By Michael Sebastian
michaels@ragan.com
Ranging from who should write your blog to the value of images, here are 10 lessons from business blogs that have flourished
Why reinvent the wheel, or in this case, the blog?
Countless companies have launched blogs, and while many have failed, others have flourished. You can learn from the best blogs. Here are 10 lessons and related tips for blogging from 10 top business blogs.
Lesson #1: Never underestimate your audience
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the people who make you remove your shoes at the airport, write a blog called Evolution of Security. Individual posts have attracted hundreds of comments—many of them critical of the TSA.
No one would take this site seriously enough to leave even a blistering comment if Evolution of Security didn’t respect its readers.
For instance, one post begins: “Throughout the ages, there have been many unanswered questions that continue to baffle the human race. Who built Stonehenge? Is there life on other planets? Why does the TSA make me place my liquids in a clear sealable baggie?”
What? TSA knows it’s annoying? It has a sense of humor? Audiences appreciate that wink and nod—the knowledge that everyone is in on the joke. It makes the message more palatable.
Tip: Think about something your company does that might irk customers and employees and write about it—or at least mention it. Your audience will appreciate it.
Lesson #2: Your blog should ooze voice
The award-winning blog written by Southwest Airlines employees, Nuts About Southwest, is as irreverent and humorous as the airline’s frontline employees.
How does Southwest do it? They pick bloggers from across the company.
Paula Berg, the director of emerging media at Southwest, told SearchEngineWorld the airline began the blog with a team of 20 people, “who represented a mix of all Southwest employees, frontline and behind-the-scenes.”
She continued, “We selected people that just oozed Southwest; that just know our company and love it and have been here for a while.”
Like Nuts About Southwest, your blog should ooze voice.
Tip: Think your company is too dull to create a blog that oozes voice? Nonsense. Tell your bloggers to get their creative juices pumping by tying the theme or plot from one of their favorite movies or TV shows into a business objective. For instance, the déjà vu-themed movie Groundhog Day could provide material for a blog post about spicing up meetings.
Lesson #3: Feature passionate employees
Chipmaker Intel has a niche blog about one topic, corporate social responsibility efforts at the company. It is titled CSR@Intel. Like Southwest, the blog features numerous authors from across the company. Most, if not all, of these bloggers are passionate about the topic.
Take, for example, this post from Intel blogger Raju Doshi about a science project by Portland, Ore., teenager Michael Loy that could increase the life of concrete and steel. The outcome would be both lower infrastructure costs for companies and fewer waste materials.
“Michael’s work is to be published in two international journals and he is only 18—how amazing is that!” Doshi blogged excitedly
Whether or not that topic intrigues you, the blogger’s enthusiasm is palpable. Intel selected employees passionate about CSR. Readers can see that.
Tip: Reach out to every department to find your passionate employees.
Lesson #4: Tackle the tough stuff
If bad news descends on your company and the blog ignores it, then that blog will lose credibility among readers.
Randy’s Journal, a blog by Boeing’s vice president of marketing, Randy Tinseth, has confronted tough times at the company. In January, Boeing announced layoffs and Randy discussed them in a February blog post.
“I started at Boeing in 1981—just before what turned out to be one of the biggest downturns we’ve seen in this industry,” he blogged. “I’ll never forget going through the process of watching many friends and colleagues—some who’d just started working at Boeing, and many with whom I’d developed strong relationships in the work environment—having to change jobs or go on to other things outside the company. It makes a strong impression on you.”
If your blog avoids these tough topics the employees will find it gutless, boring and not trustworthy—more company propaganda.
Tip: If your company has had layoffs, blog about them once everyone inside the company has learned about the news. The blog should provide more information on the layoffs than the initial company message.
Lesson #5: Join the community
Unbreakable Bonds, the blog from Kryptonite Locks, understands its niche audience of cyclists. In 2004, that audience burned Kryptonite after word spread among bloggers that someone could pick these locks with only a pen cap.
In Unbreakable Bonds, Kryptonite employees reach out to cycling enthusiasts and engage them with posts that tackle issues specific to their communities. For instance, one post discussed bike sharing programs at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was a targeted, and timely (given the recession), topic.
Identify your blog’s online community. Then, if you want to feel your community’s embrace, tailor content for the audience.
Tip: Find 10 blogs that are part of your industry or community and make sure you link to them and comment on their posts.
Lesson #6: Your blog should have a method
Ever wonder what happens behind-the-scenes at a blog? For instance, how do posts from the internal blog at Dow Chemical, Access Andrew, by CEO Andrew Liveris, go from his head to the screen?
Liveris writes the posts and then sends them to his communications team. The communicators run the content past the legal department; attorneys do not copyedit the material. Communicators then copyedit the post and publish it to Access Andrew.
Whether you’re the sole author of the blog or part of an enormous corporate hierarchy, you should determine exactly what the process is for getting the content posted.
Tip: If your CEO thinks blogging will eat up too much time, volunteer to type it and post it.
Lesson #7: It doesn’t have to be your blog
Sometimes your company doesn’t need a blog to join the blogosphere.
Ford Motor Company doesn’t have a blog, but its director of new media, Scott Monty, has one—The Social Media Marketing Blog. It precedes Monty’s tenure at Ford, which means it has an audience and a solid reputation.
On occasion, The Social Media Marketing Blog addresses issues at Ford. It spreads news about the company and the CEO, and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Ford’s communications department.
Consider finding a trusted employee at your organization to dedicate posts about your company to his or her personal blog.
Tip: Make sure any blogger who writes for your company indicates clearly, somewhere on the blog, that his opinion is his or her own and not that of the company.
Lesson #8: Embrace photography
As you might imagine, Kodak’s blog, A Thousand Words, is all about photographs. Each post features pictures from employees and customers that are based around various themes.
Like Kodak, your blog should embrace photography: post pictures of employees, your workspace — you name it. Pictures will help break up text and beautify a blog’s layout.
Remember, the rules of good photography apply to photos posted on the Web.
Tip: Start a weekly or monthly photo contest or photo caption contest on your blog for employees or customers.
Lesson #9: Provide readers with useful and relevant news
LinkedIn, the professional networking service, has an employee-penned blog that offers readers practical advice on how to best use LinkedIn.
For instance, one post explained how someone can display his or her professional network on other Web sites, while another post offered three ways to leverage a professional network while job hunting.
Your blog should provide relevant and useful information for it readers.
Tip: Pay attention to which topics attract the most views. You can track your blog’s page views, and other stats, through Google Analytics.
Lesson #10: Start a Twitter feed instead
If you want Web 2.0, but don’t want to commit to a blog, consider Twitter. This service allows you to write messages 140 characters long that people who elect to follow them can read. Twitter is like “Blogging Lite.”
Countless companies already use Twitter. For instance, Home Depot and Bank of America each have Twitter accounts for customer service issues.
Tip: Even if you don’t want to use a Twitter feed, go to the site to check if your company’s name is available. If it is available, grab it—even if you’re not going to use it. The last thing you need is for someone to hijack your company’s name and send erroneous updates attached to it.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Ten lessons for a better blog
By Michael Sebastian
michaels@ragan.com
Ranging from who should write your blog to the value of images, here are 10 lessons from business blogs that have flourished
Why reinvent the wheel, or in this case, the blog?
Countless companies have launched blogs, and while many have failed, others have flourished. You can learn from the best blogs. Here are 10 lessons and related tips for blogging from 10 top business blogs.
Lesson #1: Never underestimate your audience
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the people who make you remove your shoes at the airport, write a blog called Evolution of Security. Individual posts have attracted hundreds of comments—many of them critical of the TSA.
No one would take this site seriously enough to leave even a blistering comment if Evolution of Security didn’t respect its readers.
For instance, one post begins: “Throughout the ages, there have been many unanswered questions that continue to baffle the human race. Who built Stonehenge? Is there life on other planets? Why does the TSA make me place my liquids in a clear sealable baggie?”
