OUR APPROACH TO EMERGING MEDIA

© 2009, m strategies inc. All Rights Reserved.

Over the past 15 years, traditional media as we know has changed. Newspapers, once the lifeblood of daily news and information, are struggling to survive and rapidly trying to transform themselves into relevant, profitable businesses.

Television has had to adapt to TIVO and to new Internet-based businesses that offer viewers high quality video. And mobile phones, once burdensome luxuries, are vital for communication for people of all ages. For some segments, their mobile device is the bridge that eliminated the so-called digital divide.

m strategies inc. discovered nearly a decade ago that public relations professionals tended to rely too much on simply using the traditional methods of print and broadcast to reach important audiences. From the outset, the agency embraced the Internet as a viable form of media that was a crucial and integral part of media strategies if our brands were going to win.

It’s very simple. If the manner in which readers and viewers are getting information is getting increasingly fragmented, then we need to understand those trends and seize on those opportunities.

If consumers now have the opportunity to get their news and their advertisements beyond print, TV or radio, then we need to get those messages to them.

Welcome to 2009, and MSI is blazing a trail again. We want to go where the readers, viewers and customers are. Yes, content is still king and messaging has to be carefully crafted to capture people’s attention. That’s why MSI remains highly effective at maximizing clients’ exposure in the traditional methods, but MSI also is working with each of its clients to help them understand the utility and effectiveness of emerging media. So what do we mean by emerging media?

EMERGING MEDIA = TECHNOLOGY-BASED PLATFORMS FOR COMMUNICATIONS

Public relations professionals leverage emerging media with OEO or online editorial outreach, which is

becoming an increasingly important aspect to any public relations initiative.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it refers to outreach to

bloggers, whether citizen journalists or what we like to call “clicks and mortar” media

outlets—like the New York Times, for instance.  The publication has a physical newspaper as well as an online counterpart…

so in the case of OEO, you’d be reaching out to the web editor and leveraging social media platforms (SMO) to reach these influencers (i.e. PR 2.0).

At a time when traditional media is struggling to reinvent itself, m strategies inc. is continuing to integrate emerging media into its approach as a non-negotiable public relations strategy. 

"Knowledge and fluency in emerging media platforms like social media are mandatory for PR agencies like ours in this changing media-scape," said MSI President and CEO L. Michelle Smith.   "With the steady decline of newspaper publication all over the nation and television giving way to platforms like YouTube, 12Seconds.tv and UStream.com, the agency recognizes the need to recommend online media strategies that overlay traditional marketing approaches, or sometimes even replace them."

Neil Foote, Vice President of Strategy and Development and Internet expert for MSI, said the company is well-positioned for the future. "The internet and social media are not new concepts. For the past seven years, MSI has embraced these media as essential elements of any public relations strategy.  For MSI, we consider the internet and social media as integral parts of our internal communications strategy, and actively work with our clients and partners to use these tools to meet and exceed their expectations." 

OUR EMERGING MEDIA MANIFESTO…

In emerging media, our clients will look smart because we must be smart.

We will develop strategies before diving into tactics. We will not “practice” on our client’s dime. We will listen and learn from our clients, their audience and

competitors before recommending or acting. We will build community, develop engaging content that connects

and spurs conversation. We will integrate our strategies within the 360 marketing mix for a

more powerful program. We will not recommend emerging media if it does not make sense

for your audience. We will immerse our team, our agency in social media platforms so

that we know of what we speak. We will stay at least five steps ahead of our clients and our

competitors in OEO and SMO. We will not abandon traditional public relations completely, but

integrate it with PR 2.0 methods when it makes sense. We will measure our outcomes and set goals that are measurable.© 2009, m strategies inc. All Rights

Reserved.

MSI EMERGING MEDIA MANIFESTO

Many agencies just offer clients Facebook and MySpace pages and call that ‘social media strategy.’ While those two huge social networking sites are valuable tactics to today’s public relations strategies, they are not the panacea. That’s why MSI customizes its solutions, by asking “what is it that you want your community of brand fans to do?” so that clients are not receiving a generic approach, and one that will help them meet their business goals.

It’s really all about building a community and starting and facilitating a conversation. Whether it’s using blogs or Twitter, MSI knows that social media & OEO may not be the answer to all public relations strategies; however, we do know that if when we do our research and engage our customers in the brainstorming – we can drive results.

Listen&LearnStrategize Build

IntegrateLaunch Converse

Listen

© 2009, m strategies inc. All Rights Reserved.

MSI EMERGING MEDIA METHOD

EXAMPLE STRATEGY FOR A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

Follow Create

Franchisees & Prospects

Competitors/Other Brands

Industry thought leaders

Naysayers

Subject Matter Experts

Enthusiasts

Media/Bloggers

Opportunities for

Content—tips/advice

Resources—useful links

Promotions/Contests

Relationships

Thought leadership—quoteable source

Resource for answers

One-to-one relationship building

Chats on trends and issues

Market-by-Market “Tweet ups”

Client service

Issues management

(#) hash-tag interest groups

Blog traffic and loyalists

© 2009, m strategies inc. All Rights Reserved.

Engage

m strategies inc. has been on top of surfacing social media trends and has produced engaging blogs and blogger relations programs that connect audiences well before the current surge in social media interest and buzz. The agency can point to several successful PR 2.0 initiatives that have engaged brands with the audiences with which they seek to develop relationships.

