Bert Dumars

The Home Depot’s Nick Ayres, ?, and Tessa Horehled

me and Jennifer Jones

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Meet the next generation of bloggers.  They get their information from their network of friends, prefer Facebook to Twitter, assume everything they see is marketing and don’t watch local television news.  Their news consumption habits are forcing television stations to rethink how they deliver local news.

These were some of the points that were raised in a roundtable discussion this past Thursday night with a group of college students from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). They were visiting CBS Atlanta’s studios as part of a video production class they were taking.  Sue Rodman and I were on hand at the invitation of  Director of News and Digital Content Steve Schwaid to talk about blogging.

CBS Atlanta is reaching out to bloggers in an effort to stay relevant and attract younger viewers in the new media age.

And those efforts include Blogger Stew and using Blackberries and one person news crews to cover major events like the recent floods we have experienced here in Atlanta.

We covered a lot of topics during the 2 hour discussion including what is the difference between a blog and a news article and what is a blogger’s responsibility to his or her audience.

Clearly, a lot has changed since I was their age, but some issues persist: production values, liability, and ethics.  There was some debate on how important the quality needs to be in the age of YouTube. Television news stations need to maintain certain broadcast standards. But increasingly at least for breaking news, people have a lot more tolerance for bad audio and video – if the images are compelling.

And while we clearly have more leeway in how we cover a story,  journalistic integrity can’t be compromised.  We can’t feed answers to interviewees, we can’t provide information and then get their reaction (after day one of a breaking story), we can’t tape in places where people have an expectation of privacy, and we can’t interview children without their parents’ or guardians’ permission.

Each student was given a camera to cover whatever they wanted.  This class should test their understanding of story telling and their ability to balance the personal and the professional.  It will be interesting to see what they come back with as they pursue stories over the course of the semester.

Let me get back to you.

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Put Comcast, the American Red Cross and AT&T in a room to talk social media, and you are going to get a crowd.  And that’s what happened at last Wednesday’s sold out Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA) monthly meeting – Big Brands Discuss Social Media Initiatives.

The verdict:  PR (no ROI!) and logos did not fair well but passion, Twitter and customer support did.   And Facebook got mixed a review.

Those are at least some of the highlights from the Twitter stream of members of the crowd who came to hear the observations of:

- Frank Eliason, Senior Director in National Customer Operations, Comcast @comcastcares

- Mimi Chan, Director of Wireless Youth Marketing, AT&T

- Wendy Harman, Social Media Manager, Red Cross @wharman

- Dave Williams, CEO and Co-Founder, BLiNQ Media’s @blinqmedia

For an excellent summary of the evening check out Josh Martin’s post.

As event organizer Toby Bloomberg pointed out, the three panelist delivered three distinct perspectives: social media as customer service, social media as youth marketing and social media as community/non-profit outreach.

The crowd size reveals how hungry people are for information about social media.  Frank, Wendy (with a burning fever no less) and Mimi sounded almost nostalgic (Harman was originally ”hired to stop bloggers”) as they recounted their early experiences with social media.

My biggest takeaways

- It was clear to me that Comcast has been so successful with Twitter in large part because of Frank’s passion.

- I was surprised to learn that Red Cross is not using its social media channels for direct fundraising appeals, unlike other charities.

- I am still thinking about the question some one asked about whether each social medium should have the same voice.  The answer is worth a blog post of its own. It’s very certainly very complicated especially as Facebook tries to Twitterize itself, large brands try appeal to a diverse customer base in a direct personal way, and marketing, PR and customer service begin to merge.

- I am also thinking about legal implications of Frank’s prediction that the next big thing for companies will be to aggregate other forums & blog communities to provide helpful service to customers.  What kind of disclaimer do companies need when tapping the advice of customers to help other customers?

But being so focused on social media these days, I sometimes have a hard time separating the warmed over from the fresh and insightful. So while it was interesting to hear what the panelists had to say, it was even more interesting to hear what resonated with the audience.

Twitter Soundbites

Facebook vs Facebook vs Twitter

Emily30075 RT @KellyeCrane Key for AT&T on Facebook is to provide exclusive content. Give users a reason to come back and talk about the brand. #aima

thechrisjordan RT @raykillebrew: RT @tessa “It’s very hard to learn from your customers on Facebook. They don’t go to fan pages often.” #aima

abrill It’s difficult to learn about and from your customers on Facebook…Twitter utilizes conversation better #aima

amygriz Twitter allows you to find out things faster, easier & cheaper than any other medium, which allows you to respond to customers faster #aima

Logos

amygriz People don’t want to have conversations with a logo. Be personable with your customers in your interactions. #aima

Customer Service

DevonSuter RT @thomasls: It’s funny how many don’t consider helping customers as one of the primary reasons to get involved in Soc Med. Or sad. #aima

Tessa “Instead of having a focus group, I twittered – would you call our IBR(?)” Tons of response. – @comcastcares

Twilosophy Marketing, PR & service are coming together = most retweeted quote of the entire event so far #aima http://ow.ly/15SazU about 21 hours ago from HootSuite

leenjones RT @spunstephanie: AMEN. RT @Cerealguru: Customer service and marketing cannot be separated–it’s about connecting and relationships!

