The Measurement Standard: Blog Edition

Your Guide to Survival in the World of the Social Web

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations
How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR
by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge
ISBN-13 978-0-13-715069-4
Published by FT Press

Reviewed by Katie Delahaye Paine

I'm a big believer in the "Meant To Be" factor, a.k.a. synchronicity, and the law of getting what you need when you need it. If ever an industry needed a book, it's the public relations industry, and it's this book. (See The Paine of Measurement, also in this issue.) Read more about the book at Brian Solis' PR 2.0 blog.

Solis and Breakenridge begin by laying out all the problems with PR in the new age of social media, and they explain why the old rules no longer work. They make some great arguments as to why the reputation of PR is in serious trouble and why there's some question as to whether it will survive as a profession at all.

But beyond that gloom and doom is where Putting the Public Back in Public Relations really shines. It's the GPS that PR people need to guide them out of the weeds and wilderness.

This book tells you how to build relationships, not just accumulate eyeballs. It talks about how to do blogging right and how to "release" news into this new environment. It covers video news releases, corporate blogging, and how to participate in social networks.

Best of all, it provides some great "rules for engagement" for the PR people who are confused by all this new media. These rules will be invaluable to anyone trying to navigate their way through the social media maze. They include:

• How to target people in social media,
• Rules for breaking news,
• 10 principles for ethical contact, and
• 9 rules of engagement.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am quoted in the chapter on measurement. I strongly agree with Solis and Breakenridge's recommendations on how to measure social media, and I can't help but congratulate them for devoting 20 pages to metrics. It's good that they also get into the whole web analytics discussion. Knowledge of this tricky field is a requirement for PR people in the new world, but too often overlooked or avoided.

So, for anyone just taking the plunge into the world of the social web and PR, this is the lifesaver you need to survive.

A Book for Times of Distrust

Book Review

How to build and rebuild trust.

The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey, 2006, Free Press, 384 pps.
Buy it now at Amazon.com.

Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

I'm always a little skeptical of a book with "Red-hot Relevant!" on the cover. But this one is actually just that relevant. If the collapse of the banking system is a result of failure of trust (and many people think so; see here, and here, and here), then this book is indeed highly relevant to our times.

What makes it particularly germane is that it doesn't just talk about the effects of lack of trust, but also gives some pretty good advice on how to rebuild trust. (AIG are you listening?)

The premise of the book is that heightened trust makes people and organizations more productive and more efficient. (This, by the way, is supported by lots of research. See, for instance, this paper by Fussell and Hazleton on the connection between social capital and transaction costs.)

Covey's "speed of trust" is the idea that if you trust someone, then it is easier to work with them; you are less likely to require complicated contracts, lots of lawyers, and lengthy negotiation. Low levels of trust yield more lawsuits, more politicking, and more negative behaviors. High levels of trust mean people get things done faster and spend less time covering their butts.

The most important point he makes is that trust is not some mushy, soft quality that can't be measured. It's a hard number and easily quantifiable. (Needless to say we agree with him there.)

The Trust Tax

Covey says that lack of trust results in a "trust tax" on organizations. He cites examples of the actual costs and dividends that organizations have experienced.

He suggests that organizations with virtually nonexistent trust pay an 80% tax in micromanagement, militant stakeholders, and redundant hierarchies. Organizations with very low trust pay a 60% tax, with costs mounting for unhappy employees, unhealthy work environments, intense politics, and time wasted defending positions and decisions. Even at a fairly common low trust level, characterized by lots of CYA and hidden agendas, organizations pay a 40% tax.

Covey suggests that organizations with high levels of trust receive dividends: high levels of collaboration and partnering, effortless communications, and fully aligned systems and structures.

Trust and Personal Credibility

Covey outlines four core elements of personal credibility that are crucial to improving your trust levels:

1. Integrity: Are you congruent?

2. Intent: What's your agenda?

3. Capabilities: Are you relevant?

4. Results: What's your track record?

He then suggests 13 behaviors that can raise your trust levels. These behaviors can be applied to organizations as well as individuals:

1. Talk straight

2. Demonstrate respect

3. Create transparency

4. Right wrongs

5. Show loyalty

6. Deliver results

7. Get better

8. Confront reality

9. Clarify expectations

10. Practice accountability

11. Listen first

12. Keep commitments

13. Extend trust

Marketers and organizational types will want to pay particular attention to what he calls the third, fourth, and fifth waves of stakeholder trust. The third wave is organizational trust, the alignment of an organization's actions with its word. The fourth wave is market trust, which is essentially the trust component of your reputation. And finally there is societal trust, the principle of contribution, which manifests itself in good community actions.

