Shape of Things

Conformity is a bit like heroin: comforting, but extremely addictive.

If your company or clients value conformity over creative, it’s your role to try to break the chain of addiction.  Then again, maybe you are the pusher.

About a decade ago, an innovative 3D graphics company I was working with was sold to a major computer company.  I was entrusted with preparing a brochure and poster that conveyed the excitement of a new product. It shouldn’t have been hard: the images generated by this computer were stunning, and its capabilities singular.

The challenge was overcoming the rigid standards of the parent company: Use one of two typeface choices and one of a few design templates. Exact color and positioning for the logo. Reference the company name in the exact same way all the time.

The pieces ended up looking and sounding fine, but they took three times as long to produce and involved four times as many people as they should have. And, they could have been much better. I vowed never to do a project for a company like that again; I’m glad to say I’ve stuck to that vow.

About five years later, what a relief it was to see Google snub conformity. Silly company name. Logo that it changed daily and had fun with — in fact, playing with the company logo became part of Google’s corporate identity and a subject of discussion.

Think about things you do to conform to some rules that were written years ago and might not be relevant, or are actually dragging down your corporate image. Like that boring standard paragraph at the end of your press releases.  Or the corporate-speak that saturates your marketing materials. Or those quotes from the CEO that sound like they came from an automaton. Or using trademarks when they aren’t needed. Or the staid design of your web site.

Conformity sends a message: “We’re like all the rest and we don’t care if you think so.”  Is that the corporate message you want? If so, fine.  If not, time to get the conformity monkey off your back.

Sometimes the hardest thing is just getting started.  Objections are easy to come by, and big change seems insurmountable.

Maybe like the multiphobic Bob Wiley (Bill Murray) in the movie “What About Bob,” you should consider taking baby steps.  Here are five you can take to get involved with social media and lay the groundwork for establishing a community around your products and services.

1. Establish or participate in LinkedIn groups that share information about your industry. Initiate intelligent discussions and add constructive commentary on others’ discussion topics to solidify your credentials and expertise.  Provide special free offers that are valuable to group participants and provide an ancillary benefit of promoting your product or service. But, whatever you do, don’t pander.

2. Participate in forums.  Provide information and initiate discussion on topics related to your company’s products or services.

3. Get on twitter to monitor discussion about your company and the industry it serves, and to develop followers to whom you can provide information and perspectives.

4. Start a blog on your web site and contribute to it regularly — at least twice a month, but preferably once a week. If you don’t know how to do it, bring in a journalist to help you. Topics: technical information on your products or services, profiles of customers, industry perspectives or opinions, surveys, open-ended inquiries of readers, guest blogs by partners, video tutorials, research results — there are tons of resources within your company waiting to be harvested.

5. Take the information that you regularly use for press releases, case studies, white papers, and support documents and consolidate it into a permission-based e-newsletter.  Add surveys or forums to encourage interaction with readers. Six times a year is a good frequency. This will set up a direct link to your customers for sharing information and collecting feedback. Remember that the information has to be valuable to and welcomed by recipients.

These five steps will begin establishing a conversation with customers and potential customers, creating a sharing relationship rather than a vendor dictatorship. The ultimate goal is to begin establishing a community around your products and services — more on that soon.

I’m in ample, though fairly silent, company when I say that my greatest regrets have come from fear and complacency — the dual killers of ambition.

Afraid of appearing foolish, being ridiculed, called stupid or naive.  Then justifying my inaction and certifying it with complacency.

For everyone who feels this way about new forms of marketing, PR and communications, it’s not too late to catch up according to Seth Godin. My nomination for the best place to start is by reading Inbound Marketing, the new book by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. 

I’ve heard Dharmesh speak twice at the Business of Software conferences, and he walks the walk. I knew this book would be practical and well-written, but didn’t anticipate how inspiring it would be (although I’m not giving up my newspapers as the authors suggest).

I’ll spare you a full review, as I wouldn’t have much to add to the excellent one by Neil Davidson on the Business of Software blog.

If you are bound by fear or complacency regarding new forms of marketing, PR and communications, this is where you shrug off those shackles.

Ever hear of Bill Simmons? I hadn’t until last week when I saw that his The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy was number one on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller’s list. 

Simmons’ success in traditional publishing stems from his millions of followers on espn.com, where he made his name as The Sports Guy. The appeal is that he’s like any other sports fan, except perhaps a bit more obsessed and a better writer and self-marketer.

Simmons doesn’t write in-depth analysis, go on the road with a team, do psychological profiles, or any of the other things great sports writers have done in the past. He’s not a reporter; he’s a fan. He taps into the common obsessions of fans. Who’s the best basketball center, Wilt or Russell? What football player do you hate the most? He’s fueled by lists, emotions, biases and statistics– just like every other fan.

Like it or not, this is where communications is going — think of twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.  The majority don’t want an authoritative voice; they want someone like them, or at least, someone like the best vision of themself.

What does this mean to the PR person, the marketer, the publisher, the corporate communicator?

It means you have to stop making proclamations from on high and communicate from the trenches.

