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 revolution in how people use media has ignited the upheaval in marketing communications strategy we are calling hyperintegration. It begins with media, but doesn’t end there.

Time was, the job of media professionals was to make the best purchase among a limited number of advertising media. In the consumer world, that meant TV, magazines, newspapers, and radio. Maybe outdoor.

In business-to-business, the range was even tighter: which trade journals fit the best and were the most cost-effective?

The explosive growth not only in the number of options, but in their essential nature has changed the situation dramatically. A podcast offers informal, but personal, contact. A video shows rather than tells. A webcast demonstrates expertise. And it’s hard to beat search – paid or organic – for generating leads.

The point is, it’s not just about reach and frequency any more.
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I’ve never been a “GE glorifier”, but I have been paying a little more attention to GE lately, as a student of business. Specifically, the strategic leadership of CEO Jeffrey Immelt. In my opinion, he's finally stepped out of the giant shadow of his predecessor and mentor, Jack Welch. Since December 2002, Immelt has sold off more than $75 billion in GE businesses such as its plastics and insurance units, and most recently, appliances (a business once synonymous with its brand name) while spending more than $50 billion on acquisitions in faster-growing sectors including wind power and aviation. Strategy in action.

Mr. Immelt has a very good sense of what he wants the GE brand to stand for going forward - innovation in emerging businesses in the 21st century (for now, that means big investments in health-care and energy.) Much of the growth in GE’s strategy will come
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We’ve talked often about the role of branding in helping to improve marketing communications effectiveness and that certainly is its most obvious use, especially when you are trying to justify budgets to management and financial people.

Branding has a “softer” side, however. And that is branding’s role as self-revelation, as an opportunity to tell the world who you are.

For some, that can be a major event in a corporation’s life, giving you several equally-important opportunities:

• To understand the past, what made customers trust you years ago, and how they think of you now.
• To organize the present, to sort out what issues are temporary and transitory, and what factors have long-term consequences.
• To shape the future, to decide what kind of company you will be in five, ten, or even 20 years.

To do that, of course, branding has to be much more than graphics, colors, and typefaces.
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New technologies. Media fragmentation. The changing marketing landscape. B-to-B marketing professionals are dealing with them – in many cases struggling with them – as day-to-day realities of the way we “do” marketing today.

One of the consequences of the new marketing landscape is that, as you necessarily devote ourselves to learning new technologies and media channels, you can lose focus on the big picture. It takes time and attention to learn how to properly execute a search engine optimization program, and keep it going continuously. It takes time and attention to implement and constantly tweak a search engine marketing program for continuous improvement. And to know, understand and leverage the continuing stream of new media opportunities and techniques available to B-to-B marketers.

There are endless details and procedures involved in optimizing press materials
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Many b-to-b marketers are slow to add social media elements to their marketing techniques.

Maybe you aren’t sure how to integrate it. Or you’re afraid that your company might not buy into the idea. Perhaps you don’t yet understand why social media is important. Not only is it important, it’s an essential communication method that all b-to-b marketers need to be involved in. Those marketers who participate as early adopters in this new landscape will have the ability to lead—and succeed.

Social media isn’t about technology. Or some new buzzword, popular web site, or new blogging tool. It’s about sociology—how people interact, gather, and share information. The tools and distribution methods will continue to evolve. The most popular social networks, bookmarking sites, news aggregators, and media communities will change, and the ways to distribute content
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Integrating your marketing 2.0 efforts cannot be overlooked nowadays. Search, social media components, email and direct mail all need to work together to help the customer along the buying process. Each element in itself does some pretty heavy lifting, but combining them to work in conjunction, you develop an assembly line of integration.

For example, some B2B companies are not only sending targeted emails to potential customers, but including blog elements into their campaigns. A simple combining of technologies not only allows them to reach and listen to their audience, but helps build a community – a community who likes to talk to each other.  They have been able to reach an audience they did not directly target and find out more than they originally expected. When you add a search element into the mix, you drive even more traffic to the community.

Following up your efforts with the correct analysis and constant realignment will have your
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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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I’m back in the creative seat again. I volunteered to step in and head our creative staff after we agreed Jim Everhart, my predecessor, should spearhead our hyperintegration efforts.

I’m looking at things from a slightly different perspective now – a perspective of someone with a lead “creative” title and responsibilities. As I remove my account manager hat, something strikes me. We creative folks have more tools at our disposal – blogs, podcasts, email marketing, and the list goes on. Our primary function has always been to think of new and unique ways to tell our client’s story, demonstrate a benefit and craft compelling ways to reach out to a marketer’s various constituents – engineers, channel partners, integrators, other influencers and ultimately, end-users.

Sure, we still need to apply our traditional creative skills, but we now have these new, exciting tools at our disposal.
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It's pretty easy to look at how competitive forces impact your business in a simplistic way. A SWOT analysis that many companies engage in while going through a planning process is helpful, but it lacks the dimension for real strategic value. A comprehensive competitive analysis needs to extend beyond merely looking at a company's direct rivals, although this is the best place to start. Other factors must be included to gain valuable insights for a sound competitive strategy.
 

• The exploration of new and emerging companies that could have an impact on your market or industry. If the barriers-to-entry are relatively low, it could have major implications on how you go to market, your product offering, product lifecycles and many other BIG decisions you need to make. 
  

• The strength of bargaining power that your customers have in the marketplace along with companies with whom you deal with that are essential to providing
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