What? TSA knows it’s annoying? It has a sense of humor? Audiences appreciate that wink and nod—the knowledge that everyone is in on the joke. It makes the message more palatable.
Tip: Think about something your company does that might irk customers and employees and write about it—or at least mention it. Your audience will appreciate it.
Lesson #2: Your blog should ooze voice
The award-winning blog written by Southwest Airlines employees, Nuts About Southwest, is as irreverent and humorous as the airline’s frontline employees.
How does Southwest do it? They pick bloggers from across the company.
Paula Berg, the director of emerging media at Southwest, told SearchEngineWorld the airline began the blog with a team of 20 people, “who represented a mix of all Southwest employees, frontline and behind-the-scenes.”
She continued, “We selected people that just oozed Southwest; that just know our company and love it and have been here for a while.”
Like Nuts About Southwest, your blog should ooze voice.
Tip: Think your company is too dull to create a blog that oozes voice? Nonsense. Tell your bloggers to get their creative juices pumping by tying the theme or plot from one of their favorite movies or TV shows into a business objective. For instance, the déjà vu-themed movie Groundhog Day could provide material for a blog post about spicing up meetings.
Lesson #3: Feature passionate employees
Chipmaker Intel has a niche blog about one topic, corporate social responsibility efforts at the company. It is titled CSR@Intel. Like Southwest, the blog features numerous authors from across the company. Most, if not all, of these bloggers are passionate about the topic.
Take, for example, this post from Intel blogger Raju Doshi about a science project by Portland, Ore., teenager Michael Loy that could increase the life of concrete and steel. The outcome would be both lower infrastructure costs for companies and fewer waste materials.
“Michael’s work is to be published in two international journals and he is only 18—how amazing is that!” Doshi blogged excitedly
Whether or not that topic intrigues you, the blogger’s enthusiasm is palpable. Intel selected employees passionate about CSR. Readers can see that.
Tip: Reach out to every department to find your passionate employees.
Lesson #4: Tackle the tough stuff
If bad news descends on your company and the blog ignores it, then that blog will lose credibility among readers.
Randy’s Journal, a blog by Boeing’s vice president of marketing, Randy Tinther, has confronted tough times at the company. In January, Boeing announced layoffs and Randy discussed them in a February blog post.
“I started at Boeing in 1981—just before what turned out to be one of the biggest downturns we’ve seen in this industry,” he blogged. “I’ll never forget going through the process of watching many friends and colleagues—some who’d just started working at Boeing, and many with whom I’d developed strong relationships in the work environment—having to change jobs or go on to other things outside the company. It makes a strong impression on you.”
If your blog avoids these tough topics the employees will find it gutless, boring and not trustworthy—more company propaganda.
Tip: If your company has had layoffs, blog about them once everyone inside the company has learned about the news. The blog should provide more information on the layoffs than the initial company message.
Lesson #5: Join the community
Unbreakable Bonds, the blog from Kryptonite Locks, understands its niche audience of cyclists. In 2004, that audience burned Kryptonite after word spread among bloggers that someone could pick these locks with only a pen cap.
In Unbreakable Bonds, Kryptonite employees reach out to cycling enthusiasts and engage them with posts that tackle issues specific to their communities. For instance, one post discussed bike sharing programs at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was a targeted, and timely (given the recession), topic.
Identify your blog’s online community. Then, if you want to feel your community’s embrace, tailor content for the audience.
Tip: Find 10 blogs that are part of your industry or community and make sure you link to them and comment on their posts.
Lesson #6: Your blog should have a method
Ever wonder what happens behind-the-scenes at a blog? For instance, how do posts from the internal blog at Dow Chemical, Access Andrew, by CEO Andrew Liveris, go from his head to the screen?
Liveris writes the posts and then sends them to his communications team. The communicators run the content past the legal department; attorneys do not copyedit the material. Communicators then copyedit the post and publish it to Access Andrew.
Whether you’re the sole author of the blog or part of an enormous corporate hierarchy, you should determine exactly what the process is for getting the content posted.
Tip: If your CEO thinks blogging will eat up too much time, volunteer to type it and post it.
Lesson #7: It doesn’t have to be your blog
Sometimes your company doesn’t need a blog to join the blogosphere.
Ford Motor Company doesn’t have a blog, but its director of new media, Scott Monty, has one—The Social Media Marketing Blog. It precedes Monty’s tenure at Ford, which means it has an audience and a solid reputation.
On occasion, The Social Media Marketing Blog addresses issues at Ford. It spreads news about the company and the CEO, and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Ford’s communications department.
Consider finding a trusted employee at your organization to dedicate posts about your company to his or her personal blog.
Tip: Make sure any blogger who writes for your company indicates clearly, somewhere on the blog, that his opinion is his or her own and not that of the company.
Lesson #8: Embrace photography
As you might imagine, Kodak’s blog, A Thousand Words, is all about photographs. Each post features pictures from employees and customers that are based around various themes.
Like Kodak, your blog should embrace photography: post pictures of employees, your workspace — you name it. Pictures will help break up text and beautify a blog’s layout.
Remember, the rules of good photography apply to photos posted on the Web.
Tip: Start a weekly or monthly photo contest or photo caption contest on your blog for employees or customers.
Lesson #9: Provide readers with useful and relevant news
LinkedIn, the professional networking service, has an employee-penned blog that offers readers practical advice on how to best use LinkedIn.
For instance, one post explained how someone can display his or her professional network on other Web sites, while another post offered three ways to leverage a professional network while job hunting.
Your blog should provide relevant and useful information for it readers.
Tip: Pay attention to which topics attract the most views. You can track your blog’s page views, and other stats, through Google Analytics.
Lesson #10: Start a Twitter feed instead
If you want Web 2.0, but don’t want to commit to a blog, consider Twitter. This service allows you to write messages 140 characters long that people who elect to follow them can read. Twitter is like “Blogging Lite.”
Countless companies already use Twitter. For instance, Home Depot and Bank of America each have Twitter accounts for customer service issues.
Tip: Even if you don’t want to use a Twitter feed, go to the site to check if your company’s name is available. If it is available, grab it—even if you’re not going to use it. The last thing you need is for someone to hijack your company’s name and send erroneous updates attached to it.
michaels@ragan.com
Ranging from who should write your blog to the value of images, here are 10 lessons from business blogs that have flourished
Why reinvent the wheel, or in this case, the blog?
Countless companies have launched blogs, and while many have failed, others have flourished. You can learn from the best blogs. Here are 10 lessons and related tips for blogging from 10 top business blogs.
Lesson #1: Never underestimate your audience
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the people who make you remove your shoes at the airport, write a blog called Evolution of Security. Individual posts have attracted hundreds of comments—many of them critical of the TSA.
No one would take this site seriously enough to leave even a blistering comment if Evolution of Security didn’t respect its readers.
For instance, one post begins: “Throughout the ages, there have been many unanswered questions that continue to baffle the human race. Who built Stonehenge? Is there life on other planets? Why does the TSA make me place my liquids in a clear sealable baggie?”
What? TSA knows it’s annoying? It has a sense of humor? Audiences appreciate that wink and nod—the knowledge that everyone is in on the joke. It makes the message more palatable.
Tip: Think about something your company does that might irk customers and employees and write about it—or at least mention it. Your audience will appreciate it.
Lesson #2: Your blog should ooze voice
The award-winning blog written by Southwest Airlines employees, Nuts About Southwest, is as irreverent and humorous as the airline’s frontline employees.
How does Southwest do it? They pick bloggers from across the company.
Paula Berg, the director of emerging media at Southwest, told SearchEngineWorld the airline began the blog with a team of 20 people, “who represented a mix of all Southwest employees, frontline and behind-the-scenes.”
She continued, “We selected people that just oozed Southwest; that just know our company and love it and have been here for a while.”
Like Nuts About Southwest, your blog should ooze voice.
Tip: Think your company is too dull to create a blog that oozes voice? Nonsense. Tell your bloggers to get their creative juices pumping by tying the theme or plot from one of their favorite movies or TV shows into a business objective. For instance, the déjà vu-themed movie Groundhog Day could provide material for a blog post about spicing up meetings.
