19: Shameless self-promotion

Paul and David take time out to talk about their own multitude of activities and give their listeners a view of their own emerging media empires. Both of them write, podcast and webcast for various TechTarget properties (where Paul was the founding EIC). Paul writes a weekly blog for Ziff-Davis on innovation that despite being sponsored by IBM is independent. David is the EIC for a new site called DigitalLanding.com that sells home broadband services, as well as writing for eWeek’s channel demographic, Computerworld, various CMP properties, and the New York Times.

Paul does a lot of custom social media consulting work, while David consults on product marketing and reviews strategy. Paul’s efforts right now are focussed on his new book, called “The New Influencers” which has gotten reviewed in the WSJ earlier this month. David’s doesn’t have a book in him right at the moment, but does offer some commentary about the self-publishing industry and talks up the local St. Louis Publishers Association support group.

Both do a fair amount of public speaking, with Paul doing a keynote at the RightNow Technologies user conference next month. David has spoken at various conferences as well, and both will be participating at the December New Communications Forum in the Boston area.

Download and listen to the podcast now (16:10)

The role of PR with social media

Paul Rand and Giovanni Rodriguez have written a manifesto of sorts, interviewing some members of fairly large PR firms and internal corporate PR folks about their use of social media. It makes for interesting reading. Called “Relating to the Public: The Evolving Role of PR in the Age of Social Media,” it contains such nuggets as the following suggestion from journalist Brian Oberkirch, author of the Slidell Hurricane Damage blog, about when to use blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites:

1. Social media is about connection, not content.
2. Social media is about them, not you.
3. Social media may be cheaper initially, but it takes far more homework.
4. Get small fast. (Niche is nice. Think smaller feature sets, more targeted audiences, less chatter from you,
and so on).

18: When CEOs blog

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey was praised for entering the blogosphere two years ago but the buzz turned bad when it was revealed recently that Mackey had written anonymously about his company on Internet stock message boards. PR pros should take note, argue Paul and David. It’s great when the CEO blogs, but the very hint of deception can turn the community against you and end up doing more harm than good.

It turns out both our hosts have been spending time on Facebook lately and they really like it. Paul says Facebook is what LinkedIn should have been: a professional networking site with personality. David likes all the new applications that members can share. But they hesitate to call Facebook the winner in professional social networking. The market is too chaotic right now to predict who will come out on top. That’s no excuse not to dive into a social network and learn the style and lingo, the advise PR pros. Just do it!

In Cheers & Jeers, David roasts Sunrocket, a VOIP provider that went out of business but didn’t bother to turn off its website, where you can still sign up for its non-existent service. Paul toasts Harry Potter, whose Internet success may keep the book series alive even after its author has stopped writing.

Download the podcast here. (15:06)

17: Corporate blogging guidelines

A dust-up with a blogger at Google about Michael’s Moore’s latest movie has brought up this week’s issue of what guidelines if any should be given to corporate bloggers.  The story originally ran in late June in a Techcrunch posting and was later picked up by a blogger for the NY Times here.

This brings up the issue about how companies should control or shape what they call their Official Corporate Blog and even whether or not they should even have one. Gartner’s Charlene Li has some great analysis about corporate blogging policies here, and David and Paul both discuss the various options that are available and what is recommended.

In our cheers and jeers section, Paul gives a cheer to BlogTalkRadio for his in-depth interview there and the ability to talk about some of the issues that he covers in his recent book. David gives a jeer to Matthew Haughey for some rather misplaced advice about how to talk to the press here in his blog. 

You can download the episode here (14:05).

16. The ins and outs of social media marketing

This week, our guest is Maggie Fox, founding partner of Social Media Group. The year-old firm is exclusively devoted to helping businesses use social media platforms. It had immediate success, signing a deal within its first four months, and has never looked back. A successful campaign for Yamaha Motors involving a blog drew double the engagement of the nearest related Web property.

Maggie talks about the importance of choosing the right person for a social media initiative. She also describes the process of building a social media campaign, from the important initial listening phase to engaging with bloggers on their terms. And she talks about why tone and manner count and why marketers have to be ready to give up control over the message in order to really make a campaign work.

Mid-level managers already “get” social media, Maggie says, but executives still need to be convinced. Fortunately, the benefits are so compelling that the sales process isn’t too daunting.

Download the podcast here. (15:30)