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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the Bulldog Media Relations Summit.  I’m here with Jennifer.

Jennifer, will you please introduce yourself?

JENNIFER HA:  Hi.  I’m Jennifer Ha, executive director of digital media at New York Public Radio.  And I’m here at the conference and I’d love to tell you how you can get in touch with us at New York Public Radio.  So the best way is through email, and we do read our emails. 

And also know who you’re trying to reach and what they cover because it’s really important to target your pitches and understand what’s important to the person that you’re pitching to.  Also, please do not use red exclamation points, please, please, please.  That means emergency to me. Because if you do use one, I’ll put you in our spam filter. Sorry.

BURKE:  Excellent tip.  And especially if, you know, you’re trying to represent your client or your organization, you know, it’s just as important to know what not to do as to know what to do.  Jennifer, thanks so much. Where can people find you in social media?

HA:  We’re on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube.  You name it, we’re on it.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

HA:  Thank you. 

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the Bulldog Media Relations Summit.  I’m joined by Sally.

 Sally, will you please introduce yourself?

SALLY FALKOW:  Hi, I’m Sally Falkow from Press Feed, the social media newsroom.

BURKE:  And, Sally, you’re doing a session tomorrow about social media strategy.  Can you please share the two big things that whenever anybody is trying to develop their social media strategy for their communications and their public relations – what are the two core things that they absolutely have to keep in consideration?

FALKOW:  Only two?  We’re only allowed two?

BURKE:  Only two for the purpose of this quick video.

FALKOW:  OK.  Well, first and foremost, I think you have to listen. Before you even start doing anything else, you have to listen to the conversations.  We heard a lot this morning in the first session from people saying how much conversation and discussion there is out there, and that the role of PR people is changing from managing news and getting our news out and working just with mainstream media to actually participating in and shaping and directing what was discussion or conversation.  So you need to know what is being said, you need to listen.

And the second thing, I think, is you need to really understand how you fit into the business and what the business goals are.  And you can’t measure if you haven’t set a measurable goal.  So you need to know what it is you’re aiming for, and then you can figure out how to get there.

BURKE:  Sally, always great insights from you.  Where can people find you in social media?

FALKOW:  On Twitter, sallyfalkow.  I’m pretty much just sallyfalkow, all together, one word, lower case.  If you search that, you’ll find me pretty much all over.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

FALKOW:  OK.

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the Bulldog Media Relations Conference.  I’m joined by Maggie.

Maggie, will you please introduce yourself?

MAGGIE FOX:  Sure.  My name is Maggie Fox.  I’m the founder and CEO of a company called Social Media Group, and we are one of the world’s biggest independent social media agencies.

BURKE:  Now, Maggie, you just did a panel, and I was just wondering, you know, so many people are talking about social media.  For those people, perhaps, that haven’t quite started or don’t have a lot of traction yet, can you please share your couple of tips on how PR professionals and communicators can get going in social media?

FOX:  Sure.  Well, I think we have to recognize that social PR, that reaching out to people of influence and connecting with them in the hopes of getting them to tell your story for you is no different than traditional media relations.  It is not brain surgery, the approach is very similar. The only thing that is different is the language.  It is, you know, what they’re going to want from you, the way they’re going to want you to approach them, and kind of that human relationship piece, I think, is a lot stronger.  The other part of it is, you know, that the reality is if you want people to tell your story, you want people to talk about you, you want them to share your content, it has to be good.  So the notion that you are becoming a broadcaster, you’re starting to produce content of entertainment quality or asking other people to experience something that is really special is what’s always going to break through to us.

BURKE:  Great.  And where can people find you in social media, Maggie?

FOX:  They can find me on Twitter @maggiefox, all one word, or on the Web at socialmediagroup.com.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

FOX:  Thank you.

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the Bulldog Media Relations Summit, and we’re here with Aedhmar.

Aedhmar, please introduce yourself.

