It's Complicated with Peter Shankman (Facebook pun to prove a point)

UPDATE: This post has been modified, as I have come to find out from Peter himself that he researches and engages with the services he promotes. In particular, Peter has used both MyMediaInfo and Vocus at one time or another, and when HARO took off, he was no longer in need of their services.)

Relationships have their good days and their bad ones, and let me start off by saying Peter Shankman is a great man. His superpower, according to his Google Profile, is talking really fast. Believe me, he does, as I’ve seen him in-person up on stage wowing hundreds. But I have a gripe, however. While I appreciate HARO and all of its media goodies pertaining to Axiom’s client base, I don’t much care for the sponsored product touts in the start of the e-mail.

This is the kind of thing that turns people away from social media. I’m not referring to prospect PR clients or businesses here. If anything, monetization is good for business (WE ALL KNOW THAT)… but not for the many users outside of the frame of mind of commercialization, or wanting to drive revenue from it. These are the ones who use social media for networking, entertainment and information-sharing purposes—its original tenets. While I understand that innovation is what turned Facebook into a moneymaking platform for companies, we have to remember that Facebook was first and foremost a community for college-age kids, and HARO started as a service to “help a reporter out.”

But product touts in a mass e-mail send-out to a bunch of PR practitioners (or whomever is the communications world this is sent out to) is not exactly on point with some of the mentioned brands’ target audience-- though millions would pay for this type of exposure. That leads me to believe that being on point with brand messaging is no longer a concern; that is if done in a social networked-type space. People just want the exposure, period. Seems like a bad pitch to me.

[paragraph omitted]

I really wish these product touts would be toned done a bit. [line omitted]. I feel such a disconnect lately that I think I might end the relationship, but I’m scared to leave. He’s independently wealthy, very responsive, and has a got a great sense of humor… I just don’t know.

What do you think?

The social media point of differentiation: A must read for anyone Twittered out on followers or so over Facebook friend additions.

Earlier on in the year, I commented on Jason Baer’s blog about the harsh reality of too many marketers and PR practitioners flocking to one social network or blogging space in order to claim it a results-driven specialty for new business. While fail whales are now even more common on Twitter with its overall visitors’ base reaching 100+ million, Friendfeed remains “unbeached” with its stellar ‘rooms’ platform. But let’s not talk about the many marketers online who arrive in droves at the next best thing; rather, let’s talk about what so many aren’t doing and should be—in order to provide a social media point of differentiation.

Conceiving your own social media tool, much like Fallon has recently done with Skimmer—with the help of Adobe Air (hat tip to @bbellx for showing me this). This application is “designed to streamline, beautify, and enhance the experience of participating in your most frequently used social networking activities. It improves upon your day-to-day interaction with multiple social networks, removing distractions and providing a rich experience that is particularly suited to multimedia content.” Sounds nice, huh? That’s because it is. And what’s really great is Fallon can go into a new business pitch with this trusty, owned and operated tool.

Fallon hasn’t been the only agency of record who has jumped on board with being the "firsts.” Waggener Edstrom announced earlier in the year its twendz application. This budding technology allows for the exploration of Twitter conversations and sentiment. "As the conversation changes, so does twendz by evaluating up to 70 tweets at a time. When new tweets are posted, they are dynamically updated, minute-by-minute." You can choose to make the API work even faster by simply moving the bar over on the tracking meter. That way, you see updates every second. What a great thing for businesses worldwide!

Monetizing your agency’s custom groups or social network sites. With the amount of FREE tools used to build your own social network, aggregate video content, blog comments, discussion threads, and posts—it’s easier than you think to cash in on what you’ve created. If I told you what Axiom has up its sleeve for several of its LinkedIn trade groups, I’d probably have to tar and feather you. But if you’re curious on self-monetization, here are some ideas:

• Using Ustream.TV or Justin.TV to host a chat room with industry specialists or analysts talking about your client’s product. Leverage your existing fan base that you’ve already created via conversations on microblogs or discussion boards as your first “Sign me up!” numbers. You might also think of getting your chat backed by some corporate sponsors that nicely supplement what your client is doing and how they’re positioning themselves. That way, everyone gets Web exposure.

• Invite fans of your Facebook Page to be part of your street team where they’ll go out and promote products and services for the clients you work for. Invite new business prospects into the venture with a small fee. Yes, this may be a reality sooner or later, if not already… Olson + Company does something similar in-house with its street teams.

