Todd Defren has many titles: Father of the Social Media Release, Author of PR Squared and of course, there is his day job, Principal at SHIFT Communications. Todd took time to chat with the Buzz Bin about new media and the current state of the social media release. One great quote: “If a marketer is bent on ‘exploiting’ anything, it will likely bite him in the ass. That was ALWAYS the case, of course, but in the Social Media world, the difference is that you’ll be caught out more quickly, and the ‘punishment’ can be more harsh and more long-lasting.” Read on for more…

BB: Suddenly many corporate marketers are approaching social media as a new way to reach their target audiences. What do you think of this?

TD: I am in favor of marketers who are willing to experiment with this type of approach. I would only caution them to leave their own caution at the door: to engage you must fully embrace the opportunity to interact directly with customers.

This can be great, and get great results – if the product/service is great, and the outreach and participation (of the marketer) is candid and responsive. But the community can also be harsh and quick to judge and feels no compunction to always get the facts straight. That’s daunting to most marketers, as it should be, but I think that the plusses outweigh the challenges.

BB: What do you think of the terminology “target audience� versus “community?�

TD: I don’t get worked up about such distinctions. Life is too short to engage in semantic arguments like this one. ;)

BB: What will happen to marketers who try to exploit social networks?

TD: The easy answer is “You will reap what you sow.� If a marketer is bent on “exploiting� anything, it will likely bite him in the ass. That was ALWAYS the case, of course, but in the Social Media world, the difference is that you’ll be caught out more quickly, and the “punishment� can be more harsh and more long-lasting.

My advice is to start any Social Media campaign by listening and quietly participating (as a user, not a marketer): this is the best way to “find the line;� to get a true sense for community standards.

BB: What are your thoughts of the concept “participation is marketing?�

TD: I totally agree. Speaking as a consumer, when I notice that a company takes an active, helpful role in community interactions, I am impressed and more favorably inclined to their brand.

BB: As the original creator of the social media release, what do you think of the latest trend of traditional press release wire services evolving towards a social media release format?

TD: I think that this is a good and necessary trend. See this PR-Squared post for details:

http://www.pr-squared.com/2006/08/the_social_media_news_release.html

BB: Why are social media releases better for the current media environment?

TD: The strength of the SMNR is its ability to democratize access to the content and multimedia with which we tell stories on the web. Anyone can rip content from the SMNR and use it within their own publishing forum, as they see fit. This serves to widely disseminate news, and also gives consumers and publishers more input on the evolution of the newsmaker’s story and brand.

In addition, the SMNR creates more dialogue and context around each news item. Done right, the SMNR becomes a blog post, which lives on its own microsite, with moderated comments, trackbacks, etc. that show the interplay of the news with the news consumer.

BB: What has to happen for the social media release to become more widely adopted?

TD: Adoption by major brands as a standard vs. a test case. More case studies of success.

I think it will be a long haul, but ultimately all we are talking about is making the press release more interactive, “audiotastic� and “visualizzy.� It’s a way to disseminate and democratize news by taking advantage of web technology and multimedia… I’m betting on the SMNR’s eventual domination. Check out the Before and After (using the SHIFT template) at Belkin’s website.

Which release would you rather read? Case closed.