07.31.05

catching up on my reading

Posted in General at 7:29 pm by Paloma Cruz

One of the things that has made it possible to be bedridden for the last week and keep my sanity is the stack of books next to my bed. Right now I’m working my way through “The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR” by Al Ries & Laura Ries.

I’d been to a workshop led by Laura Ries once, shortly after the book was published, but I never got around to reading the book. So far it’s a lot of info that I consider to be common sense. You build a brand using public relations and you defend a brand using advertising. Makes sense to me. Of course, to the average brand manager, common sense is using advertising to launch a brand.

It’s hard to be a true public relations professional. We know what we’re doing. And we know how to make what we do produce results. The problem is that, very often, it’s a slow build up and you can’t really count return on investment with immediacy. However, the results are often longer lasting than anything you can achieve with advertising.

I’m 3/4 of the way through with the book (which I checked out at my local library). I hope to finish this before my MRI tomorrow.

In the meantime, I’m feeling well enough to have brought a laptop to bed with me. I’m going to try to start blogging once again, or at least adding my comments to what other people are blogging. I’ve felt completely cut off. On with the reading…

07.24.05

jobs available

Posted in General at 5:20 pm by Paloma Cruz

Want a blogging job (or should I write “a job blogging”)? Here are a few options:

PR posts to note

Posted in General at 5:19 pm by Paloma Cruz

Creating Wikipedia Articles, from MicroPersuasion. “Should PR professionals create Wikipedia entries for their clients? I agree with Joe Brockmeir at ZDNet. If we behave, stick to just the facts and let the community decide our fates (like we have a choice!) then we can play in the sandbox.”

Happy customers blog, too, writes Shel Holtz. “Does it mean there’s no role for PR? As Todd Cochrane suggested on Geek News Central, does’t this just mean companies should can their PR staffs and encourage—or even pay—more Rob Safutos to blog about the company? Not on your life. In addition to the things the PR professionals do that are behind the scenes, communicators can provide support to these bloggers and use the blogs’ contents to reinforce other communication efforts.”

Caro Consulting advises Get Local - Reach Out to Your Community. “Okay, it’s time to define the target market. Who are they? Where do they live? What is their income? How old are they? Next, determine the best way to reach this audience. Marketing 101, right?”

Elizabeth Albrycht writes about Blog Guilt and her decision not to include info about a PR professional in need of a liver transplant. “No one has called me out on this, but I am feeling the blog peer pressure all the same; the first time I have ever felt it this strongly. So, now I have posted, while transparently acknowledging my discomfort. And still, my intellectual side is coldly analyzing and throwing out thoughts at me about how this is an example of the effect of blogging on people, communities, etc. I just don’t know what else to say [she writes with a sigh, and closes out the post].” I should not that I didn’t include this info in this blog either.

InfoWorld reports that Tag mania sweeps the Web — Tag-enabled applications open the door to new opportunities for information management. “Dynamically self-updating collections shift information management into a higher gear, but it’s the social dimension of tagging that really kicks things into overdrive. At InfoWorld, for example, we’ve been tagging the stories we publish. In a progress report on the experiment, I showed how it’s not only helping InfoWorld editors to work collaboratively toward a common vocabulary, but it’s also enlisting readers to enrich and refine that vocabulary.” (Story found via MicroPersuasion.)

Measuring the Blogosphere and Beyond, from DMNews. “According to research from Burson-Marsteller, 31 percent of online public opinion leaders have blogs. The newsmaking process has become a collaborative process between the media and publics. Audiences who follow events through traditional and alternative channels, and sift piles of information to unravel a story, are replacing those who receive news only from well-known media outlets.” (Found the story via MicroPersuasion.)

Jeremy Pepper broaches the question What’s a blog supposed to be? “A blog is a person’s or corporation’s own personal work - if you want to post partial feeds, go for it. If you want to post long posts and commentary, go for it. If you want to be part of the herd, and do what every one else says to do - SEO optimization, link farming, name dropping, short posts, - go for it. It’s the blogosphere, do whatever you want.”

“It’s not about spin or fluffery or trying to trick anybody. It’s about properly communicating what is real and true in a way that has meaning to people,” writes John Wagner in his post Spin, Messaging, Fluff And Transparency. “But good PR people know that any communications vehicle — blog, news release, whatever — that won’t hold up to scrutiny is a waste of time. Especially in today’s world, where people reject the false or the overstated.”

