The Internet Killed these 4 Words for Me

Posted on June 13, 2019 by rgeller
Let’s face it, things have gotten weird with the Internet lately (and all things related – like the Web, apps, and social media). We used to have a great thing going! Now, Internet, you’ve become clingy, stalkerish, irrational, and carelessly share my personal info.
The rant could turn into a much longer post, but I’ll focus here on a subset of the complaints, namely four words that no longer mean the same things, largely due to Internet tech and culture.
Read on below, and I’d love it if you can share your thoughts and any other words that no longer have the same meaning.
Meme 
When I was coming up in the world of PR I became fascinated with the field of memetics.  Here was a science, or at least theory (famously postulated by Richard Dawkins, in his book The Selfish Gene) that claimed to explain how ideas propagate.
Understand memetics, I thought, and I will be the PR whisperer; able to make buzz and even press releases catch on and spread far and wide (as I further detailed in this post). Flash forward twenty or so years and it is not well-intentioned if sometimes annoying US marketers who’ve mastered memetics.  It is the Russians, as they so ably proved in the last election – when they infected social media to try to influence the outcome.
But my complaint is not about the science – if memetics was ever a real one. It is the word meme, which is the atomic unit of memetics.  Like it’s biological counterpart, the gene, or a virus, memes are designed to catch on and spread. This snippet of culture could be something as a small as a catchphrase or as large as the Bible, and entire religions.
Anyway, that was the idea. Now they have come to signify the junk food of the Internet, silly distractions, or propaganda shared by political zealots.
Influencer
Now I’m afraid I’m starting to sound like cranky old dude… “Sonny, when I was young…”
Seriously, the kids think they invented things like content and influencer marketing – but these staples existed long before the online world (one of the early examples of the former was the Michelin Guide, which promoted travel and sold tires in 1900, as explained in the Wikipedia definition).
The influencer used to be someone who was, well, influential in a field – an industry analyst, educator, executive, reporter, etc.  Now I think most people equate the term with social media influencer – anyone with a big Instagram following who shills for a brand. Real influence is about more than just a number, I wrote a while back.
News and Truth
The last two are related, so I am grouping them here.
Just a few years ago, there was little debate about the meaning of news and truth. The Internet killed these things, with the help of cynical politicians and scheming Russians. Some would also argue that social media platforms ate news media for lunch (who are punching back with some scathing articles recently – e.g. see this USA Today story, this one from BuzzFeed, and this CBS News piece).
Today we have fake news and alternative facts.  A couple of years ago I wrote: it’s the end of the truth as we know it, about the failed promise of the internet, as a public commons to crowdsource knowledge and wisdom.
Just witness the struggles of the social media platforms as they attempt to mediate the flood of content and separate lies from theory from actually legitimate info.
I also wrote: Facebook redefines news, and PR will never be the same, and about the challenges of agreeing on a definition of “news” in My Take on the Fake News debate.
Would we be wondering about these things just a few short years ago?  In the words of the Grateful Dead, what a long, strange trip it’s been.
  Posted in Current Affairs, Influencer marketing, Marketing, PR Tech, Technology  |  Tagged , , ,   | Comments Off on The Internet Killed these 4 Words for Me
Cover Your Assets to win in PR
 Posted on May 14, 2019 by rgeller
We
are often asked what it takes to succeed in PR, and about the client effort
required. They’re great questions; the second part acknowledges
shared responsibility.
 
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
I’ve
found that most just want great results, they’re not trying to milk an
agency.  But PR newbies may think that it will be easy – their
groundbreaking news will almost sell itself; or that a proactive PR firm can do
it all with minimal client input.
So,
for anyone who’s asking, here’s a newsflash (actually, two, no extra charge):
  • The media generally don’t care about your news.
  • We are PR pros, not magicians.  You need to throw us a bone!
Which brings us right back to the original questions.
A
Challenging Media Environment
Even those who think they know PR may be surprised to learn that the job has gotten more difficult. PR pro and blogger Frank Strong recently wrote about challenges confronting journalism and the PR profession.  He cited data from recent studies:
“Is the process of media relations getting harder? Yes, it is according to 68% of PR professionals polled for the 2019 JOTW Communications Survey.  That’s up 17% from the same survey last year.”
An article in Bloomberg reported that PR workers now outnumber reporters by six to one, mostly due to vanishing newsroom jobs. Little wonder that it is harder to get media attention and results.
Show
me the Assets
Most
great programs spring from an effective agency and client collaboration; they
combine agency savvy, ideas, and relationships with client ammo. This is
particularly true for landing top tier, which is often the litmus test of
success. What is needed to get to this vaunted media segment? How can the
client help?
