As a follow-up to Monday’s post, I just thought I would cite an example of multi-channel engagement (i.e. the practice of leveraging several social and traditional communications approaches to foster dialog).
At Fusion PR, we have a client called BigCarrot – a site that offers so-called inducement prizes. BigCarrot makes it possible to crowd source innovation by offering a platform for people to both start and compete in prizes. As the website says:
A NEW WAY TO DEMOCRATIZE innovation and advocate for the causes you
believe in. The site allows people with a common interest to come
together and pool their contributions to create an inducement prize.
Anyone can start a prize on any topic—from large social issues to
smaller personal pursuits—and anyone with the ability to claim the
prize can submit a solution. It’s the best way to achieve real results.
At any rate, one of our goals is to get bloggers interested in the service, especially those who have been blogging for causes that can benefit through use of BigCarrot.
Ben, who is one of our team members contacted a journalist at a top publication who runs such a blog via email (channel number 1).
Being a persistent PR person – my favorite kind – Ben picked up the phone and called the journalist (channel number 2). The journalist, being very busy – the usual kind – brushed him off. But – here’s the kicker – he later emailed Ben, apologized, said this does indeed sound interesting and asked Ben to add a comment to a specific post on the blog with key details – in other words, to become part of an ongoing conversation.
Long story short, Ben posted a comment to the blog – not as a pitch, but as commentary that inserted BigCarrot into the existing conversation (channel number 3).
The comment was accepted and posted (not all are; the blog in question is a moderated forum) and we are on our way to a productive dialog with the journalist and his blogging audience.
Each of the channels by themselves might not have been effective, working together they created synergy and propelled the PR person to the desired result, and the journalist/blogger to a positive experience with a PR person.
(Shameless Plug Alert: This blog is geared towards PR folks, so while I have your attention I would like to add that we also working to create awareness that BigCarrot can be a great platform to promote prizes and awards related to your client or brand).