And, AIG, if you're listening, there's a great chapter at the end on how to rebuild trust once it's gone. But this chapter is not just about AIG and the banks. Our difficult economic times mean that more and more companies are losing trust by laying off workers, and disappointing customers and stakeholders. As a result, the need to rebuild trust is becoming a core competency for us all.

David Moore's "The Opinion Makers" Will Make You Think Twice Before You Believe the Latest Polls

Book Review

Don't Believe the Hype

The Opinion Makers, by David Moore, Beacon Press, Boston, hardcover, 196 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0807042328. Buy it at Amazon.com.

Book Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

The Opinion Makers is one of those books that changes your entire view of the world. Seriously. Once you read it, you'll define your life in BTOM (Before The Opinion Makers) and ATOM (After The Opinion Makers).

• BTOM, you probably are worried or thrilled to see McCain's numbers go up while Obama's are going down. ATOM, you won't know what to think.
• BTOM, you probably believe what the newscasters are saying about the general public's perceptions of Sara Palin. ATOM, you'll realize you haven't a clue what people think.
• BTOM, you probably believe that most people want offshore drilling in the US. ATOM you'll believe it's all campaign hype.

David Moore -- author, pollster and former Gallup insider -- lays out an incredibly compelling case as to why you shouldn't believe any of the polls you read about in the media.

In the interest of transparency, David Moore is a fellow Granite Stater. He's been to my house, he was my hero after he wrote How to Steal an Election, and he works for the Carsey Institute which is doing some of the coolest research into rural America. So I'm a fan, and when I heard him on The Diane Rehm Show the other day, I was intrigued by the premise of his new book. But I wasn't prepared for a life changing experience.

TOM is one of those books that gets under your skin. You'll find yourself thinking about it when you listen to the news or read a paper, and your friends will soon get annoyed when you cite Moore's research and poke holes in all their political arguments.

Moore's major premise is that because most polls don't ascertain whether people have made up their minds before they ask the respondents how they feel about an issue or a candidate, they are essentially making a leap of faith that the people they are talking to will vote two months from now. The problem, he argues, is that the media companies that are paying for the polls, don't think it makes news to talk about the fact that 80% of the population is still undecided.

Most important, he argues, is that most polls do not take into account the average respondent's lack of knowledge about whatever subject it is that they're being asked about. In many of the cases he cites the level of understanding is very low, so the impact of how the poll is worded is incredibly important, and frequently skews the results.

Moore's most compelling arguments come from the comparison he makes between the results of different polls. He compares results from the leading polls -- Pew Harris, CBS /NY Times, CNN/Gallup, Roper -- and comes up with 20+ point differences, depending on how questions are asked, and what words are actually used in the poll.

In the wake of the complete failure of most polls to accurately predict voter habits in the 2008 election cycle, there have been many questions about the validity of polls. Moore addresses many of these, including:

• Cell phone usage: By the end of 2009, 40% of the US population will fall into the cell-phone-only category.
• Falling response rates, down from 80% in George Gallup's day to 20% or less today.
• The accuracy of on-line polling, which Moore calls "a dubious alternative."

Polling: A Major Threat to Democracy

Moore's most intriguing discussion is on the impact that these flawed polls are having on our democratic society. When George Gallup, Moore's former employer, first perfected the notion of polling as a way of gauging public opinion, he saw his work as a fundamentally positive contribution to democracy. Today, Moore argues, Gallup's legacy is one of the biggest threats to democracy that our society faces.

Given how easy it is to manipulate poll results, and the conflicting interests and agendas of those sponsoring the research, to draw valid conclusions about how Americans feel about an issue based on current polling methodology is an enormous mistake, says Moore. The problem is that, increasingly, politicians are doing exactly that. A shift in public opinion frequently dictates a political flip-flop or at the very least influences the way a particular politician will vote. Polls also strongly influence the wording and nature of legislation that gets introduced.

The truly scary concept is that those votes and legislation, which ultimately impact every American, are based on enormously flawed and shaky data that most researchers would not accept as valid. Unfortunately, it seems, every media outlet and politician are all too willing to accept it as gospel.

Summer Reading: Five Public Relations-Related Books Reviewed

Your Measurement Reading List

• Personality Not Included by Rohit Bhargava
  "...a very fun read, and one that every CEO can learn from and enjoy."

• Manage the Media (Don't Let the Media Manage You) by William Holstein
  "...short and easily digestible, but full of great stories and good advice."

