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The content marketing guide: 15 tips from the experts

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:59:06 GMT

There’s never been a better time to start content marketing.

Creating and publishing useful content extends your business’s reach, makes you more visible, connects people to your business, and, thanks to the online tools now available, keeps getting easier.

Of course, everyone needs a hand getting it right. Here are four content marketing experts to help: Joe Chernov of Eloqua; Ann Handley of MarketingProfs; Scott Stratten of Unmarketing; and Adam Singer of TheFutureBuzz.

The result: a trove of 15 solid-gold content marketing tips:

1. Create content that helps people. —Joe Chernov

Create something interesting to help people do their jobs better, something that helps them become proficient in an area (preferably related to your business) that they previously knew little about.

Don’t let your content suffer from “IBU” syndrome—that’s Interesting But Useless. Don’t create a “The History of Some Nonsensical Business Issue” infographic that few people pay attention to and fewer still forward.

Hold your content to a standard that makes it more than interesting, and offer uncommon yet practical advice or teach people something they didn’t already know.

2. Make your content about customers. —Adam Singer

Don’t be too brand-centric with your content. Many marketers and PR pros think first about the brand, their messaging, and their talking points.

That’s great when you’re making a media pitch or doing an interview for a story that someone else will tell. But when you tell your story yourself, make sure you do it in a customer-focused way. Customers need to understand why what you’re saying is relevant to them.

3. Write for your readers first; it builds trust. —Joe Chernov

Always think about the audience first—that’s the golden rule.

Content that is all about your brand will fizzle, because the reader will lose interest. Take the long-term approach, and write for the reader first and your marketing purposes second. Your goal should be to zero out your brand; you’ll never achieve it, but you need to counterbalance the people in your company who live to “make the logo bigger.”

4. Remember that pictures can be better than words. —Joe Chernov

Thanks to infographics, videos, and highly visual presentations, your audience can consume large amounts of information quickly. These elements take up little time and are immensely shareable.

At Eloqua, we’ve doubled down on infographics, because they are so easy to share. When we host them on our blog, those particular posts are far and away our most heavily trafficked. People like them.

5. Give your whole team the freedom to get involved. —Scott Stratten

It’s everybody’s job to produce terrific content, so create an environment where they can do that. Explain that you buy into the idea and you want them to buy into it, too. You need to give your colleagues or employees the leeway to create. If they feel your thumb pressing down on them the entire time, they won’t do it.

6. Get creative: You can make compelling content about anything. —Scott Stratten

What company can’t make good content? I worked for two years as a national sales training manager for a bubble wrap company, flying around the country for two-day training classes on how to sell the product. If I can make bubble wrap compelling, you can create compelling content.

Blendtec is a great example. The company makes blenders, a seemingly humdrum domestic product. Then they started “Will It Blend,” a video series in which they blend iPhones, brooms, and nearly anything else. They made spectacular content.

7. Don’t shy away from being personal; it builds trust. —Ann Handley

We all love stories; however, many companies think storytelling is a squishy, amorphous thing, like fairy tales or literature. But it’s not about that. It’s a chance to express the soul of your brand.

Who are you? Tell what’s unique about your employees. Show pictures of the after-party. That stuff builds empathy and trust; it’s what storytelling is about.

8. Learn to find stories to tell. —Ann Handley

There are a million stories in your company. Just bring them to life. I talk to people at business-to-business companies who say, “We have a really boring product, and it’s really hard to explain what it is.” I speak to people at other companies who tell me they have nothing to talk about.

There’s always a story to tell. Look at what you’re all about. Start by going back and looking at your marketing to see what you have already been talking about. You may find something in there that sparks inspiration right away.

9. Learn to tell a story bit by bit. —Adam Singer

Your challenge is not just to be interesting; it’s to be consistently interesting. It’s no longer about spending three months on a campaign, issuing it, and declaring yourself done. You need to build a narrative over time and be agile with Web publishing so you can tell your story bit by bit.

I tell clients: Your news is important, and we’re not going to stop telling people about your news, but it’s equally important to tell your audience all the stuff that happens in between your newsy events.

When you do that with your content, it resonates more and humanizes your brand. Whereas your competitors talk only when they have big news or are releasing a product, you’re positioning yourself differently.

10. Use your blog as a hub. —Joe Chernov

If you’re not blogging yet, start. For Eloqua, the blog is the hub of our content wheel. Make your blog the starting point for all your con¬tent; if it’s housed there, you can give your con¬tent life, context, and edginess.

11. When choosing your channels, focus on the ‘why’ to determine the ‘where.’ —Ann Handley

You have to think first about why you’re doing what you’re doing. Much of the time, the tendency is to go toward the tools. “We need a blog. We need to be on Facebook. We need a Twitter stream.” But you really don’t. You need to ask, “Why are we doing this?” and then let that question and its answers drive what channels and tools you use and what you do.

12. Give yourself the first bite of your content. —Adam Singer

Don’t spend most of your time on other people’s platforms. Facebook and Twitter aren’t your platforms; they’re platforms run by other businesses. There is definite value there for your business, but your content should be published first on a channel that your company controls. I call it the Right of First Publish.

When you have good content, publish it on your own channels first, then syndicate it to other channels and link back to yours.

13. Stop over-commercializing your content when you publish. —Scott Stratten

With strong content, what you leave out is as important as what you put in. Minimize the commercial messages and the branding statements, and don’t trademark something every time you speak.

I once read a blog post that mentioned the company name and said it was award-winning, and then the company trademarked it with a little symbol seven times in one post. Stop it!

14. Ease off your readers. —Ann Handley

Don’t always go for the kill right away. Don’t produce a superb piece of content and then invariably hide it behind a registration page. That’s not the best way to proceed.

Try building a relationship over time through your content, then ask for just a little bit of information, and then a little bit more over time. It’s about slowly building on your relationships by offering good content.

15. Stay committed; it pays off. —Ann Handley

You’ve got to be able to sustain this long term. Content isn’t a one-and-done thing; it’s a long-term commitment. Much of the time, companies say, “Yeah, let’s get a blog!” They get it running, and then a month or two down the road, they think: “This blog is such a drag, and no one is coming. Let’s just abandon it.”

It’s a bit like having a baby. The experience is rewarding, but it’s a long-term effort. It really does pay back, but it’s a commitment that you’ve got to keep, and whatever you do has to be substantive.

A version of this story first appeared on the Vocus blog.

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PR firm owner: Reading fiction helps your career

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:58:13 GMT

I’m an English major. Not as in the language, but as in literature and creative writing.

I open with that because what I’m about to say may come across as biased.

Read. More. Fiction.

