Tweet - Tweet

So I’ve given in and am now fully embracing Twitter. I held off face book and hope that between blogging and tweeting my online social network can be fulfilled.

One reason that I embrace Twitter is that I love brevity. If it can’t be said in 140 characters then you shouldn’t Tweet it.

First choice I had to make was whether I was going to Twitter myself or NettResults. I chose NettResults and hope to make it relevant to business followers with a mix of whit and international marketing acumen. By all means let me know how I’m doing.

To follow NettResults on Twitter simply search for ‘NettResults’. Couldn’t be easier than that.

And if you haven’t looked into Twitter then I recommend you do so. Check out what it does, how it works and then get connected.

If you are looking at Twitter from a business point of view, then I highly recommend this article on Macworld - Nine Twitter tips for business.

Tweet tweet.

Multinational Issues in a Multimedia World

I'm getting ready for IPREX's global conference in NYC. This year's theme is "Multinational Issues in a Multimedia World." We'll be discussing social media at Google, the economic crisis at Bloomberg, and how global companies are handling the toughest PR issues at New York University. The main event is a panel discussion starring seven heads of communications for global companies.

What's the most important question we should ask them about PR today?

It's all about relationships

People buy from people. Information flows better between trusting relationships. And we know we get better PR results when working with a trusted editor/journalist that we have a good relationship with.

The agency’s never ending question is how to build more and more relationships so everyone in your email address book is a ‘relationship’ and not just someone on a distribution list. For the past decade, our experience has been there are four things that can build a PR pro/media relationship:

Think ‘journalist’ – the best way to build any relationship is to understand the world from the other side’s point of view. Never is this truer than with the media. Don’t just call a press contact if you want something. Call then if you see or hear of something that might be of interest to them. Call them if you want to continue a conversation that they have reported on. Call them to congratulate on an excellent piece. None of these may be related to your own press needs, but opening up sincere, honest dialogue will get you better coverage in the future.

Think ‘their title’ – the single most common complaint that journalists make of PR pro’s is that they do not understand the title/show that the journalist works on. Before calling the media, it is imperative that the PR pro has read the title (or seen/listened to the show), understands it and identifies that their client has something relevant to the target group of that media. Without that you are not just wasting time, you’re damaging a long-term relationship.

Think ‘two-way’ – that’s a two-way conversation. Too often an agency pro will call up to pitch a client. That’s just like when you answer your home phone at 7pm and someone tries to sell you new windows. You want to get them off the phone ASAP because you are not looking for new windows – but you can’t get a word in. Agency pro’s need to stop the telesales routine, and instead of talking – try listening. The pitch might not be right for that journalist at that point, but something related my work, or that pitch might tie into something that is coming up in a forward feature.

Think ‘time line’ – journalists live by them. And theirs are written in stone. So your client wants to receive results on a certain deadline, but what drives that? If a monthly magazine goes to bed on the 20th of the month, is there really any point pitching a story in that week 13th – 20th? No. The space will already have been taken up. Similarly think of the time line for daily newspapers. Work to the media’s time line. If your client has something else in mind, then manage that client better.

Just think of the media from their point of view. That’s all it takes to build excellent agency/media relationships. And that’s what leads to excellent media results.

The Downturn’s New Rules for Marketers

So I just read an article of the same name that was in The McKinsey Quarterly. It explains (and I’m paraphrasing the 11 pages) how the global recession is changing how cash-strapped marketers have to operate in 2009. A ‘reprioritising’ of geographies, consumer segments, b-2-b opportunities, sales & marketing resources, adverting vehicles etc.

To an extent I agree. A reprioritisation of geographies does seem to make sense. I’m sure we’ll see a number of organisations re-org their staff and budgets when it comes it the never-ending central/disbursed models of marketing. I’ve worked client side both in the central office (using centralised budgets) and out in the dim and distant field (where local budgets were fort over and sometimes even measured). Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but for sure a centralised model will save money (but whether it will produce a greater ROI is a discussion for another time).

I am also in agreement that measurement needs to be stepped up and looked at more closely. The era of “oh, lets just sponsor this event because it sounds like a good idea” is not particularly savvy in this environment.

But here’s the thing. It’s really very simple for marketers to cut their budget and prove an ever increasing ROI. The old ad adage is "I know half of my advertising spend is wasted; I just don't know which half." Sod it. Cut half of it – any half - because that’s where the saving needs to come from. Want to know how to still increase your ROI? Then read on…

A large international client came to our agency recently and said they needed to cut their marketing budget by 75% across the board. Every agency they were working with was getting cut – design, media buying, media monitoring, PR, events, POS etc etc.

