KDFW Channel-4 Pokes Fun of Social Media

Our local FOX affiliate station, KDFW, took a brilliant tongue-firmly-in-cheek swipe at social media in a fun video that was posted to their Facebook page with the title: Social Media Bit - Lone Star Emmys

This is a fantastic example of allowing yourself (even you media outlets) to have a personality. Let your community know you're human and that at times you don't have to take yourself too seriously. Thanks FOX 4 for the fun reminder. Well done.

Remnants to revitalized PR; chatting with Brian Solis

Image via CrunchBaseEarlier this evening I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call conversation with Brian Solis along with a handful of other DFW bloggers. We were invited to ask some questions of Brian who will be the lunch keynote speaker at the Dallas PRSA Communications Summit this Friday, October 22. 

As a professional communicator, I was thrilled to have a chance to learn from such a respected thought leader of new media and prolific author.

Below are the topics our little cadre of questioners narrowed down along with summary responses from Brian Solis:

What are the key differences between PR 1.0 and 2.0, and how can someone educate themselves?
The depth of knowledge, experience, and passion for peer-to-peer need to be in the I-have-to-learn-category for professionals. It's beyond pitching and placing; it's about moving individuals. It means realizing that we need to connect with humans that shape markets. This dynamic understanding of digital influence is what he believes will bring PR back to life.

(I recently ran across a video Brian Solis did with Chris Beck and 26 Dot Two about branded content called  The great advertising disconnect. "The last mile") What are some things PR people need to focus on today to reach that "last mile" of engagement?
Brian smartly pointed us to his blog post, The Last Mile: The Socialization of Business along with his series The Hybrid Theory Manifesto: The Future of Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (Parts One, Two, and Three) to give us a framework on his vision. He has provided his call to action or at least attention the fact that there is a gap that isn't being filled by PR. Advertising firms are bringing PR into the fold because they recognize the necessity and wisdom reaching and activating the influential individuals. (As an aside, this portion of the call intrigued me the most and warrants further research.)

Can you tell us a little about the premise of your book, Engage? What is the importance in it for PR/social media folks?
Brian responded that basically where he is now in his professional life is entrenched in the realm of organizational restructuring. He said his new book, Engage, is written with the executive suite in mind. "There are so many champions, we need more leaders," said Solis. There's an important lesson for PR people here: we need to be leaders.

How do you measure the value of engagement and report that back to your brand?
In measurement and reporting, you must start with the end in mind. Every aspect of social media is not created equally, nor are friends, fans, communities, etc. When you know who you are talking to, you can segment the story. Ultimately, we measure engagement based on the predefined objectives we want to accomplish. (In other words it's the seeing, clicking, doing that tells us we're winning.)

Brian Solis left us with some additional thoughts as he noticed one of our bloggers was doing a bit of live-tweeting during the call. The real-time updates triggered some final words of wisdom from our call:

• Consumers have become empowered. 
• There are audiences within audiences. 
• The balance of power has shifted. 
• IF you can inspired others to follow and share, you are on the right track.

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If you are in the DFW area on Friday, October 22, consider joining the Dallas chapter of PRSA for their annual Communications Summit: "Engage. Educate. Elevate." In addition to Solis, they have another great line-up for PR pros.
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I look forward to reading what the other bloggers zeroed in on from the call. Be sure to check out posts from Alyssa Gardina, Elysa Rice, and Eddy Badrina. (Also, special thanks and hat tip to Kai Stansberry, Lauren Fernandez and Chad Sour for the invitation and getting this call organized.)

Matte Releases: PR Branded Content for the Newbie

Image via WikipediaHave you ever heard of matte releases? I'll be honest, I've been in school public relations for nearly ten years and that particular phrase never came up. So when it came up in an e-mail and subsequent conversation I was intrigued.

The matte (or mat) release is a consumer or community-related article that newspaper editors can run when they want additional content for their publication. This branded content from an organization is generated specifically for distribution through a syndicated service in the hopes of reaching multiple news outlets and thus a wider audience.

This caught my attention because I've seen articles that fit this description written by the PR person at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center (MMMC) show up in the Mansfield News-Mirror (a weekly newspaper owned by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

After reading one such article a while back, I contacted Angel Biasatti, Director of Marketing, Community Relations and Public Affairs at MMMC, and asked her some questions hoping she'd share how she uses matte releases:

How useful are the matte releases to you and your communication strategies? They are very helpful and assist Methodist Mansfield Medical Center in reaching individuals in our community and beyond to provide helpful health information.

Have you had success with using this type of branded content? Absolutely. Many of the community newspaper and magazine editors use our matte releases monthly to supplement staff-written stories to provide helpful health information to the public. With newspaper staffs being cut and spread thin, the content Methodist Mansfield provides is becoming an essential editorial tool.

How do you define success when using a matte release? We measure success in a number of ways – from formal methods such as community perception surveys to informal measures such as positive comments and feedback from community members.

What about items that do not get published, are those re-purposed online? Absolutely. All of our articles are posted on our website along with links to our health library at www.MethodistHealthSystem.org. We also distribute them to other online sources we feel might use them.

