Does the PR industry need better leadership?

I was interested to see this week a live debate by the two candidates for the CIPR presidency. The debate was being trailed by Philip Sheldrake on Twitter and he was also asking for possible questions for the two. I decided to throw my hat into the ring:

@sheldrake with many thinkng PR is fallng behind, wht should the CIPR do to ensure we lead the way/thinking in digital, social & SEO #ciprtvless than a minute ago via HootSuiteDanny Whatmough
DannyWhatmough


I was pleased to see that my question was posed to the two candidates (about 14 minutes in!). The responses were mixed.

Rob Brown, who has written an excellent book on digital PR, gave a good overview of where we are and argued that, while the past has been all about journalist relations, PR faces a new opportunity and needs to reinvent itself.  He suggested that we have a fantastic opportunity to get to the heart of what PR actually is and begin to engage directly and build relationships with the public.

Sally Sykes was a little more hesitant in her response and although she acknowledged that ‘this was our moment’, she fell back into the reputation management debate which I don’t really think encompasses the true might of what digital and social means for the PR industry. She did however acknowledge the importance of training, which is another positive sign.

Do we need more than the grassroots?

So my question is: does the industry needs better leadership from the top when it comes to online PR and social media and do we have this at the moment?

I’d argue we don’t.

I feel that a lot of the new thinking out there is coming from the grassroots of the industry (maybe this was always the way?). I see wide-ranging, in-depth arguments about the future of PR on Twitter, Linkedin and on blogs (even in PR Week from time to time!), but I don’t see much of this coming from the industry’s professional bodies.

I should add that I’m not a member of the CIPR and so maybe it’s just that I don’t hear some of the noise they are making because it is internalised. And perhaps this is partly why I’m less interested in membership itself.

I want the CIPR to be going out there are really representing the industry and its members by demonstrating the opportunity that PR has, encouraging change and best practice. We know that social media conferences are always oversubscribed; there’s clearly an appetite out there, but I feel that there is confusion and panic about how the industry can adopt these new techniques. The industry needs leadership here.

I know how these organisations work. In the past I used to work for a professional body and I appreciate that in big organisations like this change takes time and it happens slowly. Maybe this is how it should be; maybe we need a more staid, considered approach from the top? But I see some of the great work that bodies like the IAB do in the digital arena and wonder why PR be the same.

Let’s grasp the opportunity and shout about it

At the end of the day, I’m not trying to bash the CIPR or the other PR trade bodies, I’m just passionate about the opportunity the PR industry has and the changes that are necessary for it to truly grasp this potential.

It’s why I decided to enter into the PR industry in the first place instead of some of the other digital marketing disciplines out there. PR has a powerful argument for owning communication in the digital age. I’m just not sure that, as an industry, we are fully realising this potential yet. Hopefully, if elected, Rob or Sally will take this baton and run with it. As Sally said, this is our moment, we need to take it before it is too late.

The why, what and how of social media measurement

One of the problems about writing a personal blogs is that you don’t have any deadlines to force you into writing! I wrote this a week or so ago and meant to return to refine it, but I’ve only just got round to it. Excuses over! Here’s the (belated) post…

I’ve been closely following a debate that initially stemmed from an article in Research, where the IAB’s Amy Kean and Nielsen’s Brad Little locked horns.

I’ve been meaning to blog about it, but have failed to do so until now, when a thoughtful post from Michael Litman stirred me into action!

I can see what Amy is saying: that measurement for measurement’s sake is meaningless. And she is right. Whereas measurement tied directly to business value (could be) meaningful. And again, she is right. Amy concludes:

“If your social media activity generates 100,000 views on YouTube, gets you 40,000 Facebook friends and 20,000 positive blog mentions over the period of a month and your net promoter score rises, this may show incredible brand engagement. But what are we to measure it against for the campaign to be deemed a success?”

She answers this last question with ‘case studies’. And yes, case studies are certainly a useful self-improvement vehicle. But I can’t help but think she misses the point here.

What is really missing from the example given is a concrete business aim or objective that has been put in place from the start.

And this aim can be different from campaign to campaign or from company to company (and/or both).

For me, there are three questions that need to be asked – the why, what and how of social media measurement.

The answers are not straightforward and will change from case to case and even within projects or campaigns, but are in my mind a good starting point. It is worth also stating that these aren’t mutually exclusive for social media, but the answers often will be.

Why?

This first question – why? – seems straightforward; why are we doing this? It’s crucial though and so often neglected. Why do we need/have/want a Twitter/Facebook/Myspace account or blog? Is this right for our business?

So much of this stems from proper audience insight. Social media is dependent on conversation amongst communities, either already in existence or that are created or nurtured by the brand or business. So the question here is, will social media work for your target audience (or their influencers)? Are they where you think they are, and if so, where is that?

This is one of the reasons why I think there is much value in having a non-specialist agency (or an internal department) at least initially in control of social media strategy. It’s sometimes tough to say: “no, social media isn’t right for us/this business objective”.

So how does this affect measurement? Well, if you don’t know why you are doing something, then you won’t be able to measure it. And if you don’t have a sound business reason for doing something, then it probably isn’t worth doing.

What?

Intrinsically linked to the previous question is the decision about what to measure. A brand looking to increase brand awareness in a community will likely be looking to measure something different that a brand looking to maximise web sales.

How?

There are many different ways to measure things. There is no right or wrong here necessarily. Social media is still a (relatively) new thing and an agency that tells you they have all the answers is worth dumping.

Again, we come back to the previous two questions – what do you want to achieve and what will indicate success. Then they question is: how will you measure this success?

No golden bullet

There is no shortcut to success here, but it’s worth trying and worth persevering with. If we don’t measure what we are doing, then we have no way to demonstrate success and no way to improve.

Amy doesn’t really mean measurement is meaningless, she means that meaningless measurement is meaningless. And this is spot on.

As Michael states:

“It may not be in the traditional marketing sense of what ‘value’ is but for me, social media requires new metrics and benchmarks than to what has been tried and tested in years previous. Success now looks different. Instead of looking purely from a numbers perspective and at additional sales, is there value in increased levels of brand perception and awareness, along with the conversations and connections made because of the company activity?”

Just as social media is a new and emerging discipline, so is the way we measure it. But measure it we must, even if the way we go about it needs us to ask more and more questions – the why, what and how…


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About

This is my story. I've always been fascinated by the internet. My first passion was music and I studied a music degree at Birmingham University. But once graduated I quickly went back to the web working as a digital marketer. I also ran a web startup for a few years. In the need of a new challenge, I turned to the world of PR and now work as an Account Director at EML Wildfire. My interest is primarily looking at how PR professionals can make the most of the web and digital marketing. This blog contains my thoughts and things I find inspirational.

© 2012 Danny Whatmough - Made by me