Increase Stakeholder Communication in a Downturn

I've been giving this a lot of thought since (1) taking my new job at the Hampton Roads Partnership and (2) since the economy is tanking. Read on...

Our stakeholders want to know we care. In a recession, stakeholders NEED to know we care. That means that now more than ever we need to reach out to our stakeholders often, to ask how they are doing and what we can do better to meet their wants and needs.

In a paper by Andrew Razeghi, Kellogg School of Management, he offers tips on how we can increase stakeholder experiences during economic downturns.

One of the tips is important to heed: Rather than reduce price (investment, sponsorships, member fees, etc.), offer more value to stakeholders.

Recessions aren't a time to cut our prices but instead to offer greater, more tangible value for the same price and a better guarantee. We should increase communications with:

1. our current stakeholders
2. stakeholders who have gone missing and
3. potential stakeholders.

The rule of thumb is that if we don't communicate with those three groups, and at least quarterly, they will fade away and eventually drop their loyalty to us.

Case in point: in a study of 600 business-to-business companies, "McGraw-Hill Research found that businesses that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession, averaged higher sales growth during the recession and in the three years following."

Today, although I certainly don't prescribe to advertising as the best way to communicate with our stakeholders, the study still holds true --26 years later. Use the following tools to listen and to talk with stakeholder communities:

• Monthly Newsletters or white papers that help stakeholders stay informed, achieve efficiencies and cost-savings, etc. while fulfilling our mission.
• Blog posts in which the objectives are the same as the newsletters and white papers. These should be created three to four times a week.
• “Thank you” notes sent once or twice a year to current and former stakeholders, showing how much you appreciate (in the case of “former”: appreciated) their participation.
• Birthday, anniversary, holiday, congratulatory cards and letters.

These are just some of the ways we can stay in touch with our communities. Of course, we should also be talking either via face-to-face, email or on the phone with our stakeholders at least monthly, if not more often.

Keyword Density Analyzer

A very cool web tool:

See for yourself:
http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php

Here's one I did for my company's website: www.HRP.org



If you find other widgets, let me know. I'd love to add a tag "cloud" to my sidebar.

Missy Joins Hampton Roads Partnership (HRP)

Missy joined the Partnership in September 2008 as Communication Manager. HRP is a public-private organization convening regional leaders from government, business and education, facilitating regional collaboration and action, pursuing global economic competitiveness as a region, benefiting all citizens of Hampton Roads.

Her primary responsibility is to devise and implement a comprehensive communication strategy and outreach plan to extend the impact HRP’s efforts and programs including the America’s First Region regional citizenship and branding campaign. She’s a marketer, writer, editor and designer responsible for HRP outbound communication, promotional materials, website, newsletters and more.

Prior to the Partnership, Missy operated her own marketing consulting business. Prior to moving to Hampton Roads, Missy was director of sales and marketing for Friendship Industries. While at Friendship, Missy expanded business into federal government contracting. Missy's work earned the 2007 NISH National Community Outreach Award for creative use of print materials, PR and other forms of communications to inform the community about providing employment for people with disabilities.

Missy's career has included work as sales manager and operations manager for a multi-million dollar B&I Food Service Operation, sales and marketing manager for the family Chevrolet dealership, corporate sales agent for a DC-based telecommunications company, and various management/buyer positions for Woodworth & Lothrop Stores in Washington DC and Leggett Stores (now Belk).

Missy is a 1981 cum laude graduate of James Madison University.

Current affiliations include the Hampton Roads Chapters of the American Advertising Federation, Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association, the Hampton Roads Technology Council, and the Hampton Roads Defense & Homeland Security Consortium also known as “Pentagon South.”

Missy’s career has included speaking engagements, at Special Operations Forces in Fort Bragg NC, the Pentagon, Virginia Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs, VA Fund Raising Institute, American Society of Association Executives, industry-related business and technology expos and the Direct Marketing Association of Washington.

Missy resides in Norfolk, Virginia with her partner, Bert Schmidt, CEO of WHRO, Public TV & Radio for Hampton Roads.

Transforming Managers into Better Communicators, Even Leaders

As PR/Marketing people, we all have circumstances where someone depends on us to help them handle managerial, yet emotional, situations:

• Provide advice on the spot
• Tell them something they don’t already know
• Give them what step(s) to take next

What is the predominant management problem today? Managers tend to over-analyze, i.e. run the business “by the numbers”, which signifies to staff that they don’t matter.

