Cheating on our Website with Facebook

Concept is populating a shiny new Facebook Page for our business, which showcases our clients and successes, goings on, team, news, points of view, and other goodness. As we’ve spent time on it this past week, posting and uploading, writing and customizing, we’ve commented to one another how easy and fun it’s been to build it out. (The kind of fun that has me working into the wee hours when my client work has long gone to bed.)

But now that we’re nearing launch phase, I’ve started to wonder, isn’t this all on our Website? And that was my husband’s first question when I asked him to come take a look. While I was hoping for a  simple, “Wow, honey, that looks great!” I didn’t get that, and instead defined why a Website works with Facebook, rather than in place of. (My husband is a great “so what?” meter.)

My description of the evolution of communications and the way people engage with brands today didn’t quite do it for him. But then I drew the smile, head nod, and “yeah, that looks great, honey!” with the following comment: To ensure people are reading our blog and staying informed on our company, they need to come to our site, or subscribe to our RSS feed, which few traditionally do for small and medium sized businesses. With Facebook, our content appears in front of our audiences, where they already are, without asking a single thing of them.

We’ve seen dynamic communication and audience growth work well for our clients through the Facebook Pages we manage. Now it’s our turn! And what about your business? If you’ve asked yourself about the virtues of Facebook vs. your Website or blog, consider the following:

1. Replace your Newsletter:  Are you doing a company newsletter? Consider replacing or augmenting it with content on Facebook. Invite the same people on your mailing list to join your Page. You’ll likely receive more Likes and Comments than you would have in replies to the newsletter.
2. Make a Great First Impression: Facebook is becoming the de facto place for people to look for and at your company (like LinkedIn replacing resumes). It has the power to replace a Website for quick introductions and information. Let your Facebook Page be the first impression you make about your business, brand values, mission and work quality.
3. Extend your Company Voice:  Are you looking for ways to develop or extend your company’s unique point of view and brand? We love the new Facebook feature that allows you to edit as your brand, so your Likes and Comments appear from your branded Page, rather than individual person, giving your company its own voice.
4. Stay in Front of your Audience:  Nearly 1/3 of the world’s population is on Facebook, including most of your friends and family, colleagues and business prospects. They’re already there, and your brand can be there as well, speaking to them, asking questions, sharing content and starting conversations.
5. Separate Business and Pleasure:  Do you blur the line a bit between business and pleasure on Facebook, but don’t like spamming your pals with corporate promos? Facebook Pages (rather than Profiles) let you keep personal it its place so you’re not mixing biz speak with photos of your kids.

So yes, this content is all on our Website, but you’re all on Facebook. We still love our Website, as we do our blog and LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds, but Facebook is dynamic and interactive and allows for easy updates and conversations. We’re  excited to engage with our friends, colleagues, clients and prospects through another channel, and show potentially the world what it is we do. We do realize “the world” will not be Friending our Page — but it’s there for them regardless, and that’s the point.

Now don’t worry, blog, you’re the first one I turned to for this post — but only because you so smoothly populate our Facebook and Twitter feeds automatically. If you didn’t do that, well, our parting would be such sweet sorrow.

A Leader Works in the Open

Veronica Skelton, Darlene Gannon, Alan Mulally, Graham McKenna, Vadim Brenner - CES 2011

It’s the first week of the month which usually means we at Concept Communications are busy compiling press coverage reports, calculating expenses and generally reflecting on the past 30 days or so and what we’ve accomplished for our clients in that time.  As it turns out, January 2011 was an epic month for us and our accounts, filled with international trade shows like CES and MIDEM, press conferences and media events, and opportunities for us to meet and/or listen to high level executives in the various industries in which our clients play.

It occurred to me that of all the influential people I’ve had the fortune of encountering over the past month –including celebrities like 50 Cent and the heads of the digital divisions of all the major record labels – it might seem unlikely that the one, very brief moment I had with Alan Mulally, the President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, made the biggest impression on me.

It happened when Darlene and I were at a large media event at CES in an area set aside for Ford and its partners – representing our client Gracenote, a Ford technology partner for years.  We were suddenly told Mr. Mulally may be coming by, and moments later I noticed him out of the corner of my eye.  What immediately struck me was that although he is not a particularly large man, his vivaciousness, his confidence and just his sheer *energy* made him an enormous presence in what was literally a hotel ballroom.

And, when he approached our group and he looked at me, I felt like the only person in a crowd of almost 1,000 people.   He looked me square in the eye, he shook my hand warmly, he asked me questions, he made funny comments – none of which I can remember, but it doesn’t matter because for one minute, I felt significant, I felt special, I felt acknowledged by the leader of one of the most important businesses in the United States.  He asked our group if we wanted a picture and then stood next to us and put his arms out.  At that moment, it felt as though we were posing for a team photograph for the yearbook.  A winning team.  A positive team.  A team that was coming off a phenomenal season and was strong, in shape, and ready to do it all over again.  It made me proud to be associated, if even remotely, with the Ford brand.

How did this happen?  How did this man I’d never met make me feel this way over the course of what can’t have been more than three minutes?  Theodore Roosevelt once said, “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert.”  I think the secret lies in Mr. Mulally’s sincerity.  In his genuine interest in the American people and what they want.  And I thank him for reminding me that in life, not just in business, success lies in one’s ability to make meaningful connections, one person at a time.

Are Corporate Blogs Becoming the Modern Day Newsletter?