Lesson #3: Feature passionate employees
Chipmaker Intel has a niche blog about one topic, corporate social responsibility efforts at the company. It is titled CSR@Intel. Like Southwest, the blog features numerous authors from across the company. Most, if not all, of these bloggers are passionate about the topic.
Take, for example, this post from Intel blogger Raju Doshi about a science project by Portland, Ore., teenager Michael Loy that could increase the life of concrete and steel. The outcome would be both lower infrastructure costs for companies and fewer waste materials.
“Michael’s work is to be published in two international journals and he is only 18—how amazing is that!” Doshi blogged excitedly
Whether or not that topic intrigues you, the blogger’s enthusiasm is palpable. Intel selected employees passionate about CSR. Readers can see that.
Tip: Reach out to every department to find your passionate employees.
Lesson #4: Tackle the tough stuff
If bad news descends on your company and the blog ignores it, then that blog will lose credibility among readers.
Randy’s Journal, a blog by Boeing’s vice president of marketing, Randy Tinther, has confronted tough times at the company. In January, Boeing announced layoffs and Randy discussed them in a February blog post.
“I started at Boeing in 1981—just before what turned out to be one of the biggest downturns we’ve seen in this industry,” he blogged. “I’ll never forget going through the process of watching many friends and colleagues—some who’d just started working at Boeing, and many with whom I’d developed strong relationships in the work environment—having to change jobs or go on to other things outside the company. It makes a strong impression on you.”
If your blog avoids these tough topics the employees will find it gutless, boring and not trustworthy—more company propaganda.
Tip: If your company has had layoffs, blog about them once everyone inside the company has learned about the news. The blog should provide more information on the layoffs than the initial company message.
Lesson #5: Join the community
Unbreakable Bonds, the blog from Kryptonite Locks, understands its niche audience of cyclists. In 2004, that audience burned Kryptonite after word spread among bloggers that someone could pick these locks with only a pen cap.
In Unbreakable Bonds, Kryptonite employees reach out to cycling enthusiasts and engage them with posts that tackle issues specific to their communities. For instance, one post discussed bike sharing programs at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was a targeted, and timely (given the recession), topic.
Identify your blog’s online community. Then, if you want to feel your community’s embrace, tailor content for the audience.
Tip: Find 10 blogs that are part of your industry or community and make sure you link to them and comment on their posts.
Lesson #6: Your blog should have a method
Ever wonder what happens behind-the-scenes at a blog? For instance, how do posts from the internal blog at Dow Chemical, Access Andrew, by CEO Andrew Liveris, go from his head to the screen?
Liveris writes the posts and then sends them to his communications team. The communicators run the content past the legal department; attorneys do not copyedit the material. Communicators then copyedit the post and publish it to Access Andrew.
Whether you’re the sole author of the blog or part of an enormous corporate hierarchy, you should determine exactly what the process is for getting the content posted.
Tip: If your CEO thinks blogging will eat up too much time, volunteer to type it and post it.
Lesson #7: It doesn’t have to be your blog
Sometimes your company doesn’t need a blog to join the blogosphere.
Ford Motor Company doesn’t have a blog, but its director of new media, Scott Monty, has one—The Social Media Marketing Blog. It precedes Monty’s tenure at Ford, which means it has an audience and a solid reputation.
On occasion, The Social Media Marketing Blog addresses issues at Ford. It spreads news about the company and the CEO, and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Ford’s communications department.
Consider finding a trusted employee at your organization to dedicate posts about your company to his or her personal blog.
Tip: Make sure any blogger who writes for your company indicates clearly, somewhere on the blog, that his opinion is his or her own and not that of the company.
Lesson #8: Embrace photography
As you might imagine, Kodak’s blog, A Thousand Words, is all about photographs. Each post features pictures from employees and customers that are based around various themes.
Like Kodak, your blog should embrace photography: post pictures of employees, your workspace — you name it. Pictures will help break up text and beautify a blog’s layout.
Remember, the rules of good photography apply to photos posted on the Web.
Tip: Start a weekly or monthly photo contest or photo caption contest on your blog for employees or customers.
Lesson #9: Provide readers with useful and relevant news
LinkedIn, the professional networking service, has an employee-penned blog that offers readers practical advice on how to best use LinkedIn.
For instance, one post explained how someone can display his or her professional network on other Web sites, while another post offered three ways to leverage a professional network while job hunting.
Your blog should provide relevant and useful information for it readers.
Tip: Pay attention to which topics attract the most views. You can track your blog’s page views, and other stats, through Google Analytics.
Lesson #10: Start a Twitter feed instead
If you want Web 2.0, but don’t want to commit to a blog, consider Twitter. This service allows you to write messages 140 characters long that people who elect to follow them can read. Twitter is like “Blogging Lite.”
Countless companies already use Twitter. For instance, Home Depot and Bank of America each have Twitter accounts for customer service issues.
Tip: Even if you don’t want to use a Twitter feed, go to the site to check if your company’s name is available. If it is available, grab it—even if you’re not going to use it. The last thing you need is for someone to hijack your company’s name and send erroneous updates attached to it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
PHRs are operating systems
http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=1742
User Centric has a white paper out comparing the usability of Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault.
The news is not good. Both rated poorly in terms of user experience. User Centric has followed up with a set of recommendations.
It occurs to me all this misses a rather important point, namely that Personal Health Record software is not really an application.
It’s more like an operating system.
A PHR has to do many different things for many people. It must be able to take in data cleanly and seamlessly, sometimes automatically. That requires interfaces with hospital records, and with a host of consumer devices. It may also require taking input from alternative therapists, like chiropractors.
Second it needs simple security, so that patients have notice and the ability to easily control who gets access to PHR data, and audit downloads. That’s not as easy as it sounds, because lots of people should only get a portion of the record. Standards for giving the right people the right data have to be automated.
Finally a PHR needs a host of new user interfaces to make its data truly useful. Not just PC interfaces, but interfaces to iPhones and other devices. Ticklers to remind us when to take different pills, or when to check different conditions like our blood sugar. Applications that let us interpret data and take appropriate action, or that might alert those who need to take action.
Look at all these needs, all these interfaces, and a PHR quickly moves from being a form, to an application, to a personal health operating system. Building such an operating system will require an ecosystem of suppliers, projects built around database management, user interfaces, and around security.
So I think it’s vital that the code be accessible by all the many stakeholders in this process, and that compatibility be assured. There is a long road ahead. The company which can manage this process best is going to win the market.
In this effort both Microsoft and Google have real assets to offer.
Microsoft has always been great at developer relations, and at helping developers build their business models through sales channels. Both these things are vital in the coming competition.
Google has shown a talent for gaining publicity, for using the open source process, and for building quality APIs. These, too, will be important.
Both competitors, as the illustration shows, also have a problem. Competition can lead to secrecy, can lead to proprietary differences, can lead to incompatibility.
So here’s my final idea. The first of these to get their code, and their ecosystem, integrated with Open Health Tools is going to have a big advantage in this space.
User Centric has a white paper out comparing the usability of Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault.
The news is not good. Both rated poorly in terms of user experience. User Centric has followed up with a set of recommendations.
It occurs to me all this misses a rather important point, namely that Personal Health Record software is not really an application.
It’s more like an operating system.
A PHR has to do many different things for many people. It must be able to take in data cleanly and seamlessly, sometimes automatically. That requires interfaces with hospital records, and with a host of consumer devices. It may also require taking input from alternative therapists, like chiropractors.
Second it needs simple security, so that patients have notice and the ability to easily control who gets access to PHR data, and audit downloads. That’s not as easy as it sounds, because lots of people should only get a portion of the record. Standards for giving the right people the right data have to be automated.
Finally a PHR needs a host of new user interfaces to make its data truly useful. Not just PC interfaces, but interfaces to iPhones and other devices. Ticklers to remind us when to take different pills, or when to check different conditions like our blood sugar. Applications that let us interpret data and take appropriate action, or that might alert those who need to take action.
