Is Marketing Dead? Why PR should drive "The Connection"

HubSpot’s Brian Halligan has written some provocative posts recently including

• “Is PR dead?”
• “What’s the ideal profile for a modern PR person?”

His posts touched a nerve with me (as a PR professional) and prompts my responsorial question:

Is Marketing Dead?

Some thoughts on why PR is well equipped to drive the process of connecting and engaging with those that matter.

1) Public Relations isn't Marketing

Marketing’s principal function is to support and drive sales and traffic.
PR 2.0 is about communicating with anyone who would find you relevant and interesting.

2) Modern Public Relations is More Than Media Relations

While connecting effectively with opinion gatekeepers (press and analysts), continues to be an important value-add for PR people, the world has changed:

The simultaneous co-incidence of the economic turndown, implosion of old line mass media (newspapers, magazines, TV), and rise of ubiquitous broadband Internet connectivity/cheap web comms tools (WordPress, YouTube), business/citizen journalism-- has changed the media landscape forever.

As I said at last week’s Inbound Marketing Summit: "We are all the media."

3) PR should really be an abbreviation for “Publics Relations”

Beyond outreach to media and analysts, PR can drive effective dialogue with all who are important to the company: bloggers, customers, prospects, communities, direct-to- public, etc.

“Audiences” are an atavistic artifact of 20th century mass media and old-fashioned marketing thinking.

Innovators who practice PR 2.0 connect, engage, listen and interact with others in an ongoing exchange that benefits all.

Good PR people are skilled communicators first and foremost. Companies should hire them (internally or external PR practioners) to develop and conduct the strategies, tactics and programs that will meet a company’s business and communications goals and objectives.

4) Analytics are over-rated. Just do the right thing!

While there’s great value in measuring marketing metrics vis a vis a sales funnel-- measuring the value of positive opinion and mindshare from various publics is harder to measure. On the other hand—there’s common consensus that those companies who do not connect regularly and communicate honestly in a helpful and respectful manner are setting themselves up for failure. Companies who don’t consider PR a top strategic investment will do so at their own peril.

As I've written before, companies need to see ROI as "Return-on-Interaction" not just focus on eyeball economics measures like cost-per-click, customer lifetime value, churn rate and RFM analysis.

PR's understanding of awareness, perception, recall and motivation makes it the best team in a company to listen, learn and engage.

As Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan) said at the Inbound Marketing Summit:
“Listening is the new black”

5) Tools are helpful and cool… but their effectiveness depends on the user

While PR people and marketers are embracing free tools (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) and low-cost marketing services (HubSpot, Constant Contact)—that doesn’t mean they’ll be effective. Giving someone a chisel doesn’t enable them to create sculptures like Michaelangelo in the same way that the effectiveness of individual blogs (WordPress, Blogger.com) depends mostly on quality and value of their content and its creator(s).

Sure--Content is King,
but Connections are Queens,
Dialogues are Princes, and
Relationships are Princesses

Professional communicators (aka PR people & others) should be recognized as strategic advisors to the Court---those who are best equipped to create and manage content, connection, dialogue, and relationships for a company.

In my experience--- Good PR people do a better job than marketers at building long-lasting relationships based on interest, interaction, respect and trust.

Organizations that are optimized for transparent communications (within and outside the organization) are examples of modern organizations that are destined for success.

6) Modern PR people have a unique blend of skills and qualities

While Brian’s DARC acryonym for people he thinks should be on a marketing team is catchy… “Modern” PR people transcend acronyms through qualities that make them the communications pros they are:

Smart, Articulate, Caring, Creative, Connected, Cooperative, Cosmopolitan (at home around the world), Diligent, Eager, Experienced, Fun-loving, Enthusiastic, Facilitative, Flexible, Helpful, Honest, Human, Inspirational, Nonlinear, Responsive, Savvy, Selfless

Aren’t these the qualities any CEO wants to see in from those who represent their company to the world at large?

Are these adjectives that are commonly associated with Marketing people?

Twisting Brian Halligan’s question “Is PR Dead” around, let me ask:

“Is Marketing Dead?”

A Google search shows 84,000 hits on the subject.

What do you think?

16 Best Quotes from #IMS09-- Day 1

Marketers:
#IMS09 is a seminal event.
Here are some highlights of comments from speakers at Day 1 of the conference.
I'll share day two tomorrow.

Connect, Engage, Benefit
--Patrick

Keller-Faye:
“90% of word of mouth takes place offline”

@GamePlanHaden:
“Marketing silos suck!”