The launch of an award-winning campaign for Alberto Culver’s Just For Me™ , a children's hair care brand that at the time needed to reach mothers of multi-ethnic girls, won awards. The agency launched the blog nearly five years ago and was one of the first successful blogs in the hair care industry. 

The agency ushered Church’s Chicken into the Twittersphere with a highly visible and recognized integrated public relations campaign called “Random Acts of Goodness” which garnered an estimated half-billion impressions for the brand. The agency also engaged PR 2.0 to raise awareness for the launch of the brand’s inaugural “adver-gaming” marketing campaign and modular building announcements, which each garnered coverage from an array of marketing trades, consumer media and gaming bloggers.

The agency effectively quieted detractors of a furniture brand who had just embarked on an effort to recruit franchisees. With a mix of internal communications tactics, PR 2.0 and social media outreach, the agency helped “push” negative search results down in Google search results within the first 30 days of the agency’s engagement with the brand.

As for its own social media strategy, the agency launched its own array of social media platforms in 2008 with dynamic content for thought leadership, including a blog called m-musings (mstrategiesinc.typepad.com), a YouTube "webisode" series called m-perspective (www.youtube.com/mstrategiesinc), a presence on Twitter (@mstrategiesinc) and a del.icio.us social bookmarking account.

WHY OEO?

If you want to listen to your audience, create a community around shared experiences, values and brands, social media is a great way to augment your Interactive and marketing plans; but the key to having a great experience in social media is conversation and continuing them not only to hold your audience’s interest, but to eventually call them to action.  This not only means you must make a commitment to the strategies and multiple platforms with staff and know-how, it means that your brand will need to invest in the development of a strategy. After all, the first question to ask before launching your social media strategy is “what is it that I want my community to do?”  Answer that question and you are well on your way to planning tactics that make sense for your brand.  If you can’t answer it, it’s in your best interest not to launch a strategy yet.

When you’re marketing on a dime, go social. If your audience is online, go meet them there with a well-planned social media strategy. Your interactive team can build it, but will they come? Your PR team can articulate and ensure it, and your ad team can integrate and promote it. While many social networks remain free to utilize, think about the best way to connect with your target, and call your agencies to get it moving. You’ll find that a social campaign has less overhead than a traditional one, and gifting editors can be virtual as well. Consider sending a podcast that tells your brand’s story and a downloadable pop tune from iTunes that reinforces your message, with the pitch. Yes…you can do that.

MSI knows that successful public relations outreach includes newspaper and video clips, but it also involves creating a sustainable buzz. With more than 100 million blogs and more than 75 billion text messages sent every month, public relations agencies must find ways to get their clients heard above the noise. That’s why innovative PR 2.0 strategies are required to drive results. By combining traditional public relations strategies with the internet and social media, MSI is able to provide clients a wide variety of measurable results. For MSI, it’s not about jumping on the latest communications trend, but making every effort to understand the new media landscape, study it, test it and continuously find ways to offer clients competitive advantages.

FIVE REASONS TO INVEST IN PR 2.0( There are likely more, but these are the most compelling in our opinion.)

The media landscape is changing. We’ve seen newspapers and magazines fold in favor of online versions over the course of the past year.  In many cases, if you want to place earned media in a publication, the outlet simply may not exist in the same form that it use to.

Citizen journalism is a powerful and real force.  Loved and hated, bloggers are here, and it doesn’t appear that they will be going anywhere soon.  And whether you like it or not, these bloggers have influence.  In the beauty industry alone, citizen journalism has spawned a whole new category of influencers that have a formidable network of followers and friends who turn to them for advice and information.  One beauty blogger can have a blog, a Ning, a Facebook page, a Twitter and a YouTube site where she demonstrates, reviews and launches promotional giveaways.  Ignoring this group of influencers is a big mistake.  To have them on your side is a wonderful thing.  To have them against you, well, then you’d need to invest in issues management, so you may as well befriend them.

Your SEO strategy is really just a robot.  Pay-per-posts and auto tweets can only get you so far.  It may raise your brand in Google search results, but what about content and credibility?  What if you had an OEO strategy to undergird your SEO strategy?  Whoa…now, you’re talking.

Your budget is likely tighter than you’re willing to admit.  You could buy web ads.  You could do some affiliate marketing. But how are you connecting with your target and creating a relationship?  Taking a look at your audience’s emerging media mix may reveal that a well-placed, dynamic and thoughtful blog, some strategic editorial outreach with web editors and bloggers may make your budget stretch further and win you some brand fans online along the way. On the whole, an OEO strategy will cost you less than an online advertising strategy.  

Traditional PR alone is nearly a thing of the past. If you take a look at the latest research on media consumption across groups, even the late adopters are online. Many of the segments are using it to get information.  Shouldn’t your brand be online if that is the case?  Not just spewing marketing speak, but creating relationships and providing useful content that is relevant to your audience’s lifestyle or business needs?  Ignoring cyberspace is a no-no.  More and more seniors have Facebook pages.  This should be a wake up call. A layer of OEO with traditional PR strategies can prove to be a winner.

M STRATEGIES INC. CAN HELP…

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