Company newsletters are and have always been a well-known, effective way to distribute information to your customers and stakeholders. Whether you want to share news about a new product or service or simply want to inform your readers about upcoming events or promotions, this tried-and-true communication tool is a solid way of sharing information and building brand loyalty. But would you get more focused, quality readership and participation if you just bypassed the newsletter mailings and simply created a corporate blog with an RSS feed?

It’s not a simple yes or no answer. Both communication outlets have their time and place. Newsletter designs, objectives and audiences can run the gamut from employee-targeted messages to prospective customer outreach and promotion announcements. A steady stream of newsletters, whether issued monthly or quarterly, maintains your company’s visibility with a targeted group of folks who opt-in to receive your news, and is also a fairly cheap compliment to any marketing program.

So, what about a corporate blog? Has this become the must-have modern day newsletter? With more and more Fortune 100 companies taking the cue from the proliferation of influential bloggers and social media networks, successful companies such as Cisco have realized the importance of establishing an online voice and open dialogue with their clients. A blog is a simple channel to create and maintain a conversation with your customers and stakeholders, while also building thought leadership and credibility. Where a newsletter can be seen as more of a formal news and marketing outlet.

However, although more informal, good corporate blogs take time to build, so be patient and don’t expect to see the ROI overnight. They require a long-term commitment, with dedicated contributors, interesting topics and audience engagement. Share company and product news, but also open up the dialogue on interesting industry trends, competitor moves and solicit customer feedback. Also, once your blog is off the ground, an RSS feed provides seamless contact with your audience.

I’d say the corporate blog is quickly becoming a must-have part of successful business marketing and PR strategies, but it doesn’t replace the corporate newsletter, rather it compliments it. And every company has an individualized approach and objective for each communication tool which can’t possibly be covered here, but will make for some interesting subsequent posts.

Generally speaking, a corporate blog is a daily dose of coffee meant to jump-start the brain, invoke interest and immediate reaction, whereas the newsletter provides a full menu of the company’s latest happenings and long-term business opportunities.

Subscribe to a great corporate blog or newsletter? Share it with us in the comments.

What Two Years Has Done for Public Relations

It’s been two years since I started at Concept Communications and it’s just remarkable to think about how much the public relations profession has changed. Web 2.0 and the social Web have driven a significant shift in PR, taking our jobs way beyond press releases and traditional media relations.

The burgeoning use of social media tools by major media outlets, brands and business professionals, coupled with the necessity to leverage networks like Twitter and Facebook to reach customers, read news and form active communities – I’d say PR has taken on a new, hybrid role. We now support elements of business development, customer relations, marketing and community management. It’s exciting, it’s challenging and it presents new potentials every day for our clients.

Blogs, social networks, video/photo sharing sites, and social bookmarking are no longer trends or a nice-to-do-if-time-permits as they once were a couple years back. They are now an essential part of any effective communications plan and most organizations are starting to realize this. For instance, I can’t seem to watch a TV commercial or news broadcast these days without a Twitter or Facebook URL popping up on the bottom of the screen! And when I griped about an over sweetened vanilla latte from Starbucks on Twitter, I was promptly answered with an apologetic tweet and coupon. The social Web is no longer a novel idea that start-ups and entrepreneurs are using to promote their businesses on a guerilla marketing budget. It’s how brands, businesses, individuals and the news media are sharing content, influencing audiences and affecting behavior.

With all of these social tools at our disposal, it has become essential to be on the “front lines” listening to our clients’ existing and potential customers’ needs. Also, establishing trust in online communities through consistent engagement allows customers to turn to us as a knowledgeable resource and has become a key part of our jobs. The social Web has also made it very easy to stay current by following journalists and publications that report on our clients’ various industries.

So, when you think about it, our fundamental responsibility of fostering relationships and managing communications for clients hasn’t changed, but the way in which we develop and maintain those relations has dramatically changed. We now have so many different avenues to engage in conversations for our clients, reach new audiences and communicate our messages through fun, immediate channels that can spread from one to millions in a matter of minutes.

Truth in Public Relations

A couple of weeks ago I attended a cocktail party in downtown San Francisco, hosted by one of our newer clients, real estate search engine Roost.  The party featured fabulous wine from Peay Vinyards, poured by vineyard co-founder Andy Peay himself.  Before the party started Andy and I were chatting about the fact that they’ve focused on Pinots from the very beginning, even when they weren’t trendy.  When I remarked how interesting it is that all industries go through their trends and people scamper to take advantage of them – be it wine, fashion, publishing, technology – Andy simply said, “That’s why it’s so important to be true to yourself.  Then, you build an audience based on your core beliefs.”

And then, you never need to waver from them.

My partner Samantha and I have been reflecting on our core beliefs as we celebrate a milestone anniversary for Concept. It was this week five years ago that she and I had a summit at her house in Seattle, out of which came the agency as we know it today. And in the past five years, many PR tactics and agency philosophies have come in and out of fashion. Yet despite working in an industry renowned for taking liberties with the truth, we’ve always remained true to our clients, to the media, to each other, to our employees, and to ourselves – as people and as a company. Our reporter friends appreciate it, and so do our clients.

We believe our principles have guided us to do our best work – isn’t that what your principles should do? —  and why we appeal most to clients who subscribe to our core principles of Integration, Integrity, and Imagination.  It’s also why we’ve had a continuously strong business that has thrived during boom years and is weathering the current economic downturn, and why great clients like Gracenote and ARCHOS have been working with us for years. 

To everyone who has supported us over the past five years, we thank you for believing in us.

Veronica Skelton
Co-Founder and Managing Director – San Francisco Office
Concept Communications