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Jan 04

Top 10 Priorities for Tech PR Professionals in 2010

Luca Penati

by Luca Penati
Category: B2B, Global, Social Media, Tech PR, Technology and Beyond, Thought Leadership, Trends, Visual Storytelling

There’s no doubt that 2009 was a year that (further) changed our job as PR professionals. As I’m sure you’ve heard a million times, it’s an all new, ever changing world and we need to learn, move and adapt quickly. But, in concrete terms, what does that mean?

From my point of view (mostly from the agency side) I thought I’d list out the priorities for a tech PR practitioner in 2010. I think they stand for both experienced professionals and people just getting into PR.

One thing is for sure: our job is indeed getting more and more complex, challenging, and fascinating. All three qualities that have kept me in the same business for so many years.

1. Becoming a Content Creator. Technologies and the media environment are making it possible for companies to reach out to their stakeholders directly. PR must lead content creation. Cisco has done that very well for quite some time now, with News@Cisco. IBM is now following with the recent hire of Steve Hamm. I am sure many others will follow. A content strategy is pivotal in any good public relations plan.

2. Telling Stories Visually. As PR professionals we need to become better visual storytellers. Read The Back of the Napkin for  inspiration – you can get the new companion workbook to put Roam’s principles into practice on Amazon.  Perfect way to start the new year!

3. Learn how to use multimedia tools. Now that you’ve put Content and Visual Storytelling at the center, learn how to make news using all the multimedia tools available and how to develop and manage an editorial calendar (or hire people who do it well.) We will see more journalists getting in-house to do precisely this. Steve Hamm at IBM won’t be the only one.

4. Get a Room! I mean a media room. Nowadays it is so much easier to have a studio close to your executives or your clients so you can easily shoot video without taking away a lot of their time. This can be very handy in times of crisis where you want a quick response. In this post you can find specific suggestions on my favorite equipment.

5. Become a social media expert (if you are not one already.) Social Media is integrated in everything we do. PR professionals that are not at least proficient in Social Media, are going to be obsolete before the end of the year. So, don’t rely only on “experts”. Become an expert.

6. Think 360. Talking about integration, don’t stop at social media. Think about all the communication disciplines. Clients and companies face communication or reputation (or both) challenges. Rarely can something be solved by one communication discipline. PR, AR Marketing, IR, HR (Internal Communication), and in some instances Sales and Customer Service needs to work together in a more integrated way than ever before.

7. Develop new services and become more efficient. More for less is here to stay. Now that companies have learned (by necessity) to do and demand from their agency partners to get more for less, why would they go back to getting less for more? For agencies that means providing higher-value services and be more efficient in providing traditional support.

8. Identify the right measurement criteria for your needs. If #7 is true (and believe me, it is), ROI is going to be even more important than before. Flexible measurement solutions, that cost less than 10% of the total investment, will become critical for the success of a Corporate Communication department and for the agency.

9. Integrate your customers in your PR planning. As consumers are co-brand managers, really playing a major role in shaping global brands like Google, Apple and Ford, B2B companies need to work closely with their customers so they can become co-brand managers too. What they say, think or write about will affect your reputation and brand building. A hint? It’s not just about developing and pitching case studies.

10. Understand where influence begins and how it works. Too often I hear that PR is going to die (yawn) because social media is changing the media landscape so there is less and less traditional media. The reality is that PR is not only media relations. The big opportunity for PR professionals is to understand the new “influencer” landscape to a greater detail than before. Understand the ecosystem where your company or client belongs to, and how to engage those influencers and the people who influence them.

My best wishes to a wonderful 2010.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 3:25 pm and is filed under B2B, Global, Social Media, Tech PR, Technology and Beyond, Thought Leadership, Trends, Visual Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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17 Responses to “Top 10 Priorities for Tech PR Professionals in 2010”

  1. Lucy Says:
    January 5th, 2010 at 7:58 pm

    Thanks Luca, great post.

    One thing I think could be added to either 1, 5 and 10, as is relevant for success in all, is a shift from focusing on content creation to focusing on building a community (of users, influencers, advocates, product champions, experts.. etc) around your product/service.

    How can you go a step further to make people want to interact with your content, share it with their network and spread the word?

    Have you provided the platforms, tools and environment that enables the forming of an online community? Do you have a passionate person driving momentum into this community and managing its development?

