A friend of mine recently shared some frustrations with me about her experience with PR as a roadblock. She writes:
I'm getting frustrated with corporate PR... It feels like PR is some huge gatekeeper/bottleneck at most larger corporations. VP Marketing here says this is typical scenario: No employee can talk to anyone that might resemble media/publishers whatsoever on their own accord by corporate policy. (Beats me how they'll ever put up a blog!) So when we ask referencable customers (large companies for most part) if they would talk to press/analysts and they said 'sure, but first we have to run that through the PR dept' - which is practically like saying 'don't hold your breath'.
This is the old command/control PR talking, and it is going to be a long time before it changes. There are some very good reasons why these rules are in place.
For example, the rule about no employees talking to media exists so that the company can be portrayed as speaking with one voice. There are many pitfalls out there with traditional media, who often are seeking the bad news, weaknesses, gossip etc. These rules exist for the protection of the employee who may not know the tricks, while keeping the story fairly under control, as it is served through approved spokespeople. Also, you definitely don't want multiple people from the organization calling press. That rapidly becomes a nightmare, as the reporters don't want to be called by some yahoo asking why they didn't write about their company's latest revolutionary widget. There are rules in the dance between PR and the press, which really should be followed as much as possible in order to keep everyone happy.
That being said, blogs represent a new channel of communications out to the world. They do give individuals inside a company who would not normally have an exterior voice, the ability to be heard. Most certainly, savvy journalists will be check it out, and may contact that person. If you are going to let employees blog, particularly if they are relatively autonomous, you will need to give those people media training and set up some rules of the road for when press contact them.
She continues:
But we can't get out anything vaguely interesting to the press (to realistically anyone) without real stories that involve real-life customers. I'm thinking if I can come up with some strategies where there is some win-win for them in terms of coverage...but in a lot of these cases there is more for the individual contributor (being perceived as a thought-leader in I.T.) than perhaps the corporation as a whole. I think individuals are keen to be in interviews, etc. but they need (often bureaucratic, not worth the trouble) permission to speak.
I hear your pain about the customer reference problem. It is probably one of the most challenging things vendors (particularly early stage companies) have. Unfortunately, at this stage of the game, secrecy rules and lawyers love to put the muzzle on everyone. The last thing a small company wants to do is risk a sale by putting information out that they are working with that company without that company's approval.
Again, here blogs can provide another option than the official (and legally binding) document of the press release. Invite your customers to be a guest author on your blog. Encourage them to comment (disallow anonymous comments) and identify themselves. Tell them you are trying to engender public conversations about your products so you can make them better, and that others want to learn from them. Set up various types of blogs, from development to support to marketing to sales. Always endeavor to get customer participation. Invite your partners too.
Yes, a blog can help individuals develop their reputation, and become members of new networks of influence, which will not only just help them, but also their companies.
Don't forget too that these individuals who are blogging for your company should be commenting on others' blogs. PR can help by identifying posts that they think are interesting and forwarding the info to the appropriate blogger. Make sure they identify themselves are a member of your company. Set a policy. Then, set them free to populate other blogs with your company's messages.
Now, some assumptions behind my answers about the old rules can certainly be challenged. Does a company need to "speak with one voice?" Or is that just an artificial construct? Is cacophony better? Is there a happy medium? These are the things the New PR is trying to figure out.
Some companies live in horror that their product weaknesses will be found out and splashed across the front pages. They endeavor to keep all secret. Customers who are taking a risk on a new, unproven product, don't want to be exposed either. Everyone is afraid of public mistakes, public failure. This is another assumption that needs to be broken down as well. No product is ever perfect. Why not acknowledge the weaknesses that exist and actively seek advice on how to make them better? Adopt some portion of the open source movement. If you acknowledge issues, and demonstrate that you are addressing them, I think this buys you more credibility than if you keep them hidden (as they always come out anyways).
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