I recently participated in a webinar for the Ocala Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.  My topic was building social media into your business plan.  Social media is a game changer for businesses and as a result companies are rethinking resources (people), process and technology .  And, with employees engaging in the social landscape many companies have finally realized the necessity for policies and guidelines.  My video discusses several question that executives should ask about their own organizations, with the first one being:  Just because you have a social media policy, does this mean that all of your employees actually want to participate in social media?

I recently spoke at the Florida Public Relations Association’s (FPRA) National Conference in Boca Raton, Florida.  It was an excellent conference with a variety of top notch speakers who covered topics ranging from Disney’s community relations program to the basics of SEO.  I participated on a panel session, “PR under Fire” and discussed a few of the challenges in the PR industry today.  One reason PR is under fire stems from PR professionals being seen as nothing more than handlers and facilitators of information.  For years, unfortunately, our work has been reduced and described by the media and bloggers as broadcast messages in news releases with spin and hype that carry little value or meaning for the market.  On a positive note, I also said that PR 2.0 would enable PR professionals to use social media to become influencers and to rebuild our reputation to the rightful status that we deserve.

I wasn’t alone when I offered this advice.  Later that day, I sat in on Joe Curley’s presentation.  Joe is an APR, CPRC and has been providing PR counsel to Universal Parks & Resorts for about 25 years.  He presented on the topic, “PR is Not Always Loved by Management: Here’s How to Get the Romance Started.”  Joes theme was similar to mine….you have to gain back credibility and be seen as a valuable asset.  Although Joe did not discuss social media or PR 2.0, he did touch on many excellent tips to get recognized by management as a strategic planner and someone who should have a seat at the boardroom table.  Of course, if you add the ability to use listen through social media communications and customize a meaningful story, you’d surely have a PR champion!

Here are a few of Joe’s top tips for you to consider:

• Don’t wait to be asked
• Know what keeps the CEO up at night
• Analyze the big picture, not just the snapshot
• Get involved in the company’s policy making process
• Serve as the conscience of the organization
• Develop and present action-oriented decision-making information to management
• Know everything you can about your company’s operations (after all you are the story teller)
• Monitor the competition and the marketplace
• Focus your PR activities on objectives that clearly support the company’s business goals

There is so much that we can do to be PR influencers whether it’s social media related or just plain good communications and business practices.  Can you think of any other tips that would help to change the image of PR and position us as influencers rather than just handlers of information?

I had the pleasure of visiting Tallahassee this week and speaking to the members of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA).   This was my first trip there and it was a memorable one.  From the beautiful buildings (especially the old Capital building and Florida State University) to the hospitality of the people and the friendly welcome, I have a new appreciation for Tallahassee.  Another unforgettable part of the trip was the professionalism, energy and forward thinking of the FPRA.

The range of social media and PR 2.0 knowledge varied in the group, from the pros who knew that they had to learn a lot more about social media to the experienced members who were already figuring out the best way to use social networks to connect their brands to customers.  Regardless of the level of knowledge or SM skill set, as I presented and looked around the room, I could feel the energy, see the smiles, the nodding of the heads and the overall sentiment that “YES, we can use social media to reinvent our PR industry!”  It was a good feeling.

The core areas of focus in my presentation, what I wanted each and every member to remember when they walked away that day: attitude/commitment, continued education and then paying it forward, and a willingness to explore and use social media (first individually and then on behalf of their brands).  We discussed what was wrong with PR and how social media will fix the issues by using conversations and relationship building to truly put the public back in PR. We’ve been saying it all along, but until now, we haven’t really been forced to practice it.

Some highlights of the meeting and the areas I thought the FPRA found the most interesting:

The Evolution of the Pitch: Together we looked at how the pitch has evolved.  It’s no longer that old process of get the messages from the top, draft the news release (don’t forget those canned quotes) and send it out over the wire.  Then, you hold your breath and hope it sticks!  When I showed my diagram on the Evolution of the Pitch (developed by @briansolis of PR 2.0), I think the group may have found it overwhelming in the beginning.  But, a detailed explanation of the different influencers and the importance of how to humanize the story really showed a much better approach to getting your news to market.

The Conversation Prism: (by @briansolis and Jess Thomas):  They loved the Conversation Prism.  I used version 2.0 and we talked about the great opportunities in the Social Media universe and how there’s a tremendous world with different types of social networks far beyond Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  We also discussed how to take the Conversation Prism and narrow the universe to a Conversation Grid (once you identify frequency of conversations) and subsequently identify points of engagement on an Engagement Grid (both of these tools developed by my agency PFS Marketwyse).

The Conversation Prism Workflow Process: The discussion walked through the process of listening and observing all the way through to participation and sharing insight and feedback.  There were many people taking notes and a very high level of interest.  I don’t believe anyone had heard of the Conversation Prism or had seen it before.  I mentioned that it’s in mine and Brian’s book, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations (in a table format rather than the colorful diagram in my presentation).

Some excellent questions surfaced (and you know how much I love to review the questions) relating to some of the individual member challenges.  These questions led to discussion around geo-targeting, legal issues with respect to comments on blog posts, learning to filter the noise in social networks, what to do if you have a troll, measuring blogger authority and the best use of the SMR.

I was excited by the interest, the questions and also the feedback I received on Twitter!  FPRA is on board with Social Media and PR 2.0 and its members are seeing the true value of engaging in dialog and building relationships the proper way in Web communities.

It is my goal to work with other PR and communications professionals to navigate the social media landscape. We are all in it together and still learning together.  If I can help you with anything, let me know.  At the same time, feel free to add to the discussion about your meetings and seminars.  What type of progress you’ve seen in the PR 2.0 arena?

Thank you FPRA for a fabulous trip to Tallahassee!

I’m working on a presentation for the Florida Public Relations Association. Their annual conference, PR Under Fire, is in August 2009. My presentation will help PR professionals to understand how they can be better partners with their clients by focusing on three important factors: attitude, education and technology. Here’s are some highlights from the presentation.

Link to Podcast: Todays PR Agency: Partner not Predator