About a year ago we started using the term “Convergent PR” to describe the blend of traditional PR techniques and the new, 2.0/social media PR techniques. I was thinking recently about what I’ve learned since then. Most significantly, it’s that PR and search can – and in most cases should – be integrated in a way that delivers impressive results – results like I’ve never seen before or even imagined possible. We’re seeing that play out for a number of clients.

I also asked some other members of our PR team what they’ve learned about the so-called “new PR.” A sampling of their answers follows, and may provide some things to consider for your own PR program.

Matt Gaffney, PR copy director: Social media/2.0 has evolved as a direct, parallel response to the way our lives and businesses have evolved
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The economy is creeping towards a recession. The DOE’s 13 SEER mandate has helped level the playing field, household buying habits have changed dramatically since the popularity of the internet, and media options have drastically fragmented. With all of this going on, how can a low to mid level HVAC contractor compete against the big guys? While there is no perfect answer to this question, there are some suggestions to help you spend your precious marketing dollars wisely.

Start by looking to your manufacturer and distributor advertising programs. There are literally thousands of dollars available to dealers who agree to use branded and sometimes pre-packaged advertising programs. In fact some manufacturers offer up to 4 times a dealer’s advertising investment!

Next, think about timing and placement of your advertising. What are you really getting out of your investment? Case in point: if you put all of your dollars into yellow pages advertising then you
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To add one additional thought to Russ Green's recent post on getting on board with social media, one possible source of hesitation might be that marketers aren't sure how or why to apply the new media. Here are a few thoughts about the ways the social media apply to the B-to-B environment:

• Networking: Many users find the new social media like blogs and social networking sites to be a great way to stay in touch with old coworkers or customers who move to another position. Losing a customer in one job may simply mean gaining a new customer, if you stay in touch. And beyond being able to wish people a happy birthday, social media may also assist your efforts to recruit top talent.
  
• Content management: Many companies have purchased global content management systems at huge expense, and still have not achieved their goal of involving more of their
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For the past year, Godfrey has been educating and counseling clients about the “new wave” in public relations – Convergent PR.  If you’re not familiar with the term, here’s a brief definition: It’s a blending, or convergence, of traditional PR tactics (e.g., press releases, press kits and trade show support) with new social media PR techniques (e.g., blogs, podcasts, videocasts and social media press releases).

Some of our clients jumped on the Convergent PR bandwagon right away.  (We’re thrilled.)  Others are still trying to understand how Convergent PR works and how it can complement their “hyperintegrated” marketing communications programs.  (In this respect, we see ourselves as educators and advisors.)

Of course, Godfrey isn’t the only entity that sees a convergence of traditional (print) media and social (online) media. 
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In the lead article in the December 10 issue of B2B magazine, Kate Maddox outlined “the top 10 marketing trends for 2008, based on interviews with marketers, ad agencies, media executives, analysts and other industry experts.” Read article.

The top 10 are green marketing, globalization, the shift to online, customer in control, embracing web 2.0, improving operations, targeted and personal events, integrating media platforms, going mobile and blended search.

The marketers interviewed include top tier marketers such as Boeing, Caterpillar, FedEx, GE, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Siemens and UPS. But what about the rest of us? (Okay, we’re an agency but we came from and still serve primarily non-top-tier B-to-B marketers. You know – the real world.)

We think the top 10 list is on target.
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It’s that time of year again when friendly, “let’s re-affirm our relationship” calls from vendors start rolling in. Whatever your news distribution affiliation, (be it PR Newswire, Marketwire, Business Wire, eNR Services, etc.) it’s time to revisit the methods you’ve used, and re-survey the landscape of vendor capabilities. The difference could be a long, healthy, interactive life for even the “smallest” serving of your story, or a quick & costly plunge into 2.0blivion. Consider the following:

Build an arsenal
The bottom line is agility. There is no “silver bullet” vendor that has all of the capabilities to match convergent PR needs. Shirk year-long contracts to broaden your arsenal of services at hand. Create a strategic cache of vendors poised to distribute your story the
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As a former newspaper reporter, I was always skeptical about people – presidents, CEOs, owners, spokespeople – who were too slick for their own good. You know the type. They say the right things, do the right things. But do they really mean what they say? Do they really believe what they’re doing? Or is it all just a façade?

I’ve always felt that, in business and in life, honesty truly is the best policy. Whether you’re right or wrong, be honest with yourself and your constituents, take responsibility and be authentic.

The slick vs. authentic dilemma recently came to light while I was working on a couple of Godfrey podcasts. The first one covered Convergent PR – the blending of traditional business-to-business PR tactics with the new, social media PR tactics (one of which, coincidentally, is podcasts).

The podcast team asked itself, How slick, how professional do we want this podcast to be? Should we write a
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Newsworthy or Share worthy?
(Note to my in-laws:  Please stop forwarding those e-mails that were forwarded to you after they were forwarded to someone else. Thanks for the info, but I already know how to improve my gas mileage and protect myself from identity theft.)

Do you instantly delete those e-mails – the ones with five Fwd: Fwds at the beginning? Or do you open them anyway, knowing you're about to read some urban legend or watch some goofy video?

Although much of the material shared over the internet may be “useless,” these e-mails illustrate an interesting trend that marketers must face:  Is it share worthy?

The “it” is anything about your company, including customer experiences, product information, events, your website, and so on.

People like to share what they see on the web.
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The B2B world has always relied on the objectivity of trade magazines and their editors. Professional trade journalists that have always represented their readers, sorted through the commercial pitches of marketers looking for subjects of interest and solutions that help solve the problems that the readers face on a daily basis. It is a system that keeps agendas in check. Survey results I recently saw got me thinking about this system’s future.

A We Media-Zogby Interactive survey released earlier this year indicates that:

• 72% of adults are dissatisfied with the quality of American journalism
• 55% of the survey respondents feel that bloggers are important to the future of American journalism
• 74% felt that citizen journalism will play a vital role in the future of American journalism

I wonder if these sentiments about journalists are being translated to the B2B world.
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Every company wants to tell its success stories. They go by different names -- testimonials, case studies, proof points, application stories -- and they take different forms (some longer, some more technical). But they usually come down to the same basic idea: our company has a solution to this customer's problem and they are willing to endorse it publicly.

Many of the success stories I've encountered for business-to-business clients have taken longer to complete and seemed more difficult than they should have. While I can't guarantee smooth sailing every time, I can share seven sure-fire ways to reduce the obstacles, frustration and time required to complete a customer success story:

1. Make sure it fits your core communications strategy.  It might be a great project or a big sale, but if it doesn't highlight a success that fits your current go-to-market strategy it may get shot down by your own management.  Stick close to
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