The
two-word answer is “PR assets.” These are the things reporters love
that drive or support a story. I list them below, for each kind of opportunity,
and shed light on agency and client roles.
 Hard
News
In a busy media
landscape, breaking news is a top driver of reporter interest.  When it is
your news, you own the story.  But the hurdle is high, to be considered
news by major media, typically requiring scale
or name recognition and mainstream appeal: the largest deals, best-known
brands, or truly breakthrough new products.
Since
top-tier worthy announcements happen rarely, if at all, for most startups,
success means tapping other opportunities and PR assets.
Creating
News
Many
equate news with announcements, but that doesn’t have to be the case. There are
ways to create news that may or may not fit neatly in a press release. These
can include commissioning research, surveys, even PR stunts.
Does
your business spawn data that can be mined for newsworthy info about trends, or
consumer or business behavior?  If so, this could drive a pitch that
lands.
The
agency can suggest these kinds of ideas, but the client needs to be on board to
make them work.
Newsjacking
Even
if you can’t own a story, there are ways to get mentioned, e.g. through
newsjacking.  This means riding related breaking news, typically by
offering execs as a source of color commentary or analysis.
When opportunistic
news hits, it can be a feeding frenzy, with many trying to jack the same story. 
So, it is important to be fast and offer a unique and compelling POV.
 Boilerplate statements, along the lines of “We have a cybersecurity
expert who can comment,” won’t cut it.
The
client can help with a quick and incisive response that the agency can shop
around, based on the client’s savvy and front row view of the technology and
industry.
Features
It seems that there
are fewer opportunities to drive or otherwise participate in features: the
longer non-news stories that focus on trends and topics.  Still, they’re
worth pursuing if you have a great angle and the all-important PR assets:
  • Hard data that support the story
  • Company spokespeople who are prepped and media-genic
  • Third-party spokespeople (customers, industry analysts)
  • B-roll footage (for broadcast top-tier)
Company
Culture, Startup Stories, Exec Profiles
Ultimately, great
stories drive PR and journalism.  But it is too easy for founders and
their teams to drink the Kool-Aid about their own. There’s no shortage of
things to write about and most media don’t care about your news or your
stories, as noted above. 
It takes a solid
understanding of the publication, the type of feature, and the reporter – as
well as the source material – to craft a topic that has a fighting chance.
Here, the PR team can guide you.  Great ones have the instincts of a journalist and the nose for a story.  E.g., there are opportunities in many publications to highlight startups and profile executives. 
PR should interview
the execs to dig for story gold. The client can help by sharing the very best
stuff with an understanding of the high hurdle and what might sell.
  Posted in Tech PR, Technology  |  Tagged , ,   | 1 Comment
Building a Fintech Startup: Top Tips, via Betaworks Panel
 Posted on April 11, 2019 by rgeller
Last week I wrote about growth tactics for B2Bs.  This week I am following up with a post on how to build a fintech, based on a panel discussion I attended at Betaworks Studios in New York.
Amanda Moskowitz of Stacklist, a directory of business tools for startups, moderated the session, which featured these panelists:
It was a super-interesting group of ventures, plus, it was great to hear from Nekesha Woods, who works for one of the giants and also did a fintech stint. Qapital is a money app that encourages savings,  Bloom Credit provides companies with credit expertise, STASH makes it easy to invest, and Republic brings startup investing to the masses via crowdfunding (you no longer have to be an accredited investor ).
The brief descriptions are inadequate, as each fintech on the panel seemed to offer a unique take on their space; e.g. STASH automates investing in fractional shares of the stores where you shop. I encourage you to visit the links to learn more about each one.
Over the course of an hour, the panel discussed some of the unique challenges of launching and growing a fintech. VC funding is generally required due to the heavy lifting needed to develop a product that is robust enough to survive in the market and meet regulatory requirements. Forget moving fast and breaking things. You really need to lawyer up, do your homework and invest in development; lightweight MVPs won’t cut it.
Here are some of the observations and takeaways, regarding marketing, and other aspects of building a fintech:
  • Qapital got great results with Product Hunt.  They also tapped word of mouth and press coverage.  App store and Google reviews helped.
  • Caroline Hoffman said that building a marketplace is not easy.  Republic had to get creative, tap FOMO, and encouraged featured startups to bring in investors. Republic leveraged their partnership with AngelList, and made it easy for new members to invite their networks via LinkedIn.  They used Facebook to test their messaging.
  • STASH used Facebook to get feedback, organic referrals, and employed street teams and growth hacks.  There was a need for education, as people are more used to traditional banks.
  • Bloom is a B2B, but it helped to frame their messaging from an end-user POV.
