Please listen before shooting the messenger

Mark twain once said,” The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all.”  This is true.  The field of public relations is built upon this principle.  It thrives on what people think, feel and hope for.  It is an industry that relies on the public to determine its success or failure.  The public is to public relations what the brain is to the human body, its controlling force.  Public relations is all about reaching people through people for people.  It is about the power of community.

It is true that the public has labeled PR as an industry of “spin.”  It has been considered on more than one occasion, an unethical practice dedicated to transforming the “ugly truth” into something more palatable, more accepting for the benefit of the corporation or profit.  It has received a plethora of criticisms, but has failed to receive the same level of recognition for all of its positive contributions.  They are countless.

To start, PR offers start-up companies a cost-effective way to boost their public presence.  For an emerging company, raising public profile can be challenging, especially with so much out there.  But if you can grab the interest of a reputable journalist or blogger that wants to promote you, your reach is as far as the thousands of papers delivered each day or the number of times a Google search is done – with next to no cost.  This reach goes beyond the billboard or the brochure because it uses trust as fuel.  This is public relations.  People talking with people.

What else does good PR do?  Good PR listens.  It listens to the needs of people and helps bridge and communicate those needs to major stakeholders.  It chooses communication vehicles that resonate with different publics so that the message is clear and delivered effectively.  This is vital in any workplace.  Employee communications is the circulatory system of an organization.  If communications is done effectively, respect between employee and employer is built and business flows.  PR builds and nurtures healthy relationships in the workplace, making going to work much easier, even enjoyable.

Finally, PR helps promote global awareness.  PR is the key to change.  It generates power for not-for-profit organizations that stand for better health and a healthier environment.  PR helps raise money for research such as cancer and global hunger.  Earth Hour is a great example of what PR can do.  During the hour the lights went out, in Toronto alone there was a 10 per cent decrease in energy use.  The message to turn off the lights reached a lot of people and because of this we were able to create these results.

PR is about you and me.  It is about community and what we believe in.  The next time you hear someone talk negatively about PR, think about how PR really changes the world.  Think about the message behind the messenger.

Learning to swim the Web 2.0 waters

I am a new Web 2.0er. For years my knowledge of the Internet was limited to e-mail and the run-of-the-mill Google search. Until this year.

As a professional, turned communications student, I have been tossed into the seemingly bottomless waters of Web 2.0. It has been an adventure. It has been overwhelming at times. Mostly, it has been eye-opening.

There are so many tools out there. For those who are just starting out, allow me to offer you some simple guidance, a few life preservers to help you manage the fast and changing waters of the World Wide Web.

Wikis are wonderful

If you haven’t heard of wikis, I recommend checking them out. Wikipedia is the wiki that most can say they have visited, but wikis can be used for a whole lot more than definitions and descriptions. Wikis are effective and efficient tools for any type of project that entails brainstorming and group contribution. Whether used for school or for work projects wikis provide an effortless tool with which to edit and change documents or plans collaboratively.

Signing up for a wiki is simple. I have used both PB wiki and Wetpaint. For simple and clear instructions on how to use wikis, I suggest visiting the commoncraft YouTube video.

Facebook fears

Facebook is probably the most known Web 2.0 application out there. It can be a great tool to keep in touch with friends and share what is happening in your life, but can also become detrimental if you fail to consider how it could be used against you. It isn’t uncommon that an employer requests to look at your Facebook page or that you are asked to open up your Facebook account during an interview. Thus, it is important to keep your Facebook interactions as professional as possible. Make sure that your Facebook represents what you would want the employer of your dream job to see.

Bloggers can’t be choosers

Actually they can be choosers. If you want to start a blog, you should. It’s easy. It’s free and lots of people are doing it. There are too many things I want to say about blogging for this post, but stay tuned for a more in depth look at the power and the pitfalls of the blog in my next post.

Tweeting to the Twitter song

Twitter is an instant messaging tool that allows you to follow people and be a part of the conversations and ideas that inspire them. With a maximum of 140 characters per message, Twitter messaging affords you the opportunity follow a number people who inspire you and be engaged in separate conversations with all of them at the same time. Wow! That’s a lot of inspiration coming your way!

Intellects from across the globe power the Twitter communities. Got something important to say? Find the key influencers on Twitter, follow them, contribute, and if they decide to follow you – you’ve got their attention. Time to share.

Google reader: blog posts at your door step

Would you like to know exactly when your favourite blogger has posted something new? Google reader is free and it feeds you all of the updates that make your day because you are the one who chooses them. All you have to do is create a Gmail account (if you don’t have one), find the Reader heading at the top of your e-mail home page – click – follow the easy prompts and voila, interesting blogs and news at your door step.

Del.icio.us is delicious!

