Social media and online PR- specialist or not

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In a post about Bell Pottinger’s launch of a new Search Relations service, Flipper has an interesting take on the spat between Rainier/Custard and Weber Shandwick. The spat started with a letter to PR Week from Custard’s Gareth Davies, in which he argued that Weber Shandwick’s launch of a dedicated social media team was unnecessary.

I deliberately didn’t comment on it at the time as rather embarrassingly Gareth also said “Apart from perhaps a handful of people in Silicon Valley and potentially Stuart Bruce’s new social media focused agency, there are not a lot of companies that can honestly say they know exactly what they are doing across all social media.”

The reason that I’ve picked up on it now is that Flipper draws the parallel between publishers hiring ’specialists’ to work on online news, before they realised that it actually made more sense to integrate the two and get traditional teams to learn the new skills.

My belief is that for public relations it will be much the same. At the moment social media and online PR does require specialists, because so few PR people have the required skills. But it is such as a core, fundamental part of public relations that everyone needs to get on board.

The role of specialists is more in the application of the skills, so we will always need analyst relations, CSR, issues management, financial etc specialists, but they too will need social media and online PR as part of their core skill set.

XP: A PR Guy’s Musings

Le Web 3 and an impossible task

One event, 949 attendees, one task: To identify key people to meet whilst at the Le Web 3 conference in Paris.

Today my director Stuart Bruce set me what seems like an impossible task. Stuart will soon be travelling to Paris to attend the much talked about Le Web 3 conference (I know, some people just get all the luck). The conference will be the perfect opportunity to meet and network with other web pros and key people from around the globe, and I have been set the mission (choice of words intended) to identify key people also at the event. The only problem is there are 949 people going. How do I find the right people amongst this sea of names? This post is my call for help! If anyone can tell me how to go about this it would be greatly appreciated!

Or… if anyone wants to meet Stuart and get me off the hook please get in touch with me at bethk@wolfstarconsultancy.com.

Are hotels missing the long tail?

When I think back to all the great hotel stays I have had, whether a last minute weekend getaway or a two-week stint in the US, one key factor seems to influence whether I find the place ‘hot or distinctively not’. Word of mouth. Hotels recommended to me by friends, colleagues and family always seem to triumph over any other and I have come to trust the opinions of those who have had first-hand experience and can truly tell it how it is.

This got me thinking about hotel chains and their presence in the realm of social media. It’s true that there is no shortage of hotel recommendation sites and blogs about where to stay seem to jump out at you at every possible bend in the blogosphere road, but searching on Technorati, it surprised me how little a voice the actual hotel chains had in the world of web 2.0. I managed to explore through over ten pages of blogs using the key word ‘hotels’ without finding a single entry from an actual hotelier. Hotel chains seem to be missing the boat on this potential gem. Industry reports are raving about social media and its’ possibilities, yet only a mere few have done anything about it. Mintel reports and the World Travel Market both advise hoteliers not to ignore social media and the increasing use of technology amongst key customers, yet still the silence continues.

However, there are a few brave amongst the timid. Bill Marriott of Marriott hotels does in fact have a blog, and not only that, it’s pretty good too. His reminiscent posts detailing his past and present travels through the world of hotels, gives the group a touch of personality amongst the cold corporate face of large hoteliers. The blog by general manager of Canada’s Opus hotels is now required reading for students studying at San Francisco State University, in which he blogs not only about the hotel happenings but about his own life and experience as a hotel manager.

Another hotelier that’s breaking the mould is Starwood hotels (daddy to Meriden and Sheraton), who launched their Aloft hotel in second life before constructing the real building; the first hospitality company to open doors in the virtual world. This clever ploy allowed staff to observe how people would move through the building and enabled designers to choose and change the right colour schemes and furniture layouts as many times as they desired, hence saving both time and money. A blog also allowed Starwood to tap in to consumer’s opinions, where those who had experienced a virtual stay, could relay their thoughts and opinions on any aspect of the hotel.

