PR Bloggers: Are We Pandering, Or is Your Audience Blindly RT’ing?

Photo credit: Me, from my trip to Lambeau Field. Expresses the true meaning of teamwork/”circle” mentality.

The PR “Social Media Fun Time Explosion” cycle. We gobble up any and every stat; every blog post from the thought leaders and those in our circle (even if it’s a no-brainer and anyone can write it); base ideals off discussions we have had; research like crazy and then come to our own conclusion.

Wait, back up. WHY are we absorbing every blog post that anyone could have written and saying it’s golden? Pandering to an audience isn’t being brilliant in this space. I’ve noticed a trend where many are now saying, “Hey, I could have written that.” Is the novelty wearing off? We should be presenting unique ideals to clients, not something they can hear just by Googling.

The thing is, C-Suite is starting to question social media value, just as much along the same lines as public relations. It’s very easy to cut external PR. So, how are you going to prove your worth?

Know the Brand

Having been in both corporate PR and on the agency side, it’s very easy to get territorial with every little detail on the corporate side. You are living and breathing that brand everyday. So are agency people – but they also might be living another brand co-currently. The key is to make every client feel as if they are at the top of the list. Send them articles that explain social media trends – and include your own blog posts if you think they are applicable. Many clients will subscribe to your tweets by e-mail and subscribe to your blog. Embrace it and mirror the same ideals you discuss with them.

By showing knowledge and leveraging interest, you are also inviting the client to share with you. From there, you can easily build a relationship that will put them at ease. Reminder: They are putting their brand in your hands on a daily basis when it comes to social media if they choose to use external. Don’t abuse the privilege.

Move Past Engagement

Great. You know how to communicate externally on another platform. One should use engagement as the foundation of traditional principles on a new channel. Social Media isn’t new – it’s how you prove value that can set you apart. Understanding both qualitative worth (which is what PR usually shows) and quantitative worth (yes, the media impressions/value binders are still something that many clients want) in traditional plus the social landscape is imperative. Think of the C-Suite as your demographic and audience. Social media is not a band-aid approach, and you can’t discuss it with them as you would a marketing director. Numbers make sense, and they have to see concrete value. You can spout off all you want, but back up qualitative with reports, articles and research.

I could go on for hours, but let’s open it up: What would you add? Why?

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Robert Innis

A lot of it depends on your agenda as well. If you are just trying to appease your client, then it is key do exactly what you mentioned. and constantly update them with new research, and white papers. What is also key is pinpointing the value of your RT's and the posts and links you forward to them.

If you are blogging, to create visibility for your own brand or organization it is key to of course comment on other posts as well as Rt'ing. When you post it to Facebook, it is good to state the importance it has to you, because you want your opinion to matter.
https://confusedyetamused.wordpress.com
Chris Hall

We all feel we have to consume everything in front of us for fear of missing out. This kind of activity cannot be sustained if we're to be successful in our own roles and duties.

To often we don't (including me) question whether something we've read is accurate and important. The more we ask these things of ourselves and the information we consume the better social media, marketing and PR will be.

Great post. Got me thinking and changing the way I view things.
CTMichaels

Hey, I could have written that!
Valerie

"Why do some PR pros take any blog post, gobble it up and present it as gold?"

I would be lying if I denied having asked myself the same question before. Although, I am unsure of the exact reason for this, I've chalked it up to mechanics. PR pros tend to be wired as enthusiasts passionate about generating exposure for their clients. They're genuinely excited about creating discussion, and especially keen to any chance they have to expand their community.

If the novelty is wearing off, maybe it's a good thing. To me, realizing you could have written a blog post similar to one you praise, represents growth. If one person's growth and new-found confidence to be more vocal is the result of retweeting posts, or from being exposed to interesting discussion, then we've all been doing something right.