Everyone is a reporter these days and I believe that this is the key shift in who controls the news agenda. No longer do the traditional media take the lead when online news channels and social media provide instantaneous news feeds to anyone and everyone.

So, the question is how do we as PR consultants secure our future in this mix and adapt to the changing environment? It used to be so simple – get to know a few journalists to support the reputational growth of your client’s brand. This then expanded as the media pool and outlets expanded – then came the internet.

Today, a brand is exposed to many different audiences through many different mediums and controlling this is near to impossible. If you don’t react quickly a brand’s reputation can be destroyed overnight. Brand and reputation and the use of PR is no longer a one way push of information, it is a two way conversation and everyone has a view that can be published instantaneously.

The key for us as consultants will be content curation and how we package a brands personality and information up to provide our clients with the adequate mechanisms and information to support this new dynamic environment we live and work in. I don’t believe we will continue to be the interface for our clients with the media – we will provide the right information and levers so our clients can do this directly through their own channels.

With these changes there is also the need to change the way we structure the traditional PR agency function to provide, I believe, a number of new support functions:  content consultancy, brand reputation planning, internal structural support (for our clients as their resources are tightened) and strategic business planning support.

PR will be even more important as the technology world continues to converge with the human world. We can’t control what is said, but we can help organisations to create the right assets and conversations to reach their audiences, and ensure this supports the broader business priorities.

The grey area is the measurement of this and effectively mapping this back to an organisations growth and business strategy. This has to support the greater good and growth of a business, it has to be measurable and it must map back to the c-levels expectations for the business and become part of that high level conversation.

In a recent interview, the Wiggles were lost for words when questioned on the fate of ousted singer Sam Moran. As one of the most awkward interviews I’ve encountered; you can see the group stumbling over their words, taking long pauses between questions, muttering the whole way through and showing no consideration to Sam.

The interview raised several questions to me as a public relations professional regarding the communications strategy in place for the announcement. The most important one being, did the Wiggles receive any communications advice prior to the announcement?

With this in mind, here’s how some PR counsel could have helped the Wiggles…

Media training

To ensure brand protection in a situation like this, a communications professional would have drawn up key messages and prepared the group with interview questions and answers prior to the announcement. It is evident in this interview how underprepared the group was. No brand, no matter how loved, can escape media questioning.

Key message preparation

The interview should have focused on how fans would benefit from the change, how Sam and his fans were considered in the decision and what was next for the famous group. Instead, the group showed no empathy towards Sam and his fans, only demonstrating that this was a cutthroat business decision that Sam and his fans lost out on.  Time spent developing and practicing communicating key messages could have influenced the focus of the interview, or at the very least shown the group as empathetic.

Social media monitoring

Following this poorly executed announcement, the sentiment of fans on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube was far from positive.  Monitoring online comments and general sentiment prior to the interview could have helped the Wiggles by providing insight into what likely questions they should prepare for.

For a group that earned $28 million last year, their response (or lack-of response) makes me think whether this much-loved group should invest in some PR support.

If you’re thinking about running a competition on social media here’s some brief pointers to keep in mind…

-          Timing – In the same way as news announcements, competitions need to be launched at the right time.  The right time involves knowing what customer sentiment is toward your brand at a particular moment and that means regular social media monitoring.  If that monitoring, for example, shows customer sentiment is negative toward your brand you might want to consider holding off launching a competition until later.

-          Transparency -  It’s important to be open and honest about the terms and conditions surrounding any competition, but especially so when it’s being run online.  For brands, that means being upfront about who can enter, what prizes can be won and the deadlines for entry.

-          Platform – Deciding what platform, such as Twitter or Facebook, to run your competition on is also important.  On Facebook, for instance, there are clear guidelines on how to use the platform to communicate about or administer a promotion that need to be carefully adhered to.

-          Rewards – When thinking about prizes for a competition consider whether offering one big prize is likely to be as attractive as multiple smaller prizes.  Often, people are more likely to enter and talk about a competition online if they believe they stand a good chance of winning, so lots of smaller prizes could be the way to go. Ensuring your prize is relevant or desirable for your target audience is also crucial.

