Public Relations Princess

Can Public Relations Professionals Have Strong, Public Opinions?

Serendipity occurred this week in a way that rarely does. A week ago, one of my best buddies, Josh Fleming, asked me if I thought that my strong political beliefs were affecting my brand and my business. He sounded like a concerned older brother. Probably because of my strong stance on the healthcare reform bill, which I have not been shy about defending in this blog post, on Twitter and on Facebook.

Yesterday, another friend, Jarad Bernstein from Des Moines' Catchfire Media, asked me to weigh in on a post about mixing a PR career and strong political opinions. The author of that blog took a familiar, safe stand. I don't blame her. But she's not me. By the way, I was Jarad's very first friend in Iowa. How did he find me? Google. What was the subject of the article he read that I was quoted in? Politics.

Then, yesterday, I spoke with an old friend that, like me, started out in politics, and now has his own business. Eric Woolson is the polar opposite of me, politically. He runs brilliant political campaigns for people whom I fundamentally disagree with. So, I asked my old friend the same question that Josh had asked me last week. He knew exactly what I was getting at. "You mean do people hire me because I'm a republican?" he replied behind his grin. He runs campaigns and does issue-related consulting. Not many liberals or democratic politicians come knocking on his door.

But for regular corporate clients, Eric said, there is hardly ever a discussion about politics. He can't even guess whether some of his clients are republicans or democrats.                                               

I have clients (and friends) from all over the political spectrum. Have I ever brought up a sensitive political issue in a client meeting? No way. I have common sense. If someone asked me a direct question about a contentious issue, I would reply, but not elaborate. I would immediately try to find common ground, or agree to disagree. That's what happens when I'm on the clock.

When I'm off the clock, I do express my opinion. Twenty+ years of papertrail and photographs document my journey. My resume contains the political jobs I've held. I belong to a Gore 2000 staff Facebook page. For months, my Twitter avatar has been of me and Barack Obama. I can't hide from my political leanings, nor my strong dedication to talking about issues that deeply matter to me.

What have I learned? Here is just a partial list:

1. If you have an opinion, be prepared to back it up with facts. People who don't agree with you will still respect you if you have a well-grounded argument.
2. Don't label and categorize people. Even though I'm a fairly liberal democrat, I still have differences in opinion occasionally with the party and elected officials. I don't appreciate being called a socialist or a "commie pinko" or a "feminazi."
3. Be respectful. This should be self-explanatory.
4. Know people for who they are and what they do, not what bumper sticker is on their car.
5. A little humor goes a long way. Ask Isaiah McGee or Wade den Hartog  how many good-natured jabs we've thrown at each other, while still retaining respect for one another.

My bottom line: maintaining good client relationships and friendships should have nothing to do with your political leanings. Respect, common sense, and tolerance for opinions and free speech are all American values that I cherish. Chime in, I'd love you hear YOUR stories and opinions!

Craig Olson of GeoLearning My Guest on PRP Wednesday March 17

It's been a while since I've hosted my Public Relations Princess Show, since it directly conflicts with my PR Writing class at Drake. But since it's spring break, my friend Brooke Benschoter has graciously allowed me back into the broadcast booth for a day. I've really missed my show.

I have an awesome spring break guest. Craig Olson is the Director of Marketing at GeoLearning. Join me at 4:00 CDT on DesMoinesLocalLive. Once you get to the site, click "watch the full video experience," and log on to the chat. What makes Des Moines Local Live such an interesting format is the chatters asking questions during the show.

Craig Olson has a diverse background in broadcast, public relations and high tech marketing.  He began his career as a reporter for KSFY-TV, in Sioux Falls South Dakota. For seven years, he worked as video communications manager in the Office of Public Relations at the University of Northern Iowa. His interest in high technology took him to Silicon Valley in 1996 where he represented the Sony Broadcast and Professional Group at what was then the largest high tech public relations agency in the U.S. 