  • Most eschewed paid advertising
  Posted in Events, Marketing, NY Tech, PR, Public Relations, Tech PR, Technology  |  Tagged   | Comments Off on Building a Fintech Startup: Top Tips, via Betaworks Panel
Cheap Trick: Great Band, Lousy B2B Growth Strategy
 Posted on April 2, 2019 by rgeller
It’s tough to launch and grow a successful business, and tempting to look for shortcuts.
And why not? We’ve all heard about the magical growth hacks; the campaigns that went viral, the PR home runs that crashed servers and exploded phones.
So, when B2BNXT said they wanted to interview me about B2B growth tips, I considered quick tricks that can be easily related in a short interview.
Then I thought better of it and focused my advice on the hard reality that building a brand, market share and success usually takes time.
Failure to Launch
There’s nothing inherently wrong with splashes and jump-starts. But in today’s noisy news environment, it is tough to turn short-term success into long-term prominence and brand equity. This is especially true for companies selling B2B tech and services lacking sexy, mainstream appeal. 
Not to dismiss growth hacks. Sure, if you offer an app or software that can hitch a ride to another’s user base – more power to you.
PR-ing your way to rapid growth? It can happen, but I would not bet the farm. Some firms will promise this; there’s no shortage of pay-for-play mills, and even some-pay-for performance companies that claim to rocket you to fame – don’t be deceived. As I said in my post about PR myths, sure an agency can claim great relationships and maybe get you into a major media article. There are some sketchy operators who can guarantee mentions in a top publication. And then what?
Getting cited here and there doesn’t move the needle much these days on awareness.
Scaling Your B2B
So, what does work? Sure, you need to have a great product or service. But that alone is not enough.
Nothing sells the media like hard news involving big brands, big bucks, customers, truly breakthrough products, deals, and successes. If you’re lucky or smart enough to have this PR ammo, sure, work it – just keep in mind that news cycles fly by quickly these days. Your precious news will quickly be forgotten. How do you build a known and enduring brand?
The number one tactic to drive B2B growth is to build a strong and recognized brand that connects with the needs of customers. People and companies buy from brands they know and respect. They pay attention to information that hits their hot buttons.
This generally comes from a consistent campaign that exposes the market to your news, content and thought leadership. It’s most effective when your communications connect with customer needs.
Consistency and quality are incredibly important to building brand and growth. You need to be interesting, relevant, and make sure your news and content show up where your customers are.
For further details including recommendations on media and social channels, strategies and tactics, and case studies, see my interview on B2BNXT (includes a video and transcript).
Please chime in below with your questions and comments.
  Posted in Campaign Analysis, In the News, Marketing, PR, PR Tech, Public Relations, Tech PR  |  Tagged , ,   | Comments Off on Cheap Trick: Great Band, Lousy B2B Growth Strategy
How to Stand out at a Noisy Trade Show (MWC Field Guide)
 Posted on March 12, 2019 by rgeller
I am often asked by clients how to build trade show buzz and booth traffic. There are of course some classic ways to drum up traffic, such as offering freebies of some sort.
It can be especially challenging when you’re a small startup with limited funds, as are most of our clients.  They’re competing against well-known companies that have massive tricked out booths, and also trying to steal attention from other strivers.
The difficulties of rising above show noise were never more apparent than at MWC, the annual mobile industry confab, which I attended last month in Barcelona.  It’s an extravaganza, with eight cavernous halls, thousands of exhibitors, and over 100K attendees.
To get answers to the above question, I treated the show as a field experiment, paying close attention to what stood out. Which exhibits were eye-catching? What tactics drew crowds? Which ads and signage pulled me in?
Competing with the Big Boys
If you’re Samsung or Nokia, you can build a vast presence to dominate the show floor.  Others did too, like Huawei, Ericsson, and ZTE.  Their booths were like shows within a show; department stores displaying consumery goods and atractions, or the mini-smart cities that some tried to replicate.
There were robots playing piano and drums at the ZTE booth
and live bands elsewhere
Immersive VR was another crowd pleaser: several exhibits let people don headsets and drive race cars or step into a video game to virtually battle each other – all to the delight of passersby too. These looked fun – but seemed to limit flow and traffic, as only a couple of people could participate at a time.
Startups had the challenge of stealing attention from these
and hundreds of other, less glitzy displays.
Small Players Get Creative
So, what did work for the smaller exhibitor? A few tactics stood out.
Stand and Deliver
Polished speakers pitching at timed intervals drew
audiences.  Granted, this was not even an
option for the smallest booths, due to the seating needed.
