Social Tuesday: loyalty, Whole Foods, marketing strategy

Showing someone you appreciate them is easy: look them in the eyes and say ‘thank you,’ treat them to something special, etc. But how do you express the same feelings of gratitude and respect when you’re dealing with an online relationship? Chris Brogan offers his “Touchpoints of Loyalty.” 

Whole Foods has long been known for its fantastic natural food and organic produce offerings. Today, with 1.2 million followers on Twitter and 123,000 friends on Facebook, they are also a social media success story. So how did a 30-year old company obtain such revered status? Soren Gordhamer sat down with members of their media team and found out how they seamlessly integrated social media tools into their overall communications strategy.

Are you managing your information streams, or are they managing you? With so many ways to stay connected, update and share information, you may not be sure who’s in charge. Steve Rubel shares his tips for taking control.

Many small businesses struggle with creating and sticking to a marketing strategy. Why? Committing to one way of doing/being/creating and excluding all other options can be a scary undertaking. Arnold H. Glasow once said, “Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” While we think this may be taking things a bit far, his thoughts align with John Jantsch’s more rational advice.

Dishonest companies and individuals have been writing fake reviews, phony blogs and other fraudulent materials for years. Some have been exposed and others have managed to escape unscathed. Today, social media is exposing truths (and untruths for that matter) and it is crucial for companies to be authentic in every possible way. So how do you protect yourself and your company’s reputation? Brian Solis helps you to “keep it real.”

Monday Morning Intern: advice to the future me

We asked our summer PR intern, Emily Grund, to write a weekly column talking about her internship experience at The Castle Group. This is Emily’s last post as she heads back to college. Thanks Emily for your great insights! Hopefully you’ll return to the blog with interesting comments and observations on future posts. 

Eight blog posts and three months later, my time at The Castle Group is coming to an end. It has been quite the interesting summer overall: record breaking bad weather in June, multiple celebrity deaths including Michael Jackson, Red Sox drama, and of course my broken foot.

My injury caused me to miss out on a lot of summer activities such as the beach and road trips to visit friends on weekends, but thankfully I did not miss out on my internship. During a time of difficult change and adjustment, having this internship has been the one consistent part of my life. I greatly appreciate the patience and support that has been shown to me here. Despite not being able to do all the tasks I once did (mail distributing, photocopying, office organizing), I was still able to focus on numerous projects that taught me a lot about being a PR professional.

Looking back on past blog posts, it is clear that I have had a well-rounded learning experience. From social media strategies and blogging, to adjusting to change and balancing responsibility, the lessons learned have been diverse and essential for my future. Many of my post topics might have been old news to PR professionals, but being able to reiterate what I have learned each week allowed everything to truly sink in, and hopefully shed some light from a different perspective.

Before I go, I’d like to share some advice to future interns whether they intern here or elsewhere.

Observe everything. I learned a lot just by listening to what was going on around me. Small interactions about a client can give you an insight of what’s going on and how it’s being done, even if you’re not part of that particular project. I also observed professional phone conversations, employee attitudes and office routines. I could have just done my assignments and blocked out everything else, but by keeping my eyes and ears open I got to know the company well and discovered useful skills and etiquette despite whether or not I had to directly utilize them.

Be efficient. It is common knowledge that as an intern you will have some tedious work. A lesson I learned early on was I could make it more challenging by finding the most efficient way to get it done even if there wasn’t a crucial deadline. Not only was I getting through the project quicker, I was discovering shortcuts in programs such as Excel that I can use at other jobs or even personally. While experimenting to find the best way to get projects completed successfully, I also learned lessons in problem solving and time management.

Absorb everything. If you get a project to research a client’s competitor, you could just do the search and make the list. Instead, I recommend actually reading the coverage. That way, you can learn about a competitor’s strategy by comparing it to the client’s and understand what the competition is really about. Making the most of each project and learning something useful from it will make the experience more valuable and more interesting. If you’re going through the motions, it will be just another list that you will forget about once you leave. When others say “make the most of your internship”, they mean it.  

Aside from what I did on my own to enhance my internship experience, I would have never had the great experience I did without all the fabulous people at The Castle Group. Even after a few short months here, I feel part of the team and I will be sad to go. Thanks to everyone here for all your help!

