Web Ink Now

Single most essential PR pitching tip

The tip is below. Feel to jump to the punch line.

Prior to embarking on a speaking and writing career, I was VP marketing and PR for several public companies. Boy oh boy have I done my share of pitching. So I know what it is like when you have something interesting that you just want to share with the world.

I'm now on the other side. I receive pitches. Lots of pitches. Most of them suck.

I write for the Huffington Post. I am a contributing editor at EContent Magazine. I write a marketing blog. I write a blog about Apollo artifacts. I write books too.

As a result, I receive hundreds of pitches a week. Most of them are wholly ineffective. Usually that’s because people pitch me about things I don’t write about

(For example, although it may be awesome, I am just not interested in: Wavien, Inc. Introduces 16" DPR Lamp Platform Producing Improved Screen Brightness for 3D Cinema Applications.)

But even when I'm sent something related to the topics I write about, the pitches are usually product pitches. With rare exceptions like when I raved about Layar, I just don't write about products.

Discussions with other journalists I know suggest very few of us write about products.

So here's the single most essential media and blogger pitching tip for PR people

Don't pitch your product.

Most journalists don't care about products.

Instead…
Tell us how your organization solves problems for customers.

+++++++++++

Bonus tip.

When I walk a tradeshow floor, if I become interested in learning about a particular company, I walk up to the nearest booth rep and ask: "What problems do you solve for your customers?"

Believe it or not, some booth reps get flustered and can't answer the question.

Make certain if you exhibit as part of your marketing efforts that your people can answer this.

Image credit: Shutterstock / U.P.images_vector

How big is YOURS?

Lee sent me an email:

"Am enjoying your book The New Rules of Marketing & PR and have recommended it to many colleagues.

Wow you really don't like us poor old PR people do you? So - how DO you replace the clip books - which you are so scathing of – and our bosses and client still demand? Can you help me understand how to explain to a client exactly what they have paid for on a monthly basis - you can't just say it's all out there in cyberland somewhere - they want to see results."

Here is a longer version of what I answered back to Lee.

Back in the day, I was VP marketing & PR for several public companies and engaged PR agencies, paying USD $20,000 and more per month.

I was always annoyed at the "clip book" form of measurement, but in the 1990s we had nothing better. (A clip book is a gathering of all the "clippings" cut from magazines and newspapers about your company in a month and presented as a bound book usually by your PR agency.)

The bigger the better.

In a good month, agencies would proudly drop the clip book on a table to hear the "thud factor." A deep resonance was good.

The problem I have with clip book measurement is that it does not reflect the realities of what we can do today to reach our audiences via the Web. A clip book implies that all we care about is ink from mainstream media. Measuring success by focusing only on the number of times the mainstream media write or broadcast about you misses the point.

• If a blogger is spreading your ideas, that's great.
• If a thousand people watch your YouTube video, that's awesome.
• If a hundred people email a link to your information to their networks, tweet about you, or post about you on their Facebook page, that's amazing.
• If you come up on the first page of Google for an important phrase, break out the champagne!

You're reaching people, which was the point of seeking media attention in the first place, right?

But most PR people only measure traditional media like magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV, and this practice doesn’t capture the value of sharing.

Here are some things you can measure.

1. How many people are getting exposed to your ideas?

2. How many people are downloading your stuff?

3. How often are bloggers writing about you and your ideas?

4. (And what are those bloggers saying?)

5. Where are you appearing in search results for important phrases?

6. How many people are engaging with you and choosing to speak to you about your offerings?

7. How are sales going? Is the company reaching its goals?

I talk more about these ideas in a free ebook I published last year.

Lose Control of Your Marketing! Why marketing ROI measures lead to failure

Cool Job Alert: Video interview with Allan Schoenberg CMEGroup

I spent yesterday morning with Allan Schoenberg, who is Director of Corporate Communications for the CME Group, the world's largest derivatives marketplace (futures exchange).

We spent most of our time on the historic trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, the first organized futures exchange, founded in 1848.

Allan has a really cool job. Imagine working in corporate communications in what I think of as "the center of the news universe."

Please take about 7 minutes to watch this fascinating video interview.
Note it may take a few moments to load. Direct link here.

