5 Tips for Effective WebPR

by Lyndi Lawson

WebPR is a cornerstone of New Media; it’s also an appropriate continuation of last week’s newsletter theme - Online Reputation Management.
It’s all about what you do once you’ve got the information; this is the principle behind WebPR. But we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, and heaven forbid, crossing into the domain of my first tip.
So let’s backtrack: communication is a human condition. We’re stuck with it, pretty much. The ability to converse, articulate and generally make ourselves understood is unique. Sure, dolphins make noises at each other, as do many other animals, but it’s not a whole language, with tone and subtly and insinuation and irony and all the other facets of human interaction. Sometimes, despite our natural ability, it’s not easy; people talk at cross-purposes to one another, or shout in the hopes that somehow, increased volume ensures clarity.

Alas, when it comes to WebPR, this is no more effective than screaming at your boyfriend for his ‘accidental’ sojourn into Teazers. Indeed, there are far more effective ways of getting your point across. For those facing the latter dilemma, I teach a class on guilt and subtle manipulation in my free time. For those wanting to understand how best to communicate their brand message, read on…

Tip # 1: Know What People Are Saying About You

Remember the small-town girl (lets call her Sheri – I’m developing a personal attachment to her plight) who got bad rap in last week’s edition of my illustrious 5 Tips for Online Reputation Management? (That’s called blowing my own trumpet.) Maybe I’m taking this example a little far, but nonetheless; if Sheri hadn’t known what people were saying about her, she wouldn’t have understood the need to turn the gossip around in her favour. By switching sides and deflecting the attention onto the unusual size of her boyfriend’s….feet; her gossip hungry class mates (read clients, customers, consumers) forgot all about the fact that she had an up close and personal encounter with those feet in the first place and directed their small talk elsewhere. Sheri, the naughty schoolgirl, is suddenly a hero: bearer of useful and noteworthy information. Do you see where I’m going with this?  If you don’t know and understand what people are saying about you, you can’t respond meaningfully to it.

Tip # 2: Stop Brown-Nosing with the CEO and Worm Your Way into the Minds of the Consumers

It’s one thing to know what people are saying about you; it’s a whole different ball-game trying to understand why they are saying it. This is where a lot of companies fail. If you want to reach your consumers and engage meaningfully with them, you have to start thinking like one. Kind of a “Know Thine Enemy” situation. Except in theory remember, the consumer IS NOT THE ENEMY, and keeping it that way, I suppose is the essence of WebPR. Understandably, your CEO is too wrapped up in the company and your brand to comprehend it objectively. So to effectively get your point across, you have to pretend that he doesn’t sign your pay check. When the American soldiers invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq, were they thinking like George Bush? We can only hope they knew better. Maybe not though; and look where that got them.

Tip # 3: Tell It Like It Is

I’m of the old school; maybe not in years, but in thought. Once upon a time I believed that the beauty of the English language lay in crafting splendiferous art out of words that ebbed and flowed out of the heart and off the tongue blah blah blah. Apparently, in the age of Web 2.0, not so much. As Rob so kindly said to me the other day about something I had put together; “Yes, Lyndi, it’s well-written, but it’s a load of crap.” Certainly one way of saying it like it is; which takes me to my next point.

Tip # 4:  Make Every Word Count

I am the queen of drivel; the master of sounding like I know what I’m talking about. By cleverly stringing five different sentences together, each of which is saying the same thing but sounds entirely different, I can imitate an intelligibly crafted argument. And no one, save for Rob of course, with his uncanny ability to recognise this ‘skill’; would know the difference. I implore you; don’t tell my university professors. When it comes to online media however, in the saddening words of one insightful blogger: the more you say, the less they hear. In the heyday of magazines and print media, people had the time to meander their way through the morning papers over the breakfast table. Alas, like sands through the hourglass, the times, they are a-changing. These days, it’s an information overload out there, and your audience needs to absorb a maximum amount of knowledge in the minimum amount of time. What you need in your writing. Is. Short. Sentences. And Clarity. And a succinct, minimalist way of getting your point across.

Tip # 5: Recognise the Value of Humour

Warning: this may not be effective if you are an undertaker, a gynaecologist or if you are trying to raise money to feed starving children in Africa. There is nothing funny about death, the bits and pieces of the female anatomy or third world famine. Really.
Otherwise, making your audience smile is likely to keep them talking about your brand for longer. You don’t have to be a stand-up comedian. I mean, I’m not even vaguely funny, ask my friends, or my parents, if you don’t believe me; but I’ve kept you reading for 938 words so far. The bottom line: people like jokes. Even lame ones. Sometimes, even about death and gynaecologists. But not third world famine.
Ever.

And so end my fortnightly ramblings. Until next time…

2008/03/19 | permalink | comments (2) | trackbacks (0)

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