Soda Prop | Refreshing Ideas

For the past four years, I have acted as the Assembly Delegate (among other positions) on the board of the Akron Area Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). This volunteer position requires me to work with the Akron Area Chapter board, officers, committees and members to make decisions on behalf of the chapter’s nearly 110 members at the PRSA Assembly, which was held in Washington, D.C. this year.

This year, W. Thomas Duke, APR, Fellow PRSA, and I attended the Assembly and voted on proposed amendements and other changes to national bylaws that would affect the more than 22,000 PRSA members nationwide. This video recaps the Assembly, my thoughts on it and the future of the PR profession.

“Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.”
- Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was a master at communicating a passionate, yet scripted message, to the masses. After all, he was a famous actor before becoming president.

But there’s a reason why PR and media pros are still so interested in him and his administration -  he “pushed” his message to the masses through working the media in ways no one had done before.

This post isn’t about politics. It’s about how we communicate, especially now in the digital age.

A One-Way Message to the Masses

He and his staff used traditional methods – TV, newspaper and magazine –  to reach the masses. After all, social media didn’t even exist back then! Among the various reasons people supported him, two reasons seem to stand out from a PR and media perspective:

1. They read, heard and watched nearly all positive and supportive messages associated with the Reagan Administration. These third-party endorsements of the president’s plans and actions were everywhere, and without question from the media, his constituents and the general public, it just made sense to believe in him.
2. There was virtually no two-way communication. The only way the masses could learn about what was occurring in the Oval Office was to obtain it through a controlled media environment. They had no way of communicating directly with the administration other than writing letters and trying to connect through a phone call.

This control was in large part due to the fact that our country was entrenched in the Cold War and every move we made was watched and criticized on the world stage. As a result of this, and his deep roots in acting and media, he was able to drive home a message that supported his uniquely framed messages.

Hey dude, is this the U2 concert? No, we're tearing down the Berlin Wall! I need to get my sledge hammer.

Hey, they didn’t even need to measure their PR efforts because the majority of coverage they received was copied directly from press releases they distributed! About the only thing they always monitored and measured was Reagan’s numbers in the polls.

The Two-Way World of Now

On the flip side, the Obama Administration had the advantage of using social media in every facet of communication. Social media was a major player in his election (and played a critical role in fundraising efforts), and they currently use social media and interactive elements to speak “to” the people – but more importantly, the people can speak back!

With citizen journalism continuing to grow, people able to speak their minds at any moment and activist groups on the rise, the world of traditional communications has certainly shifted to a digital one (but both still play an important role).

The Big Point of this Whole Analogy

The Reagan Administration is just one of those great stories of mass media control that just happen to reinforce my stance on PR and communication. It’s nearly impossible to avoid having a dialogue with your audience. These days, those who embrace it with the proper approach, tied in with traditional methods, will be able to take advantage of social media rather than it take advantage of them.

It’s become apparent that we are truly a community of networks tied together by our ability and freedom to speak openly and honestly to each other. That’s why it’s so important to have a strategy that supports realistic and measurable objectives. Without that, tactics mean nothing and the power of social media can never be realized.

Yes. But I forgive you.

There’s quite a divide among our profession on whether or not traditional PR and communications have died and been canonized – shifting to the youthful digital and social media realms. This battle continues, and yet not one group has come out a clear winner.

There’s a reason for that. They’re both wrong!

Traditional tactics like the press release, media advisory, special event, satellite media tour and media relations haven’t disappeared, they’ve just evolved. These few tactics I mentioned, among the limitless others, are still alive and well, they’ve just moved into the digital space.

You are Crazy – How is that Possible?

Well, one side of this argument will contest that traditional is still what we deem ‘true’ PR and others (some much younger) would say, and are taught, that social media is the prime venue for communicating.

Believe it or not, they both can coexist in the same universe without some black hole gobbling one or the other up and spitting one out into an alternate reality (Sorry, I’ve been watching a bit too much Sci-Fi).

I swear I'm not crazy... just unlock the cell!

It’s really a fundamental shift in the way we practice communications. Much like the fax was to email, traditional PR has evolved into the digital world. We just need to know when, how and why to utilize the traditional aspects or digital singularly, and when to blend them together.

Take the traditional press release. We’ve all seen it may times. That document filled with black copy describing some story or event containing contact information, headline, dateline, pull quotes and three hash marks at the end (many of you don’t know the story behind why we use three hash marks… maybe I’ll tell you a separate post).

