Why the Future of PR Is Social Collaboration (and how it determines our success)

The Evolution of PR is Social Collaboration

- and why it determines our success -

Jennifer Gosse (@jennifergosse) Co-founder & CMO, Tracky

Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) Chief Evangelist, Tracky

Social Media Correspondent, Sarah's Faves

Owner, Sevans Strategy

Our goal today is to: •  Help you do what you

already do, a little better

•  Plan for the future of social collaboration

•  Work better, not harder

(Evolution doesn’t mean more work)

Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

Find tweetable moments in track:

Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

The evolution of the pitch, press release and promotion.

It’s time for change

Background

•  Pitched more than ever

•  Require different resources & info

•  Expected to produce more with less

•  Short form valued over long form

Journalists,  bloggers  and  influencers  are:    

Change our frame of reference What do you want to accomplish?

1.  Third party endorsement (blogger/influencer)

2.  Personal share (self) 3.  Unbiased,

comprehensive coverage (journalist)

Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

The pitch (We’re going to create your “share a story” resource)

•  GO TO track: •  Content (not mass

distribution) •  Vehicle –  Social Media Release –  Email –  Social Media –  Text

•  Message •  Call-to-action Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

The Social Pitch

Get Personal For your pitch list, keep tabs on your media with:

•  Instagram •  Pinterest •  Google+ •  Twitter •  Facebook •  Blog •  Tumblr

Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

A few tips to work better…

•  To monitor Instagram, use Statigr.am (or Hootsuite) from your desktop. Create lists of bloggers, journalists and influencers.

•  Get familiar with ifttt (@ifttt) (www.ifttt.com). Set up recipes to alert you via text message, phone call or email when media make a specific action (e.g. blog post)

The [Press] Release •  Get social visual,

include a RSS feed of your social photos

•  Write for your consumer and the media

•  3-5 social sound bites Tip: Do NOT publish a SMR if you’re pitching an exclusive.

The Promotion: Your story ran, so now what

•  Determine priority •  Thank you to the writer in the comment •  Monitor comments (respond to positive & negative*)

•  Socially share (include writer’s Twitter handle)

•  Inform appropriate stakeholders (e.g. investors)

•  High visibility? Repurpose in: –  Email signature –  eNewsletter – Website

PR is more than media…

•  Community relations

•  Customer service

•  Public speaking

•  Social media

That’s a lot to do.

How do we make it all come together?

Social Collaboration.

How to collaborate with the media

•  Relationship-building over time •  Making more authentic connections •  Storytelling: what makes your company/

cause/project unique, short-term benefits, long-term view

•  Inviting them to observe or become part of your community

•  Collaborating with them on future stories – share the evolution of what you’re doing

Does social collaboration matter?

•  Every 2 days, humankind creates more data than we did from the dawn of history until 2003.

•  Social media enables us to initiate large quantities of connections.

•  It can get pretty hectic managing all this data and all these connections.

So much noise

• Email • Texts • Tasks • Tweets, DMs • Facebook posts, likes, comments

• Blog comments • Pinterest repins, comments

• Contact inquiries

• Google+

• 3rd party (media)

Social  Power  

•  Ordinary  people  using  Facebook  and  Twi=er  knocked  down  dictators  in  Tunisia,  Egypt,  Libya  and  threatened  absolute  rule  in  Syria  

•  Individuals  are  using  new  technology  to  harness  social  media  to  organize  themselves  

•  Be=er  social  needs  are  needed  because  people  expect  the  same  easy  and  fun  tools  at  work  as  they  use  in  their  personal  life  

•  Companies  are  trying  to  catch  up  and  leverage  the  efficiency  of  more  connected  networks  

Women dominate social media

STUDY:  Reasons  for  following  brands  on  social  media  

By Eric Sass, Social Graf blog, 7/6/12, Media Post

•  Women make up 56% of social media users, or 81 million women •  Women use social media more, with 18% updating FB status daily •  More likely to post comments on posts and photos, several times a day •  Facebook – 58% | Twitter – 64% | Pinterest – 82% | Zynga – 60%

*| POLL |*

Do  you  feel  that  you  are  able  to  respond  to  at  least  80%  of  incoming  communica9on?  