As it turns out, though, I’m not biased (well, maybe a little bit). In the November issue of Scientific American, author and researcher Keith Oatley describes what reading fiction does for our minds and souls:

1. Reading stories can fine-tune your social skills by helping you better understand other human beings.
2. Entering imagined worlds builds empathy and improves your ability to take another person’s point of view.
3. A love affair with narrative may gradually alter your personality—in some cases, making you more open to new experiences and more socially aware.

You can’t read the entire article unless you subscribe, but that’s the gist of what it says.

I run a PR firm so, of course, it makes sense for us to require our team read everything from news and blogs to fiction and poetry. And it’s one of the questions we ask during interviews.

Hearing what kinds of books people read (is it Steven King or Ayn Rand?) tells us a lot about what kind of person they are and, better yet, what kind of writing they’ll be able to do for us.

But you don’t have to be in a creative field for reading fiction to make business sense.

During the past decade or so, Oatley and other academic researchers have shown how reading fiction helps a person better understand real human emotion, which improves social skills.

In one of Oatley’s studies, 94 respondents were asked to guess the emotion of a person by looking at a photograph of their eyes. They discovered:

“The more fiction people [had] read, the better they were at perceiving emotion in the eyes, and … correctly interpreting social cues.”

They also tested 252 people on the theory that the big five personality traits— extroversion, emotional stability, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness—could be affected by reading novels.

Once again they discovered:

“A significant relation between the amount of fiction people read and their empathic and theory-of-mind abilities.”

But it’s not just about social skills with your team. It also affects the bottom line. “The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence” shows how teaching employees to focus on their work and not simply just get the job done cuts down on grievances, mistakes, and even safety issues.

Emotional intelligence is forged in many ways, including by reading fiction. Just like anything else, we have to work our minds—for leadership skills, for managing profits, and for working better with our human capital.

Next time you go to pick up a business publication or haggle through your email at the end of a long day, think about reading some fiction instead. Not only will it give you some time away from work, it will help you at work.

Gini Dietrich is founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, Inc. This first appeared in Gini’s Crain’s column and on the blog Spin Sucks.

PR blunder? Owner of wrecked cruise liner offering survivors 30 percent off

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:57:59 GMT

Thoughtful customer relations or horrid PR?

The Washington Post reported that Costa Cruise Lines, which operated the Costa Concordia that ran aground last week off the coast of Italy, is offering survivors a 30 percent discount on future cruises.

According to London’s Telegraph newspaper:

“A spokesman for Costa Cruises said: ‘The company is trying to do everything they can for those passengers directly affected.

“‘The company is not only going to refund everybody but they will offer a 30 per cent discount on future cruises if they want to stay loyal to the company.’"

In addition to offering Costa survivors a refund and discount, Carnival, the cruise liner’s parent company, has been calling victims, asking them if they’re suffering from nightmares and sleeplessness.

The move has angered at least one survivor of the crash, who told The Telegraph that it’s a “ridiculous and insulting offer.” Another report suggested that the offer might encourage passengers to join the list of roughly 100 survivors who have filed a class action lawsuit against the cruise company.

A 13th victim of the tragedy was discovered this week, while 20 remain missing.

Costa and the ship’s captain have traded accusations over who's to blame, with the company claiming the captain steered the boat too close to shore and abandoned ship; meanwhile, the captain insists he was given permission to approach the island.

All told, the discount and outreach is a major PR blunder, a media law attorney and PR strategist said in a tweet.

“If it's true that the cruise company is doing this [offering a discount], it's one of the bigger PR blunders we've seen in awhile,” tweeted Mark R. Weaver.

Other PR strategists have criticized the cruise liner’s response.

Allyson Stewart-Allen, director of the consulting firm International Marketing Partners, told The Christian Science Monitor that Carnival’s PR strategy earns a four of out 10 by her estimation.

Costa and Carnival issued numerous statement throughout the week last week, including one from Carnival CEO Micky Arison that said:

We are deeply saddened by the reports of additional deaths following the grounding of the Costa Concordia. On behalf of the entire Carnival Corporation & plc team, I offer our heartfelt condolences to all of those families affected by this tragedy.

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Hershey's three pillars of Facebook engagement

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:55:18 GMT

Go to Hershey Co.'s main Facebook page, and you'll quickly notice that one Facebook page just isn't enough for the famous chocolatier, the largest in North America. Among the first things you see on the brand's Facebook pages are links to pages for Hershey's Bliss, Hershey's Syrup, Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Kitchens, the brand's recipes page.

Although you don't see them linked on the main Hershey's page, the company has pages for a slew of other brands on the site. Reese's, with its more than 8 million likes, has one of the biggest pages. Add to that pages for Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, Pieces Candies and more, and you're talking about a lot of responsibility.

Yet, Public Relations Manager Anna Lingeris and her team at Hershey manage to regularly engage with fans, in part, she says, by sticking to three key pillars: awareness, content, and agility.

Awareness

One simple rule that companies should observe on Facebook and, really, across all social media: Don't be clueless. And yet, they so often are. Lingeris says companies have to expand their horizons beyond the bubbles of their own news and announcements.

"It's a shared channel," she says. "It's not a channel to talk about everything you want to talk about. You always have to be aware of what's happening in the world. You specifically have to be aware of what your fans want to hear, what they want to talk about."

Filling up your Facebook wall with nothing but announcements about the company's next big initiative—even a contest—isn't the way to go, Lingeris says. Every once and a while, fans simply want you to open up the floor and ask, "What do you like?"

"Sometimes the most reaction we get from [fans] is when they just talk about the love of the product," she says. "They just want to voice their opinion."

You can learn a lot from those opinions, Lingeris says.

Content

Why have so many pages under the Hershey's umbrella, anyway?

"Each brand has its own personality," Lingeris says. "To mash them all into one, you're doing a disservice, because you're looking at it from a corporate standpoint rather than a brand standpoint."

Not too long ago, Lingeris' team inherited the company's Facebook pages from the marketing side of the company. Hershey is considering pushing some pages together, but Lingeris says it's important for each personality to shine through.

For example, the main Hershey's page has a genial, friendly tone, whereas Hershey's Kitchens poses many updates as helpful tips. The Reese's voice is a bit more conversational.

Hershey works with its agencies to come up with content, Lingeris says, and sometimes content is cross-posted among multiple pages. Finding content to post "is always a challenge across the board," she says. The company offers everything that it can: polls, behind-the-scenes videos of making commercials, photos, word clouds, even posts from other social networks such as Pinterest and Twitter.

Since moving to the PR side of the company, Hershey has upped its Facebook posting for each page from maybe six per month to one or two every day. More content generates more engagement, Lingeris says. When it comes to answering fan questions, the company has a decision tree to determine whether someone answers, who does, and when.

