Digital | Paul Werth - Columbus Ohio

Not Your Mother’s News Media?

January 21st, 2010

Today’s news media are a far cry from what my mother experienced in the Walter Cronkite-era of my youth. Social media invigorate our communications, broaden our networks and make content-sharing much more immediate.

How will our communications possibilities be transformed by the mainstreaming of social media this year? Here are my thoughts:

People will continue to gravitate toward news that is shareable. We are social beings, and there’s power in using our social networks to share news in real time. On Sunday mornings, I curl up with my newsreader and share content with friends separated by time and space. Big news organizations realize this and have made the ShareIt icon ubiquitous, because news shared in context takes on greater meaning. There are more news stories out there and more in-depth discussion as a result of sharing content.
News publishing that encourages us to be the correspondent isn’t just more engaging – it has more impact for the news audience. This interactive map from The New York Times’ site is a good example. The before-after impacts of the Haiti earthquake are palpable. It’s clear that we like to share the news with our friends, and we like it even more when it’s combined with visuals that “take us to the news.”
Action-oriented news can make a difference. Recent fundraising for Haiti relief efforts and geo-targeting police abuses in Iran give us practical ways to use Twitter for human benefit. When news becomes meaningful information that people care enough to do something about, it makes a measurable difference.

Simply reading a two-dimensional paper at the kitchen table in the morning like my mother used to do is no longer enough. We must be able to experience the news through our senses, in multiple dimensions – along with friends on the other side of the world.

The kitchen table “newspaper” experience just got personal, global and substantive. And, because new media are breaking down communications barriers, even my mother is tapping into the possibilities. She recently joined Facebook.

If you are marveling at the new media mix and relishing the possibilities, drop me a line at kratcliff@paulwerth.com, or comment here. I look forward to reading your thoughts – and starting the dialogue.

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PR and Legal Counsel Work Together to Prevent and Manage Digital Crises

October 21st, 2009

Thanks to those who attended the “Balancing Legal and Communication Perspectives on Social Media” workshop from Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. and Paul Werth Associates on October 20, 2009.

We hope you enjoyed hearing perspectives from both fronts on how social media impacts our workplace and our brands.

The presenters, including myself; Susan DiMickele, a partner at Squire Sanders; Traci Martinez, an associate at Squire Sanders; and Kim Ratcliff, a vice president at Werth, sat down to provide an overview of the insights shared during this complimentary workshop.

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Balancing Legal and Communication Perspectives on Social Media

October 9th, 2009

On October 20, Paul Werth Associates is pleased to partner with the Columbus office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey on a presentation discussing how social media impacts brand reputation and how important it is for the communications and legal teams to coordinate efforts. This pre-registration only event will take place 3-7 pm close to the OSU campus.

The presenters, including myself; Susan DiMickele, a partner at Squire Sanders; Traci Martinez, an associate at Squire Sanders; and Kim Ratcliff, a vice president at Werth, recently sat down to provide a sneak peak of the insights to be shared during this complimentary workshop.

If you’re interested in registering, click here or please contact Adla Blackwell at (614) 365.2319.

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What I Learned About Social Media from Tony the Tiger

July 17th, 2009

Inexperienced “experts” in the social media world don’t understand that it needs to serve a clear purpose and be measured. The social media frenzy is now at the stage where companies aren’t taking so-called experts at their word. Companies are seeking substance—and experience. But are they getting it?

Werth has noticed that rising above the frenzy are some well-positioned strategic thoughts, like Peter Shankman’s recent blog post. But some are focused more on the purely social aspects of social media and represent themselves from an overly casual point-of-view, possible juvenile and often not aligned with corporate culture that seeks results (translation: not all fun and games) for the investment.

Here’s the rub:

Companies that put inexperienced professionals (admittedly power users of social media, but not communications or marketing experts) in the driver’s seat with their social media run the risk of damaging their reputations.

People are panicked to get a social media presence because it’s seen as the next silver bullet. As professional marketers and communicators, we all need to recognize one important and timeless fact:

Social media is—with deference to Tony the Tiger—simply “an important part of a balanced marketing breakfast.” I’m probably dating myself, but readers out there who get the reference are the fastest adopters of social media. According to Nielsen, FaceBook alone has more than 200 million active users with the fastest growing age group adults 35 and over.

Thinking like Tony, social media should be used as an important part of a total program to help achieve marketing goals. On its own, social media can be just like breakfast cereal–an addictive snack easily gobbled down by the handful throughout the day, or something served once daily or weekly with milk, OJ and some banana slices on top.

How can you tell if you are really getting expertise or just meaningless chatter behind your social media effort? Nothing beats a plan that is executed within corporate norms with respect for social media authenticity—while demonstrating results. As you are looking for experts, ask about experience, the strategy behind the program and most importantly, what business results it will generate.

Join us for an informed and results-oriented conversation on social media. Over the next few weeks my colleagues and I will be posting on successes we’re seeing with social media and sharing some amazing results, starting with a Werth client that reached more than 50 percent of its campaign goal in one day with a social media campaign.

If I were asking Tony the Tiger, I’m sure he’d say it’s “Grrrrrrrreat!”

Future posting: Using social media to rise above industry reputation challenges.

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