The PR Warrior

Do NOT Hire These Five Corporate Affairs Managers!

As some of you may be aware, I run a strategy and communications advisory firm called parkyoung. My business partner - David Park (aka @parkpr aka 'Parky') - has just pulled off a ripper of a post on parkyoung's blog, 'In Brands We Trust'.

It took a bit of soul-searching by Parky, given he's a former senior corporate affairs advisor and he's now had to re-think and re-shape the boundaries of that particular profession.

 <--- This is Parky!

In this post ('Do NOT Hire These Five Corporate Affairs Managers!'), Parky has had to figuratively poke his former brethren in the eye.

Parky's epiphany came last Friday at the David Meerman Scott Social Media Masterclass (see previous post) - not that he wasn't heading well down the 'new' PR and the social web, but as Parky writes in his post:

"Two of his (Meerman Scott's) 'Rules of the Wave' drilled me. A double-barrelled blast that gave my few remaining templates a bollocking."

What were these two rules?

A. Nobody cares about your products (except you);

B. Lose control of your messages. 

With Meerman Scott's wisdom ringing clearly in his ears, Parky has reeled off five types of corporate affairs manager whom companies and organisations should avoid. They are:

(1) The Propagandist

(2) The Inside Centre

(3) The 'Why So Serious' (hat-tip to Heath Ledger's The Joker)

(4) The Big End of Towner

(5) The Super Strategist

Parky makes some good points. I recommend you check out the full post here.

Selling Social Media to the CEO

Further to a previous post regarding the Social Media Summit 2009 in Melbourne, I gave a presentation called 'The Role of Social Media in PR...and Selling it to the CEO'. 

The 'role' bit is okay - social media is a natural fit with modern-day public relations (but only if PR practitioners let go of the past and wean themselves off press releases that are polished and spun within an inch of their lives). 

The 'selling' part is the hardest because social media is counter-intuitive to most things a CEO holds dear - control of the message, and control over who disseminates information from the organisation.

Some major companies, like Ford, Dell, Starbucks and Microsoft, have long familiarised themselves with social media and today are considered to be corporate leaders in the space. 

In selling the concept of social media to the powers-that-be, my advice is to start with the positives i.e. Wouldn't it be great...

• ...if we could communicate directly with our consumers and stakeholders?
• ...if people actually listened to and interacted with us? 
• ...if we could build a community of fans or advocates for our organisation?

Well, social media can help you achieve those things, better and faster than ever before, but only if its wholly accepted and encouraged by the head honchos, and the 'open brand' attitude is imbued across the organisation.

Is selling the CEO on social media your job?

If you're the person responsible for trying to get the CEO on board, you need to be 'the full bottle' on the vagaries, nuances, ethics and etiquette of the social web; you need to immerse in the space and get an intuitive feel for what works and what doesn't, as well as fully understand the potential pitfalls and opportunities that exist by 'opening up the brand' on the web.

Put simply, you are kidding yourself if you think you can properly understand social media without fully experiencing it first-hand, and that means jumping in personally and getting your feet wet, preferably before trying to sell it to the boss!

Reading about blogging is all well and good (and recommended), but by starting and maintaining a blog, you will learn very quickly what it's all about.

Reading about Twitter is all well and good (and recommended), but only by setting up a personal account and participating in the Twitterverse will you get a solid grounding in the subtleties of the micro-blogging platform.

You get the drift...

Of course, if taking the positive tack doesn't work with the boss, perhaps try using fear: 

• The new reality is that people are more empowered than ever before (they have a voice and they're prepared to use it).
• Shouting at people (one-way broadcast of messages) doesn't work effectively any more.
• Nor does chest-beating or the use of spin and polished corporate jargon.
• Throwing your message out there and expecting people to listen is fast becoming a waste of time, money and resources.
• Find out if any of your competitors are using social media and then show the boss examples of their activity (this may prick the ego into action!).

It's obvious social media isn't a fad but a fundamental shift in the way people communicate, connect and collaborate - to do nothing will mean your company will be left behind (there's a school of thought that companies have something like 12-18 months' grace to get into social media, experiment and make mistakes...after that period, the public will expect you to be social media ready and engaging with them online...and they will be less accepting of those companies that get it wrong).

And if all else fails...buy the boss a copy of The Cluetrain Manifesto!

RELATED READING:

Social Media Summit 2009: Lack of Control Looms Large in PR's Minds

Fear (by David Meerman Scott)

Master Communicator Warren Buffett Continues to Mesmerize

The way in which senior corporate executives talk speaks volumes about the company they run.

When business leaders speak candidly using language that's easy to understand, people tend to listen.

And if people are listening, then levels of communication improves. 

When levels of communication improves, the message has a better chance of getting through.

And when the message cuts through, executives (or politicians or community leaders etc) become more persuasive, authoritative, credible, influential, logical and coherent. Indeed, more effective. 

And isn't that what being a leader is all about?

Communication takes on particular importance in these hyper-connected times when what someone says one minute can be bounced around the globe via broadcast, print and online mediums within a matter of hours.

Which is why famed US investor, Warren Buffett, 78, continues to generate interest whenever he speaks.

This week he released his much-anticipated 'state of the economy' address, in which he shouldered the blame for "some dumb things" (his company Berkshire Hathaway reported a 62 per cent drop in net income for 2008).

"We are certain that the economy will be in a shambles throughout 2009 - and, for that matter, probably well beyond," Buffett said.

Or this gem (reported in The Australian):

""By year end," he says of 2008, "investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game".

PIC: CNBC

What can business leaders learn from Warren Buffett (above)?

• Be straight and tell it like it is.
• Be open, candid and genuine.
• Use plain English (minimise jargon).
• Inject your personality.
• Don't be afraid to use the odd quirky turn of phrase or analogy (see referral to birds-and-badminton above).

Click here to read Buffett's entire letter to investors.

Compare Buffett's tone and use of language to others in the corporate sphere, as discussed in a previous PR Warrior post.