You have to speak with your customer’s voice, in terms he or she can relate to.

You have to bring customers’ stories to the forefront of your communications.

You have to establish an ongoing dialog with customers and help make them part of a community.

You have to forego marketing generalities and get into the nitty gritty of your customers’ everyday jobs. 

You have to elevate conversational approaches and downgrade pronouncements.

In short, you likely have to change everything you’ve been doing for the last couple of decades. 

Future posts will deal with how corporate communications and marketing can be revamped to get in synch with how customers want to be engaged. This isn’t theory anymore; it’s a mandate. In the words of David Bowie, “This ain’t rock and roll, this is genocide.”

I thought it would die a pleasant death, like interest in Paris Hilton after she became a good girl, but it’s not: Authentic is still embedded in the minds of the American business world, especially among PR and marketing people.

The way authentic is being practiced reminds me of a Mad magazine cartoon from the late 60s. A guy’s walking down the street while kids snicker, “What a schmuck!”  Guy gets home, looks himself in the mirror and says “People think I’m a schmuck because I dress like a schmuck.” In the final frame, he’s walking down the street dressed for success like Hugh Hefner (tweed jacket with elbow patches, ascot and pipe) while kids snicker in the background, “What a schmuck!”

What authenticity ain’t

Authenticity isn’t about dressing yourself in new clothes or describing yourself as authentic.  It’s not saying “honestly” or “truly” in your press releases and speeches.  And it’s definitely not posting a picture of your CEO on the website wearing distressed jeans and a retro t-shirt or pursuing his or her rock-climbing hobby.

What it is

Authentic is what someone else feels instinctively about your organization.  What your customers say because all of your dealings with them are embedded with integrity. What the media says because you’re honest and upfront with them. What employees say because they are valued and treated fairly.

If you are doing the above, your company will automatically benefit from word of mouth. But, if you want to extend that, here’s five ways you can ensure authenticity in your communications.

1. Remove adjectives and cliches from your marketing and PR materials, unless you are quoting third parties such as customers and/or analysts.

2. Use clear prose and illustrations to help customers, partners and media understand what you do — don’t hide behind bloated corporate speak.

3. Communicate openly with your customers and employees; take what they suggest, consider it, act on it and thank them for the input.

4. Care about the community of people who use your products and services; provide programs and forums that help them improve professionally and personally.

5. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Show a sense of humor in your communications whenever appropriate.

No amount of rhetoric can buy authentic. If your organization’s values are not strong, no matter what you say, you won’t be able to hide the inner schmuck.

Before Twitter, there were even shorter blasts of pithy language, where plangent puns, juxtaposition, jaunty wordplay and irony stretched their splendid feathers daily.

They were called headlines.  Sadly, they are becoming a lost art amid bland, search-engine-optimized titles affixed like a shabby gimme-cap above press releases and case studies.

Fortunately, we still have some examples of the art used to entice, delight and amuse.

Heads of the class

Give thanks that the New York Post continues to wave the flag.  The Post, of course, penned perhaps the greatest tabloid headline: “Headless Body Found in Topless Bar.” In the past couple of years, Post headlines have branded the womanizing Alex Rodriguez as “Stray Rod” and blared this message after a humiliating Yankee loss on a Mexican holiday: “Stinko de Mayo.”

In a more serious vein, the Wall Street Journal holds sway daily with an array of headlines that draw a curious reader into the story like a barker in front of a circus tent.  Wow, I never knew I’d be interested in yak farming!  WSJ can put on the jester’s cap at times, too, as when it topped its story about petty jealousy among male British writers toward Martin Amis with this tickler: “British Writers Suffering from Amis Envy.”

Why heads matter

OK, so fun is fun, but what do great headlines have to do with the humble press release, case story or blog posting?

Just as in a newspaper, technical publication or web site, the headline makes the difference in who reads a piece and who doesn’t. Take a look at Business Wire or PR Newswire.  Is there a headline in any of those press releases that makes you want to read it?

Now, I know what you’re saying: “We can’t do what news outlets do.  We have requirements, such as getting the company’s name and/or keywords in the headline.”  Yes, these are real challenges, but they shouldn’t make you settle for the mundane. You don’t have to be Oscar Wilde: If you can’t make the headline entertaining, or the subject matter won’t support it, strive for clean, clear and concise.

Here are some examples from my vaults.

This one pulled out a user quote to add life to a new product announcement:

Red Gate’s new ANTS Memory Profiler 5:
“freaking sweet” to find memory leaks in minutes

Here’s another for a press release on software used to make 56-foot-tall models of soccer players:

Geomagic makes soccer players
larger than life in Zurich train station

If you can’t fit the differentiating information into a two-deck headline, opt for the big kicker head followed by a detailed headline:

The City Tap opens in Pittsboro

Amp builder, ex-bookseller and sculptor combine comfort
of neighborhood bar with eclectic mix of art, sound, food & drink

It’s your business

None of the above headlines is a classic, but they are different enough from the bland labels that sit atop most stories - just enough to attract an editor or to pull in readers that might otherwise pass over this material.  And, ultimately, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing - getting people to pay attention. It’s not a sideline or an ancillary goal; it’s a requirement.  Every time out, we need to remember that the story starts from the top.

