PR Content: A New Architecture?

Traditionally, PR has been responsible for the creation and management of 'news'.

And although the landscape has changed dramatically in recent times, it is still PR's main function.

But, will it always be the case?

In my opinion, PR needs to focus more on other forms of content to remain relevant and influential, and lessen its obsession with news creation going forward.

The following slides explain why...

There are three primary forms of content that add value to the media eco-system:

• News
• Opinions
• Evergreen content (definition here)

The emphasis has always been on creating news, but if brands want to be in all the places their consumers are, they need to make their opinions more accessible and provide a lot more evergreen content.

Creating 'news only' content is not only limiting but its lifespan is getting shorter and shorter.

Below I've featured the DNA of each content type, and will then get into how making some adjustments to the emphasis placed on each can make a huge difference.

What makes news won't change, but the way it is used will alter, becoming more of a conversation starter as opposed to the primary driver.

For me, this is where small brands / business have the biggest opportunity.

People love hearing and engaging with opinions, and the truly meaningful online conversations with brands require a face. Can big brands do this adequately? If they don't, are they missing out on a vital element of the content mix?

This is the area that smart PR operators are spending more and more time in as the value of this content becomes more apparent.

Evergreen content can be used over and over and over again, it depicts thought leadership and can live and breathe anywhere.

For me, the PR content architecture of the future (well, now) needs to look more like this as opposed to the slide at the top of this post.

This gives you the best chance of being in all the places you want to be.

I've attempted to take this a step further with a look at what the Inverted Pyramid might evolve into over time for the PR industry - The Inverted Pentagon.

The main takeaway from these slides is that making news isn't enough any more.

PR must create content that is shaped on the habits of the consumer and the media they are using.

What do you think?

Adam

COMMScorner.com is the blog from Adam Vincenzini which focuses on social media and PR. Connect with Adam on Twitter or subscribe to his blog. If you'd like to view this blog on a mobile device, visit COMMScorner.mofuse.mobi.

http://postrank.com/graphics/blog_claim.png?s=d45l9i0

10 Essential Comms / Digital Media Blogs in 2010

Oh no! Not ANOTHER top 10 list!!

Apologies up front if this particular genre of blog posts isn't to your liking but the end of the year is nigh and there are some bloggers / blogs out there that have really helped shape my thinking in 2010 and I wanted to share them with you.

Here are the ones I've relied on consistently - you are probably familiar with most, if not all of them, but hopefully my reasons for regularly referring to these blogs adds some value to you and your regular reading rituals.

SimplyZesty.com - the 'all-in-one' social media and online PR blog

If I could only take one blog with me to a desert Island it would be this one.

Niall, Lauren and the team at Simpy Zesty produce quality content on a daily basis, ranging from 'how-to' posts to sector-specific analysis.

Niall is specifically good at compiling guides to tools that make life easier in the social media / online PR space and unearths new stuff, constantly.

If you want some insights into what a change in a platform might mean to brands / consumers, Lauren often analyses this kind of thing too.

If you are looking for a best practice corporate blog, this is it.

Key 'tags': Social media, tools, news, case studies, trends.

KyleLacy.com - Practical social media advice / thinking

Kyle Lacy is not only a Justin Timberlake look-a-like but is also the man behind one of the most practical and useful social media blogs you'll come across.

A post like 20 LinkedIn case studies and examples for professionals is a great example - the reasons why these profiles are successful are featured and the resulting impact.

I also thought this post 25 ways to engage contacts in social media provided some useful tips too.

Overall, just a good place to go to get access to some great thinking.

Key 'tags': Platforms, case studies, tips.

ReputationOnline.co.uk - real insights, real lessons, real analysis

This blog is split in two parts:

1. Contributions from the Rep Online editorial team
2. Contributions from leading comms pros / advisors reporting back from the front line

This helps provide nice balance of opinions and insight, often linked to the latest news and developments from the digital world.

'Balance' is also the key to Rep Online's tone. You won't find any pointless naming and shaming here, but rather constructive analysis around campaigns being activated and what can be learnt from them.

A lot of useful analysis / thinking can be also found in the comments sections of the posts thanks to the engaged community that  has been cultivated by the team.

