What would you do if you were Caribou’s digital strategist?

The first in a new series, these “What would you do…” posts aren’t intended to be critical of the companies and organizations I review, but instead meant to give us, the fans and customers, the chance to brainstorm new ideas for how they might be able to engage existing customers and stakeholders and win new ones in different ways. I’m hoping you all, the community of digital PR strategists I commiserate with each day, can add your two cents to each post so we can brainstorm these ideas together. Sound like a plan?

In this first post, I wanted to focus on one of my absolute favorite local brands, Caribou Coffee. As many of you know, I spend a decent amount of time at Caribou outposts across the Twin Cities each day. I’m a huge fan of the coffee–in fact, I’ve been known to drive as far as 10 miles out of my way for a cup of their joe. Let’s get to the ideas.

What would I do if I were Caribou’s digital strategist?

* Use Twitter as a crowd-sourcing tool. In case you haven’t noticed, Caribou recently rolled out its new “hand-crafted” oatmeal a couple weeks ago. They also routinely introduce new products and drinks to the menu. What better way to get instant feedback from your army of fans online than to listen, respond and ask questions on Twitter? A quick Twitter search for “Caribou” pops up plenty of tweets mentioning the brand in just the last few minutes. Heck, I tweet about the brand at least a few times a week. And, I’m sure many of those folks who are tweeting about Caribou would be more than happy to give their feedback on the newest drink or delectable, which would ultimately improve the menu and engage the many, many Caribou fans on Twitter (6,000-plus fans).

* Personalize the in-store experience for regulars. Coffee houses like Caribou are known “second offices” to a legion of consultants and solo pros. Some folks spend half their day at Caribou locations (not naming any names here ). So, you have loyal fans sitting in your store (many with computers in tow). They’re a captive audience, so to speak. They probably have a bit of discretionary income. Why not increase the wallet share here? Some Caribou locations do actually bring around samples of new pastries–a wonderful idea. But, take it a step further. Why not offer free pastries or specialty drinks to your most regular customers? Or, maybe you give regular customers their own personalized mug when they visit your store? Better yet, what if once you log in through the Caribou site, a special offer pops up that’s tailored to your buying habits based on prior orders? Or, what about simply asking managers to stroll around the stores and greet regulars personally as they sip their coffee? I know some of these ideas don’t fit into the “digital” bucket, but the crossover from digital to real-life is key.

* Recognize and cater to the “brand champions.” Just walk in any Caribou and nearly 75 percent of the customers have their laptops open. Chances are, these folks are active on Twitter, Facebook or any number of other social networking tools. Why not take advantage of that fact to raise awareness and win new customers? After all, these people are apt to talk about their experience in your store broadly–and frequently. Better yet, use the tools as a way to take care of your very best customers. Maybe Caribou offers special deals to its FourSquare mayors. Maybe it gets its FourSquare mayors together once a quarter as a focus group to test new products and provide feedback on marketing campaigns? Or, maybe Caribou gives followers on Twitter special deals one day of the week (similar to what Punch Pizza does with its coupon offers). So many ideas here.

* Take better advantage of Caribou email. I signed up for the Caribou email a while ago. While I enjoy getting a heads up on the newest blend they release or special deals, somehow I don’t feel all that…well..special. Why not create a custom e-newsletter just for those customer who spend more than $75 in Caribou stores each month. The e-newsletter could provide “behind-the-scenes” looks at new blends Caribou is considering. Give these special customers the chance to provide direct feedback on products, merchandise and in-store experience. Maybe even share an interview with one of the Caribou roastmasters from time to time. Then, add in special value-add offers each week that would drive more traffic–and again, gain more wallet share–of these important customers.

OK, those are just a few ideas to get us started. What would YOU do if you were Caribou’s digital strategist?

The Facebook “creator” dilemma

Chances are we all know at least one person who’s in charge of managing a brand’s Facebook fan page. Heck, many of us probably even own this responsibility ourselves. But, what happens when we/they take a different job in two years?

I’ll tell you what happens. The brand will find itself in a tough spot.

Why? Because, as it stands now, Facebook’s “creator” role cannot be transferred. At least not without a series of calls/emails to Facebook asking to make the change. That’s right, if you are set as the “creator” in Facebook and you leave the organization you’re representing, it seems like it’s pretty darn difficult to transfer or remove the coveted “creator” tag.

Probably not a huge deal as many folks who move from company to company won’t look to sabotage your brand fan page (and you probably also have a few admins who can access the site), but ultimately, you still want “control” of your page. It’s a risk management issue for companies.