I figured it might also be helpful to know what an editor thinks about matte releases. I reached out to Amanda Rogers, editor of the Mansfield News-Mirror, and asked if she thought this type of branded content could be beneficial. Her response:

It is useful, especially for large community entities like the hospital, city and school district. It would give you another outlet and the paper another way to connect with the community.

Expanding reach with the evolved matte release
It is certainly easy to see the value in getting this type of branded content in the hands of consumers and your community through the media. It is also something that companies can help you accomplish with more efficiency and reach that you could possibly do on your own. One such service is ARAcontent. In her post, The Evolution of PR Branded Content, Deirdre Breakenridge shares some thoughts on this service:

ARAcontent entered the fray in 1996 and “automated” the matte release process by creating a system for electronic selection of articles by editors at newspapers and web sites. ARAcontent specialized in professional content creation to highlight a company’s products and services that is distributed and placed in top media outlets. In 2010, ARAcontent is further digitizing the release of feature articles through an increased focus on media web sites and backlinks to client sites.  Content is search engine optimized and the company also helps to generate real engagement with consumers via social media.

These SEO benefits and backlinks along with the top-tier placement through ARAcontent could be an answer for a company or organization from a tactical perspective.

An ARAcontent spokesperson showed me how a national home décor company created a matte release using the company’s tools in order to increase search engine visibility for keyword phrases around a line of children’s bedroom décor offerings. Among the results were 291 recognized backlinks, 514 online placements in one month period with an online ad value of nearly $240,000 to go with some great Google-juice for tracked phrases giving them the left they were seeking in keyword rankings.

(Of course, there are others that provide similar services and comparable paid placement reach such as PR Newswire, North American Precis Syndicate and News Force Network among others.)

On your own or through a service, the matte release could be worth your time and careful research if you haven't already. Dust off those writing skills and prepare something that will resonate with your consumers or community. Figure out if this little-known (or often ignored) PR tool is worth your time.

Related articles

• Branded Content – The Love Child of PR, Advertising and Direct Marketing (prbreakfastclub.com)
• Branded Content - a Controversial PR Direction (proactivereport.com) 
• Mat Release – Old Tool, New Day (socalprblog.com)

Crisis communication and the saving speed of info

It has been a week since a gunman took his own life at the University of Texas and vaulted the campus community into a panic albeit relatively briefly all things considered. I watched, as did many, as an outside observer hoping this was in a fact isolated to a single random actor who for whatever reason made some tragic choices that day.

As with anything that happens in today's hyper-connected world, we watched as the events (campus evacuation, lockdown, search and press conferences) unfolded in the media as well as through individuals using social media channels.


Communicators should stop being surprised at seeing as-it-happens information or images being shared from the scene like the one shared at right from KUT Radio or the photo gallery that the Austin-American Statesman was updating as the day progressed. It wasn't even surprising to listen to live call-in interviews with students being held inside a locked-down building. These are all part of the new reality for crisis response and communication. 


All of those things are secondary to a well-trained crisis response team.

What was gratifying was hearing students mention receiving text messages from UT on the situation. Also the fact that emergency e-mails and voice mails were distributed from UT made its way to the media outlets almost as fast as the news of the type of weapon being used by the shooter.

So let's give credit where it's due: through the coordinated efforts of University of Texas and the Austin Police Department. As pointed out last week in the TSPRA blog,

"UT officials were able to activate warning sirens on-campus, send text messages to students and faculty and distribute emails instructing those on-campus to lock down and those off-campus to stay away, within roughly 15 minutes of the first calls to police. "

During his first press conference during the active investigation for additional shooters, Austin Police Chief, Art Acevedo commended the "UT campus, UT police, and communication system to get information to students, secure the campus, and mobilize quickly. Students did their part; they cleared the streets, cleared the campus...my hats’ off to them all."

Being able to share information quickly is what saved the situation at UT last week. How quickly are you prepared to share? When was the last time you dusted off that crisis communication binder? What are some lessons learned? As always, the comments are yours.

Related articles by Zemanta

• UT Shooter Colton Tooley Described As Intelligent, Unemotional (huffingtonpost.com)

PR pros, don't be digital media drop-outs

Image via Wikipedia
I really appreciate how our media friends have embraced the conversation on ways to improve education. From special reports on CNN to NBC's Education Nation, bringing education to the forefront of the dialogue is encouraging.

Perhaps the new conversation is tinged with typical politics for the election season and nothing new will come of it. On the other hand, having education in the public discourse through media like Oprah and even as the central theme in an upcoming documentary film, tells me it might be something more.

The stats are grim when taken as a whole. Bottom-line, we can all do better. School systems should operate like works-in-progress just as the students they teach and attempt to reach.

There is also a lesson for PR pros: Don't be a digital media drop-out. Don't be satisfied with where you are in your professional learning. I chose digital media specifically because that seems to be the area in our profession that is currently getting the bulk of the conversation. Social media integration concepts will continue to spread. It is my hope that PR pros won't take the easy road and, like a high school drop-out, just barely scratch the surface of usefulness of education for themselves.