• Stirring It Up, How to Make Money and Save the World by Gary Hirshberg
  "...the whole book is a really delightful tale of small over big, good over evil, and authenticity over traditional marketing."

• Stop the Presses, The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference by Richard Levick and Larry Smith
  "...it belongs in your reference library."

• 7 Steps to Publicize Just about Anything by David Carrieres
  "...I hate this book."

Book reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

Okay, so it's vacation time, and I imagine most of you are probably stretched out on a beach blanket with the latest from Janet Evanovich, Catherine Coulter or Stephen King. Or maybe you are fighting the glare to peer into your BlackBerries and Kindles. Just in case you want to brush up on your measurement and media skills this summer, we've put together a list of measurement-related (well, pretty much) books that are relatively vacation-friendly. Don't forget the suntan lotion...

Personality Not Included
by Rohit Bhargava
McGraw Hill, 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0-07-154521-1
(book site here)

The short answer:

(5 out of 5)

This is a very fun read, and one that every CEO can learn from and enjoy. I'm not sure that the average PR person can take Bhargava's advice and sell it to the board, but it's full of wonderful examples of how companies can and should insert personality into their communications strategy.

The principle is simple enough: Companies with personality survive and thrive. Companies that don't have a personality -- or that have lost it along the way (Starbucks are you listening?) -- fail. And, in this day and age of user generated media, it's more important than ever to have a personality.

Bhargava's advice is to find the personalities within your organizations and let them have at it: blog, speak, lecture or what have you. And if you don't have personalities within your organization, go out there into the blogosphere and find them. Make your company personality out of spokespeople that you draw from the fans and enthusiasts of your brand or your product or what you have to say. He's also very wise in telling people that they have to attune their antenna to find these moments of personality.

The best part is his tips on how to be authentic:

• Define a credible heritage
• Demonstrate passion and belief
• Foster individuals instead of people
• Have motives beyond profit

 

Another book I really like is...

Manage the Media
(Don't Let the Media Manage You)
by William Holstein
Harvard Business Press, ISBN 13: 978-1-4221-2148-1
(on Amazon.com)

The short answer:

(4 out of 5)

Written by veteran business reporter William Holstein, Manage The Media is an excellent companion to Personality Not Included, because it's specifically targeted to CEOs and includes many of the same themes: Be real, don't try to fake it, don't try to dodge and hide, be authentic and as transparent and honest as possible. It's full of great examples of how not to deal with the media, and includes some good analysis of went wrong in many well-known crises.

The best part is Holstein's emphasis on incorporating communications into corporate strategy. The chapters Embracing New Media and Creating Organizations That Communicate were my personal favorites. This is a book you can read in an afternoon at the beach. It's short and easily digestible, but full of great stories and good advice.

 

Stirring It Up,
How to Make Money and Save the World
by Gary Hirshberg
Hyperion, ISBN 13: 978-1-4013-0344-0
(book site here)

The short answer:

(4 out of 5)

Gary Hirshberg sprinkles some truly inspired marketing and PR ideas throughout Stirring It Up. Besides saving the planet, its message -- like the two books above -- is that being who you are and having a personality is key to success. The whole book is a really delightful tale of small over big, good over evil, and authenticity over traditional marketing. If you just want the great ideas, then read Chapter 4.

Hirshberg puts it brilliantly when he says, "No matter how far we ship our yogurt, whether three miles or three thousand, it's the last eighteen inches -- the distance between the yogurt cup and the consumer's mouth -- that makes all the difference... We are a spoon-to-mouth brand and we expand our customer base largely by making an emotional connection with those who sample our product... We use every interaction to strength the pact we've made."

In a brilliant analogy, he calls advertising "the fertilizer of conventional business," likening the spraying of ad messages to what happens in non-organic farm fields. Both treatments are repetitive and wasteful applications that cost more and more money, and yield less and less. This book is written the way Gary talks, with humor, passion and a clear unambiguous style that makes it perfect summer reading.

Here's the 2nd edition of...

Stop the Presses,
The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference
by Richard Levick and Larry Smith
Watershed Press ISBN 13: 978-0-9759985-2-6
(book site here)

(2 out of 5)

If you know nothing about crises or PR or the media, this is a great place to start. If nothing else, it belongs in your reference library. The big addition to the second edition is a chapter on blogs. It's a very good synopsis of the implications of social media on crisis communications, and offers some good advice.

And finally we have a book that you can leave on the shelf...

7 Steps to Publicize Just About Anything
by David Carriere
Gliterati, ISBN 13: 978-0-9793384 7 2
(at Amazon.com)

The short answer:

(1 out of 5)

I don't like David Carriere's 7 Steps to Publicize Just About Anything. In fact, I hate this book.

