Web Ink Now

Haiti is why Nathan Broshear serves in Public Affairs in the U.S. Air Force

If you've been following my blog for a while, you may recall that I've developed a close relationship with the Public Affairs professionals at the U.S. Air Force. It all started when I connected with them on Twitter in late 2008.

Later I spoke at the Air Force World Wide Public Affairs Conference in Washington D.C. I also spent a day at the Pentagon meeting people from other branches of the U.S. military public affairs and travelled to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, AZ to spend time with the PA officers there. Note that in all cases, I donated my time.

I've learned that the Public Affairs Officers are given incredible responsibility at a young age. They work long hours for pay that’s lower than what they'd make in the private sector. They are put in harms' way and deploy to places away from their family for months or even years at a time.

HAITI

Immediately after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, I received a message from my friend Capt. Nathan Broshear, Director of Public Affairs for 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) that he was to deploy immediately to Haiti to aid in the relief efforts. He sent me a few messages while there and I was amazed at the work he was doing.

I'm like: "Nathan tell me more!"

So he did.

I just read an essay Capt. Broshear wrote called Haiti: this is why I serve. You should read it too.

He writes: "The rewards of serving aren't one-word answers; they're the tiny snapshots of humanity, dignity and kindness playing over and over in the minds of Airmen who've been there…. scenes of hope replay in my mind each night as I lie down to sleep in my tent."

Do yourself a favor and read the rest of his essay.

If you’re at South-by-Southwest next month, please join me and Capt. Broshear as we participate in the Future15 session on social business. I’ll be presenting on social marketing and Nathan will be presenting on social PR.

Capt. Broshear says of his work in Public Affairs: "We're not launching missiles, we're launching ideas."

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Airmen attached to Air Force Expeditionary Medical Squadron, Four Three Six, from Travis AF Base, Sacramento Cali., and Navy Corpsman treat earthquake survivors at an expeditionary medical facility located along the harbor of Port-au-Prince, Haiti February 3, 2010. A 7.0 earthquake Tuesday, January 12, left thousands of Haitians displaced, without access to food, water and vital medical care. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Todd Frantom)

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

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.

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

Mary Henige of GM on storytelling and humanizing the company

The final video in my series of four from my day at General Motors is with Mary Henige who is in charge of both social media communications and broadcast communications. I ask her about her dual role and we talk about storytelling (especially online) and its role in humanizing the company.

If you have not seen the other videos, the links are:

GM CEO Fritz Henderson discusses new marketing

Top GM marketing exec Bob Lutz on effective communication

Christopher Barger on social media communications at GM

This video is 7 minutes.
Filmed with my Flip video camera and edited on iMovie.
Direct link to the video here.

My favorite (lightly edited) quote: "From the beginning of time, people have been telling stories... You make things personal when you tell stories… Now through the power of YouTube and blogging, you’re telling a story that seems very intimate... You make friends with people that you’ve never met."

:00 – 2:00 Humanizing GM by showcasing GM people.

2:00 -3:20 Storytelling to make an emotional connection to customers.

3:20 – 5:10 On Henige’s dual role of broadcast media and social media: How different are they?

5:10 – 6:40 Henige’s advice to her peers about communicating through social media.

I'll be doing one more post later today where I share my thoughts with GM marketers about what they are doing well and some suggestions for improvement.

Christopher Barger on social media communications at GM

Several people who have been following my video interviews with Fritz Henderson, CEO of General Motors and Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman have asked me how I was able to score such high profile discussions.

Here's how: I wrote a critical blog post in June Attention GM: Here are the top 5 marketing ideas for your reinvention. The post received hundreds of tweets and more than 50 comments. Very quickly (within hours actually) I was engaged with the social media team at GM. They turned me around. I went from a critic to a supporter. I’ll let Christopher Barger, director, social media at General Motors tell the story from his perspective in this video.

The video is 6 minutes. Below are some times if you want to skip to a particular part of the video.