Hershey is aiming to make Facebook more of "a one-stop shop" for fans, Lingeris says. This summer, the company hosted a s'mores photo contest entirely on Facebook. Previously, the company had used Facebook to promote contests hosted in other places, which took a toll on public involvement.

"The more you click, the less participation you have," Lingeris says.

Speed and agility

Last summer, Hershey dealt with what could have been a huge Facebook disaster. Vinny Martino, a boy with Down syndrome and leukemia, sent the company a letter requesting a T-shirt. He collects them. The company declined, and within minutes the reply was up at the T's for Vinny Facebook page.

"Fans began commenting on our page expressing severe disappointment," Lingeris says.

Hershey immediately responded by sending Martino a package containing lots of T-shirts, and it wrote up a response apologizing for not sending one to begin with. Martino posted a picture of himself wearing the shirts. "We took something that could quickly escalate into a more negative situation and made it positive," Lingeris says.

She says that example shows how awareness, content, and agility all tie in together. "You have to be aware of what's happening on that page to act quickly."

Matt Wilson is a staff writer for Ragan.com, where this story first appeared.

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13 annoying communication habits that must end

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:53:13 GMT

Last year I wrote a list of 16 annoying communications that must end in 2011. It was one of my most popular articles of the year. Given that my crankiness is in demand, I decided to put together a new list of annoying communications for 2012.

1. Shortening someone's name right after you've been introduced

Almost everyone who has a long first name, for which there are many shortened versions, must deal with this. Call a person by their name and no other version. If a person introduces themselves as "Elizabeth," call her that. You may want to call her "Liz" but that's not what she wants. Don't do it.

What's far more irritating is when the name shortening happens immediately after an introduction.

"My name is Robert."

"Hi Rob."

"Hi Shmuck."

2. Not remembering someone's name right after you've been introduced

I'm monstrously guilty of this as I can immediately forget someone's name the instant they tell it to me. Others who are guilty of this will declare, "I'm so bad at remembering names." Nice try. Announcing your fallibility is not an excuse. Unless you're being introduced to the entire choir, be in the moment and remember people's names.

If you need to, use some tricks such as associate that person with someone else you know with the same name. If it's a name you've never heard before, repeat it back to make sure you're pronouncing it correctly.

3. Tagging objects as people in Facebook photos

This was funny the first time, but not anymore—especially now that Facebook puts thumbnails of your five most recent photos at the top of your profile. If you don't want people thinking you're a bowl of spaghetti or the hooded assassin in a New Yorker cartoon, untag yourself.

4. Tagging people in a Facebook article to get them to read it

I'm more than happy to accept a personal email or a Facebook message, but to tag me in an article on Facebook just to get me to read it is obnoxious. The Facebook wall is an individual's public expression; it's not designed for you to promote your crap.

This was a major problem with MySpace as people would post photos of whatever they were selling on their friends' walls. The site became a useless marketplace for digital graffiti and we've seen what's happened to it.

5. Opening a panel discussion by allowing the panelists to first talk about themselves

This irritates me to no end, and it's an incredibly lazy move by the moderator. If you have four panelists, and you give them five minutes each to talk about their business "just to set the stage," you've wasted 20 minutes on information no one wants to hear.

The audience has a program with speaker bios that they can read on their own. The moderator should give a one-line introduction to each speaker, and then begin the session. Unfortunately, that's just one way that most panel discussions suck. To make your panel session not suck, download and read my article, "More Schmooze, Less Snooze: How to Deliver 'The Most Talked About' Panel Session."

6. Asking a blogger, "Can you blog something for me?"

This is thankfully not as bad as it used to be, but I still get these completely inappropriate requests. Blogging is a job. There may not be direct income from it, but it can be used to build a brand and create relationships. Making this request is asking, "Can I intrude in on your personal brand? Would you promote something you know little to nothing about? Would you do some work for me for free?"

It's often a thoughtless request with the hope of getting free press.

The most egregious case of this I've ever received is spelled out in this two-part story, "Hey PR, Bloggers Are Not Tools to Be Used."

When this type of request is OK is when someone who you know and have a relationship with asks you to retweet something on Twitter or to "like" something on Facebook. It's a sign of support, and assuming it doesn't infringe the brand you're trying to create, takes little time.

7. String people along

Whether dating or in business, there's nothing more annoying and rude than giving someone hope by stringing them along with an "I'm so busy, call me next month" response. I don't care how important you think you are, no one is so busy they can't respond even if they don't know the current status. It could be as simple as "I have no information for you now, and it's not looking promising, but you're welcome to follow up in a month if you want."

This only works if you actually connect with the person on the phone or in person. If you send a lot of emails or leave phone messages and get no response, take the hint. The recipient is not required to email or call back to tell you nothing is happening.

8. Attaching videos and uncompressed photos to emails

Most of us 45 and under don't make this mistake. It's the fault of our parents and grandparents who just learned how to attach a file to an email.

"Did you get the wedding video? I attached it."

It's our responsibility to show the older generations how to use YouTube, Kodak Gallery, or any of the hundreds of video and photo sharing services.

9. Not understanding what Bcc is

With every email we send, we see the To:, Cc: and Bcc: fields. After at least 15 years of experience writing emails, we should all know the difference. Sadly, at least once a year, we receive an email with 50 people in the Cc: field. Inevitably someone will hit "Reply to All" in a response just to the sender. Then someone else will hit "Reply to All" and tell everyone to stop hitting "Reply to All." What fun.

For more, read "Social Media 'Gurus' and Bloggers Are Egotistical Jerks."

10. Sharing without consumption

This is the behavior of liking, sharing, or retweeting a piece of content without reading, listening or watching it. It's often done as a favor to a friend (e.g., "Would you retweet something for me?"). More often it's a means to game online popularity to build your social media profile. We can now see actual results with social reputation services such as Klout and Kred.

These services unfortunately award the content sharer rather than the content creator. For example, if someone tweets this post without my Twitter handle (@dspark), and they're retweeted, their Klout score increases, but mine doesn't. Therefore, the "klout" goes to the person who shared the content, not the person who created it. This happens all the time.

Companies looking to hire people with large audiences use these services as benchmarks. One friend applied for a job that required him to have a Klout score of at least 30.

For an egregious case of sharing without consumption, read "Here's What's Wrong With Social Media: Sharing Without Consumption" and "Why Sharing Online Content Might Be Too Easy."

11. Cross posting all tweets to Facebook

Does anyone enjoy this? Thankfully Facebook doesn't reward this lazy type of posting. Most of these reposted tweets will not show up in your newsfeed. People who turn the Twitter app on in Facebook end up clogging their profile page. In the end, it only reflects poorly on the user.