Look at all these needs, all these interfaces, and a PHR quickly moves from being a form, to an application, to a personal health operating system. Building such an operating system will require an ecosystem of suppliers, projects built around database management, user interfaces, and around security.
So I think it’s vital that the code be accessible by all the many stakeholders in this process, and that compatibility be assured. There is a long road ahead. The company which can manage this process best is going to win the market.
In this effort both Microsoft and Google have real assets to offer.
Microsoft has always been great at developer relations, and at helping developers build their business models through sales channels. Both these things are vital in the coming competition.
Google has shown a talent for gaining publicity, for using the open source process, and for building quality APIs. These, too, will be important.
Both competitors, as the illustration shows, also have a problem. Competition can lead to secrecy, can lead to proprietary differences, can lead to incompatibility.
So here’s my final idea. The first of these to get their code, and their ecosystem, integrated with Open Health Tools is going to have a big advantage in this space.
New Info Shoppers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123144483005365353.html?mod=djemMM
With so much attention on psychological marketing these days -- finding new ways to tap into people's heads -- perhaps the single most neglected trend out there is the move towards more hard-nosed information-based shopping and purchasing.
While elites were busy shoveling money into Madoff's black box these past few years, strapped consumers have been poring over product spec sheets, third-party reviews and expert blog sites. This past holiday season they watched every dollar. A special kind of consumer has taken a major role in the marketplace -- the new info shopper. These people just can't buy anything unless they first look it up online and get the lowdown.
These shoppers have the Internet at work, typically hold information-based or office-park jobs, have some college or grad school, and are often making ends meet with two jobs, kids, and pets on a middle or upper-middle-class income.
They have become highly suspicious of many TV ads: in a shoppers survey we did, 78% of them said that ads no longer have enough information they need. So many of them search online for virtually everything. Window shoppers have become "Windows shoppers." They want, in the phrase often attributed to Dragnet's Joe Friday, "just the facts, ma'am."
Of course, there is still a healthy role for big emotional brand appeals and mega-advertising campaigns. For every trend there is a counter trend. But that's not the real new thing in consumer behavior.
A whopping 92% of respondents said they had more confidence in information they seek out online than anything coming from a salesclerk or other source. They believe the information they find, not in the information that is spoon-fed to them, and the vast number of clicks today prove that they really are devoting time and energy to ferreting out detailed info before they buy.
A good example of how information can transform a marketplace is the series of ads a few years ago for the Dyson vacuum cleaner. Founder and inventor James Dyson took a commonplace item and explained how he had transformed it with new scientific principles. Consumers weren't bored with the technical approach. On the contrary, sales took off -- and changed the marketplace for vacuum cleaners.
When we asked shoppers whether they would do online research before buying a vacuum cleaner today, a surprising 58% said that's exactly what they would do. His ads helped turn vacuum-cleaner buying into a largely information-based marketplace.
We have seen many of the big market areas convert to an information-driven model -- cars, homes, personal computers and medical care are areas where nearly 4 in 5 shoppers say they gather information on their own from the Web before buying. "Do-it-yourself doctors" (that is, info patients) show up at their doctor with the Web-derived diagnosis in hand, and a list of the medicines they need prescribed. Customers appear at the car dealership with the wholesale price and the model already picked out.
Information-seeking is not just an activity, it's a way of looking at the world. New info shoppers are proud of the progress they have made in putting facts over pablum. More companies should treat their customers as Dyson did and let them in on the secrets of their unique success. And they should invest more than ever in helping form their consumers into citizen corps, arming them with PCs, cameras and even asking them to use the phone's new video cameras to document their product usage and put them online.
But how many marketers today work back from what this new consumer is thinking and doing? Not many. Based on the advertising budgets in the U.S. where a typical company will spend 60 times as much on advertising than they spend on generating publicity, most lag way behind in creating a new model of consumers and the steps they take before they buy.
Some industries got it right away. Movies and restaurants have huge word of mouth and impulse components, but they are also very information-driven. Zagat's pioneered the concept of survey ratings and reviews, and smart restaurants use them. We're seeing the same in entertainment, where Metacritic and others provide professional and customer ratings of every movie.
Now this trend is spreading down the product chain. In our survey, 24% said they are doing online research before buying shampoo. The Breck Girl is being replaced by a shopping bot.
And they have questions. How does this shampoo work on different hair types, thicknesses and colors? Are the bottles recyclable? Has the product been tested on animals?
It used to be that the only time people expected 30-page, pre-purchase, inspection reports was when they were buying a house. Now some people want them just to buy a tube of toothpaste.
The point is that advertising isn't just moving to the Web, it's got to grapple with an entirely new kind of shopper and way of shopping. Marketers now have to balance traditional media, online media, and content that is generated by experts, bloggers and consumers themselves. An astonishing 70% of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions. Sixty-two percent say they spend at least 30 minutes online every week to help them decide what and whether to buy. Among Americans under 45, that number shoots up to 73%. Seventy-three percent -- that's more than four times the percentage in that age group who go to church every week. For some, smart shopping is more than a hobby. It's a religion.
Information aggregation sites – the ones that don't generate content themselves, but link to others' content, weaving a story about the industry and its products -- will become even more important. Much as the Drudge Report tells its readers where to find stories they will like, so consumer aggregation sites could grow and do the same for car buyers, PC buyers, and other consumer groups. Most of the sites so far have been too cheesy to really catch on.
Information shopping also means manufacturers have to get back to generating more information on their products, even offbeat factoids that are highly memorable if not always useful. Timex sold a lot of watches by showing its watches were still ticking after being thrown into a washing machine. To catch the eye of the info-shopping consumer, manufacturers should start hauling their wares up to Mt. Everest, drop them out of windows, put them in boiling water and reporting on how they do. In an info-seeking world, facts can again become the great differentiator.
New Info Shoppers are bigger than a microtrend. They represent a broad shift in the marketplace brought about by the Internet, higher education, and changing economic times. But the question is when is the marketplace is going to really catch up to them.
Penn, Schoen and Berland conducted a New info Shoppers survey of nearly 300 U.S. adults October 15-21. Margin of error is +/- 5.69 points. Detailed Results available at www.psbresearch.com/files/ResultsOfMicrotrendsNewInfoShoppers.pdf
With so much attention on psychological marketing these days -- finding new ways to tap into people's heads -- perhaps the single most neglected trend out there is the move towards more hard-nosed information-based shopping and purchasing.
While elites were busy shoveling money into Madoff's black box these past few years, strapped consumers have been poring over product spec sheets, third-party reviews and expert blog sites. This past holiday season they watched every dollar. A special kind of consumer has taken a major role in the marketplace -- the new info shopper. These people just can't buy anything unless they first look it up online and get the lowdown.
These shoppers have the Internet at work, typically hold information-based or office-park jobs, have some college or grad school, and are often making ends meet with two jobs, kids, and pets on a middle or upper-middle-class income.
They have become highly suspicious of many TV ads: in a shoppers survey we did, 78% of them said that ads no longer have enough information they need. So many of them search online for virtually everything. Window shoppers have become "Windows shoppers." They want, in the phrase often attributed to Dragnet's Joe Friday, "just the facts, ma'am."
Of course, there is still a healthy role for big emotional brand appeals and mega-advertising campaigns. For every trend there is a counter trend. But that's not the real new thing in consumer behavior.
A whopping 92% of respondents said they had more confidence in information they seek out online than anything coming from a salesclerk or other source. They believe the information they find, not in the information that is spoon-fed to them, and the vast number of clicks today prove that they really are devoting time and energy to ferreting out detailed info before they buy.
A good example of how information can transform a marketplace is the series of ads a few years ago for the Dyson vacuum cleaner. Founder and inventor James Dyson took a commonplace item and explained how he had transformed it with new scientific principles. Consumers weren't bored with the technical approach. On the contrary, sales took off -- and changed the marketplace for vacuum cleaners.