-          Participation – When thinking about how you want people to enter your competition, striking a balance between promoting your brand and not being too self-serving is important.  Think too about ways to best engage participants.  For example, could people enter by uploading a certain picture online or by downloading an app?

-          Regulation – Before launching a competition it’s worth reading up about online competition legislation, which can vary from state to state.  For example, in NSW an online competition permit is required for all ‘game of chance’ promotions, regardless of the prize value.  If the promotion is deemed to be a ‘game of skill’ then no permits are required. 

These are just a few thought starters.  If you’ve got others to add based on your experiences let us know.

At n2n we have been helping to create social media corporate policies for a growing number of clients. This involvement shows that the last 12 months have moved social media policy from a marketing wish to a boardroom issue to a PR action.

A recent Manpower survey states that one third of organisations now have a policy in place in Australia versus only a quarter globally. Good news for communications professionals trying to manage organisations online. Facebook, Twitter and increasingly LinkedIn are being acknowledged as well-utilised communications tools.

The key challenge for most social media policies is a lack of depth.

As long as guidelines remain focused on dos and don’ts, organisations are not equipping their staff with adequate recommendations on how to use social media as a sales and lead generation tool. At the moment, this proactive use of social media seems to be reserved for only a few in the organisation, resulting in a missed opportunity.

Beyond language and tone of voice, organisations must now start to give staff advice on how to join a relevant group discussion and how to create online engagement in a social media environment. Every employee has their own online networks – organisations now need to help their staff maximise the business opportunity of these networks via more sophisticated skill development.

Social Media emerged as one of the most powerful communications tools in an integrated campaign that spanned letter box drops, Web, photo shoots at the site, media relations, lobbying, advertising and events.

The creation of a Facebook group where opponents could register their concerns and engage directly with Councillors (who participated in the group), attracted more than 2,600 members across the festive period when many locals were on holidays.

From a PR perspective, it meant we had a clearly defined database of engaged members from a range of target audiences and we could communicate with them quickly and affordably as the campaign progressed.

For example, wording for objection emails was distributed to the group with instructions on how to lodge a complaint ‘ccing organisers. This resulted more than 300 objections to council within three hours, and they continued for days.

Similarly, within three days of sending an invitation to attend a protest rally, we had more than 500 RSVPs and growing.

Social media was even used by the Mayor to announce her decision to withdraw the proposal. This meant organisers could cancel the protest rally – again, a quick, easy task via Facebook.

In a blog post, Waverley Council Mayor, Sally Betts said, “I was originally reticent about announcing my decision before the public exhibition period closed on Friday 19 February. However, the depth of community angst and concern has become increasingly clear. It would be irresponsible to not publicise my decision about this proposal as I believe the community deserves to know now, rather than later.

“Congratulations to the Hugh Bamford Reserve Protection Group for such a professional and well coordinated campaign, it’s the best I’ve seen in my 12 years as a Councillor, and it’s a sign of true democracy at work,” she said.

Whilst it is interesting to consider the lifespan of content, were not totally convinced it is the right question to be asking, at least in isolation. Our view is that to change behaviours, build brand and influence an outcome you need to be involved in ongoing dialog and/or content generation, whether this is online or offline.

The initial question should be to determine what messages are required to reach your audience and what is the best channel to access them. The lifespan of the content is a secondary consideration that should be evaluated with characteristics such as:

• Reach – how many people will read it
• Relevance – is the content relevant to the audience
• Accessibility – Significant amounts of content on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook cannot be accessed by all web users as it sits behind passwords.

Online news site content for instance is generally available for a long time and also receives a very high audience reach. The trade off is that you can’t control the content on news sites as it is written by journalists.

The lifespan of blog content is also long term and is always searchable. This content is ideal for search engine optimisation (SEO) and generating long-term traffic. Website content also has a very long lifespan, generally until you take it down.

Twitter has a relatively short lifespan, although Twitter is also a mechanism to extend the reach of your content. Social media monitoring (SMM), RSS feeds and Google news feeds all extend the reach of Twitter and other online information, meaning the content achieves additional reach.

On the surface Facebook content would seem to have a short lifespan; however the business opportunity is more related to building long term dialogue.

