We know that maxims have the power to form paradigms that eventually shape our thinking and consequently (in our case), strategy.

And we would all be familiar with the saying – Content is King.

Spot-on.

The only problem with that statement is… when companies stop there, and start channelling their energies to the diligent production of great content. Without a content strategy.

For the sake of articulating what we truly believe, I’d like to turn that saying on its head with this – that in PR, Content is a mere Servant. Trusted Relationships is King.

Here’s what triggered my thoughts on this:

A few days back, I was reading Mitch’s post on his interview with Google’s Avinash Kaushik. Now, incidentally, two weeks prior to that, I was thinking about getting a copy of Avinash’s book on Web Analytics.

I left a comment below Mitch’s post which I will paraphrase here to explain the twist in my decision making process:

After reading Mitch’s comments on his conversation with Avinash, I moved from “I will think about it” to “I will buy it tomorrow”.

Here’s the thing – at that point, I had not even listened to the podcast. But, I made my purchase decision purely based on Mitch’s validation of the man.

We’ve all been talking about how Content is King. But in this case, I had not even listened to the content of Mitch’s podcast. If Content was truly king, it would have been the podcast, that would convince me of Avinash’s credibility on the subject – not Mitch’s comments about the interview in itself. So much for the importance of Content in my purchase decision.

Perhaps Content is king, only because the continual provision or the exchange of meaningful content creates the trusted relationships that PR and Word-of-Mouth thrives on. In my case with Mitch, I’ve interacted with him enough and read enough of his past opinions to know that I can trust a mere mention by him.

That is why ghost-writing is unacceptable on blogs. And paid blog endorsements get ignored.

Because Content is not an end in itself. And it should not serve primarily to impress, entertain or even persuade. It should meet the needs of your customers; and in doing so, serve the goal of creating sincere, trusted relationships.

So when you next consider a content strategy. Ask – how can I provide the right type of content that places my customers’ interests first? Because this is exactly what it takes to build trust and relationships.

We’re back to listening first… then measuring the significance of what we hear… then thinking… and finally talking.

It’s no big revelation really.

PR Bloggers we have aplenty, but Brendan Cooper has gone where few PR professionals dare to venture – the world of tables and numbers.

Brendan – formerly known in the Blogosphere as the Friendly Ghost – is the man behind the PowerPR Index in which he ranks the top 100 PR blogs using Technorati, Google and Yahoo! measures.

ThePR2.0Universe.com happens to rank at 58 this month, slipping from the 51 spot in August. And I suppose I deserve it for being lazy with only two posts since August.

But my ranking’s not the point here. I write this post for two reasons:

First, I – along with 98 others – have to thank Brendan for the effort that he has taken to put the Index together, and fuelling that competitive streak in us all.

Secondly – to thank him again; but for perhaps a far more important reason. In crunching up this table for PR bloggers, he has subtly reminded us of the relationship that we (must) have with numerical data and analytics in the PR practice today. And here I can almost hear the cry, “but if I like to work with numbers, I would have been a private banker!”

In all seriousness, the deeper we dive into understanding the new media landscape, the more we will need to hone our sense for data and analytics. And the moment we begin to grapple with the explosion in the number of influencers out there, it will become absolutely vital for the 21st Century PR practitioner to be a numbers-person.

Instead of writing a thesis here, I will simply point you to a book worth reading if you haven’t already read it – Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart, Ian Ayres

I’m not too sure if this should go into The PR 2.0 University, because if I do, then many other books and articles need to be included too. But who knows, I may revise that list one day.

This afternoon, I had lunch with a journalist who has a brilliant mind for business strategy; and the one question I wanted to ask him was – whether he had any business plans to pursue when he tires of journalism. We never got to that question for lack of time, but I was confident that he would make a good strategist when the time comes.

I must say, I am exceedingly fortunate to count as friends, several other journalists who impress me deeply with their business acumen.

