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Posts Tagged ‘Big Mistakes’

Don't try to pull the blog over my eyes

Filed Under : PR Best Practices by Debi P.
Jul.6,2010
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Now I’m typically not one to turn around and focus on bad PR practices. There’s already a whole blog that handles that issue. But I got a pitch today that just struck me right in the face, and I can’t keep quiet.

Source: SXC

I received a pitch from a personal email address at yahoo.com from Kat. Kat had found my SA Busy Kids blog, and she said she liked it. She also “found” some great information about a local franchise that was offering free kids meals and thought I might want the info for my site. She threw in a little blurb from the press release just to help me with the official language.

It took me about five seconds to do a quick Google search to find out that Kat is the official spokesperson for this restaurant and works for its PR firm. Now why didn’t she just tell me that? And why didn’t she just use her business email address? Why did she feel the need to cloak her words as if she was a casual visitor to my site just trying to be helpful? Frankly, if she had just been honest and let me know was trying to get some press for her client…I actually might have lent an ear.

Better yet, if she had come at me with an outreached hand and tried to develop a relationship with me first…”Say, Debi, have you ever tried our restaurant? It’s great. Can we entice you to stop by? Bring your kids because they get a free kids meal … etc. etc. We know you write about camps and we’d love to send you some of our recipes that are easily created around a campfire…” or something along those lines. Wow…that would have gotten my attention.

I kind of wonder if Kat really read my blog. Sorry, Kat. Maybe next time, try a little more transparency. Try to be a little more genuine. You might get lucky. At least you’ll stand a fighting chance.

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Logical conclusions. Or not.

Filed Under : Technology by Debi P.
Mar.30,2010
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Well…I started writing an entirely different post today when I got distracted (no surprises there) by a tweet pointing me to this new post from social media thought leader Robert Scoble.

It’s an interesting piece on malleable social graphs, and he certainly makes some good points. I love trying out new social networks like Whrrl, Foodspotting and Miso. I get great ideas about where to go and what to do from people who like the same things I do. It makes sense – birds of a feather and all that.

However, take this to its logical conclusion and I begin to have concerns. Scoble writes “I told Facebook that I’m a liberal Democrat. So why am I still seeing Republican crap in my news feed?” He goes on, “so, its newsfeed is still presenting information to me that I might not care about and, in some cases, might make me angry.”

And here is where I stumble. Are we creating a society that can no longer tolerate differing opinions? By being able to pull only that information with which we agree, are we becoming one-sided, shallow individuals?

Scoble goes so far as to define “REAL friends.” Caps all his. “You know, the ones that are like you.” Yikes. Why would I want to surround myself only with friends who are like me? Doesn’t my life become richer for knowing and enjoying people who aren’t like me? I may not agree with someone, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be his friend. More likely – I should listen even more closely. I might (gasp) learn something.

I want my kids to grow up in a world where they not only welcome differing opinions, but seek them out. And yet, we seem to be going in the opposite direction. Don’t like someone’s opinions? Just block them. Looking for validation of your own viewpoint? Google it. Want to know what shoes to buy? Instead of doing your own research into quality, just check out to see what your networks are doing and follow along.  Trust someone else’s opinion. It’s okay. They are just like you, so they are probably right.

Yikes.

Has critical thinking become a thing of the past? That scares me. How about you?

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I have abandonment issues

Filed Under : PR Best Practices,Technology by Debi P.
Jan.15,2010
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I value relationships. Authentic friendships. True communication.

So it’s no surprise that the one thing about social media that really makes me crazy is to see companies leap into the network, develop relationships around a product or cause, only to abandon the outreach when they realize they (a) just don’t get it or (b) don’t have the time for it.

I’ve got news for you. You don’t have to be on Twitter. You don’t even have to be on Facebook.

If you feel the need to be present because that’s where your customers are living, working and talking about you, then do your legwork first.

Listen. Find some people you admire and who seem to “get it.” Follow them and see how they do it. Determine if you have something useful (and I emphasize the word useful) to contribute to the conversation. Think long and hard about the time, energy and effort you are willing to put into this venture. Focus on long-term. Will you be able to keep it up for six months, a year, three years, ten years – even as it changes and evolves? Are you willing to commit to staying up with an ever-changing, ever-evolving, albeit extremely exciting environment? Will you work it into your overall business strategy across platforms?

You wouldn’t go find a customer, befriend him for a few exciting weeks and then abandon him in person. Don’t do it online.

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The cobbler's daughter has no shoes

Filed Under : Life,PR Best Practices by Debi P.
Jan.8,2010
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I just missed the boat. Or at least a chance to get on it. Yesterday, I had a record number of visitors to my sister website SABusyKids. And I wasn’t there.

I have been busy. The holidays, you know. Then work and work and more work. So I haven’t had time to update my blog.

And in all liklihood, those visitors won’t be coming back because the last post I have dates all the way back to December 15. That’s like the 1800s in the blog world.

It reminded me of a call I had from a potential client last week. She wanted me to blog for her. Why, I asked? She told me she wanted to start blogging and had to have a twitter account because … well … because she just had to be there. After all, isn’t everybody else?

Stop, I said. There has to be a reason. Why are you there? I mean, beyond because “I have to be there.”

I really have to stop talking myself out of business.

For me, social media works best when it successfully draws a community together around a particular cause or subject or person. When the product isn’t the only one interacting with the consumers, but the consumers are interacting with each other. And to do that well, you have to have a plan and a strategy and a commitment to the conversation.

I’m going to be a better cobbler and make sure my kids have shoes from now on. In the coming days, I’m going to blog about some of the trends I’m seeing from the perspective of a public relations professional who is seeing her industry finally come back to its roots of public…relations.

Let’s talk. Send me your questions. Post comments. No excuses.

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