Definitions:

• Managers=focus on today, “in the box” thinking, work the plan for operational results
• Leaders=focus on tomorrow, “out of the box” strategic thinking, future-seeker looking over the horizon for new problems to solve

Ethical misconduct is on the rise. Sarbanes Oxley covers public companies now but will likely soon apply to all business including nonprofits. Studies show that significant numbers of workers experience bullying in the workplace by co-workers.

Employee surveys across the board tell us that the most important things are:

1. acknowledgment (do you know I’m here?)
2. recognition (does what I do matter?)
3. support (can someone help me?) and
4. comfort (can I be fulfilled?)

Managers need help to avoid the appearance of cold arrogance or pretense and to use true empathy by doing (and saying) things that matter. Trust-building is the ultimate goal, to increase the managers’ relationships with others. Trust is built through good and expeditious communications.

Trust=lack of fear. And, what causes fear? No advance warning, no information or communication, no justice, no compassion and too MUCH public relations. If you stop communicating (i.e. keep something hidden) to “keep people from talking”, staff will talk even more. What is meant by “too MUCH public relations” Say less, act more. Actions speak louder with words.

Rule for dealing with emotional situations: Deal with the emotion first! Examples: “Let’s talk through it, you start. Pick the 2 things that are bothering you the most and let’s start there.” Using small numbers breaks the situation down to a manageable size.

Ingredients of Leadership: Be Positive, eliminate the use of negative language which is basically non-communication. And, negative language is usually not true. For example: “I don’t know.” Why not use this instead?: “My knowledge on that subject is limited. Here’s what I do know. What else would you need to know?” Be Constructive, eliminate criticism PR/Marketing-what a great job! We get to make up most of what we say and get paid for doing it!

From James E. Lukaszewski (loo ka SHEV skee) www.e911.com, an expert in crisis communication and management techniques.

Photo credit jekemp

Online Newsroom from the Journalist's perspective

To have a successful online newsroom (which furthers your Communication Goals), it IS all about what the Journalist wants. Above is a graphic depicting who is using Online Newsrooms now (2008 survey by TEKgroup International). Here are the Top Ten survey results from the more than 400 journalists queried:

1. Search-able Archives (number one asset in the last two surveys)
   
2. PR contacts
3. Press Releases
4. Background Info (company history, timeline, name changes, etc.)
   
5. Photographs
6. Press Kit (big increase in use of audio and video files)
   
7. Crisis Communication (have a "hidden" page ready to "publish" when a crisis arises)
   
8. Executive Bios (effective use of audio and video to capture tone as well as text)
   
9. Events (video is very important with events; journalists can "cover" events they can't physically attend)
   
10. Financial Info (as long as its understandable!)
    

Word of Mouth Marketing, whatssup?

FYI- generally accepted forms of word of mouth marketing:

Buzz Marketing: use high-profile celebs, entertainment or news to get people to talk about your brand.

Viral Marketing: create entertaining or informative messages designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion via social media or email.

Community Marketing: form or support niche communities with shared interests (such as user groups, fan clubs, message boards and discussion forums); provide tools, content, and information to support the "community".

Grassroots Marketing: organize and motivate volunteers to engage in outreach on a personal level.

Evangelist Marketing: cultivate evangelists, advocates, ambassadors or volunteers and encourage them to take the lead in actively spreading the word or your brand.am

Product Seeding or Seed Marketing: place the right product in the right hands at the right time, providing information or samples to influential individuals; with the right guidance, see "Evangelist Marketing" above.

Influential Marketing: identify key communities and opinion leaders who are likely to talk about products and have the ability to influence the opinions of others.

Cause Marketing: support social causes to earn respect and support from people who feel strongly about the cause which is usually akin or adjacent to your own brand.

Conversation Marketing: spread interesting or fun advertising, emails, catch phrases, entertainment, or promotions to start word of mouth activity.

Online Brand Marketing: create a blog(s) and participate with other bloggers, in the spirit of open, transparent communications to share information of value that the blog community may talk about.

Referral Marketing: create tools that enable others to refer their friends.

Social Media and Marketing, getting started

Courtesy of my friend, Lizz Gunnufsen, Public Communications Coordinator for the City of Chesapeake, here is a recap of her efforts to implement SM into her city's government:

SocialMediaGovernment



Looks like her forays into Social Media have paid off with her MANY requests to give the presentation to others.

Way to go, Lizz!

Do you have Great PR Manners?

I saw this great PR email request posted recently and had to share. Fill in the blanks with your name, company name, location, prospect's name and see if it works! Oh, so simple and yet SO effective!

