First Person PR

For the past several months, I’ve been on a high-tech diet. The problem started innocently enough with a minor PDA addiction. I’d randomly check work email in the evenings, on the weekends and even during my commute. Then, with Facebook and Twitter, the socnets took over. And being the news junkie that I am, I was always reading something in between the two.

Like many, I reveled in the always on, always connected, mentality. But I had hit the point where constant connectivity was overwhelming and it actually became counterproductive. Don’t get me wrong, I was always organized (and I rarely have a scroll bar in my inbox). But finding the time to read, digest and file all the content was becoming too cumbersome.

And thus, my high-tech diet journey began with these steps:

I cut out the junk mail: This was the first, easiest and most obvious step. Rather than delete annoying emails (in both my work and personal accounts), I actually started unsubscribing. Within a week, the clutter was clear.

I re-prioritized my RSS feed reader: I’ve used Bloglines since it launched, and I love it. I have dozens of folders (when I was at an agency the folders mapped to my clients), and each folder has its own email address. During step #1, I adjusted my newsletter subscriptions to go directly into my reader. Same for non-essential Google Alerts (and while I was at it, I turned those into daily emails vs. getting them “as it happens”). This made it a lot easier to be off email for extended periods of time without my inbox going out of control and helped me focus.

I trimmed the feeds I subscribe to: Over the years, I’ve added hundreds of RSS feeds. Some have become redundant, and others just didn’t interest me anymore. For several weeks, each Friday I focused on a specific folder and I deleting feeds. I found I had subscribed to a lot of pundit type blogs that quite honestly were of no interest to me. Those were the first to go.

I created my own socnet boundary: A major challenge with social networks, for me at least, is the overlap of work and personal life (Check out this piece on how/why to keep them separate). It was abundantly clear that I needed to create a boundary and stick to it. I decided that LinkedIn would be my professional contact management system (i.e. address book). I was up to 800 contacts, and I cut it to just under 300 people who were relevant to my  career, and who I actually knew. On Facebook, I’ve been working to make it my personal network. At first, I felt guilty un-friending people, but once I got over that, I transitioned professional contacts to LinkedIn. Now, if a professional contact sends me a friend request I simply respond with a Linkedin invite and explanation. I still have a gray area of coworkers that overlap the two, but I think I’ve found a workable balance. Ultimately this made both networks more useful to me and has eliminated a lot of unnecessary emails.

I re-evaluated my Twitter stream: I fought Twitter initially, but over the past year I’ve found it incredibly valuable. Initially, I did what most marketing people do, and I followed all the thought leaders. Over time, though, I’ve trimmed my stream to about 100 people. For me, that’s the sweet spot for me to follow the various conversations. Too many more, and I can’t keep up with the conversation. Too few, and it becomes stale. At that level, it’s also much easier for me to log off on the weekends.

Finally, I mapped content, updates and notifications to my preferred medium: Trimming my feeds and streams were helpful, and I found I was able to digest more information in less time, but I still wanted to optimize my productivity. The final step for me was to eliminate redundancies and make sure I received valuable content in the best format for my work habits. For example, I loved following Laura Fitton (@Pistachio) on Twitter, but the volume of her tweets were drowning out other voices in my stream. So I un-followed her and instead signed up for her blog. At the same time, a handful of bloggers always link to new posts on Twitter. I un-subscribed to their blogs and read the posts as I see them on Twitter. I’m still getting the same content, but in the format that I prefer. And I’m only being notified once when something new appears.

It took awhile to figure out what I could and couldn’t live without, and how I preferred to digest different types of content. But now, I find it easy to stay on top of things, and when I have on a socnet or reading my feeds, it’s a lot easier for me to focus. In some areas, I trimmed enough that I was able to add new contacts and sources, which has been great. And, in the midst of all of this, I’ve found more time for offline networking and reading, which has been great.

How about you? Are you in control of your high-tech diet, or is it in control of you?

Yesterday I wrote about the process of finding a new PR agency. Today, I want to continue that (admittedly lengthy) discussion by providing feedback to the PR agencies in general.

I participated in a lot of pitches during my tenure at an agency, so it was interesting to me to be on the receiving side of the final presentations. During all of the presentations, a few things stood out to me:

• Many agencies spent up to a third of their presentation time discussing the state of my company’s market. It led to an interesting discussion, and certainly showed they had done their homework. But it wasn’t new information to us, and I would have preferred they spend more time talking about their recommendations based on the data.
• Almost all agencies claimed to be social media experts and introduced their version of the social media release and blogger relations. Yet only a few could produce client references to talk about social media beyond having a blog. And only one of those references actually used the agency to execute.
• During the initial round of calls through the presentation stage, some agencies presented some very cool ideas. Coming from an agency, I had the sense to confirm they were included in the budget parameters provided. Not surprisingly, none were. I’m all for showing out-of-the-box thinking, but I really wanted to see agencies get creative within my budget parameters.

