Brands might want to be loved, but so do consumers

March 29, 2007 | 3 Comments

In this age of on demand access to info and people happily airing their views, it has never been more important for brands to get on with their consumers. Failure to do so can lead to a rapid backlash online. Just ask Dell.

Jeff Randall, business journalist for the Daily Telegraph, discussed this week how brands are keen to turn customers into ‘fans of the brand’, but there is always the risk that the relationship can turn sour if the loyalty is betrayed.

P & G spend billions every year trying to build relationships with their marketplace. Just securing the one off sale isn’t enough. They want to have an ongoing love affair and fill your shelves with their brands.

Businesses might equate love with revenue, but as Randall points out: love can’t bring you profits, only trust.

Randall gives the example of when a UK supermarket chain’s CEO was deluged with texts and emails from angry customers who felt standards were slipping. They weren’t bombarding him because they hated the supermarket - but because they cared.

The supermarket was an integral part of their everyday lives. They didn’t want to see the time and money they had invested in the relationship tarnished by a drop in service. The supermarket chain has subsequently responded to these complaints; profits have never looked healthier.

When businesses get it wrong it is the way that they respond that can be the difference between PR disaster and redemption. People appreciate it when their complaints and problems are listened to. They are equally livid when they feel they have been robbed.

UK banks are unapologetically hated. Their web of small print and hidden bank charges gives the impression that profit comes before fairness. When it was discovered that you could reclaim some of these charges the stampede of people, rushing to download forms and court notices, was so deafening that it reached the national headlines.

The enthusiasm with which people demanded their refunds was fuelled by their sense of unfair treatment, just as much as it was for financial gain.

If businesses want to be loved and trusted then they have to learn to treat their customers with fairness. In our world of connected minds, businesses can no longer afford to simply ignore people’s complaints and angry phone calls.

Angry people often carry axes to grind, and if agitated enough they can club together and form themselves into an army. Their combined assault of negative comments and feedback can become so loud that it can reach the ears of the traditional media. Then the façade of a business’ caring image can really be in trouble.

In a previous post I discussed how smart businesses are using magazines to build loyalty with their customers. By providing information of value, rather than pages of sales messages, they are able to project a helpful, customer focused image and an attractive business to have a relationship with.

So the moral of the tale is to have substance to what you say, communicate as clearly as you can and don’t let people down. If you do, be generous and you will be forgiven. After all, a customer should be for life, not just for Christmas.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Marketing 

How Copywriters can Bring Peace to the SEO vs. PR Debate

March 21, 2007 | 6 Comments

Just when we think we are making progress a new battleground emerges. The buzz around ‘Online PR’ had built hopes of a bold new world in which websites are evolving portals of news and information, and online brochures are resigned to the bin.

However, the battle-lines are being drawn over who should have dominance over the new discipline. Is it the role of SEO companies to manage their client’s online reputation? Or is it the responsibility of the PR agency? Instead of working towards a common goal both clans seem to be worlds apart. It’s up to the freelance copywriter to bridge the gap and resolve their dispute for them.

With awareness of RSS spreading and businesses waking up to the opportunity of harnessing their news, the time is ripe for ‘Online PR’ to spread. With a steady stream of press releases and articles, filled with relevant keywords, it has never been easier for niche businesses to reach a global marketplace and seduce prospects with their relevant, insightful information.

An article on E-consultancy ‘Why online PR and SEO go hand in hand’ outlined why the two went so well together: PR is about building reputation through positive coverage, exactly what effective online link building is all about.

The PR agency can write engaging press releases and thought leadership articles, whilst the SEO team can ensure the key phrases are present and the articles are submitted and linked to the right places.

In his post, Ken McGaffin from Wordtracker.com does however describe a world in which the PR tribe is largely ignorant of SEO’s rituals and traditions. Ken gives some examples of how PR campaigns have been stunted by their failure to capitalise on the opportunity to build the message further online.

Some of Ken’s key reasons why PR needs to understand search strategies were:

  • Website articles can be searched for, found and read months or years after an event. The exposure of magazine articles only lasts until the next issue.
  • Interesting and useful information attracts not only readers, but also back-links to push your website further to the front of the crowd.
  • Online news spreads fast. Online press releases appear on the same day on Google news and can be found by every interested surfer, rather than rely on the whims of an editor to decide if they’re news worthy.
  • It has never been easier for niche businesses to compete online. By providing news and information of value you can position yourself as a news leader and reach the influencers in your marketplace.

Ken’s article portrays a world in which PR and SEO agencies haven’t yet learned to work together, but for them both to evolve they certainly should do.

The positive comments section was a roll call for all those in the UK who got the new ‘Online PR’ philosophy and to pledge their support.

One comment in particular was by Katy Howell, whose Online PR consultancy I had quoted in my previous post. She was able to provide me with another useful sound-bite:

“The PR industry has suffered a great deal of slating over the press release (often justified in the past) but a new waive of ghastly copy is making its way onto the wires and posting sites. So I would like to caution that PR is a job for PR professionals. After all releases will only generate interest from journalists and surfers to, ‘spread like wild fire’, if they are actually good. That is, newsworthy, interesting, well written, informative and above all, relevant!”

It would appear that, judging from Katy’s comments, a new generation of PR professional is required. One who understands how to compose a punchy press release combined with the knowledge of how to use it to grab the online audience and pull them back to their client’s website.

From the article’s comments I was also able to latch onto another post on the same theme by SEO consultant Shane Quigley. In ‘PR is Dead, Long Live SEO!’, Shane spells out how misunderstanding is creating an impending war between the PR dinosaurs and tech savvy SEO consultants. Will they be able to converge in some way, or will the PR dinosaurs simply swallow up SEO agencies when they feel the time is right?