TO: _______________

Good evening, my name is _________ with _______ (PR/AD agency) in City, State______. We recently created a social media department, and are working with a client who specializes in the creation of social networking platforms. I know they have very specific announcements coming up, and I was wondering if you even like to receive these types of announcements (e-learning, online collaboration, marketing, social networking, corporate training.) The last thing I would want to do is just start blindly sending press releases or other correspondence your way, without even an introduction email asking you if you would even be interested in receiving these type of announcements.

I know you must get countless email a day regarding this type of thing, so I wanted to at least send you an email introducing myself and gauge your interest level. I’ll be in touch, thank you for your time.

All my best-
______________
Company Name________________

"Social Networking" has taken over porn's top spot

Photo CreditOnline fever has everyone all atwitter. An article on Reuters highlights that Social networking sites are the "hottest attraction on the Internet", taking over the top spot long held by "porn". This is a MAJOR change in how people communicate. And, a welcome change in online users' "interests", too.

Research done by "data geek", Bill Tancer, analyzed the information of over 10 million web users, indicating that one of the major shifts in cyberspace has been a drop in the surfing of porn sites. Over the last ten years, porn searches have dropped from an all-time high of 20% of all web use.

"As social networking traffic has increased, visits to porn sites have decreased," said Tancer. Marketers take note of such an increase in social networking.

American celebra-mania is still affecting us, though, especially in the current U.S. presidential election. Web surfers are busy looking for photos of Republican VP candidate Sara Palin photoshopped in a teeny bikini or "researching" how tall is Barack Obama vice researching any real campaign issue.

Information spreads so quickly on the internet that the speed and the "need" for instant gratification predilects fact checking, too. The old adage of "just because you see something in print, it's not necessarily true" holds for online as well. Get the facts!

Now there's a business opportunity for someone: creating an online fact-filter search engine! And, I'm sure, those whose business models somehow combine porn and social networking are even happier with the survey results. They win either way.

So how popular are social networks worldwide? According to Synovate's survey, 42% of us are using social networks (like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn). The other 58% have no idea what we're talking about.

The survey was conducted over 13,000 internet users ranging from 18-65 years of age in 17 different global markets. Countries with the largest understanding of social networks? Holland 89%, Japan 71%, U.S. 70%.

Interesting factoid: on average only 26% of the users were actually using social networks. Holland 49%, United Arab Emirates 46%, Canada 44% and U.S. 40%.

Lots of people are uncomfortable giving their personal information online. Only 26% of all users surveyed , as a matter-of-fact. The highest fear rates: Serbians 71%, India 57%.

According to Synovate's Sr. VP, Bob Michaels, identity theft continues to be a major U.S. problem. Another growing issue is online defamation — posting negative and/or false information about someone online — so people are becoming more and more careful about the information they share. It's much easier to blast someone or something online if we only know you by your cleverly anonymous "handle".

So, who's most uncomfortable handing out their information? Japan and Germany both with 85%, Taiwan 83%, Canada 79%, Brazil and South Africa 77%, Poland and U.S. 70%.

And, then there are those people surveyed who think social networking is dangerous. Overall 51%. Brazilians 79%, U.S. 69% and Poland 62%.

Of interesting note, approximately 1/3rd of those surveyed claimed to be losing interest in social networking. Wonder who they are? No one I know.

Moving images

My Twitter "friend", John Dickerson, is Slate.com's Chief Political Correspondent. He recently tweeted his must-see playlist of past Presidential campaign ads.

Most interesting about the Tweet was learning about the Museum of the Moving Image in NYC (Astoria). Check out the "Web Projects" link for more web-accessible motion memorabilia.

I'd never heard of the museum and now MUST travel to NYC just to see it! The Museum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. It does so by collecting, preserving, and providing access to moving-image related artifacts; screening significant films and other moving-image works; presenting exhibitions of artifacts, artworks, and interactive experiences; and offering educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public.

I wish we had something like this in Hampton Roads! Any takers?

Hard knocks can be the best teacher

For marketing or communication management positions, I often wonder why organizations feel compelled to hire someone with background in the product or service versus hiring someone who is a professional marketer by trade.

Learning a new product/service is relatively easy. A marketing professional can bring an objective view of your product or service.

(If you’re just “preaching to the choir”, you may not need a marketer anyway. A marketer reinforces the choir's belief in you and coaches them as evangelists but, most importantly, brings those to your product or service who don’t already know and love you.)

Years of marketing and communications experience isn’t come by easily. It’s not something you can necessarily learn from a book. Sure, you can get the basics and the background, etc. But testing and real-world applications, i.e. the school of hard knocks, can be the best teacher.

My 2 cents.

757hamptonroads and citizen journalists

You have heard the statistic according to NewspaperDeathWatch.com that over 8000 newspaper journalists nationwide have been "laid off"?

