PR

Why Scott Monty of Ford Motors Has My Respect

Being the lone line of defence when pretty much everyone’s after your blood is a thankless task that no-one should have to face, but Scott Monty of auto manufacturer Ford proves it can be done. As the lone social media face of the US car giant, Scott probably has one of the toughest jobs around at the minute:

– He has to face negativity surrounding his employers and their part in the auto-bailout

– He has to show social media’s worth in an industry not always associated with open minds

– He has to deal with some pretty vociferous opinions thrown his way as the face of a frequently unpopular company

I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve been one of the people that have thrown some of these tough question’s Scott’s way. I’m not a big fan of under-achieving companies being “rewarded” for their failures with a Get Out Of Jail card. Maybe it’s my Scottish upbringing, or my grandad’s socialist side showing a little. But to me, you live or die by your own sword and the auto and bank industries didn’t do that.

Yet that’s an argument for another time.

Anyone inside the social media bubble knows how difficult it can be to not only make your voice heard at times, but to make it respected. So many variants and opinions of what’s right and wrong – although is there actually a right and wrong in social media to begin with? So to use the medium and make it work for you is a skill.

What Scott Monty does goes beyond that.

While his parent company Ford were being publicly flogged for the company’s CEO flying into Washington in a private jet to state his case, news broke of Ford going after an enthusiast site for trademark infringement. With the climate already hostile toward Ford, word soon spread throughout social media sites and networks about Ford bullying “one of their own”.

Instead of ignoring the situation and letting the legal team resolve it, Scott engaged the hostility head on and promised to keep everyone up-to-date with proceedings. This he did from his Twitter account – from latest news from Ford, to conversations with the site in question, to bringing the full story into public view.

The fact that he did this and kept the owners of the website on his side (not to mention gained new fans into the bargain) says a lot about Scott’s value in the social media world. The guy epitomizes all that’s good about this field we play in – transparency, honesty, openness, interaction and trust. And he does this every day of the week.

Of course, people might say that this is what he’s being paid to do, so he should be responding to the public – and that’s true. But how many people can honestly say they’d keep putting themselves in the firing line of such an eager execution squad and remain positive about it? That’s the difference.

Being genuine isn’t always a visible trait in the PR industry – being genuine in an industry where you’re only as good as your last sale is particularly less obvious. Like anyone, I can be a pretty tough taskmaster when it comes to the everyman versus the corporate giant.

People like Scott Monty mean I have one less giant to worry about.

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Ten PR People to Follow on Twitter

A recent post over at ProBlogger offered an excellent overview of 10 people that new Twitter users should follow. Admittedly, it consisted of the usual suspects, but then when the suspects are so good it’s hard to complain.

A conversation with one of my Twitter friends Lizz Harmon raised the question of which public relations-type Twitter users would make an equally good list for people to follow. Sources of great information for both PR professionals and interns alike. So, in no particular order, here is the list of 10 PR People to Follow for anyone interested in PR.

Beth Harte. One of the earliest adopters of Web 2.0 and social media benefits, Beth offers an excellent voice in PR and currently teaches public relations, marketing and more at Immaculata University.
Todd Defren. The Principal of Shift Communications, Todd is also the founder of the social media press release and an influential voice in Web 2.0 public relations.
Lisa Hoffmann. Lisa is the Chief Copywriter at PRstore and is vocal in her support of combining social media, PR and communications.
Lizz Harmon. Far from inclusion just because of her suggestion of this list, Lizz would make any PR list on Twitter. President of HarmonTampa Public Relations and another key social media proponent.
Dave Fleet. Dave is a Senior Consultant for Thornley Fallis Communications and has an extensive background in PR and communications. Always an interesting conversation.
Dana Willhoit. With a background in news journalism and lead press release writer for The Press Release Site, Dana offers an invaluable view from both sides of PR.
Joan Stewart. Otherwise known as The Publicity Hound, Joan is one of the foremost voices in PR on Twitter and an excellent source of useful Tweets and opinions.
Brian Solis. Principal of FutureWorks PR agency and owner of the industry-respected PR 2.0 blog, Brian is one of the key voices when it comes to social media and PR.
Sarah Evans. Director of Communications at Elgin Community College, Sarah has recently begun guest authoring at respected website Mashable.
Jason Kintzler. Founder of PitchEngine, a social media newsroom that’s fast becoming one of the go-to resources for social media press releases.

Like any list, this one is by no means exhaustive and I’m sure there are others just as worthy of a place on it. However, as a mix of PR professionals and services for anyone in PR (or interested in it), it’s not a bad starting point, though I’d love to hear who you would have on your list.

Of course, if you feel like following me, please feel free to join me on Twitter. 😉

Why Jason Calacanis is the Ultimate Twitter Fail Whale

I don’t like openly criticizing people, but Jason Calacanis is the equivalent of the Twitter fail whale.

