New Media, Social Media, Digital PR, ePR..Love it or Hate it but Can you escape it ?

Further thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:41:00 +0000

(continued from previous post)

David Meerman Scott in his latest book suggests that Marketing and PR have a very blurred to non existent line between them on the web. It’s a rather alarming statement for the devoted PR professionals who consider Marketing as their evil twin. But potentially has elements of truth in it. The author suggests that the old ways comprised of having a separate team working on a marketing strategy and one working on PR of the organisation. This, for many, is not the case anymore. In the current economic climate many organisations would appear to be adopting this approach as a way of slim lining or stream lining the PR and Marketing functions and reducing staff costs while maximising impact. A simple search of “PR and Marketing agency” produces more results on Google search engine than a search for “PR agency” or “Marketing agency” alone. Many PR agencies now advertise on their website that they specialise in global viral marketing campaigns, that they have the expertise to reach masses both online and offline. Many of them are quick to add e marketing and e PR to their specialisation or skills. Can we say PR has almost merged with Marketing because of the new ways of reaching and communicating with the audience?

Traditional versus New

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Ever since I started studying my course (MA, Public Relations), I have been hearing about the way New media PR methodology is taking over Traditional one. But like they say, just hearing or practicing won't make you a thorough professional. Reading is the key. So I decided to read David Meerman Scott's book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR (published by John Wiley & Sons, 2007; 287 pages).
The objective of reading this book were simple - a) I am very keen to learn about new rules of PR using New media tools and b) I have to submit a book review as a part of my course assignment. So what better way but to start from here.

The book talks about reaching the consumers directly through the usage of new media channels rather than the traditional approach of advertising or press.The smaller picture that you get from the book is that traditional media probably does not work anymore. It's the day and age of New Media. It's the day and age of web power. The bigger picture that the author paints shows you the colours and strokes and the techniques of using new media as a powerful medium. The author is very vocal about this point and emphasizes that we (read PR practitioners) need not spend tens of thousands of dollars (or pounds) every month on media relations program aimed at a few journalists to cover us. Instead, we should be targeting the bloggers, online news sites, micro publications, public speakers, analysts etc to reach the target audience that are looking for what we have to offer. But he does not leave you there. The author guides you through the essentials of blogging, how can we use new releases, social networking sites, search engine optimisation, how to create effective virals. It's a great learning ground for students like me who are going through the learning curve.

The author makes a strong point that one has the power to reach consumers directly by passing the media filter. It seems that the trend is being followed by many companies and they seem to be certainly increasing their profits. The real life examples/ case studies provided are very informative and encouraging. But that also got me thinking that it can probably be said that this is the new way of attracting customers, generating interest and increasing profitability but Is it the only way? Probably not. There are still consumers in every nook and corner of the world like rural areas of India and China who are not online or people of the older generation in the UK or US, who would rather read the newspaper or watch tele to find out about different products and services. Does switching to new media completely not make us lose out on reaching these masses?

The other point that caught my attention was that the author states that Marketing and PR have a very blurred to non existent line between them on the web. Does that mean marketing and PR are merging? Alarming!

I leave you with this to ponder over...... because it certainly got me thinking.

But before I go away, I would like to add that this book is highly recommended especially if you are looking for a guide to learn about the benefits of using new media tools in your profession - PR or Marketing.

Random thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:18:00 +0000

I have no access to internet at home for the past 4 days and wont have access for another 4 days. It feels as if the life has come to a standstill ...I feel sad and paralysed. It's hard to imagine how dependent I have grown on using the internet and its even harder to imagine a life without it. I feel so lost that right now I would be a perfect model for the TV series Lost <>

That makes me think how did people operate when there was no internet and in fact it makes me wonder how do my parents manage without it even today. Although they seem to be doing just fine. BUT they don't know what they are missing out on me. My first pay cheque after I get a successful job is going to be spent on buying them a lap top and introduce them to this wonderland of worldwide web.

Anyway, must try and scan all my unread emails and return to blogging next week.

Review of an ebook

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:12:00 +0000

I am a sucker for latest happenings, knowledge, information, news (Call it whatever you like).That does not mean that I am the most well informed person on this planet (well not as yet), but if something interests me then I go to any lengths of finding more about the subject. And when I hear people around me talk about it and if they know more about it than I do, it bothers me. In a good way, of course. I am not suggesting that I go into a frenzy like a lunatic. Definitely not! But it persuades me to get more information and learn more and empower myself with more knowledge.