    Another thing to think about with all the great things you’ve listed above!

    Happy New Year to you also.

    Lucy

  2. Luca Penati Says:
    January 6th, 2010 at 12:06 am

    Great addition, Lucy! I’ll make sure to add it to next version.

  3. Karen’s Public Relations Blog » Currency of 2010 and beyond for PR Professionals: The relationships created with social media and mobile technologies Says:
    January 6th, 2010 at 9:08 am

    [...] sure that we have the right mindset when consulting and researching social media – we have to become the expert as well as making sure that the content is there.  Sure, you may have the most sophisticated web site with fabulous video clips or images – [...]

  4. SueRiz Says:
    January 7th, 2010 at 4:21 am

    Super summary Luca. You start with content and I think that’s the core of the shift we’re seeing. I would add ‘hybridise’ as a core element for 2010 as we’re seeing the last of pure media, pure advertising, pure anything campaigns as social media blurs all the boundaries. Campaigns from PR practitioners must increasingly learn how to bring in elements from traditionally competitive marketing disciplines

  5. Luca Penati Says:
    January 11th, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    thank you, Sue. I completely agree with ‘hybridise’, it’s what I called “integration” and “360″

  6. Top 2010 Priorities for Tech PR Pros « The Decoder Says:
    January 11th, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    [...] measurement criteria for your needs, there are some great tips.  Check out the full article at http://www.techprnibbles.com/2010/01/top-10-priorities-for-tech-pr-professionals-in-2010/. This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 5:20 pm You can follow any responses to [...]

  7. Ken Hong Says:
    January 12th, 2010 at 8:45 am

    Great post (as always)! I’m going to look for that book UNFOLDING THE NAPKIN here in Seoul. If I can’t find it, can I borrow yours? ;-)

  8. Luca Penati Says:
    January 12th, 2010 at 8:54 am

    You bet, Ken. And if you come to SF we can have lunch with Dan Roam, the author. He is a great, smart guy.

  9. Melisa Bleasdale Says:
    January 21st, 2010 at 3:26 pm

    Thanks so much Luca! As always you’re top of trend. With all the suggested additions I thought I’d add two of my own - relationships and product knowledge. These two things have survived the pre and post technology apocalypse. Being a great writer is a definite plus. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to call meetings with agencies because the PR reps on my account didn’t know our products, didn’t have a REAL relationship with me or anyone else in the media and were on so many accounts ours hardly mattered. You can’t really teach enthusiasm and initiative but they’re top of my list always.

  10. Luca Penati Says:
    January 22nd, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    Melisa, good points. Thanks!

  11. Kristian Says:
    January 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 am

    Great list Luca! Not knowing social media tools and not understanding social media you will not have a clue of your audience. To those fresh tips from a pro PR expert as you I could add that it is our responsibility to teach our clients how to become social media experts themselves and involve in customer relations more frequently than ever before. Two years ago one of my recent clients had experienced severe crisis. It all had started from a rumor on forum which had been boosted by the media. Since that time this company had change completely its opinion about the social media. Now they have completely integrated social media and community approach, won web awards for their website and blog etc. Practice teach but why should it be the hard way.

  12. Luca Penati Says:
    January 23rd, 2010 at 11:21 am

    Thank you, Kristian. I agree with you 100%. That’s why I included “Become a social media expert” at #5

  13. Robert de Quelen Says:
    January 24th, 2010 at 6:27 am

    Excellent post Luca (as always).

    I would like to add just one thing: brands will need more than ever to build communities of purpose. The more interaction there is around their brands, the more they need to clariy what they stand for.

  14. Luca Penati Says:
    January 24th, 2010 at 11:13 am

    Thank you, Robert! And I agree with your comments - Lucy (first comment) also mentioned it. I will add it to the “revised” version.

  15. Luca Penati Says:
    February 2nd, 2010 at 9:14 am

    Thank you for all your comments and feedback — please find the updated post at http://www.techprnibbles.com/2010/02/top-11-priorities-for-pr-professionals-in-2010-revised/

  16. Alex Says:
    March 11th, 2010 at 7:05 am

    Interesting post, keep up the good work!

  17. Luca Penati Says:
    March 11th, 2010 at 9:18 am

    thank you, Alex! Will try.

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