@garyvee
“Content is King, but Marketing is Queen---and she runs the household.”

@DavidBaeza (Citrix):
“Customers controls the brand Be Transparent. Listen. Care”

@ChrisBrogan:
“Listening is the new black”

@BernieBorges:
“Be found, engage, build profitable relationships”

@AJGerritson
“Social media has forced companies to become closer—breaking down internal silos”

@bhalligan (Hubspot CEO)
“Now’s a great time to be in a small company!”

@paulroetzer
“How to measure effectiveness of PR 2.0?
Inbound links, search engine ranking, traffic hits leads”
#adweek:
“More change in ad biz in last 9 mos than in the last 9 yrs”

@richullman (Ripple6):
So what works in future of marketing?
• Low investment, high return)
• Well connected
• Highly collaborative
• Comfortable
• Self-sustaining
• Asset-creating
• Word of mouth inspiring
• Insight generating

@prafter
“Companies should issue news releases not press releases.
Today we (everyone) are the media.”

@ducttape (John Jantsch)
“Marketing is the technology to co-create know, like & trust”
“Trust is built when value is co-created at the intersection of hi tech, hi touch.”

@scottkirsner
“Social Media are changing the relationship between artists and their fans, creating new models of patronage, commerce. When artists give up control of their work (by putting it on the web and allowing their fans to participate and interact with it) great new art is created.”
Free collection of digital tools for audience building distribution and commerce: http://powertools.wikispaces.com/

@CC_CHAPMAN :
“Marketing puts people in buckets--- social media empties the buckets. Connect with the person behind that Twitter handle.”
One bucket we all want to hangout in: The beer bucket
Stay connected offline through social events where we can share experiences, have fun.”

Valeria Maltoni (ConversationAgent.com)
No Twitter account.
“Participation activates content”

Knock, Knock: Sharing your Story with Media & Analysts

The recent MassTLC 2009 Innovation unConference (Twitter: #masstlc) was jam-packed with fascinating impromptu sessions across a wide range of technology subjects.

Given the presence of hundreds of startup and early-stage tech entrepreneurs, my long-time friend & colleague Mr. “Almost Ubiquitous” himself Adam Zand (Twitter Maven @NoOneYouKnow) and I moderated a session called “PR Improv” featuring experts who could give feedback and tips to startup execs on “how to pitch their stories to press and analysts.” Joining us as an “enlightened” PR person was Bobbie Carlton—Boston-area tech PR veteran (Twitter: @bobbiec ) and Partner of Mass Innovation Nights.

For a 360 degree perspective—Doug Banks, Editor of Mass High Tech (@ eDougBanks on Twitter), and Judith Hurwitz, President of Hurwitz and Associates—longtime industry analyst who tweets as @jhurwitz) played journalist and analyst from hell (respectively).

The format:
As Master of Ceremonies, Adam tapped some entrepreneurs to be guinea pigs in interactive sessions simulating a briefing between their company and either a journalist or analyst. Entrepreneurs included senior execs from Jazkarta, Lassa Partners, and StylePath.

How it worked:
• Entrepreneurs gave a verbal overview of their company, described why they thought it is newsworthy and interesting.
• Our team of critics then gave feedback on how to hone their message
• Internalizing what they’d just learned--- the execs next tried their “pitch” on the influencers—presenting direct in person to either Doug or Judith.
• The experts then gave back constructive criticism

While the 1-hr length of the PR Improv session wasn’t long enough to provide any kind of detailed feedback… all of the Media/Analyst/PR experts were honest and direct in their feedback (pro or con) and a number of helpful tips were put forth. Here are some of them:

Top Tips on Story-Sharing (from Media, Analysts, PR Pros)

Effective engagement with analysts and members of the press is an ongoing, 3-step process:

I. Prepare
II. Connect
III. Follow-up

I) Prepare
Do these important steps before reaching out to anyone:

A) Refine your Story
• Describe what your company does in plain English.
• What do you build?
• What problem do you solve?
• Do you save time, money, do something that hasn’t been possible before?

This verbal company overview is in fact the "story" of who you are and why you’re important. Practice telling it out loud until it sounds natural and un-rehearsed. (You’ll use it again and again).

B) Research, Research, Research
• Determine which analyst firms, media outlets, blogs, other influencers are focused on your market.
• Visit their websites and read their work.
• Find out who are the most appropriate reporters or analysts covering your area. PR agencies can be helpful here (as they have prior contacts and databases tracking who does what, where).
• These are the people you should first approach.
• Don’t e-mail or call anyone until you’ve read some of their work, know what’s important to them.

II) Connect

Remember--- Media and analysts are deluged with hundreds of unsolicited e-mails and phone calls each day. Put yourself in their shoes--- respect their valuable time and their expertise. Neither of them likes to be “pitched”

Here’s the reality of what you need to to launch a connection:

You: “Knock-Knock”
Journalist: “Who’s there?”
You: “It’s Me”
Journalist: “So what!?”
You: “Let me share my story with you…”

While a professional PR agency can be a helpful facilitator in setting up a briefing—YOU'VE got to be the storyteller.

Approaching Press or Analysts (without an agency)

A) Make the connection
If you’re telephoning press or analyst out of the blue, start with a succinct sentence saying who you are and why you are calling them:

“Hi my name is Jane Smith, I’m from a Boston-area company called Great Ideas… I’ve been reading your coverage of the Idea software industry and was wondering if you have a couple of minutes for me to give you a quick overview of who we are, what makes us interesting. Is this a good time to talk?"

If the journalist/analyst on the other side of the phone/e-mail link/table isn’t ready, willing and able to connect with you when you go to them--- be respectful. If it’s not a good time--- ask when and how they’d like to be contacted and get back to them later.

B) Introduce yourself/your company to them by sharing your story

If the analyst/journalist IS available now —it’s time for you to succinctly summarize “who, what, when, how, where and why” you’re relevant to them.

Example:
“Thanks… I’ll try to be brief. Visiting your website I notice that you’ve written often about SUBJECT, TOPIC, ISSUE, MARKET” (you may want to mention a specific article they’ve written). Reading your article, inspired me to call you today."

"My company (say the name slowly) is directly involved in the SUBJECT, TOPIC, ISSUE, MARKET you’ve written about. COMPANY NAME is... (deliver your short story).

Tips on Telling Your Company Story:
• KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
• Describe your value proposition in plain English
• Avoid Three Letter Acronyms and meaningless superlatives
(“best-of-breed”, “state-of-the-art”, “next generation”, etc)
• Speak with enthusiasm and passion about your team, your offerings

C) Start a dialogue, keep the conversation going
After you’ve very briefly told the influencer about your company, engage them and ask them some questions:

• Does what COMPANY NAME is doing sound interesting to you?
• Can I tell you more about what we do? Who’s getting value from our products/services?

Tips from the pros:
• Keep the conversation going by giving succinct, honest answers to questions.
• Use examples and details (including any numbers or facts) that support your value proposition and are evidence of your progress.
• Anticipate tough questions you may be asked and have good answers.

In November 2007, PR 2.0 Nabob Brian Solis wrote: “The Pitch is Dead”
At the PR Improv two years later, Luke Ryan from WHDH-TV concurred:
“Don’t pitch the press,” have a civil conversation – said Ryan.

Judith Hurwitz is of a similar opinion: “Often I don’t want to see another mind numbing PowerPoint presentation, just tell me about yourself.” (Paraphrase).

Six More Tips:
While there are lots and lots of blog posts on effective “media and analyst relations,” here’s six other tips that came out of the PR Improv (for spokespeople who want to connect with press and analysts):

1) Be Honest
• Never lie or exaggerate. You might caught in your lie. Your lie can show up online and work against you. By keeping your interactions with analysts and journalists honest (even in tough times), everyone wins.
• Reporters and Analysts have strong bullshit filters: Don’t exaggerate or misrepresent yourself.
• Shun the superlatives (e.g. “the leading X, Y of Z”)
• Describe who you are by communicating your “Differentiation with Distinction”

2) Acknowledge Competition
• Don’t say “we don’t really have any competition”
• To a journalist that either means: you’re hiding something, you’re naïve, or you don’t compete in a big market.
• It actually helps to mention competition and position your offerings relative to your competitors. Stories mentioning several companies in a category or market are written far more often than articles focused on a single company.

3) Provide Validation
• Third-party validation of your idea, business or product is essential to establish credibility and interest with the influencers.

Examples of Third-Party Validation:

a) Brand name customers that you can reference by name.
b) A favorable opinion from a third party analyst (reporters like to go to analysts for their unvarnished take on the company, the market)
c) Listing of your investors or well-known board members
d) Highlights of the past experience of the founders (did you and your colleagues work anywhere memorable)?

Since Mass High Tech focuses on businesses in Massachusetts--- Doug Banks mentioned that he likes to hear a company’s “family tree” (e.g. lineage to respected Mass-based companies)

4) Become a Good Source
Quality relationships between companies and the analysts, media and bloggers take years to evolve but can be destroyed in an instant through un-professional behavior. Treat press and analysts with the respect they deserve:
• Read what they write (on an ongoing basis)
• If you come across something they’d find interesting--- send them an e-mail or a Tweet (even if it has nothing to do with you/your company)--- that’s the difference between a reliable, impartial source and a “Flack”
• Connect often—via e-mail, Twitter, LinkedIN, in-person
• Give: Ask them how you can be of help to them in their work.

5) Be Cautious
• An important reminder: the media’s business is to break stories before others.
Share news with them as early as you can with them but be sure there’s a mutual agreement about any embargoes, “off-the record” comments.
• If you’re a private company you don’t have answer any questions about revenue or sales.
• To be safe--- don’t say anything that you would hate to see in print.

6) PR goes beyond Media and Analysts
• With the social Web--- you now have the ability to share your messages, content, ideas directly with those who matter most to you--- those who will find you relevant.
In the fast-moving Web-age, PR is increasingly about putting the “public” back in public relations.
• Invest time and resources in an informative corporate blog to share your stories and demonstrate your expertise.
• Get your thought leaders to blog themselves.
• Use social media like Twitter, Facebook to spread your word.
• Remember that social media isn’t a one-way-street. Be sure to follow comments to your blogs and Tweets and respond promptly to them.

Long Live “The News Conversation”

The Pitch is Dead. Instead---let’s foster mutually beneficial dialogues between newsmakers and those who are expert at understanding, explaining and delivering real news. Interactive dialogue is about sharing, giving, and receiving.

The interaction and ideas shared at the PR Improv session at #masstlc were invigorating and encouraging. At the same time some of the questions from the audience showed that only a handful of business leaders have the time, skills and experience to interact in a mutually advantageous way with analysts and the media.

Done right--- a professional Public Relations program is a strategic and valuable necessity for technology companies. Bad PR strategy, tactics and execution can really damage a company’s brand, impact momentum, and even hurt the bottom line.

These websites provide excellent examples of PR gone wrong. They make for informative reading and some tragic-comic anecdotes. I encourage you to visit, read and learn these three:

• Bad Pitch Blog: http://badpitch.blogspot.com/
• Pro PR Tips: http://proprtips.com/
(From vet journo Rafe Needleman of CBS Interactive, formerly Red Herring)
• Dear PR Flack: http://dearprflack.com/

There were lots more comments and lessons learned at the PR Improv—too many to share here. I’d welcome your comments, tips, perspectives, lessons learned, stories…

Let’s keep the conversation going.

The Platform for Startup Success

Dan Martell, the Canadian-turned-San Franciscan startup marketing/entrepreneurship guru put up an interesting article on his blog on "Why the best startups are created in an economic downturn". Worth reading. Dan's thoughts inspired me to chime in on Startup Success...

As someone who's been building and promoting startups for more than 25+ yrs I've developed some of my own thoughts on what startups need to have in order to succeed.

While the Bible speaks of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, from my secular perspective, startup companies need a platform of at least TEN "must have" components to ensure their success.

1) A product or service that someone will pay money for NOW
"Free" websites like Google, Facebook aren't really free.

2) A compelling vision of the value of the company
To differentiate with distinction.

3) Articulate execs who can express that vision (without arrogance)

4) References
Someone who will say the offering has real value to others

5) The combination of good timing and good luck
Zillions of startups had a great product at the wrong time

6) Dogged and smart execution

7) Ability to attract buzz, traffic, interest from those who see relevance

8) Investment - the right kind, the right amount, from the right sources

9) Open and Honest Communications: with EVERYONE
Employees, boosters, prospects, customers, partners, analysts, press, the public

10) Passion tempered with realism
To survive the travails of startup life--- management and employees must be passionate. At the same time-- passion shouldn't blind enterpreneurs from developments in the economy and the market.

I like to think of these components as "legs of a stool" that combine to build a solid platform for success.

Take away a leg and the platform tips over.

What should be added to this list?

The Biz Value of PR 2.0

“I got to have (just a little bit)
A little respect (just a little bit)”
Aretha Franklin (Summer of 1967)

TPFKAPRP ("The People Formerly Known As PR People") need to learn (or be reminded) of the true business value of PR 2.0.

Atlanta-based Jeremy Porter has written an interesting article on his Journalistics blog entitled “How Do You Measure PR” that is well worth reading.

His article cites results from a recent AMEC and IPR survey of 525 PR practitioners on whether and how they measure PR success and ROI.

Jeremy’s post asks his audience how organizations can more easily and accurately measure PR results and “What are your clients or management teams asking for most in terms of measurement?”

His article (and comments made by its readers) suggest that in the PR 2.0 world conventional approaches like counting press clippings and measuring AVEs (Advertising value equivalent) is insufficient to truly measure the value of PR.

This comment to the article from the pre-eminent expert on PR measurement Katie Paine is as interesting as Jeremy’s post itself:

"The real problem is that PR people seem to be ignorant of or allergic to the language of business. They are incapable of understanding that just reaching a set of eyeballs or achieving a “hit” does nothing for the bottom line. Either PR saves the company money by lowering legal costs, or turnover, or recruitment costs or whatever the stated goal of the program is, or it makes the company money, by generating awareness, consideration, preference or leads. That’s how business people think. And if PR people can’t explain their benefit to the company in those terms, they deserve to be fired."

My thoughts:

As the definition of “PR” is changing, we need to find ways to articulate and substantiate its evolving business value.

I’ve long held the belief shared by Brian Solis, David Meerman Scott and others that PR needs to put the “public” back in public relations. In our Web world, PR 2.0 is increasingly about relating to all relevant publics (not just media and analysts). With citizen journalism and free blogs everyone is a columnist, a pundit, an influencer. Thus PR people need to approach and interact with each individual public in ways that effectively establish value in the eyes of those publics.

TPFKAPRP ("The People Formerly Known As PR People") will only continue to add value if they can help share the value that companies have with people who will be interested in those companies' offerings-- products, services, thought leadership, innovations.

While I don't yet know how to measure it (because site traffic and Re-Tweets are an imperfect measurement of impact)-- PR 2.o is more about "Return on Interaction" than "Return on Investment."

I first wrote on redefining PR ROI as "Return on Interaction" back in January 2009 .

Marketing Return on Investment can be more easily measured than PR because marketing is often conducted in campaigns (an e-mail blast, an SEO change, a banner replacement). These campaigns have associated start and end dates, measurable costs, and often a direct tie to lead generation/integration into a sales cycle (queries, leads, hot prospects, closed sales, revenue).

In contrast to marketing, PR 2.0 activity (in the form of interaction with the media, industry analysts, influential bloggers, LinkedIn groups, Twitter followers) is more of an ongoing drumbeat than a campaign.

How to Deliver the True Business Value of PR 2.o:

Grabbing and holding peoples’ attention and giving those people sufficient reason to engage with you requires the continual and effective combination of essential communications skills, tactics, modalities, qualities and commonalities:

Skills:
Storytelling, Writing & Content Creation, Responding, Diplomacy, Emoting, Facilitation

Tactics:
Outreach, Engagement, Dialog, Follow-up

Modalities and Qualities:
Honesty, Respect, Creativity, Transparency

Commonalities:
Put the “ME” in Media by making sure communications are personally relevant. Verify joint interest in a subject. Treat your “audience” as you would treat yourself-- with respect. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Web interaction has made the concept of “Audiences” into an artifact of the mass media/pre-internet age.

If TPFKAPRP PR 2.0 pros continually practice the essence of quality communications they will continue to deliver real business value for the clients and companies they represent.

Enlightened thinking about permission-based marketing and inbound marketing has (from internet marketing innovators like HubSpot and others) has revealed that consumers and businesses don’t want to be marketed to (through unsolicited e-mails, cold calls, and mass media advertising). Similarly, conventional PR tactics like press release blasts and shoving “non-news” pitches down a reporter’s throat are and have always been a waste of everyone’s time and money. Today, ensuring that “finding commonality” and “proactively seeking dialogue” are the quintessential precepts of communications in the PR 2.0 age.

If communicators adopt these as new standard business practices, PR will continue to add business value. Commonality, relevance, honest dialogue and respect (above all else) are imperatives, not options for the PR 2.0 practitioner.

Just ask Aretha!

Aretha helped me to realise who I am, what I do well for my clients, and what I want to continue to be: I'm a "ValueCaster."

“It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are.”
Publius Syrus (42 B.C.)

Leaving Tech Behind -- A Day on Baker's Island

While my work as a PR 2.0 communications consultant requires me to be switched on, hooked up, LinkedIN, Twitter talkin' and e-mail engaged night and day...