Why does this tactic work? People are naturally drawn to an interesting presentation – using a mic and speakers literally helps rise above the noise – and there is the allure of snagging a seat before show time.
Sleight of Hand
One booth attracted people with a shell game.  The presenter cleverly wove the pitch into the routine. This tactic drew a smaller, more intimate audience than above as you had to lean in to observe and listen.  There was no need for extra seating – people swarmed the booth and watched from the aisles, a good thing: crowds attract crowds.
Work the Crowd
Some exhibitors drew attention via colorful characters who roamed the show floor and mixed with attendees handing out swag or game clues.  The ones below had hoods with business in front (namely, their faces) and party in the back (Guy Hawkes AKA Anonymous hacker masks).
I have no idea how successful the gambit was; but it caught my attention.
Eye Candy
Other booths used lasers or beautiful video displays to draw attention.  E.g. Enensys Networks featured a simple yet powerful array of cell phones that piped in striking video. Their live 5G broadcast demo showed how operators will soon be delivering HD video quality on a large scale.
The Ultimate Showmanship
There is no substitute for an offering that hits all the right buttons.  Combine this with a clear message and tactics like the above, and you get the ultimate: not just traffic but the right kind of traffic, namely potential customers with a sincere interest in the display and solution.
Orchestration vendor Cloudify pulled off this feat.  They announced their Spire edge orchestration solution at the show.  Cloudify Spire connects and controls distributed networks, devices, and applications from the core to the edge  – it is a great answer to the pressing need to bring sprawling IoT and other edge devices into the fold and help enterprises and telcos deploy SD-WAN and 5G.
Anna Burukhin of Buzz Hunter helped design a booth that conveyed that message, in a simple and powerful way.
A 3D holographic-like display was extremely eye catching. Together – booth, messaging, and a compelling announcement/timely offering– consistently brought crowds to their booth.
  Posted in PR, PR Tech, Public Relations, Tech PR, Technology  |  Tagged , , , ,   | Comments Off on How to Stand out at a Noisy Trade Show (MWC Field Guide)
Startup PR Myths Debunked
 Posted on February 21, 2019 by rgeller
It has been almost a year since I blogged about common startup PR myths. That post drew from NY Tech Meetup mail list discussions and cited arguments for and against PR.
Since then, I’ve run across a few more myths. So I thought I’d update that post.
You Don’t Need PR if you have a Great Product 
This myth is based on the old cliche’ that if you can only build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.  In other words, marketing doesn’t count. Anyone who has studied business or labored in the trenches of the startup world knows that this isn’t true.  But many ventures are led by techies who may not be so savvy about marketing.
Yeah, you need a great product – but that alone is not enough to get noticed in today’s noisy world.  You also need to budget for consistent and effective PR and marketing support to earn the attention of key audiences.
It’s all about Relationships
Just hire the right firm with the right relationships, that’s your ticket to PR success. A corollary is that said firm can help you get famous near instantly.  It is based on the fallacy of PR as media whisperers who can pull a few strings, get clued into stories in progress and voilà! Your startup is on the map.
This is an irritating one because it sounds like it should be true. There’s no question that you need a great network in PR; yes, relationships can help.  Any PR firm that has been in business for more than a year has them.
But great relationships alone are not enough. Especially as you seek to get into the highest echelons of media – the largest publications and most well-known and respected reporters will not write because you know them, or necessarily share what they’re working on.
They will hear you out, and maybe even write if your news is relevant to their coverage (and checks off boxes like credibility, defensibility, i.e. includes hard data or third-party validation, and ranks higher than other stories they could be working on).
It’s all about Content
According to this myth, you don’t need a PR firm, you just need writers for bylines and blogs. After all, content is king, right? And it is not hard to find cheap writing talent.
I’d argue that content is a commodity and attention is king.  It’s all too easy for your precious articles to go ignored, and hard to generate the quality content that people actually want to read. Besides, content alone will not do much for building all-important brand recognition, as I point out in my post End of Media Relations – or a new Beginning?
That’s because bylines and blogs are by design not overtly promotional, and don’t win the validation that comes from earned media about your company and product.
PR Doesn’t Work Anymore
Some say that PR is no longer effective for tech startups.  E.g. in a forum, a CMO said:
With the number of security outlets decreasing and the number of vendors trying to get coverage exploding, I question whether PR still has a place in the marketing mix of smaller cyber-security companies… I feel they’re better off with a research tool and a good writer in house and marketing the press in the name of the CEO.
This myth takes a narrow view of PR.  True, the field is constantly changing.  While some doors may close, others are opening.  There are many ways to get through to your audiences beyond press coverage in trade media.  E.g. analyst reports, events, social media content – these things are all part of any good agency’s arsenal.