Key 'tags': News, analysis, insight, case studies.

ArikHanson.com - access everyday experience, everyday

I chat to Arik quite regularly on Twitter so I don't want to embarrass him (too much!!) but I just like the way he thinks.

There have been several posts this year from Arik that have posed questions a lot of people are afraid to ask in the public domain.

A few weeks back I compiled a series of posts from his blog that provide practical advice / tips about blogger outreach which are well worth a look too.

Key 'tags': Blogger outreach, thought-provoking, practical, broad.

MackCollier.com - the blogger's blogger

The term practical has already been used a few times in this post, but let's use it again!

Mack's #blogchats are one place to get access to his experience and knowledge and his blog is the same but adds some additional context and detail.

It's the little things which Mack highlights that are the most handy i.e. where you put your 'subscribe by email' box on your blog can significantly impact on your subscription numbers. And this isn't just a theory, Mack tested this by putting this in several places on his blog and then shared his experience with us.

Key 'tags': Analytics, blogging, content, strategy.
SocialMouths.coms

Blog.TheJordanRules.com - digital strategy and the user experience

I tried to come up with a different tagline to the one Jordan Julien uses on his blog, The Jordan Rules, but that is exactly what it is all about - digital strategy and things you can do to make the user experience as good as possible.

He is also great to follow on Twitter, sharing links that you wouldn't normally discover - if you trawl through my Twitter favourites you'll see Jordan pop up a fair bit.

Key 'tags': Digital, strategy, web architecture, content.

www.businessgrow.com/blog - get your thinking cap on

I've lost count of how many times someone has said to me: "The problem with marketing blogs is that they are all the same, no-one is saying anything different."

While I have an issue with being different for the sake of being different, the blog from Mark W. Schaefer is a good example of different in the way you'd like it to be.

A great example is a post from last week where Mark looked at why a post from Chris Brogan, containing 41 words (!) would get retweeted 274 times.

Again, Mark is someone who offers practical advice too, including this other good 'un from last week giving you ten reasons why you should blog even if no-one is reading your stuff.

Key 'tags': Blogging, business, marketing, advice.

blog.LouisGray.com - where you'll learn about new stuff...first

I don't know how Louis does it, but his blog will tell you about the next big thing before it even thinks about being the next big thing.

Everything in the digital / online space moves so fast, and new solutions and tools get released all the time, but this blog separates the good from the bad and can help you stay on top of what should be on y our radar.

He blogs nearly everyday too - awesome!

Key 'tags': Apps, tools, platforms, trends.

MakeUseOf.com - daily cool web apps and tools

Head specifically to the Cool Web Apps tag of MakeUseOf.com and scroll through the daily listing of the latest apps, tools and cool websites they've unearthed.

The inner-geek in you will love this.

Key 'tags': "Cool stuff!"

A final note...

I think one of the things we'll see next year is people consolidating the sources they turn to for news / insights as opposed to the exploration philosophy that has characterised 2009/10.

Time continues to become a more finite resource and the really good blogs will get stronger, while the ones that lack that special ingredient will find it harder attract readers.

If you were restricted to only subscribing to 10 blogs next year, this lot would serve you very well indeed.

Adam

COMMScorner.com is the blog from Adam Vincenzini which focuses on social media and PR. Connect with Adam on Twitter or subscribe to his blog. If you'd like to view this blog on a mobile device, visit COMMScorner.mofuse.mobi.

#CommsChat: The conversation...so far...

Next week (24 November 2010), #CommsChat turns six months old.

For those who aren't aware, #CommsChat is a live weekly Twitter chat based out of the UK which provides a forum for comms professionals (and students) to exchange knowledge, opinions and ideas.

Approximately 100 people per week take part each week and more than 1200 people have taken part at some stage in the first six months.

Below is a brief presentation which tells the #CommsChat story in a bit more detail.

#CommsChat: The conversation...so far...

View more presentations from Adam @ Paratus Communications.

Some exciting news about the future of #CommsChat will be announced soon, but in the meantime stay connected with the great community we've established via Twitter or Facebook.

The schedule for the remainder of 2010 will be announced in the next few days.

Thanks!

Adam Vincenzini and Emily Cagle

COMMScorner.com is the blog from Adam Vincenzini which focuses on social media and PR. Connect with Adam on Twitter or subscribe to his blog.

The great divide between personal branding and corporate reputation management

I was chatting with a friend the other day who said to me:

"There are a lot of people out there who have carved out nice personal brands for themselves on the back of social media but that doesn't mean they necessarily are equipped to manage a corporate one."

I had to think about this twice.

On one hand, it's blindingly obvious that they are two very separate things.

But on the other, these people carry a bit of weight when they critique the efforts of brands, and due to the influence they have, can distort reality (and cause a few headaches along the way).

So, I thought it was worth highlighting the differences (and pros and cons) between managing a personal brand and being responsible for a corporate one, here goes...

The DNA of personal brand management (vs corporate reputation management)

You are the singular voice

You are responsible for every bit of outgoing communication on behalf of brand 'you' - this means no one has to sign anything off, board members don't chase you for an explanation, and you can act in any way you see fit.

This also means that no-one else can misrepresent you and your beliefs. One 'employee' equals only one legitimate touch point.

You can change things incredibly quickly

It is a lot easier to change the behaviour and output of one person as opposed to ten thousand, so if you feel a change needs to be made you can instigate that immediately. Big brands don't have this luxury, and are required to communicate the new approach internally, do their best to encourage it's adoption, and then communicate it externally.

You can manage expectations better

A person will always be given more rope than a big brand.

For example, you may have a popular blog that receives regular comments from readers and from time to time your other commitments may get in the way of you responding immediately. Your readers will understand that and cut you some slack.

We don't view brands in the same way. If a customer doesn't get attended to within the time specified, all hell can break loose. If you are responsible for managing the reputation of that brand your ability to affect change lies predominantly in the hands of the people on the front line.

You can set your own goals

Without anyone to answer to, you have complete freedom to dictate the output you produce.

Managing a brand isn't so easy. Any number of internal pressures can result in the activation of external activities to address that pressure. This can sometimes lead to delivering against business objectives or simply buy you some time to get your house in better order.

There is no magic wand.

You can take risks

Some of the best personal branding techniques involve an element of risk.

It might involve saying or doing something controversial or taking the path less travelled for the hell of it.

When managing a corporate brand taking risks is the last think you are in a position to do. Sure, you can be creative or activate unique solutions, but ultimately you can't do anything unless it is considered right for the brand (and this is incredibly subjective within any organisation).

There are a bunch of other things that a personal brand operator doesn't need to worry about, including:

- No-one is paying you (directly)
- Your opinions are yours, not someone else's
- Your community is normally a much more manageable size
- You're not affected by mistakes made by others
- Your advocates are less likely to turn on you at once
- You aren't operating in a 'real' competitive market

It's at this point you may be asking yourself: Is the big brand model flawed in today's environment?

That is such a lovely hypothetical question, one which is the subject of another post, but it is important to remember that the revenue generated by one person (unless you are Michael Jordan) doesn't compare with the ability of a big brand to do so.

Is there a moral to this post?

Sure.

It's fun to be the critic and it's even more fun (for some people) to get talked about on the back of showing up an organisation, but I reckon you might feel different if the shoe was on the other foot.

And, while some things might seem easy to do in theory, putting them into practice within specific organisations isn't so simple.

Do you think people who show proficiency in developing and managing a personal brand have the skills to do the same within larger organisations?

Why has personal branding become such a talked about topic?

Let's have a discussion below...

Adam

COMMScorner.com is the blog from Adam Vincenzini which focuses on social media and PR. Connect with Adam on Twitter or subscribe to his blog.

11 Twitter & Social Media Tools To Try In 2011

It's hard to keep up with all the tools available to help maximise Twitter and other social media platforms.

But, over the last few months I've been testing some of the new ones I've stumbled across, getting a feel for the ones that have the potential to be the most useful.

Here are the ones I'll probably use more over the next 12 months and perhaps you might give 'em a whirl too...

Note: Most of these tools are free to use or have adopted the 'freemium' model.