12. Wishing "Happy Birthday" on Facebook

I know I'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but in all the years people have said the phrase, "It's the least I could do," this truly is—outside of doing nothing at all—"the least you can do." Nothing says, "I barely care," then to type "Happy Birthday" on someone's profile page.

If you do truly want to wish someone a happy birthday, do something else, anything else than just typing "Happy Birthday."

It's great that Facebook reminds us when people have birthdays. Use that as a chance to reconnect with the person with a positive message. Better yet, send a personal video message through Facebook. For more, read "I Just Sent 555 Personalized Video Holiday Greeting Cards—How I Did It."

13. Facebook pages that require you to hit the "Like" button just to see the content on the page

This is really obnoxious, and it's a method of gatekeeping content. The fan page is requiring me to make a commitment before I can see the content. This goes hand-in-hand with having a splash screen with a giant arrow that says, "Click our 'like' button."

It's not the best way to treat and talk to your audience.

"We want to capture you so we can send more ad messages to you. Problem is we also believe you're an idiot, so we have to tell you what icon to click."

Now it's your turn to complain. There's got to be more things that annoy you. What have I missed?

David Spark is a journalist, producer, speaker and owner of the brand journalism firm Spark Media Solutions. A version of this article first appeared on Spark Minute.

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Former journalist: ‘The majority of media-relations work hurts more than it helps’

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:51:46 GMT

As a former recipient of press releases, and now consultant on how to improve their effectiveness, Alex Goldfayn thinks most media-relations work needs help.

“One thing has always been clear,” the former Chicago Tribune columnist wrote in the Harvard Business Review, is “that the majority of media-relations work hurts more than it helps.”

He said that although some PR professionals are “terrific,” most commit three common errors:

Playing the numbers game instead of the relationship (read: blasting email pitches to journalist who don’t care);
Writing terrible press releases;
Failing to represent their companies well.

Read more about these errors and how to fix them at the Harvard Business Review.

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Average citizens manage Sweden’s Twitter account

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:50:11 GMT

What do a priest, a teacher, and a lesbian truck driver have in common?

(No, this isn’t a joke.)

They’ve all tweeted on the official Twitter handle for the nation of Sweden (@Sweden). The project, Curators of Sweden, is a campaign by the Swedish institute and VisitSweden, both part of the National Board for the promotion of Sweden. The campaign makes Sweden the first nation in the world to launch such a campaign.

The notion is simple: Once a week, one of the nation’s citizens manage the @Sweden Twitter handle, and they can discuss anything—from daily events to their beliefs and opinions.

There’s no marketing, PR, or social media professionals behind the buttons—but real people. Thus far, it seems the government hasn’t imposed restrictions on their communication, and the result is an open and active interaction with followers.

“The idea is that the curators, through their tweets, create interest and arouse curiosity for Sweden and the wide range the country has to offer,” according to CuratorsofSweden.com. “The expectation is that the curators will paint a picture of Sweden, different to that usually obtained through traditional media.”

Will other nations follow suit? And what about companies—could this work inside an organization?

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The 5 most-useful social media tools for PR pros last week

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:48:55 GMT

Welcome to Platform Five, a weekly look at the newest social media tools making waves on the Web.

This week’s edition includes a video aggregator service, an alias-mobile number creator, and a serious QR Code service provider.

Here we go:

1. Create video channel feeds based on your favorite websites with Frequency.com. What a great idea. Frequency pulls video content from your favorite websites and sources (and recommendations from your friends) to give you the best in video content as suited to you. Keep your eye on this one!

2. A private social network for your local neighborhood? Visit Nextdoor.com. The recommendation economy gets local with the release of Nextdoor.com, a private social network that facilitates relationships with people who live and work near you. Need a babysitter? Then this might help you find one.

3. Create an alias-mobile number with MyAKA.com. Ever wanted a second mobile number to give to people before you got to know them? MyAKA gives you an alias number that is linked to your real number to give you an added layer of security.

4. Bring your social network friendships together with Symbyoz.com. This aggregates your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to give you an overall picture of the status of your relationships with each individual. It will also help you set reminders to make plans with certain friends.

5. Create QR Codes packed with powerful analytics thanks to ScanLife. If you are after a way to create QR Codes in an easy manner, this might be the solution for you. It can also help you create Datamatrix and EZCodes.

Got a Web app or social media tool you think should be profiled on Platform Five? Send me an email.

On the Paratus Communications blog, PR Daily Europe contributing editor Adam Vincenzini rounds up five of the most-talked-about social media platforms each week. The feature is called Platform Five. Adam has agreed to simulcast it on PR Daily. If you’d like to check out the previous editions, they’re all here for you to browse through.

6 PR rules for start-ups

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:58:41 GMT

Mark Cuban’s “12 Rules for Start-Ups” had many in the PR industry in a lather this week.

In addition to offering advice such as “never buy branded polo shirts” (No. 10), and “know how your business will make money” (No. 4), Cuban offered his strong opinion about PR. Rule No. 11 on his list states, “Never hire a PR firm.” He goes on to describe PR professionals in unflattering terms.

Cuban has since clarified his position on using PR consultants after much online commentary. But basically, his premise seems to be that journalists and bloggers would much rather hear from a company founder directly, rather than through an intermediary.

Fair enough.

But calling Cuban a spokesman for start-ups is a bit like describing Kim Kardashian as Damon Thomas’s ex-wife. (Yes, she was married before the Kris Humphries spectacle.) I mean, it may be beside the point at this stage in his life and career.

But Cuban is right about at least one thing—a PR program for a start-up is often quite different from one on behalf of a legacy business. There are different rules. Here’s my take on the most effective way to approach PR strategy and media relations for an emerging business:

Prioritize your needs. If fundraising is the overriding goal, your start-up may be better off dedicating the first year to networking in venture circles, with more highly specialized help.

Bulletproof your business. Sure, many early-stage companies will grow and evolve, but your business offering needs to be as complete as possible, and the messaging must be fully coherent before you approach media. Focus your resources. Similarly, spend your time on the media and influencers who can support business goals. Many startups hire a PR firm or consultant to expand product distribution, for example, which may necessitate a laser-like concentration of trade or niche media and blogs.

Assess the founder’s strengths. Be ruthless. Mark Cuban may be a magnificent communicator, but that’s not true of all founders. Media training can only go so far. Some of the most passionate entrepreneurs I’ve known have been mediocre, or worse, when it comes to evangelizing with journalists. And, remember, the founder is not the brand.

Look at the ROI for time spent. One of the most brilliant CEOs I ever worked with told me that he could do a better job on industry PR than anyone on his staff or at my firm. And he may have been right; he had grown up in the business, knew all the key players and was a true visionary. But, apart from a few carefully cultivated media and analyst relationships, he never did wade very deeply into the PR program. Why? Because he had another job, of course. And a little of a charismatic CEO can go a long way.