Our arguments to NOT cut the PR budget but actually increase it included...

1 – A relatively small dollar decrease in budget significantly reduces the amount of PR coverage obtainable.

2 – Unfortunately PR is not like a water tap that can be turned on and off. It’s easy to loose SOV (share of voice), but takes many months to build it up.

3 – The percentage of marketing budget spent on PR is comparatively small. A smaller percentage saving from the advertising or event budget can save an organisation considerably more money and allow PR (which has a low cost and a high ROI) to flourish.

4 – The reduction of monthly PR retainer of, for example, 25% (lets say from $10,000 to $7,500) is equivalent to the same cost saving of one page print advert a quarter in an average industry magazine.

5 – Strategically speaking, many organisations are about to go through a rough time in the media due to a reduction in sales, profit, a falling share price and reduced workforce. No amount of advertising is going to repair the bad press that job losses will promote – the only way to manage this is going to be PR.

So in a time of economic downturn – cut your advertising by 50% and increase your public relations by 25%. Not only will you greatly reduce your marketing budget (by about 45%), you will also safeguard your brand, increase your ROI and in the long term have greater marketing success.

Targeting is the bedrock

Nothing is more important in PR or marketing than getting the targeting right. Understanding who the right audience is and knowing how to reach them is one of the first things to undertake and will be a key factor on how effective and efficient your campaign will be.

So I read with interest an article that talked of the the targeting potential of LinkedIn last week in Advertising Age.

Highlights from the study:
* 30 million current members
* 8.4 million (24 percent) members are senior executives with a mean salary of $104,100
* 1/3 of members are savvy networkers with an average of 61 connections (the overall average is 38) and personal income of more than $90,000
* 21 percent of members are seeking job opportunities

OK, so we all knew LinkedIn members used the site for business reasons -- vs. the more purely social networks such as Facebook or MySpace – but we didn't know exactly who they were.

Now we do.

Certainly a very aspiring group of people and they are neatly grouped so theoretically easier to target. The problem I have now, is how can PR utilize that nugget of information. Sure some can afford to place a banner advert on LinkedIn – but where is the potential for PR?

I don’t have the answer just yet – but think the question is worth considering…. Please do let me know if you think you have an answer.

Seven rules of crisis management

OK - so first off I am pretty proud that I'm a co-author on the new Crisis Communications book.

‘Crisis Communication: Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival’ (ISBN: 978-0749454005)

This new book by the publishers Kogan Page is a joint work by 20 international authors - and that's what I think makes it special.

No company or organization is immune to crisis. A crisis, however, does not necessarily have to turn into a PR disaster. Crisis Communications provides readers with advice on how to limit damage by acting quickly and positively. Moreover, it explains how to turn a crisis into an opportunity by communicating efficiently via a successful public relations strategy.

Crisis Communications is a thorough guide to help prepare an organization for unexpected calamities. It provides information on accountability, planning, building corporate image, natural disasters, accidents, financial crises, legal issues, corporate re-organization, food crises, negative press, media training and risk managers.

As I start the publicity for this book, I am being asked to summaries the 200+ pages into 300 words... so here goes...

1. People - The team involved in managing crisis communications should be fully briefed on who will contact who in the event of a crisis, and which method of contact they will use.

2. Roles and tasks - Have a checklist of what role each team member will fulfil during the crisis, and what tasks they are assigned as the crisis breaks, during the crisis and afterwards. Suggested roles include: briefing members of the board; internal communications and keeping staff informed; media relations; media monitoring; and online monitoring.

3. Messages - Work out in advance the key messages you will want to communicate in a crisis. Don’t bother with corporate messages about visions and mission statements – journalists aren’t interested in these. Think about what messages you want to get across about which journalists will realistically write. 



4. Draft statements and responses - Having template statements ready prepared can help you turn things around quickly when a crisis breaks. Have background facts and Q&As about the company ready and to hand.

5. Speed - You need speed of response, but also speed of thinking and actions to be in control of the situation, rather than panicking to catch up with the media. You want to run the pace of the story your way and have the -media responding to you, rather than the other way around.

6. Control - Work out how you will take control of the story for each likely scenario. The plan should identify media-trained spokespeople who can talk in a crisis. Have some ready-prepared images available. If you don’t, the media may look elsewhere to fill the gap.

