Communications 2.0 - The Future of PR Conference
This past week, I moderated a panel at Communications 2.0 – The Future of PR Conference sponsored by Business Development Institute and PR Newswire. Some new media regulars were on hand including
Steve Rubel, Rocketboom’s Andrew Baron, as well as Constantin Basturea, David Parmet, Todd Defren, and John Bell who hosted a panel on Authentic Media – looking at user generated content and the blogosphere.
My panel -- Brand Tracking & the Online Conversation: Tools, Case Studies and Best Practices – was the last of the day, so we suffered from some early audience departures. Conversation was lively indeed and featured:
Jay Dinwoodie, global head of marketing and communications for Dewey, Ballantine LLP, Rob Key, founder and CEO of Converseon, Bernadette Mansur, the senior vice president, communications for the NHL, Andy Plesser, founder and CEO of Beet.TV and Ronn Torossian, founder, president & CEO of 5W Public Relations.
The topic itself raises interesting questions about the challenges of tracking brands in an age of blogging and social media. How important is the online conversation to your brand or the brands you represent? Is it a necessity or hype? How do you track the sheer volume of online conversations and more importantly, how do you determine what is worthwhile and what is worthless? How do you engage your brand and interact with bloggers and social media sites?
Obviously in 45 minutes, time did not permit an extensive deep dive, but the panelist observations and audience questions were instructive.
Much of the discussion focused on tracking brands in the blogosphere during a crisis. I guess I am living in the blogosphere's echo chamber. I was surprised that many in the audience were unaware of the whole Kryptonite lock debacle. The story of a plastic ball point pen that felled a company is part of blogging’s lore, but apparently for a lot of young professionals, two years ago is the new “olden days.”
No stranger to a crisis, Bernadette shared her thoughts in coping with the National Hockey League's collective bargaining negotiations. She talked about the critical role that fans played and how she began interacting directly with them in efforts to get the story out at times without the media’s filter. At times, the fans had more insight than the journalists covering the negotiations.
An audience member asked how one should respond when customers start posting negative comments -- particularly inane ones. She mentioned one disgruntled customer who felt compelled to use her daughter's favorite expression and called the company “a giant stupid head.” From my perspective, you should ignore comments like those. You need to consider the source, the comment and the frequency. Not every comment merits a response, no matter how much it brings a brand into the mud.
Ronn, no shrinking violet himself, took a different perspective especially if bloggers all over the country start calling your company the same thing. At that point, I don’t think the issue is the name calling – no matter how juvenile. A high volume of complaints suggests a deeper problem with the company, its products, or the way management is communicating with the public.
Managing and tracking the brand has certainly become more difficult as the blogosphere democratizes the content and distribution process. As evidenced by the success of Rocketboom, the cost of entry is incredibly low. Any one with an Internet connection and a free blogging account now has the power to be taken seriously. That poses both challenges and opportunities for our profession and, at the least an excuse for a few more conferences.
Let me get back to you.
My panel -- Brand Tracking & the Online Conversation: Tools, Case Studies and Best Practices – was the last of the day, so we suffered from some early audience departures. Conversation was lively indeed and featured:
Jay Dinwoodie, global head of marketing and communications for Dewey, Ballantine LLP, Rob Key, founder and CEO of Converseon, Bernadette Mansur, the senior vice president, communications for the NHL, Andy Plesser, founder and CEO of Beet.TV and Ronn Torossian, founder, president & CEO of 5W Public Relations.
The topic itself raises interesting questions about the challenges of tracking brands in an age of blogging and social media. How important is the online conversation to your brand or the brands you represent? Is it a necessity or hype? How do you track the sheer volume of online conversations and more importantly, how do you determine what is worthwhile and what is worthless? How do you engage your brand and interact with bloggers and social media sites?
Obviously in 45 minutes, time did not permit an extensive deep dive, but the panelist observations and audience questions were instructive.
Much of the discussion focused on tracking brands in the blogosphere during a crisis. I guess I am living in the blogosphere's echo chamber. I was surprised that many in the audience were unaware of the whole Kryptonite lock debacle. The story of a plastic ball point pen that felled a company is part of blogging’s lore, but apparently for a lot of young professionals, two years ago is the new “olden days.”
No stranger to a crisis, Bernadette shared her thoughts in coping with the National Hockey League's collective bargaining negotiations. She talked about the critical role that fans played and how she began interacting directly with them in efforts to get the story out at times without the media’s filter. At times, the fans had more insight than the journalists covering the negotiations.
An audience member asked how one should respond when customers start posting negative comments -- particularly inane ones. She mentioned one disgruntled customer who felt compelled to use her daughter's favorite expression and called the company “a giant stupid head.” From my perspective, you should ignore comments like those. You need to consider the source, the comment and the frequency. Not every comment merits a response, no matter how much it brings a brand into the mud.
Ronn, no shrinking violet himself, took a different perspective especially if bloggers all over the country start calling your company the same thing. At that point, I don’t think the issue is the name calling – no matter how juvenile. A high volume of complaints suggests a deeper problem with the company, its products, or the way management is communicating with the public.
Managing and tracking the brand has certainly become more difficult as the blogosphere democratizes the content and distribution process. As evidenced by the success of Rocketboom, the cost of entry is incredibly low. Any one with an Internet connection and a free blogging account now has the power to be taken seriously. That poses both challenges and opportunities for our profession and, at the least an excuse for a few more conferences.
Let me get back to you.
Technorati Tags: Steve Rubel; Micropersuasion; John Bell; Business Development Institute; NHL; Jay Dinwoodie; Dewey, Ballantine LLP; Rob Key; Converseon; Bernadette Mansur; Andy Plesser; Beet.TV; Ronn Torossian; 5W Public Relations; Constantin Basturea; Kryptonite; Blogging;