The very challenge cited – competition and marketplace noise – is all the more reason to hire professionals well versed in your field who can work their magic to help your story rise to the top.
Please also check out this post which counters the following topics.  Thanks for reading and I welcome any input on PR for startups.
  • Hiring a PR firm is a colossal waste of money for most startups
  • Just use Cision for press releases if you want PR
  • PR is not rocket science. You can spend a week or two learning it and get 70-80% of the results of a PR agency for 10-20% of the cost.
  • Very rarely will a PR agency develop your brand
  • There is not a need for a $10K a month agency, which will not do much more for you than a freelancer or small firm.
  Posted in Uncategorized  | 1 Comment
Welcome to the Self-correcting Media Maelstrom
 Posted on January 30, 2019 by rgeller

 If you’re a news and politics junkie like me, it’s been a head-spinning couple of weeks.
First, a Buzzfeed article claimed that Donald Trump asked Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. Other media swarmed around the story, feeding 24 hours of breathless coverage before Team Mueller issued a rare public statement, claiming the facts did not support the Buzzfeed account.
Then, Covington. A viral video seemed to show high school kids in MAGA hats at an event, crowding and menacing a Native American. The media were all over it, with initial reporting deriding angry Trump youth.
But not so fast. Widen the viewing angle, look at more footage, hear another version (served up by a PR firm, but does that really matter?); and it would seem that the first take was off base. The bullies were, in fact, the bullied – as the kids had first been menaced by a group of Black Israelites. They didn’t crowd the Native American – he approached them.
These were two stories, and two situations where news media had to back down and recalibrate. What have the episodes taught us? What happened and how could things be different? Should they? Here are a few takeaways.
Don’t Fall in Love with your Storyline
Emotion and narrative are pillars of storytelling. Yet they can hijack a story. Especially in these superheated, polarized times, it is all too easy to jump on a misguided version of truth before all the facts are in.
Covington was fueled by a dramatic video, which seemed to tell a clear and concise story. The Cohen episode satisfied the needs of a Trump-averse press looking for a Perry Mason moment (and I don’t quite get the convention of reporting unsubstantiated news from other outlets. If the story is not enhanced by your sourcing and fact-checking why run it? It is just rumor mongering).
The media should be wary of the dangers of getting sucked into narratives and emotional button-pushing and collectively take a chill pill.
The Mercurial Nature of Truth
The episodes show the challenges of fighting fake news – no A.I. algorithm or fact-checking team could suss out what happened. People close to the story could – but even their versions can be clouded by bias, reminiscent of  Rashomon.
The Dangers of Twitter journalism
An interesting debate that followed was about the role of social media and especially Twitter in fanning the flames of knee-jerk journalism.
NY Times columnist Farhad Manjoo wrote Never Tweet:
It’s time we journalists all considered disengaging from the daily rhythms of Twitter, the world’s most damaging social network. You don’t have to quit totally — that’s impossible in today’s news business. Instead, post less, lurk more.
…every day the media’s favorite social network tugs journalists deeper into the rip currents of tribal melodrama, short-circuiting our better instincts in favor of mob- and bot-driven groupthink.
He then urged his readers to participate in a Twitter chat to discuss!
Media critic Jeff Jarvis took issue with the article and wrote:
I am sorely disappointed in The New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo, CNN’s Brian Stelter, and other journalists who these days are announcing to the world, using the powerful platforms they have, that they think journalists should “disengage” from the platform for everyone else, Twitter.
No. It is the sacred duty of journalists to listen to the public they serve. It is then their duty to bring journalistic value — reporting, facts, explanation, context, education, connections, understanding, empathy, action, options— to the public conversation. Journalism is that conversation. Democracy is that conversation.
I appreciate Jarvis’s point, but other professions intentionally stay off social media – psychotherapists, school guidance counselors, even prison workers, to create distance and stay professional with the publics they serve.
It is great to be in the thick of conversations, and close to news sources on Twitter. But what about getting sucked into the maelstrom, showing your colors, losing objectivity? Can a journalist have social cake and eat it too?
At the end of the day, one might say “no harm, no foul.”
The right information got out. Mueller noted the hysteria around the Cohen story and corrected the record. Various players surrounding the Covington episode added important context.
Sure, there was some angsting – but it was cathartic and maybe even entertaining (OK, but reputations were at stake and it was distracting; see 5 stories Americans Missed while Fighting over a Viral Video that has no Effect on their Lives).
Welcome to the self-correcting media maelstrom!
  Posted in Current Affairs, In the News, Public Relations, Social Media, Technology, Web 2.0  |  Tagged , , , ,   | 1 Comment
Why AI won’t Replace PR
 Posted on January 17, 2019 by rgeller
I was watching 60 Minutes this weekend, which ran a segment about AI that highlighted China’s growing clout in the tech (Silicon Valley, hope you were watching; you should be scared, very scared).
They interviewed Kai-Fu Lee, the so-called Oracle of AI who boasts a Ph.D., Apple, Microsoft, and Google stints, and runs a Chinese VC firm that’s minted a number of AI unicorns.
He painted an awe-inspiring picture of the state and direction of AI.  The demos were pretty incredible (you can check them out in the video link above). It all seemed a little freakish, and begged the questions: where is this all going? And: what do the strides mean for things like privacy and jobs?
To the latter point, Kai-Fu predicted that the tech could displace up to 40% of jobs globally in 15-25 years.
It sounded like a big, scary number with vast implications for the global labor market and living standards. This also made me wonder about what might happen to the PR field as a result.
After all, there already are algorithms writing and editing news stories. AI and bots power a growing number of marketing tasks. Can we expect an army of PR writing and pitching flack-bots any time soon?
While I was pondering this, my good friend Toni Muzi Falconi seemingly read my mind and shared this story: Listen Very Carefully: the Bots are Coming.
In the article, Shelley Sullivan cited numbers that show employment is actually growing in PR and a research paper that explored which of the field’s 52 skills can be augmented or replaced by AI. Shelley wrote:
And therein lies the gift for us PR professionals. Our focus now needs to be on becoming better at the things machines cannot do, at what we as humans are uniquely good at… actually listening to and understanding what people are saying and then using this information to connect with audiences to tell emotion-driven stories… communicate… based on our understanding of that audience and their needs and our emotional ability to read them.
(As I read this, I could not help thinking of an updated version of Stuart Smalley’s daily affirmation: “We’ll beat those damn machines because we’re smart enough… we’re good enough… and gosh darn it, people like people!”)
She pointed out areas where AI is helping PR, like enabling better social listening, optimizing headlines and supporting reputation management through early warnings of crises.
Right now, and for the foreseeable future, the tech can help with specific tasks. But generalized AI that can think like a human and be applied to many problems is not on the horizon or may never happen, Kai-Fu said in the 60 Minutes interview.  He has also said that jobs that are complex and require empathy and creativity are safe – which made me smile, as there are important for most types of PR.
This may come as a revelation, as I’ve found that most people don’t understand PR, or what the job entails.  Success means mastering a diverse set of skills, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
AI won’t replace it because PR is the ultimate high touch profession. Sure, you might have algorithm-generated crappy news stories, and someday bots to deliver crappy PR pitches, maybe even to other algorithms. And the result will be? (fill in the blank).
The best job insurance against AI is to be our best, solve the increasing communications challenges of today with a smart and human approach, caveat automaton.
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How to Social in 2019: Experts Share their Views
 Posted on January 10, 2019 by rgeller
Last month I interviewed top PR and social media experts about the challenges facing online marketing. The following recap includes some of the juiciest quotes from Neal Schaffer, Frank Strong, Drew Neisser, and Deb Weinstein.
I also share my views (not necessarily the agency’s) and pose additional questions. Finally, I include links to other stories I’ve seen on the topic.
We discuss everything from the growing importance of an omni-channel marketing strategy, to the future of social media.
Please continue the conversation and chime with thoughts, comments, and questions.
Are the social media waters still safe for marketing?
Frank Strong: It’s a question of whether or not your customers and prospects are on social media. If they are, then there’s a pretty good chance you still need to be there too.
Drew Neisser: What’s not safe is ignoring social conversations, especially those related to your brand and category. Interestingly, brands that take a stand, even a controversial one, are generally way ahead of those that sit on the sidelines
Neal Schaffer: I think it is getting more and more intrusive for brands to try to take part in the conversation.
I’d say caution is needed until some of the challenges are addressed, and you should make your choices based on your channel and niche.
Also, the devil is in the details. Is it OK to use some of the same levers as the Russian misinformation campaigns, e.g to push emotional hot buttons, and in other ways game algorithmic results? Or leverage the personal data that people are so up in arms about?
Have you been recommending a change in strategy regarding social media?
Neal: Definitely. An influencer component should become part of the mix. 
Frank: Organic efforts alone probably won’t cut it for most. You need to be both engaging and worth engaging. Too many brands still operate in output-only mode and then wonder why no one has noticed.
Drew: First… you must have a paid strategy to support your organic efforts. Second, you need to have very different strategies for each channel. Third… we’re recommending brands focus more on quality over quantity – since only the best stuff will rise to the top.
