Corporate Communications and Social Media
June 13, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Social media -- media where consumers, customers, and curiosity quenchers can interact with producers, distributors, and creators -- is here to stay.
Companies must adapt to the new paradigm of social media or otherwise increase the risk of damaging consumer relationships in an already fragile economy. The challenge intensifies if the company owns brands that rely on a personal relationship with the consumer, for example, children's entertainment.
Parents make the ultimate purchasing decision regarding children's entertainment in the household. Companies attempt to reach these consumers by investing time, money, and personnel resources to create elaborate product launches, marketing campaigns, and public relations strategies.
These methods all have their place in creating anticipation, building loyalty, and maximizing awareness. Old school methods communicate messages to media in the traditional sense, usually trade magazines (Hollywood Reporter, Ad Week) and consumer magazines (Parents).
Social media, however, allows the company to communicate directly with the consumer.
For example, a blog gives the company terrific flexibility in consumer relationships. In our scenario of a children's entertainment company, a blog can reinforce the company's brand values and reflect the parents' values. Because a blog may have opportunity for comments, the communication becomes a conversation directly with parents in the language they speak instead of the rather dry language used for press releases.
Additionally, a blog can provide information about children's safety, health, and education to reinforce the company's image of understanding the complex challenges involved in improving children's well-being.
Facebook also allows the company to build, maintain, and increase customer awareness of its brands. Besides giving information about the company's products, the company can create fun quizzes for the parents to find out which of the company's franchise characters match their respective personalities. Parents were once kids, too!
Also, when parents become Facebook fans of a character or the company, then the company has another outlet for immediate communication to customers.
Through awareness comes interest. Through interest comes decision. Through decision comes action. If this cycle is successfully repeated, customer loyalty increases.
Twitter requires more active maintenance of communications. In short, rapid-fire bursts of 140 words or less, the company can keep "followers" informed of deals, upcoming product launches, and reviews.
The responsibility for maximizing the value of social media falls squarely on the corporate communications team. The team needs to be proficient in three key areas:
1) History
Because the corporate communications staff comprises the "face" of the company in communicating with the media, staff, and consumers, it must show deep knowledge about the company. It begins with the history, particularly when the company revives brands. For example, when Warner Brothers released the film Batman in 1989, it was the first major relaunch of the property since the 1960's television show Batman starring Adam West. Warner Brothers heavily promoted the rich history of the Batman property in comic book reissues, press releases, and news stories.
Accumulating knowledge about a company's property is a deep challenge. Institutional memory fades with layoffs, cutbacks, and lateral moves within the industry. Corporate communications staff must build its own institutional memory through a variety of sources. In the entertainment industry, for example, fan sites, books, and previous press releases will be helpful in addition to the memory of long-time employees who still work for the company.
However, all information must be vetted. Trust but verify. No corporate communications staff member wants to be challenged because the information represented is false, incomplete, or misleading.
2) Listening
Corporate communications staff will represent the company's message, brand, and values to consumers, trade media, and mass media. However, different divisions in the company will have different priorities. Consequently, the elusive skill of active listening is an invaluable asset. Corporate communications professionals must incorporate the needs of the respective divisions and the company as a whole in its communication strategies.
3) Crafting a Message
Ultimately, the corporate communications team will have to craft a message. It can be a speech by the CEO to an industry group. It can be a press release touting a product launch. It can be an update about deals on Twitter.
Whatever the media, the corporate communications team needs to have a plan for each avenue of communication. What is the objective of sending the message? Who will be the voice of the company? What is the crisis communication plan?
Additionally, avenues of communication exist beyond courting editors in old media and consumers in digital social media. Executives can speak at industry conferences, author scholarly and mainstream articles in industry media, and speak to consumers at the grass roots level -- Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, PTA, et. al.
In every case, though, corporate communications staff must have the writing, speaking, and networking skills necessary to ensure the message it sends is the message received.
david@davidkrell.com
Social media -- media where consumers, customers, and curiosity quenchers can interact with producers, distributors, and creators -- is here to stay.
Companies must adapt to the new paradigm of social media or otherwise increase the risk of damaging consumer relationships in an already fragile economy. The challenge intensifies if the company owns brands that rely on a personal relationship with the consumer, for example, children's entertainment.
Parents make the ultimate purchasing decision regarding children's entertainment in the household. Companies attempt to reach these consumers by investing time, money, and personnel resources to create elaborate product launches, marketing campaigns, and public relations strategies.