Book marking is a tool that can make life a lot easier. By combining bookmarking technology with Google reader feeds, you have 360 degrees of information at your finger tips. Del.icio.us bookmarks are simple to set up and allow you to not only save and revisit your favourite sites again and again, but connect you with a network of bookmarking aficionados.

Podcasts for storytelling

Some may say that the day of the podcast is as over as the day of Space Invaders – but I think otherwise. Podcasts are like books on tape. They are live recordings that can be listened to online. With visual streaming tools such as Seesmic and YouTube, you may wonder why on earth you would go the podcast route when you can use video…well because podcasting gives the receiver something different.

Podcasting is a great tool for storytelling and for creating pictures with words. It gives poetry the chance to live and breathe in the mind of the listener. Don’t underestimate the power of the imagination and how moving “the listening experience” can be with the right words.

For more information on podcasts and reasons why they should not be forgotten among the many new emerging Internet tools, I suggest visiting this site.

E-mail etiquette

Yeah I know what you are thinking…why is she talking about e-mail? There is nothing new to learn about this ancient way of communicating.

This is precisely why I wanted to include the “old” and most commonly used technology with the “new” stuff. Because we have become so accustomed to using it, we often forget how to use it effectively.

E-mailing for business can be disastrous if the message is not delivered using words that the receiver can understand and relate to. Remember that when you are using the written word as your communication vehicle you run the risk of misinterpretation. Make sure that before you hit send, you do the following things: reread the message to make sure it isn’t ambiguous or can be misinterpreted, check punctuation to ensure it reflects the tone you desire and proof read for spelling and grammar because the simplest mistake can turn a well-intentioned e-mail into a communication nightmare.

Taking the diplomatic route is the safest and most productive way to go. Always.

Seesmic lets you get it right

Seesmic is a video messaging tool. It allows you to deliver messages face-to-face. The beauty of seesmic is that you can record your message, preview it and then rerecord if you are not happy. This can be very helpful when the message is complicated, emotional or just really important so getting it right means everything.

You can keep your visual conversation private or you can make everything you say and do on video public. If you decide to go the public route – think carefully about what you post. You are what you post.

Be your most professional self

No matter which tool you decide to use remember that integrity is everything when you are online. Whether you are blogging, podcasting, editing a wiki or posting video messages, always remember that the Internet is a public space and that means your words and your actions represent you. Everything you say and post online becomes a part of your identity.

So if something you write or say does not reflect who you are, don’t hit send or post.

Project management helps communicators connect the dots

Connect the dots

Having the ability to manage projects effectively means many things.  It means being able to see “the bigger picture.”  It means being able to understand people and leverage their strengths.  It means being able to bring a vision to fruition step by step. 

Most importantly,  it means seeing the importance of the journey to the destination and connecting the dots in a way that empowers people to accomplish a shared end goal.

These characteristics also define a successful communicator.

At the heart of communications as well as project management is people.  Understanding how individuals think, what they need, how they communicate and what holds meaning to them takes on a life of its own in an effective communications plan. 

The people equation starts with understanding the target audience and the client, similar to a project management plan; but what really makes the difference is managing people in a way that makes them feel a part of the plan’s fabric. 

This is where the marriage of communication skills and project management skills can bring the communications process to the next level.

Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.”  Being able to leverage the strengths of each person on a team allows a manager to inject a level of ownership into a project that can’t be paralleled. 

In a communications role, this dedication and individual enrolment is key to delivering a message with integrity, strength and conviction.  It is this kind of message that has the power to change perception.

In addition to the ability to manage people, communications and project managers share the need to recognize and craft key messages, goals and objectives.  Neither a communications nor a project management plan has direction without the guidance of goals and objectives. 

The project manager, however, goes one step further adding a critical path or Gantt chart to the mix, accompanied by a Work Breakdown Structure.  

Again, this is where the communicator can benefit from the project management process. 

A critical path can bring another layer of support to a communications plan by providing those who are responsible for delivering key messages and rolling out initiatives with a detailed map to follow. This map not only helps the team connect the dots leading to the final stage of the plan, but also maintains motivation.  Project management and communications go hand in hand. 

Project management is a skill that is highly transferable, not only in the world of communications and public relations, but in everything we do.  At its core is the ability to organize, empower people and have vision. 

Forest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

But life is more like “a box of projects,” don’t you think? 

Get Satisfaction is worth checking out

First thoughts

 

Getting signed up to use this website is easy.  It doesn’t present any new or different challenges compared to other online tools and services.  I like the fact that anyone can sign up and that companies are taking the step to use a service like this to hear from their users and communities. This shows that they are willing to become vulnerable in order to give more power to their target public, which can ultimately increase the satisfaction of their customer base. 

