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It’s a micro, micro, micro world
2007-10-02 05:55:00
While mainstream media (and the media relations/PR pursusing them) and mass-marketing tactics like advertising (offline and online) will always have their place, the future is definitely small. As in small, targeted, niche-focused marketing. Micro marketing. Okay, that may not be an “ah-ha” moment, but it is something to think about. It’s easy to see micro marketing in social media. The blogosphere is pretty much nothing but a bunch of niche, topic-, cause- and geography-focused bloggers. The same is true for discussion boards. But, there are other areas to view small marketing. Website development. Microsites are growing for campaigns, product launches and just product emphasis. Bill Hanekamp, CEO of The Well has touted microsites, particuarly through WOMMA. (And, my employer has and continues to develop client microsites, as it’s determined that, that’s the best strategy.) And, when you think of it, good media relations and public relations is about ...
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Other great points . . .
2007-09-27 14:58:00
While I am still alive and kicking, blogging has (unfortunately for me) taken a third-row backseat to life’s other activities. As noted before, I tend to find blogging (or just writing in general) therapeutic and a good way to crystalize things (See bottom of post for reference.). While there are a lot of great issues and other bloggers’ posts to write about, I try not to be one to whip out a post without much thought into it. (I’ve been lazy before, and got burned.) But, I have come across several great posts and other tidbits (a.k.a. points, hence the headline) and I offer them up now to you for your digestion: Will we never learn?, a shel of my former self/Shel Holtz PR-Squared’s ‘Social Media Tactics’ Series…Edgework with Social Bookmarking, PR Squared/Todd Defren Social Media Bandwagoning, Media Guerrilla/Mike Manuel Are skateboarders more savvy than social media experts?, Canuckflack/Colin McKay Blogger Relations: Good Intentions, Ba...
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There’s no fooling the ‘net generation
2007-09-12 19:11:00
That is right. The Internet Generation is savvy when it comes to all things Internet. A classic example occurred when my oldest son had a Harry Potter birthday party last month. Among the “potions” my wife concocted for my son and his friends to make or see, was “leech juice and frog eyes.” As you can tell from the audio, there was no fooling these fourth graders. They knew it was Diet Coke and Mentos. Fortunately (for my own aging ego), I still know more about the Internet and computers than my children (ages 9, 6, 4 and a new born). But, I wonder when they’ll surpass me? Probably soon. – Mike

Dehumanizing our work
2007-08-07 18:28:00
As we get wrapped up in our work, setting — and meeting/exceeding — goals (hits, placements, coverage, etc.), it’s easy to loose sight of what we are really doing. We can get too wrapped up in numbers. Driving traffic to Websites. Getting online and offline “hits” for product or company coverage. Click through rates. Unless you are making a “pitch” in face to face, it’s easy to become separated from your audience sitting in front of a computer or even on the telephone phone. Just type, click and distribute. A post by CityMamma/Stefania Pomponi Butler about a BlogHer session reminded me of the importance of knowing who we are dealing with in our work: People. “In the “State of the Momosphere” session on day 1 of Blogher07, I listened as not one, but two PR guys stood up to tell us mothers how proud they were of their strategy to ‘hook’ moms into trying their products by pretending to read our blogs (so we&r...
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Product review: Flip Video really is an ‘everyday camcorder’
2007-07-03 20:19:00
(NOTE: While I’m trying to get the imbedded video below to work, if you want to see my 21-sec demo of Flip Video , see here on YouTube.) And, there’s nothing wrong with that, unless you’re expecting more. The good points: It is easy to use. On-off, play, record and delete buttons. You can zoom in and out somewhat, and adjust the volume. Anyone can use it. In fact, my nearly 9- and 6 1/2-year-old sons each have made their own video. And, the quality is the same as what I’ve done. The audio picks up a lot. If anything, it is too sensitive (even the clicks as you zoom), but count it as a plus. The software that comes with it, pops right up when you connect it to your computer. Easy to edit, and upload to YouTube. Can also upload to Grouper, but I’ve not done it yet. You can also snap scenes and use as still images. So, it eliminates the needs for a camcorder and a camera at the same event. The really down side is the lack of an image stabilizer. As your ...