Ownership of social networks needs to be flexible. Pliable. Transferable. With many tools this isn’t a problem. But, in this case, Facebook has a problem. And, I think we’re all going to hear a lot more about this issue in the months/year ahead.

Keep in mind, I’m not the only one voicing this concern. Many people have risen this issue with Facebook–right on their site. And while I’m not really complaining, per se (more raising the issue), I do think this this is a serious issue. And one Facebook would be wise to address ASAP.

Have you run into this issue yet? Is there an effective “workaround”? If not, please join me in helping raise this issue to Facebook, on behalf the clients we represent or work for, in hopes they will institute a solution soon.

Rants N Raves: Get Creative with Geolocation

Today’s guest post comes from my friend Len Kendall of GolinHarris in Chicago. I featured Len in a post a couple weeks ago as someone who intrigues me. The post below gives you a strong indication why. Len, the floor is yours…

With the recent popularity of location-aware social mobile networks (geo-somo) such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown, many brands have been asking, what are (if any) the PR opportunities for engaging consumers by leveraging this technology.

From a local business perspective, the benefits are obvious. Those of us who have been using networks such as Foursquare have started to see the “local deals” and “free X for the mayor of this place.” On a national level, brands like Pepsi and Intel have started promoting themselves in the vain of charity or thought leadership, respectively.

While all of the above certainly caught the attention of the media, the question still remains, are there long-term applications for geo-somo networks for brands and their agency partners? I propose there are. Below is one realistic scenario which I’ll share with you. (Since so many blog posts in the world of social media are philosophical, I’ll try to make this as realistic as possible.)

Right now, brands experimenting with Twitter hashtags are a dime-a-dozen. That isn’t a slam, just a growing reality. With the right incentive, this kind of campaign can yield a high level of awareness for a product, BUT it also will be in heavy competition with the other hundreds of daily hashtags flooding twitter.

Generally speaking, companies encourage twitter users to participate in hashtag contests because they want to grow conversations around their brand or product. The more people that participate, the higher potential for transactions (profit). This model is generally based on the idea that by taking a very simple action (sending a tweet) a consumer will be rewarded with a chance to win a really big prize. Using the example of Moonfruit, back in mid 2009, were giving people a chance to win Macbooks for tweeting a message along with a designated hashtag.

The above method gets high quantity, but it doesn’t always get quality. As I’ve learned from conducting contest campaigns in the past, you don’t always get people who are your target market, you just get people who like contests.

Enter geo-somo. Using Foursquare as an example, you’ve got a framework where people “check-in” to real locations and are able to also attach a message to that check in (which also can then be syndicated to Twitter or Facebook). Based on this ability, why not host a hashtag contest (if you want to call it that) that doesn’t reward a simple action with a chance to win a big prize, but rather a more-involved action with a guaranteed reward?

Let me illustrate with an example, one that involves a large brand that doesn’t involve a brand that has “local” outposts. (Because I know the devil’s advocates out there will point out the fact that Foursquare can only be used well by companies with physical locations.)

The example company is going to be Netflix. What’s their goal? To get more people to watch movies, especially instead of going out to movie theaters. Now they obviously offer free trials to people who want to try out their service. But they’re not interested (in this hypothetical) in everyone; they want to target people who are avid moviegoers.

Here’s the concept.

Go to the movie theatre, check-in on Foursquare, and include the following in your message.

Movie you’re going to see.

AND

Why you want to see it.

OR

A mini review.

AND

#NetflixSquare

Those posts need to be sent to Twitter creating a public record of consumer participation in the contest. In exchange for participating, users get X months of free Netflix. Upon sending out the tweet that shares the fact they are in/around a movie theatre, an automatic link will be generated in response to that individual (by Netflix) that will give them the opportunity to log in using OAuth (a Twitter authentication tool) to get their free trial, along with checking off various legal requirements that can’t be forgotten in this kind of promotion.

Rewinding a bit, let’s review what is taking place during this process.

1)   You’re actually growing your business by encouraging people to be patrons of a business that is in direction competition to yours.

2)   Participants are being asked to comment, not on how much they love your product, but rather what they enjoy about their film experience.

3)   They’re sharing a hashtag (a very recognizable entity among users of Twitter and Foursquare) with their connections within a social network that generally does NOT contain them. This addresses the earlier issue around overuse of hashtags.

4)   Netflix is potentially benefitting from a much higher level of word of mouth. While Twitter is a network composed mostly of people we don’t know in real life, Foursquare is one that many reserve for people they know fairly well (since it shares specific location data). Closer friends = Stronger Recommendations.

5)   In case you missed the piece in the New York Times about a week ago, Netflix LOVES location data. Just look at this map of what movies are being rented in major cities. If this kind of effort goes into analyzing current customers, there’s no doubt that new customer data will get just as much dedication.