AEDHMAR HYNES:  Hi, I’m Aedhmar Hynes and I’m the CEO of Text 100.

BURKE:  Aedhmar, you were just on the panel talking about the future of public relations, and I loved how you incorporated and said, you know, we really have to step away as PR practitioners from those tactics that give us that feel good that we’ve done a good thing and align our goals with the business objectives.  How do you counsel your team on how to be a bold–be a good consultant and align their PR objectives with the business objectives?  What you’re trying to serve?

HYNES:  Well, I think to a large extent, much of what we’re doing and have always done is really move a story based on the position of a brand or based on the positioning of a corporation.  And for me, I’ve always felt that it’s critically important to understand the context of what you’re doing in relationship to the overall corporation.  So really understanding what influences the success of that brand, which is much broader than simply the success of its product or the success of its people.  And looking at the context of that and making sure that as a communications professional you understand the influence of government, you understand the influence of Wall Street or finance.  Really, all of those things at a global level, even the understanding of cultures across multiple markets is critically important.

And a depth of appreciation and understanding of that as a context setter for what you’re trying to communicate, I think, is critically important.  And in knowing and understanding the context within which you’re working, I think, gives you the opportunity to be much more effective not only in communications, but in being able to counsel your executives in their own effectiveness in communicating their brand.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.  I think those are amazing insights that we all need to keep abreast of and take our ego out of the equation.  Where can people find you in social media?

HYNES:  Well, I’m pretty easy because I’ve got a very complicated name. And the spelling of my name is A-E-D-H-M-A-R.  And so if you use that as your search, then actually all of the places that I am in the social media pop up straight away.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

HYNES:  You’re welcome.

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at 2010 Bulldog Media Relations Summit.  I’m here with Michael.

Michael, will you please introduce yourself?

MICHAEL SMART:  Thanks, Johna.  I’m Michael Smart with Michael Smart PR, and I teach people how to pitch to the media.

BURKE:  Michael, can you please share, for our PR practitioners and communications professionals, some of your top pitching tips?

SMART:  Sure.  One of them is to begin a pitch by referencing your target journalist’s earlier work.  And this principle that I’ve been sharing in my pitching workshops was echoed for me today when I sat next to Carl Lavin, managing editor of Forbes, at one of these great roundtables, where he said he likes it when PR people actually point out that we’ve posted his story or his reporter’s story to Twitter or on our Facebook feed so he can see that we’re helping drive traffic.  And then we can get into our pitch.

BURKE:  Excellent.  I love it that social media continues to play a growing role there.  Where can people find you in social media or learn more about your pitching tips, Michael?

SMART:  The best way would be to go to michaelsmartpr.com and sign up for my weekly pitching tips emails.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

SMART:  Thank you. 

I recently joined the Droid world. I LOVE my Droid Incredible. The coverage is amazing, the clear picture and fast processor allow me to view websites and videos on the go, access Adobe files with crisp clarity and truly work “in the cloud.” And of course the tool that every public relations professional needs at all times – a camera. The Droid comes with a 8 mega pixel camera for all your photo needs. But my real Droid joy comes from the many apps I now have at my fingertips.

I don’t know how many apps are too many or too few. After reviewing the app marketplace I downloaded, tested, and kept the following free apps to help organize and maximize my mobile experience:

AndroNews: Provides fast links to major news sources: CNN, USA Today, WSJ.com and BBC to name a few.

Evernote: My most-used, must-have app for organizing notes on all of my devices. The “cloud” at its finest.

Facebook: Full-featured Facebook interface.

FourSquare: Not totally sure why, but I continue to “check-in” from time to time.

Google Goggles: Snap a picture and launch an automatic Google search of whatever you’ve scanned. *CAUTION people searches yield XXX results

Magic8Ball: To help with my really tough day-to-day decisions.

Scanlife: Allows me to engage and maximize the QR Code experience.

TMZ: Celebrity gossip. A supplement to my subscription to People!

