Public Relations Princess

The State of Social Media in Academia

Last weekend, I had a fantastic opportunity to teach a social media seminar at Drake University in Des Moines,Iowa. The course offers one hour of master's level credit for a class that meets on a Friday evening from 5-10 p.m. and Saturday from 8-5. That seems like a really long time to be sitting on a weekend, but to me it went by incredibly fast.

I am a 2001 graduate of the university, and it seems impossible, but I typed most of my papers on a typewriter. I researched most of the material in the basement archive room in Cowles Library. I painstakingly read through research abstracts in the electronic databases and used a "state of the art" program to access all of the material. But I still had to drag those big green books off the shelves and make expensive copies.

Think about how much technology has changed and benefited both students and the academic community. Apply that thinking to the use of social media in universities and the adoption of a social media major in Journalism and Mass Communication Schools in the U.S. Social media has the potential to set a university apart from its competition and tell the stories of the student and faculty.

Colleges and universities should adopt a holistic approach to social media. The problem becomes herding academic types (which is worse than herding cats, times 1000) and getting them to make some decisions without over-thinking it.

My advice to universities for communicating with its "publics":

1. Get the buy-in of the president and the VP in charge of marketing communications. Once those two are in, the rest is academic (pun intended).
2. Form a small committee of people interested in moving the institution forward in using social media, including a representatives from the following groups:
   
   • Students
   • PR and communications staff
   • Admissions staff
   • Alumni relations office
   • Sports communications staff
   • Community relations representative
3. Set a goal of getting at least one form of social media up and running in one month,and having all members contribute and participate
4. Communicate with the group when something significant is happening that the other members can talk about too (i.e. A big basketball game coming up, FAFSA deadline, a snow day, a campus visit by a famous alum, etc)
5. Meet monthly to share successes and failures. Share information.
6. From the beginning, keep good track of metrics and report success to leaders
7. Visit other school sites to get ideas
8. Listen to people who are talking to you via social media and respond to them using social media

In my next post, I'll have some advice for those journalism school and business school deans who would like some advice on how to teach the next generation of workers about social media.

A Sad Customer Service Lesson

Tonight I had dinner with my daughter and her friend Jessica. Last Sunday night, Jessica and her friends were hanging out, watching football and having a good time. Jessica's friend Lindsay left her friends to go pick up her boyfriend, driving into worsening road conditions and probably going a little too fast. Eight hours later, worried sick and unable to sleep, her friend's roommate called. She had just received a call from police officers, who were on their way to the apartment she and Lindsay shared.

As you can imagine, the news was not good. She plummeted over a freeway bridge and her car flipped over, killing her. Jessica and her friends spent the rest of the night alternating between throwing up and crying.

Two days later, after the sober reality of what had happened was sinking in, Jessica and her boyfriend arrived at a U.S. Post Office to mail a pair of red shoes to the funeral home in Kearney, Nebraska, where Lindsay's body was being prepared for burial.

Being 21 years old, they arrived at the post office with the items in hand, but no box or packing material. They stood in line behind several other customers and the clerk eyed them a few times, slightly shaking his head at Lindsay's belongings.

Once the reached the counter, the postal worker sarcastically broke the news: It was 4:30 and they didn't have time to get the package ready. And besides, they weren't doing any overnight deliveries to Kearney, Nebraska. What happened to "If it fits, it ships?" Hmmm...

After tearing across town, they reached a Fed Ex store, where the clerk helped them out with the appropriate packaging and got the items sent. 

My heart broke for Jessica tonight, but the PR Princess in me was incensed. Could it have been that hard for the postal clerk to have handed them a box? Or asked where the package was going? Or admitted the U.S. Postal Services hires Fed Ex to make some of its overnight deliveries?

Wal-Mart Manufactures Fake Public Support in Chicago

Wal-Mart is up to its old tricks again.

Ever since I decided to stop shopping there more than five years ago, I've kept track of Wal-Mart's gaffes and legal blunders. I've also given Wal-Mart credit for being a leader in making its buildings more energy efficient and encouraging vendors to use less packaging.

When I tuned in to Twitter today, several people had pointed out that apparently, Wal-Mart has learned nothing from its first fake foray into social media.

Chicago is a difficult market to break into for a retailer. That is a fact. Wal-Mart's frustration with not being able to waltz in and build one of its mega stores without resistance from organized labor and neighborhood groups is without a doubt frustrating.

But under NO circumstances should a company ever be tempted to use "fake" grassroots support. That is exactly what Wal-Mart attempted to do, with the help of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce and its public relations firm, Serafin and Associates.

As a powerful and influential member of the Chicago Chamber, Wal-Mart has shown that it is learning how to play the game in local markets in which it's trying to gain influence. Instead of just flying into town with its gigantic legal team and blanketing the airwaves with branding ads, it's trying to gain influence in some very traditional ways. Joining the Chamber of Commerce, as a tactic,  could not have been more old school.