Any way, In my quest to learn more about this latest Viral phenomenon, I started reading David Meerman Scott's blog and was lead to his new ebook "The new rules of Viral Marketing: How word-of-mouse spreads your ideas for free." I immediately took to the title of the book and at the risk of sounding too melodramatic, might I say that I had this undying urge to read it straight away. To my surprise and Big Thanks to Mr Scott, the ebook can be downloaded for free from here.

DMS (David Meerman Scott) talks about the power of mouse in his book. He talks about the ways one can reach the consumers directly through viral techniques on the web. The book shares some good examples of success stories of different people such as Cindy Gordon of Universal Orlando Resort and how Viral marketing helped them make millions of bucks. The ways to use e books or YouTube videos for marketing or PR are the main highlights of the book. The concepts and techniques are explained in an easy to understand language and the content is interesting to read.

DMS leads you through the need, ideas and scope of Viral Marketing to the fact that not everything is guaranteed to go Viral. I particularly liked the insight from Chris Greendale, a general partner at Kodiak Venture Partners that DMS has shared in his book about the viral marketing Bell Curve.

The other interesting take away from the ebook is Hubspot. He defines Hubspot as "A provider used by small businesses to leverage search engines, get found by more prospects, and then convert a higher number of prospects into customers." The benefit of using Hubspot is outlined as tremendous value in learning how successful their site is at attracting visitors. I say, very beneficial.

The scope of PR or marketing through Viral tools is humongous if its done in the right way. Plus luck plays a very important role too, like in any other gamble of life. But, at the end of the day, it's free advertising, inexpensive, expands exponentially etc etc. All you need to begin with is time and creative ideas. And like DMS says in his ebook "What do you have to lose?". Really!

You either Twitter or you don't !

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:17:00 +0000

It's the latest fad. It's the new Facebook. It's the new Red. It's what's making the world go round these days. From Barack Obama to Jonathan Ross, from Starbucks to PepsiCo, from Journalists to PR professionals, from Antarctic circle to Arctic circle - Everyone is on it. It's the new voice of the world. It's the new universal language.

It's the new style - you either have it or you don't !!!

Twitter is proving to be a very successful PR tool. Last month, PR week reported the use of Twitter by ActionAid charity in it's campaign against Tesco and The Guardian reported Jonathan Ross discovering the wonders of twittering.Today Telegraph reported "Starbucks, Ford and PepsiCo turning to blog site Twitter for PR." And I am sure we all remember reading about Mike Wilson, a software engineer from Colorado, who found instant fame by tweeting about surviving a plane crash.

You don't need to turn on your TV or browse through newspapers to learn about the VERY latest happenings around the world. All you need to do is keep a close watch on Twitter feeds, those 140 magic characters that make or break news. And Need I mention, why did I stress on the word "very" ? If you still don't know why, read about Mike Wilson again.

Now, if you are wondering, how to use Twitter as a PR tool. Please don't stress yourself. I might have an answer for you, courtesy Corrine. I found it very informative, you might do as well. I say, definitely worth a dekko.

Please press on next button manually to go through the slides.

Rising star of today and tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:48:00 +0000

"Public Relations is not just about media relations. Public Relations is about putting cool stuff on the web. It's about publishing content.....it's about driving viral aspects of your idea" says David Meerman Scott.

I totally second his thoughts. He stresses on the fact that you can now sell your ideas directly to the public, you don't have to go through media. It's all about creating online buzz.

And what better way of reaching the masses than the viral videos or podcasting? You could be a talented actor/singer without much luck and tight pocket. But then you put your Grey cells and creativity to use and create a video of showing your skills. Stick it on YouTube, spread it through emails, blogging etc and next thing you know is that you have been 'discovered'. Fast forward a few weeks, perhaps months and you are now a brand. Like the idea?

