The other day I posted about how some bloggers are reacting by blocking e-mail pitches from some PR agencies.

I mentioned Todd Defren who had found his agency had fallen foul of a blogger blocking them along with many other agencies big and small. A sort of one strike and you are out rule. Ouch!

Todd left a comment on my post that I have not responded to yet. Sorry Tom. I will. In it Tom mentioned that one reason he felt the blocking was unfair was that the 'do not pitch/private' e-mail address of the blogger was in fact published as the contact address by a directory listing service. In this post by Kami Huyse she confirms the point Todd made and adds some additional thoughts of her own about the subject and how it can be resolved satisfactorily for all sides.

One of the challenges in PR terms as I mentioned in my earlier post is volume versus customisation and targeting of messages. A client tends to expect to see results based upon a volume metric. I know I did when I was a Marketing Director in industry. It just did not feel right to be targeting less than what we could. All other communication is measured by a mix of 'reach and volume' and response volumes. Will clients pay for agencies to invest the time and resources to check every blogger before contacting them? Does the campaign deadlines allow the time? Equally is it fair to expect bloggers to receive generic and largely untargeted press releases?

I don't think there is an easy answer except for PR agencies to keep trying their best to target what they can and push back on clients when either time or client expectations do not match what needs to be done.

Ever wondered which bloggers you should be talking to about your technology clients? Here is a great list

If you are in PR and want to know who the most influential analysts are and how to contact them check out this list of analysts who twitter. (Thanks to Jeremiah Owyang from a post via twitter)

Most PR agencies are struggling to understand how best to engage with bloggers and other influential online communities. In the meantime many other agencies are treating bloggers like yet another @name to be added to an e-mail 'blast' list. Bloggers are reacting negatively to what they consider 'spam'. The latest to raise it as an issue is Stowe Boyd.

Check out Todd Defrens blog post on his agency being blocked by a blogger and all the comments. Todd has a great 'Must Read' guide for his team on how to best engage with bloggers. At the heart of the issue between Todd and the blogger was her request not to be contacted by personal e-mail and when Todd's agency did just that. As a result she blocked his agency and added them to a publicised 'blocked list'.

The challenge is time, attention to detail and expected behaviour. When preparing to release a press release the mentality in the client and agency is usually one of numbers. We live in 'Numbersland'. PR agencies and clients understand the culture of this country. PR teams can use an online listing resource to check if there are publications likely to be 'interested' in the press release. In ‘Numbersland’ the objective is to create the biggest list by looking at everyone that could possibly be interested in the news. 'Sweet spot' publications will the core of this list but better also add lots of others just in case and it will impress the client as it will be a big list. The release is not being hand delivered but e-mailed so who cares if some of the outer targets are wrong? What is the worst that will happen? They publications will not open the e-mail. They will not write a negative article about you. In ‘Numbersland’ try showing a list to a client with a handful of publications on. They expect a big list!

Clients understand numbers. We need hundreds of sales leads - not just a few. With mass marketing we need thousands of targets as the response rates of x% will mean from thousands targeted only a few hundred will show interest. We will simply keep contacting the non-responders until they do get the message and respond. It is not that they are not interested but simply that they are not interested enough yet. Keep at it.

Bloggers are different. They do not live in ‘Numbersland’. They want to be treated as individuals. Clients have to be educated too. It is not easy for PR to break long time behaviours but if they do not want to be blocked as ‘spammers’ they will have to.

On the same theme here is a post by Brian Solis on TechCruch about the evolution of the press release into the social media release.

Shel Israel has a great interview with Radian6. They have a web based 'dashboard' solution for monitoring blogs, flickr, twitter etc.

All companies need to be concerned about their online brand reputation - what is being said about them and by whom. As Marcel LeBrun says in the interview companies get lots of praise for actually monitoring and responding to comments. Dell is quoted as an example of a company that is very actively engaging with the online community of customers and influencers and has succesfully reduced negative comments.  

The big debate is who is best placed to advise and support companies with social media? Could it be PR companies because of the conversational aspects? Could it be ad agencies as they understand branding? Could it even be digital/web agencies as they understand SEO and analytics?

PRWeek (US) examines how PR agencies are slower on engaging with social media than advertising agencies.

Getting maximum awareness for a clients news and answering all possible questions is key for any PR agency.