Soon, "citizen journalists" like bloggers will be the only remaining writers of news.

Which scares me on so many levels: like who is fact-checking? who is editing? where is the fair-and-balanced?

Read this post by fellow blogger, Russell Manning, that prompted this VERY early morning rant.

Social Media and Communications Objectives

Photo credit gauravonomics


What would you add as Communications Objectives for using Social Media?

Posed this question to my online (and offline) Social Media buddies. Lorraine and Vicki tied for 1st place, IMHO. I'd like to use a blend of both in place of my Ten C's list. Edward R. Gurney, Sr. admonished my list on LinkedIn by commenting: "I think I see a few synonyms here...". sorry, Edward.

Lorraine Baker, Owner, LBEnterprises wrote:
Missy, Thanks for offering up another delightfully creative conundrum. With my trusty ”Rodale Synonym Finder” by my side – I chose to define SMO in terms that mirror the traditional song celebrating one of the earliest origins of social media communications: MOTHERS -- as in “ M is for the many things she gave me…..” Thus:

S = Synchronize
O = Opine
C = Comingle
I = Influence
A = Amplify
L = Lead

M = Mentor
E = Enlighten
D = Disseminate
I = Inspire
A = Actualize (as in: to achieve the communications
objectives of Social Media)

Lorraine Baker (aka: a fully socialized media communicator!)


Vicki Bass-DeBinion, Enterprising Sales Champion-Training Guru (San Diego) wrote:
Dare to be different...........and it fits your stipulation for 11 Communication Objectives for using S.O.C.I.A.L. M.E.D.I.A. leading to Change ;)

• Socialize
• Orchestrate
• Challenge
• Inspire
• Associate
• Learn

• Mentor
• Elaborate
• Develop
• Intellectual
• Assist

Cheers! Vicki Bass-DeBinion ALL Invites Welcomed!!


Here are some of the others I received and all have their particular merits:

Justin Whitaker, Assistant Vice President at State Street Corporation wrote:
Connect-You connect to people via Social Networks.
Converse-You converse with them.
Community-You turn them into a community.
Collaborate-You collaborate with them to make your community/product/offering better.
Change-You change your business, your products, and the perception of them, and change the world.


Cliff Bryant, Director of Marketing at Physicians for Peace wrote:
... Achieve!


Robin Croft, Principal Lecturer at University of Glamorgan, UK wrote:
I would limit myself to learning: about how the new media are evolving, and how users are using the channels. Social Media are virtual word of mouth platforms - organizations need to understand what is being said about them instead of merely trying to influence the exchanges. Modern audiences are media-savvy and social media are popular because they develop authentic relationships. If you start segmenting, targeting and positioning and you will soon alienate your customers and then the very platforms you were trying to exploit will be used against you.

Credibility, creativity, integrity what about these?


Jean Shields Fleming, Award-winning content strategist wrote:
Confide, confront, confabulate, and to break out of the C category, amuse, inform, and express.


Sheila Powell, Director at Old Dominion University's Executive Development Center wrote:
Missy, Catalyst comes to mind, but that is very close to change. Perhaps champion i.e. take the lead, support etc. I'll keep working on it.


Ken Rochon, CEO of AbsoluteEntertainment.com, DJ Mixologist, Linguist absolutemixer@aol.com wrote:
We will have the forum up on PN very soon. I would like you to ask this question there too.
1. Reach
2. Ease of use
3. Ease of search
4. Ease of communication
5. Google friendly
6. Education oriented "Q&A", blogs, articles, etc.
7. Unique complimenting platforms, radio, face-to-face, seminars
8. Price
9. Benefits given at a great ROE
10. High Quality Community (There is another "C" - Community.
11. Interesting to stay on
12. Growth, site is continually growing in quality and quantity
13. You can learn something from the people on the site.


Jelise Ballon, Marketing Manager at Dimension Data wrote:
What about building your brand?


Cindy Huffman, Freelance writer/editor at Ad Concepts and Copy wrote:
Interesting question! My thoughts:
Consulting others' opinions and expertise
Civility in all correspondence
Conversation - make it a two-way street for optimum benefit to all
Consideration of other viewpoints
Creativity where possible (an option, not a necessity here)


Teri Sawers, Owner, Communications Insights wrote:
Missy, You need the one that starts with L there too. Listen. To what the community is saying and what you listen and learn, when not actively participating.


Vic Beck, Strategic Communications / Public Relations wrote:
Bottom line: It's really about informing and/or influencing someone -- just like many other communication channels.