Marketing and PR people say a lot of stuff that they don’t really believe. Or, that they’ve convinced themselves is true. And when it gets into the public’s hands, it invariably rings false.

How often do you see a press release or marketing piece that describes a technology product as “robust,” “intuitive,” “flexible,” or “setting a new paradigm?” Or a corporate announcement larded with exec-speak that obscures any meaning and annoys the average person?

Here’s a little exercise the next time you’re working on a press release, marketing brochure or corporate speech: Make believe you’re talking to your most cynical friend. The friend who brings you thudding to earth when you get too grandiose or preachy. The friend who has no compunction about telling you that you’re full of it.  Now write something that this friend can swallow and digest — possibly even enjoy.

You have little to lose but your pretension.

I know I promised a “PR in Practice” posting on press releases this week.  But, just thinking about it put me off into some dangerous and angry mind currents. 

You’ve probably experienced this before: You’re at a party and someone you don’t know all that well (maybe a soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend or -boyfriend or a casual friend) says, “Well, the thing about Bob…” and proceeds to characterize you in a way that is unfathomable to you.  You’re angry, but your protests are too late - you’ve been third-party characterized.

In a bigger way, that’s what a lot of companies are doing - letting others tell their stories for them.  In the process, one of the most precious commodities of the company - its identity - is lost, misrepresented or compromised.  How basic  of a sin is that?  Yet, companies let it happen all the time.

They let poorly written press releases  and poorly informed PR people deliver watered-down, clichéd versions of their story.

They copy the stories of other, bigger companies, completely undermining the advantages of their uniqueness.

They tarnish their stories with hype and puffery.

They communicate with benign dishonesty, but dishonesty just the same.

They believe their own myths and foist them on the public.

They put all information dissemination in the hands of the media, even though they could likely tell the story better and more accurately if they spoke directly to their communities.

They don’t talk with their customers or use customers’ stories to help define the company and engender trust.

They never taint their company’s steeliness with an ounce of warmth or personality.

They concentrate on product positioning, engineering and false branding while kicking their central story to the curb.

O.K., I feel a bit better.  The end-of-the-week martini is about an hour away.  If you engage in the above practices, I hope you’re slightly uncomfortable.  But, probably not: Your story most likely left the building a long time ago.

I dressed fairly conservatively up until the 7th or 8th grade, when I saw a picture of John Lennon in a polka-dot shirt.

It was late summer and I wanted that shirt to start the school year, along with a boldly printed paisley and a striped number with white collar and cuffs.

One-hit wonder

I didn’t think about the shirts going rapidly out of style.  I just wanted to make a splash. I don’t remember if I did or not, but I do remember that about a month into the school year I was embarrassed to wear the shirts.  My mother told me that the appeal of the shirts was going to be shortlived, but she let me buy them anyway.  Fortunately, she wasn’t an “I told you so” Mom and allowed me to get new shirts for Christmas.

I thought of this as I read an interview with Dan Nunan on the Business of Software blog.  Dan’s company, Scene Systems, produced the animation of the U.S. Air Hudson River landing.  The animation had an audience of nearly 2 million on YouTube and was featured on network television and in national newspapers. 

Dan was happy to get this exposure, but it wasn’t his initial goal: He just wanted to do something to make a low-cost impact at a trade show.  He did everything right in feeding the momentum of the story, but it wasn’t a source of pride.  Here’s what he said about it in an email to me:

“I admit to being slightly uncomfortable about the whole thing — partly because it was unplanned, and I’m not really convinced that it brings in much of the right kind of attention.”

Big splash vs. sustainable

Dan is even more suspicious than me of what he calls the “big-splash school of PR.”  Like the polka-dot shirt, this type of PR might cause an initial stir, but it’s not likely to have legs, especially when dealing with a specialized B2B audience (in Dan’s case, lawyers).

There are many clients and companies out there that want the big splash — for them, that’s what PR is all about.  If you are a PR or marketing person in a B2B market, you have to explain that the real rewards are elsewhere.

What is much more likely to succeed is a sustained program in community building; a program that could include articles and forum participation on popular web sites, positive blog postings from prominent people in the field, strong word of mouth from influencers, and perhaps an intensely read permission-based e-newsletter that your target audience welcomes and finds valuable.  This type of program doesn’t have to be bland or conservative, but it should be something that gains momentum over the long haul.

The community-building approach is decidedly unsexy and probably won’t get you on the cover of any PR or marketing journal.  But, that slow-building approach — the equivalent of a crisp black shirt that never goes out of style — will deliver the one precious commodity that we all seek: long-lasting, measurable results with the people you really want to engage.

The jury has reached its verdict on Simon Galbraith’s bold experiment to prove the superiority of professional photography for marketing.

Who’s hot and who’s not? See the results in Simon’s second guest spot on the Business of Software blog.