The 20-something research scientist and data team lead for Facebook, Jeff Hamerbacher, put it best: “The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads.” From Clay A. Johnson’s book, The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption The Age of Boringness for social media I’ve become increasingly frustrated when it comes to social media for business about the excitement generated by really small ideas and things, which become hyped (i.e., “marketed”) to the heavens—or maybe I should say the Cloud(s)—regarding innovation. From a public relations perspective, it’s particularly discouraging when these glorified (usually technology) …

“An information diet is not about consuming less; it’s about consuming right.” The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption Conscious new-age information diet Because social media, especially for business, remains relatively new—be pragmatic, oh ye enthusiasts and detractors, the majority of channels and tools aren’t even a decade old—as a hybrid public relations and social media specialist, to a certain extent I use this Bytes from the PR Sphere column as a “test” kitchen, suggesting atypical (from the norm), attractive and tasty organizational narrative (public relations) recipes for social business success. Wherever possible, I’ve been pointing to examples where …

Organizational “social PR” is silkier when representatives are accorded trust and authority about a company’s vision and goals, plus how internal leaders and employees operate and engage; in other words, reflect the true “culture” of the business. Digital “public relations” for an enterprise is much harder and less likely to achieve success if the culture is porcine or controlled (i.e., grunt out some canned corporate or marketing messages on social media platforms…after five revisions and three levels of approval). “Silk purse” social business culture coming of age From a personal PR perspective (regarding reputation, value and relationship building), it’s my …

In this digital era, I’m often surprised how conventional wisdom continues to emphasize journalists (and now bloggers) as an organization’s primary stakeholders or publics for “earned media.” This is underscored and bolded by the majority of industry publications, plus many PR and marketing practitioners, particularly those with a primarily promotional focus and an over-reliance on news releases as the main salvo in their toolkits. Conversely, I’m saddened by how little understanding or appreciation there is about one of the most enduring and important publics found at the company’s nucleus: employees. In particular, the lack of value attached to organizationally knowledgeable, seasoned (i.e., older) …

“I tend to keep [social media interactions] open and neutral.… As I represent a global brand it is vitally important that I ‘keep my nose clean’ at all times.”   David Graham, Deloitte South Africa I first “met” David Graham in a Twitter chat; I think perhaps it was the Harvard Business Review’s #hbrchat. His positive and friendly manner impressed me, plus his focus on Deloitte’s goals and objectives in the right “fly zone” (per last month’s Profile Byte). His Twitter bio could be a template for best practices in social business: Digital Channels Exec at Deloitte SA responsible for connecting and …

Channel Goldilocks in determining the right amount of PR “personality” for your social business profile—not too little, not too much. Just right. On CBC Radio’s The Current, a recent guest was Susan Cain, author of the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking; she described introverts’ preferred forms of interactions and contributions to society. A sound bite that stood out from a public relations and social media perspective was about how the 19th century focused on “character,” whereas the last and current centuries promote a culture of “personality.” From a social business perspective, what makes more sense …

Mine existing gold in the hills and strengthen PR value propositions for your partners and clients Many businesses working to become “social” devote resources in virtual isolation, trying to build their presence and figure out how to garner illusive followers, fans and “positive sentiment” conversations. Presumably the marketing strategy (if it’s actually been explored at the front end) is to augment profile and enhance reputation (“social capital“), with an objective to increase sales of products or services. Or in the case of not-for-profits, raise funds or attract volunteers, etc. In scenarios where companies have dedicated social media (community) managers, generally …

We’re at the apex of the “frantic” time of year: holiday shopping, business and private parties, seasonal school plays and concerts; a festive period that lasts until the end of the calendar year, into nascent 2012. Granted, from a religious perspective (or even its commercial gift-giving-and-eating version), many people don’t recognize or celebrate the “big” Christmas holiday, but in western countries it is a statutory holiday. And despite religious origins, people of other faiths recognize and appreciate the tranquil aspects of the holiday: peace and goodwill, festive lights and yummy food. At a minimum, after a pre-holiday rush of ramped-up …

Crisis, “PR disaster” or #epicfail: labels with a lot of subjective latitude in the fast-moving stream of social media opinion When assessing this super-sized instalment of Bytes from the PR Sphere, I’m casting a line of request to keep a fishy image in mind that reeled me in oceans of time ago. Attending a Toronto client presentation from a media monitoring company, a senior staffer from its Chicago head office captured our attention with a screen image of a large, loosely woven net, plus a number of fish—of varying sizes, commonplace looking and exotic—swimming into or through the mesh. My …

The inaugural byte focused on two of the three pillars of PR: reputation and value. Now let’s gnaw away on the third pillar of relationship building to test its sturdiness, particularly in relation to social media (“engagement and information”). As a framework, let’s revisit key definitions from the last Bytes from the PR Sphere column: Relationship building – connections, informal or formal, short- or long-term, developed with various stakeholders through dialogue, actions or transactions. CPRS definition of PR “…relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of communication, to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve …