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Archive for June, 2011

Criticism is Good

11.06.28

Yesterday I published a post (ok, fine, a rant) about people who sling unconstructive criticism at others and the effect it has.

Several people seemed to take that to mean that I think all criticism is bad, or that we should avoid commenting on other posts. That’s my fault – I buried this line way within the post (as, per the previous paragraph, I was ranting):

“As I’ve said before, criticism can be good. For that to be the case, it needs to be informed and it needs to be constructive.”

My concern is that there’s a big difference between these two statements:

“‘Company X’ did this. I don’t think that was the best move – I might have considered [change A], [change B] or [change C] to make [aspects D, E and F] better.”

“‘Company X’ did this. What a dumb move – who in their right minds would do that? Fail.”

One is constructive; one is unhelpful. One offers useful suggestions; the other tears the organization down. One builds; the other tears down. One makes you look smart and helpful; the other does the opposite.

Happily, the people who read my post and took that meaning from it (again, my bad) chose to do so in a constructive way and made some constructive points in return. For that, I thank you.

Criticism is good. Most people don’t receive enough feedback — the kind that builds and helps them to be better, that is, not the kind that makes an example of them. I know I always strive to receive more, as I know there’s a lot to improve. We just need to get better at both providing and receiving it. The aim of the last post was to let those who aim to knock others down rather than build them up know that that’s not part of the equation.

Make sense?

#thatisall

Posted in: blogging, miscellaneous

Tags: blogging, miscellaneous, pr, public relations

5Comments

Armchair Quarterbacks: Don’t Be That Troll

11.06.27

A quick thought (or ten) for anyone who is thinking about armchair-quarterbacking someone else’s PR or social media execution without anything constructive to add…

When you criticize things from the outside, you:

Don't be this guy.

1. Don’t know what actually happened. You know what you read in blogs, in the papers, etc. You don’t know what actually happened — who said what and to whom.

2. Don’t know what discussions happened internally. You see the reported outcome. You don’t know what conversations happened – between the agency/agencies in question and the company; within the company or among the various stakeholders at the table. Hell, you probably don’t even know who all of those stakeholders and agencies are.

3. Don’t know the context for the decision(s) that were made. You don’t know the competing priorities in play. You don’t know what had been tried before and didn’t work. You don’t know what communications happened behind the scenes.

When you criticize from that starting point and don’t have anything constructive to say, you:

4. Make yourself look uninformed to all parties in question. You don’t impress anyone by taking cheap shots; you just show how little of that context you actually have.

Is this how people sit when they come up with this stuff?

5. Make yourself look petty. You’re taking cheap shots. You’re sniping from the sidelines. When was the last time that made someone look good? Oh, that’s right, it didn’t.

6. Set yourself up for a fall. By taking those cheap shots, you set yourself up there on a pedestal, ready for anyone who encountered your critique to take you down next time you screw up. And guess what? Even if you didn’t actually screw up, you don’t have a leg to stand on – that leg is occupied trying to kick others when they’re down.

7. Lose recruitment opportunities. I’ve said many times – PR is a small world. Those people you just alienated might have been potential recruits some day. Don’t worry about it, though – given that you just alienated their client, too, you won’t have too much incremental work to worry about.

8. Lose new business opportunities. I just mentioned it – you don’t just alienate the agency in question; you alienate their client, too, through your misinformed punditry. Say goodbye to being on that shortlist.

9. Damage your own reputation and that of your employer. It’s not just yourself that you hurt with your critique – it’s your employer, too. Yep, just as in so many things nowadays, your actions are tied to that of the company you work for. “These opinions are my own” disclaimer or not, you’re working for that company and the words you say/write are those of someone working for that company. People will draw that line whether you want them to or not (to take it a step further, ask the many people who have lost their jobs after ill-advised comments online).

10. Get me worked up. Ok, that’s not really a big deal, but did you really think I would publish a post with nine points? Yeah, right.

Don't be this guy either.

For the record: As I’ve said before, criticism can be good. For that to be the case, it needs to be informed and it needs to be constructive. It can’t be uninformed, because that leads to you giving criticism that is based on a slice of reality and that does nothing to benefit anyone (including you). And it can’t just be an attack, with no constructive input, because then you’re just a troll.

If you find yourself falling into that trap (and I’ve done it myself in the past), do yourself a favour and cut the company a break.

Make sense?

(Yes, this was sparked by a particular incident. No, it wasn’t about me or about Edelman. Yes, it got me worked up. No, I won’t name the people at fault. Move along…)

(Images via here, here and here)

Posted in: blogging, miscellaneous

Tags: blogging, miscellaneous, pr, public relations

10Comments

Startups: No, You Don’t Need To Hire A Social Media Expert

11.06.16

My eye was caught this weekend by a post from Francis Tan, asking whether startups need to hire social media experts. His key points:

First things first: Agreeing with Peter Shankman that startups should focus on generating revenue
Customer satisfaction: Startups need to ensure customer satisfaction when people interact with your company, whether through social media or other means
Align around goals: If you do outsource your social media, make sure they are aligned with your goals
Trade-offs: Ask yourself: do you have time to establish relationships with customers online? On the flip side, are you willing to entrust that task to a third party?
People, not robots: If you do engage online, ensure that you have real people out there rather than automating everything
His conclusion: While it’s not entirely a bad idea to outsource social media, companies might be better off focusing on their product first.