Allan discusses how he works with the media, his media and social media monitoring. He has moved beyond just monitoring what is happening with CME Group to looking at issues that matter in the economy. This information is used for new product development, customer-facing teams, researchers.

Alan's team is also responsible for content creation including the @CMEGroup twitter feed with more than 750,000 followers as of this writing. Traders, journalists, and analysts follow them. A great example of brand journalism.

Watch this blog later in the week for another interesting interview from the trading floor.

CEO blogger reaches a global audience including the media and employees

Last week I sat down with Paul Levy, President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) to learn about how he uses his blog.

I'm fascinated by CEOs who blog and who are active on Twitter @PaulFlevy, especially those from large organizations like BIDMC (7,000 people work there).

See below for a ten minute video discussion I had with Paul.

Paul has been blogging since August 2006. His Running a Hospital blog is popular with healthcare professionals around the world, with BIDMC employees, and with people who work at competing hospitals in the Boston area.

My favorite quote was when I asked Paul for his advice for CEOs about starting a blog:

"It has to be in your voice," Paul says. "It cannot be written by your press and media department, it cannot be overwritten by your lawyers. There has to be a single author for a blog to be effective... Readers want to feel that they know you."

Video may take a few moments to load.
Direct link to video here.

BIDMC in Boston is an academic medical center affiliated with Harvard Medical School. It is a large organization, with 7,000 people who work there. They see half a million people a year, about 40,000 of them emergency room visits.

Here are some video highlights of our conversation.

0:30 – 1: 30 - How Paul got started blogging

1:30 - 3:40 - A little about Paul’s large global audience including healthcare professionals, employees, and people who work in competitors at other Boston hospitals.

3:40 - 5:20 - How the blog provides transparency and using actual data to provide an inside view into what goes on at the hospital which leads to accountability

5:20 - 6:50 - What about blogging in a regulated industry?

6:50 – 8:00 - How blog posts lead to instant corrections (vs. print news) and how reporters use the blog for stories

8:00 – 9:30 Advice to other CEOs about blogging.

I first met Paul two years ago when we spoke on a panel together and have been following his blog since. It was great to get together again in person.

Stupid press release spam

I want to know why companies insist on sending me press releases via email in areas that I clearly do not cover. What a pain in the butt to have to wade through these things in my inbox every day.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of using press releases as a tool to reach buyers. You can read more about that in my free ebook The New Rules of PR. Press releases can be a valuable way to communicate.

I'm also a fan of sending personal messages to people to alert them to things that they may find interesting. I really do welcome the many emails and direct messages that people send me about things that I would enjoy seeing. Many stories in my books and speeches and this blog come from you. Keep them coming! (And thanks).

My problem is with press release spam. Sending press releases to people in areas they do not cover is spam. SPAM, Spam, spam.

What, exactly, do you want me to do with your stupid press release?

Here is a small sample of headlines (and subheads) of some of the releases I have received via email in the past few weeks. WARNING: SOME ARE IN ALL CAPS!

Can anyone figure out why I should care?

Appendix Sonovision-ITEP Signs Reseller Agreement with Inmedius® for Expanded Alliance: To Partner in Single Source Software and Services offering by Appendix

Image Microsystems Wins 2009 Texas Employment Award: Workplace training and employment programs for deaf and special needs community garner top honors for US technology restoration and e-waste recycling leader

Offerpal Media Marks Two-Year Anniversary with 160 Million Users and 730 Billion Virtual Points Issued: More than 2,000 publishers count on Offerpal’s virtual currency payment platform to monetize online games, virtual worlds, social networks and subscription services

Juan Pablo Giometti, President and CEO of National Hispanic Entrepreneurs' Organization to Attend Inside Kenan-Flagler Case Competition October 29 - 31, 2009

MediaBeacon Appoints Enterprise Content Management Veteran to Enhance and Expand Marketing Initiatives: Tom Rieger brings more than 20 years of industry experience to be the Vice President of Marketing and Business Development

LOCAL BUSINESSWOMAN DEBORAH PERRY PISCIONE WINS WOMEN’S INITIATIVE WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD: Bay Area nonprofit for women entrepreneurs announces winners of 2009 competition

