effort, Scott says: "Creating interesting ways to get the message home is worth the effort").
David Meerman Scott writes with authority combined with a healthy dose of pragmatism.
While threads of this book are super-relevant to PR people - i.e. the need to respond to emerging issues in real-time before they become crisis material - having such a well-researched overview of the current hyper-connected marketplace in action is extremely beneficial when developing marketing communications strategy.
And then there's the broader need for business to be quick to capitalise on opportunities as they arise because if you don't, a competitor most certainly will.
As Scott says: "Social media are tools...real-time is a mindset".
I was recently sent a copy to review, here are my thoughts:
What's Mine is Yours is a bit of a slog...but please, don't take that as a negative!
The book is so jam-packed with insights, mind-blowing statistics and cases in point that I found myself stopping to take notes every few pages, not to mention rushing to the web all the time to check out in greater detail the examples given.
I am being flippant, of course - the book isn't a 'slog' at all. In my mind, the more notes you take while reading...the more a book can get you thinking about all sorts of possibilities...the better, yeah?
And that's what this book does - it gets you thinking.
Firstly, about the rampant consumerism that has increasingly engulfed the planet in recent decades. It saddened me to see how we are just buying shit that we never use, to be slapped in the face with the fact there's a 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' out in the ocean, potentially double the size of Texas.
We also learn how the emergence of 'throwaway living' started in 1915 with a campaign that promoted Dixie Cups - and that today, a "staggering 220 billion paper and plastic cups are used worldwide per year".
But...
On the flip-side, I'm also heartened by the fact that we - the human race - is starting to do something about it on a global scale.
The 'Collaborative Consumption' movement - as coined by Botsman and Rogers - is growing and evolving.
Social technologies have given this movement scale and momentum - no doubt - but attitudinally we're also shifting: we are sharing more, using less and becoming more and more community-minded. Environmental concerns and cost-consciousness are increasingly influencing our actions.
According to the authors, Collaborative Consumption consists of three 'systems':
REDISTRIBUTION MARKETS: used or pre-owned goods are redistributed from where they are needed to somewhere or someone where they are e.g. eBay.
COLLABORATIVE LIFESTYLES: sharing and exchange of resources and assets sich as time, food, space, skills and money e.g. peer-to-peer social lending (LendingClub).
PRODUCT SERVICE SYSTEM: based on a 'usage mindset' whereby you pay to share a product so you can use it without needing to own the product outright e.g. car sharing.
But the 'glue' that holds everything together is a growing sense of trust in each other (whether we know them or not), which in turn is a cornerstone of any growing community.
"New online and offline marketplaces are forming where people can once again 'meet' in a global village and form nonlocal trust. We have returned to a time when if you do something wrong or embarrassing, the whole community will know", the authors write.
What Botsman and Rogers have done is document a major societal shift that is occurring before our very eyes.
They've joined the dots of a number of trends and neatly packaged it up for us, complete with dozens of examples that bring their theories to life e.g. here are just some of them:
As a PR practitioner or marketer, if you are able to somehow tap into the 'collaborative' zeitgist, then more power to you. There are some fabulous opportunities but only if you respect the community aspect of Collaborative Consumption.
On the flip-side, if you ignore the rumblings of this trend - or, if you try and intrude on 'the community' in half-cocked fashion - the results might not be that great.
For the broader business community --
The Collaborative Consumption movement is growing: Botsman and Rogers predict it will become a "fully fledged economy" within the next five years.
That spells O.P.P.O.R.T.U.N.I.T.Y. for far-sighted companies that understand this developing space. After all, some of the businesses mentioned above grew incredibly quickly (mainly through word-of-mouth) and have become multi-million dollar enterprises.
Note to Melbourne readers: On this Thursday, November 18Rachel Botsman will be sharing stories and research from around the world to illustrate the cultural and economic force known as Collaborative Consumption — organized sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping redefined through technology and peer communities (presented by HUB Melbourne) - book here.