This post attempts to go into the nitty-gritty of brainstorming campaign ideas. Many times, people are spurred into creative thinking by being asked questions. In this case, I wanted to show you an example. Far too many times, brands will implement an idea based on the success of others and assume it will work just as well for them as well. It might, it might not. Either way it’s costing money.

My hope is by seeing this example of how to use a tactical tool like Foursquare for something that it typically isn’t used for, it will help you think about all the items you have at your disposal for your marketing efforts that also can be used for something THEY’RE not intended for. Aside from the rather obvious “invention” one of the pillars of creative thinking is reconfiguring something that already exists.

Looking forward to your, Netflix’, and Redbox’ thoughts on this particular reconfiguration.

Len Kendall is an account supervisor at GolinHarris Chicago within the Dialogue Group helping lead the agency into the realm of digital PR. In his downtime he can be found blogging at Constructive Grumpiness and MarketingProfs where he tries to lend his innovative thinking to help improve brands, products, and experiences. He is a passionate traveler, skier, and scrabble fanatic with a love for the city of Chicago, its people, and its prowess in the tech community. Follow Len on Twitter.

Client disclosure on Twitter: What’s appropriate?

I posed this simple question on Twitter last week: “What’s the right amount of disclosure on Twitter when it comes to client work?”

The responses surprised me a little. They ranged from “disclose every time” to “once in a while.” It was a lively discussion with a number of folks weighing in.

Given the interest in the topic, I thought we’d kick off a more long-form discussion by getting a number of different viewpoints from a few people I respect from across the country. I’d love your take in the comments.

Richie Escovedo, director of media and communications, Mansfield Independent School District

I’ve been thinking about the client disclosure question on Twitter. While I agree in principle that a client disclosure is probably a good idea, I also think you can in good conscience share via Twitter if you find things truly interesting. To me it leads to the question of intent.

Am I providing a service for a client by sharing their link/event/news with my network? Yes.
Am I being unethical if I don’t make it a point to be clear that they are a client? Yes.

For me a great set of guidelines come from the PRSA Code of Ethics that “zero in on putting value and principles into play for working professionals facing everyday tasks and challenges. Among them, professionals should: (partial list)

• Be honest and accurate in all communications.
• Reveal sponsors for represented causes and interests.
• Act in the best interest of clients or employers.

I think these first three points sum it up quite nicely and answer are question for PR professionals.

But not everyone abides by the PRSA Code of Ethics. While true, this does not excuse PR professionals from ignoring smart business practice. First, do no harm: think of it this way, if there is the potential of doing harm to the business relationship, then why risk it? If you value your professional and personal network, you will want to be as open as possible with these types of relationships so as to avoid any conflicts of interest perceived or real.

Julie Bonn Heath, JBH Marketing & Public Relations

The key for me is how genuine I can remain.

I tell potential clients upfront that I will not use my Twitter stream to promote them (I have had some contact for services based strictly on my “reach”). And the reason I will not is because I am a very genuine person both online and off. What you see is what you get and my integrity is very important to me. That is NOT the reason for my stream.

But I won’t lie.

So if I am truly enjoying a client or their service/product, I may tweet about them a couple of times (possibly even after contract ends) for the purpose of letting my followers find out about a great product or service. If I don’t feel that my followers will benefit, I won’t tweet it.

I also sometimes tweet about potential clients to help support them-and again if I believe in the product/service/cause and if my followers might benefit.

And of course, I do keep in touch with clients on Twitter so sometimes they are in my tweets via the @ function.

Gini Dietrich, CEO, Arment Dietrich, Inc.

“What is the right amount of disclosure for client work on Twitter?”

Our philosophy on social media is that people want to connect with the people INSIDE the company, not some PR firm working on building their client’s brands. So, unless you are a gigantic brand that doesn’t have a person’s face associated with you, we will not tweet for you. That being said, we will retweet what our clients tweet, we will tweet about something they’re doing from our own handles, and we will brainstorm with them for campaigns that will elicit response, drive traffic, and build brand awareness.

If we tweet about a client, we always write the tweet and then (client) at the end. If we are retweeting the client, we don’t write (client) as part of our retweet because it’s not our original thought. It’s all a balancing act because you want to be transparent, but you also want to help your clients. I say, err on the side of caution, especially if it’s a new client, and see what works with your community and what doesn’t work. If you’ve built a tribe of people who don’t care about what it is that your client does, don’t hurt the relationships you’ve built on behalf of your brand in order to help your client(s). Social media and its transparency have a way, now, of allowing us to say “no thanks” to the clients who truly don’t fit our brands.

