Like Shift Communications and Edelman, I’m attempting to change the way a Press Release is developed. Yes, it may end up looking conceptually the same as Shift’s Social Media News Release (SMNR) or Edelman’s StoryCrafter, but the approach is entirely different.

Enter the Community Press Release.

I’m testing this on a technology conference that’s taking place tomorrow – Nexus 2007 – organized by The Digital Movement, a non-profit organization that I am a part of.

In the actual implementation, I’ve labeled it The Committeeunity Press Release. Because that’s what it is… I’m scratching out the “Committee-dictated”, top-down approach to writing the event press release, and instead, handing the task over to the Community of conference participants.

They can write the release, link their blog posts (about the event) to it, share their best photos and Podcasts of the conference, and do just about anything that they feel will best present the conference to reporters and the rest of the world. In fact, they’ll probably be more thorough in reporting on the incidental (but significant) news that my team may have missed out in the process of running the event! PLUS, there is an added layer of authenticity in a piece that’s written and checked by a Community of participants. (Think Wikipedia.)

Here’s a step-by-step guide I developed along the way (note that all this is still work in progress):

A. Set it up

1. Start the Community Press Release on a public wiki
2. Ensure that it has a short and intuitive URL (domain forwarding helps)
3. Consider password and registration requirements for participants

B. Create a framework

4. Provide a structure for the press release (because not all bloggers know what a press release looks like); and include sections like:
1. Headline/s
2. Facts (5W1H)
3. Quotes
4. Interesting events
5. Provide links to:

1. Official website/s
2. Blog posts on conference segments (consider categorizing the blog posts according to day/session/theme)
3. Photo-sharing sites where participants upload their best photos
4. Podcasts
5. Conference coverage in mainstream media (perhaps more relevant after the event)
5. Appoint a facilitator to ensure that participants are making meaningful contributions, and that technical issues are quickly resolved

C. Provide guidance

7. Provide background and essential information to start with
8. Give clear instructions on how conference attendees can participate in the Community Press Release, and how to get help/further guidance (Give them the phone number or an the IM details of the facilitator)
9. Under each section header, provide annotations

D. Call to action

10. Announce it at the start of the event and/or place signboards of the announcement
11. Encourage each attendee to be a participant in sharing their experience with the “Invisible Crowd”.
12. Some people learn more when they participate, and this will be a good incentive for participants wanting to get more out of an event!
13. Offer prizes?

E. Putting the results to use

14. Send it to reporters who ask for a press release
15. Make the URL available to everyone

Note: The Community Press Release is probably only suitable for conferences at this point of time.

What are your thoughts on the concept of a Community Press Release? Apart from events, how else do you think a Community Press Release can work?

Nexus 2007 will start in about five hours; and by the end of the day, I hope to have a Community Press Release that is succinct enough to hold a reporter’s attention at first glance. Yet it should also be comprehensive enough – with links to other sources of information and rich media – for reporters and the rest of the world out there!

Look out for the Nexus 2007 Community Press Release

Wish me luck!

Maximising the Value of Conferences and other PR Events… Virtually.

Chris Brogan wrote a very useful piece on “attending conferences without [actually] being there”. But let me explain why this is absolutely vital to PR folks who plan and manage conferences (and other events) as relationship-building measures:

• Yes, people are now “attending conferences without being there”.
• But, short of bugging the venue with video cameras, they can’t do it unless someone makes it possible/easy for them.
• And, knowing this is going to change the way you plan conferences.

Observably:

• The savvy Netizen today will find more ways to be at an event without actually being there (physically).
• Conference participants-cum-bloggers will be a vital part of the equation.
• The long tail effect dictates that worthy information gets carried as far across the globe as it is relevant, and stays alive online… forever.
• In fact, ‘second-degree audiences’ may even get a better deal because in addition to a blow-by-blow account of the conference, they get expert and mass opinion. (Not really, I’d rather be there first-hand!)
• The recent New Communications Forum in Las Vegas and the ongoing SxSW 2007 in Austin, Texas are excellent case studies.
• Content is even more important today. Audiences have greater choice over how much they choose to be engaged – it’s easier (less embarrassing) to close a browser window than to doze off in the middle of an auditorium when a speech is given. And online audiences can definitely gripe about how bad an event seems to be going!

The reason for this:
The Social Web – and Web 2.0 technologies – is increasing our ability to engage a virtual audience along with the real one. And this does a lot for your event ROI.

The possibilities are clear and the trend is apparent – to get more bang for your buck at conferences; you need to engage more participants than just those who can attend physically.

The impetus on PR:
To be truly effective, PR folks and conference organisers should think about the (potential) ‘2.0’ dimension for every PR event or conference – Can you hold a real-time webcast? Can you invite a blogger/s to blog about or create podcasts of the event? Are you making it easier for the audience (who are also bloggers) to report on what’s happening in real-time? Are you reporting it well enough through your own channels?

Here are some questions to ask before developing a conference plan:

The ‘real audience’

• Who am I inviting? Who are my ‘real’ audiences?
• What am I saying to them?

The ‘virtual dimension’

• Who are my ‘virtual’ audiences? Who did/could I not invite, but are reading and hearing about the event on blogs, podcasts and instant messaging, as the conference unfolds?
• What are they talking about?
• How will their presence be felt? How will/can they interact with the crowds?

Bridging the gap between the real conference and the virtual event

• How can we get them connected virtually? Think webcasts, podcasts and virtual tours (a concurrent Second Life version of the event?).
• How can I enrich their experience?
• How can I extend the virtual reach of the conference? Establish the right infrastructure (wireless Internet access); make URLs visible and accessible; make them easy to relay in print and by speech (it should be short and simple to read); make content immediately available and easily accessible.
• How can I get accurate feedback on the event? The feedback from the ‘real audience’ will be easy to collect (and measure) through feedback forms. But you shouldn’t ignore the feedback from the ‘invisible crowd’. This can possibly be more authentic, given that conference participants tend to be easily swayed by inherent biases found in many feedback forms. Some ways to obtain this feedback are by analyzing blog entries, comments and web traffic etc.

Having said all this, while we extol the virtues of pleasing the virtual audience; don’t neglect to give the real audience something special so that they’ll remember the conference fondly. After all, they paid for it and took the trouble to travel down!

Business 2.0 writer Owen Thomas interviewed Josh Pickus, CEO of SupportSoft via Instant Messenger yesterday. And the (edited) transcript became the form and substance of his post on the Business 2.0 Blog.

Nice. I love it.

No elaborate set-up; no need for travel; no band of message-crafters hunched over the computer churning out the CEO’s message.

Just a simple, compelling conversation between journalist and CEO; shared with the rest of the world.

Quick, honest and engaging.

Now THAT is the ‘2.0′ way.

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Some events worth attending in the first quarter of this year:

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