Are Old-School Press Releases Still being Used?

The short answer – yes. You’ll see many good-old press releases being used and sent to media outlets within a specific trade. Since some of those media outlets, within certain industries, are slow to adopt the Web and create or grow their online presence, they continue to seek out a standard press release with accompanying photography and interview information.

It’s amazing how much coverage I still garner in print publications from utilizing the traditional press release or media pitch for a story idea. Manufacturing and industrial are prime examples of niche industries that still require and prefer receiving an emailed press release (oddly enough, some still want it faxed!).

Hi, we have a call for traditional from digital. Can I patch you through please?

How does Traditional Mesh with Digital?

More contemporary and current industries seek to supply their websites and online venues with content that they can use for articles, video and audio posts and blogs. This is were tactics like social media newsrooms, webisodes and interview podcasts come into play.

Many mainstream media have been requesting that PR pros provide them with multimedia content they can re-purpose for their websites. I’ve found that creating a great video webisode that matches the look and feel of a news segment will gain much more coverage than a :30 second video mimicking an ad or promotional video. There’s a huge difference, and the media and your audience will see it!

A great PR practitioner will know the difference and be able to create a piece that is rooted in true journalistic fashion, following proper news protocol.

What Next for These New Friends?

Both approaches still play important roles in how we communicate on behalf of our clients and our organizations. The key point is to understand when, why and how to use these tools separately, or in tandem, to reach the objectives of our clients or organizations.

One way of operating isn’t the answer. Knowing how to balance the two, the various tools and techniques within them and how to bridge that gap is what makes a campaign a success or a failure.

It’s more important than ever to be socially responsible, honest, transparent and ethical – especially in times of major natural disasters, low employment and significant world change. I’m sick and tired of hearing about gigantic conglomerates that thrive on greed and taking advantage of its customers and the general public, only to make the executives’ own personal wealth swell.

One of the reasons I started Soda Prop with Zach was so that we could give back to our communities, people and charities that seek to help others. What better way to affect change than to support and guide a great and well respected organization such as Habitat for Humanity.

We felt that by taking on a pro-bono client that was near-and-dear to our hearts, as our first client, it would help set the tone for our agency… and it has! Habitat for Humanity of Summit County is an awesome non-profit organization that does so much good for our area. We’ve been in the process of working with them to develop a comprehensive social media and outreach campaign to drive awareness and ultimately action for their cause.

The video blog post I’ve put up here showcases a volunteer day in Stow where I spent a day helping build a home for a family with a severely disabled child. I can tell you right now that I felt pretty darn good after and I plan on visiting more job sites to help!

Take an inside peak at what goes on on a volunteer day… try it, I guarantee you’ll feel great when your done!

(View our Flickr photo album with pictures from the day)

Get your mind out of the gutter people! This is some really hard-hitting information that could change your life. OK, maybe not change your life, but certainly change the way you communicate to the mass media, your customers, etc.

This post is really about the social media news release and its impact on achieving your objectives and bottom line goals. Since the advent of the Social Media Release (SMR) by Todd Defren from SHIFT Communications in 2006, the traditional press release has dramatically changed – for the better!

Is it really useful? Or is it just a fad?

Social media is here to stay.

The SMR has taken the traditional press release, and accompanying news content, and made it relevant to the digital age. It’s harnessed the power of multimedia, interactive and Social Media, transforming traditional media communiqué into incredible online user experiences.

The components that make a SMR an amazing tool are vast and include:

• A comprehensive place to house all of your media assets, press information, company background, contacts and more…
• Rich HTML text throughout the release (great for website SEO, indexing, cross-linking, etc.)
• The ability to link to or embed photography, audio, video and even PowerPoint presentations
• RSS feed capabilities within the SMR to allow for mass distribution through sharing functionality
• Keyword selection, tagging and moderated comments to enhance user experiences, while creating heightened engagement with the target audience

Let’s face it, the Internet isn’t going anywhere and if you’re not on board, you’ll be drowning in its wake. Your competitors, customers, prospects, shareholders, civic leaders and a myriad of other people are being inundated with information. Make sure that your message is top-of-mind to them… by unleashing your release!

(*Content from this post comes from my original blog post on my personal blog (A Ton of Bricks) entitled, “Social Media Releases and Why They Matter“)