Thank you, Richie, Julie and Gini. Very interesting–and well-thought-out–perspectives. What’s my take? To me, the whole Twitter disclosure conversation boils down to one word: over-disclose. I just don’t see any situation where it’s not relevant that you’re tweeting about, or on behalf, of a client that’s paying you money to perform marketing, PR or communications services.

Many folks asked in our discussion on Twitter why you need to disclose every time? Isn’t once enough? For me, it isn’t. Here’s why. How many of your followers are going to see that first tweet when you disclose? Probably a handful. So, the next time you mention the client, they will assume you’re just a fan of the organization. While in reality, that may be true, that client is still paying you for a service, which immediately disqualifies you as an objective third-party endorser.

I also think there’s an ethical claim at stake here. As Richie notes above, the PRSA Code of Ethics play into this for me, personally. I know not everyone’s a PRSA member like Richie and myself, but for me, that’s important.

OK, enough pontificating. What do you think? How much disclosure on Twitter is appropriate when talking about client work? Where’s the line between ethical and unethical? Is this even an ethical dilemma?

4 ways to build community on your Facebook fan page

Facebook fan pages. They’re a dime a dozen these days. Literally, with 30 million businesses now officially on Facebook. But, of those 30 million, how many are really using the tool strategically to achieve business goals and objectives? Wait, hold that thought. Better yet, head over to Justin Goldsborough’s blog for a few examples.

What if you’re an organization and you started a fan page in the last few months (probably a pretty big group) but you just haven’t seen results yet. A lack of followers. Few comments. Limited engagement. What can you do?

I have a few suggestions:

* Build community from within your four walls. The first place I tell all my clients to start when building community online: Their own staff. Send an email to staff encouraging them to join the community. Make it easy (one click) and give them concrete reasons–and tell them exactly what they can expect. Post a link to the company intranet. Or, include a blurb in the next employee e-newsletter. Whatever the tactic, make sure you’re encouraging your most important audience to become your base. And, after you’ve shared the link once, be sure to share wins and stories consistently as new posts, insights and comments are shared on your page.

* Look to your partners for help. Have you approached your partner organizations? Vendors? Other supporting companies? Approach the PR, marketing or digital leader within these organizations and find out if they’d be open to helping. Maybe it’s a simple note to their audiences. Or, maybe it’s just sharing a link on your fan page. Whatever the case, cross-pollination with your partner organizations can go a long ways toward building your own community.

* Integrate your fan page into your existing marketing/communications approaches. Get creative. Instead of just adding the simple “Follow us on Facebook” (which, in certain situations, is just fine), why not take it a step further and give them a reason to follow you? Post all your photos on Facebook? Why not build that into the language? Or, maybe you focus on two-way discussions for feedback? Why not build that into your blurb. Or, maybe it’s a contest of sorts. Oh, and make sure it’s easy to find and click to your fan page from your Web site. Remember, for most, this is still the front door to your organization and the easiest place for most to find you online.

* Start an ad campaign. The good news: You don’t have to spend millions of dollars to do this. The better news: Since Facebook compiles all sorts of useful data on its users, you can tailor your campaigns to niche audiences. Even better: You only pay per click or per impression. It’s one of the most overlooked components of any Facebook fan page launch strategy. And, it can be darn effective. The beautiful part is even if your initial campaign doesn’t work, 1) You probably didn’t spend a ton of money on it, and B) You can learn, adjust and try again.

Just a few useful tips I’ve suggested to clients recently. What others would you add?

Note: Photo courtesy of LaughingSquid via FlickR Creative Commons.

11 more intriguing people in PR in 2010

I wrote a post last Friday titled “The 7 most intriguing people in PR in 2010.” Hours after posting, a common theme began to emerge. There was a lack of female representation on the list.  The refrains were heard throughout the day and into the weekend. A few hours later, my friend Valerie Simon offered to guest post on this very topic and spurred another spirited discussion yesterday (thanks, Valerie!).

Today, I wanted to address this issue head on. I know some have said it’s a bit ridiculous, and certainly those who know me don’t need this explanation, but I’d like to share my thinking more broadly.

There were two components to my rationale. First, I’m a big fan of lists. But, as many noted in yesterday’s comments, lists by their nature, are limiting. I wanted to come up a relatively short list of people that lately, I found particularly intriguing. In the last few weeks, I have had very interesting discussions with Adam Kmiec on Twitter. And Len Kendall’s and Adam Singer’s blogs have been piquing my curiousity more and more lately. And, David Armano’s recent move to Edelman made me wonder. Shel Holtz’s recent five-year anniversary of FIR made me think about how much longer he could keep it up (probably another five years). You get the idea. They were all top of mind for me because of recent events or conversations.

