New technologies are always evolving and changing the way we communicate. According to research from IPG’s Universal McCann and AOL, “One out of every seven minutes of media consumption today takes place via mobile devices…That’s expected to grow by 60 percent over the next two years.” Many of our clients are looking into website redesigns in order to make them more mobile-friendly. It’s interesting to see this shift. No longer is just having a blog good enough. Now it must be mobilized. And in doing so, we are finding that content must be refreshed more frequently, so as not to get lost in the shuffle

MediaPost recently reported on a new survey by Princeton Survey Research International, which found that 90 percent of Internet users between 18 – 29 use video sharing sites, up from 72 percent one year ago. But that’s not all. Online adults ages 30 – 49 also showed big gains over the past year; 67 percent now use video-sharing sites, up from 57 percent in 2008. So we now work with our clients to produce more video content and add pictures and videos to press releases.

Additionally, how we get news and information is changing on a regular (dare I say, daily?) basis. As PR professionals, we focus on people who are influencers. Traditionally, this has been the media or industry analysts. While these folks remain influential, there is a new group of influencers. There are blogs that comment on or repackage the news, some of whom have larger followings than the original content (e.g. Gawker).  People  now regularly forward news to their friends and colleagues via social networks and Twitter.

PR is also an ever-evolving game. Not so long ago, press releases went out via fax. You read that right, fax. That little machine in the corner of the copy room that the interns look at in bewilderment. That was cutting edge. Then came e-mail. Now, as how people get their news is in a state of constant change, we are continually adapting to make sure that we are getting the word out to the right people in the way they want to receive it.  I guess it is not surprising that change has come to news, which after all, is the business of reporting on change.

Prime time television is full of makeover shows which feature people who are totally clueless about how they appear to others. Yet, businesses also do not take a sober look in the mirror and see how their customers perceive them.

Rich Tehrani of TMCNet.com recently wrote a brilliant blog post that is built around a very simple question: “In This Recession, Would You Buy From Your Company?”  According to Tehrani, businesses need to “put yourself in the customer’s position. Do you think they want to buy from companies they aren’t familiar with and those who do not invest in their customers? No – they don’t… If you think just wining and dining decision-makers is enough to win the business, you are wrong.”

On the makeover shows, before the intervention,  people think that others somehow will see the  ”inner beauty” that lies beneath a slovenly mess. Similarly,  in tough times, tech companies think that their products will sell themselves because customers will  see their underlying engineering brilliance. So when money gets tight, they cut their marketing, and stop communicating their successes to their customers. The result is that these companies are not making their best cases at the time when their customers are making decisions about what needs to be to cut.

I am not just making this point to carry the flag for marketing in a tough time. Fortunately,  when the economy started changing at the end of 2007, the Vantage team did take a hard look at how we were perceived by our customers. We saw room for improvement. So, we re-branded the company. To highlight our thought leadership, we started this blog. We now regularly communicate our successes with press releases on new clients and practice areas. We are becoming leaders in social media such as on Twitter and Facebook. These actions led to an extremely successful 2008, and positions us well for 2009.

At the end of the post, Tehrani provides some very important advice: “Ask yourself this question – are you spending your dollars as wisely as you can? What are your goals and are you altering them to suit a rapidly changing economy?…Yes, now is the time for prudence and now is the time to cut unnecessary expenses. But remember – be careful where you cut from – after all, your customers are trying to find a reason to cut you.”

Like on the makeover shows, your business may need some outside unbiased assistance to improve its appearance. If you need help to answer the tough questions that Rich raises at this critical time, please do not hesitate to contact me at radler [at] pr-vantage.com.  There are no obligations or strings attached. So what’s the benefit to Vantage? We get to make a connection with a group of companies that know they need a change and that are more likely to succeed over the long term.  As we have been in business for 20 years, this is the company we like to keep.

Update: Tweet Up at Mobile World Congresson Wednesday Feb. 18 at 5 pm. Location: 7 Sins, Muntaner 7, 08011. Please check out http://blog.pr-vantage.com/?p=1036 for more Tweet Up details.

Surprisingly, less than a month before Mobile World Congress 2009, no one had set up a hash tag on Twitter for the major wireless industry trade show. A “hash tag” uses the symbol – # – followed by a name to allow people to search and find information on Twitter. With a hash tag, people attending the show could connect with other people at the show. Also, people not attending the show could follow in real-time what was happening at the show.

So into the breach jumped the Vantage Communications team. With the help of Tory Klaubo, we checked out who recently had posted Tweets on Mobile World Congress. We then got a discussion going and came up with #mwc09. Then we tweeted the name out to the community, and it was retweeted and retweeted. Our imediate goal is to connect more people attending the show via Twitter. Eventually, the plan is for me to be Live-Tweeting during the show.

Although social networking will be a hot topic for MWC 09, it is surprising that the organizer, GSMA, is not actively using Twitter, Facebook, etc. to enhance the experience of people attending the show. There have been sporadic posts on social media about trying to make a connection. Yet, there seems to be a large void in connecting these people. With travel budgets under siege, trade show organizers need to go the extra mile. Using social media to make connection seems like an easy and inexpensive way to add value.

Until this comes to pass, Vantage is stepping up. Join us by spreading the word about the show via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. To keep up with my Mobile World Congress experiences, follow me on Twitter: @robadler. If you want to meet at the show, e-mail info [at] pr-vantage.com, leave your contact information in the comments or send me a message on Twitter.  But social networking will only be successful if  we all are responsible and take action. Look forward to connecting with you.