Monday Morning Intern: the business of clients fuels the business of PR

While working at The Castle Group, not only have I learned how a PR firm functions, I have also learned how our clients do business. Learning about a wide range of businesses and industries is an interesting aspect of PR. One day you may be working on media lists for a national restaurant chain, and the next day you may be writing an award nomination for a lawyer (I know, I’ve done both!). In order to do such tasks for clients, you need to know the clients well. In my time here, I have researched and learned more than I ever expected.

Knowing the audience and who the client is targeting is a top priority. After all, the job is to relate to the public. As discussed in my last post, this is particularly important when pitching to publications and blogs. This sounds like common sense, but at my last internship (at a family magazine) I saw a lot of irrelevant press releases that were immediately deleted. Learning from that lesson, I came here knowing my research had to be thorough. In some cases that meant starting from scratch. For example, before Castle, I embarrassingly knew nothing about Certified Public Accountants. However, on behalf of a client, I quickly learned who a firm’s clients are and which publications covered them.  

Beyond pitching stories, it is important to know what a client’s audience is looking for. By reaching out and listening to what the public has to say, PR professionals can make suggestions to their clients to better meet the audience needs. Twitter and Facebook serve as alternative forms of communication to reach customers and to find useful information for clients.

Understanding the mission of a client is also crucial. If you don’t keep this in mind while brainstorming how to write a pitch, you could end up writing something inconsistent with a client’s goals and standards. I’ve also learned companies won’t always agree with a PR idea. This is why each team has weekly calls with their clients to make sure everyone is on the same page. Everything must be approved by the client before moving forward, so by fully understanding the client you are more likely to agree on ideas and projects the first time around.

Even when you think you know all the ins and outs of your client, there are still a lot of details and information to consider. For example, eating at a restaurant can give you a sense of what happens at the restaurant, but what goes on behind the scenes to make it happen is more complex than it appears.

Knowing the “language”of a client is also vital. For me, this has been the most fun to learn because it challenges my skills as a writer. As you can tell from reading this blog, I have a particular tone and voice in each post. But my unique voice doesn’t coincide with the voice of clients, so if I am asked to write a pitch I need to know their voice and mold my writing to meet their needs. For example, since I am a traveler, I was able to help write a pitch for a travel website with ease because I am comfortable with my knowledge of travel and the travel audience. However, when I was asked to help prepare an award nomination letter for a lawyer I had to research definitions and explanations of different terminology so that I could assist with this comprehensive submission.

Overall, I’ve learned that to be a successful PR professional you have to be a mini-expert in many fields. Research skills are essential to finding out all there is to know about a company, its competitors and the industry. Having diverse clients keeps everyone at Castle on their toes, and exchanging ideas helps everyone find a successful balance.

Social Tuesday: podcasts, Facebook, Friendfeed, Twitter

Podcasting offers something that not all new media vehicles do: anyone can create one. The audience and audience alone determines who is successful. Cali Lewis, webshow pioneer and host of GeekBrief.tv shares her secrets to podcast success.

Do you ever feel like most of what the Twitter community is talking about is just a bunch of fluff? Check out Pete Cashmore’s Twitter data and find out if you’re right.

Is “friending” someone on a social networking site the same as endorsing that person and their reputation? People’s perception of this simple act can vary greatly. So is it fair and right to “friend” someone as simply another connection? What if they reach out to you for a recommendation? Chris Brogan helps define the thin line. 

Has your company recently jumped on the Facebook train?  If you don’t have a lot of time to manage and monitor your page, check out John Jantsch’s five quick steps for getting more from Facebook. 

Friendfeed was recently sold to Facebook, and this poses a problem: followers from Friendfeed wanting to be “friends” on Facebook.  What if you don’t make all of your Facebook content public?  Do you not “friend” your past supporters?  Steve Rubel offers some suggestions.

Social Tuesday: streams, experts, action

These days, everyone’s talking “streams.” But what exactly does this mean? Streams are continuous bits of information and they’re everywhere: Facebook updates, Twitter, etc. But streams are now popping up on news sites, and Steve Rubel discusses the problems this may cause.