Touiteur: My Twitter app of choice. I tried several apps, including the Twitter app and found Touiteur to be the best, most feature-rich.

UrbanSpoon: Scouting new restaurants either at home or on the road.

Where: Provides easy-access reviews and allows local vendors to send me coupons when I’m in proximity of their location.

All of the apps I share here are free. I don’t mind paying for an app if it’s good, but there are so many great free apps you don’t necessarily have to invest to maximize your mobile experience. Though I caution you before settling on any apps; thoroughly read the reviews. Don’t be fooled by the overall rating. Upon digging deeper into the reviews I realized many of the reviewers who provided detailed feedback actually ranked the app lower than the overall rating. Those higher ratings were primarily just the rating with a very brief “It’s excellent” or some mundane response.

I know we have a lot of Blackberry, iPhone and Droid users who follow the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog so I ask you to please share: What are your go-to apps? How do you use them to stay organized and be more efficient? If you are in PR or media relations have you helped create an app for your brand or client’s initiative? Can you give examples of successful app marketing campaigns?

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the 2010 Bulldog Media Relations Summit.  I’m joined by Patrice.

Patrice, will you please introduce yourself?

PATRICE TANAKA:  I’m Patrice Tanaka, co-chair and chief creative officer of CRT/tanaka.

BURKE:  Patrice, at your agency you have some world-renowned talent.  What are some of the challenges that you’re facing in the PR and media relations industry as far as some of the area of expertise that you have?

TANAKA:  Well, because our agency is–has really kind of developed beyond just media relations, many of our assignments are integrated communications assignments that involve, yes, media relations.  And by media relations, I mean traditional and social media.  So that in and of itself is a much bigger territory for an agency to cover.  But beyond that, we also get involved in branding work, we get involved in advertising sometimes for clients, we get involved in event marketing and even trade support programs.  So every assignment that we take on is very different in terms of its scope, including the scope of the media relations that we do for clients.

BURKE:  It is a whole new landscape out there that we are all struggling with, for sure.  But where can people find you in social media?

TANAKA:  Well, you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.  That’s about–and I’m on Foursquare now, though I’m not really that active.  I’m not a mayor of anything yet.

BURKE:  Lots of territory they can still stalk you, then.  Patrice, thank you so much for making time today.

TANAKA:  Thanks, Johna.

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JOHNA BURKE: Hello, everyone. This is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Counselor’s Academy with Tom.

Tom, will you introduce yourself?

TOM GABLE: Hi there. Tom Gable, I’m CEO of Gable PR from San Diego, California. And I’ve been in the public relations business more than 30 years.

BURKE: And, Tom, you just did a session on strategies for success. Can you tell the people that aren’t able to attend some of those key takeaways and areas where they need to focus in order to make their agencies successful?

GABLE: Yeah. The whole idea is that a system can help make C players into B players, B players into A players. When I first started in the agency business as a journalist, the PR profession was mostly unbalanced; people were ambiguous; they weren’t doing good management. It was all based on the success of the individual talent. So if a good person left, client service would suffer. The idea is that there’s a lot of great books on this, including “E Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber, a whole lot of other research books on what you try and do is build the system so it’s very easy for people to follow through, to set goals for their clients, and then to move forward according to specific plans. And if you have systems for quality control, client planning, creativity and–built in, then you’re going to be more successful in the long run.

BURKE: Great, Tom. And I want to make sure everybody knows that you also are a PRSA fellow.

GABLE: Yes, ma’am.

BURKE: And if you can let them know where they can find you on the web and in social media.

GABLE: OK, the web is www.gablepr.com, G-A-B-L-E-P-R.com. And then I tweet @tomgable. And so just neat, clean and simple. Make it easy.

BURKE: Great. Thank you so much for your time, Tom.

GABLE: OK. My pleasure. 

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference with Mike.

Mike, will you please introduce yourself?

MIKE McDOUGAL:  Sure. I’m Mike McDougal. I’m vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Bausch & Lomb.