Second, I’m a product of my environment. I’ve spent the better part of my 13-career working for and with women. In total, over the years I’ve had no fewer than 10 managers who were women. And, in my last two jobs previous to starting my own business, I worked in office environments with ALL women. So, in the last couple years since I’ve been engaging online, it’s been refreshing to see a number of men emerge as thought leaders and luminaries in an industry I’ve known to be completely dominated by women. It’s given me a number of male mentors to look up to and learn from. And a camaraderie I just haven’t had before–at least not to this level. Now, I completely understand senior management tends to be pretty male-dominated in our industry, but again, in my experience, I’ve really only worked for female leadership. So, while that may be the case globally, I just haven’t seen it. So yeah, maybe I tend to favor men a bit more because of my personal experiences–at least subconsciously. But, like Valerie said in her post yesterday, take a peek at my blog roll. Full of women I read every day. My Feedly account has even more blogs authored by women. Check out my tweet stream. You’ll often find me chatting with Lauren Fernandez, Valerie Simon, Heather Whaling, Jen Wilbur, and Rachel Kay among many other women.

Bottom line: Mea culpa. I definitely should have included at least a few women in my initial list. Or, maybe I should have reworded the title, as others suggested yesterday. Whatever the case, the initial list should have been more representative of who I really find intriguing in 2010.

So, to rectify that lapse in judgment, I’m adding 11 more people to the list. And, just as the initial list happened to be all men, this list just happens to be all women. It’s not a gender thing. It’s just 11 more people who I find fascinating. Want to add to the list? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments.

Jessica Smith. Why does she intrigue me? A few weeks ago, I asked a number of PR pros what they’d get that digital PR pro on their holiday shopping list. Know what Jessica said? A TED membership. Now *that* intrigues me. I’ll admit, I don’t know Jessica all that well, but I’m hoping to change that in 2010. And, she’s a foodie (I’m a closeted foodie), so that scores points with me. She also blogs at JessicaKnows, which isn’t your typical PR blog.

Rebecca Denison. Why does she intrigue me? One of the youngest women on this list–but also maybe the most intriguing. I mean who goes into PR because of a passion for measurement? Rebecca Denison, that’s who. I’ve also been a fan of her blog since day one. Especially the Dr. WHAW column (What I Didn’t Read While at Work). She hasn’t written one for a while, but back when she was pumping those out, I was following along with interest. And now, as part of the Edelman Digital team, she’ll have the opportunity to work with and learn from minds like David Armano and Rick Murray.

Kristina Halvorson. Why does she intrigue me? President of Brain Traffic, a content strategy firm in Minneapolis, Kristina is one of those local folks I’d love to meet in 2010. You can follow her blog on the Brain Traffic site--always some interesting reads here. But, it’s her snarky tweets that have me fascinated with this thought leader. See this post from Kristina on her first day back in the office last week. Intrigued?

Meghan Wilker Why does she intrigue me? Meghan’s another women I’m not sure you’d technically consider in PR–but I would. Yeah, she has an interactive background, but at her core, she’s a strategist. A problem solver. That’s tomorrow’s PR pro in a nutshell. Managing director over at Clockwork, Meghan caught my eye a while ago and I’ve recently gotten to know her a little better. She also blogs regularly with Nancy Lyons over at the Geeks Girls Guide. If you live in Minneapolis, you’ve undoubtedly heard of this tandem. If not, you’ve definitely seen their spiral-bound notebooks around town. Seemingly everyone has one.

Beth Harte. Why does she intrigue me? Beth Harte has intrigued me from day one. And, I’m fortunate enough to have met her and formed a friendship with her over the last year. As the community manager for MarketingProfs, I’ve followed Beth as she’s taken the MP community to a new level the last few months (she manages an active and engaged professional group on LinkedIn) And, as a former consultant, I’ve learned a lot from Beth in terms of client service, ideas and branding. You can also find Beth hosting the popular #pr20chat on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. And now,  you can also find her blogging regularly over at the Daily Fix.

Francine McKenna. Why does she intrigue me? I spent a sizeable portion of my career in the professional services world working for a midsized accounting firm. So, Francine caught my eye right away. One of the more prominent bloggers in the accounting world, I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say Francine has revolutionized the way the accounting industry interacts online. Her blog, re: The Auditors has a a following of some 1,300-plus people and is full of interesting, thoughtful and newsworthy posts and information. A treasure-trove for anyone working in the accounting industry (especially Big Four). Very much a pioneering blogger.