SMS  1  or  2  to:  702-­‐800-­‐2623  1  –  Yeah,  baby!  2  –  Nooo…  

80% Of Americans Work "After Hours," Equaling An

Extra Day Of Work Per Week Half of them do so because they feel they have “no choice.” Connectedness means customers demand fast replies. There’s no off switch. Half of respondents check their email in bed, starting at around 7:09 AM. 68% check email before 8 AM.

From enterprise mobility company, Good Technology

*| POLL |*

Do  you  feel  that  you  are  able  to  respond  to  at  least  80%  of  incoming  communica9on?  

SMS  1  or  2  to:  702-­‐800-­‐2623  1  –  Yeah,  baby!  2  –  Nooo…  

A collaborative PR example •  Sarah shared the open social collaboration trend with

fellow social PR expert, Lisa Buyer, CEO of The Buyer Group •  Lisa had an article deadline for SearchEngineWatch •  Sarah and Jennifer fed Lisa the latest collaboration research in

a shared track •  Lisa used the research & likes Tracky. She then set up a group for

Search Engine Strategies conference in August, in San Francisco •  Sarah and Lisa are on a PubCon Las Vegas panel together this fall •  …more stories to come •  The result? Collaborating is mutually beneficial. Journalists get

more concisely delivered, interesting and deep stories. You get the long-term connections and exposure that you need.

Meaningful connections & productive collaboration

•  Here’s the secret à The 4 C’s – Connect – Collaborate – Condense – Communicate

Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

What’s old is new again

The move back to personal.

Photo  illustraWon  by  Carey  Rose,  KlipSun  magazine  

The New Yorker, “Why Are So Many Americans Single?”

•  But most of the people he introduces seem neither especially restored nor vigorously connected;

•  “They are insecure, proud of their freedoms but hungry for contact, anxious, frisky, smug, occasionally scared.”

“Living alone provides ‘restorative solitude’; It may be ‘exactly what we need to reconnect.’ –Eric Klinenberg, “Going Solo: The Extraordinary and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone”

Back to Personal: Craig Kannally (@ckanal)

Senior Editor, HuffPo

•  Posted his Google Voice number via social networks

•  Talked about careers, personal lives, relationships, faith

•  The stats: – 118 texts in three hours – 7 phone calls – ½ male, ½ female – 6 states, 3 countries

The Postcard Project Sarah + @Postagram

•  Opt in (www.sincerely.com/sarahevans)

•  Every Tuesday •  122 cards sent in 2 months •  5 people sent cards back •  On average:

–  2 tweets per recipient + photo –  1 Instagram post –  ¼ Facebook post –  ½ email

Now what?

Move beyond the connection.

Death to comments!

Photo Credit: http://www.benheine.com

Case Study - Radio •  Current: Jerry Doyle

– current site is shallow, non-participatory –  It’s a one-way

conversation •  Goal: stimulate

productive projects, engage his listeners & gain new online “fans” and “doers”

Case Study - Radio •  New site – designed & powered by

Tracky – community engagement •  Top stories are “pins” – curated

content from around the web •  These are no ordinary comments –

they feed back into Tracky •  Why “death to comments?” They

seem to elude to community but it’s still ONE-WAY for the most part.

•  The next evolution: extend the value of comments to create community

•  Engage two key places: –  At the site, in “comments” –  In Tracky, where you can identify the “doers” and the influencers and curate them into private goal-oriented groups

Engage, Engage, Engage

•  End goal: new consolidated website for forward-thinking talk radio personalities

•  Each host’s audience can interact with the host and other like-minded people

Photo Credit: @PRsarahevans, in track: https://tracky.com/30799

Say hello to our little friend, Tracky.

Collaboration = work smarter

It's not always about what you need to get done, but what others need you to

get done.

There’s a track for that.

The work flow

•  Create a track –  Change its group if needed –  Add/invite others –  Add a due date –  Add tags

•  Catalogue your ideas •  When you’re ready to share… –  Publish the content (blog, Pinterest, Facebook, etc.) –  Change the track visibility to public. Copy the link

and embed it in your published post for extra juice. –  Tweet, Facebook, G+ it

#DO: Create your track

#DO: Give it a deadline

#DO: Add some tags (organizing)

#DO: Add people

#DO: Collaborate!

#PUBLISH: Quickly publish your track

“People become authoritative by sharing

what they’re getting done.”

We can make the choice to do something meaningful with the

technology at our fingertips and the connections within our reach.

What will your digital reach say about you?

About me?

About us?