PR Journal talks about Lost Voices and professional writing. “Somewhere in our struggle for the concrete and the objective we have lost our voices. We merely turn out standard press releases, focusing exlusively on facts. Facts are essential, but facts alone do not make good writing. Facts, expressed by a caring voice guiding through the clutter, introducing a new invention, inviting to an annual dinner do.”

07.23.05

out of commission

Posted in General at 9:46 am by Paloma Cruz

Posts will be scarce for the next few days, because of a back pain.

07.20.05

customer service begins with your employees

Posted in General at 8:54 pm by Paloma Cruz

A few months ago I wrote about how bad customer service at one of my project facilities nearly ended up being a media story. Excerpt:

So the question today is: whose job is it, anyway?

Whose job is it to promote your business? Whose job is it to see that your bottom line is met? Whose job is it to make certain that your organization’s meets its goals? Who is responsible for the success of your company? Who makes certain that your business image is maintained? Who makes certain that your customers become your best spokespersons?

Answer: Every single person on your payroll.

Today’s Inside and Outside from Seth Godin reiterates that point from a different angle. In it Seth talks about how the employees being happy to be at work influenced his decision to purchase, stay and purchase more (at Starbucks). In fact, he goes so far as to call this job satisfaction a marketing effort. Whether you agree with that or not (or even if you hate Starbucks) what’s evident is that great customer service is what made him decide to go back. And, ultimately, isn’t our goal to have repeat happy customers?

I’ve been misquoted, now what?

Posted in General at 12:15 am by Paloma Cruz

I hate it when I flub an answer. That means I messed up. When I see an interview on TV or read a quote in the paper where I so visibily dropped the ball… it’s almost painful. I hate it.

Almost as much as I hate that, I hate being misquoted. It irritates me, reminds me that I don’t have control over what is being said, over what ultimately is provided to readers and viewers.

Misquotes happen. (I should have t-shirts made.) No matter how diligent you are, how much you check and double-check what you say, misquotes happen.

A few months ago I did an interview with a reporter from a wire service. We spoke on the phone, she sent me her questions via email so I could do some research on them, and I responded the same way.

I had my search bots look for this particular article for a few months… and nothing. No article ran that I could find. Then out of nowhere, there it was, in a little nothing paper on the West Coast.

This was beyond misquote, she got my name wrong. Consistently wrong. How hard is it to cut and paste my name from the email she sent me (where the email address is firstname.lastname@companyname.com) or from the one I sent her (with my full signature, name, title, etc.)?

Of course, she also got my quotes wrong. I think she was trying to paraphrase and used quote marks. At least I hope that’s what she was trying to do.

It wasn’t bad, really. The info was basically the same. The tone was a bit different, but it didn’t change the overall message.

All in all, not that big a deal. At least I don’t think so.

(I don’t really mind that my name was wrong, though I should.)

I have a colleague who believes that all misquotes, no matter how small, should be corrected. She will call the reporter and insist on a correction. Sometimes the reporters go through with it, but more often it just makes them upset and makes her next interaction with them more difficult.

I’m more laissez faire about this (for lack of a better term). If the quote basically says what I intended it to say, I let it go. Unless there’s factual information wrong, I don’t take it up with the reporter. And, yes, that does mean that sometimes I let it go when the tone of the quote is different than what I intended.

I do keep track of this, though. And I make certain that I keep this in mind the next time I do something with the reporter in question. Depending on the relationship I have with the reporter, I may or may not mention that (last time) the quotes weren’t quite what I said and I’d be willing to verify any quotes before they go to press this time, just in case. More than one reporter has taken me up on this offer, ensuring that his or her info is always correct (although I’m not always happy with the quotes they choose).

My colleague thinks I’m insane. She wants her quotes to be right, every time. I think that takes too much energy and will impede my ability to do my job. It will impede my ability to serve my clients.

What do you do?

07.19.05

editorial processes and changes, from Blogspotting

Posted in General at 10:20 pm by Paloma Cruz

Blogspotting compares Editorial processes: the magazine vs. the blogs:

The editorial process of blogging is far simpler. We write, we publish. This takes our journalism into a new sphere, but carries inherent risks. How do we handle them? First, we reduce risk by avoiding the sorts of stories that require heavy editing. We don’t blog investigative pieces, for example, or heavy financial analysis. Second, we consult our gut. If it looks risky, we’ll push it toward the more edited BW Online or the magazine. Finally, when we make mistakes–which we do–we aim to correct them quickly and ask for your understanding. We’re into something new, and all of us, you and I, are only coming to understand it as we create it.

