This morning Robin Wauters at TechCrunch posted a story about an exchange his colleague, Leena Rao, had with a PR exec. In the post, Wauters posted their entire email conversation, in which the PR person is clearly frustrated with TechCrunch.
While this type of post from TechCrunch is nothing new (the blog has rippedPRpeople multiple times in the past), it does seem to get awfully personal and a bit extreme.
Did the PR exec that communicated with Rao via email show his frustration? Yes. He is clearly passionate about his client and was trying to work with Rao, but wasn’t able to accept her answer, which was no. He kept on pushing – too much – and what probably got him in deep water was his flabbergasted response and follow-up email, which was very rude.
However, I don’t see how the PR exec’s actions warranted an entire critical post from TechCrunch with his name in the headline. That seems a bit over-the-top. Sure, TechCrunch likes to play the mean guys when it comes to PR, but this went from an industry attack to a very personal attack.
Let me be clear, the email from this PR exec was rude, and all PR people need to remember that when they are pitching, they are representing their clients and need to act appropriately and respectfully. But in this case, TechCrunch’s actions were precisely what they’re speaking out against.
How can PR people, company execs, or anyone communicating with TechCrunch, be able to have an honest conversation, without fearing that one wrong word or phrase will rub someone the wrong way and result in a personal attack?
While this post won’t hurt TechCrunch, it will hurt the PR exec that’s been publicly attacked. And while his emails to Rao certainly should have resulted in the need to repair his relationship with TechCrunch, he didn’t deserve this.
This guest post is written by John Fitzsimmons, a Vice President at Racepoint. Follow him on Twitter at @jfitzsimmons1.
Some time ago I sat with a colleague who was trying to figure out my former company’s social media strategy. He got “Twitter religion” during a seminar and was determined to put his new found wisdom to use for our business-to-business company. We had meetings, Tweeting metrics were set up for the marketing team, and we were off. Tweet twice per day. Topic? Somewhat of an afterthought. See what we could find. Just make it interesting. Hmm.
Okay, that was at the beginning of the Twitter revolution when companies were still trying to figure things out. Kudos for jumping in early and trying something new. The problem? That still applies to a lot of companies.
ExactTarget recently surveyed 1,500 people for “The Social Break Up” report, which highlights the top reasons why people break off relationships with firms they once were inspired to follow – through Twitter, email or newsletter. For email enthusiasts the number one corporate sin was sending messages too often. (p. 9) On Facebook, one quote sums up consumer sentiment nicely, “I hate when brands think of Facebook interactions as an opportunity for sending advertising messages.” (p. 10) On the other end of the spectrum, one Twitter user quoted in the report said, “Brands that Tweet only once per week or less quickly become obsolete – they’re not providing value in that medium.”
Clearly there are interesting, diverse expectations for each medium, and for every industry. There is no single “correct” social media approach, and no strategy can remain unchanged for long. If your company is testing the social media waters, there is no shortage of advice about where and how to start.
If you want to follow a stellar example of social media goodness that’s been successful for almost a decade, check into a Mid Western company called TechSmith, a client of ours. A true pioneer of social media community building, TechSmith has one of the most loyal followings I’ve seen for a software company. Its corporate Twitter handle now has more than 5,000 followers, in part due to the company’s genuine concern for its users, honest approach to making great software and the fun personality that exudes in everything it does. If you want to follow one maven who brings the funny and the useful to her followers, check out chief evangelist Betsy Weber. Another new media specialist to follow is TechSmith’s Dan Foster.
When radio first debuted, futurists predicted the death of newsprint. When television first entered the scene, the death of radio and newsprint were predicted. The same was true when the Internet foretold the death of all other media, as well as brick and mortar stores, remember? This time around, less celebrated visionaries saw the introduction of social media as one more method for communicating, in addition to those methods that had gone before. Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn and other social media tools are now used by media and businesses alike. Social media is used successfully in fully integrated marketing campaigns, alongside banner ads, search, TV, radio and newspaper ads, direct mail, email, etc. If you haven’t taken the social media plunge yet, we urge you to think of it in the context of a bigger, holistic media picture. The revolution is leading to evolution. Which is far more exciting when you think about it.
Facebook has decided to add two additional relationship statuses for users to chose from, both of which support LGBT rights. Facebook added “In a domestic partnership” and “In a civil union” to its already existing list of relationship descriptions, which currently include:
Single
In a relationship
Engaged
Married
It’s complicated
In an open relationship
Widowed
Separated
Divorced
(Facebook did away with it’s “looking for random play” status a while ago, after allowing anyone to join, rather then just college students.)
Could Facebook’s change in relationship status options make way for larger legislative change? Facebook certainly has had a role in other political events and movements, and has most recently been noticed for its use in Egypt. While this change isn’t exactly a call to action, it certainly is a step forward for equal rights and opportunities.
If you’ve had a chance to read my bio or follow me on Twitter, you’re well aware that I’m a running nerd. Therefore, it would be no surprise that I “like” a bunch of marathons on Facebook – some of which I’ve run, and some of which I want to run.
Many of these marathons use Facebook really well, engaging with their fans and providing them with valuable information. Others do not. I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a long time and have decided that it’s time to share my feelings:
While I absolutely love the Boston Marathon, they do a pathetic job with social media. Here is my case:
Runners plan marathons many months – and often years – in advance. They become connected to the marathons they run, due to months of training and dedication, and a memorable race day experience. Runners want to interact with their marathons on Facebook – it’s why these pages have so many fans. They also have many questions, which will continue to pop up through the morning of the race. Finally, they want to feel connected to the experience, it helps make training exciting and motivational – and in today’s world there is no better place for connection then Facebook.