7. Practice - Teams need to be familiar with the crisis comms plan. NettResults recommends crisis training twice a year and a simulation exercise at least once a year.

And if asked to define it in 6 words...

Conflict builds character - crisis defines it.

Four ways to gauge the success of your spokesperson

Beyond owners/C level's own ego, having the best spokesperson representing your organization is imperative. Once the chosen representative has mastered your messages and talked publicly, there are some ways to tell whether they have been successful in the delivery.

• How is the media depicting matters vital to your organisation's interests and objectives? If they are noticing the strategic messages and themes you've created to define your brand, campaign or mission, it demonstrates that your spokesperson has been successful at communicating those ideas. If not, than you may want to re-evaluate your messages or your spokesperson's approach to conveying your objectives.

• Is your spokesperson cited in the story? Being quoted in an article sets your spokesperson up as an expert. Even if the article isn't directly related to your company or brand, a good spokesperson will be able to position himself as an authority.

• What is the editorial tone of a given media piece? Knowing whether the media is portraying your organization or spokesperson in a favourable, neutral, or unfavourable light can provide valuable information on which to plan follow-up messages or campaigns.

• How prominently mentioned is your spokesperson? The content and context of your organizations mention are key indicators in accessing a spokesperson's success at conveying your company's ideas. Among some factors to consider: the position, location, length, and exclusivity of your spokesperson's mention, message, or quotation.

It's a tough call to make - but if they are not doing a good job then more training is needed... or maybe a new person found to fill the spokesperson function.

Being a Good Spokesperson

Regardless of job title, all spokespeople must possess the same basic qualities. In addition to being authorised to represent the organisation, a spokesperson should:

• Resonate with your audience
• Project a good visual presence
• Possess good quality of voice (particularly when speaking live, or on radio and television)
• Maintain a good rapport with journalists
• Remain readily accessible to the media

Although some of these qualities directly reflect the individual's personality, others can be learned and refined over time. Therefore, regardless of the spokesperson's level of experience, proper media training is essential. Conveying key messages and being savvy about how to avoid missteps are skills that can be learned.

A little training can go a long way
A good spokesperson knows how to be interviewed and is aware of what journalists want. Here are just a few points to consider when training your representative to be an effective spokesperson:

Image. How you look can and will affect audience perception. Visual perception accounts for at least 60 percent of how audiences take in messages. At least another 30 percent is auditory, while the remaining is the actual message or what the audience believes is the message (The Spin Project, Broadcast Media and Spokesperson Skills, 2008).

Rehearsal. Practicing before hand helps prevent stumbling and mumbling during the real interview or appearance and helps perpetuate a sense of confidence and authority.

Sound bites. Sometimes all you have is a moment to punctuate key messages, or perhaps a journalist needs only one quote or phrase to set the tone for the entire piece. Your spokesperson should be prepared with snippets.

Control. You may not be able to direct a journalist's line of questioning. However, you can still maintain control of the answers by transitioning them in a way that reinforces the key messages you want to convey.

Email Revolution

Everyone wants a piece of you. So they send you e-mail.

Over 100 real e-mails come in each day. At three minutes apiece, it will take five hours just to read and respond. Let's not even think about the messages that take six minutes of work to deal with.

If you feel the same way, then it’s time to get together; maybe we can start a revolution.

The problem is that readers now bear the burden. Before e-mail, senders shouldered the burden of mail. Writing, stamping, and mailing a letter was a lot of work. Plus, each new addressee meant more postage, so we thought hard about whom to send things to.

E-mail reversed that system in no time. With free sending to an infinite number of people now a reality, every little thought and impulse becomes instant communication. Our most pathetic meanderings become deep thoughts that we happily blast to six dozen colleagues who surely can't wait. On the receiving end, we collect these gems of wisdom from the dozens around us. The result: Inbox overload.

Taming e-mail means training the senders to put the burden of quality back on themselves.

What's the best way to train everyone around you to better e-mail habits? You guessed it: You go first. First, you say, "In order for me to make you more productive, I'm going to adopt this new policy to lighten your load…" Demonstrate a policy for a month, and if people like it, ask them to start doing it too.

1 - Use a subject line to summarise, not describe.
People scan their inbox by subject. Make your subject rich enough that your readers can decide whether it's relevant. The best way to do this is to summarise your message in your subject.

BAD SUBJECT: Subject: Deadline discussion

GOOD SUBJECT: Subject: Recommend we ship product April 25th

2 - Give your reader full context at the start of your message.
Too many messages forwarded to you start with an answer—"Yes! I agree. Apples are definitely the answer"—without offering context. We must read seven included messages, notice that we were copied, and try to figure out what apples are the answer to.

