PR in a Social CRM World

Jacob Morgan

• Principal, Chess Media Group

• Author of Twittfaced

• Blogger on E2.0 and SCRM: jmorganmarketing.com

• Traveler, Chess Lover, and Explorer

• Twitter: @jacobm

• Fellow @SNCR

Agenda•Traditional PR

•Social Media

•Social Media for PR

•Where PR fits with SCRM

•How do you get there?

•Key takeaways

PR is still a critical part of a company’s brand management strategy

Traditional PR

• Media Lists• A Pitch• Press releases to news outlets• Exposure for company IF media

writes a story about it• Controlled company messages• One way communication

Traditional PR Channels

Source: Communications and Public Relations General Accepted Practices 2010

Senior Management Views of Common Organizational Functions’ Contributions to Success, Year-Over-Year Ranking, Corporate Respondents

PR Still VERY Important!

Convergence of PR andSocial Media

93% of Social Media Users Expect a Brand to Have a Social Media Presence Online

The PR Evolution

One way communication

Two way communication and Community Management

Part marketing

Part content creation

Part Public Relations

Part customer service

Part relationships

Part community management

Part finding “influencers”

89 percent of journalists turn to blogs for story research, 65 percent to social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, 61 percent to Wikipedia, and 52 percent to micro-blogging services such as Twitter.

~ Cision Survey 2010

The New Information Sources

Intersection of PR and Social Media

The Customer is Changing. Is Your Company?

The traditional customer is the one we all were as recently as a decade ago.  We bought products and services and based our decisions on utility and price.  We communicated with the companies we were dealing with by letter, phone call, and occasional e-mail, if they had the facility to do that.  But that customer changed because of a social change in the early part of the millennium.  The customer seized control of the business ecosystem and it was never the same.“

~ Paul Greenberg, Author of CRM at the Speed of Light

PR Trumps Marketing for Social Media Ownership

Over 25% of companies put between 81 to 100 percent of budgetary control over social media in PR’s hands, compared to marketing, with only 12.6 percent. Source: Communications and Public Relations General

Accepted Practices 2010

PR/Comms Role

• "A very persuasive argument can be made that PR/Communication, rather than Marketing, is the logical home for these highly personal and social media, because they require a relatively noncommercial approach," said Jerry Swerling, the Strategic Communication and PR Center's director.

The Numbers

• Fastest growing sector for Internet use is communities (5.4% in a year)

• Member communities reach more internet users (66.8%) than email (65.1%) (Nielsen “Global Faces on Networked Places”)

• By 2010 over 60% of Fortune 1000 companies will have some form of online community deployed for CRM purposes (Gartner Group – “Business Impact of Social Computing on CRM)

New Communication Channels

Will Companies Succeed?

“By 2010 more than half of companies that have established an online community will fail to manage it as an agent of change, ultimately eroding customer value. Rushing into social computing initiatives without clearly defined benefits for both the company and the customer will be the biggest cause of failure.”

~ Gartner Group

PR and Social Media• Blend traditional and new media to

reach journalists as well as consumers• Receive and send info in real-time• Find additional sources of info• Mine for new story ideas and obtain

story feedback• Get your word out faster in effective,

meaningful and engaging ways

Social Media for PR• - find local experts

• - find people/photos

• - seed story ideas

• - post events, connections

• - find creative graphics

• - research other story angles

How Does SCRM Fit in All of This?

What is Social CRM?

“Social CRM is a philosophy & a businessstrategy, supported by a technology platform,business rules, workflow, processes & socialcharacteristics, designed to engage thecustomer in a collaborative conversation inorder to provide mutually beneficial value in atrusted & transparent business environment.It’s the company's response to the

customer’sownership of the conversation."

~ Paul Greenberg, Author of CRM at the Speed of Light

OR Social CRM Is…

…a part of social business that helps companies make sense of (and then act on) the data they collect from social customer interactions.

Where is PR?

You are here

Company

Customer

Community and Advocacy is the New PR Strategy• No longer only journalists• It’s now:

• Your customers• Your friends• Your family• Your employees• Your competition • Your future customers

Social CRM and Conduct• Companies no longer maintain

control over their image• Shift from centrally-controlled

message to direct, real-time engagement

• Companies must be highly transparent, open and visible

• Conversations are public

Slide by Deloitte

Word-of-mouth network has gotten more efficient. Much, much, more efficient.

SCRM as a PR Strategy• Make community a focal point• Advocacy and Experience matter • Build and reach out to community for

a strong brand presence• Enlist their help and support • Meet the consumer’s needs and

wants a customer where she is and when she wants to actively listen

PR’s New Role within Marketing• Message alignment and distribution

between both departments• Crisis plans established• Monitoring online conversations• Timing of message distribution• Tone of conversations and response• Response time (social service level

agreements)

PR’s New Role within Sales

• Understand pricing and products• What/where are the distribution

channels?• Sales/purchase cycle• Who are the frequent purchasers?• Who is the right contact in sales?• Pricing and promotion matches

marketing and PR!

PR’s New Role within Service and Support• Monitoring relevant conversations• Understanding and identifying influencers

(also with marketing)• Who are the right people to solve the

issues?• When can the issues be resolved?• How do problems get fixed at the source? • Product issues are PRODUCT ISSUES (or

service)

Product issues are PRODUCT ISSUES

Don’t bribe your customers, fix the problem!

• Lead and participate within your ecosystem

• Create a relationship based on sharing and providing value

• Engaging your customers• Ambassadors provide word-of-mouth

PR for your company• Listen to what your customers want

and learn from them

PR’s New Role with the Social Customer

PR’s New Role

Where do you get started?

Take a Look at Now

Take a Look at Now• Understand the business challenges

and obstacles and how to overcome them• Why do you want to have a dialogue

with your community?• Develop an integrated core

communications strategy• Look at your existing PR/Comm

strategy - does social fit?• You can start “listening” right away• What resources can you allocate?

Take a Look at Now

• You can start “listening” right away• How do you want to engage, what

value can you contribute?• What resources can you allocate?

Alignment

Alignment• Make sure that you understand

where PR fits with other departments

• Develop a crisis management plan• Be aware of current issues and

what’s being said (Nestle didn’t do this!)

• Determine channels and how/why they help solve your problem

• Who is going to lead the effort?• Build the infrastructure first!

Engagement Plan

Engagement Plan

• What channels are going to be used?

• How are they going to be used?• What are the customer/company

expectations and benefits? (social service level agreements)

• What resources are you going to devote?

• Develop advocacy strategy

Long Road Ahead

Key Takeaways• PR is still important to the overall success of an

organization• PR now involves a strong focus on advocacy • PR needs to work within the SCRM structure with

Marketing, Sales, Service and Support, and the Customer

• Strategy is first, tools and technology are second• PR has an important role in developing a social

business

Thank You

• chessmediagroup.com• jacob@chessmediamroup.com• Twitter: @jacobm• Blog: jmorganmarketing.com