There’s been a lot of debate over the future of PR.  From PRSA’s #PRDefined initiative focused on revitalizing the definition of PR, to the evolving role of communications professionals and agencies. Historically, “traditional PR” has been heavily defined by media relations. And while media relations remains important, the industry is increasingly seeing our function becoming something much bigger. PR’s success focuses on building companies’ brands and growing their businesses – using storytelling and compelling messages to communicate to the people your company wants to influence, and ultimately influencing their behavior.

Digital and social are certainly major components of this discussion. A front page feature in the Wall Street Journal is valuable but if a blog post from the leading cloud computing expert generates more hits to your website and coverts to more sales, which has more value? The way people are consuming media and are influenced has evolved, and communications is no longer solely defined by the ability to generate media attention for a brand. Rather, we can take these conversations direct to influencers and to customers via social channels, knowing the benefit of them then sharing the content with their network(s).

We’ll continue this discussion around the evolving function of PR, influencers and content creation in this session at Social Media Week San Francisco, taking place on Monday, February 13 at 10am at Trulia SF. I encourage you to register, join the discussion and hear from a former reporter turned corporate blogger; the corporate communications director at Cisco who operates “The Network: Cisco’s Technology News Site”; ad:tech’s content director; and, myself (communications and digital at Text 100).

And, please let me know what topics you’d like to hear discussed in the panel in the comments section or on Twitter (@chanslor).

Picture credit: The phone is ringing by Kerolic on Flickr (cc)

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on the Social Media Week San Francisco blog and is re-published in support of Text 100′s involvement in the event.

Our sister digital agency Beyond is the City Partner for Social Media Week San Francisco, and has worked with Advisory Board and sponsors to extend Social Media Week to the broader Bay Area.  Jason Clarke and I are serving on the Social Media Week San Francisco Advisory Board, and Text 100 Global Digital Lead Jeremy Woolf is also on the Advisory Board of Social Media Week Hong Kong. Text 100 is also collaborating with sister agency Bite Communications to handle communications and media relations surrounding the SF event. Today we formally announced the hubs that Social Media Week SF’s sponsors will host throughout the week. Three of the hubs are Text 100 clients – Adobe, Cisco and IBM (specifically IBM Emerging Technologies). The current schedule of events for Social Media Week San Francisco can be found here. Aside from the panels, Social Media Week is also hosting a closing party on Friday, January 17 at 111 Minna — we’ll all deserve some cocktails and fun after the productive week!

To register for any of the Social Media Week events, please visit socialmediaweek.org and click on “login/register” to create an account and register for events.

Our own Jeremy will be chairing a panel debating The Future of Television, and I’ll be moderating a session about Topic Influencers and the Future of PR.

Join the conversation using #SMW and specific to Social Media Week SF using #SMWSF.

An outfit that might get you hired (whether Hillary Clinton would wear this is debatable).

I recently had the privilege of attending a great industry event with several dozen PR professionals, (including some fellow Texties). I anticipated a day filled with learning best practices and industry trends—and it was!—but what I did not anticipate was the scantily-clad college students.

I was shocked to see multiple young ladies wearing skirts or dresses that barely covered their derrieres. I understand that 8:00 a.m. is not a time that many college students see; I was a college student myself not too long ago. But isn’t it common sense to wear professional attire to these types of events? I can recall numerous minutes spent in my closet, fretting over what to wear the night before an interview. Not to mention, as part of my Business Writing class at Fairfield University, I participated in a mock interview with my professor, who graded my interviewing skills—and my attire.

The conference provided a rare opportunity to mix and mingle with the industry’s best-of-the-best, especially in a time when jobs are scarce. This was an opportunity for students to make an impression with local companies—and possibly secure an internship position.

Text 100 is always on the lookout for stellar interns. And you know what? Our internship coordinator, who joined me at the event, zeroed in on the girl wearing dress pants and a blazer, not the girl wearing five-inch stilettos and a skin tight dress.

So, here are a few “rules of thumb” (reconfirmed by the aforementioned students) to follow when dressing for any professional event:

• If your fingertips surpass your hemline by a mile, then it is not appropriate. No
  

  Ummmm, no. Just, no. Sorry Miley!

  one wants to see your undergarments when you drop your complimentary conference padfolio.

• If you would wear the outfit to the bars on a Saturday night, then it is not appropriate. Think to yourself “WWHCD,” or rather What Would Hillary Clinton Do?
• If your pants look like you slept in them, then it is not appropriate. I know the “I-just-rolled-out-of-bed” look is popular on the runways, but this is not New York Fashion Week.
• If someone confuses you with a flight attendant, then it is not appropriate….or fashionable. (And yes, that happened.)
• If your backpack would be of interest to a kindergartner, then it is not appropriate. Please leave your wildly floral bags in your dorm room and opt for a more modest briefcase or purse.

Can you think of any other professional faux pas or fashion mishaps at work? Let’s talk tacky clothing!

Editor’s Note: Polyvore boards borrowed from here (business attire) and here (no-no attire).