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

Favorite quote: “Part of humanizing the company is showing that you have a life.”

:00 – 1:30 On how GM monitors social media and how my negative blog post and tweets were found by the social media team at GM.

1:30 – 2:50 The organization of the social media team at GM

2:50 - 3:30 Of the many thousands of people talking about GM online, how does GM choose who to engage?

3:30 - 5:40 How Barger deals with 24x7 communications in an always-on world.

Tomorrow I will post the final GM video interview. I also discuss some of the new GM product lineup and thoughts for how to market cars like the Chevy Volt.

Top GM marketing exec Bob Lutz on effective communication

When I visited General Motors world headquarters on Monday, a highlight was meeting Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman and the top marketing and communications executive in the company.

Lutz has been writing on the GM FastLane blog since 2004, making him one of the first senior executive bloggers. I filmed my conversation where we discuss how he uses the blog to communicate directly to journalists, how social media and offline marketing has changed in the five years since FastLane blog launched, how online research influences product development and advice to senior executives on communications and it’s importance to business.

The video is 12 minutes. Below are some times if you want to skip to a particular part of the video.

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

My favorite (lightly edited) quote: "Very few CEOs understand that there is nothing more important than communication... The more you engage people by answering emails, getting on blogs, getting on Twitter, and posting stuff on YouTube, the more we make ourselves real and credible and accessible and look like human beings who are trying to a good job rather than a bunch of amorphous corporate types… A CEO who says 'my job is to look at numbers and run this company from the inside' doesn’t fully understand what a CEO’s role is."

:00 – 1:50 On being one of the first executive bloggers back in 2004 and how he used the blog to communicate directly to journalists.

1:50 - 3:00 How social media and offline marketing has changed in the five years since FastLane blog launched.

3:00 - 5:30 On how bloggers and people on Twitter influenced the decision to cancel the Buick plug-in hybrid SUV only a few days after announcing the new vehicle.

5:30 – 7:00 How online research at GM influences product development.

7:00 – 12:00 Bob Lutz provides advice to senior executives on what online marketing and social media and it’s importance to business.

In case you missed it, here is my video interview with Fritz Henderson, CEO of General Motors. We discuss what helps to sell cars, including "new marketing" (blogs, Twitter, online video, etc.) as well as the more traditional television commercials plus the importance of word of mouth.

Watch for additional blog posts Including video interviews with the GM social media team later in the week.

GM CEO Fritz Henderson discusses new marketing

UPDATE: On December 1, 2009, Fritz Henderson was ousted as CEO by the GM board. Read my open letter to Ed Whitacre, new interim CEO of GM.

+++++++++++++++

Yesterday I spent the day at General Motors world headquarters in Detroit at the invitation of the GM social media communications team.

I met a bunch of interesting people, drove some cool cars, and learned a great deal. I’ve got so much to share that I'll be blogging exclusively about GM for the rest of the week.

First up is my video interview with Fritz Henderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors.

We discuss what helps to sell cars, including "new marketing" (brand journalism, blogs, online video, etc.) as well as the more traditional television commercials plus the importance of word of mouth. The video is 11 minutes. Below are some times if you want to skip to a particular part of the video.

My favorite (lightly edited) quote:
“Word of mouth is the number one influence on the decision to buy a car... Social media democratizes providing word of mouth to a much broader audience.”

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

:00 - 2:40 How marketing and communications has changed in the 25 years that Henderson has been with GM and what hasn’t changed: Word of mouth.

2:40 – 4:00 The role of Twitter, Facebook, blogging, and other instant tools to get information out.

4:00 - 5:40 How people consume information on their time.

5:40 – 8:50 The importance of corporate produced video and the continuing role of traditional media and TV commercials for broad consideration and tactical offers.

8:50 – 11:00 Fritz Henderson provides advice to other CEOs about new marketing and connecting with customers.

Tomorrow I'll post a video interview with Bob Lutz, GM Vice Chairman, Marketing and Communications. Watch for additional blog posts throughout the week.