This morning I went to the Facebook pages of the four largest Marathons in the United States, and the London Marathon. On the ING New York City Marathon page, the community manager was interacting with runners and answering their questions:
And on the Virgin London Marathon page, the community manager is regularly featuring people that are blogging about their marathon training experiences – it doesn’t get much more interactive then that!
And then we have the Boston Marathon Facebook page, where they don’t engage with their users at all: they have never asked or answered a question. Most of their posts are announcements, and others are in the form of a reminder. It’s all very factual, and the community manager never engages with other users – it could easily be information from a website or newsletter.
Since the Boston Marathon has so many fans, they continue to receive hundreds of comments on each post, but without any engagement, the page will never be as popular as it could be.
Last night the American Red Cross had a Twitter mix-up, and from their @RedCross Twitter handle, posted something that was meant to go out on someones personal handle:
Instead of deleting the tweet and claiming that someone hacked into their account (how many athletes and celebrities have done that…) the American Red Cross took a deep breath, admitted they made a mistake, explained how it happened, and make a joke.
They also wrote a blog post explaining the situation in greater detail.
Instead of receiving backlash from their tweet, the American Red Cross has been widely applauded through social media channels for being honest and forthright. So let this be a lesson for everyone – honesty is always the best way to go about things, especially on Twitter.
The Daily is not just Rupert Murdoch’s pet project – it’s going to be taken seriously. Jesse Angelo, editor-in-chief of The Daily, made this clear when sent around the following memo to his staff this week, clearly stating his expectations for the publication. He’s not going to let The Daily become another news organization that re-publicizes the same content as everyone else. His goal is to make The Daily different and unique, not substitutable. How refreshing!
Subject: The News
Folks, Egypt is over – time for us to get focused on covering America.
We need to get out there and start finding more compelling stories from around the country – not just scraping the web and the wires, but getting out on the ground and reporting. Find me an amazing human story at a trial the rest of the media is missing. Find me a school district where the battle over reform is being fought and tell the human tales. Find a town that is going to be unincorporated because it’s broke. Find me a story of corruption and malfeasance in a state capitol that no one has found. Find me something new, different, exclusive and awesome. Find me the oldest dog in America, or the richest man in South Dakota. Force the new White House press secretary to download The Daily for the first time because everyone at the gaggle is asking about a story we broke. Get in front of a story and make it ours – force the rest of the media to follow us.
It’s good stories that will keep people coming back to The Daily – we’ve assembled a crack news team, so let’s show the world what we can do.
During the interview, Gaga admitted to Anderson Cooper that her actions on stage and very unique wardrobe are well thought-out decisions. These decisions are designed to keep media attention on her career and building a “Lady Gaga” brand that people are curious about. Additionally, pushing the envelope during her performances and through her wardrobe captivates so much media attention, that there is no time left for the media to focus on and pick apart her personal life.
If you watch the entire interview (below) you’ll realize how well planned every Gaga decision is. Her clothes – such as her meat dress – isn’t a spur of the moment crazy decision. It’s part of the plan to keep her relevant for a very long time. The interview also shows what her life was like before she was famous, and it becomes very apparent that Gaga learned a tremendous amount from her climb to the top, which is now what’s keeping her there.
Last night Groupon aired three commercials (see below) during the Super Bowl, and quickly managed to offend viewers everywhere. While the majority of the outrage was focused on the Tibet ad, all three commercials could easily be deemed offensive by certain groups of people.
Quite simply, the commercials were done in poor taste. But what’s more upsetting is that Groupon is better than that, and they didn’t need to go this route. Let’s look at the facts:
Groupon turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google.
So why, must a company with so much success in their young history, risk offending their customers through these commercials? To me, a company like Groupon – tech-savvy and innovative – should have had the best commercials. But these ads weren’t funny, and the only talk they generated was negative.
With LivingSocial on their heals and putting up a big fight (partially thanks to Amazon’s investment), Groupon needs to focus on keeping their customer base happy and growing. Last night was a step in the wrong direction.
Last week Grey’s Anatomy featured Twitter in a big way, with live OR-tweeting and the classic debate as to whether Twitter was a waste of time or a valuable resource.
Here is a small clip from the show, which occurs in the beginning of the episode, and sets up the rest of the show.
This morning during my commute I was listening to @MattyShow (Kiss 108′s morning show, Matty in the Morning) and DJ Matt Siegel was asking his staff why all of these businesses are paying big bucks for Super Bowl ads and giving it all away the week before the broadcast?
Siegel makes a great point. Why are all of these corporate giants paying millions of dollars for a 30 or 60 second spot and not waiting for a big reveal during the game? Not only are they not waiting, they are actively promoting their commericals now, the week before.
This pre-game promotion was confirmed to me this morning when I saw an article in my Twitter feed from Elaine Wong at Forbes called “The Super Bowl Ads You Can’t Miss.” Really? Two full days in advance?
“For decades, most Super Bowl advertisers followed a simple rule: Keep commercials under wraps until the moment they go on the air. But social media like Faceboo, Twitter and YouTube have ushered in a new era, and marketers are doing what was once unthinkable. In addition to offering sneak peeks of their spots and revealing contents of the commercials, many, like the vacation rental company HomeAway, are going the full Monty and sharing the entire ads in advance.”
I was discussing this with my RaceTalk colleague, Ben Haber, who echoed Elliot’s analysis, “You aren’t paying millions for the air time during the game. You’re paying millions to drive people to your social media channels and engage with your brand.”
Personally, I have always liked the mystery of having to wait until the game to see the commercials that score these highly coveted spots. While I understand wanting to maximize the investment and heighten the curiosity, I find it disappointing that these companies aren’t honoring the sanctity of the Super Bowl element of surprise.
What do you think? If you worked for a company who paid for a Super Bowl ad would you reveal and market it before the game?
