Hallelujah! Credentials to Support a Theory Familiar to those 'In the Know'

The end of the PR vs. Marketing debate will be one of the happiest days of my professional life.  It seems that this era is closer than ever before.  Read this: Will Media Convergence end the 'PR or Advertising' Debate?

Major conferences and the founder of Twitter recognizing that PR and Advertising are all marketing is one step closer to freedom from my silo.  If there is one consistent frustration that I still do not understand about this industry (and by this industry I do mean marketing inclusive of all supporting pieces) it is this: Organizations in every industry, large, small or in-between feel the need to divide marketing into as many individual silos as possible.  PR, paid advertising print and broadcast, social media, digital communications, direct marketing, etc, etc. almost certainly all have their own in-house designated expert.  That expert might work with an outside firm to support their one area of expertise.  Larger organizations might have multiple firms for different purposes, all manged internally by different people.

This is absolutely insane to me, and frankly a little insulting.  Why shouldn't PR be included in major, strategic planning?  How can we prove value if we are not privy to the overarching marketing goals?

People like to talk about integration of tactics and surface level stuff, but very few marketing professionals I encounter are hip to this concept of total integration from the top down.  And the classic, the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing becomes more evident and more frequent as brands find themselves in more spaces in online and traditional media.

So, since marketing people love a solid third party credential to show value... I've got the founder of Twitter on my side.  Argue with that!

See also:
And http://www.usatoday.com/video/news/1839139560001.

"I think we should be on the Twitter," said non-marketing business guy.

Organizations of all shapes, sizes and industries are starving for content, and they might not even realize it.  PR and marketing guys, this is a golden opportunity for us to shine.  On how many occasions in recent months have you been approached with one of the following conversations?

• "I think we should be tweeting or on the Facebook or something."
• "So what do you think about this social media thing for MY  business/industry?"
• "Well, we need a Twitter account and a Facebook page to get the word out."

Swap out any one of those 'Twitters' or 'Facebooks' for 'blog', or 'social media' or another specific site.  I have been doing this for a few years now, and I get it... non-marketing people sometimes need a loooonnngg time and a lot of convincing to catch on to the expertise that their marketing team is offering them from the start.  No problem. So, the boss or the client or whoever it is, is coming around now and saying this is it. Now is the time for us to do the online content thing, go forth and make it be.

The step some companies are missing here is the CONTENT. Should most organizations have a presence in these online spaces? Most likely. That does not mean that all of these channels make sense for every situation.  There is an opportunity for marketers to be creative here.  To satisfy the demands of the person you answer to and the organization's customers, marketers need to be generating content over a number of channels, but while interesting is important, engaging and relevant are key.

Organizations in any industry need to understand how to create this kind of content for their audiences and goals.  Leadership should also understand that no single blog or social media profile is the magic bullet for "getting the word out" about anything.  These are simply additional channels for sharing messages, and an integrated approach, as always, is best.

Here is a great article for getting started with a content strategy, Create Brilliant Content for your 'Boring' Business from Lauren Fairbanks of the Young Entrepreneur Council.

It is possible (likely even) that your organization should in fact be on "the Twitter".  However, there are many factors contributing to using these online content  tools effectively including relevancy, engagement and participation.  Consult a marketing expert to develop a content strategy that is integrated and realistic for your organization.