• Or, you could create a massive e-mail distribution service akin to HARO, charge buckets for pay-for-say advertisement, and reap generous rewards from those you’re helping out AND those who are fans of your media service. Have you seen lately how Shankman has been cashing in on HARO?! “What’s Hot on Haro”, multi-faceted sponsorship, and a whole slew of partnerships. (Yes, you too can be Peter Shankman. Well, maybe not.)

Go BIG or go home
While it may be strange to start thinking this way, start thinking BIG. Why? Hasn’t it occurred to you that the innovators of these social networks are nothing but BIG thinkers and dreamers? Who ever thought there’d be a way for online users to connect so quickly with their personal and professional interests in real-time, what’s really on your mind? “Get to the point!” fashion? Twitter has made what we’ve always wanted to say to long-winded friends and acquaintances a reality. Who ever thought that I, Tim Otis, would get to hear your comment on the Daily Axioms blog the minute you said it? Disqus (pronounced "discuss") did.

If you’re not into BIG social media ideas and monetization principles, you'll be hard-pressed to land a client interested in social media exploration—and that’s a reality for the future – if you don’t move away from conventional and traditional approaches now. Go ahead and jump on every social network, but where are the results in that—if not for a couple of solid, will-stand-by-you-to-the-end relationships? Turn your focus to thinking BIG in terms of monetization rather than a propensity to accrue 10,000 followers on Twitter or 500+ connections on LinkedIn.

Remember, your clients are looking for new ways to drive visitor traffic on their site that will result in consumer trial or purchase, or sales leads in general. How are you differentiating yourself here? Not there.

Happy One-Year HARO!

Today marks one-year since the first HARO was published. HARO (Help A Reporter Out) was started by the ever-energetic Peter Shankman as a resource for reporters to connect with information, resources, and other people to help with stories. Three times a day a list of requests is published and sent out all over the world. In a year, the list of subscribers is now up to 70,000 strong and growing.

Consider signing up for HARO's list. If you are a reporter looking for sources, this is definitely the place to go. If you are a marketer or PR person, this is a great list for finding opportunities for your clients (just make sure to read and follow the rules). Happy HARO Day!

Why social networks aren’t for PR Flacks

HARO has helped thousands upon thousands of reporters push their need for content via social network. It even helped me receive some ink for Axiom, per Julio Ojeda-Zapata’s last-minute “Twitter bad for business” request. Still, in the midst of agencies’ desperation for hits to keep client retention high, PR people get a little desperate – resulting in more flacks than friends online.

While Shankman does a really good job of disclaiming proper HARO etiquette here, discussions about PR spam on social networks continue. We’re now seeing posts about proper Twittiquette, a story angle most likely perpetuated by mishaps like these. Despite the attempts to curtail the flacks, peeps like Lois Whitman-Hess are among the many that have or are in the midst of infiltrating social networks. Reporters, journalists, and sound PR peeps-- time to put on your hard hats and dig hard.

If I were a reporter, I don’t think I would appreciate the many social media enthusiasts’ attention to detail in documenting myself and the many other media now part of Twitter. If you think pitching is bad on e-mail, wait for it—just wait for it on Twitter. Sure, you can choose to respond, but the quick update feed might send your head spinning.

A marketer like me, Jim Connolly is a perfect example of how pitches on a Twitter feed can be so daunting—enough to send you packing for FriendFeed. Suddenly e-mail seems tolerable again.

Don’t undermine flacks. They understand that the key to a reporter’s heart, in addition to successfully helping them out with a story deadline, is knowing their kids’ names and favorite pastimes, commenting on their latest family adventure with Garmin, or explaining to them what #followfriday is on Twitter. Following the “thanks” or the @ reply, the leftfield pitches and follow-ups soon commence, as proper correspondence does not lie within flacks’ vocabulary. Plus, being human is even more insanely hard. Flacks are anything but human, so it’s a wonder why transparency is so time-consuming. I repeat; it’s not in their make-up, but well within Facebooker and blogger confines.

So...the next time a blogger reprimands you for not properly using Twitter, or Peter Shankman sends out a mass HARO alert with another etiquette disclaimer at the tip top of his e-mail, take it very personal. The last thing you want attached to your e-mail pitch is “flack” and BULLSH…

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So what do you think? How can PR professionals befriend reporters on HARO and other social networks? How have you been successful in your approach?