Viral videos tick all the boxes of being an effective and strategic PR tool. It's cost effective, track able, has a long life span, measurable and most importantly it's self advertising. Viral marketing through such mediums is all about energy, imagination and time. It's clever. It's Guerrilla marketing. I guess one of the reasons PR through viral videos is gaining popularity is because it makes a human connection and leaves a visual impact. One does not feel that he or she is being sold a product. It's not being imposed on you. It's a simple decision, you either watch the video or you don't. You either like it or you don't. But you have the power to make that decision. And we all like any form of power trip, no matter how big or small, don't we?

PR aided through Viral tools is here to stay. It's making a mark today and it will probably shape up our tomorrow.

And here is a reason and way to show your creativity to your loved one this Valentine's day. Let's get started.

And on that note I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May you find prosperity, success and peace in 2009. I know I will :)

Evolving technology and like how!

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:30:00 +0000

If you haven't don't it already, please take a look at this viral video. Creativity at it's best!

I have watched this video 3 times already in the past 1 hour. It's funny, heart warming, hilarious (in a good way), well choreographed etc etc. Did you notice Sarah Palin's look alike? Hard to miss.
I am enticed with the idea of spreading the message and creating awareness through such videos. What a way to make people take notice of your campaign!

End result- 3,330,161 views so far on funnyordie.com and over 62,000 on YouTube. Powerful Impact. Strikes a chord and makes you want to know what is it all about. Directs you to the organisation's website.

A job well done!

Stay with me please.

Reaction - Fox news

Merry Digital Xmas

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:01:00 +0000

"More than 5 million people are expected to use the internet to carry on shopping on Christmas day" - BBC news.

Joys of using internet and being online.

How are you spending your Christmas?

I am definitely not a part of 5 million who are shopping online.

I am just another fellow blogger.

Merry Xmas everyone :)

Not that smooth sailing after all .

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:06:00 +0000

There is an online report published by E consultancy and apparently shows some in depth information of importance of Online PR within PR, which has been appreciated by many PR professionals. Daryl Wilcox in his very own words says -" I'm simply going to say this, if you work in PR, read it." Those words did arouse curiosity in me to read the report but I soon gathered that you have to pay to read any reports by E consultancy, so I took a very quick U turn ( You must have heard of credit crunch? ).
But I managed to read a very good review of the report , courtesy Stephen Davies.

So like most of us who have read the review, what caught my attention is that "The results show that when companies outsource online PR to agencies or specialists, 51%of agencies are using PR agencies but a significant percentage are using search marketing agencies (29%) and web development agencies (22%) to develop and deliver online PR strategy."

What ??? AND Why ??? Couldn't help asking those questions to myself, followed by some more.

Don't marketing and web development agencies have other work to do? How is marketing or web development going to enhance your online PR? How are they even related to the work we do in PR?

I found some of those answers in Stephen Waddington's blog that I have been following very religiously these days. There is a huge opportunity for PR professionals to gain out of this digital revolution but from the sounds of it, we are letting it pass us by.
Online PR is very demanding when it comes to having a good skill base. One has to keep up with the times and learn about the new emerging tools, it's complexities and how it could benefit the PR world.Clearly more skilled workers in ePR are needed ( from understanding search engine optimisation to blogging ,tweeting & managing relationships with bloggers and tweeters) and there is even a bigger need to show a good track record of delivering consistently.Some might even argue that there is lack of available budget.

One of the good things about PR is that it seems like a very close knit family. Even though there is internal competition within agencies or in house PRO's but we are following each other on twitter or networking with each other through Facebook or Myspace etc. But then shouldn't we be networking with other communities? Are we losing out by not mingling with others?

Will McInnes, MD of Nixon McInnes was interviewed by E consultancy and here are his views on some of the questions I was pondering over earlier.

The sweet smell of success !

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:40:00 +0000

Obama's victory - Good news for ePr ? My thoughts - YES. I know you have probably heard this before and you will hear this time and again.But am so compelled to put my thoughts into words, am living in blogosphere these days after all.

" I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours." Those famous words spoken by 44th president of the United states.Simple words, tremendous impact! What made it even more impact ful is the reach of those words. These words are probably echoed in the soul of every man or woman , old or young in USA who voted for this phenomenon called Obama. What actually made him that? I say , good old Internet. He embraced Internet and made a personal connection with people from all over the world. He is the first digital president ...of the world. Here is why!

Some fascinating facts and figures I stumbled upon and would like to share with everyone who cares.

