Last night n2n won a “PRIA Award for Excellence” for Business to Business communications for its campaign to promote Sun Microsystems green IT offerings.  n2n was awarded the award against seven other finalists.

The judges said the campaign demonstrated “very thorough research”, had a “comprehensive strategy” and that it was “great to see a differentiated approach for different audiences.”    The campaign, which spanned electronic communications (eg blogs, email, podcasts) events and media relations, exceeded the objectives.  As a result, Sun was publicly recognised as a leader by industry influencers.   

Sun’s staff and customer perceptions were positively influenced and a number of major deals were directly linked to the awareness generated by the campaign. Thanks to Sun Microsystems for their early commitment to green computing which gave us great material to work with. 

Sun is a partner in the true sense of the word – they involve us as part of their team in everything from planning to celebrating success.  And their willingness to support strategic campaigns makes it a privilege to be their partner.Well done to the n2n team who work with Sun Microsystems.  It was their clever strategy, energy and flawless execution that secured the PR award.

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Google recently launched a new service asking for users to write what it calls knols, “authoritative articles about specific topics, written by people who know about those subjects.”   Sounds familiar.  With knolls joining wikis, blogs and the like as a medium for anyone to at least act like an authority on a subject, it’s beginning to blur the lines even more between fact and (not necessarily informed) opinion on the web.   We’ve had to take it for granted that what we’re told is fact long before the internet, but when you had a small selection of newspapers and TV channels to chose from it was easy to make a call on which ones were the most authoritative and trustworthy.  The web has long since changed all that and the growth of social networking and Generation Y’s penchant for social commentary online means the waters are likely to be further muddied. I think though that the winners of this confusion are likely to be those outlets that have built up a level of trust and credibility – i.e. the journalists and more traditional outlets.  Certainly the blogs that I take most notice of, with a couple of notable exceptions, are those written by journalists I know or respect.  And it’s likely that the print media and journalists are a better home for informed opinion and analysis because it comes with an established level of trust and credibility. 

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A quote from Tim Hughes, Executive Chairman of the Photon Group, in the Australian Financial Review caught my eye today. He said, “One-way forms of communication using TV, radio and newspapers will always have their place, but in this new consumer-empowered world, they are much less relevant.  Communications is now two-way.” 

Funny thing is if you are a PR person, communications has always been two-way.   Far too long ago I recall my first year PR lecturer defining PR as “the two way communication between an organisation and its publics.” The difference now is that online and social media has caught the attention of traditional marketers and advertising executives and forced them to re-define their business according to a two-way model. 

Conversely, I was chatting to one of our PR consultants the other day after he attended a seminar on the use of online and social media in the IT industry, and he said “it’s all pretty common sense really.”  And “new media” (I use the phrase loosely) is common sense if you are trained as a communicator, not just a marketer.   And it is common sense if you work for a consultancy that ensures you are trained on the nuances of “new media” such has how to engage with the blogging community versus the traditional media community. 

PR theory is all about listening, participating, creating two-way flows of information, feedback loops, research, refining messages and refining company strategies with the ultimate goal of achieving a sustainable business outcome.    Sounds remarkably like the theory of how to engage with social media ie participate, and you are half way there. 

I applaud Photon for the establishment of Population what it claims is “Australia’s first dedicated online social media and marketing company”. I would argue, however, that while having a business dedicated to these mediums may be a smart move for a large corporation with multiple agencies in its stable, every communications business should have these skills in-house rather than in a stand-alone specialist business. 

I will go even further.  Anyone in a communications advisory role, particularly PR consultants, needs work with “new media” as part of their day-to-day work. You cannot devise a PR plan for a client that covers direct communications (eg speeches, events and email marketing), traditional media (eg editorial written by independent thinking journalists) and then say, “but let’s get our specialist new media agency to advise on what we will do with blogs, online forums and social networking sites”.   

Our industry moves too fast for this.  Clients want a well-rounded consultant that can devise a holistic solution that spans all methods of communication – face-to-face, direct, traditional media, influencers (government, regulators, analysts, bloggers, forums) and social networks. That’s why n2n consultants survey our client’s customers to assess what blogs, forums and social media sites they value and for what types of information (and the results from the latest research are not what you would expect – I’ll explain more on that in a new post).  

That’s why n2n consultants monitor blogs, forums, online media sites, social media sites and other web properties for our clients (just as we monitor traditional media).    That’s why n2n consultants participate, or work with our clients to ensure they participate, in relevant forums.  It’s just a logical extension of what we do every day.

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As a tech PR, if you don’t know about Technorati, TechCrunch, Digg and del.icio.us – chances are you are not informed enough to craft comprehensive client strategies.

PRs today deal with a new landscape of influencers beyond our traditional tech journalists and analysts.

With such a large percentage of business and consumer IT buying decisions starting on the Web, online represents a powerful medium that can be leveraged in many ways.

Search Engines have radically altered the PR landscape.  We have some clients in the B2B space generating as much as 80 per cent of their sales funnel through organic search-initiated enquiries.

Integrating PR tactics with Search Engine Optimisation is arguably the most powerful example of where a more cohesive “new media/old media” strategy yields powerful results.