I will be interested to hear from other attendees to see what they took away from the event.

Let me get back to you.

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Using social media to address a PR crisis was the focus of the September Luncheon of the Georgia Chapter of the PRSA - which I attended last Thursday, courtesy of Steve Robinson of Business Wire.

Lynnette McIntire, manager, UPS Public Relations and Debbie Curtis-Magley, manager, UPS Public Relations discussed their response to a multimillion-dollar “Brown Bailout” campaign waged in traditional and new media.  It was launched by rival Fedex who claimed  UPS was taking a “government bailout.”  It’s all part of a dispute over the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009, which contains a provision that would change the labor law covering FedEx workers. The bill was passed in the House of Representatives but the Senate has not yet voted.

Starting in June when the Brown Bailout campaign began, UPS had a crisis on it hands.

Needless to say, since that time, UPS has been busy countering charges and communicating their position.  The work has all been done in house with a very small team.  Not surprisingly, social media has been at the heart of their strategy to protect their brand and reputation – using Twitter and blogs to address questions and accusations made on blogs, Twitter and of course YouTube.

So what lessons has the UPS PR team learned so far:

- When the issue is emotionally charged, don’t get emotional – stick to facts and correct misleading ones.

- Pick your battles.

- Be nimble.

- It is helpful to have a monitoring program in place before a crisis hits when you have the luxury of time.

- Start Twitter accounts now to build a credible voice and presence  in the channel before a crisis hits.

- Know when to intervene with an “official” vs a conversational response.

- Educate internally.

- Monitoring key words can be tough – UPS the company and ups the verb yield very different results.

- Words without credibility fade.  The truth does prevail.  Errors, misleading materials, misguided conversations eventually get sorted out.

- Being young doesn’t mean you are comfortable with social media and commenting or engaging with the public.  Training is critical for everyone in an organization.

Bottom line, it’s clear crisis communications begins before a crisis.  Tools will change, but given the speed of social media, preparation is critical in containing a crisis caused by  a customer, competitor or an employee.

Let me get back to you.

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Managing generational differences in social media will be one of three featured topics at PR Camp Atlanta this Friday, August 21. In what may be one of the more lively discussions of the morning, representatives of Generation Y will pair off with their Generation X and Baby Boomer counterparts to understand how professionals at different levels are approaching their jobs.

It’s all part of the PR Camp Atlanta’s goal to immerse Atlanta’s PR and marketing community in all things social media.  We will avoid discussions on how to use the latest tools. There will be no formal presentations.  Instead the focus will be on helping professionals identify business opportunities, tap resources, and measure success.

In many ways, planned discussions at PR Camp Atlanta parallel the changing roles and responsibilities that are taking place in the workplace.  Increasingly social media is allowing Generation Y to assume leadership roles.  It’s also allowing PR and interactive marketing professionals to work more closely to manage reputations, build relationships and extend brands.

PR Camp Atlanta is a forum to examine social media’s impact on our profession. Changes in our industry are also the reason why I reached out to Definition 6, an independent interactive marketing and eCommerce agency, to be a sponsor.  I want to break down barriers and encourage the PR profession to look at what we do differently.

As Michael Kogon at Definition 6 said, “As we work to help clients adapt to the new challenges and opportunities, created through social media, hands-on experience using these communication platforms is mandatory at all levels. Events like PR Camp Atlanta are a great way for professionals to get started with social media; it also provides them with a great opportunity to meet other professionals in the physical world.”

Final Agenda

Session I: 9:00 AM – 9:55 AM

Get clients and bosses to extend their interest in new media.

• Melanie Babcock, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy & Services, Manning Selvage & Lee
• Bert Dumars, Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing, Newell Rubbermaid
• Jenny Schmitt, President and Director of Client Strategy, CloudSpark
• Katie Mingo, Senior Marketing Associate, Delta Airlines

Session II:  10:00 AM – 10:55 AM

Help senior professionals tap the social media experience of junior colleagues.

• Nick Ayres, Interactive Marketing Manager, New Media + Content, The Home Depot/Corvida Raven, Author of SheGeeks.net
• Marilynn Mobley, Senior Vice President, Strategic Counsel, Edelman PR/Matt Epstein, Account Coordinator, Definition 6
• Shirley Powell, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Turner Broadcasting System/Tolu Ogbechie, Social Media & Development Associate, Prevent Blindness Georgia
• Carol Flammer, Managing Partner, mRELEVANCE, LLC/ Lauren Culbertson, Communications Assistant for U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson

Session III:  11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

With the blurring of PR and marketing, determine the best ways to measure success.