BURKE:  Great. Now, Mike, you just did a presentation about merging of traditional and social media.  Are there any lessons learned that you can share with the people here about, you know, things that you’ve learned along the way that maybe can help them avoid some of those same mistakes?

McDOUGAL:  Sure. I think there’s three things. One, you need to have a strategy. You can’t just jump in and try something from a social media sense without some strategy behind it. So even a basic strategy, get it in line. Two, it’s not either/or, it’s both. It’s have social media and traditional. Blend them to get better results, let them play off each other. And then third is have fun. You’re in this environment where, especially with social, you have a little more latitude to take yourself not so seriously. So I think those are the–probably the three things I’d come away with.

BURKE:  I think those are three great takeaways. Thanks so much. And where can people find you on the web and in social media?

McDOUGAL:  Sure. On the web it’s–my Twitter is @mikemcdoug, M-I-K-E-M-C-D-O-U-G. Or you can find me at mmcdougal@bausch.com.

BURKE:  Great. Thanks so much.

McDOUGAL:  Thanks.

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the  PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference with Chris.

Chris, will you please introduce yourself?

CHRIS CHRYSTAL:  Yes, I’m Chris Chrystal.  I’m media relations manager for the Nevada Commission of Tourism.

BURKE:  Chris, now, you know, a lot of conversation is going on around social media.  And I know that you’re a member of PRSA, SATW and NASHTA.  Can you talk a little bit about how you’re making the most out of your memberships in these times of the hype of social media?

CHRYSTAL:  Yes, and that’s a good question. Being a member entitles us to be able to attend the conferences, and when we go we meet our peers and from–people from all over the country who are in public relations or are travel writers.  And it’s been very, very useful for us. It’s a wonderful tool because you get to find out what’s going on, what they are doing, what they are saying, what’s happening. You get to catch up on all the latest tactics and industry activities that we need to know.  And there are things that you–you might not find that out just sitting behind your computer in your office. You’d have to do a lot of research online to be able to get the same things that you get at a conference. And with the membership in your organizations, you also can communicate with people.  You’ve got a built-in network, you’ve got people you can e-mail that they will accept you because you’re one of them, you’re one of the members of the–their organization. And networking’s really important now more than ever, because the industry is changing really fast and really drastically. And it’s a challenge for everyone to try to even keep up day-to-day. It’s never been like this before, it’s never been moving as fast as it is now.

BURKE:  Well, thank you so much, Chris.  And where can people connect with you online?

CHRYSTAL:  Well, our website, travelnevada.com.  If they want to contact our media relations department, I’m cchrystal, C-H-R-Y-S-T-A-L, at travelnevada.com.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much, Chris.

CHRYSTAL:  My pleasure.

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JOHNA BURKE: Hello, everyone. This is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Counselors Academy with Indra.

Indra, will you please introduce yourself?

INDRA GARDINER: I’m Indra Gardiner from Bailey Gardiner in San Diego.

BURKE: Thanks so much for joining us. And you’re doing a session on incorporating digital into the agency and how you can turn that into revenue. Can you tell some of the people some of the success stories and some of the tips that you have to implement that?

GARDINER: We’ve spent the last couple of years growing our agency digitally and expanding our service offerings to our clients. And not only has it been helpful for them in terms of results, but it’s also allowed an opportunity for our employees to learn and grow and expand their skill set. So it’s been everything from learning SEO and then applying that to our social media as well as our web development side. So it’s been cross-purposed to things like email campaigns and how does email fit into social media and a public relations program? So it’s a–it’s a much broader way of thinking about public relations and the marketing skill set.

BURKE: Great. That’s super advice for anybody to be able to apply to their systems. And so where can people find you on the web and then in social media?

GARDINER: Our website is baileygardiner.com. Our blog is dontdrinkthekoolaidblog.com and my Twitter handle is bgindra, I-N-D-R-A.

BURKE: Thank you so much.

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference in Beautiful Aspen, Colorado.  I’m here with Angela.