11 Twitter & Social Media Tools To Try In 2011

1. Twoolr - complete Twitter statistics

If you are familiar with TweetStats.com you'll think that this is quite similar, but Twoolr provides some additional metrics and insights that TweetStats doesn't.

Twoolr will tell you how your account is being used, when you are most active, what you are tweeting about and which links you are sharing most frequently.

Best bit

The network tab tells you who you are communicating with the most and in what context i.e. @ replies, RT's and #FF's

Invites

I have ten invites to Twoolr in BETA available if you'd like to give it a go.

2. MentionMap - conversation visualisation tool

I think PR people will really like this one.

MentionMap provides a 'live' analysis of what a particular person is talking about on Twitter and who they are talking to.

When you take a look at a blogger or journalist's MentionMap you can get a really clear idea of what they have been tweeting about of late.

Best bit

It's physical output allows you to get a feel for that person at a glance as opposed to trawling through a bunch of bland raw data.

3. The Archivist - tweet library and analysis

The Archivist does what is says, but also provides some really useful insights and data visualisations around the Twitter activity for a specific subject / search term.

Hashtag analysis is really handy with this tool, especially if you want to keep a running tab on how many mentions it is getting over a period of time.

You can also download all the data in an excel file and use as you wish.

Best bit

The data dashboard is really handy, giving you information like the most used associated words and weekly frequency mapping.

4. Qwerly - people search for the social web

This was launched recently and has been billed as the best people searching tool yet if you want to get a feel of someone's social media presence.

It is also handy as a reference guide for your own contacts, listing the contact details you have for everyone you are following and the networks they are using.

Best bit

The most popular users is pretty cool, showing who has been searched for the most.

5. Hash Tracking - hashtag tracking and analytics

What I immediately liked about this tool is the quantifiable value it represents.

While most Twitter tools profiled here are free (or adopt a freemium model), this one is priced in a way that makes it an easy sell internally if you did need to obtain deeper results.

You can try Hash Tracking out now but you'll have to wait a bit until the paid options go live.

Best bit

I assume the best bit will be the reporting, especially as it can feature 100,000 tweets associated with the hashtag in question.

6. TLists - Twitter List search engine

This allows you to search public twitter lists by keyword / topic, bringing up the most relevant results.

The associated stats TLists provide are great, giving you an idea for how frequent each list pushes tweets outs and what sub-topics they mention.

Best bit

It is really simple to use.

7. TouchGraph - visualise the connections between related websites

This will give you a picture of the sites connected to you, your brand and your website giving you a visual representation of what a google search for that term might look like.

This is useful if you want to get a picture of where else you are being mentioned outside your 'owned' web properties.

Best bit

The Facebook specific search option does the same job for you and your friends and who has the most photos toegther which is pretty nifty.

8. FeedLooks - Google reader on steroids

It is always hard to imagine anyone out-googling google, and while I don't think this will get anywhere near achieving this, FeedLooks functionality will probably be borrowed by google at some point.

The interface is clean, items are sorted into 'old' and 'new' as opposed to 'read' and 'unread' and Twitter feeds can be integrated into the dashboard too.

Best bit

A rating next to each post gives an indication of its popularity / hotness, helping you browse and identify content more efficiently.

9. Address Book One - bringing all your contacts together

The amount of ways you can communicate with your contacts only gets bigger and bigger, and consequently more difficult to manage.

This tool is worth a look if you want to centrally manage all of your contacts across all the platforms they are involved in.

It will import address books from Facebook, LinkedIn etc and arrange them on a snazzy dashboard.

Best bit

I've only just started using this one, but the search option seems especially useful if you need to track down someone's contact detail

10. StatPlanet - the infographic creator's best friend

Want to create maps and graphs? Then this is well worth a look.

The best explanation of how this works is via the demo video and these example here also help tell the story more.

Best bit

The interactive graphs breathe life into what would normally be quite static slides.

11. Citrify - web-based photo editing

This is a great tool for bloggers who need to adjust images for posts.

It is also incredibly simple to use and comes without the hefty price associated with Photoshop.

Best bit

The wrinkle removal feature is a god send!

Have you spotted any other tools that you think might be handy in 2011?

If so, I'd love to hear from you.