When we asked shoppers whether they would do online research before buying a vacuum cleaner today, a surprising 58% said that's exactly what they would do. His ads helped turn vacuum-cleaner buying into a largely information-based marketplace.
We have seen many of the big market areas convert to an information-driven model -- cars, homes, personal computers and medical care are areas where nearly 4 in 5 shoppers say they gather information on their own from the Web before buying. "Do-it-yourself doctors" (that is, info patients) show up at their doctor with the Web-derived diagnosis in hand, and a list of the medicines they need prescribed. Customers appear at the car dealership with the wholesale price and the model already picked out.
Information-seeking is not just an activity, it's a way of looking at the world. New info shoppers are proud of the progress they have made in putting facts over pablum. More companies should treat their customers as Dyson did and let them in on the secrets of their unique success. And they should invest more than ever in helping form their consumers into citizen corps, arming them with PCs, cameras and even asking them to use the phone's new video cameras to document their product usage and put them online.
But how many marketers today work back from what this new consumer is thinking and doing? Not many. Based on the advertising budgets in the U.S. where a typical company will spend 60 times as much on advertising than they spend on generating publicity, most lag way behind in creating a new model of consumers and the steps they take before they buy.
Some industries got it right away. Movies and restaurants have huge word of mouth and impulse components, but they are also very information-driven. Zagat's pioneered the concept of survey ratings and reviews, and smart restaurants use them. We're seeing the same in entertainment, where Metacritic and others provide professional and customer ratings of every movie.
Now this trend is spreading down the product chain. In our survey, 24% said they are doing online research before buying shampoo. The Breck Girl is being replaced by a shopping bot.
And they have questions. How does this shampoo work on different hair types, thicknesses and colors? Are the bottles recyclable? Has the product been tested on animals?
It used to be that the only time people expected 30-page, pre-purchase, inspection reports was when they were buying a house. Now some people want them just to buy a tube of toothpaste.
The point is that advertising isn't just moving to the Web, it's got to grapple with an entirely new kind of shopper and way of shopping. Marketers now have to balance traditional media, online media, and content that is generated by experts, bloggers and consumers themselves. An astonishing 70% of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions. Sixty-two percent say they spend at least 30 minutes online every week to help them decide what and whether to buy. Among Americans under 45, that number shoots up to 73%. Seventy-three percent -- that's more than four times the percentage in that age group who go to church every week. For some, smart shopping is more than a hobby. It's a religion.
Information aggregation sites – the ones that don't generate content themselves, but link to others' content, weaving a story about the industry and its products -- will become even more important. Much as the Drudge Report tells its readers where to find stories they will like, so consumer aggregation sites could grow and do the same for car buyers, PC buyers, and other consumer groups. Most of the sites so far have been too cheesy to really catch on.
Information shopping also means manufacturers have to get back to generating more information on their products, even offbeat factoids that are highly memorable if not always useful. Timex sold a lot of watches by showing its watches were still ticking after being thrown into a washing machine. To catch the eye of the info-shopping consumer, manufacturers should start hauling their wares up to Mt. Everest, drop them out of windows, put them in boiling water and reporting on how they do. In an info-seeking world, facts can again become the great differentiator.
New Info Shoppers are bigger than a microtrend. They represent a broad shift in the marketplace brought about by the Internet, higher education, and changing economic times. But the question is when is the marketplace is going to really catch up to them.
Penn, Schoen and Berland conducted a New info Shoppers survey of nearly 300 U.S. adults October 15-21. Margin of error is +/- 5.69 points. Detailed Results available at www.psbresearch.com/files/ResultsOfMicrotrendsNewInfoShoppers.pdf
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
100 Ways for Hospitals, Health Systems to Twitter
Several times I've heard experts talk about how hospitals can use new media for promotion and public relations. The advice: Get on Facebook, start a blog, post to YouTube. And I'm always left wondering—OK, then what? So let's get specific. Since I started posting on Twitter, I've been watching several different hospitals and health systems to see what they're up to.
And, wow, are they doing some cool stuff.
Look who's tweeting
Backus Hospital, a community hospital in Norwich, CT, recently got me to click through to its site merely by mentioning it had posted pictures of its first baby of the New Year. Who doesn't love babies? The photos are really sweet and also show the hospital in a warm, intimate, friendly, and caring light.
Some other ways the community hospital is using Twitter:
Asking general questions to engage its audience. (If Sanjay Gupta becomes the U.S. Sugeon General, what would you ask him?)
Posting safety tips (change those smoke alarm batteries).
Posting health reminders (get those flu shots).
Providing links to cross-promote other products (read our monthly health magazine).
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, always catches my attention with teases to stories about patients, volunteers, donors, and events. The marketing team at this organization really knows how to tell a good story.
Some other ways the hospital is using Twitter:
Announcing accomplishments (St. Jude Ranked No. 1 Pediatric Oncology Hospital).
Generating excitement about successful fundraising events and thanking fundraisers (marathoners raise $2 million for hospital).
Posting new research findings and overviews of topics such as cancer diagnosis and care.
The Office of Communications is a non-profit creative resource that serves organizations including the University of Texas Health Science Center and Texas Medical Center in Houston. I like their approach to Twitter. It's creative and diverse and full of personality. For example, they link to an article about why kids are terrified of Santa. (Many hospitals only link to their own sites. I think that's a mistake.)
Other ways the organization is using Twitter:
Internal communications. (What's on the agenda for the next faculty meeting?)
Links back to its other online sites (including its online newsletter, Scoop).
Fostering good customer relations. ("Taking time to thank our clients and all those who work with us for another great year").
ScrippsHealth in San Diego is an early adopter. They've posted more than 185 updates and have 409 people who follow their posts. After my last column on how hospitals can use Twitter for marketing, they commented that they've set up an account to syndicate out news stories and events. "It has been going well so far with lots of industry, media and community people following the account," they wrote. "The real opportunity," they added, "is the ability to speak directly to and hear directly from your consumers."
Other ways the organization is using Twitter:
Posting dates, times, and fees for healthcare-related classes (I could use a mindfulness-based stress reduction class).
Bolstering recruitment efforts (Scripps honored as top San Diego employer).
Some Twitter mistakes
A few things I've noticed since I've been poking around the site:
Too many organizations link repeatedly or even exclusively to their own Web sites. This comes off as very self-serving. If one of your experts in quoted in a news article, link to the news article—not your own press release about the article.
Too few organizations are asking open-ended questions to promote dialogue with their internal or external audiences.
Some organizations go overboard trying to include fun but meaningless posts along with useful, hospital-specific posts. An occasional light note—thanking everyone who's been following your Twitter account or who helped with a certain event—is fine. But don't wish everyone a cheery good morning every single morning.
On the other hand, some organizations aren't showing any personality at all in their posts. Robotic messages with the same kind of content (links to press releases for example) is boring and repetitive. Throw something in there every once in a while that proves your posts are written by a human being.
Keeping an eye on it all
I promised you a list 100 ways that hospitals and health systems can use Twitter, but you're going to have to do a little homework to round out what I've offered so far. Ed Bennett, director of web strategy for the University of Maryland Medical System, keeps an updated list of hospitals on Twitter—just click the "following" link to see them.
Meanwhile, Bennett has done some more work to help us find 100 ideas, with his extensive online list of hospitals that are on Twitter and Facebook. It's extensive. Start looking at what others are doing—and then figure out what works for your organization.
And, wow, are they doing some cool stuff.
Look who's tweeting
Backus Hospital, a community hospital in Norwich, CT, recently got me to click through to its site merely by mentioning it had posted pictures of its first baby of the New Year. Who doesn't love babies? The photos are really sweet and also show the hospital in a warm, intimate, friendly, and caring light.
Some other ways the community hospital is using Twitter:
Asking general questions to engage its audience. (If Sanjay Gupta becomes the U.S. Sugeon General, what would you ask him?)
Posting safety tips (change those smoke alarm batteries).
Posting health reminders (get those flu shots).