These methods all have their place in creating anticipation, building loyalty, and maximizing awareness. Old school methods communicate messages to media in the traditional sense, usually trade magazines (Hollywood Reporter, Ad Week) and consumer magazines (Parents).
Social media, however, allows the company to communicate directly with the consumer.
For example, a blog gives the company terrific flexibility in consumer relationships. In our scenario of a children's entertainment company, a blog can reinforce the company's brand values and reflect the parents' values. Because a blog may have opportunity for comments, the communication becomes a conversation directly with parents in the language they speak instead of the rather dry language used for press releases.
Additionally, a blog can provide information about children's safety, health, and education to reinforce the company's image of understanding the complex challenges involved in improving children's well-being.
Facebook also allows the company to build, maintain, and increase customer awareness of its brands. Besides giving information about the company's products, the company can create fun quizzes for the parents to find out which of the company's franchise characters match their respective personalities. Parents were once kids, too!
Also, when parents become Facebook fans of a character or the company, then the company has another outlet for immediate communication to customers.
Through awareness comes interest. Through interest comes decision. Through decision comes action. If this cycle is successfully repeated, customer loyalty increases.
Twitter requires more active maintenance of communications. In short, rapid-fire bursts of 140 words or less, the company can keep "followers" informed of deals, upcoming product launches, and reviews.
The responsibility for maximizing the value of social media falls squarely on the corporate communications team. The team needs to be proficient in three key areas:
1) History
Because the corporate communications staff comprises the "face" of the company in communicating with the media, staff, and consumers, it must show deep knowledge about the company. It begins with the history, particularly when the company revives brands. For example, when Warner Brothers released the film Batman in 1989, it was the first major relaunch of the property since the 1960's television show Batman starring Adam West. Warner Brothers heavily promoted the rich history of the Batman property in comic book reissues, press releases, and news stories.
Accumulating knowledge about a company's property is a deep challenge. Institutional memory fades with layoffs, cutbacks, and lateral moves within the industry. Corporate communications staff must build its own institutional memory through a variety of sources. In the entertainment industry, for example, fan sites, books, and previous press releases will be helpful in addition to the memory of long-time employees who still work for the company.
However, all information must be vetted. Trust but verify. No corporate communications staff member wants to be challenged because the information represented is false, incomplete, or misleading.
2) Listening
Corporate communications staff will represent the company's message, brand, and values to consumers, trade media, and mass media. However, different divisions in the company will have different priorities. Consequently, the elusive skill of active listening is an invaluable asset. Corporate communications professionals must incorporate the needs of the respective divisions and the company as a whole in its communication strategies.
3) Crafting a Message
Ultimately, the corporate communications team will have to craft a message. It can be a speech by the CEO to an industry group. It can be a press release touting a product launch. It can be an update about deals on Twitter.
Whatever the media, the corporate communications team needs to have a plan for each avenue of communication. What is the objective of sending the message? Who will be the voice of the company? What is the crisis communication plan?
Additionally, avenues of communication exist beyond courting editors in old media and consumers in digital social media. Executives can speak at industry conferences, author scholarly and mainstream articles in industry media, and speak to consumers at the grass roots level -- Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, PTA, et. al.
In every case, though, corporate communications staff must have the writing, speaking, and networking skills necessary to ensure the message it sends is the message received.
The Power of a Handshake
June 09, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Social media is a necessity for networking in the digital age.
From microblogging on Twitter to posting on Facebook to making connections on Linked In, social media allows us to exponentially expand our network with a few keystrokes.
Sometimes the old-fashioned way works, too. Nothing replaces face-to-face conversation, handshakes, and body language.
When I attended the International Trademark Association Annual Meeting last month in Seattle, I was part of a group approximately 7500 strong. Like other trade association conferences, the pace is challenging.
From early morning to late night, I created new connections, reinforced existing relationships, and cultivated new business. I met people at workshops, seminars, and after-dinner parties in a continuous loop during the course of a few days.
And the conversations all began with a handshake.
I got an assignment to write an article about legal writing through a chance meeting with an editor from Marcasur, a Latin American intellectual property law magazine. She asked about Write This Way 2.0 and the conversation ended with the assignment.
I learned about an article in need of an author for The Trademark Reporter, INTA's scholarly journal. Topic -- Trademarks in Virtual Worlds. My discovery came through a conversation with a friend at a Mariners game. My friend is a premier intellectual property litigator and a member of the editorial staff at The Trademark Reporter. I immediately volunteered to write the article about this relatively new phenomenon.