Recently, someone posted the Twitter addresses of all of the BusinessWeek editorial staff. What makes this especially interesting was that the poster was not a hacker or a wayward PR person, it was John Byrne, Editor in Chief of BusinessWeek.  In his article, Byrne stated:

“Two months ago, in a post entitled Twittering Your Way Into Our Newsroom, I invited readers to follow me and partake in an experiment to bring the outside in and the inside out. Some 2,640 people are now following me. Thousands of others are following the more than 30 journalists at BusinessWeek who are now on Twitter.

So if you are on Twitter, I invite you into our newsroom via my Tweets.”

The article resulted in the BW editors and reporters on the list receiving a spike of followers on Twitter. Of course, some of the people who took Byrne up on his invitation were PR folks.  The reaction to the reporters to PR folks in the newsroom was decidedly mixed. Some sent tweets welcoming their new followers. On the other hand, Steven Baker, one of the reporters, responded with a blog post, Freak out: Twitter infested by PR.  Baker noted that reporters “thought they shared their Twitter streams with a small group of friends and colleagues—and suddenly dozens of strangers were jumping on: Flacks!”  Baker estimates that half of his 2500 followers are PR folk.

The result is not particularly surprising.  Social media is becoming an important part of every PR campaign. PR agencies need to master social media tools before we can advise our clients on how to use them.  Tom Foremski of Silicon Valley Watcher said it bluntly, “I’ve always said that PR firms cannot claim to know anything about new/social media if they aren’t using it themselves.” 

This is one of the key reason that we created Vantage Points, and I proudly note that 17  people at Vantage have written posts for our blog. It also is why everyone at Vantage is on Facebook (including the CEO), we have our own Facebook Group, and most of us are twittering. For those of you who haven’t used Twitter, its like Facebook on speed, without all the pretty pictures.

So as the media and PR agencies jump into social media, we are finding that it is changing the way we interact with each other.  Facebook and Twitter shine a light on each other beyond the byline and the press release. Sometimes, it means that we see the frustrations that we each face in doing our jobs. Other times, it is sharing parts of our lives that are outside work, such as sharing opinions and recommendations on music.  Moreover, to help briidge the gap, there is now a  Journchat on Twitter,  which is a weekly (Mon 7-10pm CST) conversation between journalists, bloggers and public relations folks.

I also understand  how Stephen Baker felt.  That initial realization of being out in the open can catch you unaware.  I remember the first time someone outside Vantage (an editor!)  joined our group on Facebook.  It felt like someone snuck into our clubhouse.  But we quickly realized that it is really cool thing, and now encourage it.

And now, as John Byrne did…I invite you to follow me and some of my Vantage colleagues on Twitter:

@Robadler

@JenniferKutz

@lydhow

@CatrionaHarris

@lmchen

@cynthialai

@MarieGoltara

@rachelmarshall

@Klister

@toryk

@bschweitzer

@lyndastarr

@ar_perry

A tip of the hat to Catriona Harris for helping make sure this is the last post for 2008; rather than the first of 2009. 

As Brianna mentioned in her recent post, “Modern Day Networking,” “The lines between social and business networking are blurred by increasing demand for up-to-date and transparent communication…” – now more than ever it is important to become involved in online conversations. In order to succeed in today’s online world, you need to not only network (through Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) but you also need to join the conversations. The bad news…there are hundreds of thousands of blogs out there, and trying to read all of these could make you go a little crazy. The good news, though, is that most blog posts are short and you can just scan them. If something pops out at you, then you can dive in for a deeper read and ultimately, leave a comment to continue the conversation.

As they start their own corporate blogs, clients often ask us how they can get readers to pay attention. A recent blog from Leo Babauta addresses that, “Anatomy of a Post: How to Get Blog Readers to Pay Attention.” (Don’t be frightened by the picture as I was!) Leo provides some of the items to remember when drafting blog posts. It has some great points, but one I’ll add is blog often. The more you are posting, you will keep a readers interest, and s/he will want to see what you have to say next. Additionally, keep them short – under 300 words is ideal.

Best of luck in YOUR blogging adventures!

It’s no surprise that recent trends of social networks, YouTube celebrities and text messaging have created a social culture of always connected, self-broadcasting, social media networkaholics. And I mean that in a good way – I include myself as part of this culture.

Years ago networking implied in-person introductions, handshakes and piles of business cards. Although that is still the case in many instances, on an everyday level, networking today has extended beyond in-person or formal meetings. The lines between social and business networking are blurred by increasing demand for up-to-date and transparent communication, and the best means to meet this demand is through the always-on technology of social and mobile networks.

It is no longer acceptable to remain passive to the online scene, or only to socialize face-to-face. Friendster, MySpace and Facebook started the trend years ago, when online networking was at its infancy. But now social networks have multiplied to suit any and every nuance of taste, extended onto our mobile phones, overflowed our inboxes and even crept into the business world as a legitimate tool for making contacts.

Now, social networking is as hip for professionals as it is for college students or teenagers.

John Murrell of Good Morning Silicon Valley said it best when he stated, “it’s sort of funny that a system built by notoriously socially awkward geeks has turned into a mammoth, never-ending cocktail party.” John goes on to call the result of all this socializing a “world of constant acquaintanceship,” but that is where we, as public relations professionals, should disagree. At Vantage we have been embracing the new social and mobile networking with gusto, using it as a starting point to forge those good, old-fashioned “real” relationships with media, clients and other professionals in the industry. Feel free to join us on Facebook at the Vantage Group!