Moving on…

Here’s the thing – companies are still really confused about how to use or why they should use social media. Who can blame them? It can get complicated pretty fast with the number of tools and techniques floating around out there. And then there’s that little thing called ROI.

Prior to beginning my career in PR with Text 100, I had the opportunity to work in the marketing department for a well-known Fortune 500 tech company – and social media was always the huge question mark that my colleagues in the marketing department couldn’t seem to wrap their arms around. The first question they would ask? “Well, what’s the ROI?” Since they couldn’t exactly measure the return, and it was so outside the conventional model, they abandoned the thought. They just didn’t see the value in the investment of time or budget. Sound familiar to you? If I had a penny for every time that a C-level business executive asked me what the ROI is of social media, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this post.

Several presenters addressed this very issue – citing some compelling examples of what can happen when your company doesn’t have a solid social media strategy in place. But it was Jason Falls, co-author of “No Bullshit Social Media,” (who should also seriously consider a career as a stand-up comic if you couldn’t already tell from the title of his book), who finally hit the nail on the head with the ROI issue. How many traditional marketing/PR business drivers actually have a tangible monetary result? Instead of asking – “What’s the ROI here,” Falls suggests a better, less-limiting question may be, “What do I get in return?” The answer: Higher search engine results, new product ideas and customer satisfaction scores, to name a few. An answer, by the way, that has been proven over and over by the successes of companies such as Walmart, Microsoft and Disney.

With the ever-present ROI question/hurdle out of the way (thanks, Jason), another recurring theme addressed in almost every presentation during the conference was creating compelling and useful social content – a linchpin in creating true social engagement and attracting new followers. Two of my favorite presentations that discussed this subject were, “Applying Content Creatively,” given by C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley and “Make Yourself Useful,” given by Laura Fitton.

Applying Content Creatively

As a creator of content (which is probably one of my favorite parts of my job), I find that sometimes, things can go a little stale in the ol’ noggin – which is why I thought C.C. Chapman and Ann Handley’s presentation was particularly useful (by the way, if you are interested, they also wrote a book – Content Rules, which I plan on picking up soon). Creating interesting, engaging content can be challenging, especially if you’re dealing with a lot of the same materials, topics and themes.

Chapman and Handley suggested a number of steps and techniques to produce compelling content which include:

• Embrace your role as the publisher – You have to think about how you’re going to integrate content with everything else you’re doing. Publishers put their audience before anything else – you want to create content that will meet the needs of the audience.
• Know your audience and speak their language – Insight into who your audience is and what they’re receptive to will inspire originality. Make sure you’re speaking their language – companies are not the best at describing things in the words of their customers. Speak in their language, and be human about it.
• Share or solve, don’t shill– Share resources with customers and solve problems for them don’t just talk about yourself.
• Reimagine, don’t recycle – Recycling content is a common practice in marketing and public relations. We want to get the most mileage out of collateral that we already have. But as Handley and Chapman point out, you need to think about content as a piece of a larger whole. Think through your content and see how you can reimagine it into something new and compelling.

Making Yourself Useful

Perhaps my most favorite presentation of the day was from Laura Fitton, and addressed a subject that  I don’t think gets enough attention. Fitton said it best when she stated, “The balance of power has shifted. The mere mortal now has power. It’s not about you anymore; instead, it’s about the value you provide.”

She’s 100 percent right. The web has shifted. Conversations are no longer one-sided and it’s not enough for companies to simply push their messages out to the masses anymore. We tend to forget that there are actual people on the other side of those blog comments, Twitter handles and Foursquare check-ins.

As organizations, we need to recognize the individual people that exist behind the handles and get to know them in order to understand what they need from us. The principle may sound simple enough, but it’s one that we, as companies and representatives to companies, can easily displace in the mix of meeting sales goals and objectives to drive results around specific products or initiatives that we care about.

In summary, my key takeaways from the day are:

• We as marketers and public relations professionals need to be useful to our customers and care – passionately – about things other than ourselves.
• We need to produce engaging content that our audience cares about and will share with others.
• Don’t listen to ‘social media purists’ – no technique is right or wrong, it’s about what works best for you and your audience.
• Bottom line: We need to approach social media in a human way.

What do you see as your biggest social media hurdle? What is your biggest success? Let us know in the comments!

While many brands are able to identify their existing audiences and communities, it’s often challenging when it comes to effectively engaging with them and identifying what content is most appropriate for each platform you use to communicate. In this video, Janet talks about what “community” really means to her, her top tip for getting your brand’s community engaged, and how to make your content stand out from the clutter.

Thanks, Janet, for taking some time with us. We hope to see you at an event again soon!

I have to admit that at first, I was a little weary about attending the event. Although I’ve always believed in dressing fashionably for a party, I’m not exactly what you would call a social butterfly. But with a little help from liquid courage (and in true Text fashion, I asked for a glass of wine and what I got was literally  a mini-keg of wine)  and a series of pep talks from fellow Texties about how to engage the media, I soon slipped into a friendly, chatty mode.