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Quotable Quotes: Why social media
2007-06-28 17:39:00
“Folks, you use social media to connect with people not to market to them.” – Josh Hallet (a/k/a Hyku) via Twitter While, ultimately, marketing is the objective for companies’ involvement in social media, you don’t “market to” people via social media. You engage them, involve them, inform them, help them. – Mike
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Should we design for our audiences?
2007-06-27 18:41:00
In media relations, social media and similar communications efforts — where you’re often communicating with one person, one at a time — personalization is best. Know who you’re communicating with, and craft the communication to that person’s preferences (while still being honest, sincere, etc.). But, in the bigger picture of website design and even larger of corporate identity, should we cater to our primary audience? According to an eMarketer story today, women use websites more so than other sources when researching products: “Over half of US female Internet users ages 25 and older say the Internet is their main research source for checking out potential product purchases, according to Burst Media’s “Online Insight” report, published June 2007. The Internet was named far more often than other methods. Around 10% or fewer of respondents said they got their information from “asking family and friends,” newspapers and ...
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Why does size matter?
2007-06-22 15:20:00
While we all are interested in “who’s the biggest,” size does not necessarily equate to quality. (Heh, I sound a bit like SWBU, but look much different.) Guess I’m puzzled why this is such a big deal: Aegis, WPP Dominate Digital Agency Ranks, Account For Half The Industry. Size can be important (or, impotent for some I suppose), but it’s the quality and rating of the work that really sizes up a firm. So, for those companies seeking an online marketing partner, don’t be fooled by the size of the package. It truly is what is inside that counts. – Mike Now, I could use this opportunity to tout my employer, but I won’t.
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Dear Google: Just give me the best results for my terms; I’ll decide
2007-06-15 06:14:00
Let me preface with what (I hope) you’re going to read by saying that, Googl e can operate its business however it wishes. Let the market decide if it’s good or not. And, for the most part, the market has said Google’s actions are good. Let me also state that its effort to prevent companies from buying page rank is not so good to some degree. “We work hard to return the most relevant results for every search we conduct. To that end, we encourage site managers to make their content straightforward and easily understood by users and search engines alike. Unfortunately, not all websites have users’ best interests at heart. Some site owners attempt to ‘buy PageRank™’ in the form of paid links to their sites. Buying links to improve PageRank violates our quality guidelines.” Yes, ranking high in Google search results is important for businesses. All businesses, I’d dare say. But, there are other reasons for “paid links” l...
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Consumers are not stupid
2007-06-11 19:07:00
Whenever you “try to pull a fast one” over someone, you run a huge risk of ruining that relationship. That is, if you get caught. And, sooner or later, you’ll get caught. You’ll pay a huge price by losing that person’s trust. Word of your deceitful deed will also likely spread so that you lose the trust of the previous fools you’ve fooled and have no credibility going forward. Monday morning, MediaPost had research from a great study that showed which products benefit the most from product placement, and which demographics are most influenced. It’s a short article, with informative charts and such focused on product placement. But, the kicker that we all should pay attention to came at the end: Gary Drenik, President & CEO of BIGresearch, said “Advertisers… are attempting to get their brand message out in non-traditional ways. However, today’s consumer knows when they are being manipulated and product placements must b...
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If you visited MikesPoints with IE6 recently, scan your computer
2007-06-11 04:03:00
I found out late last week that there was some security concerns with my blog host and an FTP account was accessed. There were a bunch of sick, perverse zoo sex links hidden at the botttom of one or more of my pages. Those links have been removed, and other steps have taken place so that it (hopefully) won’t happen again. I’m told that, if you read my blog with Internet Explorer 6 or earlier, a script may have infected your computer with a trojan or other type of virus. So, PLEASE SCAN YOUR COMPUTER. If by chance you don’t have an anti-virus program on your computer (and you should!), McAfee does offer a FreeScan . I’m sorry if this caused any convenience or other trouble. – Mike
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The downside of relationships
2007-06-08 04:24:00
This social media stuff is all about getting personal. Becoming familiar with and sincerely, honestly engaging people on a grass-roots level who are customers, potential customers or key influencers of one of the first two groups of people mentioned. And, hoping, through how you treat and involve them, that they’ll spread the word to others about you, your product, service or cause. On the corporate blogging side, it’s also the personalization of corporations and asssociations. Putting a personality and a name (or names) to a corporation. Think of Bob Lutz with GM. Think of the Randy Baessler of Boeing. (Yes, I know GM has expanded the FastLane blog to include others more than Mr. Lutz, but no one else seems to get the response he does. And, I know there’s a new Randy at Boeing.) But, what happens when the person behind the personalization moves on (fired, resigns or retires)? And, what about the individual blogs? In the PR world, it’s well known that Steve ...