Wal Mart (hiding behind the Chamber banner) has launched a fake grassroots Web site called, "Our Community, Your Choice" to highlight the benefits of having a Wal-Mart in the community. The site is incredibly "on message" with Wal-Mart's normal talking points it uses when moving in to a community.

According to the site, Wal-Mart would bring jobs and healthier food choices to residents of the South and West sides. Ok, I'll buy that (albeit low wage jobs with no health insurance for most employees). This is where it goes fishy, though. The site says the new Wal Mart will attract more shoppers to other businesses! What planet are they on? It's pretty well documented that Wal-Mart has a tremendously negative effect on adjacent businesses when it moves into an area.

Then it gets even better. The Chicagoist tracked down the IP address of the commenters defending Wal- Mart on its site. You guessed it! Paid astroturfers (read: fake grassroots). Once they figured out the true origins of the campaign and requested an interview, Wal-Mart went into hibernation and stopped answering phone calls and emails regarding the issue.

I wonder when big companies and chambers will stop trying to get their message out by using disingenuous methods. They must know by now that transparency and honesty are the cornerstones of the social media universe. Serafin most certainly should have known. The Chicago Chamber of Commerce is basically laundering Wal-Mart's money by putting its name on the site. Wal-Mart should have just put up its own site and taken responsibility for its own position.

The Chamber and Wal-Mart both have the right and the responsibility to get their side of the story out to the residents of Chicago. There are undoubtedly benefits to Wal-Mart to have a presence in this lucrative market, and benefits to the community to have Wal-Mart there. But to manufacture fake support in this manner is simply disingenuous and does not have a place in the social media sphere.

The only people who have not weighed in are the citizens of Chicago. If you are one of them, please leave a comment and share your feelings about Wal-Mart trying this tactic. Does it move you to action?

Last Time I Checked, MetaBank was Still Lame

About two months ago, I heard that something outrageous was coming! Maybe you saw the ads in the newspaper, heard them on local radio spots or watched the spots on T.V.... Some company was going to do something outrageous and they teased Iowans with what I guess is probably a $50,000 media campaign. The ads direct people to this microsite.

Usually when you spend that much on a teaser campaign the idea is to get people to talk about it, build some buzz, and generate some interest about what’s so gosh darn outrageous. I'm guessing this is probably the first time you’ve heard of it.

The outrageous thing is that the message didn’t reach audiences in the mediums that allowed them to share the campaign, and this campaign has failed to generated any momentum. I mean, when is the last time you were in your car posting a radio ad to your Facebook account? I know I don’t often share the ads I see printed in the Des Moines Register through Twitter. I guess they could have run the T.V. ads on YouTube but they didn’t.

So what is so outrageous? Well, MetaBank announced  some new checking account offers that -- on the surface -- seem pretty cool. Pretty different from the normal bank advertising we are so used to seeing. I asked my friends at Lessing-Flynn if they did this campaign. They told us that Meta Bank was no longer a client and they had nothing to do with this. Lessing-Flynn didn't know what agency was helping Meta Bank. 

It's clear that there was no ad agency directing them. No agency would have recommended $50k in teaser media without any social media initiatives. In today’s world, that would be a waste and campaign suicide. Go onto Twitter and search outrageousnow.com – you get two tweets – one from the company that built the site and another from some agency person.

What if someone had just suggested they use social media (the right way) to drive their efforts? What if someone tweeted for a month about the "outrageousness" that was coming? What if MetaBank already had a social media presence and could have increased their follow list through this kind of campaign? Metabank did use some social media chicklets on the site, but they don't have a volunteer fire department (aka, followers!) to help get the word out. What am I supposed to do with these? A Facebook icon and a url that pops into my twitter feed? Huge miss. 

My guess is that in 30 days if you search Google for “outrageous now” you will find this blog post listed higher than the actual outrageous now URL and most likely the MegaBank site. That’s not because I’m more savvy than anyone else, its just that I am the only one talking about it. Spending $50k on a teaser campaign that flops? Now that’s outrageous!

The only thing lamer than this is Banker's Trust sending me SIX generic Facebook messages asking me to be its friend when I am not a customer and I already told them that they can't use me for my followers. Get your own, dude.

How to Write a Great White Paper

So many times when you click on a link after a search on Google or Twitter, searching for information or an answer to a problem, you are directed to a white paper. A white paper has many different names and forms, but one thing in common: it provides useful information.

One of the things I love about social media the most is the access to tons of free, pertinent information. What I hate the most is having a fake problem proposed by a company, then reading a white paper with only one solution to the fake problem, that (of course) is only solvable by buying that company's product. And they want you to pay for it! (Horrors)

Don't they know that I am out here to find CHEAP, FREE!!! INFORMATION?