Angela, will you please introduce yourself?

ANGELA BERARDINO:  Hi, I’m Angela Berardino.  I’m the senior director for travel and emerging media at Turner Public Relations.

BURKE:  And what are some of the trends that you’re seeing specifically as they relate to travel and tourism in the industry right now?

BERARDINO:  I think one of the larger trends is the continuing evolution of geolocation technology, so the idea that content someone creates can have a GPS tag on it and can be sorted based on where it was created.  We’re seeing that with services like Goala and Foursquare, that, you know, let users check in to a social network. But also in how photography and video and even just website content, it can actually be filtered based on where the user’s at, especially if they’re using their phone. So I think how travel industry creates content and how it’s sorted is going to continue to evolve.  It’s no longer just about the words that are used, it’s–can also be about the physical location that it was taken in.

BURKE:  Great.  And, Angela, where can people find you in the web and in social media?

BERARDINO:  Sure.  I tweet under @CoTravelGirl.  And I also blog at digitaljuju.com.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

BERARDINO:  Yes. 

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JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m at the PRSA Counselor’s Academy with Linda.

Linda, will you please introduce yourself?

LINDA COHEN: Hi, I’m Linda Welter Cohen with the Caliber Group based in Tucson, Arizona.

BURKE: Linda, now, of the things that you’ve learned here at the last couple of days, which have been great sessions, what’s the one thing that you’re looking to implement right away with your team when you get back?

COHEN: I would say when I get back to the office one of the first things I’m going to do is schedule a session with Jason Baer to come to the Caliber Group and impart many of the social media tips and, in particular, some of the newest technologies and training out there on measuring the impact of social media and connecting the dots and how we can counsel our clients to understand this medium better than what they currently understand it. I think that there is so much potential. Everyone understands the potential, I think, but I think there’s so much potential to take our clients to a new level and harness this medium better than we’ve ever done it before.

BURKE: And I can say that probably taking that action and with Jason, you’re choosing a good commander at the post.

COHEN: Right.

BURKE: Now, where can people find you on the web and in social media?

COHEN: They can find me on Twitter @lindawcohen, and on Facebook at Linda Welter Cohen.

BURKE: Great. Thank you so much.

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JOHNA BURKE: Hello, everyone. This is Johna Burke at the–with BurrellesLuce at the Counselors Academy for PRSA, and we’re here with Ann.

Ann, will you please introduce yourself?

ANN SUBERVI: Sure. My name is Ann Subervi. I am the chair of the Counselors Academy and I also present workshops on ethics.

BURKE: And you just gave a presentation on ethics, and one of the most baffling things to me is why that was not a full house in there. And what is your experience with the PR group, why they aren’t more focused on ethics even knowing that the association has a special month dedicated to ethics? What are some of those challenges and what are some of the ways that you can maybe take some of the intimidation out of the subject matter for people so that they’ll be more engaged?

SUBERVI: Well, that’s a great question. I think public relations practitioners tend to focus on the tactical when it comes to training. They teach people how to write, they teach people how to pitch, they teach people how to present, but they don’t teach them about ethics. And when employees hear that they may have to go to an ethics presentation, they worry that this is going to be a lecture about doing good, and right and wrong. But in fact, ethics can be broken down into a process. It involves what are the rules and regulations that govern our industry? It involves knowing how to think through difficult situations and come out to the best possible conclusion.

It’s training on working with groups and group dynamics to figure out an ethical dilemma. And it’s practice, it’s role-play. It’s understanding, from the head of the agency or from the head of the organization that you work for, what is expected of you, and are you supported when you make an ethical decision? So when you take some of the blurry lines away from it and really look at it as a training program, as practical information, I think it becomes less intimidating and more interesting for people.

BURKE: I think one of the most powerful things that you said in the presentation was just remember that the way you think about things isn’t the same way that your client thinks about things, making that all the more important for PR people to have a good understanding about that so they can retain those relationships.