I am not actively pushing Facebook targeting campaigns right now (most of our clients are in the B2B tech space, so Facebook is less important anyway). On the other hand, we are becoming more active with messaging platforms.
What comes after social media?
Deb Weinstein: We have reached a tipping point… where the sum of a campaign’s parts are far greater than its individual components and it has never been more important for brands to completely integrate every aspect of their brand-building (and protection) activities to achieve optimal impact. This means not relying on social media or any one channel.
Frank: This question implies that we are writing the epitaph on social media platforms and I don’t think that’s true. Marketing has evolved and will continue to evolve… there are several new tactics worth watching: Voice as a user interface… Amazon ads… [and] businesses have to find ways to bring better content to market faster without sacrificing quality.
Drew: Social will evolve both as an organic and paid channel and of course, new social networks will arise. In particular, expect to see smaller affinity networks that meet both virtually and physically.
Can the ship be righted?
Frank: There’s always been disinformation. You could (and they did) spread rumors in ancient Rome the same way you could on a web bulletin board in 1999.
Drew: Who said the ship is listing or sinking? Despite all of the controversy around Facebook this year, usage levels are still extraordinarily high and marketers are still finding it to be a very effective advertising channel.
I don’t know, it took us a long time to get here, and it will take a lot to fix the mess (see my post which outlines one radical way).
I am not sure I agree with those who just look at it from an ROI perspective, or being where customers and conversations are.
The medium is the message for Chrissakes. “Place” is one of the 4 P’s of marketing – and if the place has become a cesspool do you want your brand to be doing much there? (I am not saying it is quite that bad: yes the media does hype the problems – but it is a question worth pondering).
What does it look like, from a brand safety perspective, to run campaigns adjacent to the scammers? Or feature your news in places dominated by sketchy info?
Is Facebook still a good place to invest in social media marketing?
Deb: Facebook, long the Goliath in the social world may be cruising for a bruising… So if the early adopters, plus the frequent users are leaving the building what’s next?! Enter Instagram with its snazzy pix, short captions, easy engagement, and non-stop roll out of exciting new features; and What’s App, that so easily facilitates micro-community building and sharing
Neal: You can’t ignore Facebook, it is still the gorilla until something else comes along. If I‘m a B2C brand, I am still investing somewhat in Facebook. But it is 100% pay-to-play; and if I can get the same if not greater engagement organically on Instagram, why even bother with Facebook?
Drew: Yes. Yes. Yes. It is still one of the most powerful advertising platforms ever invented and continues to prove its effectiveness for just about everyone from top 100 advertisers to local mom & pop businesses
Have these changes affected your social media habits?
Neal: Absolutely! I tend to invest more in Instagram knowing that that’s where brands are, and where businesses look for influencers. 
Frank: The disinformation on social media certainly changes the way I share and consume information on social media. As the old adage goes, trust, but verify. That’s not just for reading but also for attribution in sharing.
Generally, I am spending less time visiting and posting to Facebook.
Further Reading
What Will It Take for Advertisers to Back Away From Facebook? (AdWeek)
‘We want these platforms to be healthy’: Why top marketers won’t quit Facebook after 2018 scandals (Digiday)
Where Facebook Went Wrong In 2018, And Why Advertisers Are Still On Board (For Now) (Ad Exchanger)
10 Social Media Strategies for Corporate Communication in 2019 (Maximize Social Business)
Social media 2018 put the spotlight on data, video, Stories (Marketing Land)
Facebook and Twitter Upheaval: How Social Media Marketing Changed in 2018 (Social Media Examiner)
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Deborah Weinstein on the Challenges Confronting PR and Digital Marketing
 Posted on December 20, 2018 by rgeller
Today I share Deborah Weinstein’s answers to questions about the challenges confronting social media marketing and digital communications. It is the latest in my series of interviews with industry experts (see this post, which sets the stage).
My good friend Judy Gombita introduced us, and I am glad that she did. As you will see below, Deborah offers great insight. She leads Toronto-based Strategic Objectives with co-founder and sister, Judy Lewis. Deborah is a recognized thought leader and speaker, and a former journalist with numerous awards including the Queen’s Diamond and Golden Jubilee Medals for Outstanding Service to Canada and its Communications Industry, and the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations (and an impressive Twitter following to boot; see Deborah Weinstein’s full bio).
Thanks for participating, Deborah Weinstein!
Digital marketing is constantly changing.  There’s more competition online and on social media than ever before. So, my question is: are the social media waters still safe for marketing?