Like a physical ‘one on one’ conversation, the comments a person makes have a very short existence however collectively build an overall lasting impression. You may not recall every specific comment made from a person however you will have a perception built by their communication and behaviour.

In the corporate world, creating relevant and interesting content impacts your customers and stakeholders impressions. Despite the short lifespan of your online updates, we recommend you actively use online tools like Facebook and Twitter to build customer engagement which results in brand trust and ongoing customer support.

So consider the longevity of online content in context of your communication objective and don’t forget to include evaluation of reach, relevance and accessibility.

Having a plan meant companies were more likely to communicate effectively in a crisis by understanding the importance of timely, accurate information. Without a plan, communication in a crisis tended to be adhoc, delayed, inaccurate and risked escalating the situation. Crisis communication planning was based on the reality that if your company didn’t get out early and often with information about an issue – you risk customers, media, competitors and others speculating and speaking for you. Also, how your company handled issues and crises had a direct and potentially long-term impact on its reputation.

There’s been much speculation about how the rise of online, social and consumer generated media has impacted traditional PR strategies. While I agree things have changed significantly, I also think that online channels bring us closer to the ideal two-way communication model. Organisations communicate with publics – who respond and provide feedback, comment and opinions. Online media has made this theory an instant reality.

The impact on issues and crisis communication however is significantly different as outlined by Gerard Braud who presented an IABC teleseminar last week. Historically, when a crisis happened, there was usually at least a couple of hours lead time for the company to action its communication plan and get information out before reporters arrived on the scene or got information from other sources. Now, the media don’t need to come to you at all – they can get information from citizens at the scene, vision from mobile phones and eyewitness reports.

Gerard’s example of the recent US 1549 Airways incident in New York this year was poignant. The domestic airline lost power in both engines and landed in the Hudson River in New York within view of Manhattan. However, reports of the crash didn’t come from the thousands of media from all over the world stationed in Manhattan – it came via Twitter from passengers on their mobile phones and from ferry passengers right there on the scene. In fact, there was no need for a company spokesperson – nor in fact for the media to leave their offices. Had they done so, they would have actually delayed breaking the news that was coming in from every angle.

The lesson for PR practitioners is that while companies still need to be well prepared for crisis communication, they need to be able fast, flexible and responsive. This means that crisis communication plans need to focus on how to communicate and the channels available, rather than lengthy process documents on what to communicate to who. There will be little time to approve media statements and emails to stakeholders – ideally all communication should happen within an hour. The goal for communicators is to ensure your company has a share of the multitude of voices – that will be there with or without you.

In case you haven’t, Twitter is a “micro-blogging”, social networking site, where people can post anything they like, as long as it’s fewer than 140 characters.

Why bother? Well, once you sign on, write a (short) profile and find yourself some fellow ‘twitterers’ to follow, you can build up quite a network. And you it’s not like every post is about what you had for dinner.

Posts vary from links to weird and wonderful websites, to opinions about the latest political manoeuvrings, to pictures of Steven Fry stuck in a lift.

The question from many PR professionals is: “Can twitter do me any favours and how?”

To demonstrate how people can get full value out of their twitter account, Rohit Barghava has developed the Five Stages of twitter acceptance. According to Barghava, once you move beyond denial and mere presence, to active engagement, you then start to ‘dump’ information and this is where PRs need to be careful.

Using twitter as a dissemination tool for press releases has been much criticised, especially by journalists. This is because twitter, in its full capacity, is a conversation rather than a bulletin board. You can reply to other people’s tweets and forward tweets on to other people. You can post images and link to websites.

Equally frustrating to some journalists who are being followed by an increasing number of PRs, is those who join twitter and monitor it, but don’t post any comments themselves. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s probably not delivering as much benefit as joining in the conversation.

Once you start conversing, giving opinions, engaging other twitterers and sharing news, then you’re ‘microblogging’, according to Barghava. This is where the true value comes in, not just because now you have an authentic voice to distribute the occasional press release, but you’re also building your network.

That said, remember that you’re in a public forum and don’t rise to any inflammatory comments. These things can easily escalate as one PR professional has found out this week.

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.

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 later).

That’s why n2n consultants monitor blogs, YouTube and other sites for all 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.