Now I’ve mentioned Calacanis in this blog before, and actually stated that while he may not be my cup of tea, I did find his “never-say-die” approach was better than a negative one. However, all that has changed and for the award for the human version of the Twitter fail whale, Jason Calacanis takes first place.

Why? Simple – his recent actions have shown him to be a pretty shallow creature.

Never one to back off from blowing his own horn, Calacanis recently had to let 10% of his employees go due to the current lack of advertising in the online market. Calacanis is the CEO of Mahalo, a “human powered search engine” that needs advertising income.

At the time, Calacanis stated, “It’s my responsibility to make this hard decision and I don’t take it lightly.” He also mentioned, “We’ve got a significant amount of cash on hand… The net result of this effort is we are giving Mahalo another year…”.

Reading that, you may feel that this is the difficult and upsetting decisions that many CEO’s have to make when times are tough – to keep the company going, sometimes people have to be sacrificed. It’s not pleasant, particularly for those let go, but then if the company can survive and then re-employ at a later date, it’s a decision that has to be made.

You would have thought that. Until you learn that Jason Calacanis is picking up a new $109,000 Tesla Roadster this weekend. Until you learn that Jason Calacanis is boasting about picking up his car and asking his Twitter followers if they know any media types that would be interested in going along to record the pick-up.

If Calacanis was really interested in the best interests of his company and his employees, then he wouldn’t be wasting $109,000 on a frivolous purchase. Yes, even in times of difficulty businesses still need to spend money to try and keep the business going. Yet this is normally for new IT systems that can improve performance, or core company-specific needs.

A $109,000 sports car? I don’t think so.

So enjoy your new car, Jason. Enjoy the “fresh from the showroom” smell and the adoring looks in the mirror. For when your company goes through even tougher times and you have to lay off more employees – the people who really make your business – at least you’ll have a nice car to drive to your computer to send out another sob story.

So, congratulations. For the inaugural Twitter Fail Whale Award – Jason Calacanis, come on down.

Social Media, Press Releases and Where PR Fits In

As someone in PR who embraces social media, the social media press release – or social media news release, depending on who you talk to – is something that interests me greatly. It’s certainly nothing new as far as PR goes, having first been introduced in 2006 by the good folk at Shift Communications via their PR-Sqared blog. Yet despite the two year lead time, the social media press release still hasn’t taken off in any major way.

One of the main reasons (in my opinion) is that there is too much conflicting information about the format, which leaves potential users unsure whether or not it offers any benefits. Which is a shame, since used properly the social media press release can be a vital part of any promotional campaign.

What is the Social Media Press Release?

At its heart, the format is simply a new spin on the more traditional press release. The main difference is how it uses the burgeoning social media networks and applications. Compared to a “static” press release, a social media one offers:

Video and images
Audio
RSS feeds
Social network sharing options to the likes of Friendfeed, Technorati, Twitter and more

Because of these types of features, social media press releases offer a much easier way for news to be digested through online feeds. This includes bloggers, who are becoming an ever more important source of breaking news – something that the PR and news industries need to accept more readily.

By interacting with a larger online audience (including bloggers), the chances of a news story being picked up by a large and targeted audience are increased. And for anyone still unsure about the power of bloggers, just look at the Associated Press debacle from a few months back, or the very recent BackUp Shotgun Rack controversy. So why the slow acceptance of the new release format?

Using Social Media and PR Effectively

One of the biggest reasons for the (currently) low uptake of the social media press release is that both businesses and PR professionals don’t understand the synergy between the new and existing press release formats.

With social media being such a buzz word, many companies are making the mistake that all they need is an online presence coupled with PR and everything will be just fine. PR agencies that have failed (or refused) to understand this new medium properly are also misinforming clients about what a social media PR campaign entails.

A social media press release will not form the one-cap-fits-all pitch of a proper PR campaign. Nor will it act as an easy way to increase your SEO visibility – a common mistake made when it comes to explaining what a social media press release can do.

Instead, this new press release format should be used as an excellent and complementary addition to a PR campaign – one which includes a traditional or search engine optimized press release distributed via online newswires. In effect, it should be used to build or enhance your brand via the tools offered by social media, with a more traditional PR campaign running alongside it.

Let’s Talk!

There’s a great debate going on over at the Hubspot marketing blog regarding the whole social media press release angle, and includes some interesting points of view from both detractors and supporters. These include Todd Defren, who came up with the first social media news release template, as well as Jason Kintzler, founder of Pitch Engine, a new website offering social media newsrooms and the option to create a free social media press release. It’s worth checking out.

Whatever your take is, whether you’re for or against, there’s no doubting that the social media press release offers a new spin for getting news out to relevant parties. While I’m most definitely in the “For” camp, I can also see why there is lingering doubt about its effectiveness. This is where it’s up to the founders and supporters of the format to show just why it can be so effective.

To do this, there needs to be a uniformed message – only then will understanding lead to acceptance. I’m in – anyone else?