A couple of hours before the Mariners game, I attended a cocktail hour for the media. Since I had an extra ticket in my block of tickets for the game, I invited a law firm marketer whom I met at the cocktail hour. He and I are having lunch today to discuss a potential web site copywriting project involving one of his international intellectual property law firm clients.
At the same cocktail hour, I met a British legal journalist who later agreed to be a member of the writing workshop I will moderate at the INTA 2010 Annual Meeting in Boston.
I also connected with an already existing contact who graciously arranged to send the materials for the Write This Way 2.0 CLE workshops to the decision makers at her downtown Manhattan law firm. Getting in front of the decision makers is the first step to creating new business. To be fair, our conversation in Seattle took place via E-Mail, however, we first met a couple of years ago at a legal seminar -- not by following each other on Twitter, friending each other on Facebook, or joining each other's network on Linked In.
To be sure, those actions have a definite place in networking. One ignores social media at his or her peril in the digital age.
But don't discount the power of a handshake.
david@davidkrell.com
Social media is a necessity for networking in the digital age.
From microblogging on Twitter to posting on Facebook to making connections on Linked In, social media allows us to exponentially expand our network with a few keystrokes.
Sometimes the old-fashioned way works, too. Nothing replaces face-to-face conversation, handshakes, and body language.
When I attended the International Trademark Association Annual Meeting last month in Seattle, I was part of a group approximately 7500 strong. Like other trade association conferences, the pace is challenging.
From early morning to late night, I created new connections, reinforced existing relationships, and cultivated new business. I met people at workshops, seminars, and after-dinner parties in a continuous loop during the course of a few days.
And the conversations all began with a handshake.
I got an assignment to write an article about legal writing through a chance meeting with an editor from Marcasur, a Latin American intellectual property law magazine. She asked about Write This Way 2.0 and the conversation ended with the assignment.
I learned about an article in need of an author for The Trademark Reporter, INTA's scholarly journal. Topic -- Trademarks in Virtual Worlds. My discovery came through a conversation with a friend at a Mariners game. My friend is a premier intellectual property litigator and a member of the editorial staff at The Trademark Reporter. I immediately volunteered to write the article about this relatively new phenomenon.
A couple of hours before the Mariners game, I attended a cocktail hour for the media. Since I had an extra ticket in my block of tickets for the game, I invited a law firm marketer whom I met at the cocktail hour. He and I are having lunch today to discuss a potential web site copywriting project involving one of his international intellectual property law firm clients.
At the same cocktail hour, I met a British legal journalist who later agreed to be a member of the writing workshop I will moderate at the INTA 2010 Annual Meeting in Boston.
I also connected with an already existing contact who graciously arranged to send the materials for the Write This Way 2.0 CLE workshops to the decision makers at her downtown Manhattan law firm. Getting in front of the decision makers is the first step to creating new business. To be fair, our conversation in Seattle took place via E-Mail, however, we first met a couple of years ago at a legal seminar -- not by following each other on Twitter, friending each other on Facebook, or joining each other's network on Linked In.
To be sure, those actions have a definite place in networking. One ignores social media at his or her peril in the digital age.
But don't discount the power of a handshake.
INTA Networking Continues -- Write This Way 2.0 Goes Bilingual
May 20, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Networking at an INTA Annual Meeting is a continuous process. It happens during the lecture halls before the CLE workshops. It happens at the parties, like tonight's Grand Finale at Seattle's The Museum of Flight. And it happens online with Twitter, Facebook, and blogs.
Today, it happened for me in the Press Room where I had the pleasure of meeting Victoria Pereira, Executive Director of Marcasur.
Marcasur -- The First Latin American Intellectual Property Media is a Spanish-language magazine. We talked briefly about my Write This Way 2.0 blog and Write This Way 2.0 workshop. Before I knew it, I had a request to write a 500-800 page article about legal writing for the July - September issue.
Can anyone recommend language translation software?!
david@davidkrell.com
Networking at an INTA Annual Meeting is a continuous process. It happens during the lecture halls before the CLE workshops. It happens at the parties, like tonight's Grand Finale at Seattle's The Museum of Flight. And it happens online with Twitter, Facebook, and blogs.
Today, it happened for me in the Press Room where I had the pleasure of meeting Victoria Pereira, Executive Director of Marcasur.