Be realistic. PR is best looked at as a long-term tool for a business or a brand. For every “snowball effect” publicity hit, there are a hundred slow-and-steady programs that build visibility and reputation over time.

Dorothy Crenshaw is CEO and creative director of Crenshaw Communications. She has been named one of the public relations industry’s 100 Most Powerful Women by PR Week. A version of this story first appeared on her blog.

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For more retweets, ditch the adverbs and qualifiers

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:57:16 GMT

The @NYTimes Twitter account sent 5,101 tweets from July 1 through the end of September. Luckily for us, researcher Nick Diakopoulos analyzed those tweets and noticed some worthwhile patterns about which one were most retweets.

He drew the following conclusions:

• Tweets with no links got 1.74 more RTs. As Diakopoulos writes, “for news organizations, the most ‘newsy’ or retweetable information comes in a brief snippet, without a link.”
• The most successful tweets were the shorter ones. According to Diakopoulos, 75.8 characters represented the top 10 percent most successful tweets, while the bottom 10 percent were 82.8 characters.
• More verbs and fewer adverbs, qualifiers and articles leads to better tweets.
• The most viral tweets involved crime, natural hazards, sports or political hot-button issues.

Give the full study a look here.

(via Poynter.org)

(Image via)

33 (more) signs you work in PR

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:53:59 GMT

Editor’s note: As many readers know, this isn’t the first story PR Daily has published on signs you work in PR. Though there is some overlap with this rendition and other versions, we have a feeling readers can relate to many of the items listed below.

Public relations is a notoriously stressful career.

This year it earned the rank of seventh-most stressful job in America, a drop from last year when it was No. 2—ahead of airline pilots. To which I beg to differ. Lives are not in our hands, after all.

Of course, PR can be stressful. We are, for the most part, at the mercy of forces beyond our control. The right pitch has to edge up against the right timing and the right reporter for any great placement to happen.

It takes a certain kind of personality to thrive in public relations. Read any PR job listing, and you’ll see requirements such as: detail-oriented, excellent writing skills, multitasker, organized, energetic, blah blah blah…

Yes, PR people must embody these traits, but excelling at PR requires a number of intangibles. It’s a gut feeling we’re looking for when we interview candidates; it just cannot be quantified in a job posting.

To provide a better sense of what those intangibles are, here’s a list of 33 signs that you work in public social media and PR:

1. The five scariest words you fear all day are, “Why aren’t we in this?” (from the hilarious @lmokaba)

2. In grade school, your teachers noted that you were a “social butterfly” on your report cards (not in a good way).

3. You’ve disabled all your notifications on your mobile devices and your computer. You don’t need them. You know you have at least 50 emails, five direct messages on Twitter, and 10 texts.

4. When you see a great story in the press, your first thought is, “Who placed that story?”

5. You scrutinize every word you write. Yes, there is a difference between “over” and “more than!” (Just ask Steve.)

6. You’d never buy a gift for a reporter, but you would retweet him or her to show that you are paying attention.

7. You’re surprised to hear that people still use desktops.

8. When the iPhone first came out you sacrificed function for image. Yes, you had to figure out a new way to manage your tasks because they no longer synced the way they had on your BlackBerry, but it was worth it.

9. You know what a “muscular verb” is.

10. A “day off” means only checking email every 15 minutes while you are physically out of the office.

11. In your personal life, when people try to help you stuff invitations, assemble gift bags, etc., you take over the project because you can do it more quickly.

12. When a friend tells you an amazing story over drinks about how she saved a lost dog or saw an ostrich along the side of the highway, you say, “I could get that on TV.”

13. Your grandmother wants to know when your article will be published in The New York Times. You just tell her “soon.”

14. Your friends ask you to compose their apology letters.

15. You can identify people at meetings, tradeshows, and on the street based solely on their Twitter avatar photos (h/t @lmokaba).

16. People assume you attend parties and meet celebrities for a living (and you let them think so, because it’s better than the reality of being chained to your phone and laptop).

17. You could easily hold the record for the most lists on Twitter, but there’s no formal way to measure that yet.

18. You still have Google alerts set up for past clients just to see what type of coverage they are getting (again, h/t @lmokaba).

19. You might use terms such as “boilerplate” and “hashtag” during happy hour conversation.

20. Caffeine and alcohol, in that order.

21. You have a running list of jargon that you ban from all writing. And you judge others who use those terms.

22. You are perfectly capable of writing a press release while tweeting, updating Facebook, and watching “Mad Men” at the same time.

23. You justify new clothing and accessories by telling yourself and others that you are “in the image business.”

24. You believe that all customer service reps will give you what you want if you approach the conversation the proper way. If that doesn’t work, there’s always Twitter.

25. You use Google+ because it increases the SEO for your content and all of the reporters you work with are on there—not because you like it (at least not yet).

26. If you are unable to find a piece of information, it’s not findable.

27. You take pride in finding typos in the novels you read (and you consider notifying the publisher).

28. You know and use proofing marks.

29. You have entire conversations with your colleagues using buzzwords just to crack each other up (another great one from @lmokaba)

30. You sleep with your iPhone.

31. Your answer to most questions that begin with, “Do you think it’s possible to…” is “yes.”

32. You write headlines in 140 characters (actually, 120 is ideal—to leave room for retweets).

33. “Speechless” is a foreign word.

Beth Monaghan is a principal and co-founder of InkHouse Media + Marketing. You can follow her on Twitter at @bamonaghan. A version of this story first appeared on the InkHouse blog.

(Image via)

Hollywood's PR machine panned for its SOPA messaging

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:53:26 GMT

This week, we saw an impressive public relations effort to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Wikipedia, Facebook, and Google took huge steps toward educating the public on why they thought this bill was bad.

So far the effort has worked. Google said it collected more than 7 million signatures to stop the bill. Wikipedia saw a surge in traffic on Wednesday when it went dark in protest of SOPA. And, in perhaps the biggest sign of its effectiveness, more than 40 co-sponsors of the measure in Congress have withdrawn their support.

(Here’s what SOPA means for PR pros.)

Meanwhile, Hollywood entities that championed SOPA have been skewered for not only their support of the anti-piracy bill, but also the sweeping failure to clearly communicate their message. The Motion Picture Academy of America, led by former Sen. Chris Dodd, combated the Internet onslaught against SOPA in part through—brace yourself—a press release.

The press release, which can be found on the website of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), carries the headline: “The PROTECT IP Act: Combating Online Infringement Creating American Jobs, Promoting America’s Economy, Protecting American Consumers.”

The release is “for background purposes,” but given the enormous amount of attention social networking sites received for their anti-SOPA moves, this press release appears ineffective, at best—especially when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg can draw enormous attention to the cause with a single tweet.