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Remembering Memorial Day
2007-05-25 19:38:00
While we’re enjoying the upcoming three-day weekend, and the official (says who?) start of summer, let’s not forget why there is a Memo rial Day and how it started: “Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. . . . While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about rec...
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Going against the grain: A genuine interest in others is a necessity in soc
2007-05-24 04:54:00
I think it’s safe to say that public relations, advertising and related communication professionals are generally not well trusted. Afterall, aren’t we paid — by clients and/or our employer — to market particular messages that are ultimately intended to sell something? We’re biased. We have “hidden agendas.” And, when involved in social media marketing, I guess that’s still true. We do have an agenda. But, if your audience knows about your agenda — at least who you represent — then it’s a more open conversation in which we can engage our audience. We’re not hiding anything, but rather letting the audience come to their own, respective conclusions and actions, based on information we provide and questions we pose. And, there’s the rub — and where traditional PR activities and approaches won’t work. We’re not dealing with journalists who naturally have a healthy dose of skepticsm, or client...
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Web 2.0 bad for websites?
2007-05-21 19:07:00
At least when considering a site’s usability, Web 2.0 characteristics make for a poorly-designed website. That is according to Jakob Nielsen in a BBC News article (Web 2.0 ‘neglecting good design’). “Describing Web 2.0 as the ‘latest fashion,’ Mr Nielsen said many sites paying attention to it we’re neglecting some of the principles of good design and usability established over the last decade. Good practices include making a site easy to use, good search tools, the use of text free of jargon, usability testing and a consideration of design even before the first line of code is written. Sadly, said Mr Nielsen, the rush to embrace Web 2.0 technology meant that many firms were turning their back on the basics.” It never hurts to focus on the basics. Sound fundamentals. And, it’s easy to lose “site” of the basics when new tools and trends come around. So, Nielsen’s comments are a good reminder that: WE ALWAYS NEED T...
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Quotable Quotes #2: Client service
2007-05-21 14:18:00
Mostly for the agency folks, but can also be applicable for in-house personel: “A client will always find additional budget for a good idea that addresses its business objectives.”* Ken Lauerer (president of previous employer) The thinking is to always be thinking about how to serve and be of value to the client — even if it says it’s out of budget for the FY/CY. If you can develop an idea and plan that will impact sales (or another significant business objective), the client will find the money to implement it. So, the client ends up winning (improving its business) and the agency ends up winning (additional revenue). – Mike *This may not be an exact quote, but it’s pretty close.
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How old is too old?
2007-05-15 15:51:00
In doing research looking for trends, stats, supporting documentation, I’m amazed at how relatively recent information (like from 2004 or 2005) is too old. The speed of light has nothing on the speed of information. – Mike

Quotable Quotes #1: Client service
2007-05-10 14:38:00
Taking a page from Ike Pigott’s blog, I thought I’d start a Twitter-like (meaning, brief) feature and post neat, interesting, thought-provoking and/or interesting quotes I’ve heard or even uttered. “The best thing you can do is tell the client bad news as soon as you can.” Mike Osswald (my direct supervisor/boss) Granted, that doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, it’s a good rule to remember. – Mike
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It’s just you and me: 1:1 communication is king
2007-05-08 15:05:00
“For personal communication, they (Digital Natives) rely on the “wall” in Facebook or send messages within their relatively closed communities of friends. They have a lot to say about what and who they are, but they shut out the outside world and take refuge in an inner sanctum of like-minded young people — some friends, some strangers — who share their passions and interests. To reach Digital Natives, you have to understand the community and respect it. You need to participate, but in an authentic way.” Courtesy of MediaPost’s Email Insider today. Reading/Researching today reminded me just how personal, one-on-one communication is evolving into (it is now, but not as encompassing) — and really should be. There will always be the mass media of newspapers, TV, radio, etc. — but they continue to be a smaller portion of our communications and marketing outreach. Social media marketing is social. Human. Personal. We as professi...