Emma Thompson, Helen Bamber to be honored by UN Journalists Nov 11

Inter-Pacific Securities Goes Live with SunGard’s GL Net for Direct Market Access to Malaysia

HighTech PR, Inc. Celebrates 10 Years in Business: Launches New Website in Honor of 10th Anniversary, Receives 2009 'Best of Orlando' Award in the Category of Public Relations by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

NETSUITE DOUBLES PHILIPPINE OPERATIONS AND DELIVERS LOCALIZED SOFTWARE TO ADDRESS MARKET GROWTH FOR CLOUD COMPUTING BUSINESS SUITES: NetSuite Version 2009.2 Localized for Use by Philippines-Based Businesses Certified by Bureau of Internal Revenue

EA SPORTS LAUNCHES MOBILE MARKETING TOUR FOR FIFA SOCCER 10: FIFA Soccer 10 Launches with 15 City, Five-Week Tour Featuring Custom-wrapped Vehicles Equipped with the New 120GB PlayStation®3 Computer Entertainment System

FORMCLIQ™ INVOICES AUTOMATES AP WITH NO SETUP; AVAILABLE NOW STARTING AT UNDER $3,000

Telmetrics and TARGUSinfo Launch New Service to Improve Effectiveness of Direct-Response TV, Online and Print Advertising Campaigns: Combination of Call Routing and Call Measurement Solutions Helps National Advertisers Maximize B2C Conversions by Delivering Visibility into Campaign Performance

ONLINE STATIONER MOO.COM ANNOUNCES FIRST MAJOR UPDATE TO ICONIC MINICARDS: New MiniCards Give Individuals and Small Businesses More Creative Freedom To Promote Themselves and Showcase Their Work

Stylesight and Itochu Fashion System Co., Ltd. Team Up to Provide Localized Japanese Trend Information Service: B2B Trend Content and Software as a Service (SaaS) Provider is First to Address and Fulfill Global Client Demand for Growing Japanese Market

If you are a PR person and have sent me one of these releases, please remove me from your list. Thank you.

Image: Shutterstock / Julien Tromeur

Brand journalism in the U.S. Military humanizes a huge organization

Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of what I call brand journalism. Normally I use this term when I refer to a corporation that creates content that is much more like journalism than the typical hype-driven advertising content you see on most corporate Web sites. Many organizations actually hire professional journalists to create the content.

The Imperial Sugar Newsroom is an example of brand journalism. So is TechWiseTV from Cisco, billed as "information you can use from geeks you can trust." These information sources deliver valuable content that people are eager to consume and that they pass along to friends and colleagues.

The United States Military is very active with brand journalism too. Heck, they have their own television network with The Pentagon Channel -- you can't be more dedicated to brand journalism than that. There is much more of course, such as photojournalists producing amazing photos available to the public on Flickr and print journalists galore creating newspaper- and magazine-quality content, so it is safe to say the U.S. Department of Defense has one of the most fully developed brand journalism organizations I've seen. For more on The Pentagon Channel, see my video discussion with Brian Natwick, the network’s General Manager.

Another great example of brand journalism in the military is Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military, a weekly podcast discussing the importance of science and technology to military operations and the Department of Defense.

I learned about Armed with Science when I met Dr. John Ohab, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, who hosts the weekly show on Wednesdays at 2:00 PM ET. He interviews scientists, administrators, and operators to inform listeners about scientific research and development sponsored by various defense offices. The goal is to make military science accessible to a general audience.

Dr. Ohab takes questions to ask guests live on the show via Twitter. "If it doesn't compromise national security, I'll ask it," he says.

Armed with Science main page
Armed with Science on Twitter
Armed with Science podcast

Guests and topics include:

Dr. Cynthia Lundgren, chief of the Electrochemistry Branch in the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate at Army Research Laboratory, discussing fuel cell technology that has the potential to lower the weight burden carried by soldiers by lessening the number of batteries that they carry for missions lasting longer than 24 hrs.