Gail Kent, ABC, Managing Director, The Buzz Factory, a boutique PR/marketing firm in Hampton Roads, VA wrote:
Contribute to the discussion.
Clarify your position.
Celebrate different opinions.
Chat with friends and acquaintainces.
Check out the competition.
Links: http://theprbuzz.com and www.HRMediaConnectionz.com.


Laurel Phelps LaFlamme, Online Advertising, Internet Marketing and PR Consultant wrote:
These are all good suggestions. I think Gail "nailed" it. You must keep tabs on the competition. "-- It's an open form of eavesdropping-- You can get both sides of conversation AND expand your network". I would add: comment carefully and with courtesy. Remember that anything written and published online can come back to haunt you if written thoughtlessly or with malicious intent.
Links: www.seroundtable.com


Check these visual representations of this Social Media conversation:

• Social Media Landscape Photo credit (CC) Vincenzo Cosenza
• A very cool Twitter Poster (beta) showing in weighted format who is "most followed". I see that I follow a few of these gurus!
• Check out The Conversation Prism, too.
• What People Do Online (great graphic depiction by age group for targeted marketing!) Photo credit robinhamman From Business Week

Personal Branding

Chris Brogan just sent me his Free eBook on Personal Branding. Ok, he sent it to everyone who subscribes to his blog, but, hey, he's sharing, and I like what he has to say!

Check it out!

10 communications objectives for using social media

	We just love lists, don't we? Chris Brogan posed an interesting question on his blog as to what we considered the top communications objectives for using social media, eliciting a multitude of responses.
This is my list of Top Ten Social Media Objectives (SMO):	1. Communicate. 2. Collaborate. 3. Connect. 4. Create. 5. Consider. 6. Cooperate. 7. Compare. 8. Converse. 9. Compel. 10. Confide.

All leading to the big “C”: CHANGE. Ok, make mine a list of 11 communications objectives for using social media.


I'll post this query on LinkedIn; my other "list" questions have been well-received. So, we'll see what responses this one generates.

Communications Professionals more valuable than ever to Organizational Health

If you say something to a crowd and no one hears it, did you really communicate?

According to "The Authentic Enterprise", a white paper report recently released by the Arthur W. Page Society, as the communication of organizational values has become increasingly pertinent, CEOs are becoming more dependent on their Communications Professionals.

This dependence and critical key issue will only increase over time. As per the report, what do CEOs consider most important in their Communicator:

• an intimate understanding of the organization
• an extensive communications background both broad and narrow
• an ability to anticipate audience reaction to events, messages and channels
• a close, personal relationship internally with employees at all levels
• a strong propensity to training others in the organization on communications skills

Sharing Thoughts #12

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.
— Henry J. Kaiser

Crisis Management, are you in front of it or behind it?

If you’re doing anything at all for a business or organization, nonprofit or for profit, you can expect to be involved in a crisis of some level at some point.

What constitutes effective Crisis Management?

First and foremost, in my opinion, it's doing the right things, not just saying the right things. An effective crisis communications plan must follow the organization’s crisis action plan, because a crisis is not just a public relations crisis. A PR challenge is a by-product of the business crisis.

Having a solid business plan in place is paramount. The crisis communications plan can be built from there. And, knowing what your stakeholders expect is key to all of this planning.

With today’s high-speed, non-stop global communication via the web, the challenge is to be at the front of any crisis, not behind it.

My friends, Barbara and Bobbie, promoted at WHRO

Barbara Hamm was named Chief Community Affairs officer of WHRO. Barbara will produce programming for WHRO's public TV station, including a new public affairs program hosted by Cathy Lewis and a magazine-style program geared toward the interests of the African-American community in Hampton Roads. Barbara will also serve as backup host for "HearSay With Cathy Lewis," the public affairs radio program that airs at noon weekdays on WHRV-FM (89.5). Her first radio program will air Feb. 1.

Barbara has been the WHRO's chief communications officer since March 2006. She's a former director of WTKR-TV, Channel 3. Congrats, Barbara!


WHRO also named Bobbie Fisher as the new Chief Communications Officer. Bobbie came to WHRO in 1996, serving most recently as director of corporate communications. She'll be responsible for the communications, public relations and marketing functions of WHRO's family of services (subjects near and dear to my heart).

WHRO includes public television (WHRO TV15/HD15.1), WHRO Kids and WHRO Create; two public radio stations (WHRO-FM (90.3) and WHRV); the WHRO Voice Radio Reading Service; four new digital radio services; and educational services. Way to go, Bobbie!

Communications Style Standards Guide- Every Organization Serious About Branding Needs One!

Check out our Guide for help on creating your own:
Friendship's Communication Style Standards Guide