Consider this sentence: "Neither the immediate impact of a publicity campaign or the long-term consequences of its success are actually quantifiable." His measurement advice is to -- get this -- generate "informal and unscientific discussions around your own kitchen table." ARRGGHH! That's how millions of companies have wasted billions of marketing dollars: by listening to the loudest mouths and the biggest egos at the table.

He devotes several pages to clipping services, suggesting that you go through all of the articles and select the best quotes, and then bind them in book form. Right: Cut down a forest to create a big meaningless thud factor, to which no one will pay any attention to anyway. Makes perfect sense to me.

As for the rest of the book, well, there is nothing wrong with it, just very little that's new. It's mostly basic advice we've heard before: use targeted pitches to key reporters, tailor your pitch to the needs of reporters, create a timeline and a calendar, send out a press release.

Okay, to be fair, if you've never done a launch before there are some good tips in here. And there's a nice compilation of terms and tools. But the fact that he lists "email blasts" as a recommended tactic makes me nuts. He does include a paragraph or two on blogs, social media releases and the like. But it is all very 1999, and reflects a traditional command-and-control mentality. It's thinking like this that will ensure that PR people continue to be undervalued, underappreciated, underpaid, and dismissed as fluff. Thank you very much Mr. Carriere.

Wilson and Ogden Author a Wonderful Book on How to Do PR Right

Book Review:
Strategic Communications Planning For Effective Public Relations and Marketing, 5th Edition

by Laurie J. Wilson and Joseph D. Ogden
Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2008, 284pp
Buy it at Barnes&Noble

Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

A new PR/Communications/Marketing book shows up in my mailbox every other week. If I know the author, I might actually open it up and read it. If not, the first thing I do is see if there's even a mention of measurement anywhere in the text. If not, it goes right into the donations bin at the Durham Public Library.

When Strategic Communications Planning arrived this week I immediately conducted the measurement test. With my usual skeptical and biased perspective I turned to Chapter 10, "Effective Communications Measurement and Evaluation." The first thing I read was a page on measuring social media -- which I apparently authored. Not only does it promote my basic rules of measurement, it offers up "Katie Paine's Nine Immutable Laws for Measuring Social Media."

Flattery gets you everywhere, of course, so I was hooked. I went back to the beginning and read the entire book. It's great. I suggest that this book be required reading, not just in every PR class on the planet, but in most PR firms as well. I know anyone in my organization that even dreams of speaking to a client will have to read this book first. It's a wonderful overview of how to do PR right.

The core premise is that public relations is all about building and maintaining relationships. (Blatant self-promotion warning.) In many ways, this book is the prequel to my own book, Measuring Public Relationships. If you want proof, look no further than the title of Chapter 1: "Trust and the Relationship-Building Approach to Communications."

It starts with a wonderful explanation of the transition from one-way, publicity-driven communications to the synchronous two-way conversations at the heart of PR today. The reason for the new 2008 edition is the impact of social media on PR relationships, and there's a lot more information on social media than any other PR text book I've seen. And it's great, highly practical advice.

My favorite part of the book is its organization and simplicity. Take this, for example:

In public relations we are ultimately trying to get people to:

1. Do something we want them to do

2. Not do something we don't them to do

3. Let us do something we want to do

And of course, once you've identified which of these three outcomes you want, measurement becomes remarkably simple.

The style and format are a key element to the book's success. It's beautifully laid out, with clear, easy-to-read text and lots of great "Tips from the Pros" that reinforce the points being made. It's full of case studies and exercises that prove and back up the lessons.

So whether you're new to PR or an old pro who wants to freshen your skills and learn more about social media, this is a great place to start.

Paul Gillin's "The New Influencers" Gets Highest Recommendation

Your Measurement Reading List

Understand the Coming Change
The New Influencers by Paul Gillin

There have been countless books written about the blogosphere, ranging from the worthless to a handful that are truly useful. Paul Gillin's The New Influencers is at the far end of the scale: It is really great, exceptionally good. It has my highest recommendation. In the Must-Read-If-You-Want-to Survive-the-21st-Century trilogy, The Cluetrain Manifesto is the prequel, Naked Conversations comes in the middle, and now The New Influencers is the sequel.

As I say in my Paine of Measurement column for this issue, my standard answer to a wide variety of questions is "Ask your customers." When asked what someone should do about the blogosphere, I tell them: "Read Naked Conversations." And from now on, I'm adding, "Read The New Influencers."

