In my previous post, I shared my top professional priority for 2008 – to break traditional limitations in PR through effective, rock-solid Digital Strategy for Waggener Edstrom clients in Asia.

I also mentioned two theses, or areas of research, that I will embark on outside my work for clients. I’ll save the second thesis for my third ‘year-ahead’ post following this, but here’s my primary interest:

Omnifluence

‘Omnifluence’ is a word I coined early last year when thinking about the changing dynamics of influence and its impact on business leadership, marketing goals… and everything else!

It’s a contraction of the words ‘omni’ and ‘influence’, and is pronounced ‘om-ni-flu-ence’ (removing the ‘in’ from ‘influence’).

It recognises that Influence is not linear, uni-directional and time-bound; but is 360-degree, multi-directional and 24/7. Not a straight-line, but a map of interconnected nodes.

And for me, ‘Omnifluence’ perfectly sums up the all-encompassing characteristics of Influence that business leaders and marketing professionals must deal with today.

Why Omnifluence? Because that’s what PR is really all about.

From the start, I’ve loved the discipline of Public Relations for what it stands for, and the role it plays. But for too long, the practice of PR has been almost entirely focused media, analyst and government relations. And that has frustrated true PR believers because it puts the emphasis on ‘influencer-relations’ and ‘coverage’ when it should be on ‘Influence’ and ‘business results’.

Understanding Influence and knowing how to deal with Influence will be our key to a seat in the C-suite. That’s when PR strategy will start meeting business objectives instead of purely communications or marketing objectives.

Why PR could never succeed… And what’s different today.

As an Infantry Officer (in Singapore’s conscript civilian army), I know that military strategy will only be as good as the effectiveness of our weapons and the ability of our soldiers.

In the same way, PR professionals could never master the craft of Influence because our tools for the task were ineffective (think press releases, articles and events) and our measurement was flawed (think size of news coverage and the ad-dollar equivalent). Both never did translate to direct impact and measurable results that businesses really need.

But today we have the right tools (think blogs, micro-sites, e-mails, search engines etc.), the right knowledge (in search, digital storytelling and social media), and better ways to measure business (not communication) results (think click-throughs, readership and online decisions).

We have what it takes to communicate directly, track and measure results effectively, making Influence as much a science as it is an art.

And so, Omnifluence is my one-word proposition for an entirely new way of thinking about Public Relations and Influence. Influence. Not communicate. Achieve business results. Not simply fulfil marketing objectives. Measure real results. Not resolve outcomes.

Chief Influence Officer and Integrated Influence Agencies

I assure you that in the near future, we will see the appointment of Chief Influence Officers. They will be generalist-specialists who understand the art of communication, the science of measurement, and the strategy of orchestrating a concerted PR effort so that everything and everyone in an organisation communicates. And that impact is tracked and measured. Their mandate will be to develop integrated perspectives towards all stakeholder groups; and to work with every function in the organisation in the way I alluded to in my post last April on the concerted PR 2.0 effort.

A quick search today will show that a couple of designated Chief Influence Officers exist. But I’m not talking about theorists or academics. I’m talking about practitioners who can say: here’s the strategy, here’s the message, here’s what’s happening and here are the numbers to prove it works. The art, science, and math of Influence.

We will also see PR agencies evolve into Integrated Influence Agencies. The one reason why I love and joined Waggener Edstrom is because while every other PR agency is thinking about blogger relations and viral videos, WagEd is way ahead of the curve in presenting the ‘Changing Influence Model’ as a primary paradigm for strategy development; and ‘Integrated Influence’ as a core tenet in its approach towards PR strategy.

And the third trend we will see is the emergence of Influence Specialists from the ranks of PR professionals – individuals who know how to craft a story, tell it in the most engaging way possible, track the immediate, consequent and residual effects of that story, and measure the results in terms of reader-engagement, click-throughs, online purchase decisions etc.

Moving PR into the boardroom

Communication has been, and will always be a vital part of PR. But as long as we think of ourselves as in the business of communicating, we will only take incremental steps forward.

Omnifluence – or the measure of our effectiveness in influencing the entire stakeholder universe will enable us to make the quantum leap.

Note: To keep the conversation here focused on PR 2.0, I’ve created a separate blog for Omnifluence. I can’t promise frequent or regular posts there because my end-in-mind is a book – and the chronological structure of a blog runs somewhat contrary to the outline of a book. But I’ll provide updates on any significant progress I make in my research, as well as links to useful resources if you’re interested in the subject.

2008 will be a very exciting year for me.