Valeria Maltoni. Why does she intrigue me? To be honest, I think Valeria intrigues most people. I once heard Jason Falls say Valeria’s Conversation Agent was the one blog he read when he wanted fresh ideas and inspiration. Valeria’s blog is an absolute gold mine for today’s PR pro. Full of interesting interviews, case studies, e-books and Valeria’s own insights, it’s a must read for me each week. She’s also an accredited professional, which holds big value for me. I haven’t yet seen Valeria present, but I’m hoping to catch her somewhere in the year ahead.

* Mary Barber. Why does she intrigue me? Many say the boomers are lagging in the digital space. Not Mary. She’s embraced the new tools–and the benefits they bring to her clients. As a PR consultant, Mary gets paid to stay one step ahead. So, it should come as no surprise to see her hanging out in #journchat and #pr20chat on a weekly basis. Plus, she brings that senior credibility to her conversations. Yes, the Millennials bring a fresh perspective. But, there’s something to be said for viewpoints and opinions that are steeped in 20-plus years of communications experience.

* Heather Whaling. Why does she intrigue me? Hmm…let me count the ways. Founded Pitch With Me, an innovative new way to package like-minded pitches collaboratively. She’s the new co-moderator of the successful (hat tip: Beth Harte) #pr20chat. Oh, and she recently quit her day job to start her own consultancy named Geben Communications. Intrigued? I am. I’ve been following Heather for a long time and have had the tremendous fortune to know her better the last few months. Expecting big things from Ms. Whaling in 2010.

* Rachel Kay. Why does she intrigue me? Mainly, because she runs a smart shop. How do I know this? Ask the people who work for her (Natalie Keiko, for one). Ask her clients (growing list by the day). If you still don’t believe me, ask anyone who’s interacted with Rachel online. Not only that, but she has a soft spot in her heart. Always quick to give back, Rachel was one of the first ardent supporters of Danny Brown’s 12for12K effort. I’m always intrigued by people who are so thoughtful in the ways they give back.

* Dana Lewis. Why does she intrigue me? First of all, the woman hasn’t even graduated yet. Dana’s done more for social media in the health care scene than many people who work in the industry full time. So, there’s that. Dana’s a sponge. Constantly learning, asking questions and sticking close to other smart people (Mack Collier, for one). But, she’s not afraid to share her opinion. You can find her each Sunday night moderating the wildly successful #hcsm chat. Some company is going to be very lucky come May when Dana hits the open market.

Anyone else to add?

Rants N Raves: Where are the women in the conversation?

Today’s rant is from my friend, Valerie Simon. Keep in mind, this was a completely unsolicited guest post. But, given the conversation, comments and tweets from Friday’s post titled “7 most intriguing people in PR in 2010″, I thought it was warranted because clearly, there is a bigger issue at hand here. If you have time today, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And, I know Valerie would, too. Oh, and for the record, I have my own follow-up post coming tomorrow. Stay tuned.

They are on the Communications Conversation blog roll ( Amy Mengel, Heather Whaling, Shonali Burke, Valerie Maltoni, Connie Bensen, Lauren Fernandez, Rachel Kay and Shannon Paul). They are included among Arik’s picks for The Next 20 A Listers (8 women). But no, there was not a single woman on Arik’s recent list of the 7 most intriguing people in PR in 2010. For the record, there was no one outside of the U.S. on his list, and there was little in the way of racial diversity. And while I would be hard pressed to argue the “intrigue factor” of those listed, should the list have been more representative of the demographic makeup of the public relations industry (particularly since the PR industry is dominated by women)? According to the whirlwind of comments and tweets I saw, the lack of women was a serious faux pas.

It’s important to support and recognize the women who are leaders in the field of public relations;  I loved the series on Powerful Women in PR written for the Council of Public Relations and the Wonder Gals of Web 2.0 by Deni Kasrel, and have found tremendous value in groups such as Washington Women in Public Relations. But I think it is also okay to share a list that happens to include 7 men. Maybe it would have been better received had it been called 7 intriguing people in PR, rather than the 7 most intriguing people in PR.

“Top 10” (or in this case 7) lists are popular posts for blogs. But they are limiting and by including some, you exclude others. At times I have shied away from creating such lists for fear of offending those who would inevitably be left out. But that seems a shame doesn’t it? While I do think that there is a valid point in that there are a myriad of intriguing women in the world of PR who could have easily made this list, there are also many intriguing men that were left off.

Personally, I liked Arik’s list; 7 very intriguing people that I can learn from in 2010. Yes, they happened to be male. I commented with a few who intrigue me, 2 of whom happen to be female.   I hope that you take Arik’s final line as a call to action and share, “Who intrigues you in 2010?” by leaving a comment with the PERSON (regardless of gender) you find intriguing.