I realize I’m focusing on the negative, but I do want to say that I was impressed with how many smart PR folks I got to meet during the process. Two agencies in particular had incredible presentations that provided brilliant insight and very creative approaches. They weren’t the flashiest or the most graphic - but they had the best and most relevant content. And they provided out-of-the box ideas that fit within the existing program and budget, and showed the most creativity I’ve seen. It put me in a fantastic position of having two really strong candidates to choose from.

For agencies pitching new clients, I offer the following tidbits to consider (realizing that each client is looking for something slightly different):

• Make the initial fact-finding process easy. I don’t want to wait for a specific VP to return from vacation to get the basic questions asked - particularly when almost anyone can address them.
• Use your time wisely. It’s great that your executives have a lot of history, but we all know they won’t be running the day-to-day activity. I need to be comfortable with the entire team.
• Focus less on me, and more on how you can help me. If you need to state the obvious, do it quickly. But remember we’re more interested in how you can impact the program than hearing the same market sizing stats that we’ve already memorized.
• Creativity counts. But it’s not simply about coming up with snazzy graphics. Content is still king in this industry, and showing that you can be creative with the existing assets is huge.
• Be original. Your client case studies are interesting, but it’s obvious when you’re repurposing their plans for ours. And it’s sad when your plan looks a lot like the other agencies’.
• Be realistic. Don’t wow my executives with consumer projects that will never work in my space, or with ideas that you know I don’t have the money or resources for.
• Be smart about the references you provide. A laundry list of CEOs from past clients is impressive, but hearing how an agency helped a peer of mine be successful is much more meaningful.

For those of you on the client side, did I miss anything?

One of my first projects last summer was to select a new PR agency. I’m currently in my second client-side role, and this was my second time searching for a PR firm. Along the way, I’ve learned that while frustrating, it’s important to embrace the selection process. A lot of information can be uncovered that will help you be successful in your role - like how your executives view PR, what they’re REALLY looking for, what negative agency experiences they’ve had at past companies, etc.

The first time around, I hired a new PR firm after about four months after leaving an agency. At the time, it made sense to simply choose that agency and move on to determining the account setup. In hindsight, while I absolutely think that agency was the right decision, bypassing the selection process is something I’ll never do again - I found it created as many problems as it eliminated.

For example, a year later I found myself in a heated discussion about the value a PR firm delivers. As I defended agencies in general, it was interpreted as me defending “my” agency. In fact, one executive said he felt I had been too loyal to “my” PR firm and was lacking objectivity. Those involved in the initial discussion knew that wasn’t the case, but nevertheless it created a major challenge that could have been avoided.

During my second agency search, I made sure I didn’t repeat my original missteps - and while I was the ultimate decision maker, I understood the value of having everyone fully on board with that decision. At the same time, I still didn’t want to go through the timely RFI to RFP to pitch to another pitch process. So I met with the executives to find out what each was looking for, what their hot buttons were, etc.

Those conversations, as well as the ones immediately following each agency’s pitch, were very enlightening to me. It became apparent to me how each liked to work, and where they believed agencies add value. Even our final discussion highlighted areas of potential concern about the program and client/agency relationship. All of the discussions gave me a roadmap to best manage the agency and, equally important, manage the relationship between the agency and my executives.

I realize now that in my haste to bypass the process the first time around, I missed out on the benefits of the process - primarily educating myself about my own company. I could have discovered some long standing opinions about PR agencies that my executive team held much earlier (for ex., one exec believed that regardless of performance, it was smart to fire the agency after a year and start fresh), and dealt with them proactively. I also think I would have garnered more insight into what each executive expected PR to accomplish, and whether any disconnects existed.

While I’m on the subject, if you’re looking for an agency, here are a few additional pieces of advice:

• Develop a list of what you’re looking for in an agency, and how you’ll prioritize it (for example, is senior counsel important? What about content creation? How will you measure industry knowledge, ability to execute, etc.?).
• Socialize your criteria with your executive team and have an open conversation about past experiences with agencies (with your company and at past companies)
• Read the fine print of the contract BEFORE you make a decision. Additional charges impact your budget. For example, some firms charge a 10% “processing fee” on all expenses. Which means if they put a press release on a wire, pay to submit an award, or even travel for you, you’ll get hit with additional fees that add up. Other agencies still charge you for their phone calls or subscriptions. They’re nominal fees, but they add up quickly (and many agencies no longer charge for that).
• Reach out to your network for recommendations. It’s important to call the references the agency provides you, but call people you trust. And if you can, find a client who no longer works with the agency for a balanced view.
• Don’t be “wowed” by a superstar on a mediocre team. The industry has high churn, and you need to be comfortable with the entire agency team you choose.