But what about the online audience? It is possible to put a press release online (many agecies still consider e-mailing a Word document via a press wire service as an online release). What about a real online press release? A multi-media PR micro-site? What about using video for a virtual 'press conference' and then opening up a Forum for ongoing Q&A? What about using blogger out-reach programmes, the PR agencies own blogs, Twitter and other social media tools as part of the PR programme?

Check out how two airlines are approaching the online world.

Research reported in the Wall Street Journal into blog readers and the fact that reading a blog can become habit forming. Many people tend to follow a routine. When travelling to London I always stand on the same spot on the platform. I used to buy a daily newspaper. Now I do not. I take my information via online news services, blogs and recently Twitter.  

Interview with Guy Kawasaki and the authors from Forrester Research and their new book ‘Groundswell’. Groundswell is not available in the UK yet but from reviews in the US looks a great book looking at the rise and rise of social media and organisations can use it to enhance internal and external communication.

Sally Falkow on the latest research into maximising PR coverage online – don’t just distribute your release online but optimise it for search engines. There has been a lot written about the social media version of the press release. Sadly many PR agencies are strong on the people and communication skills but have less developed IT skills. This research shows how SEO added to a traditional press release can have real added value online.

David Wilson reports on the latest research from the USA on how women are reading and commenting on blogs because of their relevance and authenticity. A great quote “Several recent surveys indicate that our trust in institutions is declining. We are losing trust in the government, politicians, the media and many corporations. But as it turns out, we trust each other,” said Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO. “The blogosphere is increasingly becoming the digital ‘kitchen table’ where individuals can sit down to have an authentic conversation about all the topics that affect their daily lives - from household products to presidential candidates.”

Mike Butcher and start-up technology companies are in the US visiting IT companies and VC’s as part of WebMission08 to see how it is done over there. Follow their progress on Mike's blog and Twitter account to see who has gone.  

Shel Israel interviews the Twitter guys. After seeing it as a total waste of time I have been using Twitter for a few weeks now and found it invaluable and great fun. I saved getting caught by a rail delay by someone Tweeting that there was a problem further up the line. That alone made it worth using as I was not late for my meeting. I have also been able to find new data sources and research resports because the people I have chosen to follow are knowledgeable in areas I am interested in. Looking for somewhere to eat the other evening in London I posted a question on Twitter and got a response within 15 minutes advising me of a local place. Last week I linked up two people at the same conference using Twitter.

Great article on Investor.com dealing with the impact on reputation of negative stories online. (Thanks to David Wilson for the link to the story.)

It details what happened to a US microwave popcorn manufacturer, Pop Weaver, and the reaction of their PR agency to address the issue. It also includes details of other companies – many of them who have not handled it as well as Pop Weaver. The damage to those who fail to act can be huge.

All saw their reputation tarnished as well as negative impact on their share price and revenue. In some cases this amounted to tens and millions of $.

A heavy price to pay due to poor online brand management.

So what can an in-house or agency PR team do to minimise such risks?

Monitor online blogs for posts and comments

I am constantly amazed at the number of companies that do not systematically monitor what is being said about them and by whom online. One way of looking at it is to consider it a free customer satisfaction mechanism. You would pay a lot of money to find out what customers and prospects think about your company, its products and services. Or you could monitor blogs, comments, forums and fan-sites to see what the state is.  

React fast to any negative comments – ‘firestorms’ can start quickly

The blogosphere is a 24/365 environment. As blogs are subscribed to, cross-linked and ‘trackbacked’ negative comments can quickly gain momentum. Newspapers and broadcasters may have tight deadlines but they are not ‘always on’ like the internet. Traditionally a company would have had some time to prepare its story to meet a crisis or deal with an issue. The reality is that most customer service issues are still handled via legacy support systems where each customer could be treated as an individual. With the internet dissatisfied people can ‘swarm’ around an issue and gain momentum and visibility very quickly. A negative post needs an immediate response via comments on that blog and through other bloggers and forums. Without this the counter-balancing response will not be seen by people. You want a negative blog to carry your side of the story. An explanation. The old adage a ‘Stitch in time is better than nine’ holds very true here.

Blogs have a long shelf life – don’t hide in the vain hope they go away

Often in crisis management it feels like a strategy of avoiding comment and hoping it would go away is being employed. After all it is often said ‘Today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip paper’ (now that ages me!) In the online world this is just not true. Posts can last almost ‘forever’. With more and more views, links and trackbacks they can climb the search engine listings staying live for many months. This is why it is critical that immediate action is taken to join in the online conversation. Some companies have found it takes many months to turn the tide of negative feelings. The sooner you start the better.

