I usually bristle when I hear the phrase "free media" to describe what PR does. I much prefer "earned media" to reflect the real costs of getting free coverage.
Recently, the free drumbeat has gotten louder which only puts more pressure on us to earn our keep.
It all started when I downloaded (for free) Chris Anderson's Wired Magazine cover story: "Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business." To Anderson, "the rise of 'freeconomics' is being driven by the underlying technologies that power the Web...Which is to say, the trend lines that determine the cost of doing business online all point the same way: to zero."
And then last week I attended (not free) the 2008 Georgia Technology Summit sponsored by the Technology Association of Georgia. One of the keynote speakers was Don Tapscott who discussed his book Wikinomics (also not free). In his book, Tapscott discusses the "profound changes in the nature of technology, demographics, and the global economy" that are giving "rise to powerful new models of community, collaboration, self organization."
Not withstanding the prospect of $4 per gallon for gas this spring, these guys are making a compelling point about the growing power of free.
Where Anderson begins his article with King Gillette who famously gave away razors and charged for razor blades (billions of them), Tapscott starts his book with Rob McEwen, CEO of Goldcorp. McEwen had the interesting idea of giving away all of his Company's highly guarded mining data to any and all takers in its search for elusive deposits of gold on its 55,000-acre property. The result: a multi-billion dollar mother load.
For both Anderson and Tapscott, technology and the Web are helping turn traditional economics on its head. In an economy where abundance is valued over scarcity, sharing and collaborating are replacing charging and mandating. These new rules of the game are redefining how we do our jobs, charge customers and make money.
Making Free Work for PR Professionals
So what does free mean for PR professionals? In getting our message out, a hell of a lot. First the good news.
We have at our disposal new tools to deliver services that once swelled our budgets. Where we once had only satellite uplinks, we now have YouTube, and where we once had only focus groups we now have online social networks. Using RSS feeds can spare us the time and money to distribute press releases and placing tags in press releases helps customers find us more easily through search.
The net result: Not only are new technologies dropping the cost of distribution; these new tools are helping customers spread the word for us. Customers now volunteer to do our heavy lifting for little or often no compensation. Through word of mouth campaigns, viral marketing, forums and social networks, they are serving an important PR function. Consider the following.
Marketing
Buzz and viral marketing campaigns are powerful tools to help spread the word about your product.
Buzz: Yes there are costs to hire buzz marketing specialists to solicit volunteers. But these volunteers don't want your money. That would make it a job. They are willing to talk - for free - to friends, family and strangers about your product because they believe in it and because you make them feel special and appreciated by giving them special access and the power to be your agents. They don't work for you. You have collaborated with them.
Viral: Create an entertaining video and people will spread the link to friends. Create a useful widget and see a community of users grow.
Advertising -- User Generated Content
In the past, ads cost huge sums to be made and distributed. They still do. A great deal of money is spent on talent, creative types and production crews. Today, we can also enlist customers and users to make ads and content for us - for free. We post their content on YouTube. They post content on their MySpace and Facebook pages. They get the kudos and the fame; we get the publicity. And in the case of those famous Mentos/Diet Coke ads, for example, we don't even have to solicit a user's help.
Product Development and Market Research
In launching a product, we want feedback to help eliminate bugs and identify unforeseen glitches. It is now common practice to distribute beta versions and provide updates to customers in order for them to give you feedback. Want suggestions for new products? Build a forum or blog for customers to provide their insights and offer their ideas for new products and applications like Dell's Ideastorm. Build buzz on your blog and they will discuss your products and services on their blogs. Through inclusion, you generate loyalty and create sales.
Call Center Deflection
Tired of the high cost of 800 numbers into call centers? Build a forum where customers can seek help. Interestingly, you may discover that actual customers may volunteer their time and expertise to help others. They can provide solutions you may never have even considered. Be responsive to their needs, and you will reduce customer complaints, foster good will, facilitate engagement, and create loyal users who will spread the word about your company's commitment. Bask in the reputation enhancement.
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
Now the not so good news. Let me be clear. Behind every viral campaign and Facebook page are real costs associated with creative thinking, strategizing, selling to clients and implementing technologies. Now more time is spent tracking and reaching out to a wider constituency. And there is a loss of control to the distribution process. You can't dictate what your customers will say or do. But then again you can't dictate what reporters said or did either.
What you give up in control, you gain in engagement. But gaining participation requires that we make good products, deliver on our service commitments, communicate openly and honestly and as Seth Godin writes, pay attention. In this case, the payment is your time, dedication and sincerity. This is not about taking about advantage; it's about being authentic.
And getting back to that phrase "earned media." It is that much more relevant in the social media age where earning our customer's loyalty requires much more than a clever jingle, a one-time discount or a positive news story. It's not about how much money you spend or don't spend. It's the relationships you maintain with your customers.
Free media will never replace paid - only enhance it.
Ironically, to bring the point home, I turn to a tag line in a famous ad from the world of old paid media. The ad made famous by venerable actor John Houseman told viewers that "Smith Barney makes money the old fashioned way; they earn it."
In the context of new media, this paid, old media ad couldn't be any more true.
Let me get back to you.
Technorati Tags: Chris Anderson; Don Tapscott; Wikinomics; Wired Magazine; Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business; Free Media; Earned Media; TAG; Technology Association of Georgia; 2008 Georgia Technology Summit;
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