Views from the West – A blog about public relations & social media in the Rocky Mountains

The Wall Street Journal ran an article by Suzanne Vranica reporting that ad agencies are trying to grab a bigger piece of the social media pie.  I’m here to tell you that advertising agencies are no threat to the already established social media practices of public relations organizations.

Link to the story here.

Smart public relations firms have been incorporating social media into every aspect of their programs for years.  Public relations firms excel at establishing conversations, and that’s was social media is about.

Advertising agencies simply aren’t accustomed to the two-way conversations that public relations firms have long perfected.  They’re used to pushing out messages.  Of course, the worldwide holding companies that have public relations firms in their portfolios are a step ahead, but will traditional advertising execs really embrace a public relations practice?

I doubt it.

Many CEOs don’t want to engage in social media. They believe they can’t make the time commitment required, or that what they have to say won’t be of interest to a broad audience. I really liked George Colony’s (Forrester Research) recent advice to CEOs about social media.

I found it most interesting, but not surprising that of the top 100 companies in the world, none of the CEOs are social. Colony recommends a policy of “social light” for execs. This is a workable concept. It basically gives the CEO a way to be present in the social media world, but doesn’t demand a daily interaction.

Let’s face it; CEOs that refuse to engage in social media are missing a valuable opportunity to connect with customers and stakeholders. Colony’s advice is sound. A CEO doesn’t have to Tweet every day, but how about 12 to 24 Twitter posts each year? Easy to do. Colony also recommends six to eight blog posts a year. Again, reasonable for a C-level executive.

Colony, a professional trend-spotter, predicts that in the next 10 years, “social will be a required skill for CEOs in 30 of the top 100” companies. Forward-thinking CEOs will want to be ahead of the curve and get involved now.

We applaud today’s decision handed down by the Supreme Court that gives more power to the President to appoint or withdraw members of the Public Accounting Oversight Board.

When all is said and done, Sarbanes-Oxley is about transparency and today’s news reminds us of the importance of truthfulness to a company’s reputation. Public relations leaders have always advocated for transparency in all areas of business.

So now, more than ever, when businesses have to be clear about who they are and what they are doing, removing an unnecessary layer of insulation that stands between business and the SEC, the executive branch or anybody else is a good thing.

The World Cup has a way of connecting various nationalities, ethnicities, and communities — people who share a passion for the sport of soccer (either formal or informal).  It is a time to commune and celebrate and cheer on their country or their adopted country. It is a time to talk about the soccer legends of the past and the heroes of tomorrow.  It is a time to marvel and congratulate these incredible athletes.

There are favorites and underdogs.  It seems like there is always a Cinderella story each World Cup.  A team and/or a nation who, for one month, believes that the improbable could happen.  At the end, there is one winner. Feels like we will have all won. Most fans and teams have shared emotions of hope and pride for their teammates or fellow countrymen.

JohnstonWells salutes all the soccer fans out there. Have a great month and enjoy this international game.

Go USA !!!!

While most industries are clinging to social media opportunities to quickly connect with their audiences, healthcare businesses have been a bit tentative and shy. Patient privacy regulation and HIPAA rules can certainly take the “social” out of this form of outreach.

So, it’s no surprise that Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting invited JohnstonWells to speak with an audience of medical practice groups, who are ready and eager to establish an online presence and learn where HIPAA fits in and where it doesn’t. Social media outreach doesn’t have to be complicated. Just make sure patient details are left out and a healthcare attorney with HIPAA experience is left in to review any ambiguous information.

A boom in healthcare blogs and sites confirms that patients are becoming more and more dependent on this blast of information. In fact, 72 percent of patients search the Internet before a doctor’s visit, so they are relying on the healthcare industry for critical information.

Hospitals, physicians, medical associations and other healthcare experts are starting to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and even YouTube to improve relationships with patients and other professionals, inserting themselves into the conversations that are already taking place. A strong social media mix can help make this outreach successful while still respecting HIPAA rules.

A few steps to get started …

• Create a website with links to articles for your patients, as well as a blog by the leading physician or nurse.
• Tweet with links to articles, as well.
• Create a Facebook page with key information, as well information on healthcare seminars, industry news and healthcare updates.
• Use LinkedIn to connect with other professionals.
• Upload a wellness video to YouTube and include a link on your website and Facebook page.

With so much to say, the healthcare community can’t afford to ignore social media opportunities. Respect HIPAA and build trust with the patients who crave this information and connection. Keep it social, and keep it private where it matters.

Bob Threlkeld, who was a principal at JohnstonWells until his retirement a couple of years ago, sent this to me following my husband’s death on May 31.  It’s very well written, but that’s what we’ve come to expect from Bob.  I wanted to share it with you.

Gwin…

I’m so sorry. I had heard that Don had taken a turn for the worse, but it is still a shock. I know you have a zillion e-mails and calls to cope with, but if you will indulge me, I want to tell you of some thoughts I had about Don late Sunday night in bed while recovering from jet-lag brought on by our 20-hour ordeal returning from France. I don’t know what prompted these thoughts at this particular time, but they were closely related to my father’s death some 39 years ago.

My father died somewhat unexpectedly after complications from a gall-bladder operation.  I was 29. Close friends came to my mother’s apartment after the death and I remember my father’s closest friend embracing my mother and saying:  “Betty, Harold was one of the nicest people I knew.”  And, my mother replied, “Yes, he was such a nice man.”

And, I remember thinking, is that it? He’s a nice man! I wasn’t necessarily offended, but I thought it was somehow inadequate. What about his passion for public education?  His many successes as a school administrator? His love of sports?