Marcasur -- The First Latin American Intellectual Property Media is a Spanish-language magazine. We talked briefly about my Write This Way 2.0 blog and Write This Way 2.0 workshop. Before I knew it, I had a request to write a 500-800 page article about legal writing for the July - September issue.
Can anyone recommend language translation software?!
The Technology Curve
May 20, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
This morning, I posted a blog entry entitled Don't Tell Me, Show Me. The entry concerns the power of technology.
Walking over to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center for the last day of the INTA 2009 Annual Meeting in Seattle, I realized that a brief corollary merits attention.
Technology increases, expands, and democratizes access to information -- how we receive it, distribute it, and store it. The ever-expanding spectral curve of access is tremendous. The dangers, however, are sometimes ignored, dismissed, or outright rejected.
A curve's not a curve without a downside, declared Machiavellian advertising legend Miles Drentell in the 1980's-90's yuppie drama thritysomething.
Miles' quote applies in this digital era of instant communications.
We post items about everyday occurrences on Facebook -- what we're thinking, what we're doing, where we're going. And photos complement our statements.
We post our thoughts in briefer form on Twitter. This micro-blog restricts us to 140 characters or less.
And we post our views, recounts of experiences, and opinions on blogs in whatever length we wish.
The danger is that we spend so much time writing about our lives at the expense of living our lives.
Summer is fast approaching. It's an opportunity to enjoy the weather, disconnect from the Blackberry or iPhone for a few hours, and reconnect with friends, family, and colleagues.
Here are my steadfast resolutions for the summer.
Get together with some friends for a baseball game, barbecue, or happy hour without checking E-Mail.
Read a best seller on a Sunday afternoon instead of texting, E-Mailing, or web surfing.
Take a re-energizing walk during lunch hour without talking on the Blackberry or iPhone.
I'm inspired. Thankfully, I can use my Blackberry Curve 8330 between INTA Annual Meeting workshops to find the Mets schedule, learn about this month's best selling novels, and research potential walk routes with GPS.
david@davidkrell.com
This morning, I posted a blog entry entitled Don't Tell Me, Show Me. The entry concerns the power of technology.
Walking over to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center for the last day of the INTA 2009 Annual Meeting in Seattle, I realized that a brief corollary merits attention.
Technology increases, expands, and democratizes access to information -- how we receive it, distribute it, and store it. The ever-expanding spectral curve of access is tremendous. The dangers, however, are sometimes ignored, dismissed, or outright rejected.
A curve's not a curve without a downside, declared Machiavellian advertising legend Miles Drentell in the 1980's-90's yuppie drama thritysomething.
Miles' quote applies in this digital era of instant communications.
We post items about everyday occurrences on Facebook -- what we're thinking, what we're doing, where we're going. And photos complement our statements.
We post our thoughts in briefer form on Twitter. This micro-blog restricts us to 140 characters or less.
And we post our views, recounts of experiences, and opinions on blogs in whatever length we wish.
The danger is that we spend so much time writing about our lives at the expense of living our lives.
Summer is fast approaching. It's an opportunity to enjoy the weather, disconnect from the Blackberry or iPhone for a few hours, and reconnect with friends, family, and colleagues.
Here are my steadfast resolutions for the summer.
Get together with some friends for a baseball game, barbecue, or happy hour without checking E-Mail.
Read a best seller on a Sunday afternoon instead of texting, E-Mailing, or web surfing.
Take a re-energizing walk during lunch hour without talking on the Blackberry or iPhone.
I'm inspired. Thankfully, I can use my Blackberry Curve 8330 between INTA Annual Meeting workshops to find the Mets schedule, learn about this month's best selling novels, and research potential walk routes with GPS.
Twitter Hits Prime Time
May 11, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Twitter hits prime time.
On Desperate Housewives, Tom Scavo's recent story arc centers on the loss of his youth. Now in his early 40's, Tom finds himself in the eye of a mid-life crisis storm. In last night's episode, the storm intensified because of a job interview that reveals Tom's vulnerability in the digital age. The exchange between Tom and his wife Lynette masterfully highlights Tom's frustration.
Aren't you going to ask me about my job interview? (Tom)
Oh right. How'd that go? (Lynette)
Okay. Until the thirty year-old who was interviewing me asked me if I've ever used Twittering as part of a marketing campaign. (Tom)
And what'd you say? (Lynette)
Nothing. Because I don't know what Twittering is. (Tom)
It's a social networking tool where you send instant updates to anybody who signs up for them. (Lynette)
So you knew about this and yet you kept it from me? (Tom)
I didn't keep it from you. It's just one of those tech things that you don't care about. It's for young people. (Lynette)
And I am a dinosaur marching into the tar pit. (Tom)
Tom represents Generation Xers and baby boomers who have not yet embraced the new technologies of social networks. Facebook and Twitter are the present Internet darlings. True, social networks may disappear, evolve, or amplify individually. Collectively, they will survive in some form.