The Wrap, a popular online publication for the entertainment industry, seems to agree:

“Are you kidding me?” The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman said about the release. “I’m not saying Chris Dodd did a great job speaking out on the subject (he didn’t), but honestly—that’s not how you reach people today.” She added: “Some heads have got to roll here. Hollywood showed today that it is completely clueless in leveraging the tools of the 21st Century.”

The MPAA has not responded to PR Daily's request for comment. [Editor's note: MPAA does have its hands full after the hacker group Anonymous took down its site.]

The organization updated its official blog numerous times throughout the week, explaining its position and, in one post written by Dodd, referring to the actions of Wikipedia, Google, and others as “irresponsible … and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services.”

If the SOPA battle is to be won or lost in the court of public opinion, Hollywood has its work cut out. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dodd defended the strategy and remained optimistic:

“When people go after this industry, they do it because of misimpressions about it. They don’t go after the other ones because they know they will probably lose. It's frustrating to me. But I’m going to keep battling. We will win this case eventually.”

Not if Internet giants such as Google, Facebook, and Wikipedia have anything to say about it.

Online course: Google+ for businesses

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:50:13 GMT

Google+ may be the most significant social network for business PR and marketing.

That's what Shel Holtz says. He's been accurately forecasting social media networking trends for more than a decade.

Now Holtz has put together a comprehensive on-demand training module on Google+, and what it might do to help your company: "Google+: A Communicator's Primer."

You’ll get a three-month access pass to the 90-minute on-demand course, so you can start–and stop– viewing and learning however frequently you wish, whenever it’s most convenient for you and your staff.

Holtz will show you:

· What the 18 features of Google+’s homepage are, and how to use each one;
· How to take advantage of the stream, circles, +1 and Spark channels for your business;
· What to expect from business/brand pages before the end of the year.

Further, Holtz analyzes the “issues” raised by Google since the launch of Google+.

Find out more about this comprehensive online training module here.

(Image via)

Facebook promotion turns into PR nightmare for coffee company

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:49:12 GMT

You need to be careful about what you promise—especially when you make a promise on social media.

This adage is ringing loud and clear for Toronto-based Timothy's Coffee. In an effort last month to grow its Facebook fan base, the company ran a promotion saying that anyone who "liked" its page would receive four free 24-pack boxes of single-serve coffee. As the Toronto Star reports, this was rather generous, as these boxes retail for over $17 CAD each.

A contest aggregating site picked up the promotion and, as you can imagine, responses poured in, reports the Star. Problem is, the stock of product was depleted within three days of the launch, yet Timothy's still sent emails telling people their coffee was on the way.

Despite obvious problems, the company said nothing until Jan. 4th, when it told fans that the promotion was “first come first serve.” Consumers lashed out, on the company’s Facebook page and in blogs. One blogger claimed Timothy’s deleted nasty comments from its page.

Last week, the company issued a candid apology on its Facebook page:

“We are so sorry!
“This is our first go at this and we admit that we underestimated the response.
“We are blown away that our fans love our coffee so much.
“It really saddens us that we've disappointed our fans.
“We apologize.”

It also apologized in a video to fans and said that those who signed up will receive a coupon for a free 12-pack box. The coupon will “most likely” come via regular mail.

Clearly, Timothy's gaffe illustrates its lack of understanding about social media. The company grossly overestimated the value of a Facebook fan, and then vastly underestimated the outrage caused by their bungled initiative and broken promises.

That it took almost a month to resolve this issue speaks clearly to its lack of comprehension about the way people behave on the social Web.

Don’t want this to happen to your brand? Check out this week’s PR Daily story on “How to avoid a social media nightmare.”

(Image via)

5 free ways to monitor your brand on Twitter

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:46:17 GMT

You've heard the saying, "The conversation is on Twitter whether you are there or not." Why not at least monitor what people say so you can respond appropriately?

A lot of people don't understand Twitter, its relevance, or how you can use it to elevate your campaign or overall brand. That's a post for another day, but realize that people will talk about your brand whether or not your organization is on Twitter.

Even if you don't want to engage on social media, you need to monitor your brand to see what people are saying about you—both good and bad. Once you see the conversations you can tweak your messaging, respond, or conclude that you should reconsider participating in social media.

You need to listen to conversations around your brand to make informed marketing decisions but, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be on Twitter to monitor those conversations.

Here are five free tools you can use:

1. Twilert

Twilert is like Google Alerts in that you can monitor your brand, company, product, service or industry via keyword. You can sign up with your Google or Twitter account to receive daily emails.

2. Kurrently

Kurrently allows you to monitor real-time conversations with a keyword. It doesn't have a reporting mechanism, but it's useful when you need to manage real-time PR issues. It works for Facebook, too.

3. Monitter

Monitter allows you to monitor a set of keywords on Twitter, but you can also narrow the search to a particular geographic location. Monitter displays the results in a real-time stream.

4. Twitter search

Twitter search allows you to search Twitter for comments about your brand, product, service or keyword, and you don't need a Twitter account to use it.

5. Twendz

Twendz is similar to Twitter search, but it also highlights conversation themes and adds user sentiment.

Do you monitor your brand? What tools do you use?

Tracy Sestili is CEO and founder of Social Strand Media. A version of this article originally ran on Inspiring Generosity.

AP updates social media guidelines: 5 takeaways for PR pros

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:55:12 GMT

As part of its ongoing effort to stay relevant in an ever-diluting media landscape, the Associated Press has released an updated version of its social media guidelines.

The guidelines cover a range of topics, from disclosure to friending and following. It’s worth a read. In the meantime, here are three useful takeaways from the guide for PR pros:

1. AP journalists should be all over social media. Chief among the additions is AP’s urging that journalists connect through social channels:

“All AP journalists are encouraged to have accounts on social networking sites. These sites are now an integral part of everyday life for millions of people around the world. They have become an essential tool for AP reporters to gather news and share links to our published work. We recommend having one account per network that you use both personally and professionally.”

Many PR professionals have found success building relationships with reporters on Twitter. At the very least they’ve picked up valuable intelligence from reporters’ Twitter account in order to craft a better pitch.

(For a refresher, read this PR Daily story on how to cultivate relationships with reporters on Twitter.)

The latest update to the AP’s social media guidelines means there will be more reporters on social media sites for you to follow and maybe even friend.

2. Don’t expect AP reporters to comment on your blog posts. If a reporter were to “friend” you on Facebook, he or she has some rules to follow: “If we do friend or ‘like,’ we should avoid interacting with newsmakers on their public pages–for instance, commenting on their posts.”

