Re-imagining the whole PR thing

Brucecat Blvd in winter

Encounters this past week got me thinking about Public Relations for “classical” arts groups, and the challenges we all face in trying to get the word out to an increasingly uninterested world. It’s a challenge for those of us striving for media coverage, because if it’s a choice between Beyonce’s butt or Canada’s latest auto-tuned mall rat, you know that the butt and rat are going to win every time.

Upcoming joint marketing effort.
I attended a meeting this week about an upcoming joint marketing initiative between several arts groups, and what really struck me was a discussion about how to “spread the word” about our initiative.

All of us at the meeting found ourselves in the same situation: Thrilled with the idea of cross-marketing, but not so thrilled with the idea of budgeting for it! We discussed a joint print piece (brochure, card, etc.) We discussed – and quickly discarded – the idea of a half page ad in a newpaper. The people involved are veterans of the Vancouver arts scene – but no one suggested using Social Media as our primary means of publicity.

Once I brought it up we all agreed that was the way to go, but who would actually do it? The whole point with Social Media is that while it doesn’t necessarily involve an outlay of cash, it definitely involves an outlay of time. And yes, I volunteered to created and manage the campaign, because it’s good practice for me and an opportunity to network with new organizations.

Conversation with someone quite new to the “whole PR thing.”
We’d spent an hour or so over coffee talking about when to send press releases, media buys, and finally, what role Social Media should play in building and maintaining the client’s image. I suggested that Social Media should play a much bigger role in their campaigns than it had in the past, and I’m pleased to see them taking steps to implement some of my suggestions.

Her children said “You need a Facebook Page!”
And finally, I met with a friend who is the head of an amazing charity that sponsors the education of girls in under-developed areas of the world. The agency has a website, but her college-aged children were pushing her to make some move into Social Media. I’ll be meeting with her after Welcome the World is over to help her set it up.

I’d like to point out that I don’t have any kind of accreditation in  Social Media marketing, but there is a ton of free and terrific material out there. If you determine to spend an hour a week reading and have an open mind about trying new things, you’ll very quickly develop expertise.

So where to begin?

Secrets of Social Media Marketing by Paul Gillin. (2009, Quill Driver Books, QuillDriverBooks.com) I ordered my copy through Amazon. He’s also got a terrific blog.

I read the book cover to cover, but it’s a great resource to just open up and read a random chapter at a time. It also has a website with hot links to further resources.

Journalistics.com blog
My RSS feed brought in a great post from Journalistics.com entitled “How PR is Changing.” It’s a terrific article by Jeremy Porter and I highly recommend it. (While there,  subscribe to their RSS feed as well.)

Mashable.com
This is another tech site that covers everything from Facebook to Twitter, through to Google and a ton of other stuff. They have a great RSS feed and are always uncovering new tools to make Social Media easier. Chances are, if a replacement for Facebook is in the wind, you’ll quickly read about it on Mashable.

While a good PR person will always need great writing skills (and access to a great proof-reader!), we can’t afford to ignore tools that help us spread our message in new mediums. Social Media is here to stay, so choose a platform and become a self-taught expert. Your organization will thank you.