Traditional media is watching and waiting

Research has shown that increasingly journalists are using blogs. Recently one report said almost 1/5^th had their own blogs. Almost 80% said they read blogs to get a source for a story and 76% said they regularly read them to get an idea of the tone and buzz on subject matter. Blog firestorms get picked up by traditional media and reported on. This in effect adds fuel to the fire as even more people are then aware of the negative blogs and many will go to read them so increasing the search engine rankings and overall negative pressure.

Time and an integrated approach to online and offline media and brand management is called for.

Be open and honest – don’t try and ‘spoof’ the blogosphere

A number of companies have tried to ‘spoof’ positive PR campaigns. The same with comments on a negative posting. Malcolm Gladwell postulated in his book, Blink, people can be very perceptive. To ‘spin’ a story or press release means you risk the blogosphere finding out thant something does not ‘add up’. There is a phenomenon called the ‘wisdom of the crowds’. The old adage ‘Two heads are better than one’ springs to mind. With so many people likely following the ‘firestorm’ you have a large number of people watching what is happening and able to spot when something is just not right.

If you are caught out trying to blind-side the blogosphere they will turn on you. Your reputation will then be damaged even worse.

Always be honest. Be open. Do not hide behind ‘ghosted’ positive articles, blogs or comments as a counter to negative perceptions.  

Ketchum PR and The University of Southern California have just undertaken research comparing the perception of communication professionals to consumers. The report is called Media, Myths & Realities.

It highlights the gap between communication professionals who still use mass marketing broadcasting techniques and consumers who are looking for smaller communities or groups of like minded individuals. The report recommends the following key actions to be taken:

• Treat audiences as individuals and not 'faceless' masses
• Put word-of-mouth and search engine optimisation on top of the agenda to address
• Do not rely on the corporate web site

Richard Edelman of Edelman PR has just posted his predictions for 2008.

Number 4 on his list deals with PR agencies and the emergence of social media. Threat or opportunity?

"The digital aspect of public relations will continue to develop apace, but we need to focus on those aspects of Web 2.0 where we have comparative advantage. Ideas with a public service element, facilitating dialogue with third parties, creating authoritative content linked to credible primary sources, and campaigns asking for stakeholder expertise and experience are the sweet spot. We can compete with digital firms and ad agencies but let’s do it from strength. Let’s also recognize that our biggest job is to convert our account staff into Web 2.0 players, to assure that they are sufficiently broad in their reading/viewing habits, incorporating video content into their work and committed to transparency and quality in content provided to the community. PR is a true growth industry because we rely on dialogue, shareholder engagement and relationships, but only if we truly embrace digital." (my highlighting)

The emergence of social media and customer comparison and evaluation sites means that PR agencies must considering the internet as just another communication platform alongside radio, TV and print. The journalists are now 'citizen journalists' as well as online journalists. PR agencies need to identify what is happening in the blogosphere and social media space and learn how to engage in the conversations.  

I have been working on a project for an award winning provincial PR agency – BOTTLE PR (www.bottlepr.co.uk).

Over the last 6 months I have been working their team of PR consultants on all things new media and Web 2.0 and how best to help their clients engage in conversations in the blogosphere and via social media. We are now seeing the results of their work with their clients and have launched a new team – BOTTLE 2.0. This will provide clients with a full range of consultancy and programme support for all areas of online media. They have asked me to head up the team and I have accepted. I am really looking forward to helping them develop the team and expand the service to more clients. They have a great team of experienced people covering B2B and B2C clients.

Over the next few months I will start to post case studies of projects we have been working on so those of you interested in social media, blogging and podcasting for marketing communications and PR can follow what we are up to.

I will still continue my interest in audio and video podcasting with Focus (www.focusbiz.co.uk). They are working on some very interesting projects helping clients use podcasts for internal employee communication, training and also external marketing communication.

GM Europe has established a social media 'press room'. With information online in the form of text, images, video and photos it also has suitable RSS feeds. It is simple but effective.

For companies unsure how to best use social media it demonstrates that it is possible to use simple and effective materials already available. Actually many members of the press do not want an over-complicated, marketing 'spun' site but rather simple information and the ability to engage in conversation withe senior management.