Regina, Saskatchewan-based Eric Eggertson writes about business communications on the Common Sense PR blog, and about life in business and the real world at ericeggertson.com. After a dozen years as a writer, photographer, editor and publisher for the print media and trade magazines, he has focused on public relations and web-based communications in for the past 13 years, lending real journalism experience to his thoughts on PR and his blog writing. His writing and thoughts strike a healthy balance between social media theory and good-old fashioned PR, a great read that keeps you honest. Read on for more Eric’s excellent insights into PR.
BB: What’s the biggest issue facing the PR industry?
EE: I think managing expectations of clients and bosses is one of the biggest issues for public relations firms and in-house PR teams. You can run a great campaign, or develop an excellent process or program, but if expectations get out of whack with what’s achievable, you will fail in gaining management’s trust. You can only entrench better ways of managing internal and external relationships if you do a good job of selling the value of what you do, and the impact of your results to the key decision-makers.
The other big issue is the PR industry’s ongoing failure to help companies get past jargon and vague language in favor of clear communication of the companies’ values and product benefits. If you can’t tell a compelling story about your organization in three paragraphs, you should find another line of work.
BB: Will social media dramatically change PR?
EE: The kinds of things that are possible with social media is already dramatically changing some aspects of public relations. I’ve always been a big fan of putting into place the tools, training and opportunities for people at all levels of a company to communicate effectively. Social media fits easily into that approach.
But it would be a mistake to assume that because some people get actively involved in some social media tools, that it’s going to change the way we do everything. Intranets and extranets were great tools to enable information sharing, but many of them whithered and died a few months after the first burst of excitement passed.
Most communications worth doing takes a long-term time commitment that requires effort and consistency. If no one has the drive to keep a company’s social media projects moving forward, they will whither and die, too.
BB: Common sense is often uncommon. How does this paradox apply to PR?
EE: Most corporate cultures require a certain amount of buy-in to the team mentality. Naysayers can be seen to be holding things back with their negative attitude.
It’s important for the communications person in the room to apply some healthy skepticism to whatever flavor of the week has the attention of the management group, or the board. You have to be willing to challenge assumptions, or you’re not doing your job. The trick is to not be perceived as the Eeyore of your organization, just because you want to know why people who don’t read books would want a bookmark with your company slogan on it.
Common sense is all about revisiting the question, “What outcome do we want to achieve?”, and seeing if you can reasonably arrive at that outcome by following a particular course of action. It’s surprising how far projects can get before they are asked to answer that question.
Common sense also dictates that you not ignore unexpected positive outcomes. If your brand of beverage becomes the hot new item among 14-year-olds, you don’t ignore that because you were targeting working mothers.
BB: Which three things would you’d like PR practitioners to adapt as common, everyday activities?
EE: Consume culture voraciously. Write a plan, even if it’s not expected. Approach pre-writing and editing as natural, enjoyable parts of the writing process.
BB: What’s the most challenging thing you’ve encountered in bridging PR to social media?
EE: I don’t do a lot of social media projects professionally. The biggest challenge I’ve encountered is carving out the time to try something new when expectations are based on completing traditional work.
BB: What’s been the most enjoyable thing?
EE: For me, writing a blog and participating in a variety of online communities has allowed me to extend my professional network far beyond the region I live in. I “meet” people and learn things every week that I wouldn’t be able to do unless I spent most of my time travelling and attending conferences.
BB: What is b5Media, and how does the company approach social media?
EE: b5media is a small group of bloggers who met online, formed a virtual company, and applied their knowledge of what makes blogs tick to build a strong network of niche blogs. As a blogger, you have an instant group of advisors when you encounter roadblocks. And there are teams to look after the technology, security, ad sales, and all that jazz.
One of the best corporate communications tools at b5media is the discussion forum area, which is a pretty old school online tool. Without the forums, internal communications would collapse into a large pile of unread and unanswered e-mails.
The company is always looking at the evolution of social media tools. But at the core of b5media is a bunch of writers pouring their energy into communicating on a passion of theirs. There are 200 blogs, covering everything from alcoholism recovery to make-up tips, from dealing with autism, to running a business.
Nice interview!