 

Site set-up

 

Company sites are organized in a way that easily allows their customers to report and discuss problems, make suggestions, share ideas and see what questions have yet to be answered. There are many tags available so users can find conversations about their specific concerns or ideas more efficiently.  There are also a number of links and options to help you better understand the company.  The green boxes around employees’ names help users identify who is helping them – the community or the employees.  It’s amazing how much the community helps.  The community does most of the work.

 

Benefit to user-friendliness and variety of options

 

As a user of this service, you have the opportunity to really gauge how customer service savvy a company is as well as build an online community that can really help you save time and make a product more meaningful for you.  For example, your community can help you solve problems that haven’t yet occurred for you and give you insight into other ways a service or product can make your life easier. 

 

This service also allows you to do the same for your community as well as make suggestions and share ideas about how the product can be improved.  

 

Another very interesting feature is the use of emoticons to establish the satisfaction level associated with the answers and information provided. 

 

Company rep profiles

 

Company reps are very easily found.  They sit at the top right-hand side of the company page and are bound by a green box.  All of the reps icons link to their profiles, which provide a variety of information. The information available varies from rep to rep. It may include where they live and other ways you can reach them online including, but not limited to: Twitter feeds, blogs, Flickr accounts and del.icio.us. 

 

The reps profiles also include the number of replies they have made and which ones have been tagged as useful.  This is helpful because it directs users to information considered useful by the community. 

 

Get Satisfaction: Twitter

 

Twitter has 14 employees who are waiting to hear from their public.  This is a significant employee base compared to other companies.  Problems that have currently been discussed include: complaints about upholding terms of service agreement (these are the ones that are particularly worrisome and get many replies), deleting old accounts, poor quality profile pictures, inability to see previous tweets and various challenges receiving SMS updates.  Other questions have also been asked regarding pagination coming back and adding more international sites.

 

How are they managing?

 

Most often, community members reply before employees.  An interesting option for those reading replies is that they can choose to tell the person whether their suggestion or advice has solved the problem.  This is great for the community because it helps direct individuals to the solutions that work and also provides positive feedback for the person giving the solution.  This way everyone can get satisfaction!

 

There are also emoticons available for users when they get replies and they can share how they are feeling by using them.  Lots of sad faces in the community should  definitely be a warning to any company. 

 

Get Satisfaction: Apple

 

Surprisingly, Apple only has one employee participating.  This is a shock given the reputation of Apple in the world.  Most of the replies come from the community and not the company.  Not only is there only one rep, but the rep has no information available in his profile.  Essentially the community is doing all of the work for Apple. 

 

Some complaints posted include: plastic eroding around the edge of the keyboard, iPhones not automatically connecting to wifi network and desktop icons missing from the desktop.  Some other Apple user questions include: iPhones being available through other carriers than AT&T and where to find an Apple support line. 

 

Maybe they should consider some more reps.

 

Final thoughts

 

Get Satisfaction is a site that can work very well if you use it your advantage.  You can get a lot of support from a community that uses and believes in the same service or product that you do.  The community is by far the best part of the service.  The people within it are the ones that most often will help you get the answers you need and even coach you along the way. 

 

The more I learn about online communities the more I feel connected with everyone.

Message delivered accurately? Check.

Check!

The more I learn about social media, the more I like it.  Not because I secretly long to be a technology geek (although I do), but because it is all about building communities and relationships the old fashion way – by chatting. Granted, chatting online can present some added challenges.

Take intonation for example.  It is pretty tough to hear sarcasm or catch tongue and cheek remarks without the use of some pretty creative punctuation.  Unless of course you are using seesmic, a tool that allows you to actually speak to your community face-to-face.

You can record and insert messages directly into conversations the way you would like them to be heard.  If you don’t like the way they sound the first time, you can go for a second round of “making them right” before posting them.

This gives you control back.

You are the master of your voice in the seesmic universe.  You don’t have to bold, use exclamation marks or emoticons to get your point across.  You can hit record and share your message the way it is intended.

What a great tool for PR.

Inspire away

A first blog post is intimidating, not unlike your first time snowboarding or skiing. With it comes the desire to enter the new world with a bang, to prove that your voice is one of the thousands out there worth listening to. Not only do you have to find a topic that “wows,” you need to be able to deliver with eloquence and perfection. You need to be profound.

If you are nodding your head in agreement stop now! You are putting way too much pressure on yourself. These are the thoughts that paralyse us, that stop us from sharing or trying new things for fear of doing them the “wrong” way. They control us. They push us into believing that what we have to say isn’t important enough.

What you have to say is important. Your feelings are important. Your thoughts and questions are important. The bottom line – we inspire each other. Something that may seem insignificant to you may make my world a better place.

A simple thought posted can become a discussion between 50 people. How powerful is that?

Inspire away.