Electronic bulletin boards, Internet chat rooms, and E-Mail groups once dominated as the forms where we could exchange information with like-minded people. Today, the dominant form is a social network on a web site, for example, Twitter.
As businesses use the social network for business purposes, we must be vigilant in learning about the new forms of digital communications.
Unless you want to feel like a dinosaur marching into the tar pit.
david@davidkrell.com
Twitter hits prime time.
On Desperate Housewives, Tom Scavo's recent story arc centers on the loss of his youth. Now in his early 40's, Tom finds himself in the eye of a mid-life crisis storm. In last night's episode, the storm intensified because of a job interview that reveals Tom's vulnerability in the digital age. The exchange between Tom and his wife Lynette masterfully highlights Tom's frustration.
Aren't you going to ask me about my job interview? (Tom)
Oh right. How'd that go? (Lynette)
Okay. Until the thirty year-old who was interviewing me asked me if I've ever used Twittering as part of a marketing campaign. (Tom)
And what'd you say? (Lynette)
Nothing. Because I don't know what Twittering is. (Tom)
It's a social networking tool where you send instant updates to anybody who signs up for them. (Lynette)
So you knew about this and yet you kept it from me? (Tom)
I didn't keep it from you. It's just one of those tech things that you don't care about. It's for young people. (Lynette)
And I am a dinosaur marching into the tar pit. (Tom)
Tom represents Generation Xers and baby boomers who have not yet embraced the new technologies of social networks. Facebook and Twitter are the present Internet darlings. True, social networks may disappear, evolve, or amplify individually. Collectively, they will survive in some form.
Electronic bulletin boards, Internet chat rooms, and E-Mail groups once dominated as the forms where we could exchange information with like-minded people. Today, the dominant form is a social network on a web site, for example, Twitter.
As businesses use the social network for business purposes, we must be vigilant in learning about the new forms of digital communications.
Unless you want to feel like a dinosaur marching into the tar pit.
Locker Room Twitter
March 18, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Twitter breaks another sports barrier -- the locker room.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva posted the following message during the March 15th game against the Boston Celtics.
In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.
On the one hand, posting on Twitter, or ‘tweeting,’ can be a great tool in sports marketing.
It attracts younger, tech-savvy fans.
It gives fans access to their favorite players.
It gives teams another medium to publicize games, players, and trades.
On the other hand, posting on Twitter poses a perception problem.
Bucks Coach Scott Skiles did not like the image projected by a player using Twitter in the locker room.
I think a reasonable person could look at that either way. And I’m a pretty reasonable guy. And so the answer is no, not necessarily. But I also know from the comments I’ve gotten from some people in the game that there could be people who think it’s a sign. We just want to distance ourselves, that’s all.
My personal opinion is, it doesn’t have any place in the locker room. The locker room’s a private place for the players, a sanctuary for the players. But once you walk out of the locker room or whatever, I’m not getting into guys’ personal lives.
By the way, the Bucks beat the Celtics. Villanueva scored 19 points in the game.
It was the highest score on the Bucks.
david@davidkrell.com
Twitter breaks another sports barrier -- the locker room.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva posted the following message during the March 15th game against the Boston Celtics.
In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.
On the one hand, posting on Twitter, or ‘tweeting,’ can be a great tool in sports marketing.
It attracts younger, tech-savvy fans.
It gives fans access to their favorite players.
It gives teams another medium to publicize games, players, and trades.
On the other hand, posting on Twitter poses a perception problem.
Bucks Coach Scott Skiles did not like the image projected by a player using Twitter in the locker room.
I think a reasonable person could look at that either way. And I’m a pretty reasonable guy. And so the answer is no, not necessarily. But I also know from the comments I’ve gotten from some people in the game that there could be people who think it’s a sign. We just want to distance ourselves, that’s all.
My personal opinion is, it doesn’t have any place in the locker room. The locker room’s a private place for the players, a sanctuary for the players. But once you walk out of the locker room or whatever, I’m not getting into guys’ personal lives.
By the way, the Bucks beat the Celtics. Villanueva scored 19 points in the game.
It was the highest score on the Bucks.