• Peter Fasano, Principal/Lead Catalyst, mass+logic
• Christopher Jones, Digital Strategist, Ketchum PR 
• Irfan Kamal, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Ogilvy Public Relations
• Debbie Curtis-Magley, Public Relations Manager, UPS

Sponsors

• Definition 6 
• Neighborhood America 
• Georgia Tech Research Institute 
• PR Newswire 
• Atlanta Day Book 
• CBS Atlanta 
• I Send Your Email 
• Social Media Club Atlanta 
• CloudSpark 
• Peachpod Studios 

Registration is now closed.

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Last week was incredibly busy, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Shotput Ventures’ Demo Day.  The room was packed full of people from Atlanta’s startup community interested to hear from Shotput Ventures’ inaugural class of companies.  An accelerator micro-fund to mentor and invest in pre-formation web companies, Shotput Ventures invests $5,000 per team and $5,000 per founder as part of a coordinated program.

No surprise, most of the companies focused on social media applications. The presentations were very impressive.  Several of the companies were Atlanta based, but the majority were from out of state.  Here are Lance Weatherby’s favorites. 

The inevitable question is whether the Shotput Ventures should only fund Atlanta companies to help our startup community thrive.  While the point is compelling, it can also be argued that Shotput Ventures is helping put Atlanta on map for companies who may have never had considered relocating here.  While I think Atlanta companies should get priority, it would be a mistake to exclude worthy companies based on location.

Let me get back to you.

Some of the presenting companies

Ninja Post

Looxii

KHU.SH

EventHive

ShoutNow

SocialGuides

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PR Camp Atlanta is less than 3 weeks away. I am grateful for the support from members of the Atlanta’s PR and marketing community.   To register click here: 

We have a terrific lineup of moderators called counselors from some of the leading brands and top agencies in Atlanta. The discussion counselors are:

- Katie Mingo, Senior Marketing Associate, Delta Airlines

- Marilynn Mobley, Senior Vice President, Strategic Counsel, Edelman PR

- James Andrews, Managing Partner, Everywhere

- Carol Flammer, Managing Partner, mRELEVANCE, LLC 

- Christopher Jones, Digital Strategist, Ketchum PR 

- Melanie Babcock, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy & Services, Manning Selvage & Lee

- Peter Fasano, Principal/Lead Catalyst, mass+logic

- Bert Dumars, Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing, Newell Rubbermaid

- Irfan Kamal, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

- Jenny Schmitt, President and Director of Client Strategy, CloudSpark

- Shirley Powell, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Turner Broadcasting System

- Debbie Curtis-Magley, Public Relations Manager, UPS

These counselors will be leading PR, marketing and communications professionals in discussions on issues facing the PR field.  The event is attracting professionals at all levels from business, non-profits, government agencies, associations and educational institutions.  The “unconference” format avoids many of the conventions of a typical conference. There are no powerpoints, panels or keynotes.

 Topics for the three group sessions will be:

- Get clients and bosses to extend their interest in new media.

- Help senior professionals tap the social media experience of junior colleagues.

- With the blurring of PR and marketing, determine the best ways to measure success.

Sponsors

 I also want to thank those that have committed early to sponsor the event:

 - Georgia Tech Research Institute

- PR Newswire

- Atlanta Day Book

- CBS Atlanta Channel 46

- I Send Your Email

- Social Media Club Atlanta

- AiMA

Let me get back to you.

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I went to the Atlanta Interactive Media Association’s monthly event last night.  AiMA is helping to promote PR Camp Atlanta.  We gave away five free tickets to the August 21st event.

The featured speaker was Andy Mitchell, vice president of digital & development marketing at CNN.  He is directly responsible for trade and consumer marketing of CNN’s digital assets.  Mitchell was instrumental in developing CNN.com’s partnership with Facebook for the site’s coverage of the inauguration of  Barack Obama.

Mitchell discussed how the 2008 Presidential election extended CNN’s brand.  It was a a trial and error approach. An unsuccessful early foray into Facebook during the election later led to an initiative that broke the all-time Internet record for simultaneous live video streams served online for the inauguration.

The use of social media was initially met with skepticism from management who believed it would diminish the brand.  But the numbers have proven the effectiveness of YouTube, Facebook and now Twitter to drive audience engagement.

CNN’s successful use of Facebook is well documented and has positioned CNN as a technology leader, even if, as Mitchell concedes, other networks can take advantage of the same tools.  So it appears the very technologies that are undermining the news industry are the same ones that may drive its revival. This may require news organizations to cede some control and enter into new markets like selling customized T-shirts emblazoned with cnn.com headlines.

The idea of turning news into something you wear has been met with praise and skepticism, but keeping news on a lofty pedestal my only serve to undermine its value and viability.

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Saturday morning.  I took out the Flip video camera loaned to me by CBS Atlanta as part of their Blog Stew initiative.  CBS Atlanta is working with local bloggers to make it easier to find their blogs about local communities, neighborhood events, happenings,  local news, politics and sports.  Kind of like a crowdsourcing.  I applaud their efforts.

I am looking for news about the technology community, social media initiatives and man bites dog stories.

Let me get back to you.

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