But when I got back from lunch, I stumbled upon a Financial Times article by Michael Skapinker, who asserted that “you can handle the web without an adviser”. In his commentary, he explained how complex the Web was; and went on to question the ability of PR agencies to bring any value to businesses.

“When it comes to your whole industry being damaged, you can look for alternatives (paid-for music downloads, online newspapers),” claims Michael, “but it is difficult to imagine what the PR people can do for you.”

There are some very good observations in his article – such as the relationship between PR and customer service quality, and an all-round 360-degree approach to PR. And I’m not disagreeing with some of what he was saying. In fact, as PR professionals, we should certainly consider some of those issues.

But his headline may not be the most helpful to companies trying to grapple with the complexities of the new media and business landscapes.

In fact, Michael’s article reminded me of a Guy Kawasaki post in May this year titled “The Top Ten Reasons Why PR Doesn’t Work”.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand why these guys are still going on about the same thing.

In an increasingly sophisticated business environment, PR is probably one of the most valued disciplines (I didn’t say “job” or “tool” or “person”) to management. Yet it seems increasingly fashionable for someone – a journalist or, horror-of-horrors, Guy Kawasaki himself – to have a go at slamming the PR discipline and profession. One of the things they seem to like doing is to insist that businesses don’t need PR firms to navigate social media and help them develop strategies to build trusted relationships with customers online.

Michael Skapinker, for one, clearly thinks so.

So why don’t we admit that they’re right. Almost right. Yes, Businesses can build customer and other crucial relationships online without the counsel of PR professionals.

But I wonder how many of these journalists, in making their arguments against the need for PR firms, actually consider the opportunity cost in developing the expertise and implementing those strategies in-house?

I am quite sure that if you think hard and well enough, there’s no big secret to effective web strategy; or Strategy for that matter. If there were, the best strategists won’t be blogging or coaching others; and professional services firms won’t be publishing case studies.

But PR firms can bring broader expertise, deeper insights, economies of scale, efficiency, quality and perhaps more significantly – a disciplined, systematic approach to web strategy that businesses today really need.

Now, I have no doubt that any capable business leader can acquire or develop the expertise to do all this within the organisation or the management team. But at what cost?
Intelligent business leaders do what they are good at. And they outsource the rest by engaging professionals to bring all I stated above to the table. Sometimes, you can bring on your management team, someone who’s great at online public relations strategy. But often, depending on the scale of the business and the business structure, it makes more sense to engage a consultant or an agency.

So yes, Michael Skapinker is right. And in his words, “you can handle the web without an adviser”.

And businesses don’t need professional PR counsel agencies just like they don’t need accounting firms, research firms and IT vendors. Businesses don’t need PR agencies just like I don’t need a plumber, or a laundry mart, or an investment manager.

But how much business sense is there in having the account executive or the relationship manger spend time learning to build the office network. Or how much business sense is there in setting up a full-fledged IT organisation within a mid-sized business?

We are talking about fundamental management principles here, and it’s disappointing to see such simplistic views from credible publications like the Financial Times. Especially when the intent is in question.

If you feel that CEOs and other senior managers are capable of developing strategies to manage their public relations without counsellors, I won’t argue against that. I humbly submit though, that the true differentiating value is not the big strategies, and the creativity and the PR awards (although I admit they are all important; except the awards). But as a PR consultant or an agency, the greatest value that I can bring to businesses is this: a less-glamorous but disciplined and systematic approach. It is the discipline of developing strategy, skill-sets, relationships and whatever else it takes – in order to help companies meet their business objectives. And very often, this means helping business leaders to listen well, communicate clearly, and hold them accountable to the high standards of sincerity and honesty that’s required in building trusted relationships with the Public.

So, Michael-Skapinkers-of-the-world, until business leaders decide that it’s not importance to focus on core competence and manage organisational resources and intellectual capital efficiently, professional PR counsel and services are still your best bet.