Mixed Media

For years, search engine marketing was considered a black art, a dubious world of overpaying consultants to somehow get your website found in the huge and unwieldy web universe.  But much of what lies behind SEO, what really works, has been demystified.  This chart, part of MarketingSherpa 2012 Search Marketing Benchmark Report – SEO Edition clearly shows the most important components of SEO, based on the response from over 1,500 marketers.  Trying to game the search engines and their algorithms is passé and over.

What rings true in SEO is the same formula used by companies conducting effective PR for eons…the undeniable human need  to communicate meaningful information to (thirsty) audiences.

All major searches - Google, Yahoo, Bing – have continually changed and tweaked their algorithms to reflect topflight SEO practices:  1) consistently generated interesting and useful content, 2) that’s properly indexed and tagged, and 3) promoted to engage and build inbound traffic.  That’s the secret formula, which is supported by the MarketingSherpa chart below:

One of the more gratifying and important activities in PR is crafting a pitch that hooks a reporter… leading to an interview that hopefully leads to coverage.  We've all experienced the expectations, and then the disappointment to read the article only to find the CXO or spokesperson entirely absent.  Just like real estate deal, a lot can happen before a contract is signed, or in working with journalists, before the story goes to print, making you or a client feel like you opened an empty gift box.

While you always want to prepare for an interview, sharpening your message points for clarity and brevity, and being armed with good statistics or anecdotes, there can be several reasons for being left out of a story. Some are in your control, and some out of your control.  Here’s a few of the most common reasons for not being included:

If you have a problem either staying awake or getting to sleep, you know how quickly presentations can induce that foggy haze akin to taking Ambien.  Considered a must-use tool, PowerPoint presos conjure hellish feelings of having to endure a yawnfest of slides packed with far too much detail -- those dull paragraph-long bullets that are repeated verbatim in monotone by the speaker, along with caricature-like clip art and animation.  But let’s not kill the messenger. PowerPoint is merely the medium. It’s all about throwing out bad, shop-worn cliche habits to build strong, compelling presentations.

A book that I ran across a couple weeks ago in Kramer Books, Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte, sets out the true art AND science behind constructing and delivering  presentations.  I thencoincidently, ran across a live webcast with Duarte, interviewed by Chris Brogan, the writer/blogger of all things marketing and communications ( co-author of bestselling Trust Agents), which revealed some great truths for today's audiences with shorter attention spans.

You can watch their 29 minute video discussion here, or read the key highlights I jotted down below.   Duarte also published a subsequent companion book, Resonate, which explains and dissects the power of storytelling in today’s communications.

BusinessInsider apparently hit their threshold of being bombarded with “STORY IDEA” and “EXPERT AVAILABLE” from PR pitches.

What Editor-in-Chief Henry Blodget says they’re looking for isn’t a preamble or teaser, but the actual goods – compelling stories and straight up quotes and outlooks on a timely topic.

Too many PR firms try get trapped into the conscious or subconscious thought process of advancing their client’s interest first. When in fact, working with the media, one serves another master and must flip that mentality upside down to have something of value to help the reporter do their job.  Today’s PR rep and client need to be prescient and quick strike enough to tap into news of the moment and trends, providing a story or quote that actually supports the reporter's coverage.

Authoritative executive bios, while nice on a website, don’t do much to hook a reporter for help with a story. Instead there should be an arsenal of quotes prepared in advance or observations and insights quickly roughed out to offer to a select group of reporters when that perfect tie-in comes about. Why a select group and not a scatter-shot blast to a large media list?  Because context matters, and stories and quotes need to be tightly tailored  to the reporter’s angle and their readers’ hot points.

So, what's Henry and his team, as well as nearly every other media outlet, looking for?

Dear Mr. CEO of Tech-Widget Corp:

No longer will you just make widgets, you will also be a publisher. With the the attrition of the news media – the closing of magazines and newspapers – you’ll find fewer remaining reporters to tell your story. In essence you’ll have an even smaller keyhole to pass through to get your story delivered. The good news is: you now also have the opportunity to take control of your own narrative – to go directly to your audiences through any number of social media channels.

Not only that, but carefully done, you can even package your content so that the remaining time-crunched media can offer it up as their own.

If anyone says that PR has died, they can be reminded of the need to create good compelling content through blogs, videos, forums and yes, even press releases. But not all of this is good as we’re reminded in an article “PR fills vacuum as media shrinks” on ProPublica. In fact, the blurred lines of where ‘news’ is originating is becoming more shady as ‘front’ organizations step out to advance their sponsors interest. But this is more a problem of political candidates and PACs, than B2B and technology companies.

Part of the lesson here is that today’s skeptical and cynical masses are becoming wary even of the press. Nor do they want to be sold or marketed to. Their mute buttons and mouses are at the ready to switch to that next web page or channel if they sniff too much corporate speak or hidden agenda.

Today, companies need to be more interesting, entertaining and informative if only to not be tuned out.

PR is still about telling, rather than selling  What will your content strategy be? In further posts we'll address different types of content - from micro-messaging on twitter to long form blog content - and how they map to different audiences.

Heraclitus, Greek philosopher, 500 BC, knew a little something about the future of communications and email, with his maxim “You never step into the same river, as new waters flow on to you.”  Nothing truer given the unending flow of messages that cascade through our inboxes today.

So, when it comes to an email campaign, or pitching a reporter, does one surmise that if they didn’t reply, then they never saw it?  That your missive continued on, out of your target’s active window, pushed deeper and deeper away as if perhaps it never existed.  Or that the no response was the deliberate response?  Perhaps in the torrent of messages, while partially distracted by other thoughts, they only focused on those emails whose sender’s name rang familiar, or took action on the subject lines that addressed their immediate conscious/subconscious concerns.