What about you? Any advice from past experience you can share?

Over the past several weeks, I  joined millions who are reflecting on the last 12 months and the new year. For me, 2008 was a year of transition — in June, I left ZoomInfo and joined SailPoint as the director of PR and AR. The company is based in Austin, Texas, so I also became a full-time telecommuter.

The summer was a whirlwind of getting up to speed, getting a program in place and figuring out how to work from my home office. By September, I was falling into a routine and now I have a schedule in place that, I think, optimizes my productivity. And it’s amazing how much personal stuff I can get done during the 15 hours I no longer commute.

I definitely hit a few bumps with the transition and more than a few balls got dropped. I haven’t made it to nearly as many networking events, and I certainly haven’t been blogging. But overall it was a great year, and I’m excited for 2009.

Now that things have settled down, I’m clearing the dust off my blog, refreshing the design (with a lot of help from super designer Jeff Clark) and digging back in!

Did you miss me? Sorry for the impromptu hiatus, but a few things happened to cause the blogging break:

• I recently changed jobs, and was focused on wrapping up the old and ramping up the new gig. And of course, a fair amount of interviewing before that. My move ultimately came down to two great opportunities: another internal communications position or an exciting opportunity at a PR firm. I’ll spend more time on that subject soon, because my decision to stay corporate-side ties in nicely with the corporate vs. agency string.
• The “PR Sucks” meme made reading the blogs I love a tedious chore. No one ever said anything new, and honestly, I got fed up with all sides of the mud slinging, so I stopped reading PR blogs and checked out to gain some perspective. It was a nice break, and I’m currently in the process of trimming my reading list to include only the ones I enjoy vs. the ones I think I need to read because everyone else does.
• All the networking, researching and experimenting with social media took up so much time that I found myself leveraging those technologies less in my actual work. Apparently, there can be too much of a good thing! Again, I spent the last few months taking a break (from most, I didn’t go cold turkey or anything) and focused on actually implementing social media in my ongoing communications. So, in fact, while I was blogging much less, I was actually doing much more!

All of that is say that I’m back, and for those of you who sent emails and comments, I apologize for ignoring you. I’m in the process of easing myself back into a schedule, so you’ll be hearing from me a lot more.

~Kari

With all the recession talk (it’s hard to miss it), it’s easy to fear a repeat of the Dot Com bust which resulted in a lot of downsizing in the PR world. I’ve spoken with colleagues at several PR firms in the Boston area, and it sounds like the majority of them are actually seeing more new business activity — and many can barely keep up with demand. Hopefully that trend will continue through the year.

At the same time, though, we need to face reality. Companies are definitely tightening the purse strings and reacting conservatively to the market. The PR industry needs to react, too, continually educating clients and executives about all of PR’s values. David Culver provides six great points in a Manage Smarter piece called “Recession-Proof Your Business with PR.”

David reminds us that that measuring PR is “a must during a recession.” I don’t think our industry can hear that advice enough. Ultimately, PR (along with marketing) is a line-item cost, no matter how strategically it’s approached. So if you need a reason to focus on measuring your PR program, here it is. 2008 needs to be the year of PR measurement. And I don’t mean the simplified metrics like number of articles. I mean substantive analysis that measures PR programs against business objectives. Then, perhaps, we can recession proof our industry (a bit)!

What do you think? Is the current economic uncertainty affecting how you approach PR?

Those of you practicing PR in the B2B technology space understand that how critical an analyst relations program is to the larger PR program. However, in a world of tightening budgets and limited time, we often need to focus on getting maximum impact for minimum effort. Or put another way, influencing the most influential for your company/product/service. Keep in mind, too, that often the most well known analysts aren’t necessarily the ones who are talking to your customers or target reporters.

Wondering how to identify which analysts you should focus the most efforts on? Ideally, the best path to a decision is to survey your company’s customers. Find out which analyst firms - if any - they consult before making purchasing decisions. You may be surprised by their answers.

Next, take a look at your competitors’ sites and inventory the analysts referenced. Make sure you look at any industry recognition pages, quotes spread across the website, webinars and sponsored whitepapers. And finally, take a look at the industry events and coverage you’re undoubtedly monitoring to identify which analysts are moderating sessions and frequently quoted in the media.

Unfortunately, sometimes you won’t have access to customers (or they may not exist yet). Then what do you do? Enter a great website that I’ve been using for the last few months: www.alltheanalysts.com. Think of it as a meta-search engine for all the large and small IT firms. You can search by specific analyst, firm or even topic area. I use the site to keep an eye out on competitive coverage. It also seems like an easy way to identify those smaller, niche firms that can very often prove to be the strongest evangelists.

