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Shannon Paul's Very Official Blog

A beginner's mind approach to public relations in a world of communication experts.

Putting the “P” Back in PRNovember 19

It’s true, integrating social media into communication strategies puts the focus back on the public. It’s no longer just about the media.

Last week I gave a presentation on social media to the Central Michigan chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (CMPRSA).

I was the first speaker of the day, and I was followed by Leah Jones of Edelman’s Chicago office, and digital crisis PR expert, Dallas Lawrence. They both did a great job at teaching the people in attendance why they should engage in social media as well as how to engage in social media. I was extremely honored to be a part of this event.

Basically, my belief for PR practitioners looking to take the plunge into social media is to

1. start listening and participating in conversations on blogs and in social networks
2. start thinking about making your content searchable and shareable

Of course, people like Lee Odden know a whole lot more about SEO (search engine optimization) than I do, but here is a basic outline of things

Comments are not adsNovember 12

Last weekend’s Podcamp Michigan was the first real experience I had giving a presentation about social media at an event like that, so I am very grateful to Mark Ijlal for the invitation and all the work he put into organizing Michigan’s first-ever Podcamp.

In my last post I gave a brief overview of my presentation and shared my slide deck, but some of the questions that came after my presentation were very interesting and not quite what I had anticipated.

The first question from someone in attendance was whether I thought it was a good practice to include an extra link at the bottom of a comment that leads back to the commenter’s site/blog/whatever.

My answer is no, and although I think I made it clear that I definitely don’t think this is a good practice, what I didn’t do so well is explain why I don’t think it’s a good practice. Thanks to Ken Burbary for helping to clarify this in our offline discussion.

Leaving comments on other peoples’ blogs should not simply be a way to get clicks to your site.

Other people do not write blog posts to give you a free spot to place

How to participate in social media without being THAT guyNovember 9

A few months ago, I wrote a post about that guy that seemed to resonate with a lot of people involved in social media. For those not familiar with the concept, that guy is generally someone who jumps into social media engagement with the sole purpose of broadcasting his (or her) message at everyone they encounter.

My experience, as well as shared experiences from other smart people tells me that this is not the best way to generate genuine interest in your content/website/company/client amongst others in social networks.

If I want to give others a reason to be interested in my content, the best way is to engage in conversations in social networks by posting comments on others’ content (without self promotion) and promoting others‘ content through links.

Yesterday I gave a presentation at the first-ever Podcamp Michigan about the value of participation in building your network through social media and I thought I would share the presentation with you here. Please, let me know what you think.

Clearly, from the presentation, I feel as if commenting and linking to

Technorati, are you listening?November 3

Nobody searches for blogs… okay, maybe not nobody, but only 6 percent of general blog readers say they ever use search engines to find new blog content and only 11 percent of frequent blog readers describe blog search engines as a tool for finding new blog content. That’s pretty close to nobody according to a recent study by JupiterResearch that I discovered in a recent update from Marketing Charts (hat tip Scott Monty)

Add to this my hunch that most of the people in this small sliver of the pie were probably referring to Google and you’ve got a teeny tiny minority who ever use Technorati to search for blogs.

Rather than searching, most people discover good content on blogs through links from other blogs, social networks and social bookmarking sites. What frequent blog reader hasn’t spent a good chunk of an afternoon tumbling down the rabbit hole that is the blogosphere by clicking on link after compelling l

Social media and the art of seductionOctober 31

Don’t let anyone fool you. Companies want social media engagement, most just aren’t willing to do the internal work aimed at bringing down the barriers to transparency in order to make that happen.

Most of us know someone that desperately longs to be in a relationship, yet they remain hopelessly single because they refuse to let down their barriers to intimacy. They express a desire for closeness, but always seem to find every available excuse to cut the relationship short. Companies resist social media engagement for the same reason people resist authentic, loving relationships — a fear of intimacy.

It’s not you, it’s me
Of course it is. Companies engaging in social media have entered into a long-term commitment. They may get cold feet from time to time, but they’re committed to staying the course. Entering into this kind of relationship is completely illogical. Hindsight may be 20/20, but there is never enough evidence on the front end to support making any long-term commitment — what if the industry changes? What if the markets collapse?

We commit anyway because commitments ultimately add value to our lives and to business.

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