Tech PR Gems - Topaz Partners Social Media and PR Blog » Tony Sapienza

Envisioning a “PR Ecosystem”

Tony Sapienza — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:30:03 +0000

A few weeks ago, around the Consumer Electronics Show, I saw a Wireless Week article that talked about 2012 being the “year of the ecosystem” in mobile devices. This comes on the heels of the buzz we began to see last year around the mobile ecosystem. In both cases, ecosystem refers to the coming together of products, services, technologies, channels, service providers, end-users and other elements that combine to define a new, more interconnected world.

It got me thinking that with the broadening of the world of technology PR – in terms of the services we provide, the channels we use, the audiences we reach and how these are all integrating — we should be talking about a “PR Ecosystem” (while I assume this could apply to any area of public relations, I believe this ecosystem is particularly relevant to the tech space, which is Topaz’s focus).

The PR ecosystem encompasses agencies like Topaz that provide an expanding suite of media relations, content development/placement, social media and digital communications services. The ecosystem also includes clients and the other corporate PR and communications groups that are involved in these areas, often in partnership with firms like ours.

The PR ecosystem includes service providers we use to distribute news releases, analyze and target influencers, leverage social networks, create online videos and monitor, and measure and report on our work.

The PR ecosystem of course includes traditional media outlets, a community which has changed dramatically in recent years and contributed to this ecosystem in new ways. Today this media piece of the PR ecosystem includes more online resources, content placement opportunities, journalist bloggers, media-sponsored events and custom publishing services.

The role of influencers and opinion-shapers has evolved, and as a result the PR ecosystem has grown to include the growing number of “citizen journalists” who can impact a company’s reputation with blog posts, online comments, tweets, Facebook updates and other types of social media.

Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and new online channels like Pinterest are all part of the PR ecosystem as well, and we can use them to supplement traditional PR efforts.

And finally, the ecosystem includes other marketing services firms that we partner with – those who provide SEO, Internet marketing, advertising, email and other support that often leverages the same content we’re using.

I could go on, but I hope you get the point: PR has grown far beyond the days of news releases and media calls. The scope of our work has grown, the resources available to us are far greater, the audiences we target have evolved, and there’s far more intersection of PR with other communications disciplines. Together, this begins to define the PR ecosystem.

I’m interested in hearing what others think, and seeing what other areas you feel contribute to the PR ecosystem.

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PR Strategy…With a Holiday Twist

Tony Sapienza — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:54:21 +0000

We’re in the holiday spirit here at Topaz — even when it comes to talking PR strategy. Those of you who received our December e-newsletter will remember seeing this holiday version of “the circle of influence” — the image we use to describe our holistic, multi-faceted approach to PR. In a newsletter earlier this fall, we zero’d in on the inner bands, talking about our focus on extending awareness and building influence for our clients, and on the contacts, content and channels that are at the center of all of support and counsel we provide. In our most recent newsletter, we took a closer look at the programs that encompass this support and counsel — from messaging to social media, from digital communications to traditional media relations. If you haven’t seen our newsletter, please let us know and we’ll email you this and get your on the list for future mailings. And speaking of the future — here’s wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

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Some Thoughts on New Opportunities to Engage the Media

Tony Sapienza — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:42:34 +0000

It seems that for as long as there have been PR professionals there have been media telling us how to do our jobs better. Smart PR folks solicit this input – Topaz holds regular brown-bags with journalists, most recently with Neal Weinberg from NetworkWorld and Doug Banks from Mass High Tech, for this very reason. And we’re always on the lookout for articles that spotlight new ideas. I saw one just this week, titled “33 Things the Media Wish PR People Knew.” With a list that long, there was sure to be some of the usual (“know our deadlines” and “a press release alone isn’t enough”), but there were also some points we wouldn’t have seen just a few years ago – and some helpful reminders. For example, there were tips that stress the importance of compelling email subject lines, multimedia messaging, social media news releases and posting blog comments on their stories and sharing content. These last few points emphasize how media relations has changed for PR professionals – and how we now have new channels we can use to break through and reach a journalist. It’s something we at Topaz think about – and practice – every day. But while these new techniques can help, we know we won’t be successful if the fundamentals aren’t addressed – priorities like identifying/developing a compelling story, articulating it clearly, and building relationships with the media that we’re looking to engage.