SUBERVI: Absolutely. And, you know, when you are ethical and you give clients great solutions that make them look great, you win, they win. And that’s really what it’s all about.

BURKE: Ann, thanks so much. Where can people find you on your website or social media?

SUBERVI: Sure. I have a blog called The Ethical Optimist at www.ethicaloptimist.com, and you can find my company at www.utopiacommunications.biz.

BURKE: Great. Thank you so much for your time.

SUBERVI: You’re welcome.

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference and I’m joined by Sree.

Sree, will you please introduce yourself?

SREE SREENIVASAN:  Hi, folks, I’m Sree Sreenivasan. I’m a dean of student affairs at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. And I teach in the digital media program there.

BURKE:  And I’ve heard Sree speak a couple of times, and I always take away great value from the presentation. You know, I think it’s interesting that you were an early adopter of Google, but for things like Google Buzz and Google Wave, you haven’t quite seen the value of those things yet.  So I think you have a really healthy perspective of how you look at things, and can you share some of those tips with the audience now about how they should try to find things and work them into what works for them as opposed to just adopting everything that’s out there?

SREENIVASAN:  Sure. This is, I like to say, very–or in a very early time in social media. This is where the Internet was in 1996, where radio was in 1912, where TV was in 1950, which means there’s a lot of new stuff coming all the time and you have to decide, though, whether to jump on things or not.

My own rule is, I’ll only work with something once it fits into my work flow and my life flow.  Work flow, life flow.  If it doesn’t do both, it’s not for me.  That doesn’t mean it’s not for other people.

So for example, Google Buzz and Google Wave are great examples of things that people love and thousands, millions of people maybe around the world use it. In fact, we all one day woke up and were on Google Buzz without knowing it because it’s something every Gmail user was on Google Buzz.  But what I’ve—I say is find when–only when it’s time for that technology for you should you use it.  So an example is Facebook.  I work at a university and Facebook was available very early.  I probably joined two years after everybody else did and couldn’t quite figure out how I can use it in my work till even after that.  Same thing with Twitter. Once you find something, then you are ready for it, then you use it.  Don’t panic, don’t worry that everybody’s using something that’s not important. Use the things that work for you.

The other thought about all of this is that it’s going to keep changing, and what we need to build is an ear that is listening to these new ideas and then looking for where we can–we can come aboard. Right now geolocation’s very big. I think it’s going to get bigger. Social media, I think, is much bigger than we imagined, and especially PR people need to be paying attention.

BURKE:  Great, Sree.  And where can people find you online and in social media?

SREENIVASAN:  Sure. My main web address is sree.net.  So if you Google “Sree” I come up first.  But Sree Stinks come ups–comes up afterwards, which doesn’t matter because the main thing is that I come up first.  But you can also find me on Twitter @sreenet, S-R-E-E-N-E-T, and on Facebook I have a page where I’m posting tech tips, job ideas, which is sree–sreetips.  So it’s www.facebook.com/sreetips.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

SREENIVASAN:  Thanks. 

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JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference in Aspen, Colorado.  And I’m here with Doug.

Doug, will you please introduce yourself?

DOUG MacKENZIE:  Good morning, Johna.  I’m Doug MacKenzie.  I’m the president of the travel and tourism section of PRSA, and the director of communications at the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau.

BURKE:  Greater Phoenix, indeed.  So, Doug, will you please talk to me about what some of the trends are that you’re seeing in the industry right now?

MacKENZIE:  Certainly in the travel and tourism PR industry, the trends are certainly enhancement of our social media tools, really a lot of interactiveness, and also there’s a good development of digital storytelling.

BURKE:  Great.  And then, you know, amongst that of your members specifically, are they talking to you about things that they would like to see as far as future programming and developments there?

MacKENZIE:  I think the tools that certainly track and measure the social media arena, certainly an easy interface where they can certainly message and story tell to the best ability, and to really work with different communities and show the spirit of their destination.