I had not thought of that incident until now. I’m sure it came to mind because Don has been universally described as “a nice man.” Indeed, he was frequently described as “one of the nicest persons I’ve ever met.”

And, thinking about this so many years after my father’s death, it dawned on me that being labeled a “nice man” may not be so bad after all. What a slow learner!

I’ve come to realize that “being nice” does not mean being a shallow glad-hander with all smiles and nodding acceptance of whatever opinion is being expressed at the time. Don (and my father) had strong opinions and were particularly intolerant of intolerance.

But Don was also a listener. He was truly interested in what you said. When he talked, he presented his opinions calmly; he didn’t shout them or insist that you agree.

In short, Don was a nice man. My father was a nice man. And, that, I’ve belatedly come to learn, is not only a rarity in today’s world but an epitaph to be honored and cherished.

I was quite excited for my shadow day at JohnstonWells Public Relations. I had no clue of what to expect. When I first walked in, I was really amazed. I loved the interior design of the building. It seemed like such a sweet work environment and the rooftop deck was the cherry on the top. The people I met were easy to talk to, and I had no problem connecting.

My talk with Lee Bley and Breanna Deidel really helped me understand what PR is all about. They showed me their Goodwill project and I thought it was so cool and creative. It really got me excited about PR because there is so much to it. PR is so vast and you can really craft it in so many ways.

I learned some good lessons today about the direction I should take if I were to become a PR professional. From my talk with Lee and Breanna I learned that when choosing a job in PR you should target your interests. It does no good to represent companies that you don’t respect. They told me about how JohnstonWells once  turned down a big money client in tobacco, and I had so much respect for them after that.

Teresa also gave me the 101 on what it took to land a job. I learned how valuable internships are, and that I should really start getting into my interests more actively. For example, I am very interested in charity work, so this summer I may look into working with United Way or another nonprofit organization. This experience will help because I could end up representing a client like this if I get hired by a firm that does that kind of work. I also plan to improve my writing skills. Teresa’s writing skills have made her an asset to JohnstonWells.

I had the opportunity to attend a PRSA luncheon where I got to see what PRSA really does. I interacted with fellow PR students and PR professionals. I expanded my knowledge and got to see how PR professionals in the area stay in touch.

I later learned about a few technical tools like Cision and how it is a good resource for media contacts. In the afternoon, I attended a convention at the Colorado Convention Center with Gwin Johnston. We got a feel for how medical companies sell their new products.

Overall, I am so glad I came. I love how JohnstonWells PR functions. How schedules are loose and how everybody is in touch with one another I would really enjoy myself working at a PR firm like JohnstonWells. Before I didn’t think too much about PR as a career, but now it’s a powerful bid on my career list. I have so much more focus and drive for my future and now. I can’t wait to graduate!

Quite often, the question about how to effectively measure the success of a public relations campaign comes up in our community. So it is no surprise the same debate is occurring about the measurement of social media efforts. Before talking about social media measurement, let’s set one thing straight – social media should never live on its own, but is part of a strategic communications plan to achieve whatever the company or organization’s goal(s) may be.

When using social media in your communications strategy, there are many free ways to monitor the success of your online efforts. For many, this is basic information. But, for those of you looking for some simple ways to track social media, here are a few of our favorite free tools:

Technorati and Google Blog Search – blog search engines

Icerocket – blog, Web, Twitter, MySpace and other searches

Google Alerts – set up with your key words and receive alerts sent to your e-mail when the key word appears online (including Facebook, Twitter, news and more)

Google Analytics – add a little code to your Web site and see stats on its performance

TweetBeep – another key-word search that sends e-mails when your key word is dropped in Twitter

There are many other ways to track your social media programs, but more importantly, you must address what you are tracking. Audience engagement? Pure statistics? Share of the conversation? Many services that charge for social media monitoring programs are worth the cost, if you have the budget. Radian6 and Filtrbox are examples of companies worth looking into if you can move out of the free realm to monitor your social media efforts.

What are some of your favorite tools that measure social media success and what specifically do you find most important to measure?

Diane Amdur, senior counselor

Today is National Grammar Day.  It’s the day we “march forth” to celebrate language and good writing.

The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar established this day for “people who crave good, clean English — sentences cast well and punctuated correctly.”  I guess I am one of those people who appreciate clarity and a few rules, so we can speak and write as one.

Author Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, shares her Top Ten Grammar Myths today, to celebrate this occasion.

1.    A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
2.    You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word “however.”
3.    ”Irregardless” is not a word.
4.    There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.”
5.    Passive voice is always wrong.
6.    ”I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing.
7.    You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels.
8.    It’s incorrect to answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.”
9.    You shouldn’t split infinitives.
10.    You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition.

Honor your words.  Choose them carefully.  Speak well.  Eat cake (since it is a celebration).

Gwinavere Johnston, CEO

All this stimulus money, where is it going?  Certainly not to small businesses who need it most.

Since small businesses employ more than half of the workforce, wouldn’t you think there would be special programs to help these businesses manage better in these tough times?  Not a penny.  In fact, a friend of mine went to the SBA because they’d promoted the fact that they had $30,000 grants for small businesses.

The clerk there discouraged him from filling out the mountain of paperwork it would require to obtain the stimulus money saying “you’ll be turned down in the end.”  Huh?  This advice was offered without knowing any information about the company.

What can we do?  Banks won’t lend money when you need it, and stimulus funds aren’t available.  The more I speak with small business owners, the more I realize that small businesses are being left out of the stimulus program.  How can we make our voices heard in Washington?