Is that a Buzzing in My Ear?

So I took a couple of weeks off from Blogging. I know, I'm not supposed to, but with Spring Break and a schlew of things to do, I didn't have much time to think about what I was supposed to be thinking about. My brain just couldn't fit it in.

This week though, I have been working on our class podcasts. Did anyone else feel like they were discovering a hidden talent? Like you were breaking into an unknown realm of sound editing and mixing? It was kind of fun. I can even tell you know what the word "um" looks like in its audio state. I am the mixing / editing queen bee. Or is that just the audio still buzzing in my ear?

We interviewed Cynthia Baker of Accolades Public Relations. As one of the forerunners in the realm of using Social Media in PR, the information was insightful and full of useful information. I hope you think so too. Enjoy!

http://myweb.stedwards.edu/mosteen/CynthiaBakerv5.mp3

SHOW NOTES

PODCAST: How Social Media Can Benefit Corporations in Their PR Strategies

Produced, Directed, Edited and Recorded: Alejandra Gonzalez, Monica Hampton, Jaime Masterson, and Ailynn Skinner

00:07 INTRO: Jaime Masterson & Alejandra Gonzalez
00:30: WELCOME: Ailynn Skinner & Monica Hampton, introducing Cynthia Baker
00:46: Overview of Accolade Public Relations
01:25: 1st QUESTION: What are the first steps you advise a client in entering the social media realm?
03:40: 2nd QUESTION: What is the most important social media component for companies to use
04:56: 3rd QUESTION: Who should be blogging within the company?
05:45: 4th QUESTION: Business Strategies, not just PR Strategies are incorporating social media
06:49: 5th QUESTION: How do social media plans differ between sizes of companies?
07:48: 6th QUESTION: How has social media has changed the PR industry?
10:04: OUTRO

Music by: Ariyasamade
Song: Just Relax
Found on http://www.podsafemusic.com/

Customer Dis-Service with Facebook

This is a rant, so I apologize early if I ramble a bit.

Facebook is my nemisis these days. I have a project in which I am supposed to be the Facebook Guru, except that I just signed up on Facebook about 2 months ago, and I'll be damned if I can get a real person to help me. I know, I'm probably old fashioned, but I really, really, really like that personal interaction.

I was in retail during my pre-college days, and I require good customer service. All the time. I am a stickler for it. I refuse to go to Blockbuster any more, because their customer service is the worst. I haven't been to one in over 10 years. I swear. I have a baby, but I refuse to go to Babies 'R Us anymore, because they made me so mad the last time I went there. There are several restaurants of which I LOVE their food, but the service has been so bad on multiple occasions, that I refuse to return. (Note: I do advocate good customer service, too, but my rant today is on the flip side).

So when I needed help with Facebook applications. And I am talking about a lot of help, I did not want to have write a book of all the questions I had in the "forum" just to have to wait for answers individually. In general, I really don't mind asking questions via email or discussion forums for the most part. I do it all the time. But when I need to talk to someone. I really, really need some personal connection. And I don't get paid to sit there and have to filter through all of their "FAQs" or type my question a million different ways, just to get their search feature to figure out what the heck I am trying to do!

So I was working with the Causes people on Facebook, and because I am new, I didn't understand that "Causes" is an application and they are not part of Facebook. I was getting really frustrated that they can't help me get an application onto my Causes page. The good part was that I was talking to a real person at the Causes offices and her customer service was AWESOME! (Thanks Sarah!).

But back to Facebook, I need a human voice. Except that at Facebook, it seems is the except to the rule. Facebook is #1 on the Social Media Scorecard and they don't care that they don't have ANY customer service. 750 employees and not a single human voice to talk to. YUCK! I'm stuck.

Now for some personal advertising... Check out my awesome Causes page and join the cause! (www.causes.com/flamingoagogo)

What the "F"?

In Chapter One of Citizen Marketers, citizen marketers are defined by their actions:

“Citizen marketers create what could be considered marketing and advertising content on behalf of people, bands, products, or organizations…They don’t often represent the average person, member, customer, or citizen. They are on the fringes, driven by passion, creativity, and a sense of duty. Like a concerned citizen.”

Here is where the “F” word comes in… Actually, there are 4 of them. Citizen marketers are categorized by the 4 “F”s.
1. Filters
2. Fanatics
3. Facilitators
4. Firecrackers

The Filters are the “human wire services” because they are the ones that collect all the data, stay unbiased for the most part, and often regurgitate the information back out to the public in a summarized, collective format that the general public can read and understand.

“The Fanatics are true believers and evangelists.” They are similar to the filters, except that they also analyze and criticize, debate over topics, and often create hype and action about a brand or product.

Facilitators are the creators of communities. Citizen Marketers refers to them as the “mayors of online towns” for good reason. They bring like minded people together and form that common bond in which everyone can connect.

Firecrackers are aptly named because almost as soon as they come along and start making a lot of noise, the show is over and all you have is a smoke pattern of where they were. These are the people that for whatever reason, decide to make their presence known on the Web, but don’t really establish themselves as a long term presence. They feel that they have something to say, they say it, then they disappear.

So what the “F”? Which “F” word are you? Are you a citizen marketer? What makes you get up and blog? What makes you tell all of your friends about a product or person or something you have experienced? And how do you do it?

To Pitch or not to Pitch. That is the "blogging" question.

Brian Solis covers a wide range of topics in his series "The Art and Science of Blogger Relations". As aspiring PR professionals, we all need to take heed. Really. This stuff happens every day and as a matter of fact, a PR firm right here in Austin got black listed about 2 years ago from several prominent bloggers because they did not care to think these things through. No names will be mentioned, but this stuff happens all the time and this is why Solis places so much emphasis on building relationships.

The old PR cold pitch approaches don't work any more (did they ever?) and the new ways are writing new rules all the time. The only way to keep apprised of these new rules are to follow blogs like Brian's. Read them over and over and over. Read the comments, read the stories, find out what blogs he follows and follow those.

One comment that resonated with me and that I personally call the 95% rule: Solis quoted Chris Anderson in saying that "Common sense is all to uncommon in almost everything we do these days." I state that the human race is the only race that natural selection doesn't work most of the time because technology keeps allowing the stupid to survive. At the going rate, there are only 5% of us that have any common sense. Be a 5 percenter and use your brain.

You will be joining this PR arena soon. You have the unique ability to learn from other's mistakes, but you also have the challenge of overcoming the preconception that "PR is too stupid to participate in Social Media" and that your predecesors have placed you in a preconceived category with those the likes of "used car and snake oil salesmen".

Heed Solis' "Advise on Media and Blogger Relations". Copy it, laminate it, keep it in your pocket. You will need it, you will use it and at some time you will need to remind yourself of it. There are 10. Think of them as the "10 PR Commandments" and you'll do just fine.