It’s a topic that was covered yesterday at the PRSA Portland Metro chapter “What the Blog?” session that I moderated. With a panel representing some great points of view including those of our own Melissa Lion, (CMD earned media talent/blogger extraordinaire), Julian Chadwick of PDXPipeline.com, Kari Aakre of Intel PR, and Katlin Smith, whose blog is Southwest Washington ZEST, the answer was . . . “it depends.”

Clearly, there are many types of blogs, from online diary types representing personal thoughts and opinions and those whose sole purpose is to share information, to still others that operate as an extension of online news sources. Should this massively different and varied form of expression be required to adhere to the codes of professional journalism? From the panelists’ point of view, not necessarily. Even among the panelists, there were clear differences. For example, some bloggers welcome things such as incentives and giveaways for their readers, and others are guided by traditional journalism rules that don’t accept them.

Watch top tips from the “What the Blog?” panelists here:

So how do you know and what’s the guiding force when it comes to working with bloggers? As Stefanie Week pointed out in an excellent earlier post, certainly the FTC guidelines are a must and transparency across the board is the foundation. But the fact is that it’s hard to establish overarching rules for very personal and individual forms of expression, so there’s a need to go above and beyond that. The panelists agreed that successfully working with bloggers means getting to know each blogger’s intention, purpose and motivation for his or her blog—and respecting the operating guidelines that they have established for themselves.

Bottom line, it has to “feel right”—for the blogger, the audience and the story or client you want to cover, so knowing the “rules” will only get you so far—the rest is good old-fashioned common sense and a gut check.

Outside of the FTC guidelines, what other “rules” do you think bloggers ought to follow?

Often the quickest route to clear communication with your audience is through conversation—simple, right? However, we spend a lot of time brainstorming, idea-bouncing and generally overthinking our communication efforts. Instead, we should be asking our audience directly how they would like to engage with us. You’ll be surprised at how eager your audience will be to share their preferences. In addition to formulating a strategy that aligns with the wants and needs of your audience, you will also gain a deeper level of connection as your audience sees that you value their opinions and are making changes according to their preferences.

Here are a few ideas for polling your audience:
• Add a poll to your newsletter
• Pose a question to your Twitter or Facebook followers
• Set up a quick and simple survey using a tool like SurveyMonkey

Most importantly, measure the results from your polling efforts and report your findings to your audience. Make changes to accommodate their preferences, even if the changes are small—baby steps are OK. Showing that you are listening will give your audience a reason to talk to you, and thus engage with your brand.

What are some steps you’ve taken to survey your audience? How did they work out for you?

Photo credit: Cameron Browne, cameronbrowne.com.

As director of the PRSA Portland Metro Chapter’s New Professionals Group this year, I’ve talked with a variety of young public relations and marketing pros about scoring that first job, and recognized that there are a few things that college doesn’t necessarily teach you, but they’re important to acknowledge. Think networking, keeping up with the news, getting your references in order and dressing professionally. Here are three thoughts that I’d like to share from some of the New Pros:

1. Schedule informational meetings before the school year ends. Hiring managers get a flood of interview requests from graduates in the spring.

2. Ask for feedback. Schedule time with several professors, or your school’s career center, and show them your resume and portfolio, and conduct mock interviews. No one else is going to tell you you’re saying, “Um, and um, and like…” if you don’t ask.

3. Manage your online reputation. Most everyone is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter these days. Not only should you demonstrate your knowledge of these apps, but it’s time to clean up anything you wouldn’t want published on the front page of The New York Times. Remember, if it’s on the Internet, an employer will find it.

What’s the best piece of advice you received about finding a job? Hiring managers, what do you like to see from recent graduates? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

There were flashes of brilliance and forward-thinking from leading innovators ready to speed toward the new era. There was also denial, filtered through the lens of disbelief. There were those just now coming around to realize the industry they’ve known for years is undergoing a change that is deep, permanent and real. The collective question overall: how will this change the world we’re living in and how do we get prepared?

Time and again, every presentation involved the idea of challenging the norms of the past. But in addition, it was striking that some fundamental truths remain self-evident. Here’s my own perspective on the various conference presentations about which traditional PR and marketing ideas still have solid legs and which are being demolished right before our eyes.

Live by new rules…

Turn over your brand.
The days of one company, one agency defining what a brand or a product means in isolation are over. A brand is now made up of collective thoughts and opinions from the public – people increasingly engage and express opinions about who you are and what you do. Be ready to embrace and empower those who are inspired by your brand; and work just as hard to listen to and win over those who are not.