The event will also feature a panel consisting of:
Steve Sammartino - founder of Rentoid, Australia’s largest online hire and rental marketplace
Daniel Noble - founder of DriveMyCar Rentals, Australia’s first peer-to-peer car rental platform, connecting private car owners and drivers.
Juliette Anich - director of The Clothing Exchange, Australia’s leading social swapping network.
Time flies when you're having fun, eh? So much has happened in the social media space during that time, looking back it's pretty incredible. As I write this post, I have tweeted close to 14,000 times (although somewhat bizarrely, Twitter claims I have tweeted only 30 times!).
That's a lot of links, retweets, conversations, connections, missives, rants, views and opinions, observations, Twitpics, jokes, quotes, comments, responses, witty comebacks, clunky retorts, plugs for blog posts and 'chest-beats' for business wins.
So what has Twitter done for me personally and professionally, or more importantly...what have I learned?
My absolutely number one observation?
Twitter has a disproportionate number of 'inhabitants' who are smart, witty, generous and respectful.
That's a lot of positive attributes and I'm happy to announce there are many people in the Twitterverse who fit this bill.
It's been an absolute privilege to share ideas, opinions and information with them, to engage in general banter, to agree to disagree...to learn new things, to better understand causes and social issues, to swap war stories (in 140 character bursts!) and generally increase the richness of our lives through ongoing interaction.
5 stages of Twitter acceptance
I once read there were five stages of Twitter acceptance (along the lines of):
Twitter is the greatest waste of time. Ever!
Okay, I'm getting on to this Twitter thing because everyone else is.
I'm on Twitter and I've got to say it truly is the greatest waste of time!
You persevere - "Okay, I think I'm maybe getting the hang of this."
Twitter becomes a day-to-day part of your life.
Believe it! I certainly went through that process. What about you?
Dispelling the biggest myth
One misconception that continues to dog Twitter is that it's full of people who have nothing better to do than tell everyone what they had for lunch - err, no.
Three years ago when I first started, yes, there seemed to be quite a bit of that. Nowadays, even people who chat about their lunch understand you also need to take a Twitpic of your meal and make some sort of recommendation about the restaurant (is it a good 'un or one to avoid?) thereby adding value to the conversation.
Twitter is great for personal and business profile
If you own or manage a company, run a nonprofit organisation or you're in a business that requires some semblance of a public persona (e.g. consulting), then Twitter - indeed social media generally, and if used strategically - can help enormously.
Over the years, I have used Twitter to launch businesses, promote thought-leadership and recruit staff; it has also directly/indirectly helped me win new clients, secure speaking gigs and media interviews, and develop opportunities that otherwise I would have been blind to.
(By the way, this is not just a Twitter thing - running a regular blog and/or podcast and being an active participant on LinkedIn, Facebook, Foursquare etc are all part of my social web equation).
Twitter is all about OFFLINE
Okay, time to bust another myth...while a lot of Twitter action takes place online (obviously!), the SECRET of Twitter is offline connection. You know, good old-fashioned face-to-face!
* KER-THUMP! * (that would be the sound of Twitter critics falling to the floor).
People on Twitter are some of the funniest, intelligent, most interesting and generous folk I have ever met. The thing is, when you finally get to meet someone you've previously engaged with on Twitter, it's as if you're at meeting number three or four because the relationship has already been well-advanced.
It never ceases to amaze me how powerful that can be!
Respect - trust - transparency
Hopefully I didn't need reminding too much on this score but there is no doubt Twitter helps reinforce the need to be respectful to others, to be open to new ideas and opinions, to be transparent in your dealings online and, importantly, that trust and goodwill are the cornerstones of relationships. Good values, all the more amplified on Twitter.
Twitter - the 'oil' in the social media 'engine'
I often refer to Twitter as the 'oil' in the social media 'engine'. In other words, it's constantly circulating across the social web - it keeps all parts of the social media space working in terms of word-of-mouth buzz, distribution of content, sharing of ideas, links and information.