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Other great points . . .
2007-04-20 14:49:00
(UPDATED 4/20/07, 10:30 a.m. with two Virginia Tech links of interest.) For your browsing, reading, laughing and thinking pleasure (not necessarily in that order), I offer: PlanetBlacksburg: Stories (with commenting available) and photo galleries. PlanetBlacksburg on Twitter (courtesy of Jim Long on Twitter) Virginia-Pilot page (from Weds.), NewsDesigner.com: “Striking front page by the Virginian-Pilot today. And a gutsy editorial choice.” How To Work Faster on High-Res Screens, the thinking bog. Crack Smoking And Swamp Walking Do Not Mix, The Futon Report Thursday Afternoon Caption Contest, PR Differently ‘ . . . a naked grab for bucks,’ The Bad Pitch Blog – Mike
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The Temptation of . . . Photoshop
2007-04-19 05:29:00
. . . and other digital image altering tools. If you’re not in the Toledo, Ohio-area or don’t have eye tuned into journalism, then you might have missed the stories about veteran Blade photographer Allan Detrich saying he mistakenly submitted a photograph that he altered. And, that image wound up in print. Of course, manipulating an image to change history — even if only for aesthetics — is a sin in journalism. The Blade’s review of other photos Detrich submitted turned up many other images that he doctored. (For a good column on the subject, including Detrich’s comments after the Blade review, see here.) I bring up the incident to raise a question: For those of us in media relations (evening social media relations): What ethical guidelines should — or must? — we follow regarding photography we provide to media? I’ve never had a reporter question the legitimacy and honesty of any image I’ve supplied. I assume that’s b...
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Picking apart a blog post is easy
2007-04-17 16:31:00
(UPDATED: approx. 12:30 p.m. 4/17/07 with clarification on my point — at the end.)  I’ve done it. I’m sure we all have. Focus on one line or point — forget the rest — and the launch your critique. And, with Twitter, you can do it easier because the thoughts often are broken up into smaller pieces. Courtesy of Tom Brio, I was made aware of a guest piece by PC Magazine Editor in Chief Jim Louderback at BC/AC’s blog called strumpette. Louderback’s piece dealt with a seemingly off-the-cuff comment Twittered by Steve Rubel of Edelman/Micropersuasion: “PC Mag is another. I have a free sub but it goes in the trash” If you look at the stream of Rubel’s twitters, you’ll see he was not necessarily pointing out PC Magazine. He was talking about where he looked for his product reviews — going to blogs rather than print and other established media: “Does anyone read CNET anymore? Webware rocks, but that’s the on...
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Random thoughts . . . .
2007-04-12 19:03:00
For no particular reason (or value to society for that matter), here’s a few thoughts that have popped into my head during the past week . . . . I find it kind of funny (at first glance) when a person apologizes over his/her lack of recent blog posts, or the self-admitted poor quality of posts. One could look at it as arrogance. I tend to look at it at those posts (or, now tweets) as the person being realistic that he/she does have a level of regular readers (me, for instance), and maintains a passion and sense of pride over the quality of his/her work. I think all bloggers should have a brief audio recording of their voice to help personalize their blog(s). Am I going to do it? Naaaaa. I stutter at times and think I sound too nasally when I hear a recording of my voice. I have talked with Kami, Ike, Phil, the BC part of BC/AC, Peter, and I think that’s it. (Did I miss anyone?) So, on some level, I feel as if I know them better than other bloggers. Badges?! Badges?!...
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Other great points . . .
2007-04-09 18:50:00
For your reading and browsing pleasure, I offer some great reading, and a few new blogs I’ve added to my Bloglines account. Retooling the Public Relations Industry, Ed Lee/BloggingMeBloggingYou. Ed makes some great points in the changing ways we receive information and the change our industries needs. However, IMO, print and broadcast will still be major players for many years to come (especially magazines). Marketing in Second Life, Todd Zeigler/The Bivings Report. The key is Todd’s final couple of sentences: “Bringing an old mindset to a new medium doesn’t accomplish anything. Your only chance of having real and sustained success is if the mindset shifts as well.” My First Time on Second Life SUCKED, Aliza Sherman/Rants and Raves. As with the cyberbullying issues of a few weeks ago, real live creeps into the cyber world. Eight Meaningful Measures of Social Media, Kami Huyse/Communication Overtones. Yeah, I know, I’m late on this one. But, in case yo...