Whilst the majority of hoteliers are relying on their customers to give them rave reviews, these guys are getting off their behinds and creating a word-of-mouth buzz for themselves and enabling more people to say more about their hotels. With all the possibilities and places that new media could take you, the social media express is a train that these companies do not want to miss.

Mainstream media is quaking in its boots

Business to business magazines seem to be springing up left, right and centre at the moment. Only the other month we were hearing about a new website, based in Manchester, called How-Do which covers stories from the media industry in that part of the country. Well, no sooner did we start reading that and it was quickly followed by another from the other side of the Pennines.

David Parkin, the former business editor of the Yorkshire Post has teamed up with several other investors to launch a new business website called TheBusinessDesk.com which covers business stories in the Yorkshire region. It includes well written daily news, comments, deals, property stories and features. It seems to be a well developed and thought through project and I am sure many PR professionals across the country will now be looking to target this medium for their corporate clients.

New online media which include comment facilities providing an instant feedback mechanism seem to be creating a new trend in reporting with newspaper circulation figures falling and television advertising spend decreasing -  it appears that online seems to be the only way to go.

I am sure we are going to see plenty more online B2B and consumer news sites popping up both nationally and regionally over the next few years, the key for public relations professionals is to make sure they are all included in their target lists and given the same amount of respect as their more traditional counterparts.

The value of market research

For many years now I have believed that PR is at the wrong end of the communications spectrum. Time after time we take a brief, rush around, providing a solution based upon the client’s information that may or may not be based on sound market research.

Perhaps we should now be comfortable enough in our own professionalism to challenge these briefs, insist upon more in-depth market insight, supported by primary research that is steeped in market analytics. Public relations is far too often the ‘poor relation’ of the marketing disciplines and this really has to change. It will only change, however if we can convince clients that we are providing communications solutions that are based in ‘understanding’.

Perhaps we should ask why a legal clerk can charge a higher hourly rate than most PR managers? Is it because we have no choice when tied in by lawyers or is it because what we do is simply not highly valued? Large brands spend millions on market research and advertising and tiny amounts on public relations….and therein lies the challenge. To be worth more per hour than a legal clerk we need to change the way that we are perceived by delivering creative communication that is measured, is based on deeply imbedded market knowledge and which leads to improved profitability for the client.

Watch this space for the next installment…it gets better!

Work experience vacancies available

And now for a clichéd public services announcement from the team here at Wolfstar.

Calling all PR students? Switch off your favourite breakfast television of Richard and Judy, put down that pot noodle, throw away that copy of glamour magazine and your fancy Starbucks coffee and listen. Social media specialist Wolfstar is looking for some new enthusiastic recruits to join its team on a part-time work experience basis. Are you interested in a career in public relations? Do you have an interest in social media and word of mouth marketing? Do you want to find out how this all fits within the marketing mix? Well, if the answer to all of these questions is yes, we have a great opportunity for you here with us.

We are currently looking for a number of professional but fun students to join in the action. If you would like to gain some fantastic experience with a team of Communications Professionals, drop me an email at chrisn@wolfstarconsutlancy.com.

If you have any fears about starting to work, have a look at this.

UPDATE - I should have also asked people to send their CVs to me too.

The first Fabric podcast

Last week I downloaded the first Fabric podcast recorded by Craig Richards, long term resident at the famous club and one half of Tyrant. The intro was a compilation of digital sounds and samples - kind of what you’d expect from such a well known underground establishment. Less than thirty seconds later, I was totally disillusioned. Instead of moody, thought provoking house music, the presenter gently eased into Latimore – ‘let’s straighten it out’, a beautiful track from the 1970’s. This continued throughout the entire forty six minute set in musical education, as Richards introduced each carefully selected record, based on his influencers and what “made him happy and sad”. The only slight resemblance of the dance beat I’d been expecting, came from Deux with ‘Game and Performance’ made during the French synth wave in the late seventies.  It was a pleasure to be allowed into the mind of such an inspiring DJ, but even more so to find such an eclectic mixture of simply great records hiding in there. It was almost like a lesson in musical appreciation, the kind you’d have actually enjoyed back in the school days.

Wolfstar enters negotiations with international record producer

The day has finally arrived for me and my colleagues to get our teeth sunk into the world of dance music! An old contact of mine, who also happens to be a chart topping record producer in the UK, met with me on Friday night for a fine blend of Pad Thai and a couple of Coronas. I knew he wanted to talk PR business alongside the usual catch up, but I honestly thought he was just on the prowl for some quick new media pointers. However, after I introduced him to his new social media toy – twitter - he was brimming with excitement about what this all could mean for interacting with his fans….

As it has turned out, he (and possibly his management team) has approached Wolfstar for a full scale social media and word of mouth campaign, ahead of his massive record launch in summer ’08. Apart from two months PR activity for the Gatecrasher brand in 2006, I haven’t really been involved with the music industry since my uni days. Suffice to say I’m totally buzzing about writing a plan, delivering it and the actual opportunities and doors this project could open for us all at Wolfstar.

For the time being his name will have to remain hush hush, but rest assured as soon as I can, I’ll be raving about this non-stop!

Is online marketing proving to be more difficult?

The online community is continuing to expand at an exponential rate and the social media landscape is aiding this process by evolving and developing into new areas and mediums all the time. So the job of predicting where consumers are going to go next seems to be causing marketers and advertisers some real but (let’s face it) exciting problems.

Most of us in the marketing and public relations world are already noticing this with many of our clients asking us where we think they should place their articles and adverts and of course where they will get the best return on their cash. However, Brian Morrisey from Adweek in New York asks what I think is a really interesting question as to whether social media is now starting to kill campaign microsites too.

I think this article makes for fascinating reading, as it seems to identify a clear shift from the normal push or pull type marketing strategies to one which engages the consumer in a two way dialogue. I think advertisers and marketers will become much more savvy to the social media landscape over the next couple of years but at the moment most people seem to be taking stock of things and looking for any clear market trends which they can then use to their advantage. Have a read of Brian’s article it certainly gives us all something to think about….

Chris Norton joins the Wolfstar pack

Hello and welcome to my first blog entry for Wolfstar, my name is Chris Norton and I have joined ‘The Pack’ here in Leeds as an account director, after being head hunted/rail roaded (only joking) from my old agency Trimedia Harrison Cowley.

I am genuinely really excited to be starting my new role here, as I have a massive interest in all types of media, especially anything of the social nature - so I am hoping I can bring my scary levels of enthusiasm and pass them on to the rest of the team.

Where have I come from? Well, Harrogate in Yorkshire actually, but in professional terms I have worked in PR for the last seven years, and during that time I have managed to work across quite a wide variety of sectors including: health, public, automotive, energy, travel, food and drink, education, technology, online etc. I studied PR at Leeds Metropolitan University and during my degree I worked as a Communications Officer on a nuclear power station in Heysham, Lancashire. Following my graduation (and several drinks) I joined Harvard Public Relations in West London before moving on to its sister agency Harvard Health, which focused on big consumer healthcare brands such as Zovirax, Beechams and Imodium.

After spending four and a half years in the bright lights of London, I moved back to the North and started working for Harrison Cowley in Leeds city centre. I had four great years at Trimedia making several friends but more recently I felt I needed a new challenge and following an interesting discussion with Mr Bruce, I decided I would take up that challenge - so here I am.

How do I spend my weekends? Well at the moment, I am not raving it up at night although it is true to say that I am up in the small hours. No, I like to get home from work, grab an ice cold beer from the fridge, lean back in a comfortable chair and spend the rest of the evening wiping baby sick off my shoulder and out of my trousers.

Yep, you guessed it, my wife and I had our first child two months ago (Jacob) – which was truly fantastic and both of us are thrilled. Those of you who are already parents will know it’s a fantastic experience, which can’t really be put into words. It’s also a fantastic way to test your levels of stamina – before his birth I was a partial insomniac – now I just don’t sleep at all!!

So here I am, I hope I can bring some tiny levels of humour, and no doubt a rant or two, to the Wolfstar blog…….

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