BURKE:  Great, Doug, and thanks so much.  Is there a blog where people can find you?

MacKENZIE:  You know, at our visitphoenix.com site we have the Hot Sheet blog which gives all sorts of good tips on visiting Phoenix.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

MacKENZIE:  Thanks, Johna.

Flickr Image: gfpeck

First appeared on Social Media Marketing Magazine, June 24, 2010.

My friends and I have joked over the years about CEOs (who will remain nameless) taking on the persona of the “Emperor” in the Hans Christian Anderson tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. It was all fun and games until we let a CFO friend in on the joke, who suggested that, perhaps, marketing and public relations professionals are the scoundrels in this analogy. Ouch! This seemed harsh, but it gave me pause to reflect and better educate my CFO friend on why we are not the scoundrels.

In the spirit of his DNA, the CFO only responded to the numbers. Not just any numbers, but those that impacted the bottom line of the business. Certainly, this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. He opened my eyes to the importance of every activity driving the bottom line, and I opened his eyes to the importance of the customer experience. Without evaluation and measurement, it was hard to know where you’ve been, where you are, where you’re going, and the most efficient way to get there.

While he appreciated the metrics I was using to manage the department (the outputs and the outtakes) and pointed out that perhaps those were simply the bolts of invisible fabric, clothing my CEO (and organization) with those metrics would be just like sending him out into the crowd naked. This was a pointed lesson that took hold and has stayed with me throughout the years.

In this analogy, is social media the cloth, the crowd, or the golden thread?

Social media is the golden thread. It’s real and it’s quantifiable. It’s how you use it in the weave of your fabric that makes it an effective cover of your efforts.

In social media, one of the easiest metrics to quantify is the conversion of an unknown to a qualified prospect. While this is an important metric to the marketing department to understand how your campaigns are performing, it’s only when the conversion becomes a sale (or outcome equivalent) that it really matters to the organization as a whole. The same stands true with engagement. While engagement is important, we should all look for opportunities to listen and learn from our customers. Until there’s a marriage or the deal is closed, it’s really all ceremony.

The moral of the story?

• Know the difference between metrics necessary to manage your department and those important to the business objectives of your organization.
• Don’t allow your organization or CEO to be naked while pretending to be clothed.
• As a matter of strategy, make sure your organization’s “suit” is made of only the finest fabric, woven with solid metrics that are visible to the crowds (investors and stakeholders).
• Don’t invest your time or resources in anything—including and perhaps especially, social media—that doesn’t cover your organization as you venture out into the crowds.

In the final analysis, trust your eyes, and if something doesn’t look right, say so. Even if it isn’t a popular thing to do.

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Transcript -

JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference with Bill.

Bill, will you please introduce yourself?

BILL MURRAY:  Hi, Johna. I’m Bill Murray. I’m the president and chief operating officer of PRSA.

BURKE:  So it’s great to have you here.  And you just did some remarks talking about the focus groups that you all have been conducting across the country. And I’d love to hear that, because that’s a very valuable form of research. So what are some of the findings that you’ve been able to take away at this point?

MURRAY:  Well, a great question, Johna.  We’re doing a couple of things. Every three years we engage in a really deep, strategic planning exercise at PRSA.  So this year we’re going across the country; we’re stopping in a number of cities and we’re talking to our members face-to-face about what’s affecting them as professionals out there on a day-to-day basis.

A couple things we’re hearing.  First of all, folks want to know about ROI. Whether you’re client is your–us, whether it’s someone in your organization, whether you’re an agency, the questions increasingly are, `What sort of return am I going to get from my investment in public relations?’

Another thing we’re hearing pretty regularly from everyone out there is how do I connect the public relations function to the strategic mission of my organization?  Folks know what their PR people do on a day-to-day basis, but what’s less apparent, especially in the upper reaches of management, is how they can connect that back to their financial objectives, their objectives for the reputation of the company, the organization, their objectives with respect to public policy goals.  And so definitely this is something that public relations professionals need to be aware of as they advance their careers and as they better serve the organizations they work for.