You're probably sending e-mail because you're deep in thought about something. Your reader is too; only they're deep in thought about something else. Even worse, in a multi-person conversation, messages and replies may arrive out of order. And no, it doesn't help to include the entire past conversation when you reply; it's rude to force someone else to wade through ten screens of messages because you're too lazy to give them context. So, start off your messages with enough context to orient your reader.

BAD E-MAIL:
To: Mickey Mouse
From: Minnie Mouse
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Please bring contributions to the charity drive
Yes, apples are definitely the answer.

GOOD E-MAIL:
To: Mickey Mouse
From: Minnie Mouse
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Please bring contributions to the charity drive.
You asked if we want apple pie. Yes, apples are definitely the answer.

3 - When you copy lots of people (a heinous practice that should be used sparingly), mark out why each person should care.

Just because you send a message to six poor co-workers doesn't mean all six know what to do when they get it. Ask yourself why you're sending to each recipient, and let him or her know at the start of the message what he or she should do with it. Big surprise, this also forces you to consider why you're including each person.

BAD CC:
To: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck
Subject: Press Release draft is done
The Press Release draft is done. Check it out in the attached file. The PR agency will need our responses by the end of the week.

GOOD CC:
To: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck
Subject: Press Release draft is done

Mickey: DECISION NEEDED. Get marketing to approve the draft

Minnie: PLEASE VERIFY. Does the release capture our branding?

Donald: FYI, if we need to translate to Arabic, your translation project will slip.

The Press Release draft is done. Check it out in the attached file. The PR Agency will need our responses by the end of the week.

4 - Use separate messages rather than bcc (blind carbon copy).
If you bcc someone "just to be safe," think again. Ask yourself what you want the "copied" person to know, and send a separate message if needed. Yes, it's more work for you, but if we all do it, it's less overload.

BAD BCC:
To: Donald
Bcc: Mickey
Please attend the PR meeting today at 2:00 p.m.

GOOD BCC:
To: Donald
Please attend the PR meeting today at 2:00 p.m.

To: Mickey
Please reserve the conference room for Donald and me today at 2:00 p.m.

5 - Make action requests clear.
If you want things to get done, say so. Clearly. There's nothing more frustrating as a reader than getting copied on an e-mail and finding out three weeks later that someone expected you to pick up the project and run with it. Summarise action items at the end of a message so everyone can read them at one glance.

6 - Separate topics into separate e-mails … up to a point.
If someone sends a message addressing a dozen topics, some of which you can respond to now and some of which you can't, send a dozen responses—one for each topic. That way, each thread can proceed unencumbered by the others.

Do this when mixing controversy with the mundane. That way, the mundane topics can be taken care of quietly, while the flame wars can happen separately.

BAD MIXING OF ITEMS:
We need to gather all the articles by February 1st.
Speaking of which, I was thinking … do you think we should fire Pluto?

GOOD MIXING OF ITEMS:
Message #1: We need to gather all the articles by February 1st.
Message #2: Pluto's missed a lot of deadlines recently. Do you think termination is in order?

7 - Combine separate points into one message.
Sometimes the problem is the opposite - sending 500 tiny messages a day will overload someone, even if the intent is to reduce this by creating separate threads. If you are holding a dozen open conversations with one person, the slowness of typing is probably substantial overhead. Jot down all your main points on a piece of (gasp) paper, pick up the phone, and call the person to discuss those points. I guarantee you'll save a ton of time.

8 - Edit forwarded messages.
For goodness sake, if someone sends you a message, don't forward it along without editing it. Make it appropriate for the ultimate recipient and make sure it doesn't get the original sender in trouble.

BAD FORWARDING:
To: Mickey
Minnie's idea, described below, is great.
---
From: Minnie
Hey, Daisy:

Let's take the new press release and add a picture of the product. Mickey probably won't mind; his design sense is so garish he'll approve anything.

GOOD FORWARDING:
To: Mickey
Minnie's idea, described below, is great.
---
From: Minnie
Hey, Daisy:

Let's take the new press release and add a picture of the product.

9 - When scheduling a call or conference, include the topic in the invitation. It helps people prioritize and manage their calendar more effectively.

BAD E-MAIL:
Subject: Conference call Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.

GOOD E-MAIL:
Subject: Conference call Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. to review press tour details.