As for what I think, my take is that it’s a little easier than Tan makes it seem although I agree with his conclusion.

Let’s face it – the startup stage isn’t the time in a company lifecycle when resources are flush. You’re not likely to be walking around with a large marketing team; you don’t have big operating budget.

In that context, each dollar needs to deliver maximum return. Why hire someone at a premium when you can bring someone in-house with multiple skill sets – who can drive customer support and handle online support too? Who can handle your PR or marketing and integrate that strategy with your online activities? Hell, you might not even be at the point of investing in outside marketing help yet – why would you consider an even narrower function?

Ok, let’s cut to it. Here’s my take:

Focus on your product/service: Get your product and experience right, first and foremost. If you invest in marketing before your offering is nailed, you’ll just accelerate your failure as more people find out that you suck.
Democratize your social media: My colleague Steve Rubel says social media shouldn’t be 100% of one person’s job; it should be 1% of 100 peoples’ jobs. Democratize the responsibility throughout your team.
Hire broad: If you do decide that the time is right to bring in a social media skill set into the team, make it part of a broader role – communications, marketing, support or similar. Specialization comes with scale — don’t pigeon-hole people into one narrow role when you need everyone to lend a hand broadly.
The exception: online startups? Companies based online (or in social media), by their nature, on aggregate are going to focus more on online interactions than other companies. Still, I suspect that they will still get more mileage from investing in in-house experience, at least at a startup stage.
Don’t fall for snake oil: For the love of all things holy, if you do decide to outsource your efforts then pay attention to who you work with. This is where I agree with Shankman – hire communicators or marketers who understand how social media fits into a broader approach. Don’t hire people who tell you Twitter will solve all your problems. They’re wrong, and whether it’s a deliberate lie or a lack of knowledge really doesn’t matter.
Know agencies’ strengths: Agencies bring numerous several key strengths — a broad array of skills, ideas and experience; an ability to scale up and down rapidly; existing relationships in the industry;(potentially, depending on the agency) geographic reach and so on. Play to those strengths and use them when you need them, but not before. Need a little bit of time, but not a full-time role? Need something executed in the short-term? That’s your time for outside help; not the start-up day-to-day.

There you have it. From my perspective, while you may want to engage online, I think hiring or outsourcing a “social media expert” in a startup is the wrong way to go — you’re better off focusing on your product/service, democratizing your digital efforts and hiring broad communications skills when the time is right.

I’m not a startup guy though, so my take is just an (un?)informed guess. If you come from the startup side, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

(Image: Flickr, via Peter Shankman)

Posted in: uncategorized

Tags: communications, marketing, pr, public relations, social media

16Comments

Five Reasons You Should Go To The Next Third Tuesday Toronto

11.06.15

I just had a conversation with my old boss Joe Thornley about how excited I and a few others on the Edelman Toronto team are about the upcoming Third Tuesday Toronto event with Ontario’s Ombudsman Andre Marin.

Joe suggested I blog about the event; I thought I’d go one better and give you five reasons why, if you’re in Toronto on June 21, you should go to this event.

1. Get the perspective of an early public sector adopter of social media

I remember a couple of years ago, when Marin first discovered social media through a member of his communications staff. For a while, his Twitter account (@Ont_Ombudsman) was (transparently) manned by a member of his staff, with occasional appearances from the man himself, but over time he grew more and more involved to the point where it’s now the reverse.

Marin was one of the first officials in the Canadian public sector to use social media to engage in a real dialogue with citizens. I know from experience – at one point I challenged him via Twitter on a point he made about one of his reports, and he came back with a clear, well-stated position on the matter. He’s also known for being the person who engaged in a public battle, conducted in no small part in online channels, with the governing Liberal party when it looked like he might not be renewed for a second term in his position.

2. Learn more about open government

Marin’s current focus is the idea of open government – that, in the words of Wikipedia, “citizens have the right to access to the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight.” Having worked closely with the Freedom of Information Coordinator of the Ontario government’s Cabinet Office for several years, I know that there’s a fascinating debate to be had in this area, and one on which I can’t wait to hear Marin’s views.

3. Shine a spotlight on a little-understood position

Let’s face it, most people have absolutely no idea what the Ontario Ombudsman does. It’s one of the reasons I was so thrilled to see Marin begin to use social media – it put a face, a personality and some clarity on what, to many people, is a little-understood role. This is a great opportunity to hear more from the horse’s mouth.

4. Networking “R” Us

One of the great aspects of the Third Tuesday event, beyond the speakers themselves, is the opportunity to meet and get to know a wide variety of people in the industry – from startup, to corporate, to agency, to public sector, to non-profit. They’re all there, and it’s a great chance to get to know new folks.

5. It’s ten bucks

Ten bucks? Are you kidding me? I spend that much on breakfast most days. For that, you get to hear someone who is using new technologies in new ways and who is taking an interesting stance on important issues, and to meet and chat with a bunch of interesting folks. Do yourself a favour – skip the McMuffin or the latte for a day, and check it out.