#PRSARVA, Let’s Start A Content Conversation

I must admit that when I was approached to present to PRSA Richmond a few months ago, I bristled.

Not because I didn’t want to talk (who ever knew me to not want to talk) but because I was asked to talk about social media.

I never wanted to be the “social media guy” especially now since social media as we knew it so different and THP as an agency doesn’t view it as a separate piece of the PR puzzle. It is as much a part of the PR spectrum as is earned media through media relations, internal communications and key stakeholder communications. It should flow from strategic messaging. It should communicate and promote your content.

The last time I spoke to PRSA I said that PR should take the lead in the social media movement. I said we had a window and an advantage over our advertising cousins and that we should lead and seize the moment. We did seize it for a while but that moment is gone. Ad agencies, digital agencies, etc. have caught up and in some cases passed us. They did so because they committed to design and technology. In some cases PR agencies and groups did so as well (see HDS). I give that battle a push, as they would say in Vegas.

Now we come to the current day battleground, the battle over content. Here’s PR’s chance once again. We are the original content creators, promoters and sellers. We write, we pitch, we again sell. This remains, for the most part, our distinct advantage. But we will lose if we don’t get smarter about it.

In the last year or so we’ve seen a shift from learning about all the different platforms (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr) to getting comfortable with them as content platforms. While we wait for the next big thing, my guess is that these will be the big things for a while. Marry them with the phenomenon called Multi-Screening and the challenge for PR folks is clear.

We “win” (for ourselves, our clients, our companies) if we create solid, consistent content that breaks through the platforms, that is easily promotable among all of them, and that people can see and digest no matter which screen they are viewing at the time.

Also in the past year I’ve talked, counseled and audited a number of our clients and the themes and issues are pretty consistent. Here’s where I’d like to start our discussion that will continue during my presentation and live on way past March 27. Here are some common themes (some even myths), see if you see yourself or your organization in one or more of them.

• Content should be specially created for each platform
• We should segment the type of content for each platform
• All content should flow through one person
• We have no time to blog
• Social media is viral but we’re seeing no growth
• Content created for these platforms should be for entertainment or fun purposes only
• We can’t repurpose content across platforms
• These platforms are made for B2C not B2B
• We spend way too much time creating content
• There is no way to measure the ROI

If you see yourself admitting to one or more of these statements, I’m sorry to say there is no 12-step program for you or your organization. There are ways to make things easier and we can talk about them between now and March 27.

If you have a story to share or a solution you have come across or just want to vent, I’d love to hear from you. I’m putting together my talk in the next few weeks and I’d some to include your questions, problems and solutions in it. Please comment below, email me at jnewman@hodgespart.com or tweet me at @jonnew. 

Help me create my content about content. Fear not though, I have lots of opinions about this stuff and I won’t be afraid to share them on March 27. Register here for the PRSA lunch.

(BTW, my goal is to jam the room with 200 people so now that I’ve said that in public please register so I don’t look stupid.)