Another perk of ATR’s site - they recently released an in-depth research paper called “Understanding the IT Analyst Landscape.” A line in the executive summary caught my attention because it echoed my opinion that end users don’t necessarily turn to the larger analyst firms when purchasing emerging technologies.

From the report’s executive summary:

“Successful implementation of analyst research requires a balanced understanding of the industry as a whole. ATA surveyed end-users of analyst research about their job function and the technology segments they specialized in to build a model of ‘mind share’ as opposed to simple revenue or market share for each topic. The findings indicate that end-users working in emerging technologies are less likely to use analyst research from larger firms. Gartner, Forrester and IDC all had below average ratios of users working in emerging trends and consumer technologies. This key data for 8 leading firms is examined in the context of current industry drivers of change.”

The report identifies the top technology segments by analyst firm. For example, Yankee Group’s top technology is listed as mobile and wireless while Forrester Research is associated with application development. Below is a chart mapping the Yankee Group’s strengths and weaknesses (click to enlarge).

The report also has charts for Aberdeen, AMR Research, Forrester, Gartner, IDC, Jupiter and Ovum.

I traded emails with Malcolm Ramsay about the methodology used for the report. He said:

“The charts are based on end user survey data. By analyzing end users specializations and the firms they used, we were able to compare this against the sample average to build up a picture for each firm. This was important as it shows the people that actually use the research. We then examine it within the context of the trends and themes in the industry in a more qualitative way and this is underpinned by data we have gathered from users on All-the-analysts.com as well as other available sources.”

Of note, while all-the-analysts.com is free, the report costs $595. Particularly for PR agencies that can share this information across numerous clients, I think it’s worth the cost.

I know, I know — I’ve been horrible about blogging. I’ve been going through the yearly planning, yearly wrap up and yearly over justification process. It’s been painful, educational and enlightening all at the same time, and I have several posts floating around in my head from it. But I need to gain a little perspective before ranting and raving.

In the meantime, I’ve been cleaning out my Bloglines clippings folder, and found a handful of posts worth sharing. I realize a few are several months old at this point, but I reread each one and they’re still great references and all-around-good-reads. So check them out.

• From Pandia Search Engine News: The definitive top 5 online RSS reader – a must read for those of you who aren’t using an RSS reader to stay up on news and blogs (and looking at my traffic stats, that’s a lot of you).
• From Mashable: When a Blogroll Isn’t a Blogroll — a particularly compelling idea (I think) for agency folks.
• From Liberate Media: Social Media Tools List - From Analytics to Digg — a huge resource for all your social media questions.
• From Jeremy Pepper: PR will lose Social Media to Advertising Because of Sex — great commentary on who should/will “own” social media.
• From Chip Griffin: Throwing Out the Social Media Rulebook — points out that not every “rule” in the emerging social media world should be followed, and why.
  
• From Jeremiah Owyang: List of Resources for the Analyst Industry — a list of several analyst-related social media resources.
• Also from Jeremiah Owyang: A Complete List of the Many forms of Web Marketing in 2008 — a great breakdown of the many forms of web marketing and the social media technologies related to each.
• From Now Is Gone: Finding Savvy Social Media Consultants — helpful suggestions for anyone looking to hire social media experts.
• From Brian Solis: The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases — regardless of you think about the social media release, this post includes an interesting picture of what each press release wire offers.
• From Kathy Kerchner: Bad Press Releases Feature Boring, Ridiculous Quotes — PR folks are notorious for overwriting press releases, but this provides great examples of what a release could be.
• From Brendan Cooper: PR Friendly Index — a fabulous list of 100 PR focused blogs. Pick a new one each week to explore!

Side note — clearly, I’m catching up on my reading :)

BtoB Magazine has a great piece in this week’s issue, “Introducing the Next Generation of Tech Marketing,” that’s worth the read. It talks about several social media tools and technologies that you may already be familiar with, as well as a few to start playing around with: widgets (I love the Facebook app on the iPhone), social feeds, data portability, mashups and open mobile. Granted, some probably fall into the marketing camp, but they’re still worth looking at.

Also in this week’s issue is a short piece on how large companies are embracing social media, like official Facebook groups. It’s not rocket science, but they’re good snippets to have in your back pocket in case any exec says “no one’s doing this.”

We in PR talk a lot about the blurring lines between traditional and new media. We’re constantly trying to determine if we’re working with a journalist leveraging blogging for real-time reporting, a citizen journalist using blogging to act as a reporter, or a blogger acting as a journalist to drive traffic to the blog. Unfortunately, sometimes the blogger’s journalistic persona changes as often as the weather. Kara Swisher provides a great example of the difference between journalist bloggers and non-journalist bloggers.