Providing links to cross-promote other products (read our monthly health magazine).
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, always catches my attention with teases to stories about patients, volunteers, donors, and events. The marketing team at this organization really knows how to tell a good story.
Some other ways the hospital is using Twitter:
Announcing accomplishments (St. Jude Ranked No. 1 Pediatric Oncology Hospital).
Generating excitement about successful fundraising events and thanking fundraisers (marathoners raise $2 million for hospital).
Posting new research findings and overviews of topics such as cancer diagnosis and care.
The Office of Communications is a non-profit creative resource that serves organizations including the University of Texas Health Science Center and Texas Medical Center in Houston. I like their approach to Twitter. It's creative and diverse and full of personality. For example, they link to an article about why kids are terrified of Santa. (Many hospitals only link to their own sites. I think that's a mistake.)
Other ways the organization is using Twitter:
Internal communications. (What's on the agenda for the next faculty meeting?)
Links back to its other online sites (including its online newsletter, Scoop).
Fostering good customer relations. ("Taking time to thank our clients and all those who work with us for another great year").
ScrippsHealth in San Diego is an early adopter. They've posted more than 185 updates and have 409 people who follow their posts. After my last column on how hospitals can use Twitter for marketing, they commented that they've set up an account to syndicate out news stories and events. "It has been going well so far with lots of industry, media and community people following the account," they wrote. "The real opportunity," they added, "is the ability to speak directly to and hear directly from your consumers."
Other ways the organization is using Twitter:
Posting dates, times, and fees for healthcare-related classes (I could use a mindfulness-based stress reduction class).
Bolstering recruitment efforts (Scripps honored as top San Diego employer).
Some Twitter mistakes
A few things I've noticed since I've been poking around the site:
Too many organizations link repeatedly or even exclusively to their own Web sites. This comes off as very self-serving. If one of your experts in quoted in a news article, link to the news article—not your own press release about the article.
Too few organizations are asking open-ended questions to promote dialogue with their internal or external audiences.
Some organizations go overboard trying to include fun but meaningless posts along with useful, hospital-specific posts. An occasional light note—thanking everyone who's been following your Twitter account or who helped with a certain event—is fine. But don't wish everyone a cheery good morning every single morning.
On the other hand, some organizations aren't showing any personality at all in their posts. Robotic messages with the same kind of content (links to press releases for example) is boring and repetitive. Throw something in there every once in a while that proves your posts are written by a human being.
Keeping an eye on it all
I promised you a list 100 ways that hospitals and health systems can use Twitter, but you're going to have to do a little homework to round out what I've offered so far. Ed Bennett, director of web strategy for the University of Maryland Medical System, keeps an updated list of hospitals on Twitter—just click the "following" link to see them.
Meanwhile, Bennett has done some more work to help us find 100 ideas, with his extensive online list of hospitals that are on Twitter and Facebook. It's extensive. Start looking at what others are doing—and then figure out what works for your organization.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Eight ways to befriend journalists via e-mail
By Christine Kent
chrisk@ckeditorial.com
How to approach and build reporter relationships, one e-mail message at a time
Back when PR pros schmoozed with journalists at a local bar, or bumped into them at events around town, it was a lot easier to make connections and start lobbing a few pitches their way. Now, years after e-mail took over our lives, PR people have to rely on an impersonal and easily disposable method of communication to make these crucial connections.
Since e-mail is what we're stuck with, how can you engage a media contact in few words, and without the force of your personal charm? PR pros say that getting too chummy in an e-mail—especially a message to a journalist you've never met—usually has the opposite effect (i.e., you sound a bit like a stalker). And a too-formal tone comes off as extra-stiff in an e-mail.
Here's some guidance on hitting the right note in those first-approach e-mails.
1. Show you're a fan. "I can't think of a more simple, intuitive or appropriate approach to building relationships with journalists and editors via e-mail than actually reading their content, and then commenting to them via e-mail," says David Muise, vice president of PR at Full Spectrum Media in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"It's a great introduction, requires no fluff and shows that you are practicing due diligence. It also shows that you are an active player in the story, and that you're not just sending materials blindly when you need something."
2. Give it the personal touch. Along those same lines, Kevin Aschenbrenner, senior account supervisor/PR for Jaffe Associates in Victoria, Canada, says to use names in your e-mail pitch, and not just the ones you get from a mail merge. "Even if you're working off of a huge media list, start it with their name," says Aschenbrenner. "I actually think it's better to use Outlook and not some mail merge program because, wearing my other hat as the editor of the Jaffe Legal News Service, I've seen e-mail pitches that are so obviously mail merges it's painful."
3. Spell-check makes perfect. Christine Hohlbaum, a Munich, Germany-based PR consultant for U.S.-based Wasabi Publicity, relies heavily on e-mail relationships given the distance between her and her media contacts.
She says that a polished message is key to making a good first impression. "I avoid typos," says Hohlbaum. "Using improper grammar and spelling in an e-mail is like stuttering."
4. Just the facts, ma'am. "E-mailing press isn't writing a love letter," says David Libby, principal of Libby Communications in Oakland, Calif. "It's akin to a job application.
The information should be factual, pertinent to the reporter's audience, quick to the point and mirror the reporter's style. If the information in an e-mail, to a reporter, carries these qualities, consistently, e-mail after e-mail, then the reporter will develop trust for the PR person and might respond."
5. E-mail to help out, not just to pitch. Dylan Powell, a PR writer at Houston's Origin Design, practices the "three to one" rule. He contacts journalists three times with helpful background info or comments before sending them one pitch.
6. The need for speed. "If a PR representative replies to journalists' questions with lightning speed, it automatically shows diligence and a commitment to assist," says Matthew Zintel, managing director of Zintel PR in Los Angeles. "That goes a long way in forming a relationship outside of e-mail. I can't tell you how many times an editor or writer has thanked us for quickly answering e-mail questions just minutes after receiving them, no matter the time."
7. Chill out. "Relax your tone," advises Kevin Quartz, PR director at Harrisburg, Pa., ad agency Pavone.
"Many pitches sound too polished, like every word has been agonized over and scrutinized by a team of writers, because they often have. The most effective and personal e-mail communications read like conversations between two friends—as if you wrote the e-mail just for them."
Kacie Main, an account executive at O'Connell & Goldberg PR in Hollywood, Fla., says she imagines she's chatting up a media contact over the phone.
"I think as PR professionals we get into our 'writing modes' and write e-mails as if we're drafting an overall PR plan we are going to send to the CEO of a major company," Main says. "In order to build relationships through e-mail, you have to write them as if you're on the phone. You would never call someone and immediately jump into your pitch. You would say 'hi, how are you?' And when hanging up, you wouldn't say 'best regards,' you would say 'thanks' or 'talk to you soon.'"
But don't get too friendly: "Don't act like someone's best friend in the first e-mail," says Karen Campbell, senior public relations manager for Zondervan, a publisher based in Grand Rapids. Kevin Quartz agrees: "Keep it professional. There's a fine line between conversational and awkwardly personal. Don't ask how their family is doing if you've never met them."
Think hard about that subject line: "You need to make your subject lines count," says Aschenbrenner. "'New Partners Join Firm' is something I see a lot. They don't even put the firm name in the subject. I try to write subjects like headlines. You want to snag a reporter so they open the e-mail, or at least read the first few sentences in the preview pane."
8. The five-second scan. Elizabeth Robinson, president of Volume PR in Centennial, Colo., got a grateful response to a short-and-sweet pitch she sent to a Fortune Small Business reporter who liked the fact that she didn't waste his time. "This is not an age where people curl up with a cup of a coffee to read e-mails," says Robinson. "We scan everything."
Robinson gives her pitches the "five-second scan test" to see if they're succinct and short enough to be digested in just a few seconds. "Set a timer, and see if the pitch entices you to read on," she suggests.
In her pitch to Fortune Small Business, she reduced the news to a few bullet points. The editor contacted her within three minutes, telling her that he was thankful he "didn't have to unpack paragraphs of text."