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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like A “Technology Christmas”

Tony Sapienza — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:19:55 +0000

We’re already in the thick of the holidays — I can tell by all the stories on consumer trends, Black Friday/CyberMonday reports and (for us PR folks) seasonal opportunties. I’ve contributed to this with a few Facebook posts, and there was one I thought beared repeating here. It was some holiday shopping research spotlighted in the latest issue of AdWeek, and while this covered a range of topics, the area that caught my attention was data on “must have” brands mentioned by consumers in a survey by YouGov. Number one was iPad, followed by Kindle, iPod, Xbox and iPhone. What I found interesting: they’re all technology products. Granted we’re going back awhile, but I can remember a time when few if any technology brands would be considered “must haves” for the holidays. I think this says a lot about the increasing personalization of technology — I know that there will be plenty of technology products under my Christmas tree this year. And while we’re talking consumer tech data, another recent Adweek research story focused on how kids are using technology — for example, 5-8 year olds use a computer several times a week; 39% of 2-4 year olds have used a smartphone or similar handheld; 52% of 5-8 year olds multitask. Based on this, I think we can expect technology products to be “must haves” for many future holidays in the years ahead.

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Multichannel Approach Makes Sense in Marketing…and Public Relations

Tony Sapienza — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:38:37 +0000

I just spotted a story that reports that the majority of small businesses surveyed by Pitney Bowes earlier this year believe that multichannel marketing — including a combination of digital and physical communications — was the ideal marketing mix. The news release on the survey is a few months old, but I’m sure the findings are even more true today. But more important, this got me thinking about the multichannel approach to public relations we at Topaz recommend. There are still those out there who associate public relations solely with news releases and media relations, but we realized long ago that there’s much more that should be part of an effective public relations program. We touched on these areas in the “Circle of Influence” that was the focus of Topaz blog posts and our e-newsletter a few months ago. These public relations channels include crafting, publishing and placing integrated blog posts, articles and other content (what we call “Content Continuity”); creating Twitter initiatives and other forms of “Social Exchange”; and using online video, podcast and other types of “Digital Dialogue”. Even traditional PR tactics like releases and media relations take on a broader focus, as we look beyond new product announcements and create “Thought Leadership” news releases around company data, industry trends and expert perspective on market issues and competitive developments. In media relations, we’ve moved beyond announcement-driven and “ed-opp” follow-up and seek more issues-based opportunities that we call “Trendjacking.” In these and other ways, we’re witnessing a true multichannel approach to PR, and I have a feeling that our clients — like the businesses surveyed for this report — see the value in this strategy.

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Content Marketing Extends the Reach of PR

Tony Sapienza — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:30:20 +0000

I just read a report on a study by HiveFire that states that content marketing is driving the majority of B2B marketing strategies, pointing out that this outranks initiatives like events, advertising and, yes, PR. I’m not surprised by the trend toward content marketing, but I feel compelled to point out that we at Topaz are not asking clients to make a choice between PR and content marketing.

At Topaz, content marketing and content curation are an increasingly important part of the PR mix – and this is often tightly integrated with our traditional, new and social media work. This led us to coin the term “content continuity” to define how we integrate content – across blogs, articles, podcasts, news releases and other communications channels.

So while we agree that content marketing is growing in importance, it’s not competing with PR – Topaz is using this to expand PR’s reach and impact.

What are your thoughts on this?

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Data on Vacation Technology Trends Points (Once Again) to Smartphones

Tony Sapienza — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:31:34 +0000

The Adweek/Harris poll that is a regular feature in Adweek is always a favorite read for me. Now that summer vacations are behind us, I thought I’d dust off a snapshot from a month or so ago that looked at the devices we bring on summer vacation, breaking down the data by age group. They also looked at male/female trends and how use differed by salary level, but I thought the age comparisons were most telling. It showed that in the 18-34 and 35-44 age groups, most brought smartphones, while those over 45 went with laptops. The younger age groups placed higher than the old-timers in bringing any device (90% for 18-44 versus 63% for those 55 and higher). Surprisingly, the older age group was had the highest numbers for MP3 use. I’m pleased to report that while I’m not in the younger crowd, I fall into that category in terms of my vacation-device use. The smartphone has become my device of choice while traveling – for pleasure or business (and for entertainment – while I own an MP3, I used my smartphone to play music while on the beach; and I don’t use an e-reader -– my preference for a paperback, newspaper or magazine is where I’m still in the dark ages). I think the trends among younger users tells us a lot about where technology is heading – smartphone and tablets are the future (at least for now). Don’t get me wrong – my laptop continues to play an important part in my life, allowing me to stay on top of work wherever I am. But when it comes to remaining current on email or staying in touch with clients, Topaz team members and family and friends – through email, texting and even phone calls – the smartphone is my primary technology lifeline. Next up for me: a tablet. Maybe next summer.