There are different categories of white papers. Unfortunately, some companies (cough Marketing Profs, cough cough) confuse the types and try to lure people in to read their paid content, often under the guise of a white paper. Let's first list the types, so we can be clear and precise in describing what they entail.

1. Pure free informative white paper: You have a simple problem, say, how to hack a photo on Facebook. The beautiful, free white paper lists different ways to modify Facebook photos. It's sort of like a round-up blog post. The author of the white paper is simplying finding the best information out there on the subject and putting all in one place. The motivation? Probably not monetary, I'm thinking they just want search engine traffic.
2. "Expert" white paper: Expert white papers take on a slightly more complex issue, with multiple solutions, some free and some not. The author is an expert on the subject and wants to demonstrate his or her authority on the subject. Yes, the author would probably love to find new clients, but mostly they are trying to establish themselves as a thought leader on the subject. They might get quoted as an expert on the subject, they might just be a really nice person. Amber Naslund of Radian6 is one of those really nice people who compile tons of great information and then just give it away. So do the folks at HubSpot. The solutions will likely include some free and some paid services, that may or may not be for the company of the white paper author.
3. The slimy, make-you-pay-$29.95-for-the-meat-of-the-answer-white-paper: The search engine lures you in with a well-written excerpt that promises to answer your question. And then you get shut down when you're asked to pay a fee to get it. Always a bummer when that happens. Don't fall for the trap. You most likely can find it free elsewhere.
4. "Technical" or "research results" white paper: This white paper will be protected with an abstract that draws you in from a search engine, but is probably more aptly described as a dissertation, not a white paper. If you had the $700 to read the rest of it, you'd probably not be Googling for free information, now, would you? This material will surely answer all of your questions, but it's not worth paying all that money. This should not be called a white paper, but perhaps a position paper or just a research findings report.
5. Sales-y white paper: This white paper is free, but typically recommends buying a particular company's service to solve your problem. It also name-drops it's own name several times during the paper in case you forgot it from the previous paragraph. (Vocus!)

Obviously, when you just need a quick answer on a small budget, the expert or the "pure, free and informative" white paper types are what you're looking for. Now, let's discuss what to include and how to get started writing one:

1. First and foremost, as with any written piece, knowing your audience is the first step. This will affect the tone and tenor of your white paper from the very beginning.
2. Know the topic: Don't pretend to be an expert on a subject that you're not well-versed in.
3. Present the problem or problems in a straightforward and pragmatic way. This will make people feel like you're in this together.
4. Research the problem: Is there already a solution out there that is cheaper and better than the one you are suggesting?
5. Mention weak spots and unanswered quandries. No one knows everything. Don't try to gloss over things like regulatory issues or pending court decisions.
6. Offer direct solutions to the problems you identified earlier in the white paper
7. Sum it up: Make it easy for people to skim the white paper.
8. Be brief: A true white paper should never be more than 5-6 pages long. Make use of white space and keep the style and font choices simple.

SWAT: A New Twist on Systems Thinking

Timothy Johnson is an accomplished project management and systems thinking professional and professor. He has the ability, using the tools in his tool belt, to help companies analyze the pieces and parts of their organizations and to determine, using systems thinking principles, how to facilitate change.

His new book comes out today. SWAT is a book that showcases Timothy's knowledge of how companies set priorities and bring about change. The book takes you through the basics of systems and then shows you how to break down the system into its components, interpret and manipulate the components and ultimately change the system for the better.

Timothy's use of the SWAT analogy (Systems Working All Together) is actually part of Timothy's effort to incorporate real character's from his local SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team into the book and his passion for photography is included, as well.

So, why would a PR Princess care anything about a systems thinking book?

First and foremost, Tim is a friend and informal mentor. When I was a new adjunct professor at Drake, Tim took me under his wing and imparted all kinds of wisdom that I would not have known going in. He saved me a lot of time and demystified a lot of questions that I had.

Secondly, every PR professional needs to have a good understanding of the way a business works. For corporate communicators in large, complex organizations, it is critical that you realize there are sometimes dozens of systems and personalities influencing every decision.

I encourage anyone who interacts with medium or large corporation, or complex government agencies, to read this book. Communicators need to learn how to be at the table when big decisions are being made. One way to gain the respect and trust of the executives in your organization is to speak their language and realize that complex decisions sometime muddle the message coming out to employees and stakeholders. Encourage leaders in your organization to put the complexity aside after a decision has been made. The final decisions need to be communicated clearly and without management speak.

Timothy's book is on Amazon. I encourage you to read it. It's the best $14.95 you'll spend on a business book all year. Congratulations, Tim, on the release of your third book!