Do you dare send the email again, unchanged?

Advertising conventions say it takes at least 7 repetitions to make an impression.

But then you’d be considered a certified spammer, blacklisted by their server.

Or do you tinker? Perhaps changing the subject line and trying again?

For PR practitioners and marketers concerned with divining how to reach and get a reply, Marketing Sherpa cites a recently published a study citing a double-send strategy, with the subject line changed for non-respondents. In their case study, a non-profit boosted donations 55%.  Their summary…

It happens all the time. A person goes through their inbox, reads a subject line and deletes the message. Had the subject line been different, would the person have opened, clicked and converted?

See how one nonprofit garnered 55 percent more donations by sending an email twice -- first to all subscribers, and then with a new subject line to subscribers who did not open. Check out the results metrics from both messages.

MailChimp, the email marketing company (free email campaigns up to a limit) also has a Study of Best and Worst Open Rates based on subject lines.   While a provocative headline would seem to be more enticing and effective, their stats show the fairly mundane headers with telling vs selling -- Acme Spring Newsletter vs Best Ideas for Spring Savings – being far more effective in being opened.

That YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google, and that humans are always interested in a good visual story, makes a strong case for companies to use video.  But it’s the little things like concept, creation and execution that can stand in the way of the reality of engaging viewers.

Jesse Buckley, Video Director of Daily Grommet, an online retailer that uses video to share the stories behind the products for sale and the people who create them, and Pixability CEO Bettina Hein, which offers video production services, offered a webinar today on how to create interesting, inexpensive videos, making them search engine friendly, and using social media to engage a community to spread your message.

Below are some points from the webinar:

-- Be simple, focus on one key message, and emotionalize it. Talking heads don’t do the trick.

-- For product marketing include a wide angle shot, one to humanize and scale it (showing a hand holding the product, etc.), and additional close-ups on special details.

--Keep in mind the dwindling attention spans of viewers.  Although there are always exceptions, 90 seconds to 2 minutes should be max. Anything over 3 minutes and you can expect a huge drop off akin to asking someone to read War & Peace.

When it comes to scripting and storyboarding, use whatever method best helps you outline the video.

-- Always keep in mind “what’s most meaningful, who you’re making it for, and why?”

-- For the production, jot down the 5 things (no more than 10) you want people to see, the pictures, stills, etc.

-- The structure should always have a Beginning (make me care), Middle (tell me more) and the End (the wrap up and call to action).

Don’t worry about creating the perfect story, you can always delete and redo. People are also very forgiving of video quality, as long as they’re interested in the topic.

Jesse said the Daily Grommet uses Brightcove to hosts the videos on their site.  They don’t pursue YouTube as they “want to keep people in their own house,” so they have better control over the environment.  To this point, YouTube exposes viewers to too many distractions.  Bettina mentioned that while YouTube is free, Brightcove is a paid hosting service.

Make sure all the sharing tools are embedded/included on the video.

-- And certainly make sure you include your company’s URL in the text of the video description.

In addition, Pixability offers this short“Online Videos Made Easy Cheat Sheet.”

Infographic Shows Social Media Sprouting Like Dandelions

While everyone can recite a handful of the most popular social media sites, this infographic puts in perspective how many different sites and sharing platforms there are.   If nothing else, it gives companies a way to view the “Conversation Prism” aptly coined by Brian Solis, who may be the foremost thought-leader.

This isn't to say a company needs to be in most of these places, but it does help one to stop and consider where your audiences might be, how to tap into those communities, and what you can share and engage around.

So, what about this image? Infographics like this one, are our modern day version of heiroglyphics. Done right, they present complex subjects with an ‘at-a-glance’ understanding -- providing both big picture context and drill-down details. This one in particular capsulizes the particularly diffuse area of social media.

For anyone in communications or PR who needs a more visual representation that just can’t be conveyed in words alone, infographics can be powerful tools.  We'll continue to post examples as we run across them.

Have a favorite? Let us know.

The Merovingian, the stylish antagonist in the Matrix Reloaded, responds to Neo and group after they rebuff his invitation to sit and relax with a drink: “Ah, yes, but who has time?  But if we don’t make the time, then we won’t have time.”

And therein lies the rub when facing social media.  With the temptation and promises offered by LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to drive leads and sales for your business, you wonder how much of a commitment will it take?  It can seem like an all or nothing proposition. So, depending on how much time you have to dedicate, these books promise a crash course and shorter daily route:

The Kalb Report - Behind the Scenes at The New York Times

The New York Times, operating at the pinnacle of the media landscape for decades as one of the most widely read and respected media properties, now faces new pressures to compete, stay financially solvent, and retain its aura of excellence while operating in an ecosystem of decomposition and regrowth.

Marvin Kalb, the storied broadcast journalist who's been holding his forum on journalism - The Kalb Report - for 17 years, interviewed New York Times executive editor Bill Keller and Washington Bureau Chief Dean Baquet to reveal these changin' times at the Times.

Below are my excerpted notes from that interview at the National Press Club on Monday evening, January 31st (airing live on CSPAN).

Kalb asked Keller to expound on the NYT staff and their process:

The NYT has 1,100 employees in editorial, 400 are reporters. The DC bureau is their largest, with with 29 reporters and 49 total people.

How they choose the news:

10:00 am meeting to discuss tomorrow’s paper and website, which includes a dozen news heads.

Another 4:00 pm meeting takes place to flesh out the next day’s front page, with each desk pitching its best stories to compete for front page space. Keller explained it as a mix of real and ‘faux’ news stories.