But before you go, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Was Arik wrong to neglect to include any women in his list of most intriguing PR people for 2010? Do bloggers need to consider demographic factors before posting a “Top 10” list? And was the fact that Arik did not include any women in his initial list an egregious oversight, or simply an indication that gender was irrelevant to the consideration? Is gender relevant to every conversation? Bring it on… Let’s make this a community rant and perhaps we can all learn a little something in the process.

Valerie Merahn Simon serves as a Senior Vice President at BurrellesLuce media monitoring and measurement, and writes a national public relations column for examiner.com. She is also co-founder and host of #PRStudChat, the monthly twitter chat between PR professionals and students moderated by Deirdre Breakenridge. Valerie can be found on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The 7 most intriguing people in PR in 2010

People has its list. Now I have mine. In all seriousness, if you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know I’m big on lists. And, as we enter another new year, I thought we could have a little fun today and focus on seven people who, in my opinion, have an interesting year ahead of themselves in 2010–for many different reasons:

David Armano. Why is he intriguing? While David had an extremely adventurous and interesting 2009, I tend to think 2010 will be just–if not more–intriguing. Having just joined digital juggernaut, Edelman, David will be a part of one of the most respected, and high-powered, social teams in the country. I expect we may see big things from Mr. Armano in 2010.

Adam Singer. Why is he intriguing? Did you just read his post about Mashable? Tells you all you need to know about the guy. One of the smarter, young PR/digital pros in Minneapolis, Adam has been making quite a name for himself blogging at the Future Buzz and working with Lee Odden over at Top Rank Marketing. In my mind, Adam represents much of what the PR pro of the future will look like. Sharp digital skills, a strategic mindset and a creative problem solver.

David Spinks. Why is he intriguing? Graduated from college. Started his first blog. Scored his first full-time job (as community manager at Scribnia). Co-hosts the successful #u30pro chat. This all happened for David in 2009. Boy, I can’t wait to see what he does in his second full-time year in the workforce. David is constantly taking risks, challenging the status quo and considering alternative approaches. The guy’s done more in one year than I did in my first five out of school. Can’t wait to see where 2010 takes him.

Adam Kmiec. Why is he intriguing? Anyone who openly questions Chris Brogan gets my attention. Only because it so rarely happens and Mr. Brogan is such a beloved–and widely respected–figure online. To me, Adam’s actually much more intriguing for his creative thoughts and curiousity. In fact, he had one of the more interesting prediction-type posts last week. We need more Adam Kmiec’s around.

Olivier Blanchard. Why is he intriguing? Another guy who’s not afraid to challenge conventional thought. Over the last year, he’s sparked all sorts of controversial and thought-provoking conversation on his blog–and others. And now, he’s off creating worldwide summits and think tanks. To be honest, I’ve been intrigued by Olivier since the day I started following him and his blog. Can’t wait to see what’s next for him in the year ahead.

Len Kendall. Why is he intriguing? Len’s one of those guys who doesn’t fit into a nice, neat bucket. He’s not really a traditional PR pro (even though he works for GolinHarris, a widely respected integrated communications agency). He’s not really an interactive guy either. He’s a hybrid of sorts. And, much like Adam Singer above, I think Len represents the future. And lately, his blog has started to pull me in more and more (have you seen his post on using Posterous for PR?). Len’s also started (along with Daniel Honigman) a new project dubbed the “3six5 project” where a different person will guest post each day. Kind of a 365 running diary. Intrigued?

Shel Holtz. Why is he intriguing? Along with Neville Hobson, Shel Holtz just celebrated the fifth year of For Immediate Release. FIVE YEARS! That’s longer than some of us have been on Gmail (don’t look at me). He also started “Stop Blocking”, a site devoted to convincing organizations to unblock social sites in the workplace (yeoman’s work). And, in a space littered with milennials, Yers and Xers, Shel’s one of a handful of boomers consistently pushing the envelope while applying his 30-plus years of experience in corporate communications. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Shel a couple times in the last year and I’m looking forward to Shel’s ideas and thoughts in 2010.

Who intrigues you in 2010?

Rants N Raves: Do You Need a Social Media Consultant? Take This 5-Minute Test

The following guest post is from friend and colleague, Scott Hepburn. I’ve come to know Scott fairly well over the last year. Scott approaches communications challenges with a unique perspective as a former journalist. I’ve enjoyed Scott’s posts over the last year–you can read him regularly over on his blog, Media Emerging. He also owns a consultancy by that same name (if you’re in Charlotte or the surrounding communities, you’d be wise to give Scott a call). I’m honored to have him guest posting today.

