That's a ringer, ladies and gentleman. Great post!!!
brian koh
· 2 years ago
very very amazing post! your talent to put it down coherently and inspiringly makes the difference! i have some tough pitches when i try to get potential clients involved in social media, but you nailed it with
"Ultimately, this is all the same advice for PR people as well. There’s no room for pitching, spamming, or the day-to-day BS that defines most PR. With social media, PR is now exposed to the public again and therefore now needs to reengage by putting the “public” back in public relations."
I find your title very offensive. I recently subscribed to your blog and felt I was plugged into a fellow professional.Believe it or not there are still people in the world who don't use profanity and don't care to read it.
Brian Solis
· 2 years ago
Geoff, as always thank you.
Brian, let's just ditch pitches and focus on the stories that matter to the people reading them ;)
Hazel, I don't even know how to reply. This is more than a professional perspective...this is a real world sense of frustration over any potential sensationalism than you could possible perceive in this title. It’s not meant to be offensive, it’s supposed to be a depiction of what’s going on in the world of new media PR and what it’s going to take to finally have traditional companies break through. Seriously, read it and understand what it is that we’re missing vs. what we need to do to help companies build relationships in the era of social media. Move past the headline and read the post – you might learn something. And the goal of the comments section is also for me to learn something as well.
Allison M.
· 2 years ago
you couldn't have said it any better
"Note: I’m not talking about running around and selling people on your products or services. I’m talking about genuinely going out there and joining the conversations that could use your input!"
Linda VandeVrede
· 2 years ago
To get through to people today you need a title that cuts through the crap - I loved the title - didn't find it offensive at all.
I hope this post starts a groundswell of change and opportunity with companies.
I want it proven false that "as a consultant (PR in-house, out of house, or otherwise) you get paid for advice given, not taken."
Until the under 40 crowd assumes more powerful positions in management at larger companies, status quo (the traditional mass communications approach) will remain. And I say this as a 48-year-old....
whatsnext
· 2 years ago
Wow! I'm happy to have inspired this great post.
as for being offended by the f-bomb, i say, get over yourself. BL
mark ivey
· 2 years ago
Excellent post, and I like the tone--it's our responsibility to lead them through the wilderness (I think you said transparency), and into the new world and so on. Unfortunately, the enlightened few who try to lead corporate folks to the promise land continue to meet with a lot of resistance and some outright ignorance at the corporate level when it comes to ushering in social media programs. This will be a long process. I sat down tonight and posted some of the top mistakes companies (Big companies) make as they try to make the transition to the new world. I stopped at five but could have gone on much longer. Misunderstanding is still rampant out there. Hopefully these type of articles will help the cause.
stephanie
· 2 years ago
As usual, a hugely insightful -- and passionate! -- post. Certainly those of us in PR have a ton of work to do helping our clients navigate -- and see the value in -- this kind of communication. I have to think that many of us are firmly on board, working on getting clients there, too. But I have to respectfully disagree with your characterization of PR as largely defined by "pitching and spamming." First of all, my teams don't spam -- don't think they'd know how even if they wanted to. Secondly, since when did "pitch" become a bad word? Here's the reality of the PR pro's life: we are paid to disseminate information. Many journalist I believe are interested in receiving information -- last time I checked. Now, can it be done in an annoying/amateurish/idiotic way? Sure. Is it my job to ensure my juniors know how to engage a journalist in a conversation that benefits them AND benefits our clients? Sure. But just as the smartest PR professionals have embraced social media as a crucial forum in which to inspire -- EARN -- conversations on their clients' behalf, so are they continuing to improve their ability to execute with transparency and relevance the most fundamental transaction between a PR pro and a journalist which is...yes...the pitch.
John Cass
· 2 years ago
brian, you lost me a little on this one....
What's the good of asking a company to blog, if that company is not going to use the blog to get feedback from customers? What's the use of blogging if a company only intends to talk not listen?
These are all questions I've been asking myself today. I was thinking about the cluetrain book and its ideas, and thinking about how few companies have actually made the necessary cultural changes to implement its ideas. Some blogging will help, and may not even harm a company, but maybe most social media evangelists should sign a pledge not to sell blogging services unless a company subscribes to making some real cultural changes. That may be a little harsh and in the end something may be learned by implementing a blog but not a cultural change. But I was thinking that really social media evangelists are not technology evangelist rather they a business strategy evangelists. Would you rather be the consultant who advised Dell to change its culture? Or the consultant who advised Wal-Mart to hire a couple of journalists to Astroturf?
hipposkin
· 2 years ago
tremendous article!! thanks so much!
Antje
· 2 years ago
I don't know Brian, a lot of corporate blogs are just BORING or downright dumb.
All Comments
"Ultimately, this is all the same advice for PR people as well. There’s no room for pitching, spamming, or the day-to-day BS that defines most PR. With social media, PR is now exposed to the public again and therefore now needs to reengage by putting the “public” back in public relations."
here's some thoughts from singapore
Brian, let's just ditch pitches and focus on the stories that matter to the people reading them ;)
Hazel, I don't even know how to reply. This is more than a professional perspective...this is a real world sense of frustration over any potential sensationalism than you could possible perceive in this title. It’s not meant to be offensive, it’s supposed to be a depiction of what’s going on in the world of new media PR and what it’s going to take to finally have traditional companies break through. Seriously, read it and understand what it is that we’re missing vs. what we need to do to help companies build relationships in the era of social media.
Move past the headline and read the post – you might learn something. And the goal of the comments section is also for me to learn something as well.
"Note: I’m not talking about running around and selling people on your products or services. I’m talking about genuinely going out there and joining the conversations that could use your input!"
I hope this post starts a groundswell of change and opportunity with companies.
I want it proven false that "as a consultant (PR in-house, out of house, or otherwise) you get paid for advice given, not taken."
Until the under 40 crowd assumes more powerful positions in management at larger companies, status quo (the traditional mass communications approach) will remain. And I say this as a 48-year-old....
as for being offended by the f-bomb, i say, get over yourself.
BL
What's the good of asking a company to blog, if that company is not going to use the blog to get feedback from customers? What's the use of blogging if a company only intends to talk not listen?
These are all questions I've been asking myself today. I was thinking about the cluetrain book and its ideas, and thinking about how few companies have actually made the necessary cultural changes to implement its ideas. Some blogging will help, and may not even harm a company, but maybe most social media evangelists should sign a pledge not to sell blogging services unless a company subscribes to making some real cultural changes. That may be a little harsh and in the end something may be learned by implementing a blog but not a cultural change. But I was thinking that really social media evangelists are not technology evangelist rather they a business strategy evangelists. Would you rather be the consultant who advised Dell to change its culture? Or the consultant who advised Wal-Mart to hire a couple of journalists to Astroturf?