BURKE:  Bill, as a long-time practitioner, as a long-time member of PRSA, I’m delighted to see PRSA practicing what we preach.  And where can people find you online and in social media?

MURRAY:  My social media platform of choice is LinkedIn. I’ve been on LinkedIn for four or five years now.  I love it.  I check it every day.  I’m there with little updates about what I’m doing.  PRSA, of course, we’re all over the place.  We’re on Facebook, we’re on Twitter, and we’ve got lots of folks in the organization looking at all our different Twitter names and Facebook pages.  So, if you’re out there in the social media-sphere, we are too, and we look forward to meeting you out there.

BURKE:  Thank you so much.

MURRAY:  Thanks, Johna. 

Transcript -

JOHNA BURKE:  Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference with Cathy.

Cathy, will you please introduce yourself?

CATHY DUNKIN:  Hi, I’m Cathy Dunkin with Standing Partnership.  We have offices in St. Louis and Charlottesville, Virginia.

BURKE:  Great.  Cathy, you just did a session on the merging of traditional and social media.  Can you please talk about some of the lessons that you’ve learned along the way and the steps that people should take as far as integrating their campaigns?

DUNKIN:  I think what we were hoping to share with people was that you need to understand who your audiences are, you need to have a strategy and know what your goals are before you start deciding what your tactics are going to be, whether that be a traditional media program, some sort of public engagement program or a social media program.  So what we said is please think about that very carefully, do your research.  And then we said as you do it, have fun.  Because that’s the best thing of anything is if you’re going to do it, have fun with it.

BURKE:  Great tips.  And, Cathy, where can people find you on the web and in social media?

DUNKIN:  People can find me @cathydunkin on Twitter.  They can find me on our website, www.standingpr.com.

BURKE:  Great.  Thank you so much.

DUNKIN:  Thanks. 

Transcript -

JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference.  And I’m joined by Muffy.

Muffy, will you please introduce yourself?

MUFFY STEINHOFF: Sure.  My name’s Muffy Steinhoff and I’m a co-executive producer with High Noon Entertainment based in Denver, Colorado.

BURKE: Great.  Now, Muffy, you did a session today for the PR professionals. Try to talk to them about how they can best work with the broadcast media. Can you share some of those tips with the audience here today?

STEINHOFF: Sure. I probably have to first tell you a tiny bit about what we do. We provide cable programming for many networks. We have about 15 shows going on right now providing for eight to 10 networks. For instance, “Cake Boss” on TLC and “Tough Love” on VH1, and a number of shows like “My First Place,” “My First Sale” on HGTV and a number of shows for DIY Network and Food Network, such as “Food Network Challenge” and “Unwrapped.” OK, sorry, I had to get that out there.

So what kind of things could I tell you? Well, one of the things that I was telling folks today is that when you see a show that you think might have a connection for your property, it’s probably best to contact the production company as opposed to the network itself. For instance, if you had a pastry chef at a property that you thought would be a good fit either as a judge or a contestant on “Food Network Challenge,” you want to see who the production company is. It’s a slate at the very end of the show, and you can see that in our case it’s High Noon Entertainment. You can go to our website, highnoonentertainment.com, and see who produces that show, and then you can contact them directly.  And the closer you can target your message to the right person, the better off it is. We find people all the time who say, `Well, we went to the network and they never put us in touch with the production company.’ We do a lot of casting; we’re looking for the people.  If you can bring people to us that would be a good fit, that’s–that works out well.

BURKE: Great.  And where can people connect with you in social media?

STEINHOFF: I am on LinkedIn.  My name, again, Muffy Steinhoff on LinkedIn.  And also my e-mail address, which is msteinhoff@highnoonentertainment–no, I’m sorry, msteinhoff@highnoontv.com.

BURKE: Great.

STEINHOFF: We changed it.

BURKE: Muffy, thank you so much.

STEINHOFF: Thank you.