Although I primarily work with tech trade reporters, the somber reality of the market seemed to be on many people’s minds. For me, it was really interesting to hear reporters’ take on the current economy and how they believed it will ultimately impact the tech field. Of course, there was also a fair share of talk about the current mobile/tablet market and what other concoction Steve Jobs will think of next that will turn the world upside down, which are topics I can’t seem to get enough of.

Overall, the event was a great success and it was very refreshing to have actual face-to-face time with reporters that I interact with on a regular basis. The event was also a great reminder that reporters are people too and should be treated as such – as in don’t be star-struck and gape at them as they are putting hors d’oeuvres in their mouths because it’ll only make them uncomfortable. And now armed with a more intimate knowledge of what really fascinates them about the tech field, I feel better prepared to share my clients’ stories in a way that interest the reporters.

And JICYWW (just in case you were wondering – another acronym that I’m trying to work into my everyday vernacular), I wore a plaid shirt from Lova, Nudie jeans and blue suede ankle boots from Ksubi. My only regret from the night is not capturing what I was wearing and posting it on my Tumblr (I know, shameless self-promotion but I’m trying to build a brand here!) – Jaimen from the NY office keeps a meticulous picture diary of what she wears everyday and it is absolutely amazing. You can check it out here.

Here are a few quick snapshots from the event. For the full album, check our Facebook Page… and like us while you’re at it!

SXSW 2012 just opened its PanelPicker proposals today for the community to vote and comment on through Friday, 9/2 (11:59 p.m. CST). The public votes make up 30% of the weight in the panel selection process, with the remaining 70% being determined by SXSW staff and the advisory board. We’ve put forward three Text 100 panels that need your votes!

• Social Media in the Underground World of B2B – http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/8760 — How do the world’s leading B2B brands handle social media? Hear from IBM’s Ethan McCarty, Cisco Systems’ Jeanette Gibson, Xerox’s Duane Schulz and NVIDIA’s Shanee Ben-Zur (moderated by Melissa Chanslor, Text 100)
• Mud Wrestling: Hacks vs. Flacks – http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/11019 — It’s no secret that PR professionals and journalists have a love/hate relationship, this panel will discuss the current state of this relationship and why it has escalated to the point of negative campaigning. Featuring Will Willis, Bite Communications, and Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher (moderated by Jessica Casano-Antonellis, Text 100).
• @TVEngagement: Does social media drive tv ratings? – http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/10516 –This session will look at spikes in viewership associated with spikes in social media and strong social media campaigns through various case studies and examples. Panelists include Food Network/Cooking Channel’s Susie Fogelson, MTV Networks’ Colin Helms, Shazam Entertainment’s David L. Jones (moderated by Text 100’s Tara O’Donnell).

And if you haven’t booked your hotels, get on it. Just last week I booked and nearly all the downtown rooms were booked!

• “Marketing Excellence for Non-Profits” – Harvard University, MA:  IBM’s Jon Iwata, SVP of Marketing and Communications, hosted an event at Harvard University aimed at providing not-for-profit organizations with consultancy on how they can utilize social media to advance their organizations. The event consisted of 275 people including IBMers, Texties, local university students and 125 NGO organizations, and featured a guest appearance by MA Governor Deval Patrick! The event offered NGOs the opportunity to meet with IBMers, Texties and students to talk more specifically about their communications needs and how social media can aid in their communications efforts. Ultimately, these sessions resulted in meaningful dialogue and new relationships with a chance to offer ongoing advice and consulting.

• “Hands on Science at PS 375M” – New York, NY: Members from the Text New York team participated in a science and engineering project with elementary school students at PS 375 in Harlem. IBMers and Texties were paired off and broke up into small groups with 3-4 children to build bridges out of spaghetti and marshmallows and then test their strength. Some were more successful than others but everyone had a great time sketching their ideas, thinking of new ways to put the materials together and checking out what other teams were up to. The day was a big success – the kids, many of whom cited science and math and their favorite subjects, had a great time and more importantly, developed a newfound appreciation for elementary school teachers!

It was an amazing day and we all walked away from these events feeling proud to be working with a company so dedicated to giving back to the community and one who enjoys such a prestigious history and promising future.

IBM will be continuing its centennial celebration throughout the year….stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.

The team was honored with awards in five categories—Media Relations, Feature Story, B2B Campaign, Institutional/Image Communications and Integrated Campaign—for its work with Xerox Corporation. A Media Relations PRism was also awarded for the Haiti Hope campaign executed for TechnoServe, one of Text’s pro bono, global not-for-profit partners.

For the Rochester Text team, the evening had everything we love:

• A Totally Tweet-able theme: This year, smartphones were all a flutter as attendees were encouraged to Tweet about the experience using the #ROCPRism hashtag.
• Extra frosting: To-die-for cupcakes from Dollop, an amazing local bakery, were served as dessert. We love us some cupcakes in Rochester.
• Spiked lemonade: Pre-event competition to create a signature cocktail, resulted in a lemony concoction (aptly named “Bernays Sauce” as a nod to the Father of Public Relations, Edward Bernays).
• AND WINNING! Check out the photo below with our clients from Xerox Corporation, Carl Langsenkamp and Becky Dziedzic, basking in the glow of their wins!