There’s a debate in marketing and PR circles about whether “social media consultant” is a legitimate profession. I use one simple test: Does it satisfy a need?

Not sure if you need a social media consultant? Here’s a 5-minute self-assessment:

1. Does your in-house “Facebook expert” (look around for a 20-something…) know how to achieve business objectives on Facebook, or just run a mafia?
2. Aside from Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, can you name any other social networks? (Hint: There are hundreds of ‘em.) The one you’ve never heard of may just be where your customers are.
3. Do you know how to create content that builds trust, loyalty, and engagement with your target audience?
4. Can you name five ways to increase profits via social media without increasing sales? (Here are five to start with: Decrease market research costs, reduce recruiting costs, reduce customer service costs, eliminate expensive advertising, and reduce travel expenses through digital collaboration)
5. Are you aware of the risks, hurdles, traps and paths to social media failure?
6. Do you know what CAN be measured in social media, what CAN’T be measured, what SHOULD be measured and what SHOULDN’T be measured? Check out Robin Broitman’s social media metrics superlist to get started.
7. Do you have pre-set expectations of what you’ll accomplish with social media? How did you arrive at those expectations? Do you need a social media reality check?
8. Can you articulate what role every person in your organization will play in executing your social media program?
9. Could you train every person on your staff…and make the training relevant to each person?
10. Do your employee performance evaluations acknowledge employees’ social media contributions? Do you know how to assess the value of these contributions?
11. Do you know how to identify individuals who influence your audience online? Do you know the best way to engage these influencers?
12. Can you describe the technographic profile of your customers? Are they predominantly content creators? Commenters? Spectators?
13. Do you know how to integrate social media with other communication tools?
14. Do you have the resources to handle unanticipated outcomes, be they positive or negative?
15. Since ROI is sure to come up, do you know how to calculate return on investment (ROI) correctly?

If you made it this far, you can probably read the tea leaves: It’s time to call a social media specialist. If he says he’s certified, though, steer clear. Here’s a guide to finding the right social media strategist.

What role will digital content curation play in the future of PR?

Content is no longer the issue for organizations. Not in this 24/7 news cycle world. Not in an era where the average consumer takes in as many as 3,000 marketing messages per day, according to Fast Company.

No, the real issue is filtering through all the garbage to get to the nuggets. The information that will help you get smarter or be more efficient.

For years, the mainstream media (MSM) has served this role well. CNN, USA Today, CBS News, your local newspaper. They’re all responsible for filtering through the junk and relaying to you the relevant stories that impact your lives. And, from a PR perspective, they’ve been valuable conduits and tools for us to share our messages with key audiences.

Fast forward to today. Content has moved online. It’s also mobile with the advent of the smart phone. And, nearly everyone has access to the tools to create their own content. As we all know, it’s been quite the shift.

OK, cut to the chase: What does digital content curation mean for your organization?

The old rules no longer apply–well, at least not as much as they did a few years ago. MSM are still relevant gatekeepers. More than 2 million people still subscribe to the Wall Street Journal. More than 1.9 million still read the USA Today. And more than 14 million visit the NY Times Web site each month (hat tip to Rachel Kay for the info). But, the key point here is the flattening that’s happened the last few years. Organizations now have an opportunity to filter and curate digital content for their customers.

Bottom line: Your company has a chance to BE the media. Relevant to your own corner of the world, of course.

For example, you’re an accounting firm. You make your living counting other organization’s money. Consulting. And knowing your client’s business inside out. Wouldn’t you have an outstanding opportunity to be a relevant source of industry and financial stories for your clients?

Instead of just focusing on your ideas, you’d also pull in stories from industry blogs, trade publications and other relevant Web sources. You could even separate it out by industry niche. Have one “channel” on your site devoted to health care. Another to construction/real estate. Yet another to not-for-profits. You’d be the Web destination for your clients for all things tax, accounting and consulting. Eventually, wouldn’t they see you as an expert? A thought leader? An organization that’s given them so much free and insightful digital content over the months that they actually felt compelled to do business with you?

That’s the idea anyway. The challenge for organizations initially is finding the right mix. As we know, the MSM aren’t going anywhere. They’re still very relevant gatekeepers of important information–and fantastic storytelling portals for your brand. However, the mix is shifting. What’s the right balance? I think companies are still trying to figure that out.

There’s also the talent and staffing piece of the equation. Organizations will not only have to figure out how much time to devote to digital content creation and curation, they will also have to find the type of skill set and people who would flourish in a role like this. You don’t even see that job description floating around too widely yet. It’s a whole new job category just waiting to expand.

What are your thoughts? Where do you see this going in the next 2-5 years? How will organizations embrace it? What are the staffing/talent challenges ahead?