Now, I have to say that author Paul Gillin is one of the people who have changed my life. Way back when, I was interviewing for the Director of Corporate Communications job at Lotus, and I was presented with a story that he'd just written that was critical of the company. The question was: "What would you do about this!" I think I said I'd take Paul to lunch and find out what was on his mind. It must have been the right answer because I got the job. And about a month later I really was having lunch with him, learning the ins and outs of the PC media world.

We've crossed paths numerous times in the intervening two decades and he's always been just a little ahead of the pack. And that's exactly where you need to be in this new, ever-evolving world where deadlines and gatekeepers are as useful as buggy whips and 8-track tapes. So go read this book.

What makes The New Influencers really great is not just the solid practical advice, but also how Paul approaches the fundamental dynamics of the new media world. He makes you understand the DNA of this new society and how it works, which is a much better place to start off from.

Too many people do not comprehend how fundamental the coming change is. If they read Gillin's book, then they will. -KDP

2.0 Good Books on Marketing 2.0

Book Reviews

2.0 Good Books on Marketing 2.0:

Larry Weber's
Marketing to the Social Web

 

and

David Meerman Scott's
The New Rules of Marketing and PR

 

by Katie Delahaye Paine

There might be a thousand people on the planet that fully grok the implications of social media on the world of marketing. Then there are another ten thousand or so who think they understand it. And then there's the rest of the marketers on the planet who are clueless about what is about to hit them. For any of the millions in that third category, here are two new books that should really help.

Marketing to the Social Web

In Marketing to the Social Web, Larry Weber relies on his decades of experience as a marketer and PR guy (founder of Weber now Weber Shandwick, one of the agencies I dealt with when I was director of corporate communications at Lotus) to provide a good explanation of what is about to happen and how to cope. He's great on the history and his personal stories and experience with the people he's talking about lend a level of credibility that is missing from many of these sort of books.

Here's a quote from the first chapter (and you can download the whole chapter here):

Rather than broadcasting marketing messages to an increasingly indifferent, even resentful, audience jaded by the 2,000-plus messages the average American is reputedly exposed to every day, marketers should participate in, organize, and encourage social networks to which people want to belong. Rather than talking <I>at<I> customers, marketers should talk <I>with<I> them. And the social web is the most effective way in the history of the world to do just that on a large scale.

His lists are great, like "Seven Steps to Marketing on the Social Web" and "Ten Rules for Private Communities." He covers all the bases from blogs and social networks to podcasting and the future of TV. And, of course, I have to give the book extra points because he includes a good chapter on measurement that even I can't find anything to argue with.

Do I consider Marketing to the Social Web a must read for every marketer? No. It's too focused on big success stories and broad brush strokes of what is happening in big consumer markets, and a bit too based on one man's opinion for my taste. But will I quote it often? Absolutely. It is chock-full of great stories and terrific statistics, and for many it will be a very worthwhile read.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

On the other hand David Meerman's Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR is a must-read for marketers, regardless of whether you are marketing a yoga studio in New Hampshire or luxury automobiles in Beverly Hills. It is truly a how-to book that gives basic instructions for any marketer to get going in the new social marketing space.

Compared to Weber, Scott devotes relatively little time to the ancient history of marketing, preferring instead to present how to write for a blog, how to podcast, how to write a press release that's not for the press, how to use social networking sites, how to change your web content to complement your social media strategy and how to use search engine optimization in this new environment.

Of course the one thing missing from Scott's book is any mention at all of measurement. But that's okay, you can read my book to get that…

Your Measurement Reading List: Three Books About Blogging Reviewed

YOUR MEASUREMENT READING LIST
Book Your Ticket To Blogistan
Three books on blogging reviewed:

• The Corporate Blogging Book, by Debbie Weil


• Naked Conversations by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble


• Dispatches from Blogistan by Susan Stefanac

Book reviews by Katie Delahaye Paine

As blogging moves from fringe to center stage, bookstore shelves are filling up with books about blogging. Search Amazon.com's book section for "blog" and you get almost 5,000 results. Personally, I think reading a book about blogging is sort of silly. The art is evolving so quickly, you're better off reading blogs than reading a book about blogs...

Your Measurement Reading List: A review of Mark Weiner's book "The Value Of PR"

YOUR MEASUREMENT READING LIST
Prove The Value Of PR
Mark Weiner's "Unleashing the Power of PR: A Contrarian's Guide to Marketing and Communications."
Book Review by Katie Delahaye Paine

This book is a great 250-page argument for research and measurement in PR. I hope lots of people buy it. In fact, I hope lots of people buy it and give it to their bosses. If you don't know anything about measurement or PR it's a good place to get started...