Looking to add Usability Experts to your Twitter follow list? You may think you don’t need them, but these experts critique everything from website designs to elevator buttons. Nick Gould makes suggestions on those worth following.

One may think that the term “active listening” has positive connotations, but the term, meaning “listening for meaning,” is only half of the equation when referring to customer interactions on the web. Brian Solis discusses the importance of the other half – action.

Add-ons for Twitter can become addicting. With names like Tweecious, Twit Tunes and Twitzerit’s hard not to go click crazy. Restrain yourself, and take Maris Dagis’ advice on which are worth adding.

If your company is looking to create some buzz with an online contest, first read B.L. Ochman’s thoughts on two very different approaches. Bottom line: make sure your contest has easy instructions, is fun and, most importantly, that it is NOT self-serving.

Blogs: content, design and contact

We asked our summer PR intern, Emily Grund, to write a weekly column talking about her internship experience at The Castle Group. Please read Emily’s posts on Mondays to hear about her latest intern adventures. This week, Emily discusses her blog research projects. Is your blog PR-friendly?

Building relationships with bloggers is vital for PR professionals as readers turn to trusted bloggers for news and information. One of my regular duties as an intern at The Castle Group is to search for bloggers that might be relevant to Castle’s clients.

From mom blogs to finance blogs to travel blogs, I have scanned hundreds over the past couple of months. Below, I discuss my perspective of criteria the PR world should consider when determining to which blogs to interact with, and how bloggers can appeal to the PR community.

Content: Like researching any other publication, it is important to make sure the content of the blog is relevant for a PR pitch. Even within a category of blogs, such as mom blogs, topics range immensely. For example, some moms write about family development, while others write product reviews or money-saving tips. Reaching out to the right people is vital, as bloggers communicate with each other and will let others know whom to trust and to ignore.

And if bloggers are looking for suggestions to be more PR-friendly, keeping your blog focused on a specific topic will help you get relevant information as well as steady readers. For instance, if you’re a travel blogger, instead of covering the vast amount of information there is to cover about travel, pick a topic you are interested and knowledgeable in, such as finding good travel deals. Of course some bloggers are very successful at juggling a range of different subjects, which leads me to the importance of design.

Design:Finding blogs that are easy to navigate can say a lot about the blogger running the site. Knowing that they take the time to update frequently and keep their information organized is a good sign. Generally, blogs with thoughtful designs have more readers, so even if their readership numbers aren’t available there’s a good chance they have loyal fans.

Separating blog posts into different categories makes it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for. For example, if you’re a finance blogger that focuses on credit cards, break your blog down into categories such as interest rates, credit scores and payment tips. Or if you’re a finance blogger that writes about a range of diverse topics, break it down to investing, taxes and insurance. Without categories, readers need to search through pages of content to find a specific topic.

Another issue I’ve noticed is page length, both for blog posts and the actual page itself. Blog posts, I’ve learned, should usually be no longer than 1,000 words. Even that’s pushing it. Blogs need to be spaced well, and bullets and bold points are good ways to keep readers focused. Some sites I’ve seen have a large scroll bar and keep many posts on the front page. This is distracting and should generally be no more than four blog posts long.

One important factor about design brings me to my last point: If you want to be contacted with new ideas make sure your contact information is accessible!

Contact:Reaching out to bloggers, just like you would reporters, is the best way to begin to build a relationship. Contacting a specific person is always better than writing to a general inquiry form since you can deliver a personalized message to start a conversation.

The most common obstacle I have found when searching blogs is trying to get in touch with the blogger. Some have contact forms, but those are not ideal. If you’re a blogger that wants contact with PR professionals, create a place on your blog that has your name and e-mail, plus grant permission to contact to the PR community. Some bloggers have this information but it is so hidden it takes a lot of digging to find it. Going back to design, having a section that discusses what you’d like to be contacted about and how gives you a better chance of getting the information and contacts you want.

Doing these searches for blogs has exposed me to all kinds of content, designs and bloggers. It is easier for me to pick out blogs that work for Castle and those that do not, and why. In some cases it is easy to tell whether or not the blogger wants contact from PR but in other cases it’s vague. For those that want relationships with PR professionals but don’t know how to acquire them, the tips above may help you get what you want.