Tomorrow, I get to leave technology behind for a single day.

On Sat, July 11--- I'll be somewhere without electricity:

Baker's Island-- a tiny 55 acre island off of the coast of Massachusetts' North Shore.
Baker's is a 55 acre heaven run by a private association of its members (public not allowed).

I first visited Baker's Island in the summer of 1984 (courtesy of the family of my long-time friend Bart Littlefield)-- who own a house on the island. Bart and I were members of a 10 man a cappella singing group called The Bosstones (not to be confused with the later pretenders to the name "The Mighty Mighty Bosstones").

That group was my principal extracurricular activity during the 1980s. The 10 to 12 of us ('Sstones) had much fun -- serenading at Quincy Market, Edgartown's Whaling Church and for

at least 4 summers that I can recall on Baker's Island.

A trip to Baker's takes one back in time. There are no cars, no roads, no telephone wires, no electricity. Lighting and refrigeration is gas-powered. The only way to get around the island is to walk down idyllic grassy pathways bounded by hedgerows that remind me of Normandy and Sussex.

There's not much to do on Baker's. That's the point. Recline, Stroll, Laugh with friends, Drink, Swim, Sail, Windsurf, Sing Repeat.

On July 11 -- the Bosstones will reunite for another on-island singfest accompanied by members of the loyal Bosstones Auxilliary (suffering spouses) as well as a number of brave children (who weren't embarrased to see their Dads attempt to recreate the sounds they first made 25 yrs before).

Forget FACEBOOK, this is how friends should connect.

I can't wait!

Challenges of "Marketing" Enterprise 2.0 Social Media

Attending this week’s Enterprise 2.0 Conference, revealed several things to me:
1) Social Media is real
2) Like any new space --- the pond is crowded
3) Listening, relevant engagement and communication are essential to introduce
and ensure the success of social media in the enterprise.

To put things in context. Let’s answer the question: “What is Enterprise 2.0?”
Here’s the conference’s own answer:
“new tools that enable contextual, agile and simplified information exchange and collaboration to distributed workforces and networks of partners and customers.”

Visiting the event’s Expo Pavillion I checked out the exhibits of circa 45 participating sponsors and exhibitors ranging from major players like Microsoft and IBM to companies I’d never heard about before: BlueKiwi and Yakabod.

My takeaways:

Reading over the signage and collateral literature of the exhibitors-- marketers in enterprise social media are big on words that start with “C”:
Connect, Collaborate, Content, Community.

Given the collision of like-sounding messages I heard and saw in the exhibitors’ booths— some other words that start with “C” sum up the state of social computing:
Change, Confusion, Competition, Choice, Chaos.

While I’m a huge proponent of social media and know that it can bring tangible and intangible benefits to any organization—what I saw was almost 50 vendors building and marketing mousetraps---before their prospects really know or care if they need one.

The extent of the crowded pond was dramatically shown by the London Underground-like graphic above from CMS Watch (an analyst firm that offers head-to-head comparisons of content oriented solutions)

Given that content is just one piece of the overall Enterprise 2.0 ecosphere, the business, IT and marketing C-level and VPs execs attending the show (in hopes of charting their company’s direction) must feel like Charlie on the MTA-- the man “who never returned…whose fate is still unlearned”

Four More C-Words: Challenge, Convince, Communicate, Continue

Beyond the cool factor of social media, and simplistic three.word.taglines (like Teligent’s “Listen. Engage. Measure”—vendors’ product managers and marketers in this massive space have a Herculean communications challenge before them in order to win over and get the initial and repeat business of Fortune 2000 companies.

What “marketers” of social media need to practice in order to engage their prospects:

Differentiation: What makes your company/product/service uniquely
and sustainably different and truly valuable?

Relevance:
What can you do for my unique organization?

Worthiness:
Show me how social media will deliver bottom-line results.

Communicate:
Effective Communications—that let participants connect, interact, share, listen, learn, adapt (rinse and repeat) is more important than ever—to cut through the noise and FUD.

Enlightened PR, Marketing and Communications 2.0 along the lines of that advocated by Brian Solis is the new imperative.

Continue:
Innovation and stability are often at odds. Great new ideas can turn into solid SaaS offerings… but will they scale and will the company still be in business?

Bottom Line:
Communications pros must evolve and themselves practice the inherent elements of Enterprise 2.0 if these potentially transformative technologies for information exchange and collaboration are to succeed. Let's work together to make that happen.