ManeyDigital

January 26, 2009 • 12:46 pm 0

Sir, your reputation precedes you

Image by jdlasica via FlickrFirst, if you’re an up-and-coming communications pro (or even a weathered old geezer), you’d do well to subscribe to Rafe Needleman’s “Pro PR Tips.” The C|NET vet has posted more than 100 rules from inside the head of one of the tech industry’s most-read journalists.

Take, for example, this one from the other day:

Tip #103: Agency, Shmagency: “I don’t care that much what agency you work for. What I care about is the company you represent.”

Now, you can argue that the calling cards of a small number of agencies will open otherwise hard-to-crack editorial doors (a reflection on consistently great hiring and training than on size and perceived power). However, even though the card might be able to open the door, it’s the story and personal relationship that gets your foot inside.

I’ve heard a lot lately about the power of personal brands. It’s a discussion good PR pros should heed. It doesn’t matter whether you work for IBM or Joe’s PR Shop, it’s your personal brand that makes you stand out.

Filed under: News, Public Relations, Rafe Needleman

January 5, 2009 • 11:50 am 0

Yeah, you. You talking about my brand?

Image via WikipediaFor those who still think what happens on blogs, Twitter and other social media networks is nothing more than a marketing echo chamber, think again.

I posted an entry to this blog yesterday that included links to the great online video work Ford and GM are doing. I also included a line about “the ever-present knock of death” at the auto industry’s door. While I’m no fan of the bailout — and recognize that Ford didn’t stick its hand out for public funds — the work Scott Monty and Christopher Barger (and their respective teams) are doing is worth noting.

Now, I don’t pretend that this blog gets a ton of traffic. Scoble I am not. However, no sooner did I hit post when a comment from Scott appeared to clarify Ford’s position on my death-knell comment. Again, in the wide realm of blogs out there, I’m quite sure Maney|Digital is somewhat low on the totem pole of authority and impact for the automakers.

Which is why I wanted to highlight Scott’s actions. Somewhere in his toolbox, Scott has a trigger to alert him to any time Ford is mentioned on the web. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Scoble-sized mention or a lowly Maney|Digital-sized one. What matters is that Scott didn’t let a potentially (and unintentional) negative comment about his company sit idle for others to see.

Companies which aren’t monitoring what’s being said about them online do so at their own peril. While the overall impact of a single negative post on a site the size of Maney|Digital probably won’t make much of a difference, the cumulative effect of others seeing it, posting on it, linking to it, will.

Do you know what they are saying about your brand?

Blog Graffiti: 2009 Kickoff Edition

Random thoughts to get 2009 off to a blogging good start:

Will this be the year RSS sees wide mainstream consumer adoption? Check out Louis Gray’s post on the death of the bookmark for more.

Look for more widespread use of video in corporate communications efforts this year. Despite the ever-present knock of death at their door, GM’s Christopher Barger and Ford’s Scott Monty seem to be leading the way.

Talk about air cover: Dell’s Andy Lark uncovers a flow chart of how the U.S. Air Force responds to posts and comments in the blogosphere.

According to The Peronsal Branding Blog’s Dan Schwabel, who you know will be as — if not more — important than what you know in 2009.

Will our children know what a newspaper was? Not if the trends found in a recent study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press continue. According to the Pew study, 59% of Americans under the age of 30 say they get the majority of their news from the Internet, up from 34% in 2007.

Filed under: Pew Research Center, RSS, United States Air Force

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Get to know the blogger behind the blog here. If you want to contact me, you can reach me by e-mail, find me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, follow my posts on the 0to5 blog, see photos I've taken in my Flickr photostream, watch videos I've shot on my YouTube channel, read stories I've bookmarked on del.icio.us, and view my profile on Linkedin.