PR 101

We’ve got a  new website, and a new home for PR101.

Please join us at jjc-communication.com

-Thank you for visiting-

Before I start, a personal note: Diabetes is a growing scourge. Worldwide 347 million people have it. In the U.S., it has hit more than 20 million afflicted people. That number is growing. It causes blindness, heart attack, stroke, amputations, and a host of other problems. It is a hidden disease because people with Diabetes look like they are okay.. Every year to fight this disease I participate in the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure bicycle ride in Wisconsin. I am asking for your help by donating money to support me in the ride. So please click on this link and donate. Thank you.

Just as everyone else in this economy does, I follow job postings. It amazes me how little many companies seem to understand about what marketing people do. They create positions in which the employee is expected to handle everything from web design to attracting new business.

When the hiring manager tells the CEO that none of the applicants meet the requirements, the CEO complains there are not enough qualified people out there.

Frankly that’s nonsense. There are plenty of qualified people out there. But no one person can meet the requirements of at least 75 percent of posted jobs.

I cannot figure out why companies are doing this. I suspect it is an attempt to save money. They are looking for one person to handle three or four jobs. Or it is just willful ignorance. We have been doing it this way since the Civil War, why change now?

Yes, given the right position, I would make the leap into someone else’s workspace. That’s why I follow the ads. Business has been too damned slow lately.

Facebook Started This

What inspired this blog was a Facebook discussion I participated in last week. A group of marketing people were lamenting companies who seem to want to hire a combination of Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki and Donny Deutsch.

I don’t have permission to use people’s names from the discussion, but I don’t think they will mind if I use their posts. This is the post that begin it.

“When you post a job that seeks someone to do this: “Manage all social media outposts, research and implement new ideas, create content, use social media to build donor email lists and increase revenue, do blogger outreach, and track metrics and prepare tracking reports.” And are seeking a part-time worker that you propose paying $15-18 an hour, well, you’re an idiot. And yes. It really is that simple. You. Are. An. Idiot.’

One of the first replies read: “more like $15 per tweet, but still no. Looking for work and seeing stuff like that is just disheartening.”

The next post read: “I know, right!!!! And, other employers actually want to use that job posting to devalue the position they are hiring for. It’s amazing. Those employers will pay thousands per month to a black-hat “lead-gen” company, yet want to pay $15 per hour for someone to help them not have to pay a lead-gen company. Idiots. Seriously.”

Then I replied: “I keep seeing ads for marketing people that also note the person should know web and graphic design, photo shop and a host of other non-marketing related stuff. It seems like companies are trying to do everything on the cheap. They are looking for a person who can fill three or four roles. When they cannot find somebody who can write copy, build a website, do the SEO, and design marketing collateral, they complain they cannot find qualified candidates.”

The thread went on for another 25 comments or so. The general consensus was that companies are clueless. Many of them either think they don’t need to do this social media thing. Or, “it’s some simple even an intern can do it. Heck the intern has a Facebook page, they must know social media.”

Companies Are Often Clueless

So then the effort fails, as it will when an expert isn’t managing it, the first reaction is “whew, see we didn’t need it anyway.” The second reaction comes later. When a competitor who does get it eats the first company’s lunch, the executives panic. It’s too late then. The business landscape is littered with failed companies who wanted too long.

I preach to my clients that the first foray they need to make into social media is blogging. It is the surest, most effective way to drive traffic to a website, which eventually leads to increased business. There is also another important aspect to blogging – you can listen and respond to your clients/customer/potential clients or customer.

That’s true for almost every social media platform – from Twitter to Google+. Everyone one of those allows a company to know what’s going on in their space.

It Means Being Social

Another thing I always preach about social media is that the first word is Social. Wikipedia defines social media as referring “to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.” The emphasis is mine.

The key word in that phrase is interactions. That means paying attention and responding to things people say about your business.

Turning A Deaf Ear

Yet, I find that many companies neither listen nor respond. That’s a really bad idea. As I always tell clients, there is likely a conversation going on right now about your business. Whether you are part of it or not, it is going on. If you are part of it, you can monitor it and respond to criticisms and complaints. If you aren’t, you will be scratching your head as to why your products aren’t selling.

Responding to a comment is a very good way to bond a customer or client to your company. It shows you care and are responsive to customer’s needs. If it’s a good comment, you can thank your customer for taking the time. If it’s a complaint, you have a unique chance to respond to the issue. Solving a problem a customer’s problem is one of the surest ways to convert a complainer into an evangelist for your company.

People Want To Be Heard

When people write a blog comment or tweet something or make a remark on Yelp or Foursquare, they are doing it to be heard. They expect a response. Often complainers will end up creating a community of people who have the same beef. That’s how things go viral.

I will use myself as an example. I have approximately 8,500 Twitter followers and somewhere north of 22,500 LinkedIn contacts. LinkedIn says that means I can reach over 25 million professionals. On Facebook I have approximately 2,300 friends. Doing the math, I can reach over 33,000 direct contacts.

So if I am angry or upset about something, I can reach a lot of people. Alright so not everyone is going to join in. Lets say only 10 percent of my contacts spread my complaint. That’s 3,300 people echoing me. They each have contacts some of whom will spread my complaint. See how things go viral.

Time Is Short

As importantly, you have very little response time anymore. In my early days of crisis communications we assumed we had about 12 hours to respond. That was the time between news cycles.

Now, a company is lucky if it has an hour to respond. There are no boundaries on the Internet. Someone who complains in Cleveland, Ohio will be heard in Mumbai, India at the same time the subject of the complaint does. A grass fire turns into a forest fire very quickly. Whole brands have been destroyed because of their failure to respond quickly.

So keep your ear to the Internet. It’s the only thing to do.