I can honestly say I have never experienced a more exciting, opportunity-laden time for PR pros to flex our strategic, ROI generating creative muscles, and prove our worth in the business world since I hopped the fence from journalism to found Strategic Objectives (our Toronto-based PR agency dedicated to helping brands tell better, more effective, sales-driving stories) back in the 80s.
Technology has transformed everything we do, from our ability to swiftly discover and tightly target key opinion leaders (be they journalists, politicians, shareholders, stakeholders, or all of the above) with relevant, credible information-to our proven power to build robust virtual communities by creating enticing, engaging bridges to the brands we represent.
The thing about digital marketing is that to fill your net you have to fish where the fish are. And social, with its free and open access; bountiful, ever-shifting demographic landscapes; bright, new shiny platforms; trolls and black holes, represents an ocean of opportunity marketers simply cannot afford to ignore.
Of course there are challenges, but in the ever evolving business of social PR, fortune goes to the brave, and the smart.
Thank you for that answer. You said that fortune goes to the smart so I’m curious – Have you been recommending a change in strategy regarding social media?
Far too many brands delegate, and relegate social strategy development and implementation to their ad agencies, internal marketing departments, even their PR intern, with a mandate to replicate, share, and spread commercial messages. They forget, or worse still ignore the main reason people converge on social media, which is to build and maintain connections through P2P (person to person) communication with friends, family, mentors, colleagues, newsmakers and other HUMAN beings.
My best advice for Marketing PRs and CMOs looking to bond with, and move social consumers to action is to adopt the content marketing approach I like to call our Strategic Objectives 4 H Club: Be Human. Be Honest. Be Helpful. Be Humble. All human qualities known to make friends and influence people.
Brands must also make sure their community manager or agency has the experience, curiosity, and imagination needed to conceive, implement and measure their social efforts.
Influencer Marketing-recruiting, measuring, managing and supervising the production and spreading of top quality content from trustworthy, inspiring key influencers, spokespeople and brand ambassadors has become an important part of our Strategic Objectives business model. We expect it to grow exponentially in scope and impact in the years to come.
It’s all a very long process so what comes after social media?
We have reached a tipping point in marketing communications where the sum of a campaign’s parts are far greater than its individual components and it has never been more important for brands to completely integrate every aspect of their brand-building (and protection) activities to achieve optimal impact.
This means not relying on social media or any one channel. E.g. Strategic Objectives pivoted with the times to offer everything needed to fulfill the PESO model – Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned – conceived to integrate MarComs. Services now include everything from consumer listening to mainstream and social media relations; crisis/reputation management; digital, video and graphics production; influencer, sponsorship, and cause-related marketing; and nation-wide experiential activations. Why so many disciplines? Because to steal a page from US politics, “You’re either at the table, or you’re on it!”
Is Facebook still a good place to invest in social media marketing?
If there’s one thing that’s constant in the social world … it’s change. And Facebook, long the Goliath in the social world may be cruising for a bruising.
Recent stats from PEW Research show 49% of Facebook users aged 18-29 (many of our clients’ most coveted demographic) have deleted the FB app from their phone in the last year. Hardly a day goes by on Twitter without my seeing some social guru declaring they’re done with Facebook. So if the early adopters, plus the frequent users are leaving the building what’s next?!
Enter Instagram with its snazzy pix, short fancy text captions, easy engagement, and non-stop roll out of exciting new features; and What’s App, that so easily facilitates micro-community building and sharing. Both owned by Facebook, they’ll keep the monolith steady, despite its privacy scandals, for years to come. And let’s face it, Facebook the platform still has the numbers and access to consumer insights brands adore. My prediction is that social platforms will continue to morph, expand, contract and disappear following in the iconic footsteps of My Space and Google+. Face it, embrace it, change is good!
Have these changes affected your social media habits for personal brand building?
Personal brand building has never been my goal with social media participation. I used to be much more active, having started out on Twitter more than 10 years ago @debweinstein. Those were inspiring times featuring a head-spinning global cast of marketing characters who were always happy to comment, engage and share, 24/7. Through the years I’ve made many real-world connections with the thought leaders I met virtually years ago, and watched them grow fame and fortune, migrate to other platforms, develop full-time pursuits, and even entirely disappear.
 I’m no longer hyperactive on Twitter, but still push out several tweets a day to keep our SO team, and my community up-to-date on social advents and need to know news.
I love Insta and use it @deborahweinstein to experiment and test my social skills and instincts with real friends and netizens around the world. But it takes hours of time a day to be a good, engaging social citizen – liking, reciprocating, commenting, posting – which is time I simply don’t have. This makes me feel guilty, and even less likely to participate.
What’s App is my Godsend for family communication, and my FB usage has almost completely dwindled to group participation (shout out to PRSA Counsellors Academy!).
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