I suppose, as more commercial blogging enterprises come up, as more traditional media get into blogging as one of their delivery mechanisms, editorials processes will streamline. But we should remember that Business Week is Business Week, whether they’re publishing via print, via email or via blog.

Another Blogspotting post, Big staff changes at BusinessWeek:

The most important change (from a blog perspective) is that one managing editor position has been turned into three–count ‘em–executive editor posts. Yet only one of these editors will focus on the paper-and-ink magazine. The other two will direct BW Online and new ventures. That means that two-thirds of the top editing team will be focused away from our paper magazine. Gives you an idea of where the growth is.

Yes, it does tell us where the growth is. And, to me at least, it’s not surprising. As Darren Rowse reports that he makes between $10,000 and $20,000 a month in advertising revenue, as a single-poster blogging company, the big boys are taking notice.

07.18.05

from Bob Lutz on corporate blogging

Posted in General at 7:49 pm by Paloma Cruz

In true blogosphere networking, I found an article by General Motors’ Bob Lutz advocating corporate blogging in the online version of Information Week through a post on the Business Week Online’s Blogspotting. (Did that make sense to you?)  Here’s the good stuff (in my opinion):

The key is to leave the corporate-speak behind and keep the tone conversational, open, and honest. Anyone who has read our blog sees the real deal, as produced by us and not polished by several layers of trained communications pros.

Another aspect that helps keep things real is the wealth of comments posted by readers and other bloggers. We don’t filter out negative comments, complaints, or hate mail. All we do is screen for spam and posts from crackpots using language that most people would find offensive.

the branding conversation continues

Posted in General at 7:39 pm by Paloma Cruz

HispanicAd recently ran an article that continues the debate on who owns a brand. Entitled “Marketing Gurus: Cede Power To Consumers,” the article covers how blogs have changed how brands are perceived… and who owns the perception of a brand.

And, while some companies may fear that encouraging consumers to talk about them will erode their brands, Rice said that the Internet has already divested these companies of control–even if they don’t yet realize it. After Rice posted her thoughts about Comcast, the cable giant invited her to meet with company representatives in person. One of the discoveries Rice made was that some of the vice presidents she met with had never before heard of blogs.

Since communications and the knowledge thereof is my “product,” I’m always astounded by my fellow PR practitioners who still think blogs are “online journals” (and, yes, that’s a direct quote from someone in my real life).

I have automated searches every morning of news items, and items posted in the blogosphere, with certain keywords or client names — just to make certain I know what’s being said (or posted). I’m too much of a control freak to actually be comfortable with the idea that I don’t own the perception of my brand and probably never will.  I will, however, learn to use the new technology and the blogger-influenced method of communication to the best benefit of my clients and myself.

Adapt or else.

07.17.05

Learn to write what you mean

Posted in General at 3:18 pm by Paloma Cruz

The Houston Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (also know as IABC/Houston) is hosting a writing workshop as part of their monthly professional development luncheon.

Learn to write what you mean: The Writing Workshop will feature a hands-on training by The Writing Workshop’s John Sturtevant.

This event will be held on July 28th. The luncheon starts at 11:15 a.m., and the workshop starts at 1:30 p.m.

I was lucky enough to take a brief workshop with John at last year’s PRSA Media Day, and it was well worth the price of admission. I don’t think I’m going to be able to go to this workshop, but I know that he’s slated to teach another 1-hour workshop at this year’s PRSA Houston PR Day 2005 and anticipate going to that one.

John’s bio, from the IABC/Houston site:

John Sturtevant has been a teacher and writer for nearly 20 years. He helps business people learn how to understand their business objectives, define clear goals, and create compelling communications.

John created The Writing Workshop based on his experiences teaching at Harvard Business School, where he helped design a business-writing curriculum for the MBA program. His course helped students learn to think analytically, develop a logical argument, and communicate clearly and persuasively in writing.

John also developed and taught two advanced writing courses at the European School of Economics in Rome, Italy.

To register for the luncheon and the workshop, go to this page.

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