Olson worked as Director of Corporate Marketing for TeamQuest in Clear Lake Iowa, before joining GeoLearning in West Des Moines as Marketing Director in July of 2009. He has a B.A. in Journalism from Iowa State University. He is an experienced team builder who is comfortable managing and motivating people while maintaining a sense of humor.(I can attest to the sense of humor!)

See you at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

Public Relations Blackout for Toyota Dealers

I was having lunch with a friend last week and he mentioned that his brother and he had wildly divergent careers. While my friend Larry chose to be a journalist, his brother followed in his father's footsteps and became a car dealer. This seemed like a good decision (money-wise) until last month's Toyota debacle started to unfold.

Larry related a jaw-dropping story to me that inspired this post. Aside from the extra money and replacement parts sent to the dealerships, Toyota did not provide its dealerships much guidance on how to handle the inevitable media crush. In fact, Toyota forbade a group of 1200 dealers from hiring their own crisis communication firm to help them deal with the devastating effects of the recalls.

Larry related his brother's own incredible experience as evidence of the disconnect. His brother received a call from the local ABC affiliate,and agreed to do a live interview. He was stunned when the local affiliate arrived with ABC national in tow! He had no media training and no approved key messages. Thank goodness, Larry's brother was able to keep his wits about him and not blow the interview.

What steps should Toyota have taken ahead of the crisis to help its dealers cope with a crisis of this magnitude?

1. Imagine all the things that could go wrong: The first step in crisis planning is taking on the role of Debbie Downer. You have to sit around a table with your stakeholders and imagine all the terrible things that could possibly happen to the business. In Toyota's case, a massive safety recall certainly would have made that list.
2. Spend the money to create a crisis communications plan. It's possible that Toyota headquarters had a plan before the crisis, though I sure couldn't tell. But one thing's for sure. The dealers were woefully unprepared to handle it. Even car dealerships need crisis communications plans.
3. Be familiar with your local media outlets and cultivate those relationships. Be available year-round for car-related stories and be a go-to source of information. TV stations, especially, are under tremendous pressure to find a controversial public safety angle. Don't take a chance that you'll be the one they pick to "expose."
4. Train your staff to recognize and react appropriately to the crisis. Every staff member should know their role. 
5. Get the advice of a public relations professional, even if you have to pay for it with your own money. No one has to go it alone, and there are plenty of well-trained crisis managers out there who are adept at steering clients through a crisis. Obviously, it's best to retain someone ahead of time so they can familiarize themselves with your business.

I know all my friends in the business can help me think of what I missed. In case you are wondering, I believe that Toyota will recover, but it might take 10-15 years for all the lawsuits to be resolved.

Jodi and Steve's Dell Fail Story

I never had any intention of being a consumer advocate for those who have had problems with Dell computers. But this story, sent to me by a young lady I have never met, was too compelling to leave alone.

After I posted on my blog about my bad experience with Dell, people started coming out of the woodwork. "The same thing happened to me!" many of them say. This story is about a young couple named Jody and Steve, who live in Indiana.

Here is the text of Jody's email:

Hi Claire:

I just read your blog and I am having the exact same issues. I've had 5 replaced hard drives in less than 2 years. The most recent on in September. Which was the worst timing ever. My husband died September 1, 2009. My computer crashed September 24, the day before our 1st child was born, erasing every photo I have taken of my husband in the last 2 years. I lost everything.

I call Dell. 9 hours over 3 days and I FINALLY get some help. They dispatch someone to my house. They give me refurbished equipment AGAIN!! Now 6 months later same issue. Do you have the email address for Brad Laurich Community Liaison Dell? I truly need some help. I can not afford to buy a computer. I should NOT have too. I paid a lot money for this thing, bought the warranty and it suppose to work! Thank you for your blog! I hope you win your case! I've listed the link for my husbands obituary and a picture of us just so you know I'm not blowing smoke.

