From the latest issue of the Levick Strategic Communications e-newsletter:

While social media sites are as diverse as the millions of people that use them, they are all, for the most part, interrelated. This is precisely what makes the digital space ‘viral.’ Today, a single reputation-damaging blog post, Facebook update, tweet, or YouTube video can reach around the world in a matter of minutes. If you’re not actively watching and listening for mentions of your company, its brands, and your own leadership, you lose critical intelligence that can be utilized to stem a crisis before it happens. Read More…

The good folks over at Green Buzz Agency gave me a chance to pen a guest post about the makings of an effective PR pro. The Green Buzz-ers are digital media strategists and fellow DC Flacks; thanks to the Internet, Tod and I have bonded over our passion for pixels (and basketball).

Here’s the original post as it appears on their blog; throw some feedback at me in the comments!

Three Signs You’ve Found an Excellent PR Firm or Consultant

Not all public relations practitioners (a.k.a. flacks) are created equal. I can say that because I am one. Day after day, I see folks out there giving my craft a bad name. Fortunately, there are many great PR pros who will ethically and strategically work to advance your goals. The good flacks serve as knowledgeable, curious and creative partners. Here are three signs you’ve found one: Read More…

Now that CNN and Oprah have made it a household name, Twitter is as popular a term among the corporate set as “ROI,” “low hanging fruit” and “silo.” Bless them, it seems now everyone wants to do it just for sake of saying they are; kinda like staying at work til 7 p.m.

But here’s the thing: if a company can’t tell me their goal – their REASON for wanting to Twitter, blog, start a Flickr pool, etc – then I don’t want them to do it.  And you, PR pro, shouldn’t want them to either.

See, the social media skeptics and/or any business person worth their salt want you to be able to tell them how much bang they’ll get for their social networking buck. “What’s my return?” they’ll ask. Five times. You should always answer, “It depends on what your goal is and how engaged you are.” That’s not an answer they particularly enjoy hearing, but it’s the truth. And they didn’t hire a yes-man, so speak up.

Frequent readers of this blog will remember my soap box about the importance of being Smart, Active, Succinct and Sincere when dealing with the social Web.  As I’ve preached said before: successful use of social communication tools isn???t hard unless you are lazy and/or unengaged.  And then, my friends, it’s FREAKIN’ IMPOSSIBLE.

With 20 million plus Twitter-ers out there, you’ve gotta stand out to have any real traction. That’s where most tend to fail. You see, if you don’t stay active, you don’t stay long. In fact, Nielsen recently found a whopping 60 percent of Twitter-ers quit after the first month – I would wager that’s because folks like instant gratification. Once they sign up and don’t see some huge rush of followers, and don’t bother to follow other folks, they quit.

Remember that no Twitter account or Facebook fan/group/cause page, LinkedIn Group, blog or website will yield a return on your man-hour investment if you never use or update it. You???ve gotta engage. In real time. If you want a lot of followers, you???ve got to Tweet. You???ve got to follow strangers and let strangers follow you. You???ve got to respond to an @ message; reply to a relevant DM. If you don???t want to actively engage you should have started a blog, not a Twitter account. Bottom line: you can’t just sit there and let the Web surf over you.

But back to that goal. Do you have one? If you are a PR pro and your client has asked you for a Twitter account – have you asked them to tell you what they want out of it? “Because everyone else is doing it” simply doesn’t make sense when it comes to Twitter. There’s just too much clutter, too many folks out there doing it well. Mediocrity simply won’t yield returns.

So, if neither you or your client have the end-result in mind, hold off until you do. At the end of the day, your client or boss will hold you accountable for the success or failure of the company’s social media efforts – even if it was their idea.

Don’t set yourself up for an I-told-ya-so. If at first you can’t define a Twitter goal, try, try again – or just move on to the next tool in your communications box.

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