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There was a bit of a buzz today regarding a pitch one of our youth trend spotters in Fleishman-Hillard’s Next Great Thing (NGT) made trying to raise visibility of their recently launched team blog. It appears that her pitch, while generating a largely favorable response irked one esteemed blogger in particular who shared it with her network sparking a bit of a blurt about how PR and marketing agencies need to learn how to properly approach bloggers. Notice I didn’t use the word “pitch”. Toby Bloomberg (that esteemed blogger) offered her 12 Blogger Relations Secrets For PR, Advertising and Brand Marketers. She included a bonus tip that read, “In the world of social media relationships are the new currency.”

This is bang on. I keep telling my peers that rapport is the most important thing in social media. The concept of pitching works in some instances if it’s relevant. Some of our online editorial outreach folks make it a habit of leading with a question and getting a nod of permission before offering up what we think may be of value or of interest. The most important thing is to know your audience. What’s going to appeal? How is it going to be interpreted?

I personally am more comfortable in the realm of rapport versus pitches. More often than not you generate results through the connections you have built up. It’s just like landing a great job or an incredible client. So much of it is who you know and being in the right place at the right time. Cliché but true.

I guess the trick is to define your own style that works for you and the recipients of your communication.

In order to excel in this new environment, you need to be a known and credible resource. PR people in particular are typically well suited for social media if they can get past the concept of packaging information in traditional formats. We use the social media mix to make it work. PR professionals have access to the subject matter experts that can offer unique and informative points of view. We also have access to the facts, research and materials that can provide greater context. Based on my experience, if people know you can deliver and help them enhance their content, you’re going to do well.

FH is in the process of globally switching on the firm to embrace digital communication. Ethics and being appropriate within digital culture are two of the greatest tenets we promote as people come on stream. We also talk a ton about respect for the individual, being authentic and transparent, and not over marketing. We’re engaging in a conversation and contributing to a community. In order to really create value, you need to be passionate about what you do and what your clients do. If you can’t speak with enthusiasm and insight, should you really engage in the dialogue?

Also see my colleague David Jones’ take on this: Bad blog pitch? You be the judge

Technorati Tags: social media, public relations, blogger relations, fleishman-hillard

The world of PR is in transition. Many communication professionals realize that the way people get their information is changing. Others resist this fact, dismissing change as a fad. The skeptics ignore the influence of blogs and the power of social networks. Those that “get it” can’t seem to create enough opportunities. Organizations willing to take the risk and embrace new media, digital communications and social media are far and few between. Those that are making the transition are reaping the benefits.

Our youth marketing team in New York has been working with members of our Ernst & Young account team to create some exceptional solutions to recruit top talent graduating from the best business schools. This innovation landed our client in the Wall Street Journal with an article called “Ernst & Young Reaches Out to Recruits on Facebook“.

It always takes some doing to get clients to understand and accept new thinking like this, but the rewards are worth it. I have worked on teams in the past that have won international awards and received both online and mainstream exposure for simply being innovative and strategic. Being strategic doesn’t always require a complex solution as we’ve seen with our work in Canada with ALTANA Pharma.

The first step to success in digital communications and new media is being able to describe why it makes sense. This is one of the most difficult things to do since so many people start blocking concepts as soon as technology enters the equation. In the end, technology has very little to do with the rationale. It’s simply the enabler.

Technology enables access to the new audience. It enables new modes of publishing and inspires new ways to package information in convenient ways.

Most Internet use and media trend statistics illustrate why PR needs to embrace the online world. So if you’re preaching, figure out how to talk about it in a poignant and meaningful manner. As my friends in the Social Media Club say, “If you get it, share it.”

As more organizations realize the benefits of social media, there seems to be a real interest in getting their thought leaders to blog. I encourage clients to consider who their true thought leaders are. The first person that typically pops to mind is the CEO. But blogging requires a pretty substantial time commitment, not just to write the posts but to read other blogs, respond to comments and maintain momentum. Does your CEO have the time and focus required to succeed?

As I’ve written before, blogging falls into the social media mix which includes communication, conversation and community. Blogging creates incredible opportunities, but those opportunities need to be fostered.

Here’s an alternate suggestion that still allows your CEO a chance to contribute without a major ongoing commitment. Identify and leverage your subject matter experts. We have found some really creative ways using internal social media programs to give people a voice and help them perfect their point of view before they blog externally. Subject matter experts are great because they tend to be passionate, empowered and well-informed. They are also more likely to read other blogs and bring an extended network that represents a built-in audience.

So how does your CEO fit in? Well, provide them with updates, or better yet, set them up with an aggregated feed with content from each of your subject matter experts. I also encourage organizations to have their CEO comment on their subject matter experts’ blogs. Comments from the CEO, or other visible leaders, carry weight. They are also a great form of recognition and credibility. “Hey, if the CEO is commenting, she’s really following this stuff. She has her ear to the ground and is an active leader.”

This type of approach makes corporate blogging just a bit more manageable and maybe even a bit more engaging.

Technorati Tags: corporate blogging, ceo blogs, business blog, social media