PRWeek's new column continues / Opening the door a little bit
Back on the 19th, I wrote about Keith O'Brien's new column at PRWeek, "What goes online," and suggested it would be semi-required reading for PR folk, and I definitely agree after article two. This week, Keith (I'm going first name this week, sue me) tackles how public relations pros can't (and shouldn't) try to put out every single fire (read: blog posting) when it comes to people trashing a product or service. Of course, the example he provides, one that I've discussed here, in Kryptonite locks, is one that shows when it is (obviously) necessary to make an attempt to staunch the flow - though you're never going to make it all disappear. The only thing you can do in a case like that is mitigate, not dissipate. It's still going to be ringing true in the ears of those customers and persons who were around for it. And Keith is right - "all the blogging in the world would not have prevented it happening" - and yes, the product was the issue. But that doesn't mean that we can't disagree with the way the situation was handled. I mean, the fact that pretty much everyone was convinced (some still are) that the company was sitting on its hands for a few days means either every single blogger (A-list or not) is super gullible, or there is a public relations miscue at hand.
[cue Michael Hutchence cue cards / "Mediate" here]
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My open question for the day here is whether or not PRWeek should do a little bit of open-door relationship building, sorta like what the Wall Street Journal started a bit back (I think it was just a year ago) when they began mailing out "free features" every night to bloggers and other influencers. Obviously it didn't cure the ail they had - no links from blogs (some might say that was a blessing) - but it did get people talking about the Journal's articles a bit more, since they were now linkable and not hidden behind a paid wall or sitting in your physical inbox. Ultimately, the WSJ set up an RSS feed (found here) for its free features that anyone could now snag.
Many of us who are in this sort of business would suggest that there is a whole generation of people who are going to have a serious lack of actual newspaper / print reading experience (of course, these are the lucky ones who wouldn't get ink on their hands all along) - especially with papers that aren't online for free. A way to attract those people to you, perhaps making them realize the value of a subscription (gasp!), is to show them what you've got. So let's say once a week we get to see Keith's column, and one or two other things, that are linkable and there for the reading - would that get PRWeek a bit more buzz and maybe a subscription or two?
That's my open question for you this week.
Comments
Thanks for the link, Tom. You bring up excellent points. Evidenced by my sending this column to you (and other PR bloggers), we obviously love to provide free links to bloggers and others in the industry. And like any other entity, we monitor the blogosphere for comments about the industry and PRW, so I have noticed there are people out there who advocate strongly for free, ubiquitous content. I will only speak for myself in saying that print/established media publications obviously have to find that balance. I hope to send a free link for my column to you (and whomever else is interested) as long as I'm writing them.
Best,
Keith
Posted by: Keith O'Brien | January 27, 2006 11:49 AM
See, that's the issue. Kryptonite was not sitting on its hands, but getting the word out to the bike boards. That, to me, is good PR - reaching out to your core audience.
It was a few bloggers that, well, prove that blogs are full of hyperbole and can be blowhards that made it a bigger issue.
Wonder what would happen to blogs if bloggers could pick up phones and verify information?
Posted by: Jeremy Pepper | January 30, 2006 12:37 AM
I'm going to address these comments in reverse - you're spot on about this. I'm not a fan of the pure speculation when it comes to blogs. People are too willing to take rumor and whatnot and turn it into a big story. At the very least, mimic the "big media" that so many bloggers like to comment on, and call / email and get a comment. Hell, get a "no comment" and run with it in whatever form you think is right.
Most of the bloggers in question are definitely "in trouble" when it comes to this. My ENTIRE problem with how Kryptonite handled this situation is that for a few days, they answered press questions and made no public statements of their own, as far as I can tell / see / get from Donna Tocci's comments. On day 3, news was getting out and that changed the situation somewhat. But she flat out said that they weren't saying anything publicly about it on their own dime because they hadn't figured out the plan for returning locks and getting new ones to customers in a timely manner. Howabout just saying "We're aware of the situation and the solution is forthcoming, in the meanwhile, we'll take your name and info and contact you ASAP" or something.
Based on the fact that many people in that "core" audience you speak of didn't all have the facts after they were "getting the word out to the bike boards" (I have a very good friend who works for the AP who is a huge bike enthusiast - and he was very involved in following this story), I'm going to say that those efforts were not as far reaching as some believe.
Just my two cents. Yours are completely taken and nodded at - especially the "verify information" thing. We're beyond the time that most companies won't at least speak to bloggers if they call / write and are reasonably respectful.
Posted by: Tom Biro | January 30, 2006 09:28 AM