Dr. Ronald Triolo, Department of Veterans Affairs Senior Research Career Scientist, Case Western Reserve University Professor, Executive Director of the Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center of Excellence, and Associate Director of the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Center discussing how he seeks to improve the quality of life for individuals with paraplegia following spinal cord injury through an innovative bracing system that will provide enhanced mobility.

Check out the Armed with Science podcast and the other examples of brand journalism in the U.S. military and consider how you can do something similar at your organization.

The Pentagon Channel merging television and Web-based content

During my visit to The U.S. Department of Defense on Friday, I was lucky to spend some time with Brian Natwick, General Manager of The Pentagon Channel. I visited Brian the studio of this 24-hour television service available to stateside cable and satellite providers, via American Forces Radio and Television Services, overseas and via the Web at pentagonchannel.mil.

The Pentagon Channel is the ultimate form of Brand Journalism. It is an important way that the U.S. Department of Defense communicates with people all over the world. Here is a five-minute video where I ask Brian about what The Pentagon Channel does and the intersection of television and Web content.

Filmed with my Flip HD video camera and edited on iMovie.
Direct link to the video here.

My favorite (lightly edited) quote:

"The goal of social media at The Pentagon Channel is not to regurgitate the news, but to expand and give a total 360-degree view [of the news] from just a simple tweet to generate awareness, to Facebook, to an in-depth blog."

The Pentagon Channel site
The Pentagon Channel on Facebook
The Pentagon Channel on Twitter

:00 – 1:45 A little about how The Pentagon Channel gets the news out (and wins Emmy Awards in the process).

1:45 - 2:10 What The Pentagon Channel means to family members.

2:10 – 3:30 How The Pentagon Channel communicates via the Web and how Social Media allows an expansion of the television news.

3:30 - 5:00 The role of user generated content.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out my video conversation with Roxie Merritt, Director of New Media Operations at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Another great example of brand journalism coming later in the week. Stay tuned...

Armed with Social Media – The U.S. Department of Defense

During my visit to The Pentagon on Friday, I had the pleasure of spending time with Roxie Merritt, Director of New Media Operations at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of Defense. While she is the top social media person at the U.S. Department of Defense, she also has an extensive background working with mainstream media to get the story out.

It was interesting to spend time discussing how new media is being used in conjunction with mainstream media within the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines.

Video is about 8 minutes.

Filmed with my Flip HD video camera and edited on iMovie.
Direct link to the video here.

My favorite (lightly edited) quote:

"I don’t have to do anything [to correct a blogger who gets something wrong]. Other bloggers who were in the same conversation with the subject matter experts will say 'hey you got it all wrong.'... It's not about controlling the message any more. It's about giving people as much information and resources and facts as they can."

:00 – 2:40 What the department of defense is doing to reach out to bloggers and how building relationships with bloggers is similar to media relations.

2:40 – 5:00 How the social media community is a self-correcting mechanism and how to lose control of the message.

5:00 – 5:30 On the decentralization of social media at the DoD.

5:30 - 6:00 How to reach the 65 percent of service members are digital natives.

6:00 – 7: 40 The immediacy of news and the importance of fact checking.

Watch this blog the rest of the week for a video interviews with Brian Natwick, General Manager of the Pentagon Channel and Colonel Kevin Arata, US Army, Director Online & Social Media.

The U.S. Department of Defense communications arsenal

On Friday, I spent the day in Washington D.C. meeting with people from the U.S. Department of Defense to discuss how social media is now an important component of their communications arsenal. The DoD is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military, including the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and much more.

Since there is so much I am eager to share with you, I'll devote this entire week to videos and blog posts highlighting some cool things going on the communications front in the military. I've got a bunch of stuff to share: videos shot at the Pentagon, links to many interesting sites, and discussions about strategies to get the word out.

A highlight of my visit was two hours spent with the All Services Social Media Council, comprised of about 50 people from across all services, components, and several outside government agencies. The group meets monthly to share best practices and discuss social media. You can see my computer in the foreground as I prepare to present. I really enjoyed the open discussion for the last 40 minutes – a lively back and forth about the future. Expect much from the military in all aspects of social media.