Influence Matters (or Goodbye WBCN)

So we’re six days from one of the most iconic rock radio stations in America closing down. In its place comes a Top 40 station from down the dial.

If you lived in Boston anytime over the last 40 years, you know WBCN. The “Rock of Boston” defined radio in this town, and was a recognized brand across America. In the late 70s and early 80s (my formidable years), the station introduced the Ramones, U2, The Police and other cutting edge bands to the country.

Their hold on the local rock scene was so solid that competing alternative station WFNXused the tagline “New Rock on the Block” to counter BCN’s position in the market.

Its DJs were legendary, its events (the Rock and Roll Rumble) historic, its programming and even its promotions “must hear” radio. During its glory years, you would see (or seek out) BCN personalities around town at dance clubs and bars. The Big Mattress and its April Fool’s Parade was hysterical.

And now it’s going pop music. Don’t get me wrong, I like Top 40 stuff too, but we’re talking WBCN here.

Others can chronicle BCN’s decline (sports programming, getting Howard Stern, losing Howard Stern, satellite radio, HD radio, iPods, Pandora and more).

The real reason WBCN failed is that it stopped innovating. Maybe it just became too hard to make progress in a fragmented market, or maybe the weight of staying on top became too heavy.

BCN is moving its “format” to HD radio. While it will live somewhere, I won’t be able to access it, and even if I did, would I be rewarded with the WBCN that surprised and entertained me for 20 years?

This is a time when a brand moved away from its core offering — breaking new bands and introducing great local music — and found that the competitive landscape had changed so much, it could not recapture its mojo.

Boston is general needs to ramp up its sense of innovation. Does anything feel really groundbreaking out there right now? A new brand, technology, approach? WBCN is a microcosm of this.

With another reason to say goodbye to the 80s, I will respectfully put my memories of WBCN alongside those of the Rat, Metro, Channel, Stompers, Al Halliday and the Hurricanes, Buzzy’s Roast Beef and more.

In high school, a friend who was really into music carried around a box full of cassettes of bands no one had heard of yet: Psychedelic Furs, Smiths, REM, Husker Du. He went on to work for WBCN. Maybe if his music collection had continued to be so prescient, BCN would have survived.

So for Duane Ingalls Glasscock and the rest of 104.1 gang, goodbye WBCN.

Monday Morning Intern: Keeping up with change

We asked our summer PR intern, Emily Grund, to write a weekly column talking about her internship experience at The Castle Group. Please read Emily’s posts on Mondays to hear about her latest intern adventures. This week, are your interns exposed to change — and do they have the ability to roll with it?

Internships are important for a number of reasons. You get work experience, college credits, networking opportunities and if you’re lucky, compensation. Another important factor some interns may not expect to experience is adjusting to change. After all, interns are temporary and it is easy to assume you will come and go while everything at the company stays the same. So far, however, I have experienced some form of change at every internship I’ve had. This lesson at times has been the most vital as it has taught me a great deal of what to expect in the “real world.”

Change happens suddenly. Whether it is layoffs, resignations or promotions, such changes often happen overnight. Before interning anywhere, I assumed that changes at work were gradual or half expected. I have learned that is not always the case, and changes in responsibilities need to be quick and smooth in order to keep a company going. Though I have experienced abrupt changes more than once, it is still hard to see them coming, but overall seeing these changes has taught me to keep an open mind and know that anything can happen.

There is a silver lining. Change, good or bad, can be a difficult transition. People fear the unknown. It is no different while working. The cliché “when one door closes another one opens” often proves true. Whether it’s a new project or working with new people, I have seen the benefit of change even if it means losing something else. By watching people I have worked with, I have learned the trick is to be confident in knowing the silver lining exists.

Moving on is essential. “The show must go on” and so must business. The biggest difference I’ve seen between personal change and change at work is how people cope with it. For personal change, there is more time to reflect and assess a situation, but at work “coping” sometimes needs to wait until work is done. As an intern, I still feel I’m a beginner at separating the personal and professional, but learning this early on is necessary for success in the future.

In the end, interns come and go but it’s an important lesson to learn that other things happen in between. Though at times it seems interns see only a snapshot of what a company is like, being there during times of change show a great deal more.