Internet marketing is evolving at such a pace that SEO experts have had to learn to evolve at almost a daily rate. The PR dinosaurs have been able to lumber along with the same practices for centuries, blissfully unaware of an approaching asteroid that could wipe them out.

Unsurprisingly – and quite possibly intentionally - Shane’s article drew a healthy debate between the proponents of the two disciplines. The agreed standpoint was that neither will replace the other. But a new hybrid professional is needed to act as middleman between the two.

Whilst SEO agencies struggle to find web savvy PR professionals and PR agencies keep their heads in the sand, the door of opportunity is open for astute freelance copywriters to walk in and introduce themselves as the answer to all their problems.

If you’re a freelance copywriter then you might want to put together a press release on your new ‘Online PR’ service and give your local SEO and PR agencies a call.

I think my own website is now going to need a bit of a rewrite.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Copywriting, Marketing, RSS, Search Engine Optimisation, blogging 

Get Your Pens Ready for the Explosion in Online PR

March 14, 2007 | 2 Comments

The web copywriter’s market is evolving so fast that rarely a week passes without new opportunities appearing on the horizon. The requirements of business websites are developing all the time. Static brochure style sites are dated, portals of news and information is what’s needed.

It would appear that web marketers are now responding to the millions searching the web for info to assist their buying decision. They have realised that they need to be proactively promoting their client’s services to their online marketplace. There is to be an imminent explosion in ‘Online PR’.

In a recent post I picked up a meme from Tom Chandler on the hesitancy of PR agencies to respond to the changes in their industry. The days of sending out press releases to journalists, in the hope of some brief coverage, are long gone. Now anybody with a PC and internet connection has their own printing press and a potential readership of millions. PR agencies need to move with the times and learn how to speak to the online audience if they want to be heard.

Some smart agencies have now developed ‘Online PR’ strategies to bridge the gap with the offline world.

Here is how one describes their service:

“by identifying our clients’ most influential media, companies, networks, associations or individuals and connecting them directly with their greatest potential advocates to build brand reputation. “

Sounds like part of the ethos of business blogging to me.

Online PR uses all the new tools at your fingertips to push out your message and direct more people back to your website.

Using blogs SEO press releases and RSS is like deep sea fishing with a giant fishing net. Trawling the internet to catch info hungry web users, to pull them back in and convert them into hard cash. Static websites are still stuck in port, motionless, without even a net to catch any fish and a crew likely to go hungry.

Online copywriters have been advocating the use of your news and information as a key marketing tool for some time. This concept is now being adopted enthusiastically in online PR, with agencies listing SEO press releases, expert articles, viral seeding and blogging as the new tools in their marketing arsenal.

The philosophy of business blogging and engaging with your marketplace is finally starting to mature. So, if you’re a freelance copywriter you might want to think about adding ‘Online PR’ to your list of services. I think there will soon be plenty of people wanting to know.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Copywriting, Marketing, RSS, blogging 

World’s biggest advertiser announces, “It’s not about telling and selling…It’s about engaging.”

March 7, 2007 | 2 Comments

I often harp about how, in this age of 24/7 ‘pull’ access to information, businesses need to be providing a steady stream of articles to capture prospects and turn them into customers. The internet is about information, not blatant advertising.

By harnessing your news, and the power of RSS, it’s never been easier to develop long-term customer relationships. Simply hoping to hit a conversion rate of every visitor doesn’t seem like an adequate long-term strategy.

The widespread evolution of websites, into portals of news and information, is still going to take some time. Businesses are dragging their feet, waiting for the metrics to appear to justify the ongoing investment, and for everybody else to test the water first. It’s still not even widely accepted that greater engagement translates into more sales.

So whilst I wait for awareness of the engagement philosophy to spread, it’s always heartening when one of the world’s biggest advertisers seems to agree with its principles.

I was alerted, by The Marketing Blog, to a speech at last week’s 4A conference by Proctor & Gamble’s CMO, Jim Stengal. In a typically headline grabbing oration, he declared that marketing is no longer “about telling and selling…It’s not about new media models or new tools. It’s about engaging with people in a two way relationship.”

It was in 2004 that Stengal first announced that, “The traditional marketing model is obsolete.” His latest speech further builds on this theme. He spoke about how it was not just that the tools that had changed, but also the mindsets that they were trying to penetrate.

The steady bombardment of marketing messages has created a mindset resistant to being sold to. Fifty years of one way advertising has developed a low trust world. Consumers are now demanding honesty and transparency from their brands, and an end to one way sales spiel.

Stengal’s answer to marketing’s quandary is that P&G has to focus on garnering relationships and becoming a ‘generous brand’. He believes it is the generous brands who will be the winners because they win consumers’ trust by offering something of value without demanding immediate payback.

For P&G this has meant creating interactive websites that are entertaining, informative and of value to their audience. By encouraging people to spend more time engaging with their brands, P&G can develop a positive association, and seduce them into buying their products.

Any business can adopt the same philosophy. By providing a downloadable white paper, monthly newsletter or an informative blog, you can become a ‘generous brand’.

“It takes courage. It takes conviction. It takes stepping out of the comfort zone and eliminating barriers with your consumers.” – Stengal, 4A Conf 2007.

When the world’s biggest advertiser announces, “It’s not about telling and selling,” there is an obvious mind shift taking place amongst consumers. In our low trust world, effective marketing is about developing relationships built on trust and confidence. And there is no better way of developing such relationships than by becoming a ‘generous brand’ and showering your prospects with news and information of value.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Marketing, RSS, blogging