Why I Want To Grab The PR Industry By The Shoulders And Just Yell
The name "Jessica" has been changed.
Update: Examiner.com no longer exists, but the message here (that PR has a lot to learn) is still true. The impact of the below is still the same.
A coffee house chat on a cold winter afternoon in New York City.
Jessica: Hey Alex, good to see you again, you look good.
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Alex: Thanks, you too. Anything new and interesting in your corner of the PR world?
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Jessica: Well, we got one of our new clients mentioned in the Examiner just the other day, yay! They were happy because it happened really quickly.
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Alex: Examiner.com? There's no SEO value to that. When will PR learn?
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Jessica: But they linked to the client.
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Alex: Doesn't matter if there was a link or not. On Examiner, all links are nofollowed. I think I told you about rel=nofollow.
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Jessica: Oh, okay. Now I vaguely remember you saying something about rel=nofollow. What is that again, exactly?
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Alex: It's just a way for websites to reduce their chances of getting a Google penalty. A lot of sites do it. But what happens is, the website getting the mention doesn't get any digital lift. An organic boost in traffic through reshares and clickthroughs, possibly, but that depends how influential the writer is, and other stuff. Was the client looking for SEO value in the placement? Sorry, I shouldn't assume. Maybe it wasn't a priority.
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Jessica: I don't remember if they said anything about that. Could be. I don't know.
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Alex: Because if they had their heart set on SEO juice, and were happy getting an Examiner backlink, then they're clueless.
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Jessica: Well if they complain, I'll just say we didn't know. Because it's true. We didn't, well, I didn't. But now I do. Stuff happens, I can own it. So far, they didn't say anything negative.
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Alex: That's why it's good to know a lot, and know it early. But yeah. None of us know what we don't know. You don't know what you don't know, I don't know what I don't know, the pizza guy down the block doesn't know what he doesn't know.
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Jessica: And the PR world doesn't know jack, right? {laughs}
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Alex: {laughs} PR knows a lot of good stuff. You guys "struggle" with digital, and digital history, though.
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Jessica: History?
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Alex: Yeah, take Examiner.com. That was the old domain for the San Francisco Examiner newspaper. They sold the name to Clarity Digital awhile back, but - and this pisses me off - a lot of PR people still think Examiner.com is somehow the San Francisco Examiner! {rolls eyes} And just because a deceptive blogger says so, doesn't make it true. I've seen you guys fall victim to that - Actually, it's a double victimization because those bloggers take advantage of your client and you. You should take what bloggers say with a grain of salt. Don't get me started on fake bloggers selling fake opinions and faux influencers. Just my opinion but some Examiner contributors fall into that fake blogger category, unfortunately. Anyhoo, you know I'm a firm believer in communicating and learning. Silo-busting and all that. You're still doing data analysis in a silo?
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Jessica: The thing is, schedules get so hectic. So yeah, but it's not planned that way. I dunno, I mean the whole metrics and data thing, for a lot of us, that's new territory, so I think some PR people want to try learning the ropes on their own. At least at first, for whatever reason. We'd be happy to learn from marketing or anybody who wants to help, but I don't call the shots on that. But wow about the Examiner.com. Totally didn't know.
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Alex: Yeah, that right there is an example of digital history. Maybe I'm cranky today, but I think some of your clients are pretty obtuse if they assume the PR world are masters at this type of info. The info's all out there for free, through Google, and communities. I never paid a cent to learn this stuff. You just learn a lot from the people you hang around with. {sighs} Hey I'm not an SEO nor do I want to be. And again, I'm not bashing Examiner or even talking about them right now, but honestly I feel some of the web placements you guys get for your clients, well, they can just do most of it themselves, instead of just trusting and then not getting what they think they're getting, whether it's real influencers or SEO or whatever. Anyhoo, sorry, I don't want to be a pissant.
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Jessica: No, no, it's fine, we're chatting, and this is eye-opening. This is like speed-learning!
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Alex: Yeah. You say interesting stuff too. We all need to learn from each other. Look at us, a PR person and a journo having a good chat. Amazing.
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Jessica: Yeah, everything you say on social says you want to see good things for PR. But some of the stuff you say isn't always ... sweet, I guess.
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Alex: Being sweet all the time isn't realistic. Sometimes you gotta shake things up and be real.
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Jessica: Yeah, a lot of what you say is true. There is a leadership problem as far as senior PR people. I mean, they want to provide value, but, a lot of things are just, I don't know, hard for them now, I guess. Like the data and metrics thing... You don't see what I see on a daily basis. It's not pretty.
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Alex: I can imagine. Lots of dysfunction. This is why I want to grab the PR industry by its shoulders and ... just... yell. Or something.
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Jessica: The whole industry? That bad, huh?
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Alex: There's some hope. {mutual laughing before sipping coffee}
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Further reading: PR was never customized for PR
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140615210048-325631429-pr-agencies-how-are-you-judging-a-blog-s-social-reach
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Alex Yong is a journalist for Small Business Trends and a friend to PR agencies. The views in this article reflect the views of Alex Yong alone and not the views of any person or organization other than Alex Yong.
Alex reports on announcements from corporations like Facebook, Acer, IHS and Paychex. He is part of the #PRstack Community which seeks to elevate the PR industry in practical ways. In 2015, Alex was named a must-follow PR resource in Cision North America’s list of the top 50 Twitter influencers utilizing rich media alongside Ann Smarty, Lee Odden, Guy Kawasaki, Michael Stelzner and Gini Dietrich.
Visit his Twitter account here. All of Alex's Linkedin articles as an author can be found here: LinkedIn PULSE
Best method to contact: Email: alex.yong.nyc@gmail.com, or
all over the web: http://hello.SocialAlex.Live
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Resources:
"PR Redefined" Google+ community: https://plus.google.com/communities/109190628428063132798
#MeasurePR monthly Twitter chat hosted by Shonali Burke: #MeasurePR
"Inside PR" podcasts with Joseph Thornley, Gini Dietrich, and Martin Waxman: https://plus.google.com/communities/112349929544876511942/stream/3be2c147-47b9-4974-ad01-a36515f3b9b1
Global B2B Marketing Communications Executive
6yAlex, I stumbled on this old post, agree that it's still relevant, and it resonated greatly with me. I am in PR myself but know a thing or two about rel=nofollow thanks to posts like these and others. I also appreciate the format it was shared. One thing to point out is that my clients don't often know the difference either, or care. I find that disheartening, but an opportunity for me to teach the a thing or two about SEO.
Margaret Welwood, Freelance Writer and Editor
8yOuch! I'm not in PR, but I'm with Jessica on the metrics--overwhelming. And I agree with you--there's a lot of free info out there. When people pay for PR, they think they're paying for that info applied intelligently to their situation.
Hi Alex. How are you doing? I know nothing about PR. I'm in R&D and just wanted to drop you a hello.
Storyteller at KOTAW Content Marketing, Author of Globe and Mail 'Book of the Year' which inspired Lifetime film.
9yFun and insightful! I definitely get the yearning to yell. :)