3. There’s an outline for making corrections on Twitter. AP offers advice for corrections to Twitter posts:

“Erroneous tweets or other social media posts need to be corrected as quickly and transparently as errors in any other AP service. This applies to AP-related tweets or posts on personal accounts as well. The thing to do is to tweet or post that we made a mistake and explain exactly what was wrong.”

Good to know in case a reporter tweets something erroneous about your company or client—or if you tweet something that’s incorrect.

4. AP reporters can friend newsmakers; AP bosses can’t friend those beneath them. From the section on friending/following sources:

“It is acceptable to extend and accept Facebook friend requests from sources if necessary for reporting purposes. However, friending and “liking” political candidates or causes may create a perception among people unfamiliar with the protocol of social networks that AP staffers are advocates. Therefore, staffers should avoid friending and liking unless they have a true reporting reason for it.

…

“To keep track of tweets by newsmakers, we recommend using a Twitter list, which allows you to receive postings without joining the person's official list of followers.

…

“AP managers should not issue friend requests to subordinates. It’s fine if employees want to initiate the friend process with their bosses.”

Nothing about whether either group should friend PR professionals.

5. AP staffers are encouraged to reply to @ tweets. If a reader spots an error or possible error and tweets about it, the reporter should respond, the guidelines state. It also says: “If someone offers a businesslike criticism of a story or image but has their facts wrong, it’s good to reply, time permitting, to clarify the facts.” However, reporters should avoid a “Twitter war” (our term, not theirs).

(Image via)

8 things to check when sprucing up your online newsroom

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:54:00 GMT

If your online pressroom looks anything like mine did at the beginning of the year, it’s time to drag out the dust mask, the Shop-Vac® and maybe even a garbage dumpster.

I found so much outdated information and ancient publicity photos in that I almost didn’t recognize myself.

Here’s a list of some of things to look for in your online pressroom, including some not-so-obvious things that might escape your attention.

Photos

You may love that 15-year-old photo of yourself sans the baggy eyes and gray hair. But trying to pass yourself off as somebody who looks a lot younger than you do now is disingenuous. Besides, it makes people who know you and see the old photos wonder, “If his photos are that outdated, I wonder what else at his website is out of date?”

Addresses, phone numbers and fax numbers, and email addresses

I found one old address, and a fax number that was disconnected two years ago. Try typing an old phone number or address into Google and see what comes up in the search results. If the old number is on your own website, update it.

Also, scour your site, not just your pressroom, for any old email addresses that need to be removed.

Awards and other bragging rights

Does your profile include an industry award you received recently? What about that major publicity hit from a few months ago? Have you mentioned it and linked to the article or the broadcast clip? Does your bio mention the new books you’ve published? If not, add them.

Products

I found several references to products I’ve pulled from my inventory. Make sure you’re outdated products aren’t on your website. If you’re selling products elsewhere on the Web, make sure you’re linking to those sites.

For instance, if you’re an artist, you may have started selling products at sites like Etsy. If you write, you might sell ebooks for the Kindle at Amazon.com, or for the Nook at BarnesandNoble.com. There’s nothing wrong with linking to those sites.

Logos, taglines and other branding

If you’ve introduced new elements such as a logo or tagline to your marketing, make sure they’re part of the pressroom. Nothing would be more embarrassing than to be featured in a two-page spread in a magazine, with your old logo at the top of the page.

Journalists don’t always take time to double-check these things. You should.

Links to social media profiles

Let people know where they can follow you on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Quora. Flickr, Squidoo, and HubPages. And don’t forget the link to your Google profile.

Your e-zine and blog

Remember, journalists and others might be entering your website from your pressroom, not necessarily from your homepage. If so, will they know that you blog and that they can subscribe to the RSS feed?

Will they know that they can subscribe to your ezine? If you haven’t already, try adding a sign-up box for your ezine to the pressroom. It’s an effective way to stay in touch with interested journalists.

Other free content

Do you have a podcast or online radio show? Have you written articles for sites like EzineArticles.com? I’m thinking of adding a section where visitors can find several guest posts I’ve written at other blogs.

Publicity expert Joan Stewart is the author of four ebooks on publicity and is quoted in more than 60 books on marketing, public relations, and small business. You can follow her on Facebook and on Twitter. She blogs at The Publicity Hound, where a version of this story first appeared.

As Costa Concordia death toll rises, Citi studies the bottom line

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:52:18 GMT

Rescuers temporarily halted their search mission on the Costa Concordia on Wednesday after the cruise liner shifted. So far, 11 passengers are confirmed dead and 28 remain missing.

Amid the news stories about the rescue efforts and the captain’s apparent recklessness and cowardice, public relations blogs and publications have covered the cruise ship and its parent company’s response to the disaster.

PRWeek’s U.K. edition said that Carnival Cruises, which owns the Costa Concordia, brought in Burson-Marsteller to handle crisis PR, and Rooster PR, an agency in the U.K. and Ireland, handled press inquiries for the ship throughout the weekend.

According to PRNewser, company owners in Italy held two press conferences, and the CEO of Carnival Cruises responded from the United States.

Although it might sound crass given the loss of life, executives at the company are undoubtedly looking at the potential financial impact of the disaster—and, according to Citi, it will hurt not only Carnival’s bottom line but that of the entire cruise industry.

Usually, the fiscal damage of such an occurrence is short-term, lasting one or two quarters, explained a note from Citi.

“However, we note the pictures and videos from the Costa tragedy are more graphic and widespread than past incidents and it occurred during the heavy booking period of Jan-March (Wave season). The media coverage could also be prolonged as the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic is in 3 months.”

The note didn’t put a number on the long-term impact. (Carnival’s stock price fell 13.65 percent in trading Tuesday.) It did, however, note a decrease in booking volume over the last couple of days, which it attributed not only to bad press but also to a cutback in advertising from cruise lines and travel agents (predating the Costa disaster).

The calamity could also shine a spotlight on safety issues in the cruise industry and, as is often noted after a widely publicized disaster, the need for companies to examine their crisis PR plans to make sure they’re prepared—especially in the age of social media when victims, not the news media, are on the front lines of sharing images and videos from a disaster, as was the case with the Costa.

(Image via)

Infographic: The (new) best time to post to social media

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:51:03 GMT

Conventional social media wisdom suggests you should post your content during the peak times that people are using sites like Twitter and Facebook. But HubSpot’s Dan Zarella has a different idea—and he’s likely on to something here.

He calls hit “contra-competitive timing,” and the notion is simple: Post content at off peak times, and your content will be free of the clutter and subject to more likes, retweets, and link clicks.

He explains it (naturally) in an infographic:

(via DanZarrella.com)

What SOPA means for PR professionals

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:59:29 GMT

On Monday, U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor shelved the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), leading many to think the legislation is dead. It can, however, be resurrected at any time. Meanwhile, its Senate counterpart, PIPA, is still very much alive even as support for it declines.