Kevin Quartz also likes the bulleted approach. "We've moved away from the 'pitch and attached release' format towards a series of easily digestible bullets of information incorporated into the body of the e-mail," he says. "This makes the entire e-mail look like the information is being delivered directly to the recipient."
Aschenbrenner also believes in the Gospel of Keeping it Short.
"When it comes to the body of the e-mail, the way you're going to let a reporter know that they're dealing with a flack who will be an asset and not a pest is to keep it short, and to the point," he explains. "I write out all my pitches ahead of time and make sure that they are no longer than five to seven sentences. That ensures they don't run beyond the first part of an e-mail. Reporters don't scroll."
chrisk@ckeditorial.com
How to approach and build reporter relationships, one e-mail message at a time
Back when PR pros schmoozed with journalists at a local bar, or bumped into them at events around town, it was a lot easier to make connections and start lobbing a few pitches their way. Now, years after e-mail took over our lives, PR people have to rely on an impersonal and easily disposable method of communication to make these crucial connections.
Since e-mail is what we're stuck with, how can you engage a media contact in few words, and without the force of your personal charm? PR pros say that getting too chummy in an e-mail—especially a message to a journalist you've never met—usually has the opposite effect (i.e., you sound a bit like a stalker). And a too-formal tone comes off as extra-stiff in an e-mail.
Here's some guidance on hitting the right note in those first-approach e-mails.
1. Show you're a fan. "I can't think of a more simple, intuitive or appropriate approach to building relationships with journalists and editors via e-mail than actually reading their content, and then commenting to them via e-mail," says David Muise, vice president of PR at Full Spectrum Media in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"It's a great introduction, requires no fluff and shows that you are practicing due diligence. It also shows that you are an active player in the story, and that you're not just sending materials blindly when you need something."
2. Give it the personal touch. Along those same lines, Kevin Aschenbrenner, senior account supervisor/PR for Jaffe Associates in Victoria, Canada, says to use names in your e-mail pitch, and not just the ones you get from a mail merge. "Even if you're working off of a huge media list, start it with their name," says Aschenbrenner. "I actually think it's better to use Outlook and not some mail merge program because, wearing my other hat as the editor of the Jaffe Legal News Service, I've seen e-mail pitches that are so obviously mail merges it's painful."
3. Spell-check makes perfect. Christine Hohlbaum, a Munich, Germany-based PR consultant for U.S.-based Wasabi Publicity, relies heavily on e-mail relationships given the distance between her and her media contacts.
She says that a polished message is key to making a good first impression. "I avoid typos," says Hohlbaum. "Using improper grammar and spelling in an e-mail is like stuttering."
4. Just the facts, ma'am. "E-mailing press isn't writing a love letter," says David Libby, principal of Libby Communications in Oakland, Calif. "It's akin to a job application.
The information should be factual, pertinent to the reporter's audience, quick to the point and mirror the reporter's style. If the information in an e-mail, to a reporter, carries these qualities, consistently, e-mail after e-mail, then the reporter will develop trust for the PR person and might respond."
5. E-mail to help out, not just to pitch. Dylan Powell, a PR writer at Houston's Origin Design, practices the "three to one" rule. He contacts journalists three times with helpful background info or comments before sending them one pitch.
6. The need for speed. "If a PR representative replies to journalists' questions with lightning speed, it automatically shows diligence and a commitment to assist," says Matthew Zintel, managing director of Zintel PR in Los Angeles. "That goes a long way in forming a relationship outside of e-mail. I can't tell you how many times an editor or writer has thanked us for quickly answering e-mail questions just minutes after receiving them, no matter the time."
7. Chill out. "Relax your tone," advises Kevin Quartz, PR director at Harrisburg, Pa., ad agency Pavone.
"Many pitches sound too polished, like every word has been agonized over and scrutinized by a team of writers, because they often have. The most effective and personal e-mail communications read like conversations between two friends—as if you wrote the e-mail just for them."
Kacie Main, an account executive at O'Connell & Goldberg PR in Hollywood, Fla., says she imagines she's chatting up a media contact over the phone.
"I think as PR professionals we get into our 'writing modes' and write e-mails as if we're drafting an overall PR plan we are going to send to the CEO of a major company," Main says. "In order to build relationships through e-mail, you have to write them as if you're on the phone. You would never call someone and immediately jump into your pitch. You would say 'hi, how are you?' And when hanging up, you wouldn't say 'best regards,' you would say 'thanks' or 'talk to you soon.'"
But don't get too friendly: "Don't act like someone's best friend in the first e-mail," says Karen Campbell, senior public relations manager for Zondervan, a publisher based in Grand Rapids. Kevin Quartz agrees: "Keep it professional. There's a fine line between conversational and awkwardly personal. Don't ask how their family is doing if you've never met them."
Think hard about that subject line: "You need to make your subject lines count," says Aschenbrenner. "'New Partners Join Firm' is something I see a lot. They don't even put the firm name in the subject. I try to write subjects like headlines. You want to snag a reporter so they open the e-mail, or at least read the first few sentences in the preview pane."
8. The five-second scan. Elizabeth Robinson, president of Volume PR in Centennial, Colo., got a grateful response to a short-and-sweet pitch she sent to a Fortune Small Business reporter who liked the fact that she didn't waste his time. "This is not an age where people curl up with a cup of a coffee to read e-mails," says Robinson. "We scan everything."
Robinson gives her pitches the "five-second scan test" to see if they're succinct and short enough to be digested in just a few seconds. "Set a timer, and see if the pitch entices you to read on," she suggests.
In her pitch to Fortune Small Business, she reduced the news to a few bullet points. The editor contacted her within three minutes, telling her that he was thankful he "didn't have to unpack paragraphs of text."
Kevin Quartz also likes the bulleted approach. "We've moved away from the 'pitch and attached release' format towards a series of easily digestible bullets of information incorporated into the body of the e-mail," he says. "This makes the entire e-mail look like the information is being delivered directly to the recipient."
Aschenbrenner also believes in the Gospel of Keeping it Short.
"When it comes to the body of the e-mail, the way you're going to let a reporter know that they're dealing with a flack who will be an asset and not a pest is to keep it short, and to the point," he explains. "I write out all my pitches ahead of time and make sure that they are no longer than five to seven sentences. That ensures they don't run beyond the first part of an e-mail. Reporters don't scroll."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Why the executive interview is a fraud
By Digby Whitman
Of all business media practices, the most dreadful, the most decayed, the most hotly embarrassing, the most palpably offensive to the nostrils of God, is the executive message in the form of an "interview" with the company president or Chief Executive Officer.
You know the kind of thing I mean.
Q. "Mr. Huffnpuff, how would you rate our company's performance profitwise for the year just ended?"
A. "Well, Jim, as you know, it was a very difficult year for our industry. But on balance, I think I can say ..." and so on.
I have seen answers beginning "That's a very good question" or even "I'm glad you asked me that."
In a further and equally fruitless attempt to lend credibility to the incredible, the "interview" pages are often studded with photos—Huffnpuff leaning forward, Huffnpuff leaning back, Huffnpuff frowning thoughtfully as he ponders a reply.
A genuine interview is an exchange between a questioner who doesn't know the answers and a respondent who has no control over the questions. The phony "interview" is nothing of the sort. Both questions and answers are carefully tailored to the convenience of the CEO. Indeed, no actual question-and-answer session ever takes place. It's purely a paper exercise.
To me, the most irksome aspect of the exercise is not its fraudulence but its naivete. Nobody old enough to read could for a moment be deceived by it.
Successful fraud may be by general standards deplorable, but at least it has the consolations of success. What can be said for a fraud that exposes itself as it goes along? The inverted commas around the word "interview" in this article are sneers, inserted with the hope of persuading editors (at least) to cast executive or institutional messages as straightforward monologues.
I am not trying to steer you away from fraud; it's an indispensable editorial tool. But stick to honest fraud.