10 - Make your e-mail one page or less.
Make sure the meat of your e-mail is visible in the preview pane of your recipient's mailer. That means the first two paragraphs should have the meat. Many people never read past the first screen, and very few read past the third.

Understand how people prefer to be reached, and how quickly they respond.
Some people are so buried under e-mail that they can't reply quickly. If something is important, use the phone or make a follow-up phone call. Do it politely; a delay may not be personal. It might be that someone's overloaded. If you have time-sensitive information, don't assume people have read the e-mail you sent three hours ago rescheduling the meeting that takes place in five minutes. Pick up the phone and call.

11 - How to read and receive e-mail
Setting a good example only goes so far. You also have to train others explicitly. Explain to them that you're putting some systems in place to help you manage your e-mail overload. Ask for their help, and know that they're secretly envying your strength of character.

12 - Check e-mail at defined times each day.
We hate telemarketers during dinner, so why do we tolerate e-mail when we're trying to get something useful done?

Turn off your e-mail "autocheck". Please, please, please – turn it off.

Only check e-mail two or three times a day, by hand.

Let people know that if they need to reach you instantly, e-mail isn't the way. When it's e-mail processing time, however, shut the office door, turn off the phone, and blast through the messages.

13 - Use a paper "response list" to prioritise messages before you do any follow-up.
The solution to e-mail overload is pencil and paper? Who knew? Grab a pad and label it "Response list." Run through your incoming e-mails. For each, note on the paper what you have to do or whom you have to call. Resist the temptation to respond immediately. If there's important reference information in the e-mail, drag it to your Reference folder. Otherwise, delete it. Zip down your entire list of e-mails to generate your response list. Then, zip down your response list and actually do the follow-up.

14 - Charge people for sending you messages.
One CEO I've worked with charges staff members five dollars from their budget for each e-mail she receives. Amazingly, her overload has gone down, the relevance of e-mails has gone up, and the senders are happy, too, because the added thought often results in them solving more problems on their own.

15 - Train people to be relevant.
If you are constantly copied on things, begin replying to e-mails that aren't relevant with the single word: "Relevant?" Of course, you explain that this is a favour to them. Now, they can learn what is and isn't relevant to you. Beforehand, tell them the goal is to calibrate relevance, not to criticise or put them down and encourage them to send you relevancy challenges as well. Pretty soon, you'll be so well trained you'll be positively productive!

16 - Answer briefly.
When someone sends you a ten-page missive, reply with three words. "Yup, great idea." You'll quickly train people not to expect huge answers from you, and you can then proceed to answer at your leisure in whatever format works best for you. If your e-mail volume starts getting very high, you'll have no choice.

17 - Send out delayed responses.
Type your response directly, but schedule it to be sent out in a few days. This works great for conversations that are nice but not terribly urgent. By inserting a delay in each go-around, you both get to breathe easier.

(In Outlook, choose Options when composing a message and select ‘Do not deliver before’. In Eudora, hold down the Shift key as you click Send.)

18 - Ignore it.
Yes, ignore e-mail. If something's important, you'll hear about it again. Trust me. And people will gradually be trained to pick up the phone or drop by if they have something to say. After all, if it's not important enough for them to tear their gaze away from the hypnotic world of Microsoft Windows, it's certainly not important enough for you to take the time to read.

Your only solution is to take action.

Yeah, yeah, you have a million reasons why these ideas can never work for you. Hogwash. Just one can bring some semblance of order to your inbox. So choose a technique and start applying it.

When to target Bloggers in PR

The Entrepreneurs Organisation recently polled their 7,000 members in 38 countries and asked these business owners:

Is Blogging a valuable business tool for you?

And the results are in…
Yes, and I blog on a regular basis = 36%

No, but I blog for other reasons = 16% 

No, I don't see the value in blogging = 36%

Other = 12 %


A resounding split. A third of the business owner community around the world are interested in blogging. A third not. The rest, not so much.

In our PR work we often come across clients that are targeting ‘business owners’ as their clients. And I expect the EO’s membership criteria is a pretty accurate a target within this category.

So should PR agencies be spending so much effort ‘influencing’ bloggers?

Personally, I think that a PR pro should be conscious of their target audience. If that target audience are, for example, The Millennial generation (16-27 year olds) who grew up with broadband, the Internet and mobile phones and for whom technology has a huge impact on their lifestyles, then bloggers are for sure an important target.

However, if the target includes, for example ‘business owners’ then maybe the weighting of other more traditional media should be seriously considered.

Just an idea.