Jodi

Does Dell really have to get out its rule book to know that this lady is truly deserving of a new machine? Or to have new hard drive sent to see if any pictures could be recovered?

In my situation, it's been "One Week Since Dell's Talked to Me" and I'm still waiting. I did discover that Dell is doing a terrific job letting customers vent on its Facebook "Fan" page, but that there are no fans to discover once you get there, just a bunch of very mad people.

Dell, I'm waiting for your help and a fair resolution to my problem.

Top Ten Types of Twitter Spam

A few interesting interactions over the last couple of days have awakened me to the fact that many Twitter users still see it as a spam machine, and don't use it wisely.

My time on social networks is limited so I aim to connect with the people who add value to my experience, and unfollow the rest. I add as many followers as I can possibly handle, but unfollow those who provide no value, because I want my follower count to be a true representation of people I interact with.

Increasingly, I've noticed a disturbing trend. Some new Twitter "users" (I mean that word literally) see Twitter as a means to blast their ads and other annoying nonsense, interspersed with cloying quotes and retweets to disguise the fact that the "light's on, and no one's home."

Since I logged on Twitter three years ago, I've witnessed all kinds of spam activity. I've categorized it here and would love you get your reaction. Do these bug you as much as they bug me? Do you have any to add?

1. "Get more Twitter followers" spam: This is the worst kind, in my opinion. These are list brokers that will help you harvest and follow hundreds of Twitter users per day. This is why you should not "auto-follow" anyone on Twitter. Yes, you'll get a new follower, but it won't add any value to your conversations. I unfollow these people as soon as I catch on to what they're doing.
2. Spamming large amounts of people, hoping that just a few buy something. Last time I checked, that was the formula for "Buy an ad." But people don't use Twitter to get ads spammed at them. They come for the interactions. Twitter has an account that you can report suspected ad spam to. Or, just click on your "report spam" button. If you tweet ten ads to every "real" interaction, that ratio is backwards.
3. Empty shells: These people have a fake front business, but they're really just shameless self-promoters who use spam to eek out an accidental living. Most have no real skills to offer, but pride themselves on their ability to sit behind a computer and click some buttons. Put them in a real business situation, they fold faster than a poker bluff.
4. Porn spam: You know what I'm talking about. Obviously done by a bot, because why else would they follow me? Not at all interested.
5. Duplicate accounts: Last week,I was followed by several made up accounts in a row, all with the funniest names. They all had the same tweets displayed. My favorite was "Social Media Jew" and had a picture of a Hasidic Jew as the avatar. I have no idea how these people have so much time to make stuff up.
6. Repeat schedulers: I follow this guy because he makes me laugh (check out his profile, LOL) but he does schedule and repeat tweets over and over. Lazy and a bit disingenuous, in my opinion. I suspect that's why he doesn't have many followers. But it can be entertaining, I guess.
7. Trend followers: These are people who just tweet about breaking news all day with #trend hashtags thrown in. Do they do it because they really care about that natural disaster or shooting? Or are they doing it just to get followers?
8. Stat addicts: Usually on Twitter for a year or less, these people spend time just aimlessly pumping up their numbers, and actually belittle people for having fewer followers than them (which exposes their ignorance). This type of behavior completely misses the entire point of social media and has no place in the community.
9. Retweet dummies: These folks just go out on the Web, find random news articles and tweet 'em out all day. The only way this adds value is if you have an opinion on it. If not, I can find my own random articles. Thanks.
10. Quoters: This is a hallmark of spammers. In order to seem more like a real person and fool people into following them, these people will just tweet out random quotes from famous people, even if they are obviously not following that virtuous advice at all. I don't mind quotes from people every once in a while, but do it sparingly and it will be more meaningful.

Who are the most notorious Twitter spammers out there? Report 'em to Twitter first and then leave a comment here. For my next post, I'm going to list some Twitter users who add value and interaction to their tweets.