He hired Chris Hughes co founder of facebook, to create a social networking site out of www.barackobama.com. (Chris is only 25 and clearly very talented! Can you imagine the pangs of jealousy I keep getting in my stomach but I salute him for recognising the digital power and sharing it with the world.)
YouTube provided Obama with over 14,548,809 hours of free advertising; equivalent of $46 million.
He even developed a cool iphone application to encourage people to vote for him and pass the message on, and even advertised on video games to reach the youths.(How very clever!)
Since August there have been 500 million blog post referencing Obama ( And now there is another addition.)
Obama has a network 844,927 Myspace friends,118,107 Twitter followers and over 2 million Facebook supporters.
Team Obama managed to compile a mobile phone database of over 3 million phone numbers which acted as a very resourceful and valuable tool.
There are nearly 2 million links to www.barackobama.com.
Obama raised $33 million from his online fundraising operations alone.

And the list goes on ....

Obama's victory is being celebrated and I guess will be for a long time in the digital world of social networking sites and blogs. Web 2.0 helped Obama in generating buzz, word of mouth and positive network effects. Isn't that what PR is all about? I say, Yes . But then that leaves me with some other questions.
Is digital media taking over traditional media?
Have we found our Ace card in the PR world?

I guess, the time will answer my questions , if am patient enough . But am not, so I will carry on my pursuit.

Why go Digital ?

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:19:00 +0000

Did you know that there are more than a billion people connected to the web around the world? Did you also know that a recent report published by Datamonitor predicts 27.1m britons would have joined a social network by 2012 and UK will have the strongest networking growth in the EU? I didn't and only just found out! Can you imagine the impact it would have on businesses all over the world?

PR is no exception. The impact of New media on PR industry is tremendous and growing every day. Every one wants to move in this direction and wants to be a part of it. But Why ? I was reading Digital PR by PR week and agree to an extent with Stephanie Bonnet & Desiree Collier from Burston - Marsteller. Like many other PR experts , they are of the opinion that "Digital can be the glue that holds together all the other marketing and communications activities in a company because it is cost effective and its impact can be measured." But as a matter of fact , there is more to it than it just being cost effective & track able. For example, businesses have seen a growing demand to communicate electronically. Its much quicker, the feedback can be instantaneous, it has a much wider reach and let's face it you are actually networking with people/consumers who actually provide your bread and butter. So if you don't do it for them , somebody else will - like digital agencies. In the past few years , many PR agencies have worked on incorporating digital media in some form or the other. As social media becomes a part of daily lives of people , nothing can stop the professionals who deal with people for a living from working in the digital space.

On a completely different note , I have to admit that I am very pleasantly surprised to discover that am loving this whole blogging and tweeting experience .

Digital Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Subhir Kotwal) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:45:00 +0000

Have you ever woken up one morning and felt that the world has moved on to a Digital Abyss while you were sleeping?

A couple of years ago, while I was living and working in India, social networking sites like Facebook or Orkut or MySpace were heard of and it was kind of "cool" to be registered on it . Fast forward to 2008, I live and study now in London, and it seems that the popularity of social networking sites has gained so much momentum that it has become a basic necessity of life, not just in India but almost everywhere else in the world where Internet has managed to spread its wings. Just the way we have our morning cup of tea or coffee, facebooking or twittering has become a daily routine too. I certainly can't do without it. How else do you sit in your bed room and connect with the rest of the world and sometimes pry on what's happening in other people's lives , mostly your friends. How else can you learn so much about other people's experiences , views , happenings etc etc and you feel like you know the entire world and still have a hunger to know more. Digital form of communication is taking over , at least that's what it seems like.

I am a Digital virgin in many ways. I have never ever blogged before , only very recently opened an account on Twitter , still trying to discover so called wonders of this microblogging site. And very soon I will be on Linked in. So here I am , trying to catch up and learn everything about this digital revolution , from blogosphere to twittering to media releases and so on. But Why ? The simple answer would be that in PR , profession where I want to make a mark of my own , you need to have a strong grasp of online media. Not only because I want to have a successful career in PR but the way industry is headed it certainly seems like that it would be beneficial in the long run . So it came as no surprise to me that I decided to write my first ever Blog on "Impact of New media on PR" . Hopefully , the more I read and research about it and express my thoughts through this medium , the more I will gain out of it !
Watch this space .