Even though the House won’t vote on the bill, Wikipedia and Reddit are among those that plan to go ahead with site blackouts on Wednesday, Jan. 18, to raise awareness of the damage SOPA and PIPA could do.

I haven’t heard of a single public relations agency or association planning to join the blackout or even take a stand on SOPA. The profession should take a stand and add its voice to the rising chorus of opposition.

That’s a tall order since the supporters of the legislation, from large media empires to small copyright owners, are PR clients. If I represented a client supporting SOPA, I certainly wouldn’t risk the engagement by publicizing my opposition on my website.

The profession as a whole, though, has to recognize that these bills pose a threat to PR’s ability to serve its clients interests in the increasingly vital online world.

How would SOPA affect communicators’ use of the Web?

Sharing and social sites

Long gone are the days when companies host videos and other media on their own servers. YouTube is the de facto location for videos, Flickr for photos, Slideshare for presentations.

Companies are also using links to Facebook in advertising and marketing instead of their own websites.

SOPA threatens all that content, as long as it resides on a .com, .org or .net domain. All it takes is for a user to upload a video, a photo or a presentation that violates someone’s copyright—even if it’s someone singing a cover of a song at a party—and under SOPA, Internet service providers could be ordered to block the domain name.

When YouTube goes dark, so will the links embedded on your own site and any others that lead to your YouTube videos. Ditto photos on photo-sharing sites and presentations on sites like Slideshare and Scribd.

Let’s take it one step farther. Imagine launching a contest for your fans to submit content (like Doritos does for its Super Bowl commercial). And suppose one of those videos includes a snippet of a song used innocently and that you don’t recognize as copyright-protected. Your client’s own site should be blocked as a result.

The legislation includes no due process at all; there is virtually no appeal process for an organization whose site is blocked.

Aggregation and curation sites—such as Delicious and Storify—could also be affected. If I add an item to one of my Storify stories, for example, and don’t realize it contains an infringing bit of content, it could be enough to lead to a complete block of the site’s domain.

Search engine optimization

Your clients have probably spent a fair amount of time and money optimizing for search. Some of that expenditure may be your agency’s own billable time. Under SOPA, however, sites like Google would be required to alter their search results to exclude non-U.S. websites that host offending content. The investment those clients made will vanish if their sites no longer appear on search engine results pages.

Advertising

Ad services like Google AdSense would be required to reject ads or payment from the sites that host offending content, which could affect your clients’ strategies for generating income.

Security

Security experts have been casting about for some time for a better method of securing domain names. This year, the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) solution is set to launch. SOPA threatens it. Writing for Volokh Conspiracy, Stewart Baker explained the problem in plain English:

“SOPA envisions the AG telling ISPs to block the address of http://www.piracy.com so the browsers get no information about http://www.piracy.com from the ISP’s DNS server. Faced with silence from that server, the browser will go into fraud-prevention mode, casting about to find another DNS server that can give it the address. Eventually, it will find a server in, say, Canada. Free from the Attorney’ General’s jurisdiction, the server will provide a signed address for piracy.com, and the browser will take its user to the authenticated site.

“That’s what the browser should do if it’s dealing with a hijacked DNS server. But browser code can’t tell the Attorney General from a hijacker, so it will end up treating them both the same. And from the AG’s point of view, the browser’s efforts to find an authoritative DNS server will look like a deliberate effort to evade his blocking order.”

Not only does this undermine the launch of DNSSEC, it puts your clients at risk for legal action they didn’t do anything to deserve.

Payments

If your client accepts online payments via their websites using PayPal or other services, those payments could stop. PayPal and its peers could be required to shut down the accounts of non-U.S. websites that host offending content.

Non-U.S. domains

Let’s say you have a client in Canada whose Canadian site is deemed to host content that violates copyright. Since SOPA blocks only “domestic Internet protocol addresses,” you’d think the Canadian site that serves Canadians would be safe.

However, IP addresses are allocated by regional, not national, organizations. The American Registry for Internet Names (ARIN) is the service in the U.S., but its regional territory also covers Canada and 20 countries in the Caribbean. Since SOPA sees all IP addresses issued by ARIN as domestic, the Canadian site would be blocked.

Finding talent

PR practitioners are finding greater uses of voiceover talent for everything from podcasts to videos. Voice casting sites host clips from voice talent. Sometimes these individuals read copyrighted works, which would lead to an order for ISPs to block access to the domain.

These sites have led to voice talent from rural areas getting work, but according to one of these sites—Voice123—the result would be to “drive work back to cities and put thousands out of work.” It would also limit the range of talent to which you have access.

The voice talent issue is also an example of the scorched-earth approach SOPA takes. It would be only a matter of time before other legitimate content that communicators need vanishes from the Web.

But wait. Isn’t piracy bad?

SOPA and PIPA are the result of lobbying by entertainment companies seeking a remedy to piracy of their content. None of those opposing the legislation believe piracy is acceptable, only that the proposed remedies cause far more damage than they stop.

Opposition is widespread. The list of Internet luminaries speaking out against SOPA is huge and reads like a who’s who of technology leadership. Eighty-three of the Web’s most prominent inventors, founders and engineers signed an open letter to Congress outlining the bills’ flaws. The American Civil Liberties Union is among those with a page making it easy for visitors to speak out against the bill to their representatives, noting, “SOPA eliminates the concept of sites ‘dedicated to infringing activity’ and enables law enforcement to target all sites that contain some infringing content, no matter how trivial.”

The White House announced it would veto the act. Even one of PIPA’s sponsors announced he’d vote against it, although he’d continue co-sponsoring the bill in order to facilitate discussion.

The retreat from the bills is based on the widespread opposition that led tens of thousands of people to shift their domains from GoDaddy, which flip-flopped on its support of SOPA in the wake of the defections. Reddit’s campaign against one legislator led Rep. Paul Ryan to voice his own opposition to the bill.

Besides, these pieces of legislation won’t actually stop piracy.

The right side of history

SOPA may be shelved and PIPA may be bound for a similar fate, but that doesn’t mean the forces behind the legislation won’t be back to try again. It’s in our own interest as communicators to take a stand against any legislation that threatens the freedom of expression on the Web.

As Google’s Sergey Brin put it, “I am shocked that our lawmakers would contemplate such measures that would put us on a par with the most oppressive nations in the world,” speaking of measures taken by powers like China and Iran to prevent access to content they don’t want people to see.

The consequences to our ability to do our jobs as communicators and counselors are at risk from these bills and those that will replace them. It’s time for our profession to unite in opposing these kinds of measures and to advocate for approaches to addressing piracy that might actually work.

Shel Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. A version of this story first appeared on his blog a shel of my former self.

(Image via)