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The “Circle of Influence” — A Look at How PR is Adapting, Succeeding

Tony Sapienza — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:01:15 +0000

In recent Topaz newsletters, and here on this blog, we’ve spotlighted some of the PR strategies that have delivered results for our clients — strategies that reflect the changes we’re seeing in the media and PR, and in the increasingly personalized tech marketplace. In the newsletter we sent out earlier this week, we took a step back and looked at the way these strategies work together, what objectives they help us achieve, and how this comes together as an ongoing PR, social media and digital communications effort. The result is a methodology — what we call the “circle of influence” — that not only defines Topaz’s approach to PR; it provides insight into how PR is adapting to address media consolidation, the rise of social networks and social media, the role of citizen journalists, the opportunities presented by video and audio content, and other changes we’re seeing in the technology market. In this newsletter, we talk about our central focus on raising awareness and esablishing influence; on the core pillars of content, channels and contacts; on the new public relations, social media and digital communications programs we’ve developed upon this foundation; and on the ongoing monitoring, measurement and recalibration necessary for an effective communications program. We also offer up an example of how this process worked for one Topaz client — and an update on what it has meant for our agency’s success thus far in 2011. If you haven’t received our newsletter on the “circle of influence” but would like to, please call or email us. And let us know if you have see this and want to pass along your thoughts on our ideas — or if you’d like share your own thoughts about about ways to best sieze the opportunities in PR today.

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Another Look at Changes in the Media….and What it Means for PR

Tony Sapienza — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:38:20 +0000

Howie Sholkin from IDG visited Topaz yesterday for a “brown-bag” focused a topic often discussed around our office – how the media is changing and what it means for PR professionals. Howie brought a unique perspective to the discussion – not only does he work with a tech media leader (Computerworld, Network World, PC World, IDC, SNW, IDG Enterprise); he’s also a veteran of tech PR. But the highlights from our discussion came from all sides – from Howie and from members of the Topaz team. Here’s a snapshot — you might from some new and some may be obvious, but they all are valuable reminders for the tech PR community:
-the shift from print to online, events, custom publishing, content marketing across the tech media landscape that picked up momentum five years ago shows no sign of slowing
- this shift presents new opportunities for PR professionals, who can help their clients and companies leverage these new channels
- while there’s still a role for news releases; releases continue to be one way to reach/influence media, but these have impact in other ways, from driving internal consensus to demonstrating momentum to website visitors
- influencer relationships are still important, but increasingly these are electronic and not just the face-to-face connections of years past
- briefings and media tours are becoming more difficult due to the distributed nature of media and online influencers
- “packaging” news for media and online influencers is of growing importance, as time-strapped journalists are turning to this information to generate stories (as opposed to those briefings and face-to-face meetings)
- video, images, audio and infograpics are becoming increasingly valuable as the media looks for new types of content

Again, most of these are points we here at Topaz have all thought about – and acted on for our clients – but it always helps to remind ourselves about the changes taking place in the media and PR. It can be a challenge, but these kinds of changes are what keep life interesting for the folks at Topaz.

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Tweeting, Texting and Other Technologies are Changing the Rules of Communications

Tony Sapienza — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:54:01 +0000

Every so often, we turn our attention to news stories to see what these developments can tell us about how the world of media and PR has changed. Two recent stories come to mind – both focused on our local football team. The first centered around a Boston Herald reporter who was criticized for tweeting at the funeral for the wife of NE Patriots owner Bob Kraft. While no one wants to see someone texting or tweeting at a funeral service, the pace of news reporting and the technology available to us all – professional and citizen journalists alike – create a dilemma. The reporter – Ian Rapoport – defended his actions, noting that the tweeting happened before and after the services, but can we really question him for some discrete tweeting/texting as part of his responsibility to report news to his readers? Without today’s mobile and social networking technology, this would never have been an issue. A few days later, tweeting and the Patriots were back in the news when the team announced the acquisition of publicity-hungry wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Ochocinco (whose name-change alone is evidence of his thirst for media attention) is known for on-field taunting, reality TV shows, and wild public challenges to competitors — but the interesting development to watch is his tweeting. While it still remains to be seen if Ochocinco will curtail his other publicity efforts, we’ve already seen a change in his tweeting. You’ll find no bombastic tweets in the past 24 hours since he joined the Pats – instead we see messages thanking God and the Patriots, and spotlighting a favorite song. Tweeting and texting has gotten a lot of sports figures in hot water in recent years (also creating new challenges for PR people). These are just two more examples of how technology is changing the rules of communication…the rules for those making news, reporting the news and consuming the news.

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