The late Digby Whitman was the director of communications for Employers Insurance of Wausau, and an essayist for The Ragan Report for many years.
Article comments:
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 9:13:37 AM by pat
I'm put in mind of an episode of "The Simpsons," in which Homer's boss at the nuclear power plant, Mr. Burns, is running for governor, and wants to appear to have the common touch. So he agrees to have dinner at the Simpsons' home, and one of his advisors preps Homer's daughter Lisa for the dinnertime conversation:
Advisor: Little girl, do you think you can memorize this by dinnertime tomorrow?
Lisa: "Mr. Burns: your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?''
Advisor: Very good.
Lisa: Mm. Well, as long as I'm asking something, can I ask him to assuage my fears that he's contaminating the planet in a manner that may one day render it uninhabitable?
Advisor: No, dear. The card question'll be fine.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:39:56 AM by Jay
As a counterpoint if done well, without the glad-handing and ham-handedness described above, the Q&A can be a very effective format.
It's very concise and easy for the reader to scan, allowing the crisp delivery and retention of key messages.
Like all executive communications, it ought to actually sound like the executive otherwise, it's worthless.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:58:24 AM by John H
Q & A should be an anathema to writers. It's a poor substitute for writing. If it's a transcript, it needs editing. If it's edited, that's dishonest.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:20:03 PM by Vic Morales
I agree with Jay, if done right, it's effective. However, I've done a lot of video and recently a podcast interview. Each time, the interviewee wants a scriptwhich I say no. The reason being is that employees appreciate the non-scripted, real-life answer approach.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:42:35 PM by Steve Lachowicz
Interviewing the general manager about these tough financial times and making the interview available as a minimally edited video on our Intranet has been highly successful for us. We don't shy from the tough questions about pay raises or budget cutbacks, and employees have responded favorably. They say they appreciate seeing the GM respond and want to hear what he has to say.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 1:19:53 PM by Barry Nelson
Has anyone bothered to research this subject with actual readers? How would they prefer to have the exec's thoughts presented in written form? Which presentation style actually gets the information through? If your audience has already seen it handled more than one way, an objective questionnaire might be useful. If not, maybe a focus group review of alternative formats? Might seem like a lot of bother, but if it settles the question for you, probably worth it.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 1:46:07 PM by Jay
"Has anyone bothered to research this subject with actual readers?"
I can tell you that a regular Q&A feature on the intranet site I ran for three years was always a pageview leader each month.
I think Q&As still have their place, and while podcasts have risen to occupy that space as well, hits on a Q&A or story almost always outweigh podcast downloads by a factor of 10.
Not such a big fan of online video Q&As the audio is generally fine, but the visuals are pretty static and dull. Better to do a podcast, IMO.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 3:05:01 PM by Paul Long
The ultimate point here...make the Q&A candid and unscripted. In terms of video, I produce a lot of "soundbite driven" narratives (both internal and external) and even get hired to interview and not ask questions but get good soundbites.
The key is to have authentic and credible soundbites (or in the case of print, those kinds of quotes). The Q&A format can be especially effective if it's an outsider doing the interview and its clear the answers are not prompted or memorized. Even better is to have many different soundbites from key people (and not just C-level) to tell the story.
Otherwise, the author is right...people pick up on that in a nano-second and creates a huge downside.
Of all business media practices, the most dreadful, the most decayed, the most hotly embarrassing, the most palpably offensive to the nostrils of God, is the executive message in the form of an "interview" with the company president or Chief Executive Officer.
You know the kind of thing I mean.
Q. "Mr. Huffnpuff, how would you rate our company's performance profitwise for the year just ended?"
A. "Well, Jim, as you know, it was a very difficult year for our industry. But on balance, I think I can say ..." and so on.
I have seen answers beginning "That's a very good question" or even "I'm glad you asked me that."
In a further and equally fruitless attempt to lend credibility to the incredible, the "interview" pages are often studded with photos—Huffnpuff leaning forward, Huffnpuff leaning back, Huffnpuff frowning thoughtfully as he ponders a reply.
A genuine interview is an exchange between a questioner who doesn't know the answers and a respondent who has no control over the questions. The phony "interview" is nothing of the sort. Both questions and answers are carefully tailored to the convenience of the CEO. Indeed, no actual question-and-answer session ever takes place. It's purely a paper exercise.
To me, the most irksome aspect of the exercise is not its fraudulence but its naivete. Nobody old enough to read could for a moment be deceived by it.
Successful fraud may be by general standards deplorable, but at least it has the consolations of success. What can be said for a fraud that exposes itself as it goes along? The inverted commas around the word "interview" in this article are sneers, inserted with the hope of persuading editors (at least) to cast executive or institutional messages as straightforward monologues.
I am not trying to steer you away from fraud; it's an indispensable editorial tool. But stick to honest fraud.
The late Digby Whitman was the director of communications for Employers Insurance of Wausau, and an essayist for The Ragan Report for many years.
Article comments:
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 9:13:37 AM by pat
I'm put in mind of an episode of "The Simpsons," in which Homer's boss at the nuclear power plant, Mr. Burns, is running for governor, and wants to appear to have the common touch. So he agrees to have dinner at the Simpsons' home, and one of his advisors preps Homer's daughter Lisa for the dinnertime conversation:
Advisor: Little girl, do you think you can memorize this by dinnertime tomorrow?
Lisa: "Mr. Burns: your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?''
Advisor: Very good.
Lisa: Mm. Well, as long as I'm asking something, can I ask him to assuage my fears that he's contaminating the planet in a manner that may one day render it uninhabitable?
Advisor: No, dear. The card question'll be fine.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:39:56 AM by Jay
As a counterpoint if done well, without the glad-handing and ham-handedness described above, the Q&A can be a very effective format.
It's very concise and easy for the reader to scan, allowing the crisp delivery and retention of key messages.
Like all executive communications, it ought to actually sound like the executive otherwise, it's worthless.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:58:24 AM by John H
Q & A should be an anathema to writers. It's a poor substitute for writing. If it's a transcript, it needs editing. If it's edited, that's dishonest.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:20:03 PM by Vic Morales
I agree with Jay, if done right, it's effective. However, I've done a lot of video and recently a podcast interview. Each time, the interviewee wants a scriptwhich I say no. The reason being is that employees appreciate the non-scripted, real-life answer approach.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 12:42:35 PM by Steve Lachowicz
Interviewing the general manager about these tough financial times and making the interview available as a minimally edited video on our Intranet has been highly successful for us. We don't shy from the tough questions about pay raises or budget cutbacks, and employees have responded favorably. They say they appreciate seeing the GM respond and want to hear what he has to say.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 1:19:53 PM by Barry Nelson
Has anyone bothered to research this subject with actual readers? How would they prefer to have the exec's thoughts presented in written form? Which presentation style actually gets the information through? If your audience has already seen it handled more than one way, an objective questionnaire might be useful. If not, maybe a focus group review of alternative formats? Might seem like a lot of bother, but if it settles the question for you, probably worth it.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 1:46:07 PM by Jay
"Has anyone bothered to research this subject with actual readers?"
I can tell you that a regular Q&A feature on the intranet site I ran for three years was always a pageview leader each month.
I think Q&As still have their place, and while podcasts have risen to occupy that space as well, hits on a Q&A or story almost always outweigh podcast downloads by a factor of 10.
Not such a big fan of online video Q&As the audio is generally fine, but the visuals are pretty static and dull. Better to do a podcast, IMO.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 3:05:01 PM by Paul Long
The ultimate point here...make the Q&A candid and unscripted. In terms of video, I produce a lot of "soundbite driven" narratives (both internal and external) and even get hired to interview and not ask questions but get good soundbites.
The key is to have authentic and credible soundbites (or in the case of print, those kinds of quotes). The Q&A format can be especially effective if it's an outsider doing the interview and its clear the answers are not prompted or memorized. Even better is to have many different soundbites from key people (and not just C-level) to tell the story.
Otherwise, the author is right...people pick up on that in a nano-second and creates a huge downside.
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