E-Mail, private Websites, Diskussionsforen, Weblogs etc. werden die Rahmenbedingungen für PR-Arbeit in naher Zukunft deutlich verändern. Zum Teil haben sie das schon getan. Wer im PR oder Produktmarketing arbeitet, und nicht regelmäßig die Diskussionforen checkt, in denen seine/ihre Themen und Produkte besprechen werden, mit Google (und Technorati) nach diesen Stichworten sucht etc., macht seinen Job einfach nicht mehr "State-of-the-Art".
Dan Gilmor hat in seinem letzten Buch We the Media (hier downloaden, lesen, dann kaufen) diesem Thema ein ganzes Kapitel gewidmet. Er bringt viele Anekdoten und Beispiel dafür, was PR-Profis heute schon tun können, um diese neuen Möglichkeiten zu nutzen, um bessere Arbeit zu machen – und was ihnen passieren kann, wenn sie das nicht tun. Absolut lesenswert für jeden in der Branche.
Er schließt das Kapitel mit zehn Regeln für PR-Arbeit im Zeitalter des Internet...
- Listen hard, because people outside your organization may know things you don’t. Keep an eye on chat rooms, discussion boards, email, blogs, and everything else from the edge, both outside and inside the operation.
- Talk openly about what you’re doing, and why. Start a weblog, or 10 weblogs, from inside the company. Explain, in plain English (or whatever your local language), what’s going on inside the place. Get the CEO to post, too. Create internal blogs and Wikis behind the firewall.
- Ask questions, because there will be people who are willing to answer. After you’ve listened and talked, take the next step and turn on the comments feature in your weblogs so customers can post back. Ask for help from your various constituencies. Set up discussion groups, but don’t censor them except to remove libelous, obscene, and totally offpoint postings.
- Syndicate your information to the widest audience in the most efficient way. Create RSS feeds for everything useful to journalists and the rest of us, including press releases, speeches, blog postings, and other material.
- Help out by offering more, not less. Make sure your web site has everything a journalist might need. This includes pictures, audio, video, charts, and plain old text—and make sure it’s easy to find. If journalists can find it, customers can, too. That’s a good situation, not a negative one.
- Post or link to what your people say publicly, and to what is said about you. When your CEO or other top official gives an interview, transcribe it and post it on the web site. If it’s an interview being broadcast, put the audio or video online as well. If an article about you is unfriendly, link to it anyway (because other people will find it even if you pretend it doesn’t exist) but also post a reply.
- im carefully at people who really care. Find out which micro-publishers are talking about your product or service. (Use Google, Technorati, Blogdex, and Feedster, not just Nexis and clipping services.) Also ask around about whom you should be contacting. Then make sure you keep these people well-informed. Treat them like professional journalists who are trying to get things right, and they’ll be more likely to treat you with similar respect.
- Correct your mistakes promptly and honestly. When a major news outlet or serious blogger posts something inaccurate, respond immediately. Point to source material that backs you up. Send an email to bloggers who have pointed to the errant item, and tell them about your response. If it’s a matter of opinion, not fact, be judicious in your replies.
- Thank the people who teach you new things. Congratulate them publicly when they offer a great suggestion, and do it again when you put it into effect. And when someone finds your mistake, don’t be defensive. Tell the world—and the person who told you—how much you appreciate the assistance.
- Experiment constantly, because risk is a part of growth. This is a new medium we’re all learning. As Esther Dyson says, “Always make new mistakes.”
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