Being a life-long learner would be a great example to set for students today and I believe that's a lesson worth sharing.
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Special thanks to Shane Haggerty for bringing up this issue for other school PR people and framing the dialogue to advance and highlight local school district programs for communities.

Also, if you haven't seen it, I'd encourage you to check out the trailer for the documentary mentioned earlier:

Social Media in Government - Schools at manor.govfresh #manorgf

Earlier this week, I ventured south to the small town of Manor, TX. The city, specifically the school district in Manor, was was the unlikely host of manor.govfresh conference. The conference brought together "government and industry innovators to share and learn about emerging, cost-effective technologies for state and local government."

I say unlikely host because at first glance this small city looks like any other. However, looks can be deceiving. Manor's innovative use of technology has been featured by government agencies and media, including the White House, Inc. Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Austin American Statesman, and others according to the conference press room. And the district is on par with technology innovation and student digital literacy instruction.

So what does this have to do with school communications or public relations?

I was asked to participate as a panelist for a session entitled Social Media in Government. Coordinating the panel was Andrew Krzmarzick, the GovLoop Community Manager. And rounding out the panel was Sandra Fernandez, Manager of Public Relations for the Houston Public Library, and Jacqueline Lambiase, Ph.D., public relations professor from TCU.

It was our job to convey strategic and tactical uses of social media in government in hopes of aspiring other local governments to look into ways to partner with each other, their school systems, libraries to better engage citizens and make educated decisions about social media tools.

Below are the slides from my portion of the session on school districts:Schools and Social Media -- Manor GovFresh

View more presentations from Richie Escovedo.

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This was a significant step in a positive direction for open government in Texas and around the country.

Seeing the continued interest and conversations around government 2.0 is something that school district communicators need to be paying attention to and learning as shifts in community expectations lead us to further government transparency.

This shift puts greater emphasis and access to what is happening inside local government. I think this is a good thing.

I also like how Andy put it in a recent tweet about the manor.govfresh conference.

Here's the article by Alex Howard (@digiphile) "Harnessing the Civic Surplus for Open Government."

This is an area worth exploring deeper for school PR. What do you think? What are seeing or hearing in communities in the way of open government? The comments are yours.

Book Review: Putting the Public Back in Public Relations

Photo: Frank Gruber via Flickr Creative Commons

I've been devouring a professional book for a while. I just finished reading Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge.

This book should be required reading for PR students as well as for those PR professionals willing to pursue and learn what's now and what's next in our profession.

After laying the foundation what New PR is, it's value, and what it looks like through relationships, the authors guide readers through some tactical ways to facilitate an organizations' conversations.

Breakenridge and Solis guide the reader beyond the surface-level of social media tools into deeper waters of conversation curation techniques.

Here are some of the more intriguing ideas and passages the struck me to share:
In a section called Don't Fear Change, the authors write

"Social Media is forcing changes that should have happened a long time ago in everything related to business...Whether or not you jump on board, these changes will continue to occur. And, to be honest, not every current PR professional will survive the transition: The fittest and those most willing and able to adapt will be the survivors...The PR professionals of tomorrow should all be engaged in meaningful conversations using the Social and New Media applications that enable forward-moving dialogue. In fact, every department of every business will soon find itself embracing social strategies."

I believe this sums up quite well the current trend in PR. What will be telling is whether or not communication professionals will embrace the conversations with, for, and by people as opposed to focusing just on the tools themselves. To ignore the people making the rants and raves is to ignore some of the very voices that make up a community. As Breakenridge and Solis point out [in a section on Micromedia], "When enough individual voices pool together, the whisper becomes a roar -- transforming micromedia into macro influence."

Later in the book, the authors move into PR 2.0: A Promising Future explaining new roles for professional communicators, the socialization of communication, customer service and breaking news in online communities.

"...[Y]ou must humanize your intent and story, and learn how, where, and why to participate. By doing so, you reset the dynamic for engagement from top-down to one-on-one interaction...it's critical that you understand that PR is no longer rooted in broadcast methodologies and the single-focused, general messages that drive them. PR needs to follow the authoritative dialogue, where it takes place. Without you, who will answer questions, clarify confusion, defend the brand, or develop relationships for the long term?"

The authors weave theoretical with the tactical in such a way that the reader cannot help but learn of useful tools along the way. The section called A New Guide to Metrics alone is almost worth the price of the book itself.

The final section of Convergence puts it all together in a PR 2.0 + PR 1.0 formula with defining new public relations roles, the future of PR, and the conversation prism. I am very hopeful in their vision for the future of the PR profession.

"Next-generation PR professionals will exemplify a hybrid of several critical roles...PR will relearn the art of communications, listening, and interchange, and, in the process, become well versed in not only the new rules of PR, but also the following:

• Web marketing and analytics
• Viral marketing
• Customer service and relationship management
• Social tools
• Focus groups and market audits
• Market analysts"

Deirdre Breakenridge and Brian Solis paint an amazing picture of what could be for the PR profession while providing a roadmap and instructions on how to get there.

Don't ignore this book.

[Note: You can check out a preview of this book on Google books and see for yourself, but I still highly recommend getting your own copy if you get an opportunity.]