Adam

COMMScorner.com is the blog from Adam Vincenzini which focuses on social media and PR. Connect with Adam on Twitter or subscribe to his blog.

A guide to spotting the difference between blog types

The term 'blog' is confusing. Fact.

Newspapers and magazines are defined by their physical output.

Television is defined by what it produces - moving pictures.

But blogs are not bound by convention, they are only bound by the ideas of the author(s).

Obviously, this is great, especially for the consumers of these blogs, but understanding their specific DNA as a comms professionals makes life challenging at times.

This has been annoying me of late, so here is a guide to the different types of blog out there and how you can spot the difference between each.

News blogs

Whether or not these are technically 'blogs' is not the issue, but identifying them is.

A news blog generally looks and feels like a traditional online news site, reporting on the latest announcements and developments from the sector(s) it covers.

Things to look out for to confirm whether you are dealing with a news blog include:

- A generic editorial email address i.e. news@mashable.com
- Several authors contribute, each specialising in a specific subject
- A face is often associated with the blog allowing people to connect with a figurehead i.e. someone to follow
- The classification of 'what makes news' is often more niche than an online news site (sites like telegraph.co.uk are attempting to serve the masses, which means being too specific can be harmful)
- Channels like Twitter and Facebook play an integral role in the distribution and sharing of news blog content

Examples: Mashable, Huffington Post, TechCrunch

Note: The differences between online news and sites and news blogs are almost non-existent in 2010, with both using pieces of each other arsenal to meet the needs of the consumer but news blogs are very different to the blogs outlined below.

Professional / Semi-Professional

A professional blog could be categorized as a 'small editorial operation which aims to create revenue via the production of content'.

Professional blogs are generally of a high standard, produce content several times a day and focus heavily on news and features.

A semi-professional blog is by no means a derogatory term, if anything it recognises an incredible amount of effort (and quality) served up by someone who is not a full-time blogger.

The communications industry has hundreds of blogs in this classification.

Danny Brown's blog is a good example of this.

Danny is a co-founder of an agency called Bonsai Interactive Marketing which is his 'day job' - but, his blog is also incredibly impressive given the time challenges he must face.

Identifying professional and semi-professional blogs requires one thing: time.

The about page is usually good place to start, but then look for things like:

- Average posts per week / day
- Subscriber numbers (often featured as badges, these figures help narrow things down a bit)
- Semi-professional blogs tend to be one-man/woman shows (predominantly)
- Professional blogs may be revenue-orientated, where as semi-professional blogs are less so
- Email addreses found on these blogs are normally personalised or not featured very prominently

Many people will tell you that sites like Technorati or Wikio can give you this information but to be safe, really get to know the source from the source, not a third party opinion.

Recreational

I'm not sure if this term is 100% accurate, but it does encapsulate the feeling you get from blogs of this nature.

Content tends to be produced sporadically, but it is characterised by a very specific passion for a particular subject.

Recreational bloggers aren't out to make any money, they just want to provide opinions on the things they care about.

You could probably add in review blogs in with this classification (although reviews are a part of most blogs).

Aggregator / link sharing blogs

The rise of platforms like posterous and tumblr have made collating content and re-publishing it very easy.

These blogs are characterised by links, with little or no original content occupying the page.

AllTop is an extreme example, but have a poke around posterous and you'll find many of these blogs.

Note: Again, are these really blogs? It is down to your personal viewpoint I think, but they do carry good content and as a result can't be overlooked.

Group blogs

A hybrid blog, bringing together a stable of authors from other blogs to provide centralised content.

A blog is this category would include PR Breakfast Club.

What is my point?

Mainly, I'd love to get some help from anyone reading this to refine this architecture further.

Personally, I don't care what we call them, but in helping to educate clients and colleagues, some shape and structure would explain the space better, and encourage better approaches from PR people still working out the subtleties of the craft.

So, do you have a suggestion?

Are there categories I've missed?

What other tips would you give to help people differentiate between them all?

I'd love to know what you think.

Adam

COMMScorner.com is the blog from Adam Vincenzini which focuses on social media and PR. Connect with Adam on Twitter or subscribe to his blog.