ZOMG! I've made so many new friends and contacts!
If nothing else, Twitter has expanded my network of friends and contacts exponentially. Think: Rolodex on steroids.
This needs little extrapolation - Twitter expands your universe and, here's the kicker - it helps people of like-minds to gravitate towards one another because of the tendancy to share similar values and interests.
I am humbled by many of the friendships I have made via Twitter (in the first instance). My life is all the richer for it.
Get free stuff!
And finally, Twitter sometimes has helped me score free stuff!
Thanks to the gang from Charlie's who brought smoothies into the office the other day!
While more and more companies and organisations are starting to embrace social media with a greater degree of enthusiasm and confidence, it appears the concept of having a policy or set of guidelines in place is still lacking at corporate level.
This, according to a report by Manpower employer services:
Only 29% of companies in the Americas have a “formal policy regarding employee use of social networking sites.” The number is lower in other regions — 25% in Asia-Pacific and 11% EMEA. The worldwide number is 20%. {SOURCE: Mashable}.
I was quoted in yesterday's Weekend Australian newspaper on this very issue (ARTICLE: 'It's Good to Tweet with Customers', front page of the Weekend Professional section).
My quotes were largely around the need for companies to adopt social media guidelines, as well as the broader issue of company culture and whether it's suited to corporate adoption of social media (see clipping below).
When talking social media policy, I prefer using the word 'guidelines' (Telstra refers to its guidelines as 'guard-rails' which is a good term too methinks).
Policy Vs Guidelines
The problem with the term 'policy' is that it generally becomes a document full of legalistic-sounding jargon.
Rather than help employees better understand what's required of them in terms of social media, many policies are more along finger-jabbing lines of: "You will not do this, or that, or that...". Hardly conducive with getting the best out of your employees or the social web!
A sensible and pragmatic set of guidelines, on the other hand, should establish parameters that let people know what's expected of them (and what is not) in terms of rules of engagement re social media participation (as well as the emerging online ethics and etiquettes).
To be effective, these guidelines should be written in conversational tone and be as educative as possible. Remember, it shouldn't be about scaring people into not using social media but helping them to get the most from the web in a responsible manner.
Coca-Cola has a three-page document it calls its 'Online Social Media Principles'. It's one of the better sets of guidelines I've seen from a large organisation (download available from this link).
IBM was one of the first major corporations to establish a set of 'Social Computing Guidelines' for its employees and is also worth a look if you're intending to go down this path with your organisation.
Build Scenarios into your Guidelines
However, I like to take things a step further in terms of customising guidelines for companies and making them relevant to their employees.
Given guidelines are (should!) be as much about educating people than bashing them about the ears, I often advise companies to create a number of scenarios pertinent to the organisation.
Reason being such scenarios help bring the guidelines to life and make them relevant for staff.
They help put social media into context and assist employees to better understand what is expected of them both during work time and after hours. Social media, of course, being a 24-hour proposition.
Think about creating scenarios. If nothing else, it's a great way to 'flesh out' the types of situations your company and its people might find themselves in and gives you advance warning as to how you might want to deal with such circumstances.
Marketers today face a dazzling array of mediums through which to promote their brand to the masses.
More often or not it seems many brands, when faced with such choice, take the easy option and fall back on lazy habits – spending lots of money buying airtime and print media space to promote their wares and if that doesn’t work, buy more airtime and print media space!
Okay, in some circumstances this might be the right strategy. But more often than not in today’s hyper-connected world marketers need to be a little more thoughtful in their approach.
Rather than simply select a mix from all the various channels available and then retrofitting into an ‘integrated campaign’ (it happens more than you’d think!), how about standing back for a minute and thinking a bit more strategically about how ‘media’ can set the tone at a deeper level?
There are three types of media you need to be concerned about and understand intuitively – ‘paid media’, ‘owned media’ and ‘earned media’.
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