I also had a chance to spend time with Price B. Floyd, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, at his office in the Pentagon. Mr. Floyd is the top communicator in the U.S. DoD, an organization so huge, I can’t think of an equivalent Public Relations position anywhere in the world. The U.S. DoD employs approximately three million civilian and military personnel and has an annual budget of $650 billion dollars. There are well over a thousand professional communicators in the organization. And you think you have a complicated job!

Managing Fear of Social Media - Learning from the U.S. DoD

Let's kick off the week with two interesting blogs. As I read these blogs, I'm struck by how the U.S. Military is effectively communicating on the Web. At the same time, at organizations all over the world, people are fearful. I constantly hear things like "what if people say bad things about us?" and "Only kids are on Facebook." I do love to point people to the military and say, "Hey, if the organizations responsible for national defense can overcome fear, so can you."

I really like the Armed and Curious blog, home of the heavily armed tourist, written by LTC Fred Wellman. Colonel Wellman, a public affairs officer currently working as Deputy Commander of the Defense Media Activity, an organization delivering multimedia to inform, educate, and entertain Department of Defense audiences around the world. Col. Wellman served three Iraq tours flying or working with the Iraqi Security Forces. This is his personal blog, but of course has a great deal of interesting information about his roles in the U.S. Army. His engaging personality that I experienced firsthand comes through in the blog and this serves to humanize the Army for anyone who read the blog.

In a terrific example of targeting a particular buyer persona, the Family Matters Blog, written by Elaine Wilson, editor and writer for American Forces Press Services, provides resources and support to military families, as well as to encourage a dialogue on topics ranging from deployments and separations to the challenges of everyday life. For those with a spouse, son or daughter serving overseas, the blog provides information and a level of comfort.

Here are great images on the DoD Flickr photostream.

Watch this blog over the next week for much more on what the U.S. Military is doing to communicate with people around the world.

Armed and Curious photo via LTC Fred Wellman
U.S. Navy family photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jake Berenguer

Disclosure: I am volunteering my time to work with the U.S. DoD.

David Letterman gets in front of the news

American television personality David Letterman used his Late Show on October 1 to confess to an extortion attempt from someone threatening to expose affairs that Letterman had with staffers.

I'll leave commentary about the tawdry aspects of this to the thousands of other people who are weighing in with opinions on the sex angle. However, I do want to comment on the way that Letterman has chosen to handle the disclosure.

Getting in front of a media crisis

The public heard about the affairs and the blackmail attempt from David Letterman himself first. Letterman delivered a deadpan description of the extortion, admitting that he had sexual relationships with women who worked for him. Letterman was not married at the time of the affairs.

It seems obvious that Letterman expected the news to come out somehow. His choice of admitting it himself first, on his own terms, and in his own environment of his top rated television show was a brilliant move.

Again, I am not condoning the behavior nor am I dismissing it as unimportant. However, I am saying that if bad news was going to come out anyway, it is much better that the person involved admit it first and this is a great example.

All the elements: Sex, celebrity, greed, shame, and lies

This story has all the elements that news outlets love: Sex (especially sex when one person is deemed more powerful than the other), celebrity (especially when the celebrity is someone who frequently talks about other people’s sex lives), greed (especially involving millions of dollars), shame (ducking the cameras), and lies (denial, which is usually the first course of action).

Because Letterman admitted to the affairs, much of the early news has focused on the extortion attempt.

Letterman took out the shame aspect (because he was not featured in those famous ducking the cameras in front of your house shots), and he removed the lies aspect (he did not deny the allegation as so many people seem to do initially). By admitting to the affairs, the shame and lies fall on the alleged blackmailer instead.

With shame and lies out of the picture and because the news originally came directly from the main person involved in the matter, Letterman controlled the initial framing of the discussion as being about extortion more than about sex.

I give credit to Letterman on the PR side so far. Of course, it is early. This story will continue to unfold and it is likely that there will be new revelations.

Many organizations face potential bad news being exposed to the public. Product defects, layoffs, injuries on the job, or a social media transparency screw-up (such as getting caught faking product reviews) are just a few examples I’ve seen recently.

From my experience, jumping in front of the issue is usually the best course of action.

Thoughts?

Image credit, man holding up his hands: pjcross / Shutterstock