Today, and in the days following, I will be sharing three new developments in my life that will immediately be my top professional priorities; and will influence what you will find on this blog.

I will start with the first piece of news today and elaborate on the others over the next couple of weeks, so I invite you to stay tuned.

Director for Digital Strategies Group, Asia | Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Last week on 2 January, I joined Waggener Edstrom as the Asia Lead for the company’s Digital Strategies Group. Having managed a couple of global multiple-agency PR accounts some years back, I had the chance to work with several Waggener Edstrom teams; and the experiences left me very impressed by the culture of innovation and excellence that runs throughout the agency.

In speaking with the company about taking on this newly-created role, I was just as blown away by the expertise and capabilities of the DSG; and those conversations convinced me that Waggener Edstrom is way ahead of the curve in delivering on the Digital PR promise for PR and online influence. And so with Asia as my mandate, I embark on this journey with my new colleagues with great excitement.

Coming up… Two Theses…

The other two priorities for me this year lay outside the domain of my work at Waggener Edstrom; and is in the form of two theses that I’ve been thinking about over the past few months. I hope to post an executive summary on each of them on new blogs over the next two weekends.

The new blogs will not be as regularly updated as this one; but they will serve as conversation-starters with like-minded individuals. Having them on separate blogs will help me to separate our PR 2.0-related conversations from that of my other interests.

Till the next post…

Some fundamentals seem lost in the Web 2.0 world.

Having a good name is one of many. I’m not referring to a company’s reputation – we already know that to be undeniably crucial. I’m referring to the very names of companies and products.

I was just testing Wikia Search earlier and the one thing that struck me was how easily cynics could headline a negative post.

All because ‘Wikia’. Sounds like. ‘Weaker’.

And the possibilities are endless – Wikia: The Weaker Search Engine. The Weaknesses of Wikia. Jimmy Wales’ Hopes to Beat Google Get Wikia and Wikia…

Of course it could work in favour of the new search engine… For instance – Wikia Weakens Google’s Stranglehold in Search. But against a giant like Google and its kingdom of fans, the downside risk for a name like Wikia seems greater than the upside. And Wikia’s powerful founder doesn’t give it the opportunity to enchant the masses with a David-and-Goliath story.

On the flip side, Apple’s range of operating systems – Panther, Tiger, Leopard etc – makes made it very easy for Apple-loving journalists to headline their articles with “Leopard takes a giant leap ahead of Windows” etc. (A random example I found; and I’m sure there are many more.)

That said, a poor name will not deny a good product from succeeding; and from a digital PR perspective, it would be good to explore Wikia Search a little more. BusinessWeek has a pretty good introduction to Wikia.

I am a demanding customer.

Like every other customer, I’ll call customer service whenever something displeases me about a product or service.

But if the problem is not well solved, I’ll e-mail an account of my experience to the customer service manager, copying in the PR manager and the CEO.

Why? Because I know that if the customer service manager doesn’t care about how much impact negative customer word-of-mouth can have on a company’s brand, the PR manager and CEO does! And if customer service won’t hold themselves accountable to the customer experience – and consequently, the company reputation – the PR chief and CEO certainly will!

As a PR consultant, I am closely associated with the clients I serve because my contacts are easily found on online press releases. And I have been personally contacted by unhappy customers whose experiences with my clients’ customer service further aggravated their dissatisfaction. In response, I have stepped in on several occasions to resolve issues that would have otherwise led to letters of complaints in the newspapers or negative word-of-mouth. And, while I don’t have a client-side mandate for customer relations, I don’t think my work was beyond the call of duty. Simply for the reason I stated above. PR is ultimately accountable for all facets of a company’s relationship with the public.

The question I have for experts in Customer Relations is: what do customers expect of PR today? Am I the only one who would demand that they are aware and accountable for sloppy customer service?

In an earlier post this year, I proposed that PR managers should be responsible for orchestrating the concerted PR effort – one that goes beyond mere media and analyst relations, and extends to areas including customer and employee relations strategies.

Do You think the PR manager has a role to play in Customer Service?

I do confess. This post borders a little on being gimmicky (with the 8 P’s and all…).

And why this topic? Considering there isn’t a lack of insights online.

It all started when I was thinking about the Processes and Principles that most businesses seem to overlook when planning to launch a corporate blog. And after the first two, it was hard to resist putting together a string of other P’s. After all, increasing transferability is the best way to share insights.