For example, for one client, by posting a traditional news release on an industry portal (originated in the US), we generate back links to our client’s Australian web site.  The portal article is in turn captured by Google and distributed worldwide via a Google News Alert - all within a few hours.  We achieve global distribution of an Australian organisations content within hours - whilst also boosting traffic and thier websites Google PageRank.

Campaigns that integrate traditional PR and online more closely can also help harness public interest in important issue. The Web and online communities can generate ongoing debate, rather than letting the issue die in the next news cycle.

For example, we had one client that wanted to announce a new strategy for tackling a major industry issue.  We hosted a media conference in Parliament House and developed a Web site specifically for this initiative that went live the day of the conference.  Everything from devising a brand for the initiative, to building the site and populating it with content was done within seven days.

The Canberra media conference generated national TV, radio and print coverage that in turn drove traffic to the web site and sparked debate on a number of influential portals.

The other area where we see really powerful results from integrating PR with online, is in the area of electronic mail or e-zines. For example, for one client, we write email communications that are directly related to the feedback we get from the sales team, the Web and click through rates on previous newsletters.

This gives us insight into the business issues that are of most interest to this company’s customers and prospects.  In turn, we can use this intelligence to craft more meaningful email communications, but also to shape media relations campaigns.

For example, when we work with this company’s CEO on a thought leadership platform that will form the basis of his media interviews moving forward, we can bring to that strategy what we already know are the issues that interest their customers and prospects.

This in turn means we are giving our journalists more newsworthy, intelligent insights and predictions.

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The other day I sat in an “all agency” briefing alongside my client’s ad agency, media buyer and brand consultants. 

When it came to handling the web redesign, I asked, “are we the only agency that wants to be involved in the new site?”   Unsurprisingly, the response was a unanimous “no”. 

How does a client decide which of their “trusted advisors” will do the best job on their web site content?

And how do you define roles, when the web site is just one part of an increasingly complex online marketing mix?

All bias aside, when it comes to web content, if your PR agency is any good,  they will typically generate a better result, faster - with a few notable exceptions. Why?  Because they should already know your business inside out and be exceptional writers for every medium. 

When I say “content”, I mean everything from involvement in the information architecture and defining key messages, to the writing (eg product/service information, page copy, blogs, case study video scripting etc).

Don’t get me wrong, I know there is a lot more to site development than the content - design, analytics, usability, technical integration, to name just a few.

And then there is the marketing of that site, ranging from organic search and pay-per-click to traffic generation and ongoing optimisation.

I am not saying that content should be created in isolation from other web suppliers. What I am saying is that specialist writing is often overlooked or undervalued.  And if you get it wrong, it significantly hampers the effectiveness of your site.

Users want to get the information they need fast.  It needs to be brief, punchy, easy to scan etc.

Moreover, the relationship between powerful writing and organic search is often overlooked. 

Specialist search optimisation consultants often work independently of content development experts like PR agencies, resulting in missed opportunities.

A team approach is much more beneficial. Without one, I have found we often get pulled in to “fix” copy that has been written by another Web or marketing supplier.  And the client ends up paying twice.

And it’s not the other supplier’s fault. 

How is another agency’s copy writer going to get up to speed quickly on the client’s business issues, key messages and myriads of company/product information, for what, in some instances, may be a one-off brief? Not surprisingly, as the people who craft communications for multiple audiences using different mediums on behalf of clients every day - good PR agencies have a head start in getting it right.

What’s more, PR agencies are often an interface between their clients and their customers. We interview our client’s customers for case studies, write them up for multiple mediums, work with them as they are interviewed by journalists and so on.

This gives a level of insight into the client’s business and what resonates with customers, most suppliers seldom gain.

The notable exceptions to using PRs for web copy largely relate to the nature of the client/agency working relationship.

If the agency doesn’t have that deep understanding, and doesn’t understand the nuances of writing for online, then by all means, look elsewhere.

Otherwise get a better bang for your buck and save time - involve your PR agency in the Web brief. 

If nothing else, they can educate the other suppliers on the competitive landscape, your communication strategy, and what your customers want.

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Whether it is a blog, a podcast, a Wiki, a social media release or any other number of interactive tools, they are just that – tools.
Don’t get me wrong, unless you have been asleep under a rock, there is a radical shift in who or what influences target audiences and how they gather their content.   

And if a PR practitioner doesn’t invest time to learn, and even more importantly participate, in this new landscape, then chances are they will be left behind. 

But what I would argue is that most trained PR consultants have the strategic framework to incorporate new media, social media, and other media, into a cohesive program that achieves results. 

Why?  From day one of their university degree, PRs are trained to: 

• research the environment (all of it) in which a client operates
• understand/define the business/marketing/communication objectives
• determine the target audience and the best medium to reach them (old or “new”)
• devise and document key messages - many of which may be complex
• adapt these messages to multiple audiences and mediums (a social media release, a call to action for an email direct mail, a blog)
• test, implement, measure and modify communications to ensure they achieve objectives

What’s more, PRs should have the tactical skills and the understanding of a clients business to deliver it fast. 

So whether is new media, social media, old media or the next media that isn’t invented yet, I regard it as just another channel.   

A tool effective PRs have to be good at leveraging to achieve clients’ communication objectives.

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