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Get a (real) life!
2007-04-04 19:07:00
The Web is a great tool and offers great opportunity to connect with people we wouldn’t connect with otherwise. Duh. You already know that. But, unless you are a hermit, the social media aspects of tools like blogging, boards and forums, online communities, etc., are NOTHING MORE THAN SUPPLEMENTS TO OUR REAL-WORLD , OFFLINE LIFE. The world Linden Lab created was called a Second Life because it is secondary, as in a second life. Not a first (a.k.a. primary) life. The opportunites afforded by the Web is supposed to assist and expand our life. Not replace it. If you have Twitter account, you’ll be amazed at how often and at what some people Twitter about. On a seemingly continuous basis. And, this morning I read this — The Wonderful World of Webkinz — in my e-mail (courtesy of MediaPost). “Webkinz is a social network tied to a toy company that targets young children and places them in a virtual world that is safe, exclusive, and appears to be a lot of fun!...
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Newspaper publishers are poor businessmen?
2007-04-04 14:26:00
That seems to be the point of Jim Cramer in a RealMoney.com column (”Lack of Financial Acumen Burns News papers“). “All of these companies seem to be run, frankly, by jokers or dreamers who had no idea how to deploy capital. The only explanation I can think of is that they were run by people who are up from the newspaper side or are heirs to the founders and had no idea what they were doing financially.” That may be, but I’m sure there are other reasons. One could be: Publish ers and owners of newspapers should think of themselves of being in the business of informing the public. The Fourth Estate. The delivery of the information should not matter. So, I simply see the majority of newspaper publishers as being myopic. Narrow minded. Even arrogant that print has been king so long, so why not even longer? Up until recently, has running a newspaper really been that easy? I mean, how could newspapers have been so successful so long? It is because the media i...
More About: Business , Men

Social marketing: Are you in it for the long haul?
2007-03-29 06:01:00
For the most part, traditional communications are centered around projects, campaigns, launches. Sure, there’s the overriding, long-term strategic positioning and messaging, but that is broken up into bits and pieces. In media relations and in advertising, you can have on-going relationships (professional, not personal) with reporters and ad reps, but that’s mostly with trade and select consumer media. There is little on-going interaction with customers and prospects. It’s primarily ADD Marcomm. Short-attention-span PR. Hit-and-run advertising. But, in the evolving world in social media (social marketing, WOM — whatever), you have to commit for the long haul. Courtesy of Market ing Vox is a story in BrandWeek about the disappointment of SecondLife citizens in the lack of staying power of many brands in SecondLife: “Even more disappointing are shops and outlets set up by brands, subjected to a certain amount of hype - and then all but abandoned. That non-p...
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Medium is king? Medium dictates message delivery
2007-03-27 19:04:00
While you can make a valid point that “the message is king” (or some other catch phrase) in marketing communications . . . I wouldn’t. The medium dictates how that message is delivered, and what you are trying to accomplish. The message — the core message — can be said varying ways to get the same affect. And, the medium of delivery dictates how you say it, why you’re saying it and what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, here’s how I view common delivery methods. Let me know if you agree, disagree or __________ (you fill in the blank: consumer-generated blog post!): Advertising: Short and sweet; more about being seen and generating awareness; obviously and expected to be self-promotional. Direct mail: Short and sweet; eye-catching; promotional; hoping to provoke a response/the next step. Media relations: Seeking third-party objectivity; can be either generating awareness or trying to educate and inform by havng others write abou...
More About: Essa , Live , Message , King , Sage

Other great points . . .
2007-03-23 13:29:00
For your learning, thinking and even a bit of laughter pleasure, I offer a few other great points: Apples, oranges, blogs and boards, David Binkowski. Great overview of why discussion boards are useful and their value. The value of WOM (it’s a cartoon), Amena/Idegosuperego Business etiquette pointers for PR students, Karen Miller Russell/Teaching PR. And, those pointers are not just for students.
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Selling the sizzle
2007-03-20 19:03:00
If you’re learning about something, then you want know about the features and then the benefits. But, if you’re selling something, shouldn’t you present the benefits . . . and then the features? I don’t see that as often enough as I think I should. – Mike
More About: Selling , Sell