The pace of change of technology increases, and we marvel at the new capabilities at our fingertips. Few professions have felt the impact of new technology more than communications. But the promise of new technology can sometimes be more exciting than the reality. The reality requires change, and work, and patience—all of which we don’t have time for.
So, while we encourage everyone to embrace the advantages of new technology, we understand that it might be a slog. Here is a recent study from Muck Rack that implies that PR people have the right technology for the job, but a lot of them aren’t using it. Although they say that they are concerned with “showing value,” they’re actually only measuring coverage.
Remember that PR and communications evaluation are based on bedrock principles that have much more to do with psychology than technology. Whatever the technology, audience connection through trust, authenticity, and passion has always ruled communications—and is still the key to success.
1. Think like an algorithm
If newsrooms, Google, and everyone else on the planet use algorithms and AI to make decisions and identify the right people to talk to, then why shouldn’t you? Mine your customer data as well as your social analytics to see who engages with your brand. Mine your media analysis data to find out what reporters write about what issues, and then tailor your pitches accordingly.
2. Use social data in your research plans
The coolest thing to happen to research is Clear Research, a new polling firm that uses some pretty sophisticated technology to quickly and accurately target specific areas of the country and very specific voting populations. You can read all about their methodology here. They recruit potential voters using geo-targeting so they can do very accurate polling, down to the city and district level. And it’s far less expensive than traditional telephone polls. While for now they focus on politics, there’s no doubt in my mind that the technology will be available to a broader audience in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, mine your CRM data and target surveys to high priority customers in specific locations where sales might need a boost.
3. Skip the impressions and likes—go for SEO
Why bother with inflated impressions and fake engagement? What makes a difference to your sales is being able to be found on Google. Learn from John Shehata, Condé Nast’s vice president for audience development strategy. He created something called Pinetree, a strategy to repurpose existing evergreen content and thereby boost SEO and engagement for certain products. Hold on—it’s more involved than taking a popular article and just changing a few words and adding a couple new sentences. There’s a lot of SEO tune-up involved as well. Read the full story here.
4. Act, don’t talk
Given that most Americans agree that disinformation and misinformation are problems that rank right up there with gun violence, it should surprise no one that skepticism and distrust of news and information is on the rise. And so, in our current environment, actions very definitely do speak louder than words. Using words to describe what you’re going to do may have as much credibility among your target audience as if a fox applied for the job of managing your chicken flock.
- Heed the example of Nike, which set the bar pretty high when it showed its commitment to Colin Kaepernick with an ad. And not just any ad, the one celebrating the 30th anniversary of Just Do It.
- Clif Bar & Company, makers of the LUNA bar, made clear its support of women by paying the men vs. women soccer salary differential for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
- Procter & Gamble’s Secret brand took similar moves.
The point is that instead of issuing another press release or another word salad about something your brand wants to talk about, get creative and actually do something that supports the audience you’re trying to reach. It will get more press and social media amplification and have a lot more credibility.
5. Forget price and features; use authenticity and trust to persuade
What you value and what your brand represents is the decision-making process today. According to the latest Porter Novelli/Cone research, purpose-driven ads were more effective than ads overall, generating higher levels of attention, emotion, and arousal.
According to the research, Americans prioritize companies that are responsible (86%), caring (85%), advocate for issues (81%), protect the environment (79%), and give back to important causes (73%). They also feel a deeper loyalty if they believe the company shares their values: a majority would be more likely to talk about the brand, and 88% said they would be more likely to purchase products or services.
So forget about pushing the latest widget. The fact that you have the fastest, best, or cheapest thing for sale matters a whole lot less to your consuming public than your authenticity. If they don’t trust your brand, then they’ll Google your competition. And if they (particularly younger consumers) don’t believe that you take social issues like climate change and social justice seriously, then they’ll buy from someone who does.
6. It’s not what you’re passionate about, it’s what evokes passion from your customers
Are we over “influencer marketing” yet? According to IPR’s 2019 Disinformation in Society Report, celebrities are among the least trusted sources of information. And The Conference Board’s report on fake news found that nearly half of advertisers planned to reduce their spending with sites that contain misinformation—namely places like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram—and where most of those alleged influencers hang out.
Instead, focus on your real live customers and supporters. The ones that actually engage in your content with comments, who share your content, who say nice things about you in their blogs. Sure, you need a CRM system and you’ll need to conduct some decent social listening to identify who your loyal customers are and what they’re saying, but it’s far more worthwhile than wasting millions on influencers who may not have any influence.
7. Do what is meaningful: solve their problems
It’s easy to identify customers with your loyalty programs and social engagement. The challenge is to actually hear their complaints, comments, and suggestions and then act on them. You need to solve their problems. Take me, for example: I shop at Macy’s because anytime I have a question or a complaint, they respond quickly and then either issue a refund my money or give me a substantial discount.
And a good “response” does not mean a form email from folks ten time zones away that get back to you 36 hours after you ask a simple question.
Beware: if your efforts are not meaningful, then just sending stuff out to people can be counterproductive. My attitude towards the local Irving gas station soured when I got my first “reward.” After buying $100+ gallons of gas in a month, I “earned” a whopping $0.76, while Irving no doubt earned many times that. By implying that $.76 is an actual “reward,” Irving insults our intelligence. If I dutifully enter my phone number before every purchase at my local grocery store and they send me coupons for stuff that I’ve never bought and never would buy, then they’re wasting my time (as well as their own, come to think of it).
“Passion is the ultimate multiplier.” Polly Labarre said those wise words on the stage at the 2014 PRSA International Conference, and they are even more relevant today. So figure out how to use your data and AI and machine learning and all of these new technologies to truly listen to your audience. Find out what they’re passionate about, and then design your programs to meet them there. ∞
Thanks for the image to Martin Shreder on Unsplash.