Change your idea of the traditional agency model.
If your agency hasn’t recognized that the one-to-many model is crumbling right along with the old icons of the mass media, proceed with caution. No longer are traditional lines being drawn between PR, media, digital, advertising, etc. Today, it’s more about listening, strategy development, content creation, community builders and recruiters with small, nimble, knowledgeable strike forces that go after and build relations with influential audiences using the latest techniques, not the big, mass mentality. If your agency is still thinking in the old silos and the lines aren’t crossing, it’s time to blow up the model.

Remove strict boundaries.
It used to be that PR results were clippings, shared in a book that gathered dust on the shelf of the marketing head’s office. That’s how companies determined how we were being talked about. No more. Share of conversation, Web analytics and real-time reactions and opinions are going on between real people; they need to be captured, analyzed and shared with business decision makers including R&D, management, marketing – even legal and HR. Direct consumer feedback is readily available and it’s not just about metrics for the marketing department, it’s about strategy setting for the entire organization.

Focus on content and context.
Quit thinking short-term “campaigns.” Today, it’s about creating movements that empower your customers, encourage them to take ownership, inspire them to engage with your brand, help spread the word to others and get results. They don’t start and stop, because the conversation really never starts and stops. Be ready to engage consistently, offer ongoing value and work to keep building.

But keep the old…

Listen up
Again, listening is the most valuable tool marketers and businesses have today. Good PR and marketing initiatives have always been based on research. The good news is, it’s easier than ever to tap into what customers are thinking real-time about brand, services and marketing initiatives.

Make strategy paramount
It is as it always has been. Marketing without a strategy is garbage – a complete waste. Strategy helps you be relevant, reach the right people and engage in ways that are meaningful and generate results.

Be tactically selective
This goes back to marketing 101 – this step comes third not first. Good tactics are the meat of any plan, but launching the latest tools, rushing headlong into trying to do it all just because it’s new, shiny or available, without taking the first two steps is just plain silly.

Put measurement into practice
More important than ever, this is what it’s all about. Did we turn the dial? Did we have an impact and meet our goals? Luckily, it’s also easier than ever to measure in more meaningful ways, and then refine the strategy and re-engage.

For me, this year’s conference was great reinforcement for the direction CMD’s Earned Media team is going, and it’s reassuring that we’ve not only embraced the latest thinking, ideas, tools and techniques, we’re also staying grounded and true to principles that are the basis for exceptional results.

These awards showcase the reasons behind why we’ve transitioned from CMD’s Public Relations team to the CMD Earned Media team, which better describes our approach for seamlessly leveraging both social and traditional PR practices. To us, earned media is the attention, reputation, credibility and awareness that is earned organically by non-paid means through the value of the information and the merit of the interaction you have with the audience/public. That includes a strong combination of solid PR thinking and the ability to tap the latest opportunities social media presents. It embodies our commitment to remain on the forefront of emerging trends in communication while continuing to deliver great results.

Thanks go to our clients who work day-in and day-out as our partners in these campaigns and allow us the freedom to concept solutions to meet their business objectives. Here’s a brief recap of CMD’s work that received 2009 Spotlight Awards:

JELD-WEN Contest Scares up Terrifying Utility Bills – Spotlight Award

Situation
With rising energy costs and a growing interest in environmental concerns, energy efficiency is top of mind with homeowners.

Strategy
The CMD team created the JELD-WEN Scariest Utility Bills Contest to tout the importance of home energy efficiency and find a real-life example to prove that efficient windows and doors can help homeowners save money.

Results
The contest was wildly successful, nearly doubling the contest objectives and earning placements in publications including the Chicago Sun Times and Houston Chronicle. The U.S. Department of Energy even expressed interest in using JELD-WEN’s contest winner as a case study of its own, positioning JELD-WEN as the expert on reducing energy costs.

Be sure to check out this year’s Utility Bill Bailout Contest. It just might win you new JELD-WEN ENERGY STAR qualified windows and doors and an appearance on an upcoming episode of the nationally syndicated show, “Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford.”
http://www.jeld-wen.com/bailout/

JELD-WEN Lighthouse Campaign – Spotlight Award

Situation
JELD-WEN Windows and Doors needed to raise awareness and directly link its products with reliability, a crucial factor for homeowners, builders and remodelers when considering which windows and doors to purchase.

Strategy
The CMD team created a campaign that helped JELD-WEN walk its reliability talk and prove product performance by helping restore highly visible landmarks, America’s lighthouses, which also face some of the toughest climate conditions in the world.

Results
The campaign has helped build JELD-WEN’s image of reliability, created strong product performance proof points, and generated millions of media impressions, all while fostering tremendous goodwill.

The CMD Earned Media team also received two Award of Merit honors for “An Exploration into the Digital Frontier for Intel and Lenovo” and “Building the HealthCareGoesMobile.com Virtual Community.”