So here are the 8 P’s to consider when blogging for business (I’ve tried to keep the sequence logical and the description brief):

1. Purpose – the objective; the end-in-mind
2. Plan – the proactive and scheduled content strategy
3. Processes – to obtain insights from within the organisation and without; to measure results; to respond in various situations; to manage online crises; etc.
4. Personality – the unique characteristics of the company/product brand, and how compatible the blogger’s personality (and writing style) is; or how the blogger himself embodies the values of the organisation
5. Pace – the frequency of blog posts
6. Principles – corporate values and guidelines that guide participation in online (blog) conversations
7. Policy – legal guidelines
8. PR – the strategy to reach out to target communities and encourage participation

Update: Debbie Weil has posted her Top 8 Tips for Corporate Blogging in 2008, in which she talks about building an approval process, citing the Southwest example. This is part of the “processes-thinking” I mentioned above.

The social media revolution has given rise to quite a number of ‘rules’. They come in the form of phrases like “the Long Tail” and maxims like “Content is King”; and they attempt to change the paradigms of marketing and communications as we know it.

But are these sayings completely trustworthy?

I wrote in a recent post that “maxims have the power to form paradigms that eventually shape our thinking and consequently (in our case), strategy.”

But while these maxims are fantastic in helping us understand social media, we deceive ourselves when we take them at face value and fail to consider the truths behind counter perspectives.

Think of the proverbial Blind Men and an Elephant story, in which the true physical characteristic of the elephant (truth) is misrepresented by the interpretations of several blind men left to feel with their hands, the different parts of the animal.

True wisdom in PR 2.0 then, is not simply taking every buzzword and saying, and crafting strategies and tactics around them; but rather, in understanding the essence of these ‘new rules’ and turning them on their heads to get to the real truth. It’s all about eliminating the “either-or” fallacy that logical psychology warns of.

If we systematically question every social media maxim that we know, and examine them carefully, we will gain a tremendous amount of insights. Kudos to Chip Griffin who, in his post on “Throwing Out the Social Media Rulebook“, has given us a head-start. John Cass’ commentary following Chip’s post is well worth the read too.

Enjoy.

The Web bubble question popped (no pun intended) up again today, but in the most delightful way possible.

Male a capella group, the Richter Scales, yesterday posted a fabulous video lampooning the optimism in Web 2.0.

I came across the video on Mitch’s blog where, just two weeks ago, he presented his perspective on the possibility of a Web 2.0 bubble forming.

While there are very valid arguments on both sides, and compelling indicators that either one may be right, the question I have today, is not whether we are experiencing a Web 2.0 bubble or not.

But rather, if (and when) growth in Web 2.0 suddenly hits the brakes, what is going to happen to all our social media strategies? And while we should not be losing sleep over it, this is something that PR 2.0 agency folks need to think about because like everything else, nothing can keep growing exponentially without correcting or leveling out at some point – especially in light of quivering global economic indicators.

On one hand, optimism is high in the PR community. Leading PR agencies today have dedicated digital strategies or social media practices; more and more digital strategists or social media consultants have been hired as agency pathfinders in a new era of communications; and there are more resources shored up in anticipation of rapid growth in ‘social media opportunities’.

Yet on the other hand, there is a sense of caution, giving PR 2.0 / Social Media detractors and skeptics (yes, some still exist!) more reason to reconsider investments in developing social media or digital expertise.

While a Web bubble will certainly affect the sentiments of online PR and marketing strategists, and (or, by) drastically reducing the number of emerging social networks and communication platforms the likes of Facebook and Twitter, this should not be a reason to stay away from social media altogether.

To those who worry, I have a word of assurance – that one thing’s for sure – even with the bursting of a bubble, social media is not going to go away; and even if the flow of venture capital into Web 2.0 technologies is constricted, the ‘media landscape’ has irrevocably changed.

If anything at all, the increasing demands for communication effectiveness, corporate accountability and intelligent measurement will put the pressure on PR to ‘operate online’ more than ever.

So the main thing is not to worry about Web 2.0 dying, but rather – to recognise that Web 1.0 IS already dead and regardless what the future looks like, it will still be in digital.

Update: The original video has been replaced by another (slightly different) version because of this.

Following my previous post, here’s the million-dollar question: How exactly do you craft an effective content strategy?

I don’t offer any answers here, but I assure you – any consultant/agency that:

1. Develops a methodology – a logical sequence (and think set-plays) – for creating content strategies
2. Understands the market and the nuances of the customers (where they hang out online and offline; what and how they read/watch/listen; etc.)
3. Develops a list of all the types of content that will be